Thinking back on my education, I cannot narrow down to a
specific time or course where my first distance learning experience occurred. I
can remember that the use of technology and learning from another location,
other than the classroom and using technology to do so, started very early in
my educational career (early middle school). I was in one of the first
generations that got to experience the beginning stages of schools giving
students computers and teachers requiring students to use the Internet to complete
assignments outside of the classroom setting. Looking at this now, I laugh at
how new and terribly horrible the technology level was. I can still remember
the dreadful noise of the dial-up tone. But, I can also be thankful to see the
amount of growth we have had within only a short amount of time, and it’s
awesome.
The part that scares me though is the lack of growth and
knowledge of the many tools available for students to learn. To some it is a
fear of the unknown or the lack in trust in technology, but technology isn’t as
scary as it once was. I think that with the continuation of growth in
technology the link between the traditional classroom and the online classroom
will continue to become blurry. As long as technology is being used to promote
learning and develop education, I see much success in the way and level of
education people will learn.
Personally, I have experience on both ends of distance
education. I have been the student and the teacher and I can say that I love
the opportunity and freedom that distance education can provide. Most recently,
I completed my Masters program online, with the exception of one on ground course.
I really enjoyed my experience and it allowed me to complete course work, for
the most part, on my own time. Now with every experience there are always
downfalls. In some courses, there was a lack of exploring learning “WITH” technology
and were very basic set ups. These courses often lead to tedious work and
assignments which I feel left very little to learn, challenge, and grow. But on
a positive note, there were many courses that were interactive, inspired
communication, and connection with the subject and allowed for personal
creativity and learning. I think that it is important to have an environment
that allow for more than just the basic read, write, and respond framework. It
should inspire the want to learn more or explore new ideas.
Currently I am a Business/CTE teacher and I love waking up
and going to work every day. I have taught online/hybrid courses (including
traditional classes as well) for 5 years and I have to say that there was a lot
of personal time spend researching and testing many different online tools and assignments.
In the beginning, I found myself doing the basic set up and it was awful, not
only for me but for my students. Since I knew the feeling, I knew that I had to
make a change. My courses are still not where I would like them to be and I know
that I will probably never have a finished product because of new technology
and the ability to introduce my students to new ways of learning every
year. I have to say the distance
learning in any form has offered many opportunities to my students and I hope
to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
One example that I have seen outside of my classroom, which
I think is great, was for our medical program. The students were able to use
live streaming to watch an autopsy and a transplant surgery being preformed.
How awesome is that! These are experiences that they will never forget and it
may help to inspire them in to the medical field as a future career.
With the vast variety of tools and resources available I hope
that students of all ages can experience a
thoughtful and inspiring learning experience that helps them grow and
appreciate the power that is available to them behind a keyboard.
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