Describe next steps in the process that would help assure the success of the initiative.
Phase 4, which began in the late 1990s and continues to the present, saw advances in the internet and the development of Web 2.0 tools. This moved the focus from information retrieval to user-generated content, interactive learning, and virtual communities. This phase saw a surge in development of distance education courses and programs to meet the needs of a mobile society concerned about costs, currency, and lifelong learning, as well as a need to stay competitive in the job market. In healthcare education, faculty have been providing distance education courses and programs for more than 35 years.14,15 Early programs relied on mostly print materials and some audiotapes, with a few on-campus meetings during the semester. With changing technology developments, delivery system formats changed from mostly printed materials to broadcast courses (e.g., distance learning classrooms that broadcast live classes to remote sites). Computer-aided instructional programs and interactive videodiscs ran on freestanding computers.16 The current generation of course delivery methods increasingly incorporates:
• Mobile devices
• Web 2.0 tools such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, and video conferencing
• Integrated campus LMSs, personal learning systems (PLS), and personal portals.
These systems integrate learner functions such as registration, billing, courses, library, tutoring, and other related learner services. Additional information about the growing interrelationships of these applications and systems can be seen in Chapter 32. What tools are in development that will facilitate delivery of courses and improved learner outcomes? The answers to these questions will become apparent as we move toward Web 3.0 tools and applications and ever-changing technological developments. What do you envision your learning environment to look like in 15 to 20 years?
Terminology
Although the phrases distributive (distributed) education, distance education, distributive (distributed) learning, and 518distance learning are used interchangeably, the nuances that can exist between these terms have broad implications for higher education and related institutions.
Distance education is instruction and planned learning in which the teacher and the learner are separated by location, and possibly teaching and learning occurs asynchronously or at different times.3 Others remove the time element, defining distance education as teaching and learning where the teacher and learner are geographically separated and rely on technology for instructional delivery.17,18 Time is not a critical element in this definition of distance education, but rather distance and the use of communication technology are the critical elements. For example, Knebel’s definition17 fits with the distance learning classrooms that educational institutions use to provide instruction to remote locations through satellite connections and equipment that permits the teacher and learner to interact with and see one another in real time. The teacher and learner are separated by distance but not by time. Note that time here refers to when students attend to their learning, not the time frame surrounding start and end of semesters, due dates for completion of assignments, and so forth. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) also provides an example of this definition. The Distance Learning Education Committee defines distance education as “instruction offered by any means where the student and faculty are in separate physical locations. Teaching methods may be synchronous or asynchronous and shall facilitate and evaluate learning in compliance with BON approval status/regulations.”19, p. 9 Note the focus on learning and expansion to include both views—at the same time (synchronous) or not at the same time (asynchronous). This definition aligns with that of Knebel’s in that time is not the issue; distance is the issue. Given the variations in meaning, many accrediting bodies are defining distance education within their regulations.20,21
It is also critical to distinguish distance education from independent learning or programmed computer instruction in that distance education is planned, mediated instruction. This means that the teacher not only designs learning experiences to guide the student’s learning but also provides direction, comments on coursework, and issues a grade on completion of the course.
Distributive (distributed) education is a change in pedagogy where one customizes the learning environment to the learning styles of the learners using technology; the learners may be taking distance, hybrid (combination of online and face to face), or on-site courses. This method includes interactive activities using available technologies. The pedagogy supports a hands-on learning-by-doing approach in which the learners interact and collaborate during the course of study using appropriate technology. For example, one might have the learners review a lesson and video on patient teaching, discuss critical elements of a good patient teaching guide on a discussion forum, and then work on a wiki to produce a project such as a patient teaching guide on some aspect of patient care where there is a written lesson, podcast, and demonstration video.
Dede’s characteristics of distributive education:
• Supports different learning styles by using mixed media
• Builds on the learner’s perspective though interactive experiences
• Builds learning and social skills through collaboration
• Integrates learning into daily lives.22
In 2004, Dede defined distributed education as “a term used to describe educational experiences that are distributed across a variety of geographical settings, across time and across various interactive media.”23, p. 16 Although the terms distributed learning and distance education are used interchangeably, distance education has a narrower definition. Since the primary characteristic of distance education is that learners and teachers are separated by time and distance, learners learn the material on their own time and in their own place. Distance education may or may not include the use of emerging technologies. The primary goal of distributed learning is the customization of the learning environment to better meet the learner’s needs through the use of technologies and an interactive collaborative environment that can take place on or off campus—that is, through course enhancements embedded in traditional classroom settings, hybrid (combination of face-to-face and distance learning), or distance courses. Distributed learning is more inclusive in its delivery methods. Additional information concerning the next generation of learners, learning environments, personal learning assistant initiatives, and related research can be seen at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness’s Advanced Distributed Learning Network at https://www.adlnet.gov/adl-research/.
Three other useful terms one might encounter are online education, eLearning, and mLearning. Each will be defined here, but what is important is how these terms are used within the context of the content they are referencing.
• Online education requires the use of the internet or an intranet to deliver educational materials.
• eLearning (eTraining) is “an approach to teaching and learning that is based on the use of electronic media and devices.”24, p. 152 Some authors believe there are three major elements that make eLearning different from face-to-face learning: asynchronous learning, a different location, and use of electronic devices that provide for interaction and communications.25 The consensus seems to be that eLearning requires a computer or other electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet. eLearning involves a greater variety of equipment than online resources or the internet in that any electronic device may be used: DVDs, CD-ROMs, and so forth.
• mLearning is the use of a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, iPad, etc.) as an educational tool for meaningful, just-in-time learning any place and time. Mobile devices refer to those devices that can be held in the hand. While some consider mLearning an extension of eLearning, there are differences between the two. These differences relate to time, information access, context, and assessment.26,27 mLearning has short learning sessions, accessed when needed, driven by context, and applied immediately. As mobile devices 519continue to develop more capabilities, you will see more interactive, stimulating learning environments. What we need to focus on is the learning environment that mobile devices can facilitate.