Distance+Learning

Distance Learning Technology of Distance Learning
 * 1) Distance learning is a tern used to describe the physical separation of teachers and learners in education that has become popular in recent years, particularly in the United States. While used interchangeable with distance education, distance learning puts the emphasis on the learner and is especially appropriate when students take on greater responsibility for their learning as is frequently the case when doing so from a distance. Pennsylvania State University was one of the first universities to provide distance learning to their students in an organized manner, and it turned out to be a benefit. it established its first distance -learning network in 1886 through the use of the U.S. Mail. The Open University (OU) headquartered at Milton Keynes,England;founded 1996 as the University of the Air. In 1971 a distance learning program was begun, it consisted of correspondence courses integrated with television, radio broadcasts, residential summer schools, counseling and tutorial service that operates through a network of regional offices and local centers. Students (over 160,000) are usually around the age of 21, 70% are working full-time, and studying in their spare time, 25,000 students live outside of the UK. The university has professors of arts,education, management, mathematics, science, social sciences, and technology. It has served as the prototype for similar programs throughout the world. Now the OU with its distance learning broadcasts is one of the largest top ten universities worldwide known as "Mega Universities." More recently, due to advanced technology it allows for more interaction and therefore more-in-depth learning. The use of technology in the classroom brings about many new possibilities that were not available to teachers, which can now engage the students to get more actively involved in their lessons. Through the use of distance learning, teachers can achieve more out of their students( Moore, 2009).
 * 2) To design effective distance learning, one must consider the goals, needs, content requirements and characteristics of technical constraints. There are two types of online technoloies that are used in distance education. One is a mode of online delivery, where all participants are "present" at the same time requiring a time table to be organized (synchronous). Web conferences are an example of synchronous technology. ASnother one is wheree particiapants access course materials on their own schedule(asynchronous). Message board forms e-mail and recorded videos are examples of asynchronous technology. We must not forget other types of distance educational courses, such as correspondence conduted through regular mail; telecourse/broadcast, in which content is delivered via radio or television. The modern era of distant learning education truly began with the advent of the Internet and related multi media technologies. Offering unprecedented levels of interactivity, convenience and educational effectivemess, these hi-tech developements have completly transformed the way students and educators are participating in distance learning. The learners themselves are suppose to be both willing and able to receive instructional messages. They should be interactivity between students and teachers; students and the learning enviroment; and student to student interaction. Research has proven time and time again that instructional television has the ability to captivate it's audience and motivate them. Neverthr less, before someone begins to think about designing distant learners curriculum, they need to know there intended learners, realize that they have different indiviual outlooks from what the designer has, Words to live by for the desining distance program is, "communicate to others how you would like to be communicated to." Use materials in ways of explaning in a topic for concept that you would understand if you were in the learnders shoes. Take into account where they are at in the learning process, there background, and things that are interesting to them.So, the key to effective design lies in the image that is presented by the instructor. In order to make the best use of design material, the designer should use advance organizers to create appropriate context as possible for instructions. (williamwoods.pbworks.com/distance-learning, Moore, 2009 & Sherry, 2001).
 * 3) There are several issues when implementing distant learning/educational courses and hybrid (blend of face-to-face instructins with online instruction) courses.One of the main issues stated in the Special Analysis 2002 report are that "moderately and highly nontraditional students who are more likely to participate in distance education." (nces.ed.gov). The report also states that 60 percent of the students that use distance education get their information through the internet, 39 percent through prerecorded television or audio, and 37 percent through live television or audio. With the largest percent of distant learning being obtained through the computer via internet, some universities require the students to take an online test.. One such test can be found at [|www.marylandonline.org]. This online test will ask you questins to verify if you have enough computer knowledge tp successfully enroll into a distant learning program. There are many advantages for the students such as: accessibility to the course for those students who do not have access to a college campus, or ones in military service, living in far away off regions or countries; for those with restricted mobility (handicapped, injured,elderly); for those with irregular work schedules, or family duties; another important advantage of distant learning is the students are self-paced, and course are offfered in a just-in-time learning enviromnent. without wasting time commuting to and from campus which aids in leeping the learning cost at an affordable rate for students. The main disadvantages for the students are the loss of dirct(i.e.,non-mediated), visual interaction with the professor and the other students, the loss of immediate feedback, the loss of motivatin and the high rate of failures and dropout, and isolation. It is also, difficult to organize teamwork, possibly no access to a library. Difficulty of personal work with no temporal constraints, and the quality of the student's presentation depends on the students' system. The main advantages for the professors are possibility of a larger audience, no repletion in the classroom, fhis hss more time available to preppare and upgrade the course, and the acquisition of a new experience. The main disadvantages for the professors are the dynamics of the class, no visual contact and low feedback from the students, duffucult to evaluate the students's vork, workload increase at the beginning of the course, redifinition of the professor's role and tacks and the complexity of the copyrights for electronic documents. Millions of college students take courses and even get degrees via the Internet.The quality of online courses is in most cases equal to. if not superior to regular classroom courses. Many people see online study as an isolation experience, but successful online students develop a since of community, with e-mail communication, shared lesson plans, dicussion forums. And real-time interaction in some situations. The variety of online programs in goowing exponentially; giving a range of study that is the equivalent of courses available on campus, an online format allows teachers to take advantage of uncommitted time in their schedules and gives assess to courses that could not be attended to phyically becouse of geographical and teaching constraints. The right course can complinent oan ongoing teaching syllabus, giving an immediate boost to students.
 * 4) In order for distance learning to properly work, it is essential for all who are involved to share all the technology needed. Many colleges have distance-learning departments to provide high-quality learning opportunities to students in all stages of life through the use of stste-of-the-art technology and alternative modes of instruction. Their goals are to manage the delivery of distance learning courses for curriculum programs in online and hybrid formats; promote alternative delivery methods (e.g., podcast); promote training for the faculty both technical and pedagogical; evaluate course quality and insure compliance to student and faculty; investigate and recommend new instructional technology for use; investigate and encourage the best practices in instructions. which these technologies available to do distance learning, it is important for educators and students to become trained with these technologies. One of the supporting technologies for distance learning is video conferencing. In 1994, researches indicated it could be successfully used to improve the quality of interaction between students and teachers and to process novisual distance education(KILLIK 2007). The video conferencing is very essential. Because it provides face to face comunication(i.e. Skype). There is also, web conferencing which is used to conduct live meeting, trainings, or presentations via the Internet. Each participant sits at his/her own computer and is connected to other participants via Internet. This can be either a download application on each of the attendees' computers or a web- based application where the attendees acess the meeting by clicking on a link distributed by e-mail(meeting invitation) to enter the conference. Therefore, there can be interaction between teacher and students at the same time. Telecourse/Database technology is the transmission of a high produce video, audio broadcast at scheduled times by television. The datacast material can be downloaded to a computer allowing the student to use textbooks and study guides to learn while viewing the broadcast. Another supportive technology used for distance teaching includes the interactive studies via satelites. The system enables the instructor to deliver a live lesson from a central studio concurrently to any number of classrooms within rerach of the satelite. The students and their remote classroom can participate in the lessons by means of both voice and data comunication. This is a seriies of digital media files, ususally video or digital audeo is downloaded the played or then replayed on demand. Other useful on line technology that is supportive of distance learning may include the webcast, Blogs, instant messanger, chat rooms, discussion forums and even Wilis. Therefore, the students can view information of the Internet and apply it to their distance learning. For years technolgy has promised to revolutionized the way people learn. The arrival of the World Wide Web is the beginning of some fundamental changes is how teaching, training, and self-directed learning will occur at all stages of life. The future of Net-Based Training is moving quickly toward interactivity and sensory engagement . There are several developements worth watching: Real Audio, Virtual Reality Modelling Language(VRML), JAVA, and Multi-user dimension(MOO) (edweb.sdsu.edu) . The Center for Technology Innovation in Education at the University of MIssouri-Columbia builds on the fundamental changes in education by undertaking research and development of innovative technology emphasising cognitive learning. (Fitzgerald page 78, volume 25, 2000)
 * 5) 20+ related Websites (URL + site descriptions)
 * [] list

[] Pros and Cons of distance learning

[] savvy Most frequently asked questions.

[|http://www.dantescatalogs.com] Accredited colleges and Universities

[] Promising technology. ||


 * [] || This website has an overall description about distance learning. It discusses who uses it,and the reason for it's useage. ||  ||

[|The History of Distance Education] This website is an essay type description of the history of Distance Education/Learning. It also provides details to the definition of DE.
 * [] || This website is the home page for the United States Distance Learning Association. ||   ||

[|Distance Learning: Promises, Problems, and Possibilities] This website gives information about the history, and possible future of Distance Learning. It also mentions problems and other concerns about it.

[|Welcome to a Brief history of distance Learning - Degree.com] This website is a brief essay on the history of distance learning.

[|Issues in Distance Learning] This website is an essay on Distance Learning and touches on issues such as: what it is, theories, systems, design considerations, methods, and operational issues.

[|Distance education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] This website has a general overview of what Distance Learning is. It also mentions technologies used, types of distance learning, and testing and evaluation.

[|What is distance learning? - a definition from Whatis.com - see also: elearning, e-learning] This website has a short definition of Distance Learning and a little information about technologies that can be used for it.

[|A Teacher's Guide to Distance Learning] This website is an online book that focuses on Distance Learning and many of the components involved, such as technology.

[|ADEC Guiding Principles for Distance Teaching and Learning] This website is about distance teaching and learning. It has several assumptions and principles that are associated with both teaching and learning.

[|Education at Distance » Distance Learning Definition] This website has just a little bit of information about what distance learning is and the history it has.

[|Investigating Distance Learning on the Internet] This website is about Distance Learning and covers topics such as advantages/disadvantages, underlying technologies, cost, and performance of distance learning on the Web.

[|Teaching-Learning Center: Special Feature] This website is about hybrid courses and contains a definition, and even reasons for having the courses.

[|Hybrid Course FAQs] This website is a frequently asked questions page about hybrid courses. It has a self assessment quiz that can be taken to see if these types of courses are right for you to take.

[] Ask queations about the quality of courses.

[] and instructional support services

Show distance learning department and explains and recommends instructional use.

[|http://cdis.missouri.edcoursesdisplay.aspx] Center for Distance Learning Technology.

[|http://wikapedia.com] Definition of Distance Learning Education.

[] This is the home information site edited by Raines and Brooks

[|http://usala.org] List of different Online and Mobile Learning Technology Bases.

[|http://rapidlibrary]. com/index

KIZLIK DEVICE VIDEO information.

Fitzgerald, Mary Ann. e-Book "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook"

2000 vol 25 (Englewood, Co. Liabraries Unlimited.

[] History of UK distance learning college OU.

[] Investigating Disstance Learning on the Internet, advantages and disadvantages.

[] Student body that participate in distant learning.