Friday, January 1, 2010
GLOBAL DIVERSITY
Distance education is thriving due to its ability to allow learners in education as well as the in corporate world to connect and close communication gaps. The distance education learning experience opens up a wealth of opportunities for individuals to converse and share ideas that would not be possible because of time and distance restraints. Distance education does create more effective learning experience due to its ability to accommodate global diversity. It allows students from around the world to share the same time and space through such technology tools as teleconferencing and videoconferencing. With these tools, a diverse group of students are enabled to share experiences, perspectives, and ideologies that would not be possible in face-to face learning environments.
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Wendy,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the potential for global diversity in distance education exists, and that the format in distance education provides an environment which allows learners to meet even across geographical distance, and time, I don't feel that distance education has acheived global diversity.
My primary reason for disagreeing is that the written word continues to prevent those who do not speak one's own language from interacting.
You have noted blogs, which are perhaps the only arena I know where culturally diverse people from various nations can and do interact together. However, if you'll note, most of the interactions held in the United States are among others from the U.S. Occassionally, there are interactions among those who also speak English, from other English-speaking countries, especially Canada and the United Kingdom. Browsers and search engines are in some way geared to return searches in one's own nation, preventing accidental interactions. University patronage is also limited by the language of the professors, staff, and other students, thus preventing full global diversity, in my opinion.
Lori Oren