Before I started this course my perception of Distance Education was very limited. The materials I've read and viewed thus far have really broadened my view of what distance learning really is. I'd like to share some of what I've learned with you through my blog.
The first video I watched gave an overview of Distance Education Communities(see link below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ld2uh4wXEc&feature=youtu.be
The video gives some reasons for growth in Distance Learning:
-A growing demand for education world wide
-A lot of jobs require retraining
-Availability of new technologies
-Economic incentives for for a more educated workforce (more college more pay)
The questions which arise are "Will Distance Learning replace Campus Learning?", "Is the demand for Distance Learning infinite?" and Does Distance Education expand education and impact the total number of students in Higher Education or is it replacing our current face to face options?
Infinite need globally:
-There are too many students to be served by traditional education
-Distance Education will ultimately result in more students in higher education
-More educated people will result in a greater demand for on-campus demand. In other words more people will want to study because a higher education is made more accessible through Distance Learning.
-Distance Education makes it possible for people to get the education they need because you can follow classes when and where you want and need. It lowers the barriers to admission because its less expensive, you can keep your job and don't need a baby sitter.
World wide there's a high need for online education especially in developing countries such as Suriname where the the possibilities for higher education are limited. When I started this course I was focused on these limitations but I soon realized that those limitations were only in my mind because that's the whole point of distance learning! Distance learning lowers barriers to higher education! You don't have to worry about costs, time or place! Even if you are in a developing country there are numerous possibilities for an higher education.
One of those possibilities is offered by the University of the people (see link below)
http://uopeople.edu/
This is the first tuition free online university dedicated to the global advancement and democratization of higher education. The president gives some information on tuition free higher education. According to mr. Reshef the University of the People offers a new model of higher education that once expended can enhance the collective intelligence of of millions of creative and motivated individuals who would otherwise be left behind. He goes further to say that in many parts of the world higher education is unattainable for the average citizen and that this is probably the biggest problem facing our society today. Higher education stopped being a right for and became a privilege for a few. Especially in countries such as Africa women are prevented to get a higher education because of cultural barriers. UNESCO stated that by 2025 100.000.000 students will be deprived of higher education simply because there will not be enough seats to accommodate them!
These are the reasons why Shai Reshef founded the university of the people. It is a non-profit tuition free degree granting university to give an alternative to those who have no other. An alternative that is affordable and opens the gates for every qualified student regardless of what earn, where they live or what society says about them. I was happy to find out that our distance education course uses the same methods as the peoples university.
I also found the video by Daphne Koller a very interesting one! (see link below)
Some of the thing she talks about are the same as in the video from the precident of the University of the People but she also talks about the components that go into online courses.
Online courses move away from the physical classroom and break away from the monolithic one hour lectures. In online courses the material is broken up into small modular units of 8 - 12 minutes each of which represents a coherent concept. Students can traverse the material in their own way depending on their backgrounds, skills and interests.
She also says that students don't learn by sitting and watching videos. Students need to practice with the materials to really understand it.
But how do you grade the work of a large group of students? You need to use technology to do it for you! I found some information about this in the following links:
Gives three sites (links) on how to evaluate Distance
learning in Higher Education
I.
net.educause.edu
Especially the page measuring success
Evaluating Strategies for Distance …….
Guide to Evaluating Distance Education and …
III.
www2.ed.gov
U.S.
Department of Education Evaluating Online ……
Daphne Koller also talks about how essential it is to Distance learning that students interact with the material and need to be told when they are right or wrong. She also talks about peer grading, global communities and student collaboration in courses.
And finally she talk about the opportunities of Distance Learning of having the potential of giving us a completely unprecedented look into understanding human learning. This is a really good video with a lot of information!
For those of you who want to know some more about an overview of Distance learning, MOOC's and the impact of distance learning on Higher education see the links below.
The Impact of Online and Distance Learning on Higher
Education and Training HD. By professor Asha Kanwar President &Chief Executive
Officer, Commonwealth of Learning
Are MOOCs the long-awaited revolution in higher education?
By sir John Daniel
What is Distance Learning? - DistanceLearningPortal.com
As you can see I really learned a lot from this assignment! I hope you enjoyed reading my very first blog posting and I look forward to your comments!
Debbie
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