#2 Distance Education

1.           When we say traditional/face-to-face education, it is a type of discussing or educating people in which the person who teach and the person who will be teach interact and communicate each other face-to-face in a real classroom setting at the same specific time, day, place and settings. There, the pupils and the teachers can exchange their thoughts and ideas through gestures, body movements and facial expression. Here, paper and pencil are very essential while in a Distance Education type of discussion or education, the teacher and the pupils interact through the use of electronic media like computer, videos and other. They communicate into each other at their choice of time and place. This kind of education; the online learning can be a lifetime to those who have obstacles, such as geographical distances or physical disabilities. (Paul Levinson, Author, “the Soft Edge”. Computers, Internet Connection and other media are the essential tools in the Distance Education.

2.            Using the Distance education as a type of discussion allows every  people who wants to learn and continue to gain knowledge even if they had physical disabilities, work and even if they are in the place that are very far from the institution site because through Computers or the used of new technologies, we can now learn and become educated. Through online education, we can complete all the classes at our own time at our convenience. For those students who have lack of self confidence to answer and participate in the actual face-to-face setting, in online discussion, they can confidently exchange and shout out their ideas through chats.  

3.       FOUR TYPES OF INTERACTION RESULT TO RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE OF COMMUNICATION AND THEIR DESCRIPTION:

1.      Learner-Content Interaction- for the first type, the interaction happens between the student and the content or the subject/ lesson that are trying to impart to them. When a learner gain new knowledge and information, the interaction with the contents are now taking place.

2.      Learner-Instructor Interaction- on the second type of interaction, student gain knowledge through the help and guidance of the instructor. The instructors are there to help them clarify some unclear ideas that they overcome in reading the content. In Distance Education, the instructors answers the students questions thru chats or emails because the interaction between them happens thru the use of technology like computer and internet connection.

3.      Learner-Learner Interaction- this type occurs when students have a forum or interaction with one another as a team to promote understanding of the course content and stimulate critical learning. Each individual can contribute to course discussion and comment on the thought of others, creating a free flow of dialogue that becomes a valuable element in learning.

4.      Learner-Technology/System- for the last type, interaction happens when the learner used technology in a wise and effective ways that could give them new knowledge and information. A learner who wants to use distance education should be computer literate so that they will have an effective and successful outcomes.

4.            “Interaction is the key component of this use of the technology to support a more social learning, negotiating meaning through interaction with peers over distance, and forming a sense of community using the technology.”- Amirian

·             This quotation means that as a user and one of the learners who are engaging themselves in a Distance Education, we should know on how are we going to interact with the contents, instructor, learners and ofcourse with the technology that plays an important role in this kind of education. Proper ways of interaction between the above mentioned will lead us to a more fruitful individual who knows to communicate and respect with other living and even those non living things in a positive way.