The Future of Distance Learning

            Distance education has the potential to expand and reach more people around the world.  Bridging the gap of comfort by users is the reason that distance learning will grow and expand over the next decade advises to Siemens, (Laureate Education, 2010).  Every person has an experience with technology and that experience drives their opinions about distance learning.  While currently there are a wide array of opinions about the quality, rigor and value of distance learning it is more accepted today than five years ago or even ten years ago.  I believe this trend will continue as more and more corporations, government agencies and universities create distance-learning courses that have rigor and are of high quality (Laureate Education, 2010).  Instructional designers (ID) are the driving force behind distance-learning courses and as an ID I plan to explain how distance-learning courses are created and seek to prove that the courses are not thrown together and are actually highly planned and intentionally designed for delivery online.  The principles and theories that I have learned about delivering content online will aid me in being a positive force while I create instruction while at the same utilizing technology and constantly looking for another way to enhance learning through technology. 

            In five to ten years more people will accept distance learning as equivalent to face-to-face learning as long as the courses that are created have reliable content that provides rigor and pushes students past the knowledge stage of learning.  Often times I have heard comments from coworkers that online learning is so easy because it does not require synthesis of materials.  I myself have witnessed that in classes that I took online 5 years ago.  However, I like to remind them that times have changed and with time have come new technologies that allow content to be delivered in many ways that requires students to consider content using higher levels of thinking.  I like to provide them with samples from my own courses which require reading a book, several articles, watching a streaming video, interactive discussion boards that connect to content and further research and culminating will a project or assignment that requires even further analysis of the information to form opinions and write a paper. 

In ten to twenty years I think the conversation will change drastically to not the quality of distance learning but the quality of face-to-face instruction.  I have already seen a shift in universities who are trying to be more student-centered instead of instructor-centered with their courses.  That is a slow process and requires teacher buy in and even more time to create courses in that manner.  Online courses are naturally student-centered so many times students feel they are getting more out of the class without the annoyances of an actual class.  So within the next ten to twenty years I think the brick and mortar institutions will have to change their classes drastically and incorporate the use of technology even in face-to-face classes as I believe society will expect the two to be combined.  The technologies that will be created in the next ten to twenty years will also drive the distance-learning environment and will change the look and feel of even today’s most inventive classes (Laureate Education, 2010).  I hope that the CMSs are more user-friendly and easier to access on multiple devices, of courses, that would be in my five-year plan if I was in charge of an institution.  Changes happen quickly in technology and that is probably the hardest part about distance-learning; harnessing the power of technology that exists while always keeping a watchful eye on the next thing that will enhance the learning environment and delivery of instruction.

            Society’s perceptions often lag behind what is actually happening in many aspects of society and distance learning is no different.  Siemens explains that as people become more aware of different technologies and have more experience communicating through online environments the perception of distance learning will change (Laureate Education, 2010).  As an ID it is imperative that the conversations I have with people are delivered in a way that is easy for non-education people to understand.  I think that people are looking to ensure that the online classes are as challenging and valuable as the face-to-face instruction received at traditional Universities.  While at the same time the student are being prepared socially.  With a generation of gamers in their twenties and early thirties (a little bit of a stretch) some aspects of social interaction has been lost.  As a teacher, I have even seen the high school students that I teach not know how to properly formulate a question out loud or not understand the social requirements of personal space.  That is where as an ID I think more work needs to be done and as a proponent of online learning I have to discuss the positive aspects of the classes and ways to solve the challenges.  As online learning increases it is imperative that the students are prepared with not only content and minimal interpersonal group communications but that the social aspect be planned into the curriculum.

            Using theories and principles that work well online I can take a step toward creating quality courses.  I would like to look more at the social aspect and the usability aspect of the online courses as that disconnect in curriculum hinders the graduates looking for jobs.  For example, interviewing in person is very different than practicing online or with someone you know.  I believe that the future of technology may hold the answer to the social and usability difficulties but in the meantime I would like to create courses that utilize different types of interaction.  I like discussion boards but at the same time and often times the responses from classmates are less helpful in furthering my understanding and more than half of the professors I have had only responded to a few people in the class. While, Dr. Fenton, you are not one of those professors, the comments you leave make me think at a higher level or deeper into what I wrote.  It pushes me, that is important and that is why your class has been rewarding.  Many classes I feel as though I am on my own and occasionally I will hear from the professor directly as they respond to a posting but otherwise the grade gets posted.  The comments left at grading are minimal as well so I feel as though I “hope” I got it.  That is definitely disheartening as learning and an important aspect to online learning that needs additional work.  In addition to the social and business aspects of preparing people I think as an ID I would like there to be more rigor requirements on the professor’s part as well.  Not to implement more assignments or grade harder but that the professor should partake in the class as if we were in the same room.  If I was in a face-to-face course and responded to a discussion question aloud I highly doubt the professor would skip over me and ten others and then answer the twelfth person.  Everyone partakes and that is the aspect face-to-face that I actually miss the most. 

            Society’s view of distance learning is important but as society becomes more familiar with technology distance learning will grow and thrive in the next two decades.  As an ID I play a pivotal role in being an outspoken advocate for distance learning and by being able and willing to explain what distance learning is all about my conversations can affect the future of distance learning.  Understanding the flaws in distance learning can also help in order to create courses that strive to solve those flaws.  By seeing distance learning for what it is and looking into the future the types of technologies that have not been invented yet will only enhance distance learning and help public accept distance learning more readily than they do now.

 

References:

Laureate Education. (2010). The future of distance education. Video Program. Retrieved on October 27, 2012 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1373692_1%26url%3D

 

 

 

Converting a Face-to-Face Course to a Blended Course

The 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.

The Solution

Initially when a person wants to convert their face-to-face class to a blended course they might think, this will not be too big a deal I’ll just add some things online and that will make the course blended.  However, that truly is not the case.  A blended course uses “online activities [to] substitute for a portion of actual “seat time” in a conventional face-to-face course” according to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek (2012, p. 197).  Therefore, if the facilitator is converting the course there are several aspects to consider in the preplanning stage. 

1.     How comfortable is the instructor with the online teaching methods that utilize a student-centered approach?

2.     Which aspects of the course will be face-to-face and which aspects will be online?

3.    How will students know the organization, expectations and requirements of the each different setting?

4.   How will the instructor communicate with the students and provide prompt feedback in and out of the course?

5.   How will students communicate with each other and the professor?

                                                                                        (Simonson, et al., 2012)

Through considering these questions the facilitator will be determining how to enhance the face-to-face classroom experience by harnessing the power of technology to further discussions and collaboration among the students.  Through answering these questions thoroughly the instructor will determine which course management software to use, which grading methods they will use and how to clearly explain expectations to students. The facilitator will also determine in the blended course how students will be actively participating multiple times a week with the content which will transform his course because students will be able to synthesize and relate the content more thoroughly.

By adding an online portion to the face-to-face course the use of technology opens up a wide range of options to the facilitator to incorporate ideas from Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences.   By having the capability of streaming videos, blogs, wikis, endless images and concrete examples for the student to learn from the use of technology aids the learner in not only retaining and applying information but also makes the learner more responsible for their own learning.   The facilitator must also switch their typical ideas of their face-to-face course when they make a blended course.  The learning must be more student centered or hands on and the learner must take more responsibility for their own learning.  The facilitator would also be creating and possibly recreating activities so the students have hands on experience. The roles of both the student and the facilitator are changed but the result is a powerfully engaging course.  

The students will reap the rewards of a blended class if they participate in both the online and face-to-face portions of class. In order to ensure that they do participate it is necessary that the facilitator set expectations about grading and participation in both aspects of the course immediately while providing sample response and ensuring that there is a clear and complete syllabus and schedule that is followed (Simonson, et al., 2012).  The facilitator can also aid in student participation by creating a consistent pattern within the class with a clear way to start and close each module so students will know ahead of time what to expect and when to expect feedback from each other and the teacher.

While converting courses is beneficial to both the facilitator and the students it takes planning, time and thoughtfulness on the part of the facilitator.

Additional Information

While researching the conversion from a face-to-face course to a blended course I ran across this checklist.  It is 10 steps that are best practices in converting a course.  The document is very interesting to read and provides a logical progression of events when converting a course.

 

References:

Bart, Mary. (n.d.) Strategies for teaching blended learning courses, maybe you (and your students) can have it all. University of Hawaii. Accessed on October 21, 2012 from http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/dl/documents/TeachingBlended.pdf.

PBS. (n.d.) Howard gardner’s multiple intelligences theory. Educational Resources. Accessed on October 21, 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.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.

 

 

Open Source Course – Not Really Distance-Learning

http://oyc.yale.edu/music/musi-112

 

 

This week I will consider an open source course and determine how well the course was planned for a distance-learning environment.  The course I chose is Listening to Music (MUSI 112) from Yale’s Open courses.  The first thing that attracted me is that Yale is an Ivey league school and I have always thought how powerful it would be even to visit the school let alone take a course at the University.  Therefore, when I saw that Yale had open courses I had to investigate further.

 

This course is taught by Professor Craig Wright who has taught at Yale since 1973.  The course “fosters the development of aural skills that lead to an understanding of Western music” (Yale, n.d.).  There are 23 lectures within the course all of which were recorded in 2008 from the actual course that met on campus.  Within each lecture there are chapters.  Although the information is very interesting and the professor is easy to listen to and watch the course was merely recorded from the actual class setting and placed online with all of the course information. 

According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek, (2012), states that the first item that should take place when creating a distance-learning course is that the course should be “retooled” (p. 153).  This open source course was not retooled but rather just videoed and placed online.  Nothing was made specific for distance-learning including activities, textbook, there were not any planned group work nor where there anything that encouraged interactivity.

Overall, the Listening to Music course was interesting but not really a distance-learning course but rather a recording of the the Professors lecture.

 

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.

Yale University. (n.d.). Listening to music. Yale University Open Source Courses. Accessed on October 7, 2012 from http://oyc.yale.edu/music/musi-112

Viability of Interactive Flash Museum Tours

Example 2: Interactive Tours

A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the artwork on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district’s instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?

While I find the project inspiring and really interesting, the teacher seems to have a very wide idea of what she wants but it does not seem tied to standards for a history class as museums often exhibit modern artists which may not fit into any of her standards in history. As a former world history teacher in Arizona, I had standards that addressed artists in certain eras like the Renaissance or northern Renaissance.  However, there were not standards that addressed art appreciation. 

The undertaking of an interactive online tour of museums in New York City requires a lot of research as well as a lot of help from the curators at those museums who may not find the value in it for the museum.  First, as an ID helping this teacher I would visit the websites of the two museums and see if they already offer tours.  Some museums do while some only offer tours of one of the exhibits at their museums.  Second, as an ID I would need the objectives from the teacher.  If she is only trying to show them artwork in order for her students to learn how to critique art there maybe alternatives like creating a flash presentation of many different artists from specific times in history that she would be covering.  An analysis could then happen that aligns with her time period.  For example artwork created during the Reformation in Europe would be very different than artwork created during Czar Nicholas Romanv’s reign in Russia.  Thirdly, if she wants to interact with the curators a conference would have to occur between the curator, teacher and ID to understand what she is hoping to get from their interaction with the museum. 

The other aspect to consider is the student’s perspective.  The student needs to see a direct correlation between their history course and this interactive online tour.  Without a direct correlation they may be doing something that is cool but it is not enhancing their understanding of the standards (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012).  Therefore, again alternatives to the original idea may need to be considered.

Once the objectives are set there are few technologies that could be utilized if the project was to go on.  A Flash animation of the pieces could be created with the help of the museums that show each piece of art with the placard that hangs next to the artwork in the museum to provide the students with additional information.  Once the flash animation is created each student could create a blog that they must post to so many times in a semester that is a live journal of the pieces the student has viewed and their critiques of those pieces.  The curators from the museums could reply to those blogs with feedback, thoughtful questions and additional information for the students to consider.  Another way to approach the interaction with the curator is to find out if the curator has a blog or could create a blog for the students to post to and learn from.

Resources to help create a Flash Interactive Video

http://tv.adobe.com/product/flash/

Resources for alternative museums that already have interactive websites:

http://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_museums_on_the_web.html

http://mrssmoke.onsugar.com/Best-Online-Interactive-Museum-Exhibits-Students-2871369

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.

Defining Distance Learning/ Not cut and dry

Learning is not just books anymore.

Over the past decade that I have been taking online classes I have been a part of several different types of courses.  One winter intersession course I took at Arizona State University two meetings the first was to go over the coursework and the last was to take the final essay exam. The rest of the learning was on the students.  I had a few courses where you were allowed to turn in assignments whenever you wanted as long as everything was turned in by the end date.  Then I’ve had other courses where there were things due weekly.  Finally, I’ve had courses which include my Walden studies in which there were many facets to the course and several deadlines a week and included discussion forums.  These experiences have led me to the definition of distance learning as learning coursework on my own time schedule without having to attend a physical university classroom. 

The definition of distance learning in the industry has changed and evolved over time as well as people’s personal concepts of distance learning. One definition of distance learning comes from Hillary Perraton (1988), “distance education is an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012, p. 34).  This definition to me encompasses what many others have said but in a way that is concise and to the point.  My definition therefore, would combine what Perraton (1988) has said but also adding a component with technology.  Distance education or learning is a process that involves students that learn and teachers that teach but this teacher student relationship generally is not at the same time or the same place and often times is conducted using some type of technology or correspondence. 

Women in Africa learning through radio,
MP3s and other devices.

Each person that chooses to partake in distance learning has one concept of what will transpire and then once they have participated they begin to change their definition because of their experiences.  This is for multiple reasons; a person’s experiences will dictate what their definition encompasses in the beginning and after taking courses.  This is because, if a person is just starting distance learning classes but has a background in computers their definition may be very different that someone who is just starting to learn about computers and distance learning.  The ever-changing definitions in the field are always changing because as technology has flourished distance learning has changed and grown.  You could almost say that technology and distance learning have grown up together and as they continue to grow up new technologies drive new ways distance learning is designed, created and implemented.

The future of distance learning has great possibilities due to the technological advancements of Web 2.0 and technologies that have not been invented yet or used for distance learning yet.  I agree with Simonson (n.d.) that distance learning will have substantial growth it will not replace traditional schools but will become incorporated in various learning environments whether in education or professional development in the private sector.

Mindmap of Distance Learning

References:

Africa Educational Trust. (2008). Women Learning. Retrieved on September 8, 2012 from http://www.africaeducationaltrust.org/what-we-do/alternative-education-basic-skills.html

Business Access.  (2012). Books with Mouse. Retrieved on September 8, 2012 from http://www.business-access.com/ba/Results/white_papers

Simonson, M.,(n.d.). Distance education: the next generation. Retrieved on September 8, 2012 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1373692_1%26url%3D

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

 

Distance Learning

This blog was created for another course at Walden, however, I will be using it for this Distance Learning course as well. 

I am a high school teacher whose lucky enough to teach Graphic Design to 5 full classes of students.  I'm also a yearbook advisor.  I am married and have two children and one on the way - hence the 2.5 in my title :). 

I have been looking forward to this class since I started the Master's program in ID and Technology last August.  I look forward to learning a lot about distance learning in all of it's facets.