Opportunities
- Learners can be actively engaged in learning through many means that suits their style--audio, video, written text, interactive. Care and creativity must be used with the instructional design.
- Distance barriers are removed. Students from remote areas have access to resources at their fingertips. Students have the opportunity to easily engage with our countries and cultures--or continue education from home if they are housebound.
- Language barriers can be mitigated through translaters, visual representations, text readers.
- Learners have flexibility in the time and duration of each setting they access the courses.
- Simulations can provide "real-life" experiences without the expense or safety concerns of a true field experience. (i.e. Flight simulators, military tactics, surgical procedures.)
- Educational materials can be updated and distributed without the traditional cost of printing and shipping textbooks and other print material.
Challenges
- Educators must rethink past practices and attitudes on "sharing" work.
- Copyright laws must be abided by.
- Learners must learn to manage the active nature of learning with technology--distracting, interrupting, overstimulating, frustrating.
- Etiquette and civility must be regarded.
- Academic integrity must be safeguarded.
