Skip to main content

George Siemens and Distance Education (Module 2 of Principles of Distance Education)

In the program, “The Future of Distance Education,” George Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) shares his perspective on the elements that contribute to increased acceptance of distance education, and where distance education is going as a field.  He contends that distance education continues to gain acceptance in the corporate, government, and educational sectors for several reasons:  increased online communication, practical experiences with the technology, growing sense of comfort online, and the ability to communicate with global groups.  He argues that distance education is greatly impacted by the development and implementation of new technologies, which determines the direction of distance education.  Siemens predicts an increased use of multimedia, games, and simulations.  Also, video technology in courses will be enhanced.  As students get more comfortable with using the technology and working in an online learning environment, the use of distance education will be increased. 

            George Siemens’s elements of online collaboration and communication can be seen in many classrooms today.   Many teachers are using Edmodo, a social networking site like Facebook, with their students.  Students are able to form groups and collaborate with one another on projects and participate in online discussions with the teacher about a current issue or topic.  Likewise, the teacher is able to post assignments for the entire class that may include links, uploaded files, and multimedia presentations.  As students continue to using this platform, they become more comfortable in using technology, and enhance their digital literacy skills that are essential for the 21st century. 


Reference:

Laureate Education, Inc.  (2008). The Future of Distance Education.  Baltimore, MD.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Exponential Growth of Distance Education (Module 1 of Principles of Distance Education)

In the program, "Distance Education: The Next Generation," Simonson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008) defines distance education as formal education where the teacher, students, and resources are separated by time and/or geography, and technology is used to connect them.  With its exponential growth, he proposes that distance education will eventually be the norm in most educational settings.  In fact, he urges that the current challenge is to figure out how to adjust to such dramatic changes. Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) in my opinion pick up the conversation about distance learning where Simonson leaves off and delve a little deeper into the core issues surrounding this phenomenon.  In their three part article, "The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web, they explore the implications of distance education on all three sectors - corporate training, higher education, and K-12 education. Distance...
4 comments
Read more

Static and Dynamic Technology and Media

Technological advancements of the 21st century has definitely improved teaching and learning in the classrooms all across the nation.  Leveraging the latest devices, Web 2.0 tools, and social networking media have transformed the learning environment, enhanced instructional practices that are more student-centered, and have positively impacted overall student achievement.  Many educators have created technology-rich environments that are relevant to a constructivist classroom.  For instance in many classrooms, students post their own essays on blogs, use wikis to work in collaborative groups on problem-based learning projects, and using social networking sites (Edmodo, Twitter, and Facebook) to engage in asynchronous or synchronous discussions to share ideas or various forms of media for higher-level thinking and to extend learning beyond the classroom walls.   Even though technology has transformed the way instruction is delivered in today's classroom, It...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rhymes of History

RHYMES OF HISTORY TECHNOLOGY             Thornburgh suggests that there are six factors that drive emerging technologies and seek to explain how and why these technologies are adopted: evolutionary technologies, rhymes of history, disruptive technologies, science fiction, increasing returns, and Red Queens (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b).   More specifically, he states that the force called rhymes of history demonstrates how societal events of the past have influenced today’s emerging technology, and thus the affect or impact of new technology rekindles something from the distant past (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). One example he presented to illustrate rhymes of history is the use of social networking tools, such as Facebook and MySpace, among adolescents rekindles water hole gathers from ancient times.   Just like social networking is not just a place to keep abreast with what’s going on, but also serves as a ...
Post a Comment
Read more