Reflection on Distance Learning

Distance learning has evolved greatly over the past 10 to 20 years. I remember early in my military career the correspondence courses that were offered to us. It seems like a memory from my childhood. When I consider the progress that has been made over the last ten years, it seems as if we are moving at light speed. As I review the steps being taken today within the realm of development and design, there seems to be no limit to what can be achieved in the near future. Today we are using avatars with voice to carry a message between the presenter and the learner. The aspects of making the avatar more interactive are progress. The details of how to make it acceptable in the market are underway.

I think within the next five years we will see the use of these types of feature being used not only on campus but deeply with the realm of distance learning. Much of the population entering the education arena grew up with interactive video games. These games have become larger than life for some. Today you can log on to an account online and create an avatar to represent you in the game and become so involved that you may forget it’s just a game. Take this same technology and input a learner in an interactive classroom. The student is given the role to play out the will achieve a goal set in motion by the teacher. As the student walk the process out they see the process in motion. They can understand the steps they are taking. This type of environment can be helpful to those that need to see other individuals in the classroom. They will know that the avatars represent other students.

As distance learning continues to evolve within the next ten years we can easily see the interaction of a smart board being used for online instructions. A smart board is an interactive whiteboard system, like a touch screen. However, a smart board will allow you to do more interactive learning and interface. In this setting the instructor and the learner could interact together on a problem. This type of interaction makes it a real classroom. Technology is not the bottle neck in online education and learning. The growth of the acceptable individuals with the technology may be a factor. The fear or concerns of many about online learning must become a focus of the educational system online. The instructor and the designers must begin to put to rest these concerns by embracing these concerns and addressing them with that part of the population. Instead of just walking away from these individuals we should take the time to discuss the improvements made over the years. During this course I was placed in an environment where online learning wasn’t an acceptable venue for education. In listening to the concerns I was able to explain the improvement of validating the institution before becoming part of a diploma mill. In discussing the types of environment being setup for distance learning and the technology such as the CMS. A foundation was developed to bring enlightenment and awareness to the great improvements that have taken place.

Keeping this type of thinking in the forefront my future as a designer, I need to constantly think about designing material that will reach out to everyone. Often I classes that appeal to those of us that work with technology or we are involved with technology through education. I must keep in mind those that may not have embraced technology to that level. In like mind I must create education that will keep both types of individual engaged in the learning process. I must keep in mind that in twenty years distance learning more than likely will involve 3D images on a holographic table. As instructional designers we must keep in mind that technology is evolving and the education process must evolve with it. We are forced by future events to create more interactive education because the students in distance learning need to be more interactive with the learning process. Creating better process in our CMS through the creation of better tools is a plus for the ID person.