Simonson (2008) sees distance education as approaching the tipping point. Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) understand that growth as resulting from corporate training needs, needs of “non-traditional” students, geographic and academic needs. All of these authors caution against such rapid expansion without consideration to instructional design, available technologies, and performance outcomes. I am not sure if any of them are attempting to make an argument about the need to evolve distance education to the next generation but rather are arguing for needed improvements in distance education so that they are meeting the needs of consumers and students now and in the future.
As a person interested in K12 distance education, I do have to agree with these authors. Government funding is now widely available to K12 schools interested in developing virtual schools for the purpose of remediation, credit recovery, and drop out prevention. Districts are taking advantage of such funding and developing schools. But there is not enough literature on the topic to say what good virtual schools look like. There is also a lack of instructional design models with which to build effective learning environments on. What ends up happening is the creation of virtual schools, built on the same foundation that brick and mortar schools are, which include classroom based lessons taught by teachers who haven’t been adequately prepared for teaching in a virtual environment. That can and probably has lead to the poor outcomes on behalf of the teachers, the students, and the schools.
Distance education needs to evolve to address the needs of the consumers and students who are taking advantage of this instructional medium now and in the future. That evolution must occur independent of comparison to brick and mortar K12 environments; in consideration of the educational needs of the existing and potential consumers and students; and built upon strong instructional practices that maximize the capabilities of this type of learning experience.
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. 52(5), 63-67. doi: 10.1007/s11528-008-0199-9 Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=34729472&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Distance Education: The Next Generation. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4007778&Survey=1&47=6141513&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. 52(3), 70-75. doi: 10.1007/s11528-008-0158-5 Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=33281719&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. 52(4), 66-70. doi: 10.1007/s11528-008-0179-0 Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=33991516&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2nd.ed.). (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Available from http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787988251.html
