Distance Education: The Next Generation

Distance education has sprouted in the areas of corporate training, higher education and K-12 schooling. There is a need to evolve the practices in each area (Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C., 2008). The problem is not that distance education doesn't work, it is that it has been done quickly with not enough attention to quality.

In the case of training, Moller, Huett and Foshay identify the reasons distance learning became popular: it is cost saving, scalable and timely. However, focus on these areas took focus away from quality and rushed delivery of distance learning content. More focus is needed on quality, needs assessment, and other factors to create quality education.

Quality is also a problem in higher education (Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C., 2008), though the quality of instruction is more dependent on the instructor than with corporate training. There are new pedagogical issues that need to be addressed. These issues include but are not limited to collaboration in a virtual environment, managing a virtual environment and intellectual property rights. There is a need for distance learning in higher education to evolve so that the negative perceptions of e-learning courses and those who teach hem can be dispelled.

Unlike with higher education, the quality of instruction tends to be less dependent on the teacher with K-12 virtual schooling. Many schools develop specific programs to meet state requirements and standards. There are many positive aspects that need more consideration like the ability to offer more communication with students and families and the availability to offer more courses in different areas.

Distance education isn't going anywhere. There needs to be a focus on finding best practices in different areas to create learning environments as good as or better than their face-to-face counterparts.

References:

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). 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.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.