Defining Distance Learning

Distance learning, to me, has always simply come across as the process of learning that takes place in a non-traditional classroom environment where the instructor and learner are in two different locations. From the introduction of this course, it has been proven to me that my definition is not incorrect but it tries to cover an idea that entails more information than it states. As result, I have been educated on the definition of distance learning and have adopted the following definition from Dr. Michael Simonson: Distance education is institution based formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources and instructors (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).

In my opinion, this definition seems to really break down what distance education is and it seems as if could be fit for all professions and technical knowledge levels. It has four parts: the fact that it is institutionally based (traditional schools/colleges/universities, businesses and corporations); the fact that the instructor and student are separated by location and/or time; the component of interactive telecommunications (systems); and the concept of connecting learners. These things must all take place in order to fully support the idea of distance education. As long as this is occurring, the existence of distance education by this definition would still hold true regardless of one’s profession or level of technical knowledge.

With that said, although they sometimes are, I believe that learners lack of technical knowledge and differences in profession should not be reasons to change the definition of distance learning/education. I do however believe the existence of those differences should influence the way distance education is approached by way of the design of a course. For example, it probably would not be wise to create a distance education course on how to use a certain computer application for the for individuals that work in the IT department of a company the same way you would for those who work in the company's Maintenance department. Two different professions with different levels of technical know-how are involved so two different approaches/formats would more than likely be needed in order to have a successful learning outcome. These differences do not seem to propose a reason to change this definition of distance learning, but they do create a reason to evaluate how it is carried out.

Because of the many differences that exist between the learners and instructors of distance education, it certainly has a future that will continue to evolve and change in the way it is applied to learning. I think that one important piece is to always place high value on the design of distance education courses because their structure, which should mostly be based around the learners need, will affect how beneficial the courses will be. This will then require high importance to be place on course evaluation. As stated by Moller, Foshay, and Huett in their article on the evolution of distance education, since evaluation of e-learning is necessary to demonstrate its worth, the need for better and more widely used evaluation models is critical to the future of e-learning (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008).

Overall, this week's lesson taught me that distance education, although probably now is at its most popular pike, has been around for a very over a hundred years and this definition seems to cover that aspect of history as well. That is one of the main reasons why I saw Dr. Simonson's definition fit. It seems applicable to the concept of distance education during the earlier times just as well as what it seems to mostly be now. And I believe doing that is important because, to me, knowing the history of something makes having knowledge of it that much more valuable.

References

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.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.