As I am writing this, I recall one of my tenth grade students telling me about his desire to complete an online learning degree. He loves gaming and animation, but would prefer to go to school from home. This was my opportunity to let him know about the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. In 5-10 years my current students will be in the 23-28 age groups. This is an immobile group of people who love to spend hours on the computer playing games or looking at videos. Unless the courses contain material that entices them distance learning would not appeal to this group. As a whole distance learning education will continue to focus on the more mature population, and those who need to juggle their family activities. Siemens in his video segment on the Future of Distance Education stated that “new communication technologies; contributions by experts around the world and increased use of multimedia, games and simulations will change the face of distance learning as people become more comfortable with the technologies” (Siemens, Laureate Education, Inc., 2012). Based on this view, I feel distance learning will be fully embraced by the younger population because of their level of comfort in using the technology.
When I think about 10-20 years in the future, this same group will be 33-48 years old, perhaps the children of those mentioned earlier. Technology would be even more advanced and being designed by this age group. With the instant availability of technology, I foresee distance learning to be more affordable as well as accessible to a larger segment of our population. The birth of Coursera has changed the perception of distance learning. Had I not been in this course, I would not have known such an opportunity exists. ”Coursera is on a mission to change the world by educating millions of people by offering classes from top universities and professors online for free. In the future, they hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that is now available to a select few” (Marketwire, April 18, 2012). Based on their vision, I can see them partnering with Title I schools and offering computers to those who need them. If they offer these programs to this segment of the population, they would fulfill the dream of empowering people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities in which they live.
As an instructional designer I can be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning by promoting the program myself because of the experiences and knowledge I have gained in this course. As a matter of fact, I am trying to sway some of the teens to consider taking online classes after they graduate high school. One young man said to me “I can’t do that, I will be distracted.” The younger generation is not being exposed to distance education as much as they should. The only simulation of online learning that takes place in schools is the recovery classes that students take to satisfy the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. Because of the perceptions of society about distance learning, I perceive it is not an easy task to sway the minds of those from the traditional school of thought. Also, I would have to convince an employer that I can change the face of distance learning if given the opportunity. As I near the end of this module and continue to browse the Internet for jobs online, it is clearly not an easy market to get into. It seems a bit difficult to find a voice in the field of instructional design. Perhaps I can write a proposal to Coursera to convince them to partner with and share their wealth with some of the Title I schools or even the Community Colleges to give those students a chance of a free education while at the same time they will be promoting distance learning. If Coursera gets involved in changing the lives of the underprivileged, it will be a great advertisement for distance learning.
In order to be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education I would have to keep up-to-date with the emerging technologies and continue to promote the work. Also, I would have to find a platform from which to work. It will be difficult to seek for continuous improvement if I am not a part of it. Unfortunately, my agenda is not for promoting continuous improvement in the field of distance education as much as I am seeking a solution to change the face of education so that students would stay in school. I enrolled in this class not from the perspective of being an advocate of distance learning, but because it was a convenient way of pursuing a higher education. The skills I have learned in this distance learning course are superb and given the appropriate technology, I can create meaningful activities for my students. If given the opportunity to become an instructional designer, I would have a platform from which to promote distance learning.
As I read the excerpt “Critical Minds for Change” I reflected on the sentence “Like the children and adults I knew in Africa, the boy was denied the benefits of education because of his poverty, the need to work and the dreadfully inefficient distribution of education resources” (Burge p. 122). I am thinking about writing a grant that would provide technology to the less fortunate to increase their participation in distance education.
References
Coursera by Marketwire. Retrieved April 19, 2012 from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/princeton-stanford-umichigan-penn-offer-090000887.html
Siemens, G. (n.d.). The Future of Distance Education [Video Program]. Laureate Education, Inc., 2012.
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