Classmates blogs visited the week of March 23, 2014:

http://educationtechie1.blogspot.com/2014/03/communcation-evolution.html

http://jeanniefrazierblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/f2f-courses/

I have visited many others, but these were the first two that I commented on.

Collaborative Interactions

The changes that have affected a business and educational institute over the last two decades have been astounding.  I remember when collaborative interactions with individuals in another building or even across the country meant that you either flew out to the place or everyone was crowded around a fuzzy speaker phone.  The phone was great, but it was easy for attitudes and intentions to be misconstrued or the difficulty in trying to visualize a concept.  As a teacher, I value the times when I am able to interact with my fellow teachers, whether in my building or across the country or world.  I am able to learn much from them.

One of the biggest changes in the past couple of years for interactions has been the advent of Twitter and the groups that are formed on there.  I belong to Edutopia.  This is a group that communicates through Twitter and blogs about ongoing education changes and reform.  The blog on July 8, 2010 titled: Igniting Innovation in Education through Collaboration (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/edchat-education-reform-rob-jacobs)  examines the how online interactions can help a teacher in the classroom and even how a business can be successful with collaboration.  The blog refers to "crowdsourcing" which allows the interactions from anyone who has a desire to learn more about the subject, they do not have to be an expert in the field or use the equipment and technology, just be passionate about the subject.

The Titan File Blog, https://www.titanfile.com/blog/online-collaboration-building-a-bright-future-for-higher-education/, has many posts about effective collaboration.  This particular blog refers to the need for effective collaboration with higher education online courses.  Students are separated by large distances, so they need a chance to communicate.  This can be done through online discussions set up by the instructor or by Skype or other technologies, but it is necessary for the students to be successful.

Blogs I visited and commented on this week:

http://jeanniefrazierblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/evolution-of-distance-education/

http://cottrellsidblog.blogspot.com/

I also looked at most of the classmates blogs and it was real interesting to see the different view points that we all have.

Evolution of Distance Education

Distance Learning or On-line learning is a growing field.  My master's was completed entirely as an On-line learning experience and my oldest daughter completed high school with on-line curriculum due to health issues, so I have experienced on-line education in different ways.  I have experience online classes that were basic ones where the students watched a video or presentation and then took a quiz, to classes that were interactive in both discussions and much interaction between the participants and the instructors.

One of the biggest complains about on-line learning, is the lack of focus and not meeting the needs.  This can happen in a traditional classroom or training.  For a well designed learning experience, the instructor has to be familiar with the needs of the learners.  This concept is discussed in the three part article,   The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web, by Huett, Moller, Foshay and Coleman (2008).  With the how fast the internet is changing and the new technology and web sites and how technology minded younger students are becoming, distance education needs to change with the time.

There are many advantages to distance learning for both business and schools.  Many business are looking toward distance learning because it can be a cost savings for them.  The ability to have the training on-line means that employees can access the training at a time when it is advantageous for them.  This means that the business does not have to be shut down and with the improvement in the speed of the Internet and availability allows the employees to participate in on-line conferences and interact with other participants and not have the traveling expenses.  Many of these ideas is discussed by Michael Simonson in Making Decisions: The Use of Electronic Technology in Online Classrooms  (2000).  It is important that the instructors chose the appropriate resources for the audience.