The Future of Distance Learning

Week 8 Blog Post: Reflection
The Future of Distance Learning
James Landon

Distance Learning will continue to evolve as technology advances and the Internet continues to grow. Over the next two decades, I believe online learning will continue to grow in use and popularity at all levels and in all areas. Borden (2011) explains that a paradigm shift in technology has “made advanced education more accessible to current and potential students, driving increased demand for online learning opportunities.” This explains why a 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Learning shows a steady increase in annual enrollment in online learning courses and that nearly 30 percent of all post-secondary students take at least one course online (Borden, 2011).

As online learning becomes more common and mainstream, the common societal perceptions of distance learning will continue to improve. There are several ways instructional designers (ID’s) should speak out for improvement of these views and of overall improvement in the field of distance education.  First, ID’s should be aware of these negative views and be able to engage in meaningful discourse by providing data and research that provides clear alternatives and advantages. Second, ID’s should highlight successful cases and remain engaged in current research that shows effective design and development strategies and methods. Third, ID’s need to be involved in effective evaluation methods of distance learning programs to determine the best ways to improve instruction by utilizing advanced technology and innovative ideas in instructional theory and methods.

A number of perceptions of distance and online learning have developed over the last few decades, many of them negative. These perceptions range from a lack of face-to-face social interaction among students and with the instructor to a lack of instructor training and resistance to change to technology limitations. First, one of the most common perceived disadvantages is the lack of social interaction including a “risk of isolation and stunted social development” (Marius, 2011).  Kolko (2012) describes several social and emotional problems with online learning, including little qualitative responses, no immediate “talk-back”, shallow discussion forums, little Socratic learning, no sense of emotional progress, and lack of peer-to-peer learning. Kolko (2012), Marius (2011), and the Illinois Online Nework (2011) all list a number of other perceived disadvantages such as online distractions, technology limitations, ineffective assessment and accountability measures, and instructors who are resistant to change and who use inappropriate instructional strategies.

Instructional designers should be instrumental in publicizing current research and effective examples that show successful programs do exist if designed and implemented correctly. Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek (2012) describe numerous distance learning theories along with examples of projects that have worked. They also provide a prescription for designing and developing online learning programs using instructional strategies that maximize collaboration and engagement among students and the instructor. They provide guidance for choosing technologies and course management systems that include features that maximize quality interaction and include project-based assessments that have proven to effectively measure learning. In addition, Borden (2011) and Simonson et al. (2012) all describe the importance of Web 2.0 collaboration tools such as social networking, video conferencing, wikis, blogs, chat, and many others.  Instructional designers should be aware of these tools and develop programs that utilize them, based on solid research that shows they are successful.

Evaluating online learning should be a high priority to dissipate the negative perceptions and continue to improve the quality of distance education. Institution accreditation and a creation of industry quality standards are some ways this can be accomplished. Borden (2011) writes about the importance of a “universal standard of quality” and explains that “advocacy groups and students are calling for greater accountability measures.”  As an instructional designer, I will continue to advocate for universal standards for online post-secondary institutions as well as K-12 programs, corporate training, and government training programs.  Finally, high quality, thorough, and continuous evaluations of distance education programs will provide data and analysis that will continue to show the most successful technology, instructional methods, and design and development strategies. I will be a strong proponent of the improvement of online learning projects based on program evaluations, experience gained in this class, and the unwavering search for what works in distance learning.

References

Borden, J. (2011, August). The future of online learning. eLearn Magazine. Retrieved from: http://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=2024704

Illinois Online Network. (2012). Weaknesses of online learning. Retrieved from the University of Illinois website: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/overview/weaknesses.asp

Kolko, J. (2012, June 18). Problems with online learning. [Blog message]. Retrieved from the Austin Center for Design website: http://www.ac4d.com/2012/06/18/problems-with-online-learning/

Marius, M. (2011, November 4). 4 critical unresolved issues of online learning. [blog message]. Retrieved from the ICT Pulse – ICT Issues from a Caribbean Perspective website:
http://www.ict-pulse.com/2011/11/4-critical-unresolved-issues-of-online-learning/?doing_wp_cron=1351395304.2725439071655273437500

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.