Technology Research # 1

Distance Learning:

Distance learning has been around since the late 1700’s and can be thought of in many different ways. Distance learning can be online courses that are taken from a university you are attending, attending a class through video-conference, or receiving a degree from an online university. I think distance learning is a great way to allow students who can’t take classes at a university or in high school because of work schedules or whatever can do some sort of distance learning and still have the opportunity to get an education. I thought in the elementary education classroom we could use distance learning for so many different things that would be fun and exciting for the students. Once a week or month we could have a video conference with an “expert” on a topic we are currently studying in science, or someone who has a job that utilizes the skills the students are currently learning in math class. By doing video-conferencing or distance learning we might have more access to resources or people that we normally wouldn’t if they had to physically be in the classroom. I also think for the older grades it gives students the opportunity to take courses in a subject they might be interested in that we might not normally study in class. It is just a great tool for giving students more opportunity to learn. I read an article online about two teachers from neighboring school districts who used distance learning. I thought it was a great way for students to share their work with others. One thing they talked about was having students from one school becoming experts on a subject and teaching it to the students from the other school and visa-versa via distance learning. Distance learning is a great way for students to learn and to be exposed to technology and realize all of the things that can be accomplished using technology!