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Distance Learning, The Democratization of GlobalizationNov 10 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Distance learning through complex multimedia web links providing real time interactivity for a Virtual Campus can begin with existing web technology. We have the opportunity with today's technology to integrate gaming ability with that provided for chat rooms to create a student teacher environment. Soon in fact we can build laboratories in Virtual Space where students can also dissect VR Frogs with VR knives, or assemble VR circuits. Language study interactive laboratories are already available. Perhaps someday soon the necessity to cut vast tracts of earth in order to build physical campuses for providing such institutions will no longer be needed. Billions of people with access through the technology can derive the wealth of knowledge available globally while sitting in their home. In poorer regions government funded portable sites can be installed using alternative power source, tented class sites accessing the web through wireless satellite communications. This technology is also already available by declassification of part of the existing military remote electronic headquarters and command systems. This is made possible by mimicking the current support technology that the large ISP's are using to meet the needs of their customer base and integrating them into a Virtual Town Square where anyone who wants to learn can audit but only those paying tuition or granted scholarship receive official credit. In this manner the Freedom of Open Access is guaranteed for all to knowledge but License is still by the caveat of paying for standardized testing from an approved institution providing the interactive service. With this approach semester scheduling can be a standardized trimester with three intensive study periods included in the calendar year. Holidays are personalized to student needs at the onset creating a personalized curriculum calendar. The continuous classroom is scheduled along GMT. The subjects get tailored for demand and regional necessity, for example language and social conditions. What students are willing to pay as a nominal fee for education and certification is one of the best guides starting out to what this market will bear. The cost of shared informational licensing must be anticipated and addressed as well. Nevertheless, it should be possible to keep tuition along an economic sliding scale based upon the limits of verification. The world can better itself if people are granted the tools of reason, accurate information, and the resources to put to use. The advantage of modern distance learning is that it brings the best possible education available back into every neighborhood no matter how remote or deeply urban. A global classroom provided as a form of home schooling. The admittedly simplified view of where distance learning is going provided here begs a more detailed analysis of how to integrate the available technology and where to go with such development but the possibilities outlined are already being anticipated and designed. What also needs to addressed are the ethics and costs for this new system of learning and how to encourage multicultural participation and open exchange.  |
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