FutureWatch 3: The future of transactional distance, behaviorism, and web 2.0

The future, ah, the future. But what is in the future for the three things I highlighted for my COMET Masters ePortfolio? (which, by the way, is pretty flipping awesome!) Are all three going to dominate the ID field or fade into obscurity?

Transactional distance has always been a part of delivering instruction– it was core to teaching even before it was coined “transactional distance” because at its heart is the question “Are they getting it?” As instructional designers, that’s what were about. So, two things are going to happen with transactional distance. One, people are going to keep talking and talking about it. Is it a sound theory? Is it complete? Does this theory make more sense? Remember ADDIE? Pretty solid theory, right? Sure, until ARDDIE came along! Two, it will continue to be a concern when designing instruction whether it is identified as transactional distance or not.

And what about behaviorism, sometimes treated as the eccentric uncle of learning theory? Will it finally be expunged from the family history? Or will its value be recognized and it be given a place of honor and distinction at the head table? Once again, however, behaviorism is at the core of learning– it is a starting point for all good instruction as it defines habits and knowledge. So in that sense, people will keep talking about behaviorism, and people will talk about the people talking about it! Secondly, behaviorism will continue to be a part of good instructional design and delivery. I recently viewed a movie about Ron Clark, a successful teacher in one of Harlem’s. As I am watching this innovative teacher employ all manner of learning theory, behaviorism helps him to build not only a suitable learning environment, but to build critical knowledge to help these students achieve. Bottom line: Some things take repetition and memorization to learn. Yes, other learning theories are concerned with higher-order thinking, but not everyone is going to be a researcher or inventor or college professor. In fact, the service sector is one of the fastest growing areas of employment– an area that requires repetition and memorization in order to get similar jobs done quickly and correctly. So behaviorism, whether it is identified in training or not, is going to gain in prominence in our society.

Lastly, the new kid on the block: Web 2.0. Some have gone so far to say that Web 2.0 is the future of education– with greater impact than the printing press. At any rate, the collaborative potential now possible through Web 2.0 technology is certainly taking education by storm. I believe we are just at the formative stages of seeing the extent that education will be changed by this technology. Higher education is being the most affected currently as students have more access to the technology required. As one looks at K-12 education, the issues get a little sticker: budget and accessibility. A teacher cannot employ Web 2.0 technology unless he/she goes to great lengths since it cannot be assumed that every student has access to the Internet. So the teacher must arrange computer labs, library time, and other time-consuming measures to integrate this type of technology into the classroom. But as Web 2.0 gains prominence, so will the pressure on these institutions grow, and they will be forced to keep up. But as an instructional tool, once they are learned by teaching and practice (behaviorism), they will be essential applications to help reduce transactional distance.