Week 1 Activity 1

I find it fascinating to know that the earliest distance learning was before the 1940s. This shows me that my theory that governments and school systems often conspire against progress is true. My reasoning for having this theory is shown in the many examples of distance education that I read about in the readings. The idea that Illinois Wesleyan University sponsored distance education in 1874 indicates that there was a market for that type of learning even then to change what was known about the educational system. Though distance education would not have replaced traditional education, it would have given another option for present day education. Had distance learning been embraced then, as it should have been, many of the children who dropped out of school and become statistics more than likely would have continued in school and obtained a diploma. Harvey White televised his physics lessons in 1956-1958 to over 100,000 students according to our assigned reading. This type of learning should have continued to reach the many students who could not attend regular courses but who had the desire to continue studies. I suppose that too many teachers would have become obsolete with this new type of learning and as jobs would have been lost, it was in the administration’s best interest to allow this form of learning to disappear.

According to the reading, in 1962 came the system that incorporates computers to augment learning and was called NLS, oNLine System. This is interesting as it is the beginning of what I currently recognize as OLS (online learning system), with it debuting in 1968. The PLATO system (1960) was genius at best, and this is the beginning of what we currently use (FSO). With the commission of the Internet as we know it in 1969, education changed because now the race to bring educational resources and course materials to the Internet began. By the 1980s, the technology was there to bring learning to another level; however, it seems that the development of courseware, software, and computers may have stepped on each other. The 1980s brought many technological breakthroughs however, universities weren’t releasing what they knew or had.

1987 brought online education to Norway. Europe seems to have been at the forefront of this technology. A large chunk of the technology of distance learning was overshadowed by the development of computers. As computers improved and became advanced, it seems that distance learning materials were developed. The millennium brought out a massive wave of learning management system software and ideas such as The Thinking Cap in 2001.

Learning management systems (LMS) focus on the user’s learning through the use of online systems that facilitate learning, provide assessments through collaboration between the user and the instructor/learning institution. The idea that the user doesn’t have to adhere to a classroom setting either in physicality or time is what makes the LMS work. The user can work at his or her own pace, in his or her own time frame from anywhere he or she can log on. For learners that are bound by familial or professional responsibilities, this type of learning environment is the only way he or she can meet academic desires. The solution is like the gold at the end of the rainbow at the end of what can appear to be a long, endless and lonely journey for some learners.

From early dabbling into distance education to present day online learning systems, it seems that we have always had the notion that the world of education needed to be improved yet society continues in traditional classroom and instruction methods. This is something I don’t quite understand. Is it because of the failing job market or is it because of the control government has over education? Either way, such ignorance is costing our children.

Wikipedia. (2010). History of virtual learning environments. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments