Distance learning is ever changing and growing. In simple terms the definition to me is learning from a distance or the absence of the face to face traditional classroom. Distance education is defined by(Simonson & Syacek, 2012) as instruction-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructions. Edwards(1995) uses the term open learning to describe a new way of looking at education in a quickly changing and diverse world. He indicates that distance education and open learning are two distinct approaches to education.
Distance learning may seem like a new idea or concept but it is not. However, the concepts that form the basis of this type of education are more than a century old(Simonson & Syacek, 2012). Distance education can be determined as far back as over 160 years. An advertisement in a Swedish newspaper in 1833 touted the opportunity to study “composition through the medium of the post.” In 1840, England’s newly established penny post allowed Isaac Pitman to offer shorthand instruction via correspondence. Three years later, instruction was formalized with the founding of the Phonographic Correspondence Society, precursor of Sir Isaac Pitman’s Correspondence Colleges(Simonson & Syacek, 2012).
I am in the education field and staff development days are becoming fewer and fewer. The need for web based training and learning opportunities are growing. The motivating factors for corporate e-learning are predominantly economic (Moller & Huett, 2008). The benefits of distance learning for me have been , convenience, no travel time to a site, the ability to complete my assignments at my own rate by assigned due dates of course. In the technology world distant education is no longer a thing of the future but of the present. With rising cost of gas and everything else the need for distance training and education is a must to cut cost for businesses and individuals.
Distance learning is here to stay. The Distance Education and Training Council(DETC) calls distance education a “mainstream “educational delivery method and predict more than a 300% increase in students served in the next five years(DETC,2004) The rapid growth in information technology is reshaping the learning styles of students. The education field must be ready and keep up with this ever changing environment.
In this fast pace changing environment of distance education a lot is still left learn In this environment it is difficult to arrive at on definition or agree on a theory on how to practice and do research in the field of distance education(Simonson & Syacek, 2012). New technology is developing and growing daily and so does the need to address student learning in non-traditional methods.
Reference
· Distance Education Survey,(2004). A report on course structure and educational services in distance education and training council member institutions.
· Edwards,R.(1995). Different discources, discourses of difference: Globalisation,distance education, and open learning. Distance Education,16(2),241-255
· Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75
· Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.
· Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson. Chapter 2, "Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education" (pp. 32–41 only)
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