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Reflection

Reflection

Dr. George Siemens talks about the increasing role of technology and new communication technology in distance education (Siemens, n.d.). I think this will be one of the ongoing perceptions of distance learning. There is a perception that technology is viewed as making learning easier to do/accomplish. Technology really is just a different way of learning the same content that’s learned in a traditional classroom. Other perceptions that will not fade in the coming years are the lack of face-to-face interaction between the instructor and the student and the quality of education at online universities. “Online degrees are just as credible because these programs must prove the same level of academic standards required of their brick-and-mortar peers in order to qualify for accreditation, a voluntary form of self-regulation and peer review that ensures quality and educational excellence (unknown n.d.).”

As an instructional designer one of the key components to help influence perception about distance learning is effective use of the Theory of Equivalency, which states that distance education is not identical to face-to-face education, but is equivalent. There will always be a perception that distance education is not equal or valued the same as a traditional classroom. I can, as an instructional designer ensure that in my analysis, design, development and implementation that the instruction is equal to the same instruction the learner would receive in a traditional classroom.  I can successfully accomplish this through activities and applications in my instruction.  The learner will get the content; the heart of an online course is activities that make the content come alive (Piskurich n.d.). As an instructional designer in a corporate learning environment I’ll need to create sound and practical online instruction. Distance education benefits corporations by allowing them to interact with different offices around the world (Siemens, G. n. d.).  

To be a positive force for continuous improvement in distance  education means to me not only exceeding my clients expectations for online courses that enhance learning and communication for other team members but also creating a foundation for each and every online course I develop. That means not compromising on the activities, collaboration just for the sake of speed to market or speed to development. This allows me create sound instructional design that makes a difference in my work space that continues to evolve.

References:

Piskurich, G. (n.d.). Facilitating Online Learning. Retrieved June, 24, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_549515_1%26url%3D

Siemens, G. (n.d.). The Future of Distance Education. Retrieved June 24, 2012 from: https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2F%09webapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_5495%0915_1%26url%3D

Unknown, (n.d.). Online Degrees Gaining in Acceptance Among Employers- But concerns Remain. Retrieved June, 22,2012. http://www.elearners.com/articles/all-posts/how-employers-view-online-degrees/

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Week 7 Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Deciding to convert to an online blended course is not and easy decision to make and requires a lot of planning. Blended courses have a mix of online interactions and face-to-face interaction.  This mix varies from 30-79% (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).  Even before you start of the pre-planning activities associated with converting to a blended distance learning course, the trainer must decide on a distance learning theory. What is the foundation by which the training will be based on?  A firmly based theory of distance education will be one that can provide the touchstone against all decisions - political, financial, educational, and social – when they have to be made can be with confidence (Keegan 1988)

Once the theory or components of several distance learning theories are identified, you begin your pre-planning strategies.

 

Guide for Converting to Blending learning

Pre-Planning Strategies

•  Determine the Instructional System Design (ISD) to use. When instruction is designed within a system, learning occurs (Simonson et al 2012 p. 152).
• ADDIE
• Morrison, Kemp, Ross
• Dick & Carey Model





ged578.pbworks.com





tomdorgan.com


 

ballard-edu.com



Know learner characteristics – Discovers the traits that differentiate learners to assist with achieving the goals of the instruction (Morrison et al 2012 p. 57)

• Conduct analysis to discover the leaner characteristics to include:
• general characteristics
•  specific entry characteristics
• learning styles
• social characteristics
• learners with disabilities
• culturally diverse learners
• Write clear measurable Objectives (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Create an instructional Plan of activities to take place from module to module or week to week.  This can be accomplished with a syllabus (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Consider Technology – Determine the type of technological resources that trainer and students can easily access and learner knows how to use (Piskurich, G. n.d.)
• Technology support – Be prepared for technical problems.  It is important that students have projects and assignments independent of the instructor and alternative means of communication (Simonson et al 2012 p. 153)
• Identify an evaluation method - The AEIOU Approach is a great way to evaluate a distance learning program.  It uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies and uses formative and summative evaluation strategies (Simonson et al 2012 p. 356)

Original Training Enhancements

• Focus on visual presentations
• Focus on activities and applications - They are the heart of an online course (Piskurich, n.d.)
• Provide increase access for students

Changing Role of the Facilitator

The facilitator will transition from a traditional classroom setting to a blended environment where they must consider ways to facilitating the learning process and encouraging students to assume responsibility for their learning (Simonson et al 2012 p. 204). The facilitator will need to select methods of teaching that provide learners with enough interaction to keep them on task while encouraging them to explore their learning experiences (Simonson et al. 2012 p 204).  The trainer can accomplish this with discussion forums, group collaborative activities, and blogs all of which still require the trainer to be engage and guide the student.

·         Guide students at the Beginning – do not assume students will make a easy transition from the traditional classroom to online (Simonson et al 2012 p. 205)

·         Communicate regularly – The facilitator can’t no assume that because some of the course is face-to-face that they don’t have to communicate with the students as much. In fact, the facilitator needs to increase the amount of communication to ensure students understand the online assignments.  It’s more difficult for the facilitator to determine if a student is struggling in an online environment because there are no visual cues.  Additionally, the instructor may adjust the hours that they are available to accommodate the online portion of the course.

·         Question & Answer – In a traditional classroom the instructor answers questions in class from the students.  The facilitator will need to establish and adjust to a question and answer forum for students for the online courses. The facilitator will need to establish a deadline for responses with the understanding that students now have availability to course materials any time.

Steps to Encourage Trainee Communication

1.      Instructor to show the trainee that they care about their success.

2.    Participant in asynchronous and face-to-face discussion and not disengage, help make it happen for the trainee.

3.    The will get the content, create collaborative activities, and applications that motivate them to learn

4.    Involve the trainee in the development process of the instruction

References:

Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kalman,S., Kemp, J (2011). Designing Effective Instrution. Sixth edition. John Wiley & Sons, inc.

Piskurich, G.( n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved May 30, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_549515_1%26url%3D

(Simonson, M. Smaldino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance foundations of Distance Education. Fifth Edition Pearson



The Impact of Open CourseWare

The Impact of Open Courseware

Open source software is intended to be freely shared and can be improved upon and redistributed to others (Simonson et al p 141).  OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a free and open digital publication of high quality college and university level educational materials.  These materials are organized as courses, and often include course planning materials and evaluation tools as well as the content.  OpenCourseWare are free and openly licensed, accessible to anyone, anytime via the internet (OpenCourseWare Consortium n.d.) As a part of my analysis I reviewed a course from an Open Course site. I selected the Open Yale Course one because I was intrigued to see if an ivy league higher education systems was a step above the university I attend are their students better equipped for distance education success or do they all pretty much the same pre-planning and planning activities associated with distance education.

From the homepage I’ve already noticed they’ve done their planning and considered all learning styles for the courses offered. All of the courses are available in video, audio and text transcript formats.  Using all of these types of media address all of the learning styles.  Learning styles is one of the major factors in successful learning at a distance (Simonson et al p. 226). Additionally the analysis upfront of the learner characteristics has been thought out and under Terms of Use there are references to age restrictions for the use of the Open courses at Yale.  What I did notice so far is none of the above noted information is located in one place.  I had to select different tabs within the site to discover this information.

There are a list of courses, syllabi, which is critical to preparing students for expectations course work due and when throughout the course (Piskurich, G. n.d.).  It includes course reading and applications assignments in the form of problem sets.

A couple of opportunities I noticed with the setup and introduction of the Yale open courses.  It appears that they provide very little orientation for individuals who may not be familiar with Open Course sites.  The course I specifically reviewed called Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner provided an overview of the course, how the course was structured and course materials which could be downloaded.  I was still unsure of my PC/technology requirements.  It wasn’t until I selected the introduction to the course that I was able to view the audio, video and how the transcripts where made available.

These are all past courses that were taught at Yale and have been made available.  After reviewing this course and the associated syllabus, I saw very little interactivity for the learner other than the downloading of the transcripts, listening to the audio and viewing the lecture online. The Designer had no other activities for the distance learner and there were none included in the syllabus to account for distance learning. Only the short paper and term papers that was required.

In conclusion, the format is very streamlined for distance learning. It does follow the distance learner pre-planning vaguely but it does not appear this site is for the novice with distance learning or open course sites.

References

Open Yale Courses: A free open website offering a number of introductory courses taught by Yale University professors. http://oyc.yale.edu/

Piskurich, G.( n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved May 30, 2012. https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_if=2_1&url=%2fwebapp%fblackboarrd%2fececute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3Dcourse%26id%3d_549515_1%26url%3d

Simonson, M. Smaldino, S., Albright, S., Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance Foundations of distance education Fifth edition, Pearson