Distance Educators and Dogma

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Distance Educators and Dogma
Terry Anderson weighs in on some long-standing disputes in distance education. The first pits access against effectiveness: while technology may improve effectiveness, the purpose of distance education is to provide access, and many people do not have access to technology. The second questions the effectiveness of technology by challenging its empirical basis. Anderson essentially bites th bullet on access, conceeding that "there are learners on the trap lines in Northern Canada without even dial-up connectivity or electricity". And on effectiveness he argues that we need to redefine the criteria; "If we think of more general learning outcomes of education as a whole, the rationale for Net learning becomes more apparent." I agree with this, but I don't think he needs to give any ground on access. More...