Reflection

     “Expect the next decade to have more change than the last 50 years,” (Gates, n.d.). Technology is constantly changing and it’s changing the way we learn. Distance education has already had an impact worldwide (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, p. 14). I anticipate it having even more of an impact for many years to come, perhaps even becoming the primary way we learn. What is the perception of learners today in regards to distance learning? What will it be in five to ten years, or ten to twenty? As an instructional designer , I already utilize distance learning daily in my occupation. I am therefore already a big advocate for this avenue of learning and witnessed its success first-hand. Not everyone feels this way, however. Some still shy away from this form of learning. Distance learning is ever-changing, but I intend on being a proponent for improving societal perceptions of it and a positive force in its continuous improvement.

I believe in the next five to ten years distance learning will begin to be integrated into most schools, universities and corporate training programs and will be widely accepted. The flexibility alone makes it an extremely attractive option. If designed correctly, it can be just as, if not more, effective. In time, individuals will start to see its effectiveness. In ten to twenty years I think it will be a standard way of delivering education for educational institutions and businesses and people will perceive it as the “norm” in learning. While it is difficult to predict what technologies will emerge by then, based on the rapid acceptance of distance learning right now, I think the upward trend will continue. While I don’t think traditional classrooms will be completely extinct, I think the blended learning option will be extremely common and the perception of distance learning a positive one.  

I am very excited about my chosen field of instructional design. I specialize in the distance learning arena for my occupation. Recently I offered what are called “Virtual Boot Camps” to our customers. It was a new experience for my learners and for me. Because it was new, I had a couple issues with the technology piece as I went through the training. I remained positive and managed to do some workarounds to get through the trainings. After the boot camps were over, one of my evaluations indicated that the learner was very impressed at how I handled the challenges of technology and remained positive. As an instructional designer, I feel it is my role to be an advocate for this type of learning, be prepared for the challenges it may bring, and embrace the changes that are inevitable. Doing these things will hopefully contribute to my learner’s gaining a positive perception of distance learning.

I intend to make it a priority to be a part of continually improving distance education. This means staying up-to-date in the latest research, trends, and technologies available. It means staying in tune with learner’s needs and perceptions. It means knowing that I will need to update my materials, adapt to the new developments and help my learners continually transition. Distance learning is evolving into a huge part of how people learn, but I believe it has only just begun.

I personally do not think I could have chosen a better field than instructional design because of the timing of the onset of distance learning. For many years I envied those that had chosen a field of specialization and were committed to growing in it. I have finally found that in instructional design and technology. My interest lies in the distance learning component. It is an ever-changing field that utilizes my creativity, planning, and analyzing skills. I am excited to see what happens in the next five to twenty years in distance education, and even more excited to be a part of it.

References

Gates, Bill (n.d.). JudyBrown.com qutoes. Learn from the past imagine the future. Retrieved
     August 18, 2012 from http://www.judybrown.com/quotes.html.

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

Best Practices for Converting to a Distance Learning Environment

Many companies are changing over from traditional classroom training to a blended delivery which includes online delivery. When doing so, there are some best practices that have been found.  Click the following link to Best Practices when Converting to a Distance Learning Environment for a guide that was created for a similiar scenario.

The Impact of Open Course

I did a review of an Open Course that is offered through Stanford University. It is called Technology and Entrepreneurship and can be found at http://e145.stanford.edu/.

 Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?

 This course is extremely organized and appeared to be pre-planned as evidenced by the outline of the course (i.e. gave a thorough overview with links to videos) and a succession of topics, ending with a summary. Study questions, recommended readings, and resources are listed throughout the course. My only criticism is the lack of interesting graphics. I found it to be very boring with the exception of the links to the videos. While the aesthetics were pleasing, there was very little interesting pictures or graphics otherwise.

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook?

There are several recommendations that the textbook Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek, 2012) provides. This course seemed to follow many of those recommendations. For example, the instructor references why certain majors should study entrepreneurship (addressing the target audience). The instructor did a great job highlighting what content was going to be delivered, as well as the desired outcomes (p. 173). The course was very carefully designed as evidenced by the amount of time spent outlining what was going to be presented, and discussing what should be learned by taking the course. The medium chosen is accessible to any student that has access to the Internet and the instructor uses a lot of links to www.youtube.com. The instructor also did a good job of outlining why the content was relevant to the needs of the learners.

 Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?

 The instructor was very consistent in having learners complete study questions that engaged the learners in the material that was being presented and forced them to work with their teammates to complete assignments.

Summary

Until now, I had never heard of “OpenCourse” . I was impressed by ability to access a well-designed course from a highly reputable university. While the objective of these courses is to gain knowledge about the topic being presented, it opened my eyes to the fact that I could see how instruction has been designed from these highly reputable universities. This will give me another avenue of learning how to design effective distance education.


Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a

      distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Collaborating Using Technology

The Scenario: 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.

Sharing information has become quite easy with the use of technology.  Streamlining and organizing it, however, can be a challenge.  When looking for a solution for information sharing that can include the ability to share screen captures, documents, and participation in ongoing collaboration, my first suggestion would be Microsoft Sharepoint (www.sharepoint.microsoft.com).  Using Sharepoint, a site can actually be created targeted for the new information system.  Users can share documents pertinent to the new system.  They can break down the sites even further into specific topics, etc. so that users are not having to sift through documents not relevant to their role.  In addition, there is a setting that can send users an email every time something new is posted.   A case study was done for L&T Infotech and their use of Sharepoint.  They used the system to give access to employees about certain events, profiles of people, and as a community for collaboration and sharing.  Not only did their business collaboration increase, but so did their productivity (Microsoft, 2012).  

Another solution is a discussion board.  Employees can pose questions as they are learning the new system, and work together to get answers.  There are several successful discussion forums online that are open to the public.  For example, www.beachbody.com hosts one that helps individuals that are trying to lose weight and get fit.  Users are able to pose questions to individuals from all over the world, and receive answers and encouragement.  The same could be true for this company.  Also, those using the discussion forum could read old posts to see if the question they are having has already been addressed by someone else.

Keep in mind users may need to have training on using Sharepoint or the discussion forum as well.  “Many students have never before studied in an online educational environment (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, p. 134).  In order for the source of information to be useful, they have to know about it and know how to use it.

Works Cited:

Microsoft Case Studies. (2012, April 13).  IT Services Firm Increases Business Agility and Employee Productivity with Enterprise Social Networking and Collaboration.  Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-SharePoint-Server-2010/LT-Infotech/IT-Services-Firm-Increases-Business-Agility-and-Employee-Productivity-with-Enterprise-Social-Networking-and-Collaboration/710000000439.

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

 

Defining Distance Education - Mind Map

Defining Distance Education

Distance learning and education without a doubt is ever-changing.  This makes defining it a daunting task. 

Depending on who you ask or what article you read, you most likely will get a different response each and every time.  For example, I wrote a paper on distance learning/education in my last course.  One article said, “E-learning is often also referred to as “distance learning” or “online learning”.  It can be defined as “the use of internet technologies to create and deliver a rich learning environment that includes a broad array of instruction and information resources and solutions, the goal of which is to enhance individual and organizational performance” (Tufan, 2010).   Thus, prior to starting this course, I thought of it basically any type of learning that takes place online and typically have referred to it as “e-learning”, as that is what my company calls it.   My professor for the Distance Education course I am currently enrolled in quickly corrected me, letting me know that e-learning is one type of distance education/learning, but is not synonymous (Dawson, 2012).

 I cannot say for certain that it depends on one’s profession, experience, and technological know-how, however, if everyone took the distance education course that I am enrolled in, I think they would get a better understanding of how to define it! 

I have designed instruction for a variety of distance learning courses, some I find to be more effective than others.  For example, my ‘live’ trainings in which I train individuals across the country on software via Web Ex and teleconference seem to be quite effective, as I can see the progress my learners are having.  Pre-recorded sessions that my learners access online, however, are more difficult to assess the efficacy, and I am unsure how many learners actually access them.  I most recently started venturing into virtual classrooms.  These are similar to the Web Ex sessions I provide, but I can view multiple learners accessing their software at the same time, verse just sharing one desktop.

My revised definition is, “institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors,” (Simonson, p. 32).  This definition is far broader and covers all aspects of the education/learning.

One of the reason’s I chose to pursue this Master’s degree is I believe distance learning IS the future.  The sky is the limit for this type of education, and if designed and delivered properly, it can be as, if not more, effective than traditional classroom training.  Some predict that this type of education could soon become the principle way to educate in the world (Radovic’-Markovic’, 2010). 

References:

Dawson, Rosemary.  Response to discussion post dated June 28, 2012 for Distance Education   class.  Walden University.

Radović-Marković, Mirjana (2010) Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Learning in Comparison

to Traditional Forms of Learning.  Annals of the University of Petroşani, Economics, 10(2), 2010, 289-298.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:   Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson, p. 32-41.

Tufan, Didem.  (2010). The Effectiveness of E-learning in Corporate Training Programs.   Retrieved May 27, 2012 from http://metu.academia.edu/DTufan/Papers/850914/The_Effectiveness_Of_E-Learning_In_Corporate_Training_Programs_-How_It_Is_Managed_And_Evaluated.

Reflection

“I am learning all the time.  My tombstone will be my diploma,” (Kitt, n.d).  Whether it is a baby, an adolescent, or an adult, learning is a part of daily life for everyone.  This course has opened my eyes to why people learn and why theories have been formed to address it.  As I furthered my knowledge about learning, I found surprises along the way, deepened my understanding of my own personal learning process, and was able to make connections between learning theories, styles, technology and motivation.  These will help me as I further my career in the field of instructional design.

With this being my first exposure to learning theories, I found it surprising how having an understanding of theories can truly help me teach and design instructional materials better.  The theories have given me a background of why people learn the way they do.  I have found already as an instructor that I am more aware of the theories and strategies and putting them into practice.  For example, I think some of the modules I teach are lacking connectivity with other adults.  I am working on implementing a discussion forum for these particular modules, as creating networks will create connections between my participants at different hospitals (Davis, 2008).

This course has definitely deepened my understanding of my own personal learning process.   First and foremost, I have found there is a lot of overlap between all of the theories, making it difficult to categorize myself into just one or even two.  In the beginning I thought I fit into the Cognitivist and Constructivist theories.  While I still believe this is true, I now know and understand that depending on what I am learning, all of the theories apply in some way to my personal learning experience (Ormrod, 2009). 

I have learned there is a huge connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation.  I think they all have the same goal…which is to help us teach and learn most efficiently and effectively.  With the emergence of technology, it is going to be crucial to have instructional designers that are not only aware of the trends in adult online learning (i.e. blogs, discussion boards, etc.), but also have an understanding of the theories and ways to keep online learner’s engaged.   Technology is changing how we access information and how we collaborate (Johnson, 2009).  Without the traditional classroom, it is more difficult to know what motivates students.  Online learning is very self-directed; but having resources and instructional material that is designed and presented well, effective learning can take place. 

I will definitely be using this course in my journey and career in instructional design.  Although I found it very frustrating to comprehend all of the theories, I now feel as though I have enough of a grasp on them that I will be able to use strategies in my design.  I am also glad I was able to learn about blogs.  I knew they were out there because they often would come up in my search results, but I was unaware of their use.  One of the best things about technology is that we have resources at our fingertips.  Half of the battle is knowing what is a reputable source and what is not.  I now feel as though I have a plethora of scholarly material available to me that I can utilize in my instructional design.

Learning is for life, and for someone who teaches adults, I found this course very helpful.  It has furthered my knowledge about learning and deepened my understanding of my own personal learning process.   I have also been able to make connections between learning theories, styles, and technology that will help in my career in instructional design.
 
References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.),

Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism.

 Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009). The Horizon Report (2009 ed.). Austin, TX: The

New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009/.

Kitt, Eartha (n.d.).  Eartha Kitt quotes.  Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/eartha_kitt/.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom  

           edition). New York: Pearson.