TeamBAllisonandLia

EDCI887
DEDiscussion

Question4:Therearemanyissuesfacingdistanceeducation/online/hybridlearninginhigher
education(hybridversusonline,retention,qualityassurance,learningmanagementsystem
choices,etc.).EDCAUSEhasagraphicof

toptrendsinInformationTechnologyfrom2000to
2013
thatisinteresting,aswellasarecentreporton

elearninginhighereducation
.Choose
threeissuesinhighereducationdistanceeducationandexplainthembriefly.

Onlinelearning,elearning,anddistancelearningareamongmanydifferenttitlesthat
alldescribedistanceeducation.Allofthesetermsusedtodescribedistanceeducationimply
thatthelearnerandinstructorareseparatedbydistance,butthatthelearnerandinstructor
interactthroughtheuseoftechnology.Therearemanybenefitstodistancelearning.Easy
accessibility,cheapertuition,andpromotionofstudentmotivationandindependenceare
amongonlyafew.However,likeeverythingelseintheworld,thereareissuesthatgoalong
withitaswell.
Oneimportantissueofdistancelearningistheinfluenceofmediaontheinstructional
process.Mediasroleinlearningisunclear.Therefore,itmakesithardtodesignand
implementcurriculumandinstructionaroundit.Mediaisanexcellentsourceofinformation
anddata,notjustentertainment.Itcanbeagreatlearningtool.However,westrugglewith
thefactthatnotallmediaoutlets,orinformationonthemediaisappropriateforthe
classroom.Teachersalsostrugglewithdifferentwaystoincorporatemediaintoourlessons.
Inordertostrengthenmediasrole,educatorsneedtobecomemorefamiliarwithhowitsuse
canpromotelearning.

Anotherimportantissueindistanceeducationisalackofinformed,knowledgeable
leadershipandsupportstaff.Leadershipandsupportstaffwouldhelpdevelopdistance

educationcoursesandprovidetrainingforeducators.Ifteachersarenotprovidedwiththe
propertraining,theyaregoingtolackconfidence,whichwillthenimpactthedistance
curriculum.Teacherswillnotbeabletoincorporatetoolsorotherdistancelearningresources
becausetheydontknowhowtousethem.Therearenotmanyteacherswillingtobecome
moreknowledgeableaboutdistanceeducationbecauseitisunfamiliarterritorycomparedto
thephysicalclassroom.Therefore,therearentmanyeducatorssteppinguptotheplateand
furtheringtheireducationinregardtodistancelearning.

Onamoretechnicalnote,informationsecurityiscomingunderquestionasdistance
educationandthetechnologybehinditadvance.AccordingtoaninfographicbyEDUCAUSE,
informationsecurityiscurrentlythefifthlargestissueofconcernininformationtechnologies
thisyear.(EDUCAUSE,2013)AnarticlebyRobertSiciliano,apersonalsecurityexpert,lists
thecurrentissuesandconsiderationssurroundingpersonalsecurityandonlinelearning.
Thecapturingofstudents'personalinformation
Whatlevelsofprotectionneedtobeapplied
Howlongandwheredataisstored
Usageofappsanddatathatiscaptured
Sharingofdatawithinorganizations.
Optinandoptoutfunctionality
Cloudbasedtoolsandprotections
Sharedcomputersandkeylogging
(Siciliano,2013)
Furthermore,anincreasingissueinDEisacademichonesty.Howdoprofessorsknow
from700milesawaywhetheritisreallyyoutakinganexam?Thisproblemwastraditionally
solvedbyhavingyouanswerpersonalquestions.Buttruthfully,mymothersmaidenname
isntmuchofasecretanymore.(Especiallygiventhatmyfriendsareconnectedwithheron
Facebook!)Thisisgivingwaytonewmodesofidentification,suchaspresentingautilitybill,

andevenextendingintobiometricidentification.(Siciliano,2013)Inthefuture,wecouldbe
loggingintoKStateforexamsusinganirisorfingerprintscan,scifistyle.Truthfully,what
otherwayistheretoprovethatyouarereallyyoufromthatfaraway?
Weliveinachangingworld,andarefurthermore,apartofanexplodingfield.Distance
educationisjusthittingitsstrideasamethodoflearning.Asteacherlearners,weareina
uniquepositiontobeabletoseebothsidesofthefence.Asdistancelearners,weare
navigatinganewspacesoakingupinformationandbuildingbridgesaswego.Asteachers,
weareabletoseetheissuesandbenefitsofDEwiththeclaritythatcomeswithexperience.
Asweprogressintothefuture,wewillcontinuetosolvetheproblemsathand(whichwill
inevitablygivewaytonewissues!)But,letuscontinuetomoveforwardandforgeanewpath
ineducationforasRosaLuxemburgoncesaid,
Thosewhodonotmove,donotnoticetheir
chains.

References

EDUCAUSE(2013,June3).
ITissues
.Retrievedfrom
http://www.educause.edu/educause/visualizations/vis1/index.html
Siciliano,R.(2013,September16).
DistanceLearningPosesSeriousDataSecurity
Issues
.Retrievedfrom
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robertsiciliano/distancelearningposess_b_393809
6.html
Anglin,G.(2011).
Instructionaltechnology:Past,present,andfuture
.(3rded.).SantaBarbara:
ABCCLIO,LLC.

Sherry,L.(1996).Issuesindistancelearning.
InternationalJournalofEducational
Telecommunications
,
1
(4),337365.Retrievedfrom
http://home.comcast.net/~lorraine.sherry/publications/issues.html