The future of distance education

Distance education has existed in various forms for centuries.  The growth of the internet over the last decade has allowed distance education to become mainstream (Simonson, n.d.).  Simonson discusses in the video, “Distance education: the next generation” that most innovations follow a S-shaped curve.  A new innovation first requires promotion by key social figures until eventually it will reach a point of critical mass at which point it no longer requires promotion, but rather support (Simonson, n.d.).  Because of the wide-spread use of distance education distance education appears to be nearing this point of critical mass.  At this point, it is still important to look at what the future perceptions of distance education will become and how I, as an instructional designer, can improve distance education and its perceptions.

Before looking at what the future perceptions of distance education may be I want to first discuss current perceptions.  After interviewing a small number of highly educated individuals, I found that most individuals who are hesitant about distance education courses have yet to participate in one (personal communication, December 20, 2010).  On the other hand, most individuals who are taken a distance education course have found the quality to be higher than expected (personal communication, December 20, 2010).  My assumption will be that the future perceptions of distance education will be directly related to the number of individuals who partake in a distance education course.  

Not all distance education courses have been designed based on sound instructional design principles.  Unfortunately some designers have used the ‘craft approach’ for creating online courses.  This essentially means trying to model the online course after the set-up and design of a traditional course (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008).  As an instructional designer, it is important for me to promote distance education courses that have been designed with instructional design principles in the forefront.  

In order to continue the improvement of distance education and its perceptions, it is important for me to continue to stay informed with new findings and studies in instructional design and education.  The field is ever-changing and I will need to stay current in order to continue the improvement of distance education.  In addition, I believe it is important to develop an accreditation system by which courses that follow sound instructional design principles will be accredited.  This will allow instructional designers and searching students to pinpoint distance education courses that will maximize their learning.  

References

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. (n.d.).  Distance education: The next generation.  Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6052001&Survey=1&47=8115912&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Converting a traditional course to an online format

There are many different aspects to consider when converting a traditional course to an online course.  It may be tempting to use the same material and present it in the same format, but research has shown that this is not the most effective means of delivering the material to the student.  In the following post you will be given a specific example of a training manager looking to change a traditional course to a blended course.  There are many helpful hints and tips that can be applicable to the design of any online course.  In addition, you will find a checklist for converting a traditional course to an online format.  This checklist is by no means inclusive, but it gives a list of many different aspects of the online course to consider.

Blog Post

Checklist

Open Courses

I choose to analyze an open course offered online through Yale University called Listening to Music.  I choose this particular course because I have an interest in music, but also because I assumed that it would contain contain not only text and visual instruction, but audio as well.  This particular course can be found at: http://oyc.yale.edu/music

The primary purpose of distance learning is “to provide a valuable learning experience to students who might not otherwise have access to learning” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvacek, 2009, p. 162).  Open courses offer learners who may not have the financial ability to pay for a course the opportunity to learn as long as they are equipped with motivation and a computer (Russel, 2011).  From this perspective, the open course is distance learning as its finest.  

There are, however, several design aspects of this particular course that are not in line with best-practices.  Moller, Foshay, and Huett coined the term ‘craft approach’ when designing distance education courses.  This essentially means that the material used in a traditional course is used and made to fit into an online course (2009).  This particular course uses the ‘craft approach.’  It has a syllabus, a introduction to the professor, an explanation of the course set-up and the textbook to be used, and each lecture accessible in video, audio, or transcript form.  

Although each aspect of the course is easy to understand and of good quality, there appears to be little thought put into the needs of potential students or ways to keep students engaged and motivated.  This, however, may be due to the fact that the course if free and the university is not necessarily benefitting from offering the course.  It makes sense that they would not spend the time to make sure the course is designed with best-practices in mind.  

“Interaction is essential” (Simonson et al., 2009, p. 147).  Discussion posts, email between professor and students, blogs, and wikis.  These are all venues of interaction that enhance distance learning and active learning.  Without interaction, the learning is one-sided and doesn’t allow the student to work through the material and create schema.  This course does not include interaction for students choosing to partake in the course.  The only form of possible interaction would be through email correspondence to the professor who taught the course. 

On a positive note, this course does use all four media available: the textbook, audio files, video files, and the use of the computer (Simonson et al., 2009).  In addition, the professor is very animated during his lectures and had several musical guests perform on the lectures that I watched.  The animation of the professor raised my motivation level to watch the lectures.  

Resources

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.

Russel, S. (2011).  101 Free open course classes to learn how to build anything.  Retrieved from: http://www.bestuniversities.com/blog/2009/101-free-open-course-classes-to-learn-how-to-build-anything/

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S. Albright, M. & Zvacek, S. (2009).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education.  Pearson Education, Inc: Boston, MA.