I think the social nature of humanity is ingrained deep within our beings. For millennia, we have communicated with each other and passed down information through oral history, hieroglyphics, pictographs, stone tablets, and virtually every other medium discovered. Furthermore, communication and negotiation between peoples is vital to the stability of any civilized community.
Education is but one of the many frameworks through which we communicate. As such, it is only natural that our educational systems incorporate the very tools and resources which our society regularly uses. Whether this phenomenon is manifested in Caleb Phillips' mail order lessons, the University of Alberta's purchase of a IBM 1500 in 1968, or the launch of Jones International University, all of these examples bear a similar educational intent.
More to the point, it was encouraging for me to study the timelines of distance education development. Personally, I've been thrilled with our program here at Full Sail and I would whole heartedly encourage other colleagues considering an advanced degree to look at the EMDT program.
However, as many of us have previously discussed in various blog posts and course assignments throughout the year, there are still many in both the public and professional spheres who are skeptical about online education. Recently, as schools like the University of Pheonix and other for-profit institutions (which rely significantly online resources) have come under federal scrutiny, I've found myself having to defend our program more than ever. While "defend" is probably too harsh a word to accurately describe some of these conversations, it is a shame that all too often online education is trumpeted merely as a convenient and time-saving option for learning.
What I would like to reiterate to parents, teachers, and legislators alike is that for centuries, educators have been working to bring the best tools, resources, and minds together in order to provide for the learning of that era's students. For example, if I were to teach copyright course this fall, I believe it would be in my students' best interests to meet with and discuss intellectual property with Lawrence Lessig, one of the nation's preeminent scholars on the subject. Considering Mr. Lessig's obligations and responsibilities at Harvard Law School, it is very unlikely that this opportunity would come to pass. That said, I could add his book to my syllabus. Better still, we could try and set up a video conference with Mr. Lessig or stream one of his recent lectures.
In any of these scenarios, we are simply trying to pass on the knowledge of an expert to our learners. Personally, I think that VLEs such as Full Sail's portal have tremendous potential to supply educators and students with a wealth of information, communications infrastructure, and the mechanisms to store, catalog, and relay such information in a compelling manner.
Distance learning is not new. Motivated teachers have been leveraging such tools for centuries. However, since the early 1990s, the power of desktop computing and the democratization of information afforded by the development of the Internet has greatly expanded these platforms to near ubiquity. Furthermore, the greater adoption of these systems will only grow as Internet-based communication protocols represent one of the most comprehensive and efficient means to disseminate important content. The debate within our educational system moving forward should not be about the validity of distance education, but rather how such tools are designed, implemented, and maintained in order to best meet the challenging learning goals of our diverse population.
This program has made me a true believer in the potential of online distance education. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to study their evolution (even at a cursory level), as this experience will only further allow me to discuss these valuable tools with a broader and more holistic perspective.
Resources:
Wikipedia. (2010). The history of virtual learning environments. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments
Wikipedia. (2010). History of virtual learning environments 1990s Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments_1990s
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that many of my colleagues seem skeptical about online education. Even my administrator tried to talk me into looking into a program at Georgia State (since she is currently pursuing an additional advanced degree there). I did actually look in to their programs, but my reason for choosing Full Sail was not because it is online, but because I was interested in the particular line of courses that comprise this program. I would have been interested in taking these courses even if a degree program wasn't in place.
After nine complete months with the program, I am a strong and vocal advocate of both online/distance education in general, and Full Sail in particular. I do realize that an online program's effectiveness depends on many factors, not least of which is the VLE.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteLike Sharon, I to agree that there are many people whom are incredibly skeptical of online education. I must say I was once one of the people. I think the biggest misnomer is that people believe that online education is easy. Easy? I think not. It has proven to be quite challenging and has even allowed many of us to form great professional allies. Like both you and Sharon I am now a supporter of online programs and find myself often "defending it."
The evolution of learning, pedagogy, and education as a whole had to take place. We, as educators, must reach each and every student that are we are charged with the responsibility to educate, and this can prove to be an arduous task at times. Still, as you mention, we must bring in the best tools, resources, and minds to achieve our goals. This can be done successfully with online learning, and as Tamara points out, this augmentation of the educational system isn't an easy implementation. It requires support, knowledge, and legitimacy to be appropriate and successful.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very interesting point when you refer to many people not taking online education seriously enough. Most of the time when I tell people that I am working to acquire my masters degree online, they are puzzled and say, “How does that work?”. I agree that there are many benefits that were historically not available to students as they are now in this technological age. I liked the phrase you used, “democratization of information” when referring to the amount of material that the Internet has made accessible to so many. I think one of the goals in the proper use of LMSs is help provide a focused beam of knowledge from all that is out there. Allowing students to receive many different perspectives as easily as browsing a single web page. I share your enthusiasm for the possibilities of distance education, and think of FSO as a great model for how it can be done effectively.
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