A Course Reflection: Walden's EDUC 6135--Distance Learning

Distance learning has changed over the years alongside technology advancements. Distance learning about 20 years ago and before that was through mail correspondence and paper and now it can be done online and in a more timely fashion (Simonson et al., 2012). With things rapidly changing, of course, there are going to be differing opinions about distance education.

            Perceptions of distance education among educators is different that those of the students. Educators seem to believe that distance education is at a lower quality than  traditional courses; however, students were satisfied with their courses (Hannay & Newvine, 2006). Hopefully as the years go on and technology becomes even more dominant in our culture educators will see that it is necessary to incorporate it into their teaching and schools will incorporate distance learning into their curriculum. Fortunately, the future is fast approaching. When Hannay and Newvine (2006) did their study, things were looking lowly, but now things are beginning to look up.

            “In 2007–08, about 4.3 million undergraduate students, or 20 percent of all undergraduates, took at least one distance education course” (Distance learning). There were nearly 4 percent of undergraduate students who participated in a solely online program (Distance learning). I hope that perceptions and quality of distance education continues to rise as the future takes hold. According to Dr. George Siemens (Laureate Education), the increase of acceptance of distance learning is due to “the increased in online communication and practical experience with new tools.”

            As an instructional designer, I hope to help bring more positive perceptions to distance education discussions. I would also like to bring more rigor and quality to my courses to help perceptions to continue to improve. Technology is always emerging and I want to bring that into my classroom as a teacher as well. I want students to know that distance education is able to help them throughout their lives either through paid courses or open courses available to them. Not only do the students need to realize that technology will be a tool for them to be educated but teachers as well need to embrace this thought.

            Hopefully, as an instructional designer, I can work with school districts to educate their teachers in the realm of distance learning. The district where I work is going towards a 1:1 program but the teachers do not understand how to get their content online in order to teach their kids in the proper way with discussion boards, assignments, and other tools (Simonson et al., 2012). I hope to be able to do this for them and to do it for other districts to bring technology to our K-12 students rather than only college students and those training in the private sector.

References

Distance learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=80

Hannay, M., & Newvine, T. (2006, March 1). Perceptions of distance learning: A comparison of online and traditional learning. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/documents/MS05011.pdf

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The future of distance education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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

A Guide for Designing Blended/Hybrid Course

For those of you who are interested in designing blended/hybrid courses or need to design one, you can check out my Guide for Designing Blended Courses. You can get to the guide by either clicking the previous link or the tab at the top of this page. You can also go to the end of this post to see the Guide and the links to go with it.

There are many ways to transform a traditional course into a distance learning course; however, here I will take through the best practices of creating a blended/hybrid course rather than a fully asynchronous course.


As you read through the guide, there will be several links that will take you to separate pages as well as videos and other visual aids. Know that if you do have any questions then feel free to contact me. All you have to do is fill out the Contact Me form at the top of the website. 

Simonson et al. (2012) provide many different solutions and ideas on how to incorporate blended learning into training. They ideas will be used throughout this guide as well as other resources found. For further information on resources then go to References at the top of the website.

Click any of the sections below to be taken to a more in depth guide with more information and visuals. 

Differences Between Asynchronous Courses, Blended Courses, and Web-Facilitated Courses

• Here you can view a table that defines each type of distance learning course along with their pros and cons. This will help you decide which type of course is best for you. Since, this guide is geared towards blended/hybrid courses that section is highlighted for you

Theories

• Here you will find two distance learning theories that will help you when designing blended/hybrid courses. 

Getting Started

• This section will give you some tips on how to get started and to make sure that the blended/hybrid course you are designing will work with your learners. 

Role of Facilitator

• It is important for Instructional Designers and facilitators to know what their role is in a hybrid/blended course as well as other online courses. You will find the responsibilities of facilitators in this section

Role of Student

• Instructional Designers and facilitators needs to know the responsibilities of the students as well in order to create a course that will benefit them. This section will allow you to discover these responsibilities. 

Teaching Materials

• There are different ways to present information to students. This section will take through 3-4 different strategies that a blended/hybrid course should incorporate. 

References

• If you want to learn more about the resources used to create this guide, this is the section for you. All of the resources are consolidated into this section. 

Reviewing Yale's English 291 Open Course

      According to Simonson et al (2012), “open source software is intended to be freely shared and can be improved upon and redistributed to others.” There are many schools such as Yale, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford that are supplying open courses in order to share the information from their schools to those around the world. Learners who participate in open courses do not receive a degree just further knowledge on a given topic.  An instructional designer still needed to go through and plan the course so it benefits learners outside of the classroom as well. The instructional designer on Yale’s open English 291 course (http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-291) did a good job but the course could still use a little bit of work.

            One good thing the instructional designer considered was the learners. The open course allows leaners to download a transcript of the course in case they are hard of hearing or cannot download the video. The videos are also available to be downloaded with high or low bandwidth for those all around the world to be able to watch.  Simonson et al (2012) and Dr. Piskurich (Laureate Education, n.d.) state that it is necessary to always consider the type of technology the learners will have in order to help them be successful in the course. This is a very important part of the planning process and the designer for the English 291 open course did a great job.

            Another thing the designer looked at was the students motivation. Many learners who would take this course would have to be highly motivated to learn about the novels and topics in English 291 since it would require a lot of self regulation and work. Since this would be an optional course to further someone’s interest in American novels since 1945, the instructional designer took into consideration that the learners would have high motivation. This allowed the designer to forego some activities.  However, the instructional designer does not help the learners to transfer the knowledge since they do not allow for application of material within the open course (Simonson et al, 2012).

            Activities that would further enhance the learning process were missing as well. The lectures for English 291 were recorded and separated into parts for easy stopping and returning so the learner can go at his or her own pace, but there are no activities provided on the site to test the learners knowledge or to incorporate them further in the learning process.  The course site also does not mention anything about what resources should be read or completed before each lecture—only what was included in the lecture.

            It seems that the designer did a lot of the up front work with the analysis stage of A.D.D.I.E. with some more work in the design stage but not the full amount. It may not have been up to the designer to not include these extra activities and Yale’s decision. However, the instructional designer should have suggested doing some type of quiz at then end of each video or another activity in order to make the courses worth the time of the learners

             

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Planning and designing online courses [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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

The American Novel Since 1945. (2008). Retrieved from http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-291

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

Scenario 1: Collaborative Training Environment

A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an instructional designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.

What resources will help?

            After looking at the scenario presented above and its challenges, I believe that there are two different solutions: Wikis and Google Drive and Hangout. These two distance-learning technologies would greatly benefit the corporation not only in this instance but in future endeavors as well.

            Let’s first look at Wikis. According to Simonson et al (2012, p. 129) “a wiki can be an excellent tool for collaborative online writing assignments and group activities compiling information in a single online resource.” The corporation in the above scenario could build a wiki, for example on Wikispaces.com, and have people from all six of their regional offices collaborate with each other on different issues. Wikispaces allows contributors to upload information in the form of documents and various media such as podcasts and screencasts. An instructional designer would need to set up the wiki so it make sense and is easily navigated.  Also in the training sessions, the wiki could be used to share information or provide the training materials that employees can access at a later date if needed.

Wikis in Plain English

            Google Drive and Hangouts are other ways for all employees to connect and collaborate throughout training and after. Google Plus will allow employees to upload and share documents and media. It also allows employees to Video Chat with multiple others at the same time through Google Hangout. This would be beneficial to train employees to use during training so the Instructional Designer can train those at different offices who can meet at the same time but not necessarily in the same place.  Folders can be set up within Google Drive to help organize materials as well. Through Google Plus, employees of the corporation would have access to four of the five technologies presented in “The Technology of Distance Education” presentation. These technologies are Podcasting, Discussion Technologies, Concept Maps, and Media Sharing Sites. Google Plus has Discussion Technologies and Media Sharing built in. Podcasts can be uploaded and shared along with Concept Maps.

Google Docs in Plain English       

Google Hangout & Document Collaboration

The corporation can easily get around its geographical and time limitations by using these select distance learning technologies. An instructional designer is able to help them set up and organize both Wikis and Google Plus.

References:

Google Docs in Plain English. (2007, September 10). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA

Google Hangouts for Document Collaboration (2013, April 26). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBmiBVo6qM4

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Technology of distance learning [Presentation file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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

Wikis in Plain English. (2007, May 29). Retrieved November 14, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

Distance Learning is Evolving

           

         Throughout the years distance learning has continuously been changing. Maybe the ever-evolving technology it incorporates is the factor in this or maybe it is the way that technology has begun to make people think or more than likely it is both. Technology is ever changing, so something that includes it at its core cannot stay the same. Also, with technology more at the forefront of, well, everything, people have to think differently, which means they, too, have to change. We are no longer the generation of our parents who sat through lecture upon lecture and copied notes verbatim from teachers but instead we are the users and innovators of a different form of education, one of which is made available to anyone.

          Distance learning can be accessed anywhere that has Internet available and a computer. This means that people who before could not afford to drive to a tradition class or have the time to attend a traditional class can now make their dreams of a degree come true. As a full-time teacher, coach and someone who lives at least one hour from any university, it was going to be impossible for me to get another degree unless I went to an online program. I was weary at first about an online degree but after speaking with others who have done distance learning I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. Many others are in the same position that I was a year ago and now they too have the option of distance learning, which was not always available.
            This week I began new course in distance learning at Walden University. Before this week, I viewed distance learning as simple online courses or doing some content online while still going to a traditional class; however, after reading our resources and watching the videos provided to us, I know that this is not all that distance learning has to offer. Behind the computer screen there are other learners out there with many other experiences with technology and distance learning than myself who can offer insight to my education and my studies. They are so valuable as are my professors.

            I am not alone in my education in distance learning, which before beginning my program I always thought was the case. There are resources, educators, and peers who are all eager to help one in succeeding in their quest to a degree and to further their knowledge. According to Dr. Mike Simonson, distance education includes two parts: distance teaching and distance learning. Dr. Simonson defines distance education as “formal education in which the learning group are separated by geography and sometimes, by time ”  and use telecommunications for instruction (Laureate Education, n.d.) (Simonson, Smaldino & Albright, 2012). This is so true when it comes to Walden University and its courses.  However, like I stated before my peers are just as important as my professors and the resources they provide. My peers add extra experience and ideas, so they need to be included in the definition somewhere.

           Now, I do agree with Dr. Simonson that distance education is growing at a rapid rate (Laureate Education, n.d.). When I was in high school in 2005, distance education was never brought up. Even when I went to college in the fall of 2005, I did not know of any classes solely offered as a distance course. I never even thought that it was possible or a reasonable to learn. Throughout my undergraduate career (2005-2008), I slowly discovered distance learning and began to accept it as a reasonable way to earn credit and to learn. I was never taught about online learning but now as an adult, I fully accept online learning. I see it as the way of the future—not the only way—, which is why I decided to go into this degree program. Distant education is more widely accepted as an accredited way to earn a degree than it ever was and will continue with its rise.

References:

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Distance education: The next generation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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