Prezi The Student and Distance Education

Prezi Teaching and Distance Education

URLs Teaching and Distance Education

http://walker.ed.usu.edu/publications/brown_article.pdf

 

prezi.com/.../chapter-7-the-student-and-distance-education

 

learnerassociates.net/learners/chap08.pdf

 

Teaching and Distance Education

1. Synchronous. Synchronous class time is similar to the on-campus, face-to-face arrangement familiar to many students. Students can go to a nearby site for a televised class or sit at home to participate in an audio conference or Web-based video conference.
2. Asynchronous. In an asynchronous class, the class meeting time is a special issue. The fact that everyone does not have to be at the class at the same time is one of the advantages of this type of class for very busy people who are unable to rearrange their schedules.
3. White Collar Workers  access to distance learning is easier and more flexible
4. Blue Collar Workers access to distance learning is more complicated.
5. P12 Learners
   1. Young school age people
   2. Usually not in distance learning by choice.
   3. Common for the learners to be from all over the world and have various abilities.
   4. Students often comfortable with navigating the web.
   5. Presents unique instructional design requirements for the instructor.
6. Time for Class Synchronous: similar to seated on campus courses. Students may go to a particular place to watch a televised class or webinar.  All class members participate at the same time.
7. Classroom Culture: although distance learner students are generally characterized as independent learners, they still learn from collaborative experiences.
8. Etiquette: all students will come into the course with a range of etiquette skills, it may be necessary to take a student "aside" and have a private conversation about appropriate etiquette. 
9. Prior Knowledge: an awareness of prior student knowledge. This can prevent boredom or frustration for my students.
10. Learning Styles: understand the characteristics of the learners in class. It should allow students to share information about themselves and how they learn best.

URLs The Student and Distance Education

http://www.westga.edu/distance/danley11.html
 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v47/i44/44b00701.htm
http://www.center.rpi.edu/PewSym/mono2.html

 

Definitions The Student and Distance Education

1.      Faculty Issues. Faculty or labor-management—issues can easily be the most difficult for policy developers, especially if instructors are unionized.

2.      Compensation and Support. An issue that has been ongoing since the onset of distance education is related to faculty compensation.

3.      Qualifications. The qualifications of a distant instructor are not always articulated.

4.      Copyright. Copyright presents a complexity of issues within a distance education environment. It is imperative that the instructor and students understand the copyright laws and the institution’s policies.

5.      Creating the Learning Community. Creating a learning community involves both the instructor and the students. Everyone must take an active role in the development of a collegial learning situation. Students must understand their role in the progress of the learning experiences.

6.      Facilitating Active Learning Practices. Learners who are engaged in learning are actively participating in their own understanding of the content. The “kiss of death” for any distance course is the lack of student participation. Strategies for active learning range from giving students opportunities to think about a topic and respond to actual hands-on manipulation of learning objects.

7.      Instructional materials are an essential element to ensuring quality learning experiences. Media formats for instruction continue to advance with the development of newer technologies. The key to using quality instructional materials is that the appropriate media are selected. Instructional materials need to enhance the learning opportunities for students.

8.      Addressing Assessment. Students need to know how their participation in class discussions is measured. Students who are reluctant to engage in discussion or are unprepared should be ready to accept the consequences of nonparticipation if a portion of assessment depends on a certain level of participation.

9.      Compensation and Support. An issue that has been ongoing since the onset of distance education is related to faculty compensation. In many institutions, the expanse of distance education has not been recognized as additional work, but rather something that can easily be assumed within existing instructional expectations.

10. Fiscal and Governance. The key issues in this area deal with tuition rates, special fees, full-time equivalencies, state-mandated regulations related to funding, service area limitations, out-of-district versus in-district relationships, consortia agreements, contracts with collaborating organizations, board oversight, administration cost, and tuition disbursement.

 

Objectives The Student and Distance Education

4.1 Identify characteristics of the distant student.

Some characteristics of a distant student is having a strong academic self-concept, fluency, communication skill are a must for distant student. A distant learner should collaborate learning skills, possessing an internal locus of control, self-directed learning skills and exhibits a need for affiliation.
4.2 Explain responsibilities of the instructor for ensuring student participation.
The responsibilities of the instructor are to organize the course such as the class schedule, grouping for activities and expectations for interactions.
4.3 Describe the responsibilities of the student in a synchronous class.
A key to instruction in a synchronous environment is that the learners cannot remain passive for a length of time. Students should use a variety of teaching strategies. The responsibilities are project management such as project schedules and vendor interactions with the instructor; administrative assistance which is scheduling meetings and application analysis and application administration which means to perform project work.
4.4 Describe the responsibilities of the student in an asynchronous class.
 In an asynchronous classroom the student responsibilities are to support learning and allow more time for student reflection, collaboration, and student to student interactions.

 

Objectives Instructional Design for Distance Education

4.1 Explain why it is important to plan ahead when teaching at a distance.

 You must consider elements such as the content, the nature of the learner, the process by which the learning will takes place, and the means for accessing the learning experience.   The educator must make decisions that will affect all aspects of the system this will help both the learner and the educator.
4.2   Describe a systematic design process for instructional design.
It is called a field of study; it is a way of thinking and solving problems. The component includes the learner, the content, environment which includes all forms of technology. The process is evaluation and evaluation leads to revision of instruction and must interact both efficiently and effectively.
4.3   Describe the types of learner information to be collected for planning.
The learner’s background, educational expectations, characteristics, or unusual learning needs that may require or benefit from specialized instruction, it is also important to know the number of students in the class most importantly is how students will interact with the information.
4.4   Explain the decisions about content that need to be made.
It needs to relate to the rest of the curriculum. The time constraint is very important to this process. The concepts, knowledge and specific skills need to be identified as well as time, goals and objectives for instruction.
4.5 Explain why it is important to examine teaching strategies and media.
It gives the instructor the opportunity to gain and understanding of how the learners perceived the class experience. It is important to employ the issue of engaging the learner.
4.6 Discuss how technology and resources influence the distance learning environment.
The type of setting, the basic operation of the equipment, it can reflect on the lesson quality, the outcomes and the plans for subsequent lessons. It is important to know what type of resources are available and what will they have on hand. It is important to know the quality of the instructional setting.
4.7 Discuss the literature dealing with “best practices.”
The correct instructional design is very important. Correspondence study; the rise of the distance teaching universities; and the use of analog mass media and the widespread integration of distance education elements into the most forms of education, technology and communication. Good teaching methods, interaction, teamwork and make all four media available to teachers and learners. Balance and variety with economy is a huge part of dealing with the best practices and making sure education technologies are flexible.
4.8 Design a course using the Unit- Module-Topic model.
A unit is a huge part of the body of knowledge that represents a major subdivision of a course’s content. Assessment, the content and the instruction/teaching is part of the model. Modules can have three to five topics such as readings in the text, videos, audios and recorded presentations and synchronous chats with content experts.
4.9 Describe the process for assessment of learning?
The process includes course management which is the syllabus, assignment instruction and learning objectives; readings, content presentations, course communications, group project space, student assessment, digital drop-box for assignment submission, course evaluation and course and system statistics.

 

URLs Instructional Design for Distance Education

http://distance-educator.com/instructional-design-in-distance-education-an-overview/

·         It gave an overview of how Instructional Design works through Distance Education

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc026

·         This article gave the basic teaching principles to distance education technologies

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/media/distance_learning.html

·         This article showed me how dL (distance learning) will use classrooms in a blended solution composed of classrooms and elearning as there is some evidence that this may actually enhance the learning.

 

Slideshare Presenation Instructional Design for Distance Education

Instructional Design for Distance Education from haiglerc

Definitions Industrial Designs for Distance Education

1.    Systematic Process: The process of systematic planning for instruction is the outcome of many years of research (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2004). An analysis of the application of this process indicates that when instruction is designed within a system, learning occurs. The process of instructional design is a field of study. Instructional design is considered the intellectual technique of the professional who is responsible for appropriate application of technology to the teaching and learning process.

2.      Analyze the General Abilities of the Class. Analysis of the cognitive abilities of the class allows the instructor to observe how students relate to the content of the lesson. Such issues as clearly defining the prerequisite knowledge or skills for the specific learning experience are important to ensure a successful learning experience. The students’ prior experience with similar types of cognitive tasks is important.

3.      Analyze Potential for Learner Interactivity. Students who are less social may find the distance education environment more comfortable for them. Students may become more expressive because of the perception of privacy and the informative nature of mediated communication. They may perceive the increased and varied interactivity and immediate feedback as a positive input to their interface with the learning experience.

4.      Understand Learner Characteristics. To be effective, it is necessary to understand the learners in the target audience. Willis (1994) suggested that the following questions should be asked prior to development of distance learning environments:

       What are students’ ages, cultural backgrounds, interests, and educational levels?

       What is the level of familiarity of the students with the instructional methods and technological delivery systems under consideration?

       How will the students apply the knowledge gained in the course, and how is this course sequenced with other courses?

       Can the class be categorized into several broad subgroups, each with different characteristics?

5.      Essential Content: The content of a course needs to reflect where this content relates to the rest of the curriculum. It is essential to examine the nature of the content, as well as the sequence of information. In any distance learning environment, one particular issue, that of time constraints, impacts other planning areas. Time constraints refer to the actual online time for delivery, which is often limited and inflexible.

6.      Media Selection. The common theme among these models is the learning context, which is the content, the intended outcome, and the nature of the students. Practical considerations such as available resources for creating media and the technologies for delivery of instruction also play a hand in the selection process.

7.      Visualizing Information. Visuals provide a concrete reference point for students, especially when they are engaged in a non-televised learning experience. Even if the visuals are lists of concepts and ideas, they can help students. Visuals also help learners by simplifying information. Diagrams and charts often can make it easier to understand complex ideas. A visual that breaks down a complex idea into its components can show relationships that might be otherwise confusing to students.

8.      Learning Environment: Educators are familiar with classroom settings. They are comfortable with using the space available to enable learning to take place. It is when the classroom shifts into a distance learning setting that the environment often becomes a challenge to the instructor. Several important elements must be addressed within the distance learning environment.

9.      Course management systems (CMSs), also called learning management systems or virtual learning environments, are software systems designed to assist in the management of educational courses for students, especially by helping teachers and learners with course administration. The systems can often track the learners’ progress.

10. Resources. The second element to consider in the instructional environment is the resources available to students.

§  What materials will they have at hand?

§  What materials will be available in libraries and laboratories?

§  Will students have access to resources for easy communication with the instructor?

 

Objectives Technologies and Distance Education

4.1 Describe systems for categorizing media used for distance education.

The channel of communication is the media that connects the teacher and the distant learner and it should be able to convey all messages. The cone of experience was introduced by Edgar Dale, and the purpose of it is to help organize the media used in distance education systems. Media is allowed because it gives the educator the opportunity to bring sights and sounds to the real world. It systems are symbolizing, observing and doing.

4.2 Explain the technologies used to connect teachers and learners for distance education, including correspondence, audio, video, and desktop systems.

 The technologies that used would be copiers, audio and video recording systems, telephones, computer network, and video transmission systems such as a microwave, camera and microphones. It is used to complete lessons, and work on assignments that need to be mailed out; guides the learner through a series of events; give and get feedback; and it can also reduce the need for special high cost equipment.

4.3 Explain the configuration of a modern distance education classroom.

It is very simple assess available instructional technologies, determine the learning outcomes, identify learning experiences and match them to the most appropriate available form of technology that is at hand and always prepare the learning experiences for online delivery.

 

Slideshare Technologies for Distance Education

Technologies for Distance Education from haiglerc

Defintions Technologies and Distance Education

1.     MPG Files (Podcasting). An .mpg audio file, often called an educational podcast, is usually a prerecorded single-concept lesson, normally audio only, but sometimes with accompanying still or motion visuals (Simonson, 2007).

2.   Two-Way Video/Audio Classrooms. Video-based distance education requires a classroom or studio that is equipped with the technology needed for recording and displaying video and listening to sound. Initially, studios were used as distance education classrooms. Then, as distance education became more widespread, regular classrooms were converted into distance education receive and send sites.

3.     Telecommunications means to communicate at a distance, telecommunications technologies are electronic methods used to connect the instructor, students, and resources.

4.     There are four categories of desktop audio/video systems: analog, high speed, medium speed, and low speed.

5.     Analog systems use existing telephone wiring in buildings, commonly called twisted pair wires. Analog systems are limited to a campus, or a building, which significantly reduces this application in distance education.

6.     High-speed videoconferencing sends video at millions of bits per second. Even at this high rate, the video signal is compressed using a compression protocol such as MPEG or motion JPEG. The H.310 protocol is used for high-speed desktop videoconferencing. Currently, high-speed videoconferencing is used primarily with dedicated networks within individual schools or businesses.

7.     Medium-speed desktop videoconferencing is currently the primary approach used today. This type of desktop video transmits at speeds of 128,000 or 256,000 bits per second. The video signal is compressed so it can be transmitted over the Internet (H.323 protocol). There are both hardware and software methods to compress and decompress the video signal. Since the Internet is used, medium-speed systems have considerable promise for distance education.

8.     Low-speed desktop video includes all systems that transmit at speeds lower than 56,000 bits per second (56 kbps). This category permits conferencing using the Internet and modems at speeds of 28.8 kbps. A V32 model modem with v.80 extension is generally what is needed for low-speed desktop video.

9.     Step # 1: Assess available instructional technologies. Instructional technologies can be organized into two categories: telecommunications technologies and instructional technologies.

10.            Step # 2: Determine the learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are those observable, measurable behaviors that are a consequence of online instruction. When learning activities are designed it is important that some expectations for students be identified in order to guide the selection of appropriate technologies.

11.            Step #3: Identify learning experiences and match each to the most appropriate available technology.

Usually, the content of a course is divided into modules or units. Traditionally, a module requires about 3 hours of face-to-face instruction and 6 hours of student study or preparation, and a three credit college course would have 12 to 15 modules. In an online course, the classical approach of organizing content around teaching and study time is no longer relevant.

12.            Step #4: Preparing the learning experiences for online delivery.     Basically, there are four strategies for organizing instruction for online delivery. They are (1) linear programmed instruction, (2) branched programmed instruction, (3) hyper-programmed instruction, and (4) student-programmed instruction.

 

Refections Reserach and Distance Education

Objectives Research and Distance Education

4.1. Explain research dealing with learning outcomes in distance education environments.

When it comes to research in distance education it is still on the media comparison type and this is because of the rapid development especially when referring to two-way interactive television systems. As technology expand higher student achievement will occur.

4.2. Explain research on learner perceptions concerning distance education.

It is identified as instructor vs. instruction, technology, course management, at-site management, promptness of material delivery, support services out of class communication. Distant learning satisfaction is very important in understanding the success of interactive telecourses. Student motivation and involvement is a must.

4.3. Explain research on learner attributes and other variables in distance education situations.

Research on learner attributes come in where students that have a more locus of control are more likely to achieve higher. Researchers found out that students with varying education levels differed in their study strategies, and concentration. Situational barriers included poor learning and lack of time. 

4.4.  Describe research related to interaction in distance education.

 It is known that interaction is a primary component of effective distance education programs.  Interaction is including an instructional exchange, computer-mediated communication and social/psychological connections.

4.5. Summarize research on distance education

It is clear that distance education is an effective method for teaching and learning. Distance education learners usually have a better attitude when it comes to learning. The most important thing is each form of distance education technology has its own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to using their own learning experiences.

Definitions Research and Distance Education

•         This instrument allows individuals the opportunity to evaluate instructional media on 10 elements: (1) amount of material covered, (2) level of difficulty, (3) degree to which the course content was well organized, (4) clarity of the content, (5) degree to which the various programs and instructional activities were relevant to the course objectives, (6) excellence or lack of excellence of the presenter’s delivery, (7) extent to which text and weekly assignments were integrated with each week’s class, (8) value of slides, films, and other visual materials, (9) value of text screens to support the presenter’s delivery, and (10) degree to which the course held the student’s interest.
    •         Seven broad categories of teaching behaviors were identified:
                Nonverbal “immediacy” behaviors
               Verbal “immediacy” behaviors
               Behaviors that personalize the class
               Technology management strategies
              Methods for acquiring student feedback
              Methods used to manage student participation
              Active learning strategies
•         Beare (1989) compared the effectiveness of six instructional formats that allowed differing levels of interaction: (1) lecture, (2) lecture with videotape backup, (3) telelecture, (4) audio-assisted independent study, (5) video-assisted study, and (6) video on campus.
•         Bauer and Rezabek (1992) compared verbal interaction under three conditions: (1) two-way audio and video, (2) two-way audio, and (3) traditional instruction.
•         When the data were analyzed, the strongest barriers to distance education were identified. Their rank order is:
1. Increased time commitment
2. Lack of money to implement distance education programs
3. Organizational resistance to change
4. Lack of shared vision for distance education in the organization
5. Lack of support staff to help course development
6. Lack of strategic planning for distance education
7. Slow pace of implementation
8. Faculty compensation/incentives
9. Difficulty keeping up with technological changes
10. Lack of technology-enhanced classrooms, labs, or infrastructure
•         Berge and Muilenburg identified the least important barriers to implementation. They were (in rank order):
54. Competition with on-campus courses
55. Lack of personal technological expertise
56. Lack of acceptable use policy
57. Lack of transferability of credits
58. Problems with vast distances and time zones
59. Technology fee
60. Tuition rate
61. Local, state, or federal regulations
62. Ethical issues
63. Existing union contracts
64. Lack of parental involvement
•         Berge and Muilenburg concluded by identifying the need for cultural change within organizations involved or contemplating involvement with distance education. Five of the top barriers related directly to organizational culture are as follows:
      Organizational resistance to change
       Lack of shared vision for distance education in the organization
       Lack of strategic planning for distance education
       Slow pace of implementation
       Difficulty keeping up with technological change
•         In South Dakota (Simonson, 2001), a recent series of focus groups of teachers revealed the following reasons why they were reluctant to be involved in distance education:
       Fear
       Training
       Time
       Changes needed
•         These same groups indicated that the impediments to implementing distance education in schools were as follows:
       Need for training
       Need for and lack of support
       Time needed
       Fear of the process
       Scheduling problems
       Technical problems