Leona Ungerer OMDE 601 Section 9040 17 June 2012 Definition of Distance Education

Definition of Distance Education

Various definitions of distance education can be found in the literature. In this paper, I shall provide my own definition of DE, and then support my choice with some comments by scholars from the field of distance education. My definition of distance education is as follows, It is the creation of learning opportunities for students who study at a distance incorporating various types of technology, and based on sound pedagogical principles. Although phrased somewhat differently, this definition corresponds to that of Moore and Kearsley (as cited in Barak, 2012), presenting distance education as a planned instruction that occurs far from the designated learning place, while applying advanced technologies (p. 125). Technology is changing societys interpretations of what learning and knowing entail and how human skills should be cultivated (Slj, 2010), pointing to the need that this trend should be considered in planned instruction. In a knowledge society, people need to be able to access information from which they can create knowledge and share that knowledge globally with others who can build upon this new information in what Porcaro (2011) calls, a virtuous circle of knowledge building. Barak (2012) indeed argues that cultivating the skill of knowledge creating and sharing is essential in the current, fourth generation of distance education, involving the use of internet technologies, Web-2.0 systems, and social networking.

A learner centered, interactive pedagogy therefore is necessary and students need to develop the skills to be self-directed, self-reliant and self-regulated. Since people now have access to information from numerous sources, they have to be selective and learn to disregard much of
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Leona Ungerer OMDE 601 Section 9040 17 June 2012 Definition of Distance Education

what they hear and see the ability to distinguish between important and unimportant information is vital (http://education-2020.wikispaces.com/Connectivism). Students, for instance, can now explore learning materials together, enabling a higher level of collaborative learning than in the past. Providing quality distance education in changed conditions such as the above requires significant changes in existing teaching and learning cultures (Peters, 2010). Poutanen, Parviainen, and berg (2011) argue that co-learning forms the basis of teaching and learning, instead of an information exchange process. In the current knowledge society, no single person can own all the information necessary for learning. Most real-life situations and problems are indeed not inherently simple, and rather tend to be complex, interconnected and evolving. Teachers are therefore are also a part of the process of learning, thus emphasizing the trend that co-learning instead of traditional learning and teaching is necessary.

In the light of the above, traditional teaching approaches such as expository teaching and receptive learning therefore are not sufficient anymore. To prepare students for their role in a knowledge society, they should experience autonomous learning, which points to the need for adhering to sound pedagogical principles in distance education.

All in all, technology is changing societys interpretations of what learning and knowing entail. A learner centered, interactive pedagogy should therefore be considered in the creation of learning opportunities for students. Providing quality distance education in changed conditions such as the above requires significant changes in existing teaching and learning cultures, emphasizing the need for co-learning among students and teachers and the opportunity for autonomous learning among students.
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Leona Ungerer OMDE 601 Section 9040 17 June 2012 Definition of Distance Education

References: Barak, M. (2012). Distance education: towards an organizational and cultural change in higher education, Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 6 (2), 124 137, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506201211228930. Cleveland-Innes, M.F. (2010). Teaching and learning in distance education enter a new era. In M.F. Cleveland-Innes and D.R. Garrison (Eds.), An introduction to Distance Education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp 1-10). New York: Routledge.

http://education-2020.wikispaces.com/Connectivism accessed on 17 June, 2012. Peters, O. (2010). Distance education in transition: Developments and issues (5th ed.). University of Oldenburg: BIS-Verlag.

Poutanen, P., Parviainen, O. & berg, L. (2011). Conditions for self-organizing and creativity in blended learning environments. On the Horizon, 19 (4) 286296. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10748121111179411.

Porcaro, D. (2011). Applying constructivism in instructivist learning cultures. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 5 (1), 3954.

Slj, R. (2010). Digital tools and challenges to institutional traditions of learning: Technologies, social memory and the performative nature of learning. Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, 26 (1), 5364.