Research and Distance Education Prezi

Objectives Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education

4.1.      Discuss the reason for different definitions of distance education.

The reason for different definitions when discussing distance education is because of the rapidly changing and diverse environment. New technologies and ideas are emerging daily when discussing student learning.

4.2.      Describe the various definitions of distance education that have been        

offered.           

There are so many definitions when defining distance education, such as separation of the teacher and learner, the influence of an educational organization, the use of media to unite the teacher and the learner, the opportunity for two-way communication and the practice of individualized instruction. The traditional definition only states that education is taking place at a different time and place.

4.3.      List and explain the five main elements of the various definitions of distance education given by Keegan.

Keegan suggest that the need of permanent separation of the teacher and learner     which is known as no face to face interaction, the planning and preparation of learning materials which is known as studying private to teach yourself programs, the use of technical media that would be able to unite the teacher and learner and carry the content of the course, the use of two-way communication and the absence of the learning group which only means being taught as an individual. 

4.4.      Give the emerging definition of distance education that is appropriate for the United States.

The most appropriate definition would be open learning because it is described as a    new way of looking at education in a quickly changing and diverse world.

4.5.        Outline the general history of distance education, explaining how it began with correspondence study and evolved into the use of electronic communications media.

When it comes to distance education from then till now it has had a rapid growth as well change. In the beginning was the correspondence study which was established in Germany, by Charles Toussaint and Gustav Langenscheidt. It was designed for adults with occupational, social and families. It then emerged into electronic communications which is having the knowledge to use all different types of technology.

4.6.      Discuss the emergence of distance teaching universities.

The universities shared many of the same qualities but the two were not identical in their mission or the teachings. The merge was decided to help both parties. A belief of an economical use of educational resources by mediated teachings, the wish to support educational innovation, the need to further training in advanced level, wanting to serve both individuals and society by offering study sessions and to increase the offerings.

4.7.       Explain the various theoretical approaches to distance education, including theories of independence, industrialization, and interaction and communication. They have been proposed to describe traditional distance education. The changes to these approaches are facilitated by new technologies.

4.8.       Synthesize the various theories of distance education.

These are traditional theories emphasize that distance education is a fundamentally different form of education. The creation of like experiences for both the distant and local learner is emphasized.

4.9.           Describe the emerging theory of distance education that relates to equivalence of learning experiences.

It is based on the capabilities of new technology, both the utilization and existing educational theory.

4.10.   Explain Fordism, neo-Fordism, and post-Fordism.

Fordist distance education is given and involves mass production of curricula for mass consumption which causes rapid changes in society, the Fordist paradigm can’t respond quickly, the post- Fordist the teacher has a higher responsibility to respond the needs of individual students and lastly neo-Fordist adapts to meet the needs of the society.

 

 

Reflections Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education

Ø http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catssearch?bid+2684543

This URL is important to me because it talks about the challenge of technology, introductory remarks on knowledge, learning, and teaching, the role of media and technology in education, a framework for selecting and using technology, the organization of teaching with technology, Planning for teaching with technology, approaches to the design of technology-based learning, course development and maintenance, supporting technology-based learning, change and stability in teaching with technology and  Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education; how it  draws on current research and best practice to show how to integrate technology into teaching in higher education. It provides a comprehensive theoretical and pedagogical foundation for helping instructors make critical decisions about the use of technology within curriculum. This practical and much needed resource discusses the relationship between knowledge, learning, teaching, and the nature of media, and shows how this information should inform the use of technology in a teaching environment. The authors introduce a decision model that is based on key criteria for selecting appropriate technologies for teaching in higher education. They also provide guidance for developing and delivering a course using electronic technology and discuss the organizational and technical support structures that are needed to back up instructors using technology.

Ø  http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=363132

This URL starts off with an Introduction: It's TIME: technology integrated into meaningful learning experiences. It describes varies attributes of meaningful learning using technology and provides teaching for meaningful learning with new technologies. It has suggesting for WISE teachers: using technology and inquiry for science instruction. It displays curriculum-focused professional development: addressing the barriers to inquiry pedagogy in urban classrooms and allows you to see the meaning "hidden" in history and social studies teaching. It maps the terrain for meaningful learning using technology in social studies. It defines technology and teaching: a new kind of knowledge.

Ø http://blog.simplek12.com/education/technology-21st-century-classroom/

I found these articles engaging while considering the role of technology in the 21st Century Classroom. It discusses the process of adopting new technology into the classroom. I believe technology assists in developing all of these characteristics. As opposed to viewing new technology as a threat to the classroom environment, educators and schools must embrace technology and use it to enhance the learning experience.  Educators using and integrating current technology tools in their learning curriculum are better preparing their students for higher education and the everyday workforce.

Glossary of Terms Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education

1.   Distance Education as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.
2.     Telecommunications is defined as “communicating at a distance.”
3.      Open Learning is 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.
4.     Virtual is defined as something quasi, or pseudo. Virtual is often a potential state that at some time might become “actual.”
5.     Virtual School tends to be used most often in K–12 educations.
6.    Marco Factors in this area of education there was a need to describe and define the field, to discriminate between the various components of the field, and to identify the critical elements of the various forms of learning and teaching.
7.      Theory is taken to mean a set of hypotheses logically related to one another in explaining and predicting occurrences.
8.     The Foundations of Distance Education, Keegan (1996) classified theories of distance education into three groups:

a.      Theories of independence and autonomy

                    b.         Theories of industrialization of teaching
                    c.      Theories of interaction and communication
9.      Independent Study distance education at the college or university level. Charles Wedemeyer believed that outdated concepts of learning and teaching were being employed, and that they failed to utilize modern technologies in ways that could alter the institution.
10.            Guided Didactic Conversation falls into the general category of communication theory. Holmberg (1985) noted that his theory had explanatory value in relating teaching effectiveness to the impact of feelings of belonging and cooperation as well as to the actual exchange of questions, answers, and arguments in mediated communication.

Definitions, History and Theories of Distance Education

Definitions, Historry, and Theories of Distance Education from haiglerc

Objectives Foundation of Distance Education

4.1. Explain why students demand to learn at a distance even though they prefer to learn in the classroom with the teacher and their classmates.

  Ø The students have the ability to learn where and whenever without the peer pressure of others like inside a traditional classroom, as well as being able to work at their own speed and pace.

4.2. Define distance education

Ø  Distance education or distance learning is the education of students who are not physically present at a school.

4.3. Explain Coldeway’s quadrants.

Ø  Dan Coldeway’s defines four ways in which education can be practiced: 1. Same-time and same-place (ST-SP) education is traditional classroom education; 2. Different-time and same-place (DT-SP) means that education occurs in a learning center; or students can attend classes at the same place, but at a time students choose; 3. Same-time and different-place (ST-DP) means that telecommunication systems are used. Teleconferencing or chat rooms are used to connect the students in different places at the same time. This type of education is called synchronous distance education which allows students to communicate in real time; 4. Different-time and different-place (DT-DP) is the purest form of distance education. Teachers and students may communicate asynchronously--at different times.

4.4. Discuss Richard Clark’s “mere vehicles” quote as it relates to distance education.

Ø  Instructional media were excellent for storing educational messages and for delivering them almost anywhere. However, media were not responsible for a learning effect. Learning was not enhanced because instruction was media based. Rather, the content of the instruction, the method used to promote learning, and the involvement of the learner in the instructional experience were what, in part, influenced learning.

4.5. Explain how Jim Finn might compare stirrups to distance education.

Ø  Stirrups, according to Finn, were an invention that permitted a person to ride a horse easier. However, Charles Martel took this simple idea and created something new and unique-the knight, who used the stirrup in a way that no one had ever thought of before. Distance education permits learners to take classes and courses at a distance, but it may prove to significantly change education, even if right now no one is quite sure how.

4.6. Give examples of how distance education is being used in several locations of the world and in the United States.

Ø In Sub-Saharan Africa, Distance education is seen as having the potential to contribute to national reconstruction by providing economically feasible educational opportunities to many people. Collaboration with a variety of international distance education organizations has provided expertise and support for the practice of distance education. As a result, distance education at a basic level, as it is practiced in many regions of Africa, has expanded quite sharply. However, while growth in distance education in Sub-Saharan African countries is evident, it does not yet have a wide impact. Lack of funding prevents distance education institutions from reaching many potential students; Distance instruction in the European Union uses a wide variety of media to deliver courses. These range from traditional correspondence delivery, to computer conferencing, to two-way audio and video virtual classrooms (Holmberg, 1995; Keegan, 1995). Using these technologies, the established distance education and training organizations of Europe will continue to play a significant role in education in and beyond the European Union; In the United States, the emergence of new technologies has brought on increased interest in distance education and learning. Electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards, facsimiles, and interactive computer networks now augment or replace mail carriers in delivering curricular materials, textbooks, and examinations to distance learners. New transmission media capable of providing two-way, full-motion, real-time (live) interaction between the student and teacher replace non-interactive, one-way systems.

4.7. Discuss telemedicine and relate the topic to distance education. Explain a vision for education and schooling in the future.

Ø The use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participants. There are four major applications for telemedicine: remote consultation is the most common telemedicine application and what most refer to when they use the term telemedicine. This application implies one health care provider seeking the advice of a professional colleague or subspecialist to resolve a patient’s problem; remote monitoring is a long-standing application where the most common use is to access a patient’s vital signs at a distance using telecommunications technologies; remote education is increasingly important as the geographically concentrated expertise of a medical unit is redistributed to isolated practicing professionals and professionals in training; telementoring involves the development of techniques to share the output of surgical tools such as endoscopes and laparoscopes with distant locations.

Reflections Foundations of Distance Education

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/01/26/creating-the-21st-century-classroom-3/

This URL is important to me because today’s mobile technology enables children to have nearly 24-hour media access, and many students are spending close to eight hours per day using entertainment media, according to new research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet, when students enter the typical K-12 classroom, they’re forced to “power down” in order to learn. But it doesn’t have to be that way. And, in a growing number of schools that have embraced 21st-century teaching and learning, it’s not.

Voice amplification systems, digital projectors, document cameras, interactive whiteboards, personal response systems, and other handheld devices; these are among the many technologies that are quickly becoming essential tools for helping 21st-century teachers engage their students’ interest and make learning more interactive.

http://www.techlearning.com/assessment-&-testing/0034/21st-century-skills-will-our-students-be-prepared/45157

This URL is important because it discuss Learning for the 21st Century, a report from a new public-private coalition known as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org), articulates a vision of how schools can best prepare students to succeed in the first decades of the 21st century.

http://newlearninginstitute.org/film-series/a-21st-century education/technology-and-21st-century-learning

This URL has a film that looks specifically at the ways that the latest digital and mobile technologies can potentially transform the ways that young people communicate, collaborate, and learn. Each film looks specifically at the ways in which the latest technologies including the mobile and digital technologies that are at the heart of the Mobile Learning Institute program can potentially transform young people's educational experience. Each leader begins from a personal frame of reference, arguing for the urgency of releasing students from traditional American models of schooling. Each also suggests that the key to transforming contemporary education rests in giving kids the tools to produce, share, and evaluate their own knowledge