Benefits offered by using Distance Education

It is important to review research and literature on exploring the potential benefits offered by using Distance Education. The literature review will provide credible information that can be presented to our customers who are seeking a cost effective solutions. In addition, the information will be instrumental in driving the need for change within my company to focus products and services on customer needs. In the textbook Social Change by S. Vago, it is presented that there are three basic ways in which a change agent can try to influence a change target. These include promoting change by coercion or power, persuasion, and education or reeducation. (1999) Educating the clients and company staff on the benefits of Distance Education will promote systemic change. Increased student enrollment adversely affects the future of schools by causing lack of classroom space instructional facilities and lack of qualified educators to teach in K-12 schools. Compounding the problem, there is a decrease in education funding from state and federal government. In addition school system are faced with increased accountably requirements of the United States Department of Education No Child Left Behind act. (2004) The literature review that follows will examine each of these issues and explores distance education as a solution. Literature Review Instructional programs, facility capacity, staffing, and availability of funding are factors that influence a school systems future success. The United States Department of Education No Child Left Behind Act has focused attention on student achievement scores and school accountability (2004). In order to increase student achievement scores school systems must provide students with adequate instructional tools to learn. As student enrollment increases it has become increasingly difficult to provide enough tools and certified teachers to accommodate the student enrollment increases. Budgetary factors are the predominate influence in preventing school systems from addressing the issue (McCombs, 2000). Increasing Student Enrollment In the state of Texas K-12 public and private schools have experienced a steady growth in student enrollment for the past several years. The United States Department of Education’s, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has complied data that indicates that the stream of continued growth is predicted to increase in Texas and nationally over the next ten years (2004). The National Center for Education Statistics projected enrollment in K-12 schools nationally to increase 4 percent between 2004 and 2005 in Texas the NCES predicts an 11% increase in student enrollment by 2013 (NCES, 2004). The continued growth will increase the need for additional classroom space construction, textbooks, instructional materials, classroom computers, and qualified teachers. Growth of Distance Education The growth in distance learning and Internet based education is changing the face of traditional education (Jones, 2002). Nationally, traditional instructional delivery is changing from being teacher centered to student centered. The student-centered instructional approach provides an environment that is conducive to Distance Education. Instructional approaches are becoming more learner-centered: “recursive and non-linear, engaging, self-directed, and meaningful from the learner’s perspective” (McCombs, 2000). One of the principles of student-centered instruction is to provide learning opportunities on demand, which are meaningful to the students (Yelon, 1996). Distance Education provides on-demand instruction. Research studies have been quite consistent finding that distance learning classrooms report similar effectiveness results as reported under traditional instruction methods. In addition, research studies often point out that student attitudes about distance learning are generally positive (USDLA, 2004).

Flexible Scheduling To meet the needs of America’s growing student population, we need to build new schools and modernize existing one(Clinton, 2000). As student enrollment increases and class sizes grow it becomes increasingly difficult for teachers to engage in student centered teaching. Traditional local classroom instruction provides customized, flexible content to a relatively low number of students. Distance learning courses can reach a very large audience while offering students a flexible schedule (Jones, 1999). Over the last 10 years, our public schools have grown by 6.6 million students, resulting in overcrowded classrooms and strained school facilities. Multiple modes of enabling interaction among students and teachers will be critical to the success of schools (Hanna, 2003). Certified Teachers The demand for teachers has indeed grown. Since 1984, both student enrollments and teacher retirements have increased (Snyder, Hoffman, & Geddes, 1997). Substantial numbers of schools with teaching openings have experienced difficulties finding qualified candidates to fill their positions (Ingersoll, 1999). While teacher shortages are easing in some areas, they remain a problem elsewhere, especially in the Sun Belt. Texas, for instance, needs 45,000 new teachers annually, more than double the 20,000 new certifications it issued last year, according to the State Board of Educator Certification (Axtman, 2004). The Vocational Education Journal cites increased student enrollment as a factor in lack of qualified educators(1999). Now, in the wake of such reports as America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages and The Forgotten Half, public school educators face the Herculean task of improving instruction for all students and helping to prepare a world-class workforce while their state and local education funding decreases. (USDOE, 2004) Distance Education allow certified teacher to transmit classes to many places reaching many students at one time.

Decrease State and Federal Education Budgets

An analysis of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) budget over the past 3 years shows no significant increase in the amount of funds available to states and Local Education Agencies (LEA). The small increase that was scene was utilized by the DOE in developing and monitoring the No Child Left Behind Act. In 1995 the DOE budget was 71 billion in comparison the 2003 budget was 85 billion (USDOE, 2004). Currently, many states and LEA’s rely heavily on grant funds to implement and sustain targeted instruction and special programs. Stakeholders are relying heavily on these innovative programs to narrow the achievement gap. However, further analysis of the budget shows that in 2003 the LEA’s formula grants budget was approximately 71 billion. In 2004 and 2005 the budgeted amount is 70 billion. A decease of 1 billion is present for each year after 2003 (USDOE, 2004). A vivid example of how constricting state budgets have come to bear on major reorganization is when the Texas Education Agency (TEA), long considered a national leader for school technology planning and programs, announced in September 2003 the elimination of at least 200 jobs and the liquidation of its educational technology division. State and Federal grant programs have been cut. It is evident by the decrease that innovate systemic initiatives have a difficult time receiving grants. Some areas have been increased such the Reading First Program which saw a 9.9% increase. Still minimal if you compare the number of school districts that the funds are being distributed to. As student enrollment increases the need for increased federal and local funds increase. Therefore, Distance Education courses can be a cost efficient means of addressing areas that have minimal funding.

Vertical Markets Videoconferencing systems revenues in the U.S. reached $359 million in 2003, declining by 7.4% over 2002. The revenue drop-off is attributed to depressed IT spending resulting from a tough economic climate, as well as the continued decline across the board in Average Selling Prices (ASPs). Revenue growth in the U.S. videoconferencing systems market took a harder hit while revenues outside of U.S. showed a lower cumulative decline of 1.9%, with Asia showing a revenue growth of 5.9%. Over the last two years, growth in videoconferencing systems was hampered by reductions in IT budgets, deferred projects, and smaller deployments (Frost & Sullivan, 2004). A vertical market solution offering is fast becoming a way of demonstrating rapid return on investments to increasingly demanding and dynamic end-user markets. There has been a marked shift in the solutions that vendors are touting, away from horizontal solutions towards tailored applications and functionality for specific vertical markets. Tailored applications are better suited to targeting client need (Frost & Sullivan, 2004). The Distance Education market includes K-12 schools and higher education institutions. The higher education market includes a variety of institutions: four-year and two-year, private and public, non-profit and for-profit, degree-granting and certification programs. Of the total higher education institutions, the largest segments are private four-year non-profits. Distance learning speeds the process of transferring the knowledge of ‘subject matter experts’ to others. Implicit in the term ‘distance learning’ is the concept of education that can occur without the necessity for the instructor and student being present in the same location at the same time. Distance Education can be marketed to Education client to provide the following benefits: •Distance Learning extends the reach of education beyond physical boundaries while reducing costs. •eRate funding initiatives support videoconferencing adoption. •The increasing affordability of videoconferencing solutions is attracting customers who found the technology too costly in the past. •Growing number of nontraditional students prompt the growth in demand. •Depressed education budgets have prompted several institutions to use videoconferencing technology to reduce the costs of field trips, teacher training, travel, and other expenses. •Lifelong training and learning grow in popularity. Conclusion Callahan noted at a recent UCEA conference that the largest high school class in U.S. history would occur in 2009 (2003). School system must begin strategically planning now to accommodate enrollment increases. Distance Education may provide a solution to the capacity constraints growing enrollments place on school systems. Educators must look for other instructional method that is non-traditional and cost effective. The literature is very clear in insolating the current trends and issues faced by school systems related to increased student enrollment. Due to the fact that my company is trying to increase sales of Distance Education equipment, it is important that we determine our customer’s needs. The first step is developing a targeted marketable product. The next step is to strategically plan for change needed within the company to successfully address this. References

Axtman, K. (2004). Texas begs for teachers - with or without credentials. The Christian Science Monitor, 96, 69-73.

Callahan, P.M. (2003). UCEA 88th Annual conference. Chicago, Illinois.

Clinton, W. (2000) Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 36 (34), 17-28.

Frost, & Sullavan. (2004) Vertical markets and applications for video conferencing system U.S. Retrieved May 29, 2004 from http://www.frost.com.asp

Gartner. (2003) Education market analysis and trends. Retrieved May 29, 2004 from http://www4.gartner.com/Init

Hanna, D. (2003). Building a leadership vision eleven strategic challenges for higher education. Educause review. pp.25-34.

Ingersoll, R. M. (1999). The problem of under qualified teachers in American secondary schools. Educational Researcher, 28, 26-37.

Jones, R. (2002) A recommendation for managing the predicted growth in college enrollment at a time of adverse economic conditions. Retrieved May 14, 2004 form http://www.westga.edu/%Edistnace/ojdal/spring61/jones

McCombs. B.L. (2000). Assessing the role of educational technology in the teaching and learning process; A learner-centered perspective. The Secretary’s Conference on Educational Technology. Retrieved May 11, 2004 from http://www.ed.gov/print/rschstat/eval/tech/techconf00/mccombs_paper.html

Mifflin, J. (1994). Vocational Education Journal, 94 (69).

National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). Projections of education statistics. Retrieved May 10, 2004 form http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/majorpub.asp

Reason, P. (1998). Chapter 20: Three approaches to participative inquiry. In N. Denzin (Ed.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 324-338). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Snyder, T., Hoffman, C., & Geddes, C. (1997). The digest of education statistics. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

U.S. Department of Education. (2004). NCLB overview Part A - Improving basic programs operated by local educational agencies. Retrieved April 9, 2004, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html?exp=0.

U.S. Department of Education (2002). Federal on-budget funds for education, by level or other educational purpose, by agency and program: Fiscal years 1965 to 2002. Retrieved April 9, 2004 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/tables/dt365.asp

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.) Elementary and secondary education: Policy guidance. Retrieved on May 8, 2004 from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec./guidedpicks.jhtml?src=fp

Vago, S. (1999). Social Change 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Yelon. S.L. (1996). Powerful Principles of Instruction. White Plains NY: Longman

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Benefits offered by using Distance Education