Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

George Siemens (2008) discussed how vital a role communication plays in distance education. He stated that distance education is gradually being accepted and one aspect that fuels this acceptance is the ability to communicate with a diverse group, as well as globally. In his video, Siemens (2008) goes on to say that new communication technologies will definitely impact distance education. Communication has certainly evolved; we as a society have come a long way. Communication, at one time, took place by either face-to-face interaction or mail. Now, of course, we have mobile telephones that include an array of communication tools, such as texting and access to the Internet. The evolution of communication has impacted the way in which we communicate. Distance education is a motivational tool for those students that would normally be shy and quiet in the traditional classroom; they are able to participate more in their classroom and generally feel more comfortable doing so.

There are many tools online that facilitate interactions among learners. Video conferencing sites are available for the students to work collaboratively. In addition, there are many sites, such as Skype, that allow real time chats. Of course, let us not forget email and how extremely convenient it has become.

Distance education, in my opinion, allows an endless amount of benefits for its students. Because of the evolution of communication and the many tools that exist online, students are now able to work together like never before.

In his technology blog, Alex Iskold discusses how quickly communication is evolving. He even goes into explicit details about the emerging technologies, comparing and contrasting: mail vs. email, phone vs. chat, newspapers vs. blogs, etc. In reviewing what we know about email, he stated, "Instead of sending more information less often, we send less information more often." In my opinion, Alex's analysis of the evolution of communication is exact.
You can view Alex's blog at:
http://alexiskold.wordpress.com/2007/05/30/evolution-of-communication-from-email-to-twitter-and-beyond/

Another blogger, Kimberly, discusses the importance of social media. She describes how communication is evolving and how social media allows yet another avenue of which to communicate. In addition, she refers to the utilization of social media as a shift in our culture - a different way in which we share and gather information from one another. I agree with Kimberly's perspective; new communication tools do encourage shifts in our culture.
You can view Kimberly's blog at: http://theevolutionofcommunication.blogspot.com/2009/04/social-media-means-what.html

References:

Seimens, George. The Future of distance Education. Video posted to http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3649019&Survey=1&47=2625189&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1 viewed September 23, 2009.