EDUC - 6135-1 Reflections - Class Wrap up

            Distance Education is just now starting to come into the main stream in my opinion.  I know that distance education has been around since the 1830’s in the form of correspondence courses.  As technology progressed so did the forms of correspondence courses and how they were offered, through television, videos, recordings, etc.  Personal computers have come on the scene and taken the correspondence course to a whole new level.  We now have actual distance education coming into its own through online universities, blog postings, wikis, and internet videos.  As people progress to having constant access to the internet through smartphones and tablet computers, online studies will become more accepted and even recommended for those that want to learn more but need to have the flexibility to obtain that learning on their own schedules.  With the advance of Web 2.0 technologies, the sky is the limit and as the society is raised with these technologies it will just be part of how the world works and not an exception to the rule.

            As for the people that think distance education and degrees earned online cannot be comparable with those obtained at traditional institutions, I tell them that it is time to pull their heads out of the sand.  I try to get them to see that everyone is learning through distance education in one form or another.  I also try to point out that they have probably done some form of online learning recently whether it be through research they have done or a live meeting they may have attended or being on the receiving end of a person trying to trouble shoot an issue with their computer from a remote location.  You see it is really the perception that needs to be adjusted.  Once you can adjust the perception you can then take the talk a little further to say, “now that you see what you have done in a small way would it not be feasible that someone does this on just a slightly grander scale like taking a class or two or twenty to fulfill and educational program?”  I find if you start with a small sample and you can get people’s buy in to that sample you can then expand it past the sample to the full blown courses.

            As an Instructional Designer I will attempt to design courses that are not just educational but have interesting presentations and fun interactive projects.  I think that if training programs are developed to be educational and fun more people would want to learn online.  The trend these days is for people to use online games to help children learn and I think we should take that further and design similar avenues for the adult learner.  Adults talk a good game about wanting to learn more, however I know for a fact that there are plenty of adults that like to have a diversion from their everyday lives and giving them games suited for adults would be just what is needed.  As an adult learner utilizing online studies I know I would enjoy some classes that have an element of fun to break from my everyday work.  That Is not to say all classes need to be delivered this way – that would not be productive.

            The biggest help I can provide to be a positive force for distance education is to promote distance education.  Letting people know that I am a product of distance education has already changed some people’s opinions.  I have had several people inquire as to what I am studying, how it is going, and asking how I am able to make it work with my busy schedule.  I have also sent out links to colleagues letting them know about the programs available at Walden University.  There have been some great new additions in the curriculum that some of my colleagues could benefit from attending.

            I have explained to many people that while I am taking these classes to obtain a master’s degree I also want them to understand that online learning can be done at any time for any reason.  I also talk about the grandmother who has obtained her Phd and the number of people that are continuing to obtain their masters degrees.  As for improvement, one thing I would like to do is to continue to take courses myself and see where the field of ID is headed.  I think we all get stuck in the ways we have always done things and unless an effort is made to work outside of our comfort zone we will stop growing.  The best I can do is lead by example.  As the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink” holds true in everything we do so the only thing one can do is lead by example.