Defining Distance Learning
The definition of distance learning is always changing due primarily to the nation’s political aspirations, economics, Internet, and communication technologies and due to the application of learning theories to some extent. Person’s profession and experiential technical knowledge influence changes in definition of distance learning, though Simonson et al (2009) considered technology as a ‘mere vehicle’. Back in 1980, my cousin used to come to me with some printed materials entailing some problems in mathematics. I was in high school then and he was working; he would have finished the study and mailed it back to the institution he enrolled. He was taking ‘cours par correspondance’ in French (correspondence courses) known today as distance learning. Distance learning helped my cousin to both work and to educate himself; today he is running his own school.
Distance learning provides an amazingly interactive learning platform that makes it possible for me to access and pursue my education on my own terms wherever and whenever it is convenient for me to do so. As a teacher, though I had a BSc, in mathematics and a MBA: International Business Management, I had no credits in education courses. Online distance learning from the University of Phoenix and American Intercontinental University, coupled with courses from Queens College helped me to gather the necessary required credits, in 2005, to remedy my deficiency and to gain more differentials that I ever needed. Facts revealed that distance learning provided the opportunities to complete most of the classes in less time than at a traditional college.
The asynchronous learning experiences encountered with the University of Phoenix Online and Walden University Online, coupled with both synchronous and asynchronous methods of learning gained from the American Intercontinental University Online characterize the following definition of distance learning. Distance learning consists of synchronous and asynchronous internet based learning. The instructional environment comprises learners, regardless of culture, time, and space, interacting with their facilitators, where materials include but are not limited to text, video, audio, wikis, blogs make learning more interactive and rewarding.
Learning takes place in ordinary communication, so a culture could define, accept, and justify knowledge when the society culturally shares that knowledge. Individual’s philosophy characterizes education and determines the course of each individual’s life. The Aristotelian philosophy of education based on the intellectual basis for the living and the future gives rise to constructivism, which “is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own rules and mental models, which we use to make sense of our experiences” (Siemen, 2004, p.1). Moreover, through mobile computing armed with android, Internet, and communication technologies, information is readily available at any time and any place. Access to virtual library is easier than ever. I was browsing with my Samsung Epic 4G and got access to Walden library; it was amazing to see how technology is making learning easier. Right tools and right policies will help shape the way we learn.
Like my own needs, distance education accommodates many students' individual circumstances and educational needs. Asynchronous environment (different time, different place) characterizes the pure definition of distance learning where pedagogy gives way to andragogy. So, my revised definition is as follows: Distance learning consists of asynchronous internet based learning, where connectivism permeates the shift of power from instructor centered to student centered favorable learning, thanks to the available and emerging technologies. Learning, the process of adjusting mental models to accommodate new experiences, becomes a way of life (Vaill, 1996). The pervasiveness of technology and the characteristics of andragogy help learners to experience lifelong learning experiences and equip them to interact in the global market.
By now, it should be clear to everyone that traditional schools are failing to provide lifelong learning opportunities to learners (Moller, Foshay, and Huett, 2008). This week’s readings suggest that even the developing countries that lack the technological and financial resources sense the need for distance learning (Simonson et al, 2009). The real future of distance education lies on the institutions’ ability to analyze the global market systems where the competitions lie to detect what works and what does not, the nations’ visions and the policy makers’ wisdom to release the appropriate and suitable technology that fuels effective and efficient education. Many factors will play an important role in the survival of the distance education. Such factors include, but they are not limited to the nation’s political aspirations in interacting in the global market, the ability of institutions to communicate effectively the benefits of distance education, the vision, and emancipation of institutionalized culture to respond to the needs and demands of the society. The understanding and application of the innovative and emerging technologies, the effectively and efficiently use of these vehicles for the highest common goal play an important role in sustaining the effectiveness and the survival of distance learning.
Please follow the link to access the mind map.
Brown, J. S., (2002). Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn. United States Distance Learning Association. Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article01.html.
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.
Siemen, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Vaill, P. B., (1996). Learning as a Way of Being. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Blass Inc.
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