Dr. Barmucci's Talk on Distance Education

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I was fortunate enough to attend a talk about distance education by Dr. Robert Barmucci, District Dean, Open Campus, Riverside Community College District. He immediately came across to me as the “Dr. Phil of Distance Education,” by providing a humorous, yet intuitive discussion about distance education. And he admits that distance education today is almost synonymous with online education even though in theory it can take several different forms.

The following information was presented by Dr. Barmucci during his talk:

Distance education is growing at a rate of 20-25% compared to 4-5% for traditional education. Further, for-profit education is growing at a faster rate than public education.

Failed educational technology in the past has led to skepticism among some educators about online education. Even so, distance education dates back to 1840 with the first correspondence course in shorthand. Thus, distance education has been around in some form for more than a century and a half. However, the recent growth in distance education can largely be attributed to the internet, which has allowed for the restructuring of technology and its use.

Research has consistently demonstrated that there are no significant differences between online and traditional classes. Dr. Barmucci presented a meta-analytic review of 70 studies to support this claim. His presentation mirrors much of the research presented at this year’s annual American Psychological Association Conference that I attended in New Orleans. Dr. Barmucci also indicated that satisfaction tends to be high among distance education students and many cite the flexibility that such education offers as one of the reasons for taking an online class. As a result, distance education is much more “consumer friendly” than traditional education.

Distance education is still in a mostly primitive form as online classes have only existed for 10 years, versus 700 or more years for traditional education. Online education also requires greater skills for both the student and the educator. For the educator, he or she must not only be the content creator, but media expert among a list of numerous or skills required for effective online presentation of information. In addition, not everything that works in the classroom works equally well online, resulting in the need to create or at least modify current teaching methods.

Trends in Distance Education

1. The Future Is Mobile

This is largely the consequence of technology which is beginning to integrate numerous devices into a single unit.

Time/Place shifting is becoming common, especially among the iPod and Tivo users who have become accustomed to having the content they want when and where they want it.

2. The Future Is Interactive

The computer game business is larger than the movie business, or for professional sports for that matter.

Part of the success of games is that they allow players to make choices in how they want to proceed. The same might be true fro online classes in the future. As a result, courses can be customized to the individual student.

3. The Future Is Integrated

There will likely be an unbundling of courses with courses designed, developed, and/or taught by teams.

4. Categories Will Blur

The distinction between traditional and distance education courses will become harder to distinguish.

This is especially true as more and more faculty are teaching traditional courses that are “Blackboard-Enhanced.”

Conclusion

There is world-wide potential to distance education as your student base is no longer limited to a specific geographic region. In Africa, for instance, more than 125 million children have no access to education. Further, AIDS is killing teachers faster than they can be trained.

Dr. Barmucci concluded by stating, “The hope for distance education is to rehumanize education, not to dehumanize it.” Essentially, he was referring to the fact that larger classrooms have led to a greater disconnect between the educator and the student. With online courses, however, there is a greater potential for one-on-one interaction between the two.