Michael Foley's perspective on the future of distance education

Education

Foley's Viewpoint

Carefully reflect on Michael Foley's viewpoint about the future of distance education.

Foley's viewpoint on the future of distance education seems to be right on point. He foresees a time when distance education will be much more than simply offering courses that are easily accessible to a much wider element of the population. Instead, he sees distance education really making a difference in developing countries in a wide variety of ways. Distance education can bring on-the-job training to aid programs and other programs, and they will help participants create new projects and developments that can truly give them a better quality of life. He notes, "The new emphasis will be on designing activities such as: knowledge sharing, knowledge management, action learning, team learning (as distinct from individual learning for diplomas), performance support, "just-in-time" learning (Foley). This shakes up the "traditional" model of distance learning, which assumes that most distance learners are taking classes for a degree program, for professional development, or continuing education. Instead, programs can be developed that do not have to meet curriculum guidelines, but instead meet lifestyle and training guidelines that will help develop new skills and projects that can last a lifetime.

These programs will teach performance and practical skills, and tests would be relative; the real measure would be in the program and its effectiveness and its satisfactory completion. Another different aspect of these types of distance education programs would be how they are delivered, and by whom. Foley continues, "Much of the knowledge will not be provided by experts in training and education institutions. It will be provided by those who have direct experience of implementing similar programs, shared in "south-to-south" dialogues, using a variety of technologies as they emerge" (Foley). That is a very big departure from most traditional distance education programs, which are offered by trained professional educators, and those with direct experience are often shunned as unqualified in the educational arena. Bringing in experts in particular technologies helps ensure the aid programs receive the best information possible, and can use it to alter and add to their own programs. Sometimes "book" knowledge is not the only applicable solution to a problem, and real, direct experience is a much better solution in situations such as these. As Foley concludes, "The aim will be to mine the implicit knowledge of practitioners rather than the explicit knowledge of the textbook, through a process of storytelling and the building of communities of practice" (Foley). This seems to take distance education in a full circle from where it started. It began as a way for a more diverse population to experience higher and continuing education, it has moved on to be a major source of higher education at many institutions, and in the future, it may alter yet again to bring vital education to a diverse population that can use it to better their lives.