Hello there and a warm welcome to my thread! I am elated to explore and share my perspectives on the future of Distance education! Let's dive right in!
What do you think is the future for distance education?
As highlighted in the infographic, the continuous growth of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, simulations, and virtual labs will significantly impact distance education in the future. Essentially, the continued evolution of distance education is correlated with technological advancements among other things. After creating the infographic, I was able to make the connection between the growth of DE and technology. You see, I noticed that the invention and proliferation of technology also resulted in the blossoming of distance education. Similarly, the continuous invention and escalation of technology will continue to revolutionize the distance education landscape. Thus, in the future, I can see students interacting more with new educational technologies, as well as with automation software. Teaching and learning will also be shaped and influenced by digital realities like the metaverse and other digital transformations.
However, it is imperative to note that the future of distance education will also be influenced by other factors like money, unforeseen infectious diseases, political debacles, environmental occurrences, and so much more. Some of these variables can be push factors that contribute to the continued evolution of DE. Take for instance the Covid-19 pandemic. This global occurrence shifted the mode of teaching and learning worldwide. In fact, researchers noted that the pandemic led to the expansion of distance education and increased innovations in educational technologies (Kang, 2021). The occurrence and presence of some of the aforementioned factors makes the future of DE look very bright.
Conversely, these variables may also make the future of DE not so bright. According to Heydenrych and Prinsloo (2010), “other factors limit the suitability of these technologies in developing contexts (for example, affordability and access)”. For instance, there may be a high cost associated with the investment and maintenance of current and new educational technologies or technologies that facilitate distance education. For this and other reasons, the rate of DE’s growth will be slower in some societies like developing nations as compared to other developed nations. The implementation, application, and use of digital transformations in DE will also be dependent on an institution’s teachers, faculty, and staff members. As Bates (2000) nicely puts it “presidents may dream visions and vice presidents may design plans, and deans and department heads may try to implement them, but without the support of the faculty members, nothing will change” (as cited in Kentnor, 2015, p. 29). This therefore suggests the importance of faculty support in the implementation of the latest educational technologies.
What information do you feel like you need to know more about before you can make an accurate judgment on that question? As you describe this, determine what you would call this environment and why terms make a difference.
All these interacting variables do not paint a very clear picture of the future of distance education. I am therefore visualizing its future in so many ways. In one instance, its future seems bright taking into consideration digital transformations and technological advancements. However, in another instance, its future seems foggy when the occurrence of natural disasters, cost, and wars are taken into consideration. Hence, for me, its future is more of a contextual situation and one that is not definitive or cast in stone. Essentially, the future of DE is based on the context in which it is discussed or described. According to Heydenrych and Prinsloo (2010), “a context-specific understanding of the development of DE” provides an enriched understanding of the development and potential of DE. I would therefore call this environment a context-specific situation. In this case, the information that I need to acquire before making sound judgement on its future will be determined by the context of focus like the factors currently revolutionizing DE and the factors that are likely to affect it in future.
Do some research beyond the articles provided. Post a link to an article, blog, or another resource that continues to guide your thinking and help justify your thoughts on the above discussion.
While exploring the future of distance education, I came across an interesting blog that shared various perspectives on the subject matter and I was quite fascinated by the vantages. Precisely, some educators suppose that distance education will continue to expand and grow in the future while others postulate that its future lies in the hands of teachers mainly because some teachers may choose to use it to a certain degree while others may not (Silvey, 2010). Blogs and other articles like this guided my thinking and shaped my perspective on its future which is that it is context-specific. For more information, you can access the blog here: https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/edtech/Future+of+Distance+Education
What say you on the perspective I’ve shared with you for this futuristic thread? Would you also agree or disagree that DE’s future looks bright and not so bright concurrently? I anticipate your feedback!
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
Heydenrych, J.F., & Prinsloo, P. (2010). Revisiting the five generations of distance education: Quo vadis? Progressio, 32 (1), 5-26. http://www.academia.edu/3011651/Revisiting_the_five_generations_of_distance_education_Quo_vadis
Kang B. (2021). How the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the education service. Rapid Adoption of Digital Service Technology, 1, 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4126-5_2
Kentnor, H. (2015). Distance Education and the Evolution of Online Learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17 (1 & 2). http://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=law_facpub
Silvey, M. (2010). Future of distance education. Educational Technology Center. https://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/edtech/Future+of+Distance+Education