TECHNOLOGY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
Technology is the one component that brings every piece of the distant learning experience together. Technology helps participants communicate effectively, assist learners in researching, and allows the learner to produce or create different types of mediums or products to portray what they have learned. Ultimately, technology helps the instructor design the course to get it up and running effectively and efficiently. It is essential that the resources that are provided to the students, especially the type of media used, fosters the learning opportunity by reassuring the involvement of the learner by providing opportunities with the technology to
explore (Simonson et al, 2009).
Instructors should keep in mind the simplicity of the preparation of documents to reassure that participants will read the content.
The technology should be used as a tool to support the learner during the process of learning, such as the opportunity to communicate with one another using this technology. In a distance learning environment, technology is something that the students rely on
(Simonson et al, 2009). Multimedia gives distance education various venues for creativity or the design of the course. It also allows
for different options for teaching and learning. Some examples include WebQuests, televised lessons, webinars, video, PowerPoints, word documents or lectures, e-mail, teleconferencing, web forums, or chat rooms (Simonson et al, 2009).
The internet is a functional tool that insures the ability for users to collect an abundance of sources for any type of research. It is essential that a distance learning course has the proper technological support system, all the links work properly, as well as the
sources being cited properly. Literacy is important when instructors are enforcing the use of certain internet communication tools.
The use of some resources should avoid inhibiting the ability for the instructor to provide quality instruction (Simonson et al, 2009). Finally, it is important for the instructor to prepare their students for the ultimate experience by providing valuable resources that ensure the students’ success.