Education is a time consuming undertaking, particularly when you consider that everyone is capable of learning from the moment they are born to their last breath. In other words education is a life long process. Originally humans learned by doing and on the run (Medina, 2009), however the need for learning environments became necessary as society became more complex and Stationery. The result was that the tasks necessary to earn a living and survive became more complicated and brain intensive.
Virtual learning environments (VLE) are one of the many evolutions in education that has been primarily driven by technology. VLE’s evolved from three factors. First is the demand and need for education, also the need to balance the time-spent learning and the time spent earning a living. Finally another factor is the geographic distribution of education centers. Traditionally learning centers were located around city centers and major hubs of commerce. Therefore people that lived outside of the city had to travel great distances to receive higher education. Virtual learning environments were the perfect solution as they address the challenges for many members of society faced. Consequently, the first form of distance learning, correspondence school became popular particularly in the United States. This then begs the question what exactly is distance learning, according to the U.S. department of Educational Research and Improvement, distance learning or distance education is the application of telecommunications and electronic devices, which enable students, and learners toe receive instruction from some distance. (Bruder, 1989). With this definition one can theorize that the driving force behind distance learning and virtual learning environments is the advancements to technology.
According to Wikipedia one of the first instances of distance learning is was on March 20th 1728, where Caleb Phillips offered correspondence course teaching short hand. This type of learning was enabled by advancements in the delivery of post. Meaning that post can be delivered reliably to both the student and teacher within in a reasonable amount of time to encourage learning. The next revolution in distance learning came with the radio, then the television, the Internet and now it is the recent advancements in unified communications. With each advancement in technology the “distance” between the student and teacher has gotten smaller. This then begs the question would virtual learning environments replace traditional higher education institutions? Or will they continue in advance in parallel with the traditional forms of education. Food for thought
Luna
Resources
Resources
Casey, D. (2008). A Journey to legitimacy: the historical development of distance education through technology. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 52(2), 45-51.
Medina, J. (2009). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and schoo . Seattle: Pear Press.
Bruder, I. (1989). Distance learning: What’s holding back this boundless delivery system? Electronic Learning, 8(6), 30-35.
Posts
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the history of VLEs I was fascinated with the how far book that distance learning started. You stated that 1728 was when one of the first distance learning courses appeared. It's amazing to think that distance learning as been around for nearly 300 years. You made a excellent connection with the advancement in distance learning and the advancement in technologies. "With each advancement in technology the “distance” between the student and teacher has gotten smaller. " To answer your question, I feel that VLEs will not replace traditional higher education institutions but rather help to fuel a revolution in education.
You may want to reference this video for future discussions.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html
This then begs the question would virtual learning environments replace traditional higher education institutions? Or will they continue in advance in parallel with the traditional forms of education. Food for thought
ReplyDeleteSarah,
You pose two very good questions. However I feel that it will take the latter. In my study of the history of VLE as technology evolved so did the method of delivery of distance learning. VLEs are only one component of a educational system that has occurs to meet the needs of different learners. Because we are so different in our learning styles there will never be a one size fits all educational system although some try to make it so. It will be interesting to see however VLE's will evolve as the technology changes. Did you ever think you could take a college course on your iPod?
In the expansive 1990’s, I was working at Southern Pacific Transportation Company as a Facilities Project Manager designing a Star Wars room for the communications department. My goal was to design the room with the new Smart board that had rear projection 72 inches wide this room had to hold ten engineers at a time. They all had to view the screen and work in very dark environment however still and have visibility to read documents. I found this project very challenging. The coordination of people, equipment, telephone, IMS, and furniture in a building built in the early 1920’s. It’s great to understand the history from the other side.
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