History of Adult and Community Education- Saunders

History of Online and Distance Education

Jillian Saunders

Introduction

As education moved forward, there was an astounding need for students of all types to be able to access their education by any means. The era of online education started Online education has been a staple in the adult educational world. Not only are students able to study at their own convenience, but they are also able to maintain a professional and personal life as a result as well. This paper will discuss the development and enhancement of online education. This type of education has risen to become a main form of education for many working and parenting adults. The purpose is to backtrack through the motions of how online education became to be the primary form of education for most adults. 

Highlights

The main focus of online education being introduced was to involve students who may not have been able to attend classes. This notion was started far earlier than anyone thinks. Many people either worked or went to college but often did not have time to do both (Prewitt 1998). This brought about many questions on how education could be offered in forms other than the classroom. Was there a way to include students without them coming to campus or meeting with the professor (Prewitt 1998)? The need for a new avenue was largely noticed and finally fueled the availability of technology and the outcry for access to learning at a distance (Prewitt 1998).

            The university of Illinois started the first virtual or online classroom giving students the opportunity to learn online and also have access to course and learning materials while being able to hear the professor lecture online (Perry,E. & Pilati,M. 2011). Up until this point, the normal trend was for a student to go to class if they wanted to further their education. With many women going to work and men already working, going to class was not an option for all since most classes were offered during working hours (Perry et.al.).

The main issue with this version of learning for adults was internet access. Not all adults were able to become in contact with the internet outside of their school rendering them unable to choose this as an option for learning (Barron 1989). Another aspect that was also noted as troublesome was the fact that the student learning online was not getting the full effect of college by not interacting with classmates. The students could hear the teacher giving lectures and have access to the materials but they were not able to see their classmates or interact with them unless they met up outside of their online focus (Barron 1989).

One thing that became worrisome about online learning that has still not subsided was the issue of whether or not the classes being offered this way was/is effective (Chamberlin, R., Charalambos,V. & Michalinos,Z. 2004). A large sum of people noted that the classes being offered online allows the student to simply look up answers and not really learn the material, resulting in a student essentially earning a degree that they know nothing about. One aspect of higher education that sort of brought this notion down a few notches was the student population. When it comes to higher education, the student has to want to be there and to make the grades in order to pass and excel (Walling 1996). While some teachers may have “easier” coursework than other, it is still material the student must learn (Chamberlin et. al.).

Furthermore, there was a question of validity in the students work (Walling 1996). Was the student completing the work themselves or were they getting the answers from a friend, family member or online. This raised the question again as to whether or not the education type was effective (Walling 1996). If the teacher could not tell if the student was doing their own work or not, they would not be able to assess whether or not the student had the knowledge to move on. The grading scale that higher education thrives on is a scale best known for essentially testing the students’ knowledge to see if they are capable of moving forward to the next step in the process of gaining knowledge on that subject (Barron 1989). If the student is being graded on their work, it should be authentic in order for the teacher to be able to assess the students’ academic standing and whether they honestly get the concepts of the material (Barron 1989). As time has rolled on, this aspect of online and distance learning has still been questioned but is not under fire like it used to be. Many programs have been developed as well to ward off unauthentic work for online students such as SafeAssign and online drop boxes (Walling 1996).

Influential Factors

A massive influence behind making education mobile was the Department of Defense. The G.E.D (general education diploma) was originally designed in order for soldiers to be able to finish their schooling while they fought for their country (Duncan 2005). This program was run for many years before the military demanded a way for higher education to be available to their serviceman. Many found themselves leaving the service in order to pursue a degree in a field the military did not offer training for (Duncan 2005).

Another factor was the University of Illinois. They did relentless work on their end to produce a program that would work for students. They developed their program before the internet was invented, using an Intranet system that allowed their students to study this way (Perry et.al.). They developed this system through a series of links between computer terminals and students could access their course materials and listen to lectures there were prerecorded by their professors (Perry et.al.). While these things were not happing in real time yet, this became an epidemic. Many other schools mimicked this process in order to better serve their students. By the time the internet was invented in 1969, this has already been a well-known way of taking courses in many higher education institutions (Perry et.al.).

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invented what we would know now as the World Wide Web (Perry et.al.). He worked on this prototype for several years and finally unveiled his creation in 1991 with the final product. This was a major milestone in the advancement of online education. Since the internet was invented, this allowed students to learn even further than they had been by using the internet for answers and homework rather than using the limited information they had on the Intranet the schools were using (Perry et.al.). He helped for a new path for learning within a decade. In the early 2000’s, there were approximately 1.6 million students engaging in an online course or degree plan (Perry et.al.).

Implications

One thing we can pick up from this era is that change can be for the better even if there are hiccups along the way. A lot of people are reluctant to see change and very hesitant about proceeding with new things that may not have been previously tested. This new thing, online learning, has opened the door for so many more people to be able to study. New ideas keep the profession, and not just teaching, on their toes and ready to implement what works. In order for society to evolve, we must be willing to evolve with it and embrace the changes. If we stuck to the old method of being mainly and only in seat, a large population of people who are students would not continue their education. Now, many students are able to stay home with their children or even work full-time jobs while still maintaining their education because they are able to do their work on a computer rather than being present in the classroom.

I believe that one lesson learned is that there is more than one way to get an education. Many students may have lost out on the opportunity to study if they were not able to do it online. I personally see light to this. I am a full time worker and a full time student as well. I could not imagine trying to get a degree in set with the hectic life I live now, let alone do it and do it well if I had a family, children and a husband to tend to. I am a good student but would not be able to maintain my grades if I was not able to complete my coursework at my own leisure or from home.

Some people will forget to take into consideration the fact that some people simply cannot get to the school as well. I currently live in Michigan but BSU had one of the top programs in the nation for higher education. My passion is to teach and my undergraduate work was in Criminal Justice. I wanted to be in one of the top programs in order to get a sense of what it would take to be a teacher and also get some insight into the background of education that I did not get in my undergraduate work. I did not want to miss out on the chance to get a degree from Ball State but at the same time I did not want to move my life to Muncie as I am just starting my career in higher education. Online education has allowed me to dedicate my free time to my education. Since Muncie is a four-hour drive for me, I have made it a point to go to campus to get my books but at the same time, I am able to meet my teachers if need be but to also study from my respective state. I can accomplish my goals without giving up my career and all of the things I have worked for just to sit in a seat and do the things I am already doing now as well.

A perspective that can be taken away from this is the mentality that the future is now. The University of Illinois developed that system well before the internet or any other resources were available for online learning. They were 20 years ahead of society. Society said you should be going to actual college if you’re going to go while this university and those who also adopted the system as well said you can do this from afar and get the same experience as everyone else. You have to work just like other students but instead of coming into class you need to do it on your own time at which honestly makes for a more dedicated student because as a student myself, I know that you have to want to do your work in order to sit down and take time out of your day to complete the tasks when you do not have to report to class.  When it comes to graduate school, I would say that every student in each program is there because they want to be there. It is a lot of work and dedication and also money that goes into being a graduate student. I would not personally take out student loans in order to fail classes or borrow them if I was not serious about earning my degree from the distance. I fully plan on being an online teacher as well because now that I have the experience of being an online student, I feel there is no better person to conduct the courses. I know what time management looks like to a graduate student, I know what material is “hard” and what is too “easy” for students and how to go about giving them a good education at a distance.

References

Barron, D. (1989). Distance Education: Removing Barriers to Knowledge. School Library Journal  28-33.

Chamberlin,R., Charalambos,V., & Michalinos,Z. (2004). The Design of Online Learning Communities: Critical Issues. Educational Media International. 136-150.

Duncan,S. (2005). The U.S. Army’s Impact on the History of Distance Learning. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 6(4). 397-404. 

Perry, E.H. & Pilate,M.L. (2011). Online Learning. Wiley Online Journals. 10(128). 95-110.

Prewitt,T. (1998). The Development of Distance Learning Delivery Systems. Higher Education in Europe. 23(2). 187-194.

Walling,L. L. (1996). Going the Distance: Equal Education Off Campus or On. South Carolina Library Journal. 59-70