Final Reflection for Distance Learning Class

Week 8 Reflection


My eyes were opened in this course when I discovered that the definition of distance learning included more than just the plethora of online courses! I had been involved in this type of learning across the years as I took video courses and correspondence courses, so I guess I should have anticipated that it would be a natural progression for me to move to an online learning environment. After all, the reasons that those early distance learning courses worked for me are the same reasons that the online courses work for me now. As a busy adult working full time and raising a family, I have never been comfortable in a traditional learning environment, as it has never met my needs. I see the natural progression, the natural evolution, of the online course as a means to an end, but I think that a lack of understanding of the nature of the beast is keeping it from widespread acceptance still.

I left one school district where there was a blanket policy not to accept any online courses for professional development. I knew I would never be able to further my education under those circumstances. Thus, I moved to my current position, knowing that I would have to prove the validity of the online program that I wanted to pursue, but at least they would consider it. My current district has developed a policy that they will accept distance-learning classes if they are from accredited programs and if they are recorded at the 600-course level or above. I think this is a realistic policy, and I know that in being allowed to study this way, I have been able to show the district administrators what the courses look like and the rigor and relevancy of the coursework. I think that there is still a resistance to online learning because of a lack of familiarity with it. However, as nearly all major colleges and universities are offering part of their curriculum online, the idea of online courses is going to become mainstream. What becomes acceptable at the higher levels of education will then trickle down to the secondary level and even lower levels. This is the way it has worked with prior changes.

Even over the course of being enrolled in two programs through Walden, I have seen changes in the acceptance, albeit at the secondary level it has been more of a “If you can’t beat them, join them” approach rather than embracing online learning. However, everything in education takes a long time to change! Just look at the fact that the school year is based on an agrarian calendar when we are no longer that type of society! I think the changes in mindset are going to be client-driven, rather than institution driven. As the cost of education keeps going up, and the economy still is stagnant, the old model of going away to a four-year college is going to have to change. The influx of students into community colleges in this country already demonstrates this is happening! However, students will need to have their educational needs met beyond the two-year offerings in a fiscally responsible manner. Online education will be a viable alternative in many cases. Therefore, I think we are at the very verge of an explosion of the common acceptance of this type of learning. I think as more and more well-known universities make online offerings known, it will continue to gain acceptance. Twenty years from now we’ll have moved on to some other form of distance learning, and we’ll wonder why anyone ever resisted this type of learning.
I think my role in promoting distance education is to keep addressing how it may be used in my current setting and explaining what it is not! I am currently on my district’s “Future Trends in Technology” committee, and I have already been able to bring to the forefront the idea that we have what we need to offer and control our own online credit recovery program. From my coursework, I have been able to discuss these ideas with our technology people, administrators, and fellow teachers in an educated manner backing up my ideas with solid pedagogy. I find my biggest role is dispelling, or at least addressing, concerns about what online courses can and can’t do. The biggest concern, outside of cheating, has been the fact that students do not have the social interaction that they would in a classroom. I have been able to explain that just the opposite may be true when a course is designed correctly and participation is required, especially as compared to the shy student who sits in the back of the classroom and never volunteers an answer in the traditional classroom! I think, to be honest, that the way I am going to be able to help promote distance learning in our district will come down to the idea of writing and piloting a course to show that it can work. I definitely see this on the horizon, and with the help of this class, I feel that I will be prepared to design curriculum that will meet the needs of the district, the instructors, and the students.