Reflection: Future of Distance Learing

What plagues a brick and mortar institute? The answer is money. In order for a university to be continuing in research and developing solutions to complex problems, funding is the primary goal. If a university offers courses for 100 percent of the available time in classrooms and has only has funding from students, at some point in their history, the lack of funding will present a problem. The successful universities have recognized this problem a long time ago and have looked for ways that can increase funding and reduce costs. Their answer was distance learning.

Distance learning has grown and changes over the years and the proof is in the large number of brick and mortar universities offering degrees and programs that are recognized by their peers. A very successful example of a distance learning institution in Canada is Athabasca University. I have taken some courses in my undergraduate degree from Athabasca so I have some other distance learning experience.

The key to distance education is discussions and communication. The growth of technology tools available on the internet used to develop and deliver courses for distance education has exploded. The reason, the tools are easy to use and require minimal if any instruction to use successfully. This use of internet has opened a global marketplace for the university. The proof of success is in the courses taken from Walden University and the number of students each session who are located outside the United States (myself included).

Industry has been looking at these tools seriously for the last five years and are developing and using the tools to communicate to their customers via the internet. There is not a fortune five hundred company that does not have an internet presence and does not offer training materials, FAQ (frequently asked questions), and has not posted a presence in social media (twitter, facebook, etc) This is another form of distance learning that is growing.

I feel that as an instructional designer my future is a bright one. I can see many opportunities to develop and grow within the leaning and development community. As business changes and grows so must their delivery materials. I, like my peers, can expect to be busy.

References:
Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

Schmidt, E., & Gallegos, A. (2001). Distance learning: Issues and concerns of distance learners. Journal of Industrial Technology, 17(3). Retrieved from http://atmae.org/jit/Articles/schmidt041801.pdf

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.”

What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?

I would consider one of the top pre planning activities would be choosing a course management tool that can meet his requirements of ; allowing trainees and trainers to interact with each other, storage for all his training materials, and be accessible via the internet at all times. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright,& Zvacek, 2009).

The second activity I would suggest is to think about course outcomes and select the items and materials to use as resources. You want to avoid “shovelware”. (Simonson, 2009) This is means do not dump all the materials you have associated with the course into the internet and call it a day. Planning carefully and selectively for a purpose should be in his (the training manager) mind.

Next I would organize the course and make the organization and the requirements clear to students. This means detailed assignment instructions and easily locatable documents to represent each component of the instructor’s grading scheme. (Simonson, 2009)

What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?

Definitely the components used for resource materials and reference materials would be enhanced in the distance learning format as they could be available to the student 24/7 in the course management software.

Choosing a course management software with Web.2 capabilities would allow for great discussions, blogs, wikis, and chats in the system. This would enhance the learners experience and understanding at a higher level.

A number of textbook publisher have partnered with some of the top course management software to produce course supplements that could enhance a course with things like:
 Annotated links
 Case studies
 Digital videos
 Discussion Questions and many other resources

How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?

The main thing that the training manager would notice about his role change is that he would have to adapt and learning instructional design principles and spend more time in a technical type capacity with design as the focus and not the delivery.

What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

The training manager should design the course to include discussions as it encourages trainees to communicate online and with the use of tools like blogs, wikis and other web2 tools students will adapt their comfort zone to include communication online.


References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Analysis of an Open Course

Analysis of Open Course

The analysis for the application for week five was to evaluate an online course

and challenge whether it meets any of the criterion listed below.

• 
  

  Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a

  distance learning environment? How so?

• 
  

  Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed

  in your course textbook?

• 
  

  Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active

  learning for the students?

   

The course that I chose to evaluate was an online “open” course offered by

Yale University.

 

 

I chose “Listening to Music” from the list of courses available in Yale’s online

course catalogue.

Let me define what an “open” course from Yale University is.

It is a free open website of university courses offered by the professors of

the university.  The courses are offering classes and you can start at any time.

Although you cannot receive a credit towards a degree by taking these online

open courses, if you are interested in a degree then you must apply directly to

the Yale University for acceptance into a program.

 

Upon evaluation of this course, the materials and information are carefully

pre-planned and are designed for a distance learning environment.  Examining

the layout is easy to follow. First link on left describes the course and the

professor. A course syllabus is another link directing the participant to clear

and concise expectations of how the course will be marked, what materials are

required and what are the expectations of student’s input to demonstrate

understanding of course. Following the syllabus is the link for the class sessions

by topic based on current level of course. Additional links for downloads, course

survey and books required for course are also available.

Simonson directed us to look for the following when analyzing an online course.

Is it Learner Centric? Yes, this course is learner centric as the learner controls

the when and where to take the instruction. Does the content lead to the desired

outcome listed? Yes, the content is guided through the materials, reading and

listening files to engage student to listen attentively to mark and note the details

required for study materials. The methods and materials are many and are

required to follow a concurrent flow in order to successfully complete all of the

required outcomes.  The technology allows for the student to choose the media

type based on their needs.

 

I feel that this course has followed the recommendations for online instruction

as listed in my course textbook?
Did the course designer implement course

activities that maximize active learning for the students? In this case yes based

on the outcomes and the requirements. There are lots of listening activities and

materials available to download to prepare for tests. Is it sexy dynamic and

splashy? No. The course is not a revenue generator and therefore to spend

lots of money for no proven returns is not effective.

 

 

 

 

Open course: Listening to Music Yale University Open Course http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to-music/

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

 

 

 

Week Three Blog

Asynchronous Learning

I chose example 3.


In defining a solution for this organization a few assumptions would have to be made. First assumption is that they will not need a robust tool for ongoing learning and development. Second assumption is that they the biodiesel manufacturing plant will not host the CMS tool not the technologies. Third assumption is all employees are English literate.


The CMS tool that I would recommend would be a self-registering tool that the employee can join any time anywhere. It should have the ability to allow employee’s supervisor see the results of employee’s learning and coach them further should they require it. A tool like Blackboard which is a LMS (which drives the online learning for Walden University) would be too large. Also dismissed because of the nature of overkill in abilities and expense would be Coursemill and Cornerstone LMS (both of which my employer uses).  A tool like a Wiki board alone would be out of the question as it has no facility for grading and delivering a robust tool like EDU20.org or any other CMS tool that allowed for self-directed or asynchronous learning.


I would recommend using is EDU2.0. It is free and not limiting for students and supervisors to see marks (Supervisors could be setup to be a parent type).   This tool is advanced enough to able to load files, link to websites, html files created with Dreamweaver and flash tools created in captivate. This opens the course to infinite possibilities with real scenarios captured on video and then showing results when safety is not followed.  A WHMIS certificate can be issued (it is a work place safety certification that all employee in business must obtain). This is to ensure work place safety in Canada.
References:

EDU2.0  retrieved from www.edu20.org


Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.


WHIMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems)  retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/lo/opd-ipg/opd/985-1.shtml

Blog Assignment : Defining Distance Education

Distance education has been practiced for more than one hundred years.  The first form of distance education was through the mail system in a correspondence course.

The progression of distance learning over the years was spawned on the part of creativity and necessity to meet the objective of two diverse goals.  An example was in the audio recording made by Dr. Rosemary Dawson, referring to travelling to another country to lecture and teach while still delivering materials to the “home university” giving the illusion of being two places at once.

My first impression of the newer technology and distance education was what was first practiced by Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax Nova Scotia. 

Since the early 80’s MSU has offered a number of undergraduate and graduate courses via distance.  They would broadcast the classroom on a local channel (8am Sunday morning) and then the students met via telephone for weekly discussion. 

For students who did not have cable tv and could not receive the broadcast classroom, video tapes were sent out to the students with again assigned meeting time to meet for discussion and dialoguing about the subject matter.  All exams were done by proxy with an adjudicator managing the exam. 

The first form of online delivery I taught was similar to what we are using here at Walden University.  I used the tool called The Learning Manager and my course materials was submitted to the systems analyst for input.  There wasn’t the use of videos or audio files as most computers and students had dial-up modems. We had a discussion board where students responded to questions posed and is very much a self-study course. 

Now I am using mixtures of teaching.   

The increase of technology tools for classroom whether it be an educational institute or a business, has enormous potential.  The growth of distance learning in a corporate environment will expand exponentially in the current economy as corporation cannot justify expenses for classroom training that is not local. The business has to stay on top and deliver quality pieces of eLearning and blended classrooms to meet this growing demand.

As Dr. Simmonds surmised in the video this week, we are just at the tip of the ice berg in terms of the expansion of distance teaching and distance learning.

References:

Dawson, Dr Rosemary, n.d. Auditory Introduction from Roasemary retieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6052001

Simmonds, Dr. n.d., Distance Education: The Next Generation  retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6052001 

Dringus, Laurie P., Terrell, Steve, The Framework for Directed Online Learning Environments, Higher Education, Volume 2, Issue 1, October 1999, Pages 55-67

Pam's interpretation of DIRECTED Model from Laurie P. Dringus and Steve Terrell

Welcome !!!

I am glad to be in this course.  I am looking forward to seeing and hearing what tips and tricks I can learn to make my eLearning courses better.

I have been teaching on an online environment since 2003. Things have come a long way since those days.  There are so many great tools and the overall environment is better for delivering online courses.

Since the early days I have refined my skills but I am always looking for improvement.

I am looking forward to working with all of you :-)

Regards
Pam Morrow :-)