Reflection 1 - Distance Education

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, distributed or distant education had existed for some time. If the course content and the learning objectives are simple to understand, I should have a successful outcome. With all the multi-media platforms, media principles, and interactive features today, they have made it more engaging and made people want to learn more. It has undoubtedly changed over the years. I view distance education favorably because my experiences have been good. The last two years in the learning technologies doctoral program has shown me many ways to motivate, engage, and keep students' interest to help them learn and gain academic achievement. Even my own experience as a distributed student has been a great learning experience.

My first experience of distance education was through seminary as a student in 2009. I was in Dallas, and Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary was in Evansville, Indiana. They offered distance courses to undergraduates and graduate students. Although the first two years of distance learning were successful, some lecturers still used the conventional method. They deliver lectures and PowerPoint presentations while delaying questioning till the end of the module. There was only interaction when a student asked a question, and the class discussed it. I was drawn to distance learning because it allows you to take courses without attending a seminary physically. The other benefit is saving money because there is no need to get hotels and plane reservations. The online course platform was custom designed with one frame for the professor on video, and the other would showcase the lecture notes. We collaborated via a phone bridge line for discussions, questions, or heated fellowship. Overall, it was okay, and each course had a universal standard of objectives, learning activities, and lots of assignments and writing papers. You knew what to expect from each lesson, the level of work effort, and the topic paper at the end of the course.