Distance Education .

How is distance education reshaping education?

About fifteen years ago, I took my first online course.  The course was taught from Spain and I was in California.  I felt it was a privilege to have access to this online course that was teaching me about the www.   I have to say that sometimes it was not easy to communicate as it could have been if the class was taught face to face.  Things have changed a lot in the all these years, and now the technology is making education much easier.  The courses are much better structured, the design of the courses have also changed making them more attractive and easier to navigate.  I think that discipline plays a great role in the success of an online course.  It is very easy to fall behind because of the many distractions we have on our daily routine; many people enroll on these kind of courses, but there is a large number of people that drop and are not able to finish.   I think that the distance courses are giving facilities for people who cannot have a face to face class.  It is opening doors of opportunities to many people around the world. 

How might distance education shape education of the future?

Ten years ago I could not even think that I could upload my pictures or videos for everyone to see.  Therefore, for me ten years from now is unpredictable.  Now there are a lot of videos, podcast, and many other ways to learn in any particular subject, most of these are free, anyone can learn.  Technology changes so fast that I cannot even imagine how will change the future of education or the future of distance education.   I do think that there will be more and more classes available, hopefully more degrees or professional careers offered online.  The new technology coming to could revolutionize the way distant education is going. But technologically, I think it is difficult to say what the technology can bring into the distant education system. 

I found this interesting video:
 
http://youtu.be/nJ0nlh5FU5A