Distance Education Terminology - Week 1

The Kanuka and Conrad readings cleared up a lot of the issues that I have had with terminology; since, starting the distance education program. I felt a great deal of discomfort with the terminology (i.e., distance education or distance learning) since entering the program as I have often felt that it was changing with the different courses that I was taken, and now I am a little more aware that this is a debated issue and not just my misunderstandings of the terminologies. Most fields of study have pre-defined vocabulary that are rarely debated (i.e., economics has supply, demand, opportunity costs) and this makes it easier when I begin an area of study, as the terms are already in motion. However, with distance education I need to be aware of the reasoning behind the theorists decisions for choosing terminology and decide for myself which terms are most logical to use. The most interesting aspect of the study of distance education for me thus far is that it is still in the foundation periods and a lot of growth potential exist.

Additionally, I have greatly benefited from reading about technology and its role in the selection of terminology. The major point that I learned through my reading and self reflection of the readings is that technology plays a major role in the discourse in terminology. Technology brings with its numerous benefits, many changes good and bad. The technology advancements are ultimately the reasoning behind the changes in new terminology. Like the authors noted in the reserved readings, now that learners and educators alike are using Wi-Fi the terminology online learning is no longer valid for those not connecting through hard line. The point regarding the online learning terminology that the author made, allowed me to reflect on some of the terms that I use in everyday language that no longer are valid terms, and this will be something that I will need to correct by updating some of the terms that I use.

I am interested to see how the terms that have already been created for distance education will settle in over the coming years. This reading had a major impact on me as a future professional in distance education as it brought to my attention the fact that the terminology is not just confusing for me, rather, it is confusing for most people. I will need to be careful in my use of the terms in the future and research more practitioners decisions on terminology so that I can give reasoning behind my use in the future.