Distance Education and Collaborative Interaction

                Dr. George Siemens discussed how global diversity, communication, and collaborative interaction have all contributed to the growing acceptance of distance education in today's society - corporately and educationally.  I particularly want to focus on collaborative interaction.  Coming from an education background, sometimes it is hard for me to relate to how distance education has vastly improved collaborating.  This is something that I have always had to participate in my face-to-face classes and have been pushed to incorporate into my own classroom so it is not a foreign concept.              

                However, online tools have provided us the ability to collaborate without always being near one another, which is a major convenience.  We are now able to share ideas asynchronously and synchronously.  Micah, high school teacher and adjunct professor, (http://minerclass.edublogs.org/2010/12/31/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education%E2%80%A6/) is a proponent for the use of the wiki as a way to further create a culture of collaboration, a skill learners will need in order to survive in global competition.   Maria Dolores (http://mariadoloresjardim.blogspot.com/2011/03/collaborative-interaction.html) also believes that collaborative interaction is important to distance education.  Like Micah, she mentions the use of wikis but also Google docs, video-and web- conferencing.  These tools help to keeps us connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with our colleagues and fellow learners.  With face-to-face education, you only have the set times that you agree to meet to share your ideas.  Online tools help to alleviate that disconnect.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). (n.d.).  The future of distance education.  [Video Production]. Available from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_968211_1%26url%3D

Dolores, M. (2011, March 30). Collaborative interaction. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://mariadoloresjardim.blogspot.com/2011/03/collaborative-interaction.html

Minerclass. (2011, December 31). Collaborative interaction in distance education. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://minerclass.edublogs.org/2010/12/31/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education%E2%80%A6/

The Next Generation of Distance Education (EDUC 7102, M-1)

• The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web (Part 1: Training and Development)
• The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education)
• The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web (Part 3: K-12)
• Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classrooms
• Distance Education: The Next Barrier/Equivalency Theory

The central theme from the articles and video programs is that distance education cannot be handled like the traditional face-to-face education setting.  Michael Simonson explains his equivalency theory stating that distance education is not identical to  face-to-face education, but is equivalent.  It should have the same learning outcomes and provide equivalent learning experiences to meet those outcomes.  Distance education has grown quickly and according to Simonson (Laureate, 2008), its exponential growth will continue.  With that, in order to insure its success,  "It is important to employ a variety of technologies to help students achieve learning outcomes.  Equivalency is achieved through a variety of learning experiences that are tailored to the environment and situation in which students find themselves" (Simonson, 2000).  Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) address the demands of distance education by advocating the strong involvement of instructional designers within the development of instruction.  Instructional design has an impact on quality of instruction and appropriate training and support for faculty and staff involved in distance education.  A shift has to occur to employ strong instructional design at the forefront of distance education and weave it throughout its entire infrastructure from the concepts of funding, policy, K-12 classrooms, and higher education.


I agree with the authors that the accelerated growth of distance education calls for a greater quality of learning.  People have multiple options when choosing a distance education program.  A shift from quantity to quality needs to occur in order to insure the success of the field.  With that, the design of the materials/lessons must be conducive to learning in an online environment.  Face-to-face concepts cannot carry over to distance education.  This understanding alone can have a tremendous affect on students and educators perceptions of distance education.

References

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Coleman, C. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(5), 63-67. doi:10.1007/s11528-008-0199-9

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). (n.d.).  Distance education: The next barrier.  [Video Production]. Available from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_968211_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). (n.d.).  Equivalency theory.  [Video Production]. Available from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_968211_1%26url%3D

Moller, L., Forshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(3), 70-75. doi:10.1007/s11528-008-0158-5

Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(4), 66-70. doi:10.1007/s11528-008-0179-0

Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classrooms. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29–34.