After listening to George Siemens discussion on the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational sphere, I chose communication as the element that is creating a more effective learning experience and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from F2F courses. In the past, communication in distance education was through the use of the postal service (mail). Worksheets, assignments and tests were mailed to the college instructor from home by the student. Today, “communication technology is an important part of distance education” (Johnson, 2010). In distance education students use various types of technology tools such as the following:
Students use computers and the Internet to gain access to their virtual classroom.
The school’s email, discussion board, course café and collaborative learning community discussion board are used to communicate with the instructor as well as with classmates.
Blogs and Wikis, Microsoft Word Document, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and gradebook are means of communication in a distance education program.
Johnson, E. (2010). Ezine articles. Tools and programs used in distance learning programs. Retrieved from
http://ezinearticles.com/?Tools-and-Programs-Used-in-Distance-Learning-Programs&id=4812541According to Arcoley, Siemens states "greater contributions from experts around the world has made a major impact on distance education"(Laureate Ed, 2008).
Today, we have so many advancements and new innovations that provide us with different communicate functions as well as so many technologies to choose from on a corporate and educational level. The advancement of communication innovations provides us with so many tools that we can communicate with each other on a global, local, and national level that it has taken distance education to a wider horizon.
I can remember when a distance learning program consisted of getting assignments through the mail and after completing them, sending them through the mail to be graded. Now, all we need is a computer with Internet access, a email address and enrollment in a distance education program.
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore
Based on past years, communication technology tools have advanced so much on the global and national level which has given way to the rise of distance education programs. Most students have access to tools that are used in online programs such as computers, and the Internet. Andre states that most people have cell phones, Internet, computers and laptops and are able to communicate in an online learning environment more effectively with these tools. The use of blogs, wikis, email, and facebook are areas in which people like to communicate online with each other whether it is on a global or national level. Andre states that according to Sieman, that because of the increase of online communication in society, we are seeing a growing acceptance in distance education programs (Siemens, 2010).
When I was a teenager, we had to communicate with each other through the use of home telephones if you had one and writing a letter. Today, we have cell phones, email, text messaging, computers, and the Internet which all are used for online learning programs.
Siemens, G. (2010). The future of distance education. (internet Video Presentation). Laureate Education, Inc.
