When
peer-to-peer file sharing program Napster debuted in 1999, technology experts
all over the United States saw Napster for what it really was: a revolutionary
innovation in music. Since then, such
file sharing programs such as BearShare, Limewire, and Kazaa (which I may or
may not have used), as well as companies with pay-for-music services such as
iTunes and Amazon have all provided services which can be traced back directly
to the work of the Fanning brothers and Napster.
Fifteen
years ago, people would not have been able to guess how digital music would
change, but they could make some pretty strong guesses. In the same way, since distance education’s
early days in 1833 with correspondence courses(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright,
& Zvacek, 2012), the face of distance education has continued to progress
alongside the technology it utilizes.
The
major technological force which propels distance education is the Internet and
its communication tools. Distance
education heavily relies on communication between instructors and learners,
especially as they are divided by time and geography. As Dr. George Siemens points out, “More and
more of us are communicating online” (Laureate
Education, “The Future of Distance Education”). This is a positive thing which will have a
strong impact on public perception of distance learning five, ten, or even
twenty years down the road. As people
become more comfortable communicating with each other over long distance,
become familiar with the tools which they use in order to communicate, and
become used to how the two can be used in order to exchange ideas and knowledge,
distance learning’s perception will pick up speed and be viewed more and more
positively as time goes on.
Instructional
designers have a challenge in the years upcoming related to improve social
perception and continue to improve the quality of instruction in the field of
distance education. Through the use of
the social channels to which instructional designers have access, they have the
ability to engage community stakeholders by demonstrating the quality of
distance learning programs by giving clear examples of work and how it matches
up to brick-and-mortar institutions’ learning objectives for courses. Instructional designers can also be agents
for change by providing clear communication and example of how distance
learning principles already are a part of individuals’ daily lives. They can help in the improvement of distance
education by listening to the voices of concerned stakeholders and looking for
ways to alleviate their fears and concerns.
For example, if a stakeholder is concerned about having access to an
instructor, the instructional designer should look for different avenues to
provide the concerned person with solutions to the problem.
The
future of distance learning is as pregnant with possibility now as Napster was
fifteen years ago. Only the passing of
time can demonstrate what changes and improvements will be birthed. People engaged in the process such as
instructional designers can have a large influence on the direction and quality
of changes that are possible and they should make the most of every opportunity
to make distance learning as effective as possible.
References
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The future
of distance education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek,
S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance
education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
No comments:
Post a Comment