Distance education originated with correspondence courses but has exploded with the integration of Internet and Web technologies into students’ everyday lives. Classrooms without walls, e-learning, distance education, distance learning, virtual universities - the buzz words keep swirling to describe the world of online teaching. Now you can add Web 2.0 to the collection – it is used to describe an exciting time for Internet-based technology, where we are provided with a wide range of new tools with a user- focused nature, such as podcasting, blogging, and Wikis.
Students and their expectations have changed as an increasing number of learners are choosing online education programs to complete their higher education. Through digital learning opportunities, people can not only finesse their studies around their careers and family obligations, but they also can deepen their educational experience through many learning channels online.
The convenience and flexibility of online learning, and the presence of computers throughout society, are generating record numbers of busy professionals to pursue degrees and certificates that were previously beyond reach. Large and small institutions have found online education to be an obvious way to increase enrollments and expand their reach. Characteristics of this population of students vary, yet students who choose distance education often hold additional employment and family responsibilities.
Web 2.0 Tools
In the Web 1.0 world of distance learning, the discussion forum and the chat room were the heart of most online courses. But the past few years have seen another change in the way online instructors teach. From podcasting to blogging to using wikis, these Web-based systems have all had a positive impact on the distance learning experience for both teacher and students.
Podcasting
Podcasting is the Web 2.0 technology that has gotten the most press. Podcasts are digital audio files, usually MP3s or MP4s, that are made available online, often by free subscription. Despite their name, they do not require an Apple iPod to be received; they can be played on almost all computers and portable digital audio players, and many cell phones and PDAs. Teachers use Podcasting for "Coursecasting," the recording of lectures that they make available in audio form online for all their distance education students.
Blogging
Blogs (slang for Web-logs) are a specific kind of Web site. They are designed for putting up content quickly, easily, and regularly-posting on the go. Blogging is very different from traditionally assigned learning content. It is much less formal. It is written from a personal point of view, in a personal voice. Students' blog posts are often about something from their own range of interests, rather than on a course topic or assigned project. More importantly, what happens when students blog, and read reach others' blogs, is that a network of interactions forms-much like a social network.
With a blog, you log in, type, and click submit. It is not much different than making a forum posting, no knowledge of coding is required, and it's free. Many instructors use Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), but there are other blogging sites, too, like LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com) and Word-Press (http://www.wordpress.com). All are easy to set up and get started with. Class Blogmeister (http://classblogmeister.com/) is specifically developed for educational use, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment. Most of all, student-created blogs have the possibility of changing the distance learning classroom dynamic, and can help to create an authentic learning community.
Wikis
Wikis perhaps best exemplify the social nature of Web 2.0 programs. Named after a moderately quick mode of bus transportation in Hawaii, wikis allow multiple users to work on the same documents, though not at precisely the same time (the pages are locked when they are being edited by another user). The most famous example of this is, of course, Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org), a collaboratively created encyclopedia, but there are many others, including Wiktionary. The advantageous educational uses for wikis include: providing a place for brainstorming, deciding on a schedule of activities, or developing definitions of roles and/or terms.
If you are thinking of furthering your education, there is no better time than now. With the explosive integration of the Net and the tools it brings into our everyday lives, your degree is no further than a click away. So don’t delay, go join the world wide community today!