Distance Learning Course

Distance Learning Reflection

Distance learning is defined as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources and instructors (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 32). More and more adult and even younger learners are choosing to participate in distance learning environments. With everything from a strictly online class to a hybrid or web-based course, the options are endless. Distance learning offers experiences for busy people with careers and families to access their course content at any time or in any place. With distance learning courses, students can complete their course work from just about anywhere, provided there’s a computer and internet connection. This allows students to work when and where it is more convenient for them without having to squeeze in scheduled classes to an already busy life (www.distancelearningnet.com, 2012). Because of the flexibility and convenience, it seems that more people are choosing to take part in online degree programs.

There are several components involved with creating a successful distance learning course. These include giving the learners an organized syllabus, which includes detailed lessons and activities, and offering technology help and tutorials. The instructor must find ways to encourage the learners, and create a positive learning community. Without establishing a community of learners in a distance setting, the potential for success is limited (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 222). Some students feel more comfortable in an online environment since they can express themselves in a different way than in a traditional face-to-face classroom. What does this mean for the future? With constant improvements in technology and flexibility of schedules and work, I can envision distance learning evolving even more within the next 10-20 years. More adult learners are choosing to pursue other career avenues, and the many convenient online degree programs will allow for that to happen.

Instructional design is the systematic and continuous application of learning principles and educational technology to develop the most effective and efficient learning experience for students (www.umsl.edu., 2004). Because of that, ID’s must incorporate learning theories and learning styles into the planning of any distance learning course. It requires the ID to consider that the learners have various technology skills as well. Thus, pursuing a career in instructional design, I would need to be very thorough, and organized so as to cover every facet of the course. I would want to find a way to build that community and offer resources for the learners to use while participating in the course. An instructional designer’s goal is to enable the students to succeed in their degree programs. Technology help and step-by-step directions are needed more in a distance learning environment because the learner has to figure things out more on their own than in a traditional classroom. Because of that, as an instructional designer, it is my job to make sure the learner has all of the necessary tools to complete the course.

My goal for the future is to take what I have learned during the duration of my courses at Walden, and pursue a degree in Instructional Design and Technology. Because of that, it is vital that I embrace the tenets of ID, and the technology tools that I have learned to use. I have learned throughout my classes that there are many options for me. As a teacher, I have already found myself using various technology tools, and new ways to differentiate the curriculum that is needed for my class. Specifically, in this distance learning class, it has helped me to see how important it is to create a positive learning experience for the learners. It’s imperative for the instructor to think like a distance education student. Keep the learners in mind as you design the course (www.umsl.edu., 2004). With this knowledge and experience, I can see myself making a positive societal change within my career pursuits.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:                       Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

www.distancelearningnet.com, (2012). Advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Retrieved                      August 19, 2012 from                                                                                                                                                                           http://www.distancelearningnet.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-distance-learning/ 

  

www.umsl.edu., (2004). Roadmap to effective distance education instructional design. Retrieved August                 19, 2012 from http://www.umsl.edu/services/ctl/DEID/destination3deid/deid.pdf          

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

            The use of blended environments for instructional purposes is continuing to grow across the world. Blended Learning aims at orchestrating an effective composition of learning experiences (www.cognitivedesignsolutions.com , 2003). A blended course involves both synchronous, or same-time/different place interactions, and asynchronous, or different time/different place interactions. When converting from a traditional face-to-face environment to a distance learning environment, there are several things to consider before designing the course. Below is a visual to show the important components that should be thought about prior to starting the course.

            Once the blended training course has been planned and developed, much thought will need to be put into the activities associated with the successful completion of the course. Technology is vital to an online course. This is something that must be demonstrated and used often. Development of online courses is integrally tied to the various software tools and systems used to deliver the instruction (Kampov-Polevoi, 2010). Additionally, it will be important to include some testing prior to making the course “live”. A panel of experts should review your course (Pappas, 2011). The designer will need to figure out what to include in the asynchronous and synchronous parts of the course. The hands-on activities will have to be assessed by the instructor in the face-to-face portion of the course. Thus, most of the rest of the content (i.e. training materials) can be included in the online portion for the students to access when is convenient for them.

            The instructor will act as facilitator in that he/she will guide the positive interactions between the learners. Communication is extremely important in an online environment. It helps to build a community or classroom culture where the learners feel comfortable with each other. The responsibility for creating this culture in the classroom is the responsibility of all participants, not just the instructor (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 222).  Thus, it is extremely important the instructor models this positive culture both in the online and face-to-face environment. By encouraging thoughtful answers, and offering constructive criticism, the instructor can set the example for how the online environment should work. This will foster communication between the trainees, and promote more positive attitudes. Below is a visual of how to integrate various components in a blended learning environment.

            Overall, the conversion of the course should focus on a well -planned out syllabus, which includes interactive activities for the learners to improve their communication and learning skills. Additionally, technology skills have to be taken into consideration as there are many technological tools that must be used. Finally, the instructor will need to take less of an active role by encouraging and modeling interactions between the trainees. Once all of this is combined and created, a successful blended learning environment can thrive.

References

Kampov-Polevoi, J. (2010). Considerations for supporting faculty in transitioning a course to online format.    Retrieved August 11, 2012 from                                                                       http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer132/kampov_polevoi132.html

Pappas, C. (2011). How would you go about converting a face to face course to eLearning                   format? Retrieved August 11, 2012 from                                                                                       http://blog.efrontlearning.net/2011/10/how-would-you-go-about-converting-face.html

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at                                 a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

www.cognitivedesignsolutions.com, 2003. Instructional Design. Retrieved August 11, 2012       from http://www.cognitivedesignsolutions.com/Instruction/BlendedLearning.htm

Blog Assignment Week 5- The Impact of Open Source

Site link: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/history/21h-116j-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-fall-2005/index.htm

            While searching through the Open Course websites, I wanted to find a site that I could possibly use outside of this assignment. Some of the topics were a bit above my range of knowledge, but I love history, so I decided to start there. Due to the fact that I teach Civil War for a good two months of the school year, I found a course that focused on that. This undergraduate course, entitled The Civil War and Reconstruction, was originally delivered in 2005.

            When navigating through the components of the course, I found it very organized and easy to understand. Generally speaking, the scope of the content for a course needs to be sufficient to ensure the entire learning experience will lead to the desired outcomes (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 157). The home page used a primary source of an actual picture from the Civil War, as well as links to lecture notes and the syllabus. The most effective part of the home page included the course description which listed four questions that the course would be focusing on. This demonstrated the course’s objectives. Objectives should state the conditions under which learning should occur, the performance expected of the learner, and the standard to which the performance will be matched (Simonson, et al, 2012, p. 158).

            Moving throughout the rest of the course, it appeared to be very well planned out based on viewing the syllabus, and the calendar. Most of the courses I looked at did not have a calendar option, so I think that was a positive tool to have. It will help the distance learner stay on track with the schedule of the course. Within the syllabus, the course description was repeated, as well as the requirements of the course, and how the grade will be determined. A syllabus is an important document in any class because it informs students of how the class will operate, the policies they must adhere to, when assignments are due, etc (www.wpi.edu., 2005).

            There were several readings that needed to be done in order to complete the course. This meant that the learners would have to purchase three different books, which were available through links on the page from Amazon.com for reasonable prices. Supplemental resources were also listed. There were no links attached to the supplemental resources, however, so the learner would have to search for those on their own. For a novice distance learner, this could be very time consuming.

            Another benefit of the course is that there were lecture notes associated with the lectures for each week. This would be beneficial to the students who need to see things in writing in order for them to understand it better. I know that when we had transcripts for the videos from Walden, that it helped me to better follow along and understand the content better.  In addition to all of the reading assignments, the learners were also responsible for watching a video called The Civil War, which was a nine part documentary series on PBS. The students would need to compare the video to the readings.

            Overall, I thought the site was well organized, informative and planned out. The only thing that I disliked was when I clicked on a link (to a video, book, syllabus, etc.), it would replace the page with the new link. I think it would be a better set up to take you to that link on a separate page, while keeping the original course site open. I had to keep using my “back” button to get back to the course page. It got a bit frustrating after a while. Also, this is an undergraduate course, but if it was delivered in the student’s first or second year of college, it might be a little intense to do completely on their own. I can see it being used in an upper level undergraduate course, or even as a graduate level course since it requires the learners to be very self-directed and motivated. Personally, I believe that is a skill that is acquired after several years of college level or adult learning experiences. All in all, I can see myself using portions of this in my classroom, and could benefit a distance learner in many ways.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

www.wpi.edu. (2005). Writing a syllabus for a distance learning class. Retrieved July 26, 2012 from http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/ATC/Collaboratory/Teaching/syllabus.html

Week 3 Blog entry: Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

                                                              

                                                            

            Distance Learning technology tools are becoming more widely used across the world. The thoughtful integration of digital technologies into the traditional scheme of education and their use in developing new ways of learning is necessary to ensure students have the tools to thrive in a complex and rapidly changing technological society (ed.gov, 2008). For this week’s entry, I decided to explore Example 2, in which a history teacher wanted his students to take a “tour” of art exhibits in a museum, and critique two pieces of art work in order to foster discussion. The main problem is that they are in two different places, so the viewing of the art work would have to be done in a virtual way. Thus, one of the best distance learning technologies to use would be that of a virtual or interactive tour.

 Interactive and multimedia exhibits give visitors the ability to discover and learn at their own pace, plus, they engage individuals, keeping them interested as they experience the museum’s various themes on a tangible level (Lewis, 2000).  Additionally, interactive tours allow students to be transformed or moved to a new place, without actually going there. With the museum offering their art work virtually, the students can view the exhibits in order to critique them for their class. The use of multimedia applications in museums ranges from museum databases and catalogs to orientation and interpretive guides and, of course, exhibits designed to be “used” by the visitor (Lewis, 2000).  Often times, as in the case with my school I work at, families do not have the extra money to give to their children for an external field trip. By being able to see the museum and what it has to offer on the computer, the students can feel as if they are actually there. It can provide detailed and up close images of museum artifacts and text descriptions on a computer, sometimes with even more information than in the museum itself (ispherestudio.com, n.d.).

                                                    

Another tool that could be used is that of a media sharing site. The teacher could post the link to the interactive tour, as well as pictures of the artwork, and the students could comment on them. Media sharing sites are web sites that facilitate the sharing of content and artifacts such as pictures, videos, presentations, and audio files. The artifacts posted on media sharing sites can be viewed and commented on by a much wider audience than a video sent to a family member or a friend (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). The only issue is that the sites might not be credible and any content can be posted. Thus, the reason I think the interactive tour would be best.

                                                     

As far as fostering the discussion and critiques between the students, I would create a Wiki page for each piece of art work and have the students post on the two pieces they chose. Wikis are web-based, making it possible to edit from any computer on the Internet, the content grows as a result of "collective intelligence" and is self-correcting, and Wikis invite collaboration (Berners-Lee, 2012). All of the comments and critiques from each piece of artwork can be seen on the same page as the picture allowing the students to collaborate and discuss with each other. The fact that the students almost work within or as a group allows for more creative and exciting conversations. A wiki can be an excellent tool for collaborative online writing assignments and group activities compiling information in a single online resource (Simonson, et al, 2012). Additionally, Wiki pages are very easy to use and edit. Creating new links and pages is simple with Wikis (Matias, 2003). There are other discussion technologies, but I think the Wiki page would be best for the interactive nature of the assignment.

References

Berners-Lee, T. (2012). Advantages of Wikis. Retrieved July 13, 2012 from        http://wonderfulwikis.wikispaces.com/Advantages+of+wikis

Ed.gov. (2008). Technology and Distance Learning. Retrieved July 13, 2012 from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/tdlearn.html

Ispherestudio.com., (n.d.) Tour Benefits. Retrieved July 13, 2012 from             http://www.ispherestudio.com/benefits.html

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). The Technology of Distance Education. Multimedia                          Program.

Lewis, J. (2000). Interactive museums: Learning through experience. Retrieved July 13, 2012 from http://www.techknowlogia.org/TKL_Articles/PDF/182.pdf

Matias, N. (2003). What is a Wiki? Retrieved July 13, 2012 from          http://www.sitepoint.com/what-is-a-wiki/

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a               distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

           

DEFINING DISTANCE LEARNING

     Prior to starting my Master's degree at Walden University, I had not actually heard the term "Distance Learning". I equated my degree to be considered the same as getting a degree at a traditional face-to-face university, only I would be taking my classes online. Little did I know, I was actually participating in Distance Learning. Simonson, et al (2012) defines Distance Learning as institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources and instructors. 

   We were asked this week to give our own definition of Distance Learning from what we had known prior to the course. I initially defined it as: "Learning that occurs outside of a traditional classroom. " I knew it involved technology of some sort. And, the word "distance" indicated that I would not be present with the instructor where we could meet face-to-face and communicate in the way I was accustomed to (by asking direct questions, and getting immediate answers.) Little did I know how much really was involved with Distance Learning.

     Throughout the week, my definition has developed into something deeper, and more thought provoking. Now, I define Distance Learning as: "A community that encourages interaction between classmates and instructors, fosters discussion, and incorporates technology tools while remaining in separate locations from each other." With my original definition, I did not take into consideration the other members of the class, and their role in the learning experiences.

     One of the greatest benefits of Distance Learning is that the learners not only gain knowledge and experience from their instructor, but from the members of their class as well. Learner-learner interaction can be between one student and another or between several students. In order for effective learning to occur, four types of peer behavior are necessary in a computer mediated environment: (a) participation, (b) response, (c) provision of affective feedback, and (d) short, focused messaging (Thurmond & Wambach, 2004). So far, while participating in all of my classes at Walden, I have observed all four of those peer behaviors on a regular basis.

     With changes in technology and tools that are available, I can see Distance Learning evolving in a positive way. My opinion is that in the next five-ten years, almost everything (including textbooks and schools) will be online, so it is important to embrace technology and all it has to offer. With the flexibility of schedules, and availability of classes anywhere and anytime, I truly believe that more and more people will start following in the direction of online universities.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and 

            learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.)

            Boston, MA: Pearson.

Thurmond, V. & Wambach, K. (2004). Understanding Interactions in Distance

           Education: A Review of the Literature. Retrieved June 29, 2012 from

           http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_04/article02.html

CLICK FOR LINK TO DISTANCE LEARNING MIND MAP