Distance learning is certainly a type of learning that is becoming more prominent in today’s society. Although prominent, it is not perceived by all in the same eye. Many will always see the traditional face-to-face learning environment as the best option. However, with the many capabilities and advances made possible by technology, I am convinced that the future of distance learning is very bright. As communication technology increases in quality, we are going to start to see the educational model around it ramp up significantly. So distance education will then become more distributed than it’s ever been (Siemans, 2010).
As an instructional designer, I can definitely be an advocate for improving society’s perception of distance learning. Individuals tend to believe and put trust in things that can be proved to them; therefore, it would be necessary to make known any success in distance education that is encountered. Society’s perception of distance education can also be improved by designing courses that really make a true effort to satisfy the distant learner. This can be done by creating courses that try to create a true learning community and incorporate the proper tools to maximize learning and communication between the learners themselves and the between the learners and the instructor.
Although distance education is not easily accepted by all, it has come a long way to get to its current status. Therefore, it is important for those of us in the field of instructional design to continue to do the things necessary to ensure distance education continues to improve in quality. One of the main differences between the traditional and distance education environments is the line of communication. Traditional’s ability of instant communication gives it an advantage over distance education. As a result of this, one of the main focal points in the development of distance education should be the effectiveness of communication within its environment. By making this a main agenda item when developing/designing distance education courses, I believe I will be able to be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education.
As I further my career in the field of Instructional Design, the knowledge I acquired from this course will certainly serve as a good foundation. As stated in our text, one key to effective distance education is correct instructional design, a systematic process that applies research-based principles to educational practice. If the design is effective, instruction will also be effective (Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
References
Siemens, G. (2010). The Future of Distance Education. [Online video]. Retrieved December 25, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Converting to a Distance Learning Format
Consider the following scenario:
A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.
To ensure that students in a distance setting are successful, it is important to consider those elements that can serve as indicators for achievement (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). The elements that should be taken into consideration are; the students general ability, their prior knowledge, and their learning styles. I found it appropriate to take these elements and incorporate them into a best practice guide that the trainer could use in his attempt to convert his face-to-face training routine into one that is blended with traditional on-site interaction and modern online interaction between trainees and trainers.
Best Practices Guide: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5vzYoOqta_dZDY5OGI5ZjAtN2RlMy00NTc5LWI2NTAtYTU1ODBhNjhkMmJi&sort=name&layout=list&num=50
A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.
To ensure that students in a distance setting are successful, it is important to consider those elements that can serve as indicators for achievement (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). The elements that should be taken into consideration are; the students general ability, their prior knowledge, and their learning styles. I found it appropriate to take these elements and incorporate them into a best practice guide that the trainer could use in his attempt to convert his face-to-face training routine into one that is blended with traditional on-site interaction and modern online interaction between trainees and trainers.
Best Practices Guide: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5vzYoOqta_dZDY5OGI5ZjAtN2RlMy00NTc5LWI2NTAtYTU1ODBhNjhkMmJi&sort=name&layout=list&num=50
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Impact of Open Source
The course I chose was "Listening to Music" (http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to-music/)
from Yale's open course library. This course was taught by Dr. Craig Wright on Yale’s campus during 2008's fall semester: twice a week at 50 minutes each class. Just like the other courses that are available via Open Yale Courses, this course is there to help expand educational materials to all who wish to learn (Open Yale Courses, 2008). The course's focus is to introduce the musical novice to the ways in which music is put together and how to listen to a wide variety of musical styles.
Overall, the course does appear to be pre-planned for the distant learning environment it is being shared with. This is an open course that one takes by choice and is not receiving credit for; therefore, it seems like a whole lot of effort was not put into to giving it a lot of bells and whistles. Learners are provided a copy of the course syllabus so that they have the basics that are needed to understand the purpose of the course. They are given the lessons titles (in order) that will be covered to accomplish that purpose. And they are also given the title of the textbook and other music resources that are used during instruction.
Because this course is about the fundamentals of listening to music, audio is used quite a bit. As a result, the lessons of the course have an audio format option. These lessons are also available in transcript and video format to accommodate the different learning styles. After all, varying the presentation of materials to match different learning styles can also ensure the greatest potential for reaching all learners (Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
This course does seem to follow the recommendations for online instruction. I only wish that some type of reference list that provided links or information to external sources on the different concepts and songs that were used during the lessons, was made available. I say this because not everyone who takes this open course will purchase the book and CD set that was used with it. Although, one could do the online research him or herself, it would be convenient to the learner to have it outlined and available. This correlates to the suggestion to “Integrate the Power of the Web into the Course” when it comes to online instruction ((Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
The designer of this course did implement course activities that maximized active learning for the student. To explain some of the different concepts, popular musical pieces were often used. This was a good strategy because learners are more inclined to pay attention to things they are familiar with or have an interest for. The instructor also, had the class to actively participate in the lessons (where such concepts such as tempo, for example, were being explained) by using certain hand clapping and feet tapping methods. The emphasis on keeping the learners engaged in learning ensures that students will be in tune with the class (Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
References
Open Yale Courses. (2008). Listening to Music. Retrieved December 5, 2010 from http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to-music/
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
from Yale's open course library. This course was taught by Dr. Craig Wright on Yale’s campus during 2008's fall semester: twice a week at 50 minutes each class. Just like the other courses that are available via Open Yale Courses, this course is there to help expand educational materials to all who wish to learn (Open Yale Courses, 2008). The course's focus is to introduce the musical novice to the ways in which music is put together and how to listen to a wide variety of musical styles.
Overall, the course does appear to be pre-planned for the distant learning environment it is being shared with. This is an open course that one takes by choice and is not receiving credit for; therefore, it seems like a whole lot of effort was not put into to giving it a lot of bells and whistles. Learners are provided a copy of the course syllabus so that they have the basics that are needed to understand the purpose of the course. They are given the lessons titles (in order) that will be covered to accomplish that purpose. And they are also given the title of the textbook and other music resources that are used during instruction.
Because this course is about the fundamentals of listening to music, audio is used quite a bit. As a result, the lessons of the course have an audio format option. These lessons are also available in transcript and video format to accommodate the different learning styles. After all, varying the presentation of materials to match different learning styles can also ensure the greatest potential for reaching all learners (Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
This course does seem to follow the recommendations for online instruction. I only wish that some type of reference list that provided links or information to external sources on the different concepts and songs that were used during the lessons, was made available. I say this because not everyone who takes this open course will purchase the book and CD set that was used with it. Although, one could do the online research him or herself, it would be convenient to the learner to have it outlined and available. This correlates to the suggestion to “Integrate the Power of the Web into the Course” when it comes to online instruction ((Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
The designer of this course did implement course activities that maximized active learning for the student. To explain some of the different concepts, popular musical pieces were often used. This was a good strategy because learners are more inclined to pay attention to things they are familiar with or have an interest for. The instructor also, had the class to actively participate in the lessons (where such concepts such as tempo, for example, were being explained) by using certain hand clapping and feet tapping methods. The emphasis on keeping the learners engaged in learning ensures that students will be in tune with the class (Simonson, Albright, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2009).
References
Open Yale Courses. (2008). Listening to Music. Retrieved December 5, 2010 from http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to-music/
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
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