Success at Distance Learning

Distance learning students have to acquire a lot of traits in order to be successful at distance learning. Being a success at anything, including distance learning, takes a lot of focus, determination, and will to succeed. Motivation and time management are excellent skills to use as well for planning time for your reading material, assignments, discussions, activities and applications. It is more involved than the classroom environment because there is minimum face to face interaction with your classmates and instructor, so you have to improvise by using other tools to communicate effectively which could be more time consuming than the spoken word. There are a number of things that you can do to be successful such as being proactive.

As soon as you have access to your class, familiarize yourself with the courseware that you will be using by logging in and browsing to get an idea on how the courseware works and is configured. Pay close attention to any downloads or additional software that is needed to add on your personal computer of the course information. If there is additional technology to use, download immediately and test it out for proper operation.

Read the syllabus because it is your guide through the course. It contains information about the class and assignment schedules, but also instructions on how to access online forums and discussion forums. You should download and save the syllabus as soon as you have access to it. The syllabus also keeps you working towards the goal of success. A good syllabus provides a kind of "roadmap" to success. Read it thoroughly and ask questions if any points are unclear. You may need to ask questions via email, a forum post, such as chat rooms or Contact the Instructor. Don't discount all the means of communication that are available to you. (Wolfe, C., 2009)

Plan your study time by keeping a calendar or journal to document assignments that are due. Do your assignments in chunks, don’t try to do it all at one time (Randall, S., 2010). If there is information that you don’t understand or need clarification use the Contact the Instructor or send an email to the instructor. If possible have a place to study and determine the best time for you to study. Pace yourself and try not to overextend yourself. You’re in it to learn so take you time and embrace the experience. Set your priorities and do your best to plan ahead.

Contribute to the discussions. Student to student interaction provides a great learning platform for all because each learner brings a vast amount of experience to the table. One of the secrets to distance learning is engagement. Students who are engaged in discussions show that they are seeking knowledge and understanding. Take an active role in your education by stepping into a discussion with informed comments. Instructors know who is contributing and who is not. They have access to every forum and post. Often, they can even see how many discussion threads each student has opened and read, even if the student has not written a response. (Wolfe, C., 2009)

Lastly, stay motivated to learn and show that progression as you move forward. The education that you will acquire in this course is required for all employees. It is very important to know this information because safety is parallel to the corporation’s mission. The information has been revised and updated. It is more interactive than the safety training in the past, so expect a new format to learn from. The corporation truly values your opinion and would like to get an assessment of the training. Upon completion of the training, an evaluation of the course will be sent to you to via email. Please take time out of your busy schedule let us know what you think about the new course information and format. I look forward to working and learning from you in the near future.

References

Shirley, R. (2010). Seven success strategies for distance learners. Retrieved from   

      http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/distance-learning-success.htm, World    

      Wide Learn.         

Wolfe, C. (2009). Ten ways to show distance learning success. Retrieved from

      http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1670618

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Application: Week 3, Interactive Tours

The Scenario: 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?

In this scenario I would first set up a meeting with the two museums involved. To showcase the new exhibits, we would have to determine how we will communicate with each other and show the exhibits at the same time. The type of setting, be it place- or time-shifted, will influence planning decisions (Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S., 2015 pg. 137) .The solution will be to use Skype. Skype is for doing things together, whenever you’re apart. Skype’s text, voice and video make it simple to share experiences with the people that matter to you, wherever they are (About Skype, 2015).

 With Skype, you can share a story, celebrate a birthday, learn a language, hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. You can use Skype on whatever works best for you - on your phone or computer or a TV with Skype on it. It is free to start using Skype - to speak, see and instant message other people on Skype for example. You can even try out group video, with the latest version of Skype. (About Skype, 2015)

  The instructor will skype the curators in the two New York museums and take a tour of the museums and interact with the curators from the classroom with the group of students. The curators will showcase a variety of art work. This interaction will be recorded, the movie will be uploaded to the discussion board or resources. The teacher will select two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group discussion via Blackboard.

 

References

http://www.skype.com/en/about/, About Skype

 How to Make Video Calls with Skype, [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyUG0Tbje0o,

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education.

                                                                                                                                

"Distance Learning Defined"

DISTANCE LEARNING

The definition of distance learning continues to change for a couple of reasons.

First, I think any learning process has to adapt to the learner. In the 21^st century, the learner has changed the way they acquire and process information. They are more versatile and flexible. Most seem to be more hands on and apt to learn by doing and learning from their peers in groups. They view videos and learn information in real time. Since teachers have to be more creative to keep students interested in the material being taught, teachers develop assignments that require the student to be more creative.

Second, as technology continues to evolve, so will the various ways to use it for educational purposes. As I reviewed the Distance Learning Timeline Continuum, in our resources this week, I never thought distance learning spanned from the 1800’s to present day. I thought it had evolved in the late 1980’s, when I assisted in piloting a course for a class at a former employer. “In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the development of fiber optic communication systems allowed for the expansion of live, two-way, high quality audio and video systems in education”. (Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S., 2015).  As an Interior Communication Electrician in the military during this time, we began the installation of fiber optic systems to implement this type of learning and technology to use as well. We were preparing for the 21^st century teacher and leaner, professionally and personally.

I think the changes are based on a person’s profession, technical knowledge and of course, money. I’ve noticed on job announcements where companies solicit specific knowledge that match the technology and programs that they currently use. For example, web design and Captivate are a few skills that some companies are looking for in the instructional design arena. The skills that an Instructional Design (ID) professional acquires are the skills that they currently use at work, school or voluntarily.

The company has pre-determined how much money they are willing to spend on additional programs/ technology because the end result is to develop a quality product with a small budget. More cynical practitioners observe that it often seems that managers or customers care only about the appearance of training. These practitioners argue that managers promote e-learning only because it is relatively cheap to deliver, and it absolves them from the obligation to provide potentially more expensive or involved training. (Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J., 2008).

My personal definition of distance learning is learning that occurs when the instructor and learners are in various places but are connected by some sort of technology. Before this course, I had so many variations of this definition because there are so many phrases that refer to distance learning. I’ve heard people call it distance education, e-learning, on-line learning, webinars and video conferencing just to name a few but they are referring to the same type of learning.

This week the term “distance learning” refers to the method and technology in which it is used to connect the teacher and students. Even though there are many phrases that are used for distance learning they all mean the same thing. Each learning environment has its underlying reasons why they use distance learning but they all want the students to have the best available resources to be successful.

As we move forward with this type of learning and gather information from best practices, this type of learning will become more widely used and will eventually be turned into a blended learning environment. I say that because no one method of teaching will be the ultimate method used. To teach students. More technology to communicate between learners will be needed to simulate the classroom environment in real time. New technology is developed everyday so one of our most difficult challenges will be to keep up with the latest and greatest technology used.

References

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–6 7.

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.

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.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education: Chapter 2, "Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education" (pp. 31-40)

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