Module 2: Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

George Siemens discussed the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational spheres, including three possible elements of distance education that are creating more effective learning experiences and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from F2F courses: (a) global diversity, (b) communication, and (c) collaborative interaction. Do you agree or disagree with his view?

I am in total agreement with Siemens analysis above. Global Diversity, Collaborative Interaction and Communication are major keys to unlock the world of distance education. Without these three components, distance learning could not possibly succeed in today's high technology driven world. 

Out of the three elements above I feel that the Collaborative Interaction has evolved by leaps and bounds as it relates to distance education. With the creation of companies like LinkedIn and online universities across the globe, collaboration is a must have to keep peers and students actively engaged in the content of the subject matter. Wiki's and educational blogs allow people from all circles of life to not just view your thoughts and views but also creates and avenue for constructive criticism and the sharing of different perspectives. 

Some great tools that available today to facilitate Collaborative Interactions are Facebook, LinkedIn, Skype, Google+ and Prezi to name a few. I utilize these tools actively for both communication and collaboration purposes. I find that these tools make distance learning very simple, yet also provide a high level of collaboration with my peers across the globe. I plan to use these and many of the newer technologies on a regular basis to become more familiar with them.