Distance Education

[Lori Holcomb]

Consider your experiences in traditional courses. What were the strengths? The weaknesses? Now think about your experience in taking an on-line course. Is learning different in an on-line course? If so, how? Do you think there are certain skills that students need in order to be successful in distance education? We will use Ning for this discussion.

[Lori Holcomb]

How will distance education impact the 21st century? Will students have a distinct edge in the global market as a result of learning via distance education? What will skills will students need to learn?

[Joyce Boone]

As the borders of the traditional classroom are expanding beyond the classroom and include contact and even collaboration with other students and teachers across the globe, distance education will continue to have a powerful impact in the 21st Century. People and ideas have become so interconnected using technology and distance education is a natural player in that respect. There are societal factors outside of the educational environment that may also impact the popularity of distance education, including economic challenges, violence on college campuses (just today there was an incident in Finland), and high fuel costs.

I do think that certain students will have a distinct edge in the global market as a result of learning via distance education, particularly depending on the field that they choose. Just as attending school in a "brick and mortar" environment exposes a person to a certain network of friends, colleagues, mentors and teachers, the same is true of studying in a distance learning environment. Connections and networks can be established not just locally but globally and particularly within a certain field or interest area. This potentially gives a person a distinct edge.

I agree with Staci that students will need to learn good organizational skills. Developing sound writing skills, time management skills, stress management skills, and learning the practical skills of using the tools for communicating online are essential. Since students will be interfacing with people who could be from anywhere in the world geographically and vary greatly in their personal experiences and backgrounds, an awareness of cultural differences and an overall sensitivity to diversity is also a valuable skill to develop and learn.

Joyce

[Laura English Lewis]

How will distance education impact the 21st century?


One of the most important links between changes in the nature of information technology, as it relates to the impact of distance education for the 21st century continues to be a strengthening of the links between school and the outside world. Web-Based course technologies must continue to be used to put and keep students in touch with resource from different disciplines and to facilitate teaching and learning at a distance. As an upcoming educator in Business and Marketing Education I continue to realize that technologies such as, telecommunication, videoconferencing, computer conferencing and satellite must continue to be widely used in education to bring events into the classroom while they are happening this is a major necessity that impacts the 21st century education.



Will students have a distinct edge in the global market as a result of learning via distance education?


There is little question that the campus use of Web-Based and related information technologies will continue to have a significant impact on every aspect of life and is a critical issue for education. We must remember that Web Technologies have constantly had an impact on media and business in general, and yes, this gives students and other individuals a distinct edge in the global market.

The Internet is no longer simply a place where digital learners consume information. It is now also a form through which users can publish and broadcast their own writing. Key tools such as Weblogs, Wikis, and Podcasts are being used to empower students by helping students create exciting new learning opportunities to support the Read/Write Web ability to help individuals publish their work and engage in online conversations, which gives students a distinct edge in the ability to communicate and learn in our global market place via distance education. However, this type of learning opportunities should not just be incorporated in an Integrated Technology course but through-out all educational classrooms.

Teachers must also start to or continue to explore the potential of using blogs, media sharing services and other social software that can be used to empower students and create exciting new learning opportunities, so that students continue to have a distinct edge in the global market and the world.


What skills will students need to learn?

The negative aspect for students when it comes to skills required for the online students is the expectation of expecting student’s to be technologically prepared is not reasonable and most of the time sabotage the learning outcome intended for the course.

I think that in education no matter whether if it is Web-Based distance learning, or in a traditional classroom, all learning requires a degree of motivation, self-discipline, and independence on behalf of the learner skills that must be learned early on in the education process.

Today, it is also virtually impossible to ignore the need for technology in education. Laptops, scanners, DSL access, portable files, digital pictures, smart boards, etc.--these conveniences surround us and enhance our curriculum incredibly ... or do they? The availability of so many powerful choices raises some questions: How much is too much? What issues must be discussed /resolved prior to committing the necessary resources? School systems struggle to provide appropriate access to all educators and students, but it is evident that some type of digital divide does still exist in the United States, and some obvious needs must be addressed in order to provide better access to technology.

When I think of skills students will need the term "digital divide" continue to come to my mind to describe the gap between those who have "ever" and those who have "never" used a computer or the Internet. In terms of 21st century skills, and in our present time, this term has become even more relevant to me, as I read about how more and more school sites, libraries, and public places try to gain access to the Internet, and provide Laptops for students. I see a “digital divide” which to me still focuses on the disparity between individuals who have and do not have access to information technology, and this continue to exacerbate existing education inequalities.

Therefore, our educational systems needs to remove the gap between students who have "ever" and students who have "never" used a computer or the Internet so that students can learn as many of the technology skills as they can.

Our world continues to become a place where we are in a new digital age, and as fast as we speak new technology continues to emerge. With that said, in today’s world no students should be able to say that they have "never" used a computer or the Internet, and do not have the skills needed for this technology.

[Staci Lyon]

One of the strengths with traditional courses is the face-to-face contact. It easy to misunderstand an email more so than a one-on-one conversation. One weakness is that some traditional courses are only set up as lecture courses. For a lot of students, it's boring and difficult to learn this way.

I think learning is quite different in an on-line course. In the online courses I had so far, I am supposed to learn more by reading. It's a lot more reading. And for someone like me that doesn't learn just by reading it is quite difficult. Depending upon how the class is set up, there is possibly no interaction except for written discussions. I for one enjoy being able to discuss my thoughts face-to-face or at least being able to listen to others' thoughts. It's much more cumbersome to have to read others' thoughts. They tend to write so much more than they would actually say if there was an actual auditory discussion.

In order to be successful in distance education, I think a learner needs to be organized and not procrastinate. It's easy to get behind in an online class because for whatever reason it just seems that you can put things off. But when I attend actual classes, I don't seem to procrastinate as much. Online courses are not necessarily geared for the auditory or visual learner.

[Veronica Lewis]

I agree that procrastination is my biggest issue. I think after a face to face interaction, I was always more motivated to dive right into my assignments. With online interaction, I do a little bit at a time and I end up putting off things until I need an end result.

[Kaitlin]

Yes I would agree with that too. At first this course was very overwhelming and I felt like I was missing assignments or not doing them at the right time. After a few weeks I feel a lot better!

[Lauren Philbeck]

Traditional Courses:

Strengths:
-face-to-face interaction with professor and classmates
-collaboration with classmates is easier
-feedback from professor is immediate
-issues/problems/concerns can be solved more quickly
-takes place in a more social environment
-more structured for those who need it
-thoughts/ideas can be more easily shared and received
-constant engagement and interaction

Weaknesses:
-time constraints
-format may be boring to some


This is now the 4th online class I have taken in my college career. Learning in an online class is very different from learning in a traditional class and students must possess certain skills to be successful in an online class. In addition, I think it is also important to note that successful does not mean simply completing the assignments and getting a C grade or better. While those things may indicate a person has learned a sufficient amount of material, it does mean that a student has learned the material well enough to actively apply it and remember it in years to come. It is much easier to get by with doing less work in an online class because there is not a professor continuously monitoring students’ progress and participation. Therefore, the amount the student learns and retains from a class is essentially up to the student. While this idea can be applied to the regular classroom as well, in my experience I believe that one can learn in a regular classroom without realizing it or “accidentally” learn because the level of engagement is likely to be higher. The information flow is likely higher in the regular classroom too and students must actively participate and hear responses from other students which is not the case in an online class.

Needed Skills:
-organization
-time management
-high self motivation/ desire to learn
-high reading level
-technology ability
-multi-task


Distance education is already greatly affecting the 21st Century because people can literally obtain a college degree from their living room. I think it is a great tool for people who have limited options but the motivation and desire to learn; though I do not think it can replace the quality of a face-to-face/regular classroom education. I am not sure of how much of an advantage distance education will give students in the global market because so many countries have the same or better technology as the United States. I would actually hope that distance education would not hurt students by decreasing their social abilities or limiting the amount of information they obtain.

[Rhonda W]

I have found online courses to be more work than traditional courses. The professor knows exactly whether each student participates and to what degree. (Some misguided professors confuse quantity of posts with quality of contributions to the discussion. Not the same at all.) There tends to be more reading and way more writing than in traditional face to face classes. Students must be self-directed and focused. It is easy to get behind and desperately difficult to catch back up.

The master's program I did in Training and Development at NCSU was entirely online. By the end, I knew the people in the program as well or better than the students I've been in face to face classes with. It was a good situation for me because I have such an insane schedule. The asynchronous nature of the online courses fit with my life way better than having to be sitting in my desk at Poe Hall on one night a week.

I've had some excellent online courses and some mediocre ones, and some excellent face-to-face classes and some I could barely stand. I do think teaching online is different than teaching face to face. Too many online courses (I don't mean just postsecondary, but also high school courses I've reviewed) mean some teacher transferred a curriculum guide to Blackboard. It really requires some different skills and, because of the greater amounts of writing that a teacher must review and grade, it also takes more time, or at least more time to do it right.

I'm a little concerned that educators seem to be operating on the principle now that every course can be taught as well online as in face to face classrooms. I think some course work is appropriate for face to face, some can be taught either way, and some works better online. I'd like us to make decisions based on what is most instructionally valid rather than what is cheaper or most efficient. I'm also worried about all the online providers that have cropped up. How do you determine quality when there is so much to choose from? And given our current environment, will people opt for easier programs that promise you can earn a master's degree in your spare time rather than doing the hard work to earn such a degree (whether online or face to face) from a traditional institution that has more rigorous standards? Can a place like NCSU compete with something like the University of Phoenix?

[Jennifer Cable]

Rhonda,
I agree that not every class is good as an on-line classes. At our local community college, they are offering Biology and Chemistry online although students still have to go to lab. For me these courses would be very difficult if taken online. A lot of the information given during these courses is visually and I feel it would be difficult for students to get the full value online. Great point.

[Laura English Lewis]

Hello Lauren,


I did a Quantitative Critique Comparing Web-Based and Classroom-Based Learning. I would like to share with you my findings, because I also believe that distance education is a great tool for people who have limited options and are motivated as you also stated in your reply.

The purpose of the study was to perform a quantitative study to compare the academic performance of students who were enrolled in the Web-Based distance education (online) program with the achievements of students enrolled in the non-Web-Based distance education (offline) section of teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Principles and Practices II course.


The same instructor taught the Web-based (online) section and the Classroom-Based (offline) section of the ESOL course. WebCT was the delivery tool for the online section of the course. The Classroom-Based (offline) section of the ESOL course did not use WebCT. The instructor used the same content to teach both section of the course.


The study population was made up of 70 students enrolled in their last semester of the course work requirements for the Elementary Education for teachers. The online and offline students were placed in groups at the beginning of the semesters. Students continued to work in their same groups on class projects and activities throughout the semester.

The two students groups were made up of one male and 30 female enrolled in the Classroom Based (offline) section, and four males and 35 female enrolled in the Web-Based distance education (online) section. The Classroom Based and Web-Based students were given a pretest at the beginning of the semester, which included the core concepts of the ESOL Principles and Practices II course. The same test was given to both student groups as a posttest at the end of the semester. The two group’s average and means was calculated from the pretests by using the raw scores. To determine if there was a difference in the pretests scores between the two groups the means was used to calculate the t-test. The t-test result from both groups was then used to calculate the difference between the posttest means for both groups. The posttest average for the online students was 15.21. The posttest average was 13.19 for the offline students. Using these findings this study reported that the Web-Based student academic achievement was higher than the Classroom-Based students.

Although the research suggested that students enrolled in the online section achievements levels as being higher than students enrolled in the offline section of the same course, with the same instructor teaching the same material to both sections. It was still difficult for me to gauge from this study exactly how extensively Web-Based distance education (online) courses are being infused into the curriculum. It was also difficult for me to access through this research the effects that Web-Based technologies can have on a classroom curriculum no matter if it is an online or offline course. Does the fact that the majority of students were female play a role? I could not answer this question
The study did not include any culturally diverse student data. Therefore, it was difficult to determine if additional factors played a role in the outcome of the student’s scores.

As I mention in my original reply, I think that in education no matter if it is Web-Based distance learning, or in a traditional classroom, all learning requires a degree of motivation, self-discipline, and independence on behalf of the learner.


The References that I used for my Quantitative Critique Comparing Web-Based and Classroom-Based Learning was:

Rosenfeld, B., & Martinez-Pons, M. (2005, Summer). PROMOTING CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY USE. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6(2), 145-153. Retrieved June 3, 2007, from Academic Search Premier Database.
Thirunarayanan, M. O.; Perez-Prado, Aixa. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Winter2001/2002, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p131-137, 7p; (AN 16830762) Retrieved June 3, 2007, from Academic Search Premier Database.

[Rhonda W]

I wonder if one thing that has a negative impact on performance of students in online courses is the very convenience that we are counting as a positive. Students may sign up for an online course thinking that it will be a breeze, but as I said earlier, they are frequently MORE work than traditional face-to-face classes. Students may have unrealistic expectations of what the work load will be, and when a student gets behind may have access to fewer resources to help catch up.

[Jennifer Cable]

I agree with your point, Rhonda. I have a son who is a junior in college. He has taken a few online classes and does not like them. He found the workload was much more online and required much more time management. He is a computer "geek" and I figured he would love the online instruction but he proved me wrong.