My Definition

My original definition of Distance Learning was a "learning environment that provides flexibility while still presenting a wonderful education experience."  This definition was based off of my experiences and the experiences that I see DL offering.

This week through our resources the definition of DL that we were presented with was "formal education in which learning (teachers, students, resources) are separated by geography and sometimes by time." (Dr. Simonson, Laureate Education)

When comparing and combining the two, I see the common links being the emphasis on education and the importance of a good education.  There was a big difference about the distance involved.  I did not include anything about distance or separation in mine, where as the definition from Dr. Simonson emphasized the separation aspect.

Of course I thought about separation, but I suppose I did not mention it due to that fact that the distance factor is not as much of an issue these days.  With the technology and society we currently live in the distance seems to become smaller.  With the creation of Web 2.0 technology, blogs and learning environments I feel just as close to my classmates who around the world as I do with the ones in the next city.

In the future I see DL becoming more and more popular and accepted.  I can see the K-12 education world adapting and utilizing DL in their environments. I know that for global reasons, school are already taking a look at DL. At the same time though, schools today are really being hit hard in the budgets cuts.  Teachers are beginning to get frustrated with their work load and pay scale.  If DL becomes adopted then I can see teachers and students jumping on board.