Distance Learning What It Means to Me

My Personal Definition of Distance Learning:

     My first exposure to distance learning formed the following impression and stuck with me until today.  When I hear the words "distance learning" or "online course",  I automatically think back to my first exposure, a PowerPoint without a teacher, a promise of a quick class and a mandatory requirement.  Never fully focused on the material just focused enough to follow the directions, clicking and clicking through slide, praying for these slides to come to an end but fearful that my finial click would lead me to a quiz, with a consequence of no certificate of completion of the course due to my lack of ability to recall the information to answer the questions.  This narrow thinking was support time and time again and held true over years.  Lending me to the same question each time "did anyone important take this class and if so, "why didn't they authorize someone to fix it or I hope we didn't pay full price for the development of this course", why did I have to take this course again?

My MindMap:

http://www.webspirationpro.com/view/982686a18c07

     I created my MindMap to represent my thoughts, of what the words distance learning means to me.   As me in the center,  I branched off into two different directions, first with the definition and the second with my vision of the future for this type of learning.  Although I feel distance learning has come a long way, I feel it still has more to go and will continue to evolve as time goes by.  I agree with the statement made by Dr.  Simons in this week's reading, that distance learning will never fully replace traditional learning methods.  Instead distance learning will work together acting as a bridge to bring together other thoughts and ideas that due to distance would never cross paths other wise.

    Reading through this weeks resources, I feel like someone has turned on a light, exposing me to the fact that I was in the dark about distance learning.  I didn't realize that distance learning had been around since 1833's and then was called mail correspondence.  Its hard for me to picture that this type of learning was effective back then but I can see how it was born from an idea to for fill a need and a desire to learn.
   
     As this need grew, history soon shows that others feel this type of learning had value and a purpose. Marking history with the University Chicago becoming the first to offer mail correspondence.  Distance learning's history continues through the year as technology starts to advance.  It seems that the two became partners during this evolution of discovery.  Mr. Evert Roger developed the "Diffusion of Innovation Theory, S Shape Curve",  pinpointing the need for change agents and acceptance, and with time no longer looked upon as a new idea but instead become the norm.   All contributed to defining the terminology which represents what distance learning has become, a method of learning that bridges resources, students, and teacher from distant places, all coming together to share new ideas, learning from each other verse learning from the teacher only.

     In summary, I feel more jobs will be opened and filled with trained personnel skilled in this method of learning.  All working together to design, meaningful, interactive, stimulating and purposeful training  courses that serve the needs of many, who other wise would not be able to receive the training.  Meeting the needs of students that traditional learning institution can't provide.  Although I feel distance learning needs will grow and evolve into possibly different meanings,  it wont fully replace traditional learning but instead work with traditional learning methods to provide everyone with the opportunity to learn.