In the three part article by (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008) Part I details the e-training and development used in corporate America. It has become more popular since the development of the Web. Businesses for economic reasons primarily have switched to e-training to reduce costs and the ability to train more employees in a shorter period of time. However, there is usually no provision made for measuring the learning outcomes. Businesses have found that e-training is more cost-effective and is judged solely by the number of learner hours logged or by pure appearance ( Huett, Moller & Foshay, 2008).
Part II details the explosive growth in distance education and how it is transforming post- secondary education. It is no longer thought of like the correspondence training of the past. Distance learning or virtual learning has become the popular choice for busy working professionals, mid-career degree programs, and/or lifelong learners. However, for many educational institutions it is relatively unfamiliar territory. In the past, post-secondary education has been under the control of the instructor. As more e-learning is being developed educational institutions are discovering why this mode of education has become so popular. Some of the reasons faculty have cited for these feelings are flexibility, greater individual student participation, and the asynchronous nature of conversations that allows students and faculty more time to think about and formulate responses (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008).
Part III details the growth of training and development in e-learning in the K-12 school sector. A different set of problems occur in this educational sector primarily because of funding and policy issues in general. Online learning is still new and misunderstood by policymakers. This causes policies written for brick-and-mortar schools being applied to the online learning community as well. Online learning in the K-12 arena is called “virtual schooling.” The No Child Left Behind Act requires all states to make alternate schooling options for students that attend brick-and-mortar schools and fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). In situations where there are overcrowded schools, teacher shortage, or rural schools, online education allows highly qualified teachers to instruct students when these situations occur.
In the article by (Simonson, 2008), the author discusses making decisions on the usage of electronic technology for online classroom development. Because online students and those in brick-and-mortar classes fundamentally learn differently, both modes should attempt to make the experience equal. A more appropriate strategy is to provide different but equal learning experiences to each learner
There are points for all authors that I agree with. After working in the corporate world for nearly 25 years, I saw the use of technology grow. Working for the telecommunications industry was the place to see new technology. The offices were located worldwide, we began using video teleconferencing to save travel costs. Every meeting now had people that were in other locations present. I was totally aghast when I started in the education field and so how far behind corporate America they were in technology used. Teleconferencing became big in training also. We could train around the world, and never leave our office. $$ saved. That was probably some of the first virtual learning.
References
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web. TechTrends, 52 (5), 63-67.
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web. TechTrends, 52 (4), 66-70.
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web. TechTrends , 52 (3), 70-75.
Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classrooms. New Directions for Teaching and Learning , 84, 29-34.
Great summary of the articles, thanks. What do you think about Moller et al.'s call for eLearning professionals to "stop bickering" and come together to build a "unified base of knowledge for e-learning and the field of instructional design." Do you think we can? Or do you think there is too much variation in the principles and theories of existing ID professionals to come to useful and agreed upon conclusions? Something like a best-practices document?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Brad's comment above, I'd like to add to his comment. In my diffusion of innovation class, Dr. Thornburg sent an email about Vista and .docx files and basically how there is so much confusion, lack of protocols, etc. and now almost a rebellion against Vista. That opens another can of conversation, but the similarity to this blog posting is this:
ReplyDeleteTechnology and especially the web is exactly that - an entangled web without standards or protocols - companies pumping out products before the previous product proverbially hit the shelves, and it's growing exponentially. What is your perspective on whether or not we'll ever be able to systemize even distance learning, much less utlizing a sound, unified ID foundation?
P.S. Brad - I wish a lot of industries would stop their bickering . . . but I guess the bickering is also what makes us grow, learn, and excel. I guess the bickering is everyone's freedom to have his/her own viewpoint. I guess we'll always have Republicans and Democrats. However, I wish there was a bickering button - that when hit, it is time to take the result of the bickering and apply to some positive advancement. We will never please all the people all the time, but is bickering of any value if it doesn't have a result?
Brad-
ReplyDeleteI think that will only happen if the educational field, especially K-12, is replaced. We need a new design for the educational system. Maybe then, educators can be unified. Personally, I think elementary & secondary schools should be under corporate control - and follow corporate principles. Like, you get paid for service, raises for good work, you're job is never secure, and unproductive teachers will be a thing of the past.
Koh-
ReplyDeleteThat depends... do you consider bickering as just noise or is bickering a form of intelligent conflict? Only the latter can we learn and grow from. Like I said in my comment to Brad's posting - until we replace the educational field with something that actually works, very little of this will become habits for teachers.
Both.
ReplyDeleteKoh
(Both noise and intelligent conflict, but more so the latter, I hope.)
In reference to Brad's comment, I could see a standardizing body to set basic standards perhaps -something like the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), but certainly not to regulate everything. A best practices doc no doubt already exist, though it may be written by someone that someone else doesn’t agree with -but that bantering back and forth, well that comprises what is scholarly discussion. To me, more is better, and the more people that weigh in, the opportunities to agree, rather than disagree.
ReplyDeletePamela,
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice job on the additional footage! I loved the actual examples of how students are using the open source application Moodle.