Activity
I choose to answer #1:
What lessons can we learn from the historical antecedents of K-12 online
and blended learning?
I
believe it is important to remember where we came from. Distance learning has
come a long way. I think that the historical antecedents go to show that
distance education changes very quickly. What is the norm now will not be the
norm in 5 years. As new technology is created, new distance education will also
be created. I believe this shows us that it is very important to always be
ready for the “next thing.” You can’t get too comfortable with the way things
are now, because technology is ever changing.
I believe that distance education will keep changing as long as new
technology is being invented. I think that is part of the charm of distance
education, it is not the same thing year after year after year.
Summary
I found it interesting that distance education was around
even before the internet. I had no idea that some people listened to the radio
for school. It appears that even before the internet was a possibility distance
education was around. Therefore, I do not see distance education going away any
time soon. I think that is important for people to understand. Some people who
are not in favor of distance education might have to change their way of
thinking, but it is here for good.
I was also surprised with the history of distance education, Emily - I wasn't expecting that it existed that long ago before the internet! I think that the purpose of distance education with the form of online learning is slowly shifting from increasing access to education, to providing opportunities for students to develop new skills, such as collaboration, communication and independent learning skills. We live in an interesting time, witnessing big changes in education ;-)
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