Distance education and traditional education
both have pros and cons to each. They are actual very similar. Both setting
have an objective that the students must master. It how effective the learning
assignments are that determines if the setting is effective.
A traditional education is normally a very
controlled setting and learning is based on collaboration and having oral class
discussions. This environment may hinder some people from maximizing their
potential. The teacher may not spend a lot of time on discussions that are not
directly aligned with the standards or objective.
Distance education increases the learner-to-learner
collaboration. This form of education has on going collaboration where the
learner is not in a controlled setting. The learner is able to maximize their
potential in this setting. The learner can conduct independent research to
discuss with their distance education classmates. Distance education is mainly
performance based. The learner independently learns the content and has to
demonstrate their understanding of the information.
As stated before, one setting is not better than
the other. I depend on the learner needs and preference. Some people work well in a controlled setting
and other does not. It important to make
sure that the content is delivered in a meaningful matter to meet the need(s)
of the learner.
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. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and
search using the article's title.
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. Use
the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's
title.
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.Use the Academic
Search Premier database, and search using the article's title.
I could not agree with you more on the fact that in Distance Learning: "The learner independently learns the content and has to demonstrate their understanding of the information". Sometimes I find that quest for knowledge quite an overwhelming limitless enterprise. While dealing with one issue, we may find ourselves immersed in what I call "side track learning".
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