Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

First let me say I do agree with G. Siemens about the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s society. I believe that the events of September 11th change everyone’s view on America belief and security. I make this association because, we as Americans realized that we can’t do business like you use to do. Companies didn't want to take chances on loosing their employees. Loosing their companies, stocks dropping and high insurance pay outs wasn't a way for a business to survive. You seen more virtual meeting, telephone conferences and in some cases, private charters planes were rented for important meeting. Business small and large had to rethink their operation.

Schools and universities want to limit the amount of students on the campus but want to keep the enrollment high. Online education was the answer. Thur online learning, more people could be enrolled from the safety of their home instead of travelling to the campus everyday. Most courses are designed for people who want to combine the convenience of online delivery with hand-marked assignments, personal support and feedback from expert instructors. These university-accredited courses provide you with the skills to write and design technical documents, business letters, reports, proposals, web pages, help systems and online courses. E-learning has become an attractive training option for many companies.

The classes that are offered online combines a self-paced lesson designed for the working adult. A adult that normally has a family, full time job and the desire to improve themselves. At the beginning of each course, the instructor provides students with a schedule for group chat session and assignments. This provides each student the chance to work through the reading and interactive requirements. If students develop any questions, they have the opportunity to access to their instructor via email, live chats, and the discussion board. The work assignments provides the students the chance to practice the new things they have learned.

Online learning has become a favrable ave and alternit method of learning. To stay more competative, more and more universitys are offering online classes because they see a new market they can tap into.The results of a degree from an online instution is becomming more common, and understood that they are as difficult if not more difficult then traditional classroom learning.

Retrieved March 30, 2010 from http://www.online-learning.com/course_id_1.html Online learning.com

I posted on Debra Hanks blog http:debrahanks.blogspot.com

Cynthia Shelton http://shelcy316.blogspot.com

ans Luis Aviles http://farawaylearning.blogspot.com

This is a very interesting topic and in some instances very arguemental, some people believe that online education is easy, and less demanding than traditional classroom arrangements. When I first heard about online learning, I was one of those people who felt that education degree can’t be that easy. Boy, was I wrong, I think online learning is more difficult, it take a higher level of disciple. And an individual will to spend limited time alone in front of a computer. Online isn’t for everyone, but if you don’t mind a real challenge, more hard work, limited interaction, then you are ready for an online program.

I had a difficult time following Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning, to me all he talked about was the different ideal behind learning. It is true that we have to have a theory and ideals before we can arrive to hard facts. But in here article, all he spoke about was reason while adults learn, how they learn and reason why they might enter such a journey. In section two, she provided good information if you were in a position of starting an online program. He presented some things to think about to ensure the school was ready for the influx of students and the computer system is capable of handling a large amount of interfacing. I didn’t see were she mentioned the student. Why no one has written anything to prepare the individual for the online course? It made for an interesting read but I didn’t get a feeling that would drive me to enroll into a program.

After reading the assigned reading, I think that Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J I believe that they have a realistic view on online learning. They covered every aspect of the e-learning. I particular like the section about the Implication for Instructional Design. In this section the authors cover the student population, instructor with lack of training, and how the organization has to change the infrastructure. I have taken some classes and the instructors were great in the classroom, but when it came to the online class, they had a hard time transiting. So I can understand when the author spoke about the lack of training. So the universities should provide some form of training for their instructors. And the students should take a orientation course to ensure they are prepared for school, Some people like the idea of getting a degree, but when it comes down to it, they can’t put the time in because they lack the discipline to follow thru In order for online learning to be successful.

Online learning has been proven to present unique circumstances that have to be resolved before the university can have a successful program. Both authors stated the same things just in a different manner. For the university to have a successful program, they have to consider the student’s academic goals and the results of the university.