Jesus+Berrios

Hi Jesus, Your comment, "Both authors imply a need for leadership that agrees" struck a chord with me. Do you think agreement means compromise or consent? Should the leadership make the rules and force others to follow, or should it be based on the opinion of the majority?

In education, leaders often make decisions based on teacher and administrative opinion. I am not sure this strategy is moving us forward. Rather, I believe it to be counterproductive to change. I think our friend the Bard would agree.

What do you think? Jennifer 12/30/09 - Mod 2 Blog Assignment

To agree, or to disagree?

At risk of rousing Shakespeare, a better question is what is there to disagree about? Particularly as this question regards George Siemens’ suggestion of ‘communication’ as an element of distance education that is creating more effective learning experiences and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from traditional forms, there is no disagreement. The relevance of enhanced communication throughout and across society has been validated by countless other academicians.

Toffler (1970) is keen in his vision for the role of enhanced communication in satisfying society’s “need for new family, educational, and corporate institutions” and describes an “upheaval in communications and the need to restructure relationships” (p. 436) Dr. David Thornburg more directly offers that the communications age “has supplanted the information age,” and defines the epoch in terms of the Internet and an increased “capacity of collaboration with others.” (Laureate, 2008) Oblinger et al (2001) view this increasing capacity for collaboration with others in terms of //Distributed Education// (distance education), and assert that in higher education it can bring “enhanced learning experiences, improved access to education, greater learner flexibility, expansion of education to new groups” (p. 29).

Toffler (1970) was prophetic as he defined a necessary search for “new technologies” (p. 436). The new technology of so-called Web 2.0, has enabled such as web-based communities, web applications , social-networking sites , video-sharing sites , wikis , blogs  (in practice in this exercise) etc. These technologies allow their users to interact with other users or to change and/or exchange content . It is this functionality which is at the heart of distance education (DE).

Anderson (2008), however, warns of challenges to this panacea. Amongst these he cites the threat of “political barriers” and the need for “centralization of decision-making.” Shakespeare //hath// paraphrased “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” Both authors seem to imply the need for leadership to agree.

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). //The theory and practice of online learning.// (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Brainy Quotes. //William Shakespeare quotes.// Retrieved on December 30, 2009, from www.brainyquote.com.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). The next wave, part 1 featuring Dr. David Thornburg [Video program].

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). The future of distance education featuring Dr. George Siemens [Video program].

Oblinger, D. G., Barone, C. A., & Hawkins, B. L. (2001). Distributed education and its challenges: An overview. American Council on Education and Educause.

Toffler, A. (1980). //The third wave.// New York City, NY: Bantam.  12/30/09 - Hi Jennifer. If I have anything to do with it, it will be sooner, rather than later

12.19.09 Hi Jesus, Great post, and I agree with your thoughts. How long do you think it will take the K-8 environment to embrace the change? Jennifer

12/17/09 - Mod 1 Blog Assignment

Revolution v. Evolution

Dr. Simonson informs us that “exponential growth is going to continue” in distance education, “but not in a revolutionary way.” (Laureate, 2008) The growth and potential of Distance Education (DE) is no longer a contentious issue. Dr. Simonson uses elements (critical mass) of Everett Rogers’ Diffusion Theory to illustrate.

He refers that DE is nearing the point today where it has become “so important and so widely accepted,” that it is approaching “that point of critical mass where it no longer needs to be promoted, it just needs to be nurtured. It needs to be supported. It needs to be inculcated into what we do.” (Laureate, 2008) While DEs ascent to critical mass could be described as revolutionary, the implied nurturing and inculcation phase will necessarily slow its pace.

Huett et al (2008) describe this dynamic with “rushing to adopt distance education, or any new technology, to avoid being seen as out of touch or outdated certainly is as ephemeral as most fads” (p. 66). While this enthusiasm has promulgated inculcation into K-12 education, valid concerns abound, and are beginning to apply their brakes. “Perhaps the biggest concern is the student. We fear that distance education may become little more than a ‘dumping ground’ for credit recovery as well as a repository for those unable or unwilling to function in the more traditional classroom environment (Ronsisvalle &amp; Watkins, 2005).” (Huett et al, 2008, p. 64)

While Laureate (2008) proclaims that “”in an evolutionary way, we’re going to begin to use DE technologies almost across the board in the teaching-learning process,” Huett et al (2008) warn us that “the history of education is a history of so-called advances and new ideas which fail to hold up to scrutiny over time” (p. 66). To this backdrop, scrutiny of the continuing evolution of DE in K-12 teaching and learning will serve as an interesting study.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. &amp; 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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Distance education: The next generation featuring Dr. Michael Simonson [Video program].

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.