The Distancing Question in Online Education
It is suggested here by Russell that there are different obstacles that need to still be overcome when discussing online educational models. Here, he tries to give some suggestions on how to overcome this problems
It is suggested the instructors need to consider what technologies they are intending on using or are using and how they will have an impact on the students. The reason that this is suggested is because the students and teachers that are used to a more traditional setting are used to being able to address the student’s emotional states because they are much easier for them to discover what is going on with the student whereas with a distance setup it is much harder to do. It is also noted that in some situations the educator has no choice in what technology is used because it is some one else that designs the course. That can make it even harder on the educator.
Russell believes that there are four positions that most educators take when discussing online or distance education. These positions are that there is no problem and never has been a problem, there was a problem but not currently, there is a problem but no one will recognize it, and finally that there is a known problem, but the advantages are greater than the disadvantages. He believes that these ideas or positions must all be addressed.
Overall, he is worried that educators are going to become overly preoccupied with online and distance educational forms and that they are not going to look at some of the ethical and community considerations that should always be considered when working with this form of education.
Russell, G (2005). The distancing question in online learning. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from Innovate 1 Web site: http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=13