Blog Assignment: Defining Distance Learning

Distance Learning involves so many things as society and technology continues to grow. We are in a world of change and in order to keep up with technology we will need to learn to adapt. Distance learning has allowed people the ability to be able to do multiple things without having to be in the stationary. As people’s lives continue to be in high demand, it will help an individual to be flexible and less stressful.

Distance learning has pros and cons, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons. The pros in distance learning are having the convenience of working from a different atmosphere, flexibility to study, self-paced learning, ease of access for those with restricted mobility, and accessibility for those with family responsibilities. The cons of distance learning are not immediate feedback, work on oral communication, and sometimes classes that you need are not offered online.

Distance learning will always change because of the world we are living in. I feel the factors that drive changes in distance learning is the environment and profession. In the past, technology was not as popular and lives were not as busy having flexibility gives an individual the ability to do more and not feel that they need to be in a steady location. It does not matter how much technical knowledge he/she has, distance learning is going to continue to cultivate.

Dr. Michael Simonson stated in the video, “Distance Education: The next Generation,” distance education can be defined as formal education in which the learning groups (teachers, students, resources) are separated by geography and, sometimes, by time. Today, distance education is widely adopted and approaching critical mass in society (Simonson, 2012). I can concur with this statement. As technology continues to grow and society gets more evolved, changes will continue develop. My entire undergraduate degree was obtained online. We can use, for example, here at Walden University how the course management system has change to using Blackboard in its place of the previous course management system.

In my conclusion, I can vision that distance learning will become more evolved than ever. We have so many people that are not able to do things the traditional way so this is much easier for them to be able to have a flexible schedule and not be stressed out. Also, as technology continues to produce, it will allow people the mobility to be able to achieve the goals that they have set aside to accomplish. The most important reason for distance learning is to allow individuals to learn at their own pace or at a time and location that is convenient to them. Some people do not have time or money to come on site.

References

Simonson, M. (2012). Distance Education: The Next Generation. Lectured presented for Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2012.