Monday, July 22, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Look What We Did: Collaborative Module on Bloom's Taxonomy
In this wiki you will find an example of a module creating to train teachers on how to use Bloom's Taxonomy to create assessments. My role focused on creating an implementation plan for the module. The module is a result of a combined efforts of students in my cohort. Sample Module
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| The logo for IDTechEdge was created by Octavia Bundrage in Adobe Photoshop and chosen to represent the cohort organization |
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Distance
Education…I Root for You!
Reflection
Because of the evolution in communication
and technology, distance education has morphed into one of the world’s most
effective modes of learning. The urge
for learners to seek information outside of the traditional classroom has prompted
the creation and implementation of numerous resources that allows the learner
to have information instantaneously.
Even though the typical virtual classroom is not modeled after the
traditional norm, learning is just as effective as being face to face with
instructors and peers.
In
“Emerging Technologies in Distance Education”, Terry Anderson describes
distance education as “the fastest-growing mode of formal and informal
teaching, training and learning”(2010). As
tools and trends in communication become more advanced, distance learning will
have no choice but to evolve with it. It’s
difficult for me to determine what the “buzz” words and technology will be used
in the future of distance education because everything I have learned thus far
such as blogs, wikis, learning management system, class management
systems, simulations, etc., seems so new
to me in regards to their use in education—although they have been around for
years. The technology used right now
seems perfect for use in multiple educational environments. The 2012 Horizon
Report does include forms of technology that will become more prominent in
the distance learning environment. Some
of the technology mentioned are the use of cloud computing, mobile apps, social
reading, and tablet computing —just to name a few (NMC, 2012).
Distance education can and will continue
to morph with models moving more to a student-centered classroom and more
technological advances. My perception on distance education has changed
throughout this course, but for those who don’t study distance learning, they
may have a constricted perception of the term.
Many may view distance education as a traditional course simply placed
into an online format where older, nontraditional students go get a degree because
they don’t have time to sit in traditional classes. However as distance learning with various
technologies become more prevalent in the workplace, many will recognize that
the majority of us are involved in the phenomenon. I believe in the near future, synchronous
learning opportunities will be second to asynchronous—especially in colleges,
universities and K-12 education.
Asynchronous tools better equip professors, teachers, and trainers to
become efficient facilitators.
As an instructional designer, I will
assist others in education to see the benefits of implementing both synchronous
and asynchronous learning strategies and technologies. My job would be to show those who are
unfamiliar with or have a skewed perception of distance education that with
proper planning, implementation, and evaluation distance education courses can
be both effective and economical (Simonson et al., 2012). I plan on staying up
to date on distance learning tools that allow for a better learning experience
for learners. With a saturated market in
the field (Simonson et al., 2012), many entities may be too eager to implement
tools and strategies that are new and “cool” in distance learning, but may not
be necessary or lucrative. My job is to
push them towards tools that are useful and efficient for their goals.
Anderson, T. (2010). Issues in distance education. In G.
Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Distance EducationRetrieved
from http://www.icde.org/filestore/News/2004-2010/2010/G.Veletsianose-bookEmergingTechnologies.pdf
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M.,
& Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance
education (5th ed.) Boston , MA
The New Media Consortium (NMC). (2012). Nmc horizon report > 2012 higher
education edition. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2012-horizon-HE-shortlist.pdf
Monday, July 30, 2012
The Impact of Open Source
The
“Open-Course” concept offers excellent opportunity to learners who seek to
acquire new, useful information without the need of college credit. Materials from these courses could not only
be used for distance learners, but by online instructors as a resource to
support their students (Simonson et al., 2012).
The stark reality of an open course is that they won’t provide what most
adult learners seek when attempting to improve their education for career
purposes, which are college credentials (Parry & Young, 2009). I definitely see the benefits of open courses
being used as resources for distance education, but I cannot uphold the
conjecture that they are designed completely with the distance learner in mind.
The course that
I reviewed is The Open Yale Course, EEB122: PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY,
AND BEHAVIOR (Stephen C. Stearns, Spring 2009). Some components of distance
education do peek their heads out; however, the course is merely transference
of the traditional classroom online using videos. The course does provide the following:
ü A
brief course syllabus
ü Access
to the resources used in the on-campus
course (the book is not free)
ü Lecture
notes
ü Access
to videos with transcripts
ü A
survey to “evaluate” the course for its usefulness (There is a need for
instructors to examine what worked and what the problems are in a course
(Simonson et al., 2012)).
ü Assessments
in the form of mid-term exams to measure students’ knowledge
The course
materials provided do give some opportunity for active learning. Learners may choose to respond to several
essay questions that may push them to search for their own supporting resources
outside of the course, but learners will not receive any feedback from the
instructor that lets them know if the fruits of their efforts are
successful.
According to
Simonson et al. (2012), one of the most important features of distance
education is the need for the student to interact. Lynda Ginsburg (1999) states, “The challenge in designing distance education courses
is to build in the need and opportunity for learners to communicate,
collaborate, and build a community with fellow learners (pg. 13). Success in distance education is built on the
foundation of the learning community achieving similar goals and
interacting. Open courses provide the
information, but not a sense of community.
Yet, learners who participate in an open course should not expect to
interact with others in the learning community, unless they are a part of a
group participating in the same open course.
Open course
opportunities are a great option for any person seeking higher-level knowledge
without gaining credit. Learning will
take place if the participant is motivated to complete the course and seek
activities that allows for the application knowledge.
Sources
Yale Open Course URL
Parry,
M., & Young, J. R. (2009). Open Courses: Free, but Oh, So Costly. Chronicle
Of Higher Education, 56(8), A1-A20.
Simonson,
M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and
learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.)
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Distance Learning Technologies
Selecting Distance Learning Technologies
Web 2.0 applications offer
extensive opportunity to incorporate learning tools for distance learning. These tools provide opportunity for
learner-centered instruction where the needs of engaging the learner apply in
the traditional classroom, but can’t be implemented in the same way (Simonson
et al., 2012). Instructional designers
should recognize that all learning experiences will need to be designed
differently, and they will need to possess knowledge of the available tools
that cater to synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences. The technology used will need to support a
learning community with resources, foster interaction between students and
teachers with various time constraints, as well as catering to students with
varying levels of ability and intelligence (Beldarrain, 2006).
The
scenario I choose to provide distance solutions for is:
"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 art work 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?”
There are several tools to meet the
learning objectives for this history teacher. As an instructional designer, I
would recommend a learning experience that combines asynchronous and
synchronous learning. The module would
include a virtual tour of the museums through Second Life® (secondlife.com).
Virtual worlds like Second Life®
offer the potential for students to experience places and times that would
otherwise be unavailable to them (Simonson et al., 2012). According to the YouTube video, “Educational
Uses of Second Life”, (MaryAnnCLT, 2007), after learners are taught how to
navigate the virtual world they can:
- interact with others who have the same learning goals (classmates or other students)
- participate in scavenger hunts where they locate information relevant to what they’re studying
- co-create 3-D objects
- have a sense of “being there”
- take control of their learning in an environment that is student-centered and accessible when they need it
Many universities have recognized the endless possibilities in
using Second Life® and have created
3-D “copies” for their students to navigate on the website. Take look at this video to see how Duke
University has incorporated Second Life®
into its nursing program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL3D-59MbnY.
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| My avatar, MsBeePSM, at a virtual Holocaust Museum |
To meet the instructor’s need for students
to collaborate on critiquing two pieces of artwork, I would suggest the use of
a wiki such as, Wikispaces (wikispaces.com).
Wikis students allow students to collaborate in a group to complete a task
while adding graphics, videos, links, etc. at no cost to schools. Students can participate asynchronously in different
places at different times (Simonson et al., 2012). The teacher in the example could have students
post an image of the artwork on the wiki and students could sign in on their
own time to post their critique. They
could also upload podcasts or videos to the wiki to assist them in the
task. In my opinion, wikis create a
sense of accountability for individuals and a group as a whole.
Instructors in distance learning
settings often use Wikis. Recently, I
had the opportunity to participate in a wiki assignment at Walden University
where my classmates and I had to create an instructional module. We were all assigned parts of the assignment
and had to upload our contribution by the due date. The collaboration allowed us to vote on a
logo, add and delete items we felt were needed or unnecessary, and learn from
one another. It also allowed a projected
that would seem laborious and intimidating to one person, manageable to us as
individuals.
Beldarrain, Y. (2006).
Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student
interaction and collaboration. Distance
Education, 27(2),139–153.
MaryAnnCLT (2007).
Educational uses of Second Life. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOFU9oUF2HA
Simonson, M., Smaldino,
S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a
distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Defining Distance Education
Distance learning is an ever changing entity and with the
advancement of new technology and forms of communication, it will continue to
change. Every year, I am amazed at the
new ways we are able to learn and gather information from around the world at
an instant. I can remember communicating
in AOL instant messenger in the late nineties and now communicating live
through Skype on my mobile phone. Learning communities will always seek
resources and technology that allow for effective communication, accessing
resources, and meeting objectives.
I feel the force that drives distance education today is the
progression of the internet and all its capabilities. As Dr. Simonson (2012) discusses in the
video, “Distance Education: The Next Generation”, distance learners are
separated by time and geography.
However, the internet allows the learners to communicate asynchronously
and synchronously, and the learners have access to the same required resources.
The learner also plays a major role in the evolution of
distance education. Distance education
requires a great deal of self-study and motivation from the learner because the
traditional forms of teaching are not included, yet the outcome is expected to
be the same (Simonson et al., 2012).
Learners also have the opportunity to interact with those in the
learning community through email, forums, and live chat. Moller et al. (2008) state “meaningful learning
is more likely to occur when learners have access to a supportive community that
encourages knowledge building and social reinforcement” (pg. 74: Part 1). The student also chooses which school they
will attend and which course they will take.
With the increase of learners deciding to go to school online,
competition for those learners increases and leads to better quality programs
(Moller et al., 2008: Part 2).
Distance education will continue to grow with the
introduction of new technology that is supported by the internet. As the standard for quality education for
those who seek to meet goals through distance education rises, schools will be
faced with the challenge of meeting those needs for learners.
My definition of distance education has changed because I
believed distance education was a relatively new form of study. Now I am aware that distance education has
been around for decades in various forms (Laureate Eduation, 2011). I am familiar with the public education
“virtual school”, but I had not considered it a form of distance education, as
well as the need for distance education for job training.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2012). [Podcast]. “Distance
Education: The Next Generation”.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The
evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the
potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends,
52(3), 70–75.
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The
evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the
potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.
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