I posted to ssmoore.wordpress.com and ssmoore.wordpress.com.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
As an instructor, there are several issues to consider:
I think Swan (2004) hits the nail on the head with the mention of rubrics used to asses online learning involvement. This is the way most educator asses in order to have a set guideline so there are no gray areas. The online classes we are discussing are advanced level classes so we as students should expect to be assessed at a graduate level. If the work produced is not being completed in this manner then the instructor should contact the student directly. I also think Swan's statement to "provide frequent opportunities for both public and private interactions" between students and instructors is very important. This provides plenty of opportunity for "fair and equitable."
If a student does not want to network or collaborate in an online learning community they have to do as the instructor states in the requirements anyway. I am focusing now on education courses, but almost anywhere someone works is going to require collaboration. Students have to be able to at least tolerate collaboration because it is a requirement of the program. They was known before the courses were started. If a student is reluctant to collaborate, the online environment is the perfect place to start. The face to face is very limited so the pressure is lessened. The instructor should play the role of "providing timely and supportive feedback" and encouragement (Swan, 2004). Siemens (2008) also encourages providing practical experiences for aprehensive students to give them a chance to practice communicating in online learning.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning in online environments. The Sloan Consortium.
- How should participation in a collaborative learning community be assessed? How do the varying levels of skill and knowledge students bring to a course affect the instructor's "fair and equitable assessment" of learning?
- If a student does not want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, what should the other members of the learning community do? What role should the instructor play? What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?
I think Swan (2004) hits the nail on the head with the mention of rubrics used to asses online learning involvement. This is the way most educator asses in order to have a set guideline so there are no gray areas. The online classes we are discussing are advanced level classes so we as students should expect to be assessed at a graduate level. If the work produced is not being completed in this manner then the instructor should contact the student directly. I also think Swan's statement to "provide frequent opportunities for both public and private interactions" between students and instructors is very important. This provides plenty of opportunity for "fair and equitable."
If a student does not want to network or collaborate in an online learning community they have to do as the instructor states in the requirements anyway. I am focusing now on education courses, but almost anywhere someone works is going to require collaboration. Students have to be able to at least tolerate collaboration because it is a requirement of the program. They was known before the courses were started. If a student is reluctant to collaborate, the online environment is the perfect place to start. The face to face is very limited so the pressure is lessened. The instructor should play the role of "providing timely and supportive feedback" and encouragement (Swan, 2004). Siemens (2008) also encourages providing practical experiences for aprehensive students to give them a chance to practice communicating in online learning.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning in online environments. The Sloan Consortium.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
EDUC7102 Elements of Distance Education Diffusion
George Siemens discussed the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational spheres, including three possible elements of distance education that are creating more effective learning experiences and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from F2F courses: (a) global diversity, (b) communication, and (c) collaborative interaction. Do you agree or disagree with his view?
Select one of these three elements for your reflection in this module and respond to the following in your blog:
I think all three elements are very important in distance education and they all build upon each other. The one that stands out to me the most is communication. In F2F classrooms, the communication is not as diverse as in a distance education program. In a classroom there are only those class members and one instructor. In distance education you can communicate with other instructors and other people all over the world. Other areas will have different views and opinion than ones in your immediate area.
The element of communication has most certainly evolved through many outlets. First, we had email. Next, came instant messaging. Later, came texting and most recently Skype. I am sure I missed a few phases but you get the point. I think the most useful of these innovations would be Skype. You can communicate with people all over the world live and see their face and watch their expressions. Many times facial expressions say something different than just words in print.
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Select one of these three elements for your reflection in this module and respond to the following in your blog:
- How has this element evolved?
- What online tools are available today to facilitate these interactions among learners?
I think all three elements are very important in distance education and they all build upon each other. The one that stands out to me the most is communication. In F2F classrooms, the communication is not as diverse as in a distance education program. In a classroom there are only those class members and one instructor. In distance education you can communicate with other instructors and other people all over the world. Other areas will have different views and opinion than ones in your immediate area.
The element of communication has most certainly evolved through many outlets. First, we had email. Next, came instant messaging. Later, came texting and most recently Skype. I am sure I missed a few phases but you get the point. I think the most useful of these innovations would be Skype. You can communicate with people all over the world live and see their face and watch their expressions. Many times facial expressions say something different than just words in print.
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
EDU7102 Module 1 Mary Cosby The Next Generation of Distance Education
The general idea I gathered is the need for distance education to be refined. It will never replace the traditional classroom, but it will be in every classroom. It will also be in many aspects of life such as job training and business. It is also necessary to refine distance education for collaboration. Distance educaiton has a tendency to be student intructor focused. I have not yet had an assignment that I was required to collaborate on. I can see how distance education would isolate students as in the regulat classroom there is live interaction and collaboration is much easier. I find it difficult to collaborate with someone I can not see face to face. I think it is critical to continue to refine distance education for the ease of use and the efficiency of collaboration.
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