I do agree with George Siemens as he discusses the reasons why there has been an increase in acceptance of distance education. I believe this is accurate because more and more of my colleagues, family, and friends are communicating through different modes of online communication. This is true from seeing my niece for the first time on Facebook to becoming an active participate in a collaborative assignment using Wiki.
Collaborative interaction has evolved from groups sitting in a circle, prerecorded videos, and conference calls, to interactive videoconferencing, blogs, and Wikis used as tools in learning teams. Webcams have been used in rural areas in reaching students through Skype and iChat. Using such technology allows struggling readers and teachers the opportunity to collaborate with the other schools or universities without any cost to the school district. I have also found myself searching for tools to enrich my classes without cost to our school district. My students begin using blogs this week. I believe they will enjoy this new exciting, opportunity to read and write. I am new to the concept, but I am excited and anxious to learn.
Unfortunately, the positive sentiments related to distance education are not shared by all. As evolution of distance learning has evolved, so has the questions and concerns for quality. One Minister of Education has issued a directive to outlaw distance education because of quality concerns. Most of us can probably say this radical movement in distance education moves us backwards, but the concern of quality is a continued issue in every distance education program. This radical attempt to combat a serious issue is foolish in any part of the world.
As distance learning evolves in a more productive, effective program, many issues concerning quality will take place, but the solution is not to eliminate the innovation. If innovations around the world were eliminated because of barriers, we would still be in the dark ages. How can we combat issues such as quality? Where can teachers find free tools to enhance their practice?
~Wanda Ardoin-Bailey
~Wanda Ardoin-Bailey
Mariam, A. (2010, September 5). Ethiopia
Schulken, M. (2010, August 2). Program Uses Webcam, Free Technology to Reach Rural Schools. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rural_education/2010/08/program_uses_webcam_free_technology_to_reach_teachers_readers_inrural_schools.html?qs=using+blogs+to+teach
Simonson, M. “Equivalency Theory”
Wanda - I especially liked your comment concerning the Minister of Education who wants to outlaw DE. I feel this is and has been a common response to any innovation that threatens certain innovations that involve tradition. Fortunatly there are many open minded educators who can see the importance of moving forward and that improvements to "traditon" cannot happen without change (sort of the "Phoenix from the ashes theory". Great post. I look forward to more discussions.
ReplyDeleteChris W.
Yes, I couldn't believe what I was reading. I am very thankful to live in a country with so many innovative ideas and initiatives in learning. Unfortunately, we do have administrators and district leaders that are not as open minded as others about certain collaborative initiatives. When these ideas do not add strain to a school’s budget, they are more receptive. What the “free” technological advancements used in your school?
ReplyDeleteWanda, I am ecited to hear that you are using blogging in your classroom. Please let me know how it goes. Have you tried wiki in the classroom before and if so what did you do with it? We have a wiki site posted by our technology director that we all can use for free. I haven't used it for my class, but I have been on to view the information. One teacher let her students start a story and then invited teachers and administrators to visit and add to the story. The students loved it.
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ReplyDeleteWanda, I enjoy reading your comments. Have you ever had a bad experience and decided never to make that mistake again? Of course using the internet for amusement or social communicating is going to be an enjoyable experience. The popularity of distance learning can be traced to the flexibility of the classes. If online classes were at a specific time and day like traditional classes, the growth would not be as great. The only advantage would be travel time.
ReplyDeleteThe untapped arena for distance learning is going to be the k-12 population. For example, let us say a student is studying about the United States government. How more enriching would the experience be if a student was able to sit in on a session through a virtual reality simulator? Furthermore, we limit the potential of distance learning when we compare the learning experience to traditional classrooms. For instance blogging is simply journaling on an electronic notebook. However, by incorporating links and other forms of technology into the blogs the learning environment becomes more enriching to the learner. How does this address weaknesses and accentuate the positives of online learning? Let us visit our student once again who is learning about United States government. There is a vote on the floor about health reform. Maybe two of her classmates are republicans and three others are swing vote independents. Imagine the conversations they are going to have when they attempt to convince their classmates to see their point of view. With the available technology, students can access real world information. You can not get that type of learning experience without the internet. And last time I checked I do not think every classroom in the world had computers for their students. This is the niche online classes have. Distance learners can explore knowledge in greater depth and scaffold their individual knowledge with better results.
Linda,
ReplyDeleteI have never used Wikis in my classroom before. As a matter of fact, this summer was the first time I had ever used it myself. I am starting to really enjoy blogging and collaborating using Wikis. Our district technologist offered to set up emails and blog accounts for all of my students, but I explained to her my need for taking it slow. I will be using blogger for one of my classes. I will keep you posted. The story is a good idea.
Wanda
Andrew, I agree! The possibilities of Distance Learning are endless. I imagine incorporating links in a blog as taking an inexpensive field trip. I loved going to all the different places you place on your blogs. At one time I forgot I was in a class. It was exciting. Do you use online collaboration with your students?
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteDo you plan on using the Wikis set up for you?
Wanda
Yes I want to....I just have to decide how I am going to use it. Curriculum is so intense that we would have to sit and plan out times to use the lab and what we would do with the wiki. I will let you know too when we get started.
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