An Organizational Diffusion Study on Distance Education done by The University of West Georgia:

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter84/smith84.htm

EDUC 8842 Module 2: Elements of distance education diffusion

George Siemens (n.d.) states that the growth of distance education is attributed to the growth of the Internet and as more people use the web and are more comfortable conversing through it, the more they will become comfortable in accepting distance education (para. 1). Furthermore, George Siemens states that due to technological advances and ease of use, there is no need to have any special technical skills to communicate online, send emails, attach a picture or have a video discussion with a group or individual (para. 3-4). The third element of distance education diffusion is the “triple-helix model” (para. 5), which is the interaction between the government, the universities and commerce to create a new discourse and to empower students in an online environment.

My outlook:
Siemens (n.d.) pinpoints the reasons for the growth of distance education. In my opinion, although all are important and valid points, the “triple-helix model” (para. 5) stands out the most. The accreditation of a distance education institution by the government makes an online degree from that institution recognizable, which makes it valid for other universities and employers.
Moreover, due to social networks and tools such as Skype, blogs, and WIKI, collaboration and interaction is available and can create a combination of asynchronous and or synchronous communication among the class members and the instructor.

Reference:

Siemens, G. (n.d.) The Future of Distance Education. [Study video]. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn? M02Video02-8a53b7841e26a5ad011e2d290c5c0018_LARGE_MP4 .

EDUC 8842 Module 1: Evolving Distance Education to the Next Generation

Comparison contrast and summary of authors view point:

In the series or three articles by Moller, Foshay, Huett (2008, 2008, 2008), the authors discuss e-learning at various levels: corporate, higher Education and K-12. In the video by Simonson (n.d.), he provided a general overview of distance education and his view of the future of distance education.

Moller, et al. and Simonson have the same opinion with regards to the importance of changing the prospective of distance education. Distance education is growing rapidly (Simons, n.d) , but the general public and some of the administrators in the educational and corporate field do not understand the importance of differentiating between face-to-face education and the distance education. Therefore, it generates problems for educators and e-learners. Lack of qualified distance education educators creates an ineffectual learning environment which reflects poorly on distance education in general rather than the instructor’s specific method of instruction. With regards to distance learning: Learners do not know how to evaluate “poorly designed e- learning” (Moller, et al., 2008, May/June, p. 71) nor can they recognize the relative value of one school and that poor quality hurts everybody.

Moller, et al. and Simonson emphasize the economical factors which induce e-Learning growth. It is convenience for private or public corporate and educational sectors because it is scalable, available on demand, cost effective and reachable in developed and developing countries. All authors agree that e-learning is broken down to distance teaching and distance learning.

There are dissimilarities in the viewpoints of Moller, et al. and Simonson. Simonson states in comparison to Everett Rodger’s “S-shaped curve of adoption of new ideas” (Simonson, n.d.) that distance education is at the point where it will continue to grow and be incorporated starting from K-12 and beyond, but the paradigm will not change drastically (Simonson, n.d.). Moller, et al. (2008) emphasizes that in order for distance education to be successful, it must improve its learning models (p. 78)

My outlook:
I strongly agree with Moller, et al. (2008) and Simonson, (n.d.) that in order for distance learning to be successful, educators, educational administration, and business managers must reevaluate its understanding of what e-learning is and reevaluate its policies. I do not completely accept Simonson’s point that distance education is widely acknowledged, although it is widely used. In addition, in many brick-and-mortar schools distance education is still being undermined, measured up and forced to implement face-to-face modules. Not every educator can teach a distance education class while not every student can succeed in e-learning classes. Distance education classes have different dynamic, and both the educator and the student must understand that e-learning is not synonymous with “easy”.

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. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33281719.

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 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 33991516.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5). 63-67.

Simonson, M. (n.d.) Distance Education: The Next Generation. [Study video]. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3206859&Survey=1&47=5050260&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.