Having gone through different iterations and evolutions, distance education (DE) finds itself at a crossroads.
The main questions are:
Should DE continue to emulate traditional classroom content and features, or how can it present learners and teachers with a new generation of instructional opportunities?
Now that content management systems (CMS) are more the rule than the exception and faculty are engaged in populating these formats with course materials, it follows that these systems (content or learning management systems- CMS or LMS) are maximized. Students and faculty could benefit from pushing the boundaries of what these systems can do for teaching and learning. Posting syllabi, setting up assignment dropboxes and discussion forums only scratch the surface of elearning possibilities.
Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008) suggest the DE should aim to provide experiences not possible or less likely to happen in traditional classrooms. “Thus technology fulfills its potential by enlarging form simply carrying information or instruction to being a communication platform, expanding cognitive abilities, and a context or laboratory of manipulating the learners’ internal and external environments…”(p.74).
Reference
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 1: Training and Development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.
