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DISTANCE EDUCATION.
Term Paper ID:30125
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Essay Subject:
Examines the impact of Web-based education.... More...
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8 Pages / 1800 Words
6 sources, 19 Citations,
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the impact of Web-based education. History of distance education & the changes brought about in its effectiveness; availability & applicability of E-learning. Computer literacy.& Internet facility. Focus on healthcare field. Impact of web technology on healthcare workers regarding keeping up with current information & maintaining accredidation.
Paper Introduction:
This paper is an examination of the impact of web technology on distance education, especially as it pertains to the field of healthcare. The Internet has had a profound impact on the ways in which many different tasks are accomplished. It has significantly changed the exchange of information, allowing anyone with access to a personal computer with on-line capability the opportunity to gather substantial materials from diverse and wide-ranging sources. Distance education, which has been an option for decades for those unable to physically join classes separated by geography, has been limited by existing delivery systems. This paper explores the history of distance education and the changes brought about in its effectiveness, availability, and applicability.
Advanced education was once considered a luxury, available
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Dissemination of information and education via the internet will also allow for equality in medical knowledge and training across the globe (p. Corrigan (1996) notes that web technology allowsthe student to join a virtual classroom, one that "occurs in the minds ofthe participants" (p. In other words, students in diverse settings are more likely tobe able to share the same basic information pool with their colleaguesbecause of its accessability over the Internet. Roach, J. Lee Delpizzo (in Two Takes,2 1, March) notes, "If staff don't have to travel and can access thecontent on their own time, an agency doesn't have to cover shifts forresidential and inpatient services. . 4). As Porter (1997) notes, "The future ofdistance learning depends on the ways new technologies can be used mosteffectively to provide high-quality education and training to more peopleat a reasonable cost" (p. It allowsthose working far from large campuses, big cities, and well-funded researchlibraries to share the same access to current information and state-of-the-art procedures as their colleagues around the globe. References Bear, J., & Bear, M. 174).In fact, web technology may be especially effective in the healthcare fieldin its ability to combine consistent information with more interactivedissemination of that information and more efficient testing of knowledgereceived. 3). 5). (2 1, March).Behavioral Health Management, 21(2), 28-31. Nevertheless, the field has made remarkable progressfrom its early beginnings as a packet of written materials delivered in amailbox and returned months later after an undetermined amount of study andthought. It has significantly changed the exchange ofinformation, allowing anyone with access to a personal computer with on-line capability the opportunity to gather substantial materials fromdiverse and wide-ranging sources. Creating the virtual classroom: Distancelearning with the Internet. Advanced education was once considered a luxury, available primarilyto those with the resources to build private libraries and hire personaltutors. 6). Colleges started to recognize that not all potential studentscould come to their campuses, and they began to develop correspondencecourses and other forms of home study to meet these needs. (2 1, June). .. Corrigan (1996) points out that thetechnology also includes some more sophisticated permutations on Internetaccess, such as e-mail, file transfer protocol, Telnet (allowing remotelogins on distant computers), Multi-User Domain (MUD), Point-to-PointProtocol (PPP), Serial Link Internetworking Protocol (SLIP), and hypertext,all of which offer increasingly complex interactive, often synchronousexchanges of information. Distance education began as an attempt to make formal education moreaccessible. 175), but it cannot substitute for direct experience withpatients. Graves (Two Takes, 2 1, March) quotes a survey of 84 training andorganizational development professionals which was conducted by theAmerican Productivity and Quality Center. Web-based distance education must still, like early correspondence courses, beorganized into lessons and a recognized course of study in order to beeffective, and such organization does not simply spring into being on itsown. Distance education in some form has been evolving steadily since themid-194 s, but current technologies that provide interactive exchanges andvaried kinds of information delivery have helped the original concept todevelop into a genuinely effective educational alternative. (2 1, July). This paper is an examination of the impact of web technology ondistance education, especially as it pertains to the field of healthcare.The Internet has had a profound impact on the ways in which many differenttasks are accomplished. Even when well-planned and organized, however, web-based learningcannot substitute for all classes. based mostly in the hard drives of computers, accessible by thousands of students all over the world . . 31). (1996). E-learning: Is it the end of medicalschools? Dan Corrigian (1996) writes, "From the earliest days offormalized education, the academic process has meant travel and lodging . 4). Porter, L. However, distance learning in the age of technology is not simply (oreven primarily) about technology. . 45). Roach (2 1, June)predicts: The next decade may see the emergence of a new type of medical school . Corrigan (1996) notes that web-based distance education requires justfour things from its students: a computer and on-line access (which do nothave to belong to the student but can be accessed through local librariesor through the student's employer), whatever academic prerequisites areneeded the prepare the student for the coursework being studied, and, whereapplicable, tuition, which may be paid by the student, the employer, or byboth (p. Managed Healthcare Executive, 11(7),45-46. With the adventof technologies that allow students in remote locations to interact withand become involved with not just information but also other students andteachers, distance learning has begun to reach across geographicboundaries. O. John Bear and Mariah Bear (1999) observe that distance education caninclude traditional home-study correspondence courses but also encompassescable TV and videotaped classes, guided independent study, home computerslinked to university computers, and a wide variety of Internet interfaces(p. . For healthcareworkers, distance education allows them to continue to add to theirknowledge while remaining on the job and continuing to provide consistentcare to patients, a cost benefit that may outweigh all the other savingsinherent in distance learning. The internet university: College courses bycomputer. Of course, distance learning, even when conveyed by the most complextechnology available, can never completely replace face-to-face learning orhands-on experience. 4). . K. Web-based distance learning most often and most significantlyencompasses access to the Internet and the exchange of information thatthis technology offers to learners. 175). Roach (2 1, June)writes, "Some estimates suggest that it takes 2 hours to produce one hourof online tuition, invoking the need for huge investment" (p. 7). Sheree Graves, in an article inBehavioral Health Management (Two Takes, 2 1, March), writes, "The phrase'e-learning' is not about just putting a course on the Internet. College degrees by mail & modem 1999.Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. O. Yet, 73 percent of their trainingis still being provided face to face because most still could not figureout how to begin the process (p. Part of the increased effectiveness of advanced technology as aneducational tool is the increased comfort level of students using it.Computer literacy and Internet facility are still not universal skills,though more and more individuals are becoming skilled at using computersand at accessing the Internet. Corrigan (1996) observes, "Even in the days after WWII,when the country's colleges were opened by the GI Bill, accessability waslimited to those who could relocate and totally reorganize their lives -not an option for many young families" (p. can be recaptured in months" (p. 4). 23). As Corrigan(1996) argues, "In the industrial age, we went to school; in theinformation age, school can come to us" (p. Nevertheless, such broad use islikely to come eventually; Corrigan (1996) quotes a projection that, by theyear 2 2 , half of all the formal academic study in the United States willbe conducted online (p. Instead, it can help prepare students for direct patientinvolvement and keep them up to date as new information and research addsto knowledge in the field. It is moreabout the electronic methods companies are employing to ensure that ourworkforce is receiving the 'just-in-time' information it needs for criticalknowledge, support, skills development, credentialing and mentoring" (p.28). The ability to use computers and toaccess the Internet must also penetrate to the top levels of managementbefore they become used universally. NY: John Wiley & Sons. This trend is fueled as much by economics as by technology'seffectiveness as an educational tool. The results indicate that thecompanies they work with believe in the potential of web-based distanceeducation and have set ambitious goals in terms of the percentage oftraining to be offered using online or entirely technology-based vehicles.Forty-seven percent indicated that their organizations' ultimate goal wasfor training to be entirely web-based. However, formalized study is not merely a matter of havingthe ability to access random information; materials must be organized toallow students to make use of the available knowledge. . Connors (2 1, July) writes, "Theuse of the self-paced e-learning experience has grown tremendously becauseof the increasing costs in job training and conferences, as well as thegrowing importance of 'quality' time spent on the job" (p. To be effective, the focus must remain on using that technology tohelp students learn at a distance. 13-14).However, correspondence courses are limited in their ability to involve thestudent; distance learning as it was first conceived was essentially a one-way process in which the student was the passive receptor of a body ofknowledge. Then, Roach (2 1, June) observes, "Onlinescenarios can allow us to gain confidence and appropriate backgroundknowledge before the hands on portion of learning, replacing time spentlearning theory, with more time mastering the skill" (p. Student British Medical Journal, 174-175. 174). She (1997) notes that some of its most critical benefits include thestudent's ability to learn at his or her own pace, in a convenientlocation, and covering topics not readily available locally (pp. Harwich, MA: Cape Software Press. As technology continues to grow in sophistication and studentscontinue to master its intricacies, the importance of distance learning isalmost certain to grow in importance. Lynnette R.Porter (1997), who prefers the term distance learning to distanceeducation, defines the term as "educational training information, includingthe instruction and experience that learners gain, although they arephysically distant from the source of that information and instruction" (p.1). The general public learned as much as was needed to perform thejobs required by society, and only the upper class could afford the luxuryof learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge. . (1997). The early universities were armed and barricaded to give carefullyselected students relative freedom from want and worry while they carriedout their studies" (p. . A. R. Roach (2 1, June) notes, "Multimediainstruction is particularly well suitedto help students learn physical diagnosis, with visual and audio aidsenhancing recognition of heart and lung sounds, physical examinations, andpathology" (p. Two takes on e-learning in behavioral healthcare. Corrigan, D. Corrigan (1996) argues, "The conceptof 'place' no longer determines whether you can go to college" (p. 31). This paperexplores the history of distance education and the changes brought about inits effectiveness, availability, and applicability. Distance education began by using the mail delivery system to includethose unable to travel great distances in order to learn. The idea of distance education - learning that transcendsgeography - remains the same, but advanced technology, and especially theInternet, gives it the ability to make this a genuinely effective process. The establishment ofcolleges, formal gathering places for teaching, helped build an establishedcurriculum but kept the sharing of knowledge among those who could affordto attend. Connors, K. For healthcare workers located in underserved communities, distanceeducation is a particularly powerful and valuable movement. Online learning can be a cost-effectivealternative to traditional training. J. While patient contact will remain integral to learning medicine, perhaps what will emerge is a way to personalize education, reduce costs for students, and prepare them more thoroughly for contact with patients . Distance learning can also help organizations keep healthcare workerson the job, even while learning continues. With the development of the common school movement came a moredemocratic understanding of the importance of education as being auniversal right rather than an individual privilege, but learners werestill restricted. For healthcare workers, web technology can be especially effective inhelping those already in the field to keep up with current information andto maintain the accreditation required throughout the profession, as wellas helping newcomers to launch their careers. In many cases, particularly when the e-learning provider also manages the documentation regarding courses takenand correct credits per employee, agencies might find that any investmentin e-learning . Computer connections provide the greatest change in distanceeducation since they allow instruction to become genuinely interactive,building on what the student already knows and learns during the course ofstudy. (1999). Distance education, which has been anoption for decades for those unable to physically join classes separated bygeography, has been limited by existing delivery systems.
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