Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

Communication has improved and evolved in distance learning. In 2002-2003, I took an on-line course at the brick and mortar institution I was attending for my Bachelor's. The class was basically a website with instructions of what to read and questions to answer. The assignments had to be read and the answers to the questions needed to be emailed to the instructor. That was all that was required of the course. There was no way to communicate with anyone except with the instructor, if she was emailed.

Currently, at Walden University, there is a number of tools used to facilitate learning in the classroom and to promote communication. For starters, there is a Class CafĂ©, which is a message board that students can post. The weekly discussion boards require analysis and critique of the topic for the module, which also promotes communication. There are occasional group projects that students use Wikis, web cams, microphones, emails, and instant messaging in order to work together. Skype and GoToMeeting are two programs that allow visual and auditory communication due to their web cam, microphone, and text capabilities. As a result, they facilitate interactions among learners.

One blogger, Justin Ferriman, made a post showing the transgression of distance learning over the years.

A blogger, Beccary, created a post about conferences and workshops she attended about tools for distance learning. She said they detailed how they could use text messaging, Facebook, and other social media sites, and she was disappointed with the information. I too would be disappointed with that because those materials are already know by most people.

The Califone Blog explained how video conferencing can be used to host an actual class over the internet for distance learning. This is likely the closest connection to face to face learning.

4 comments:

  1. Reggie,

    I find it interesting that they would even call that distance learning. HA! I have personally, until this class, never heard of GoToMeeting. Have you ever used it? How does it work (I know what it does, but curious if it is something my school could use with students and/or teachers)?

    -Jenny Piner

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      I used it when I did the virtual residency at Walden. It's like logging into a chat room, which has both text, sound, and video. You do not have to use the video feature though, you can turn it off - and just listen to the sound and read the text.

      Delete
  2. Jennifer

    It's funny that you mentioned about the class you took for your bachelors. I remember back in the 90's when I took an online course using Blackboard and the format was basically the same. Communication in distance education has really evolved especially Blackboard. I agree with you about Walden having a number of tools to facilitate learning which makes the online experience even better. So if you had to choose the type of online tool you used, what would it be and why?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would not have a problem using the instant messenger - AOL or KIK or anything similar. I feel like it is just like having a conversation, but I know sometimes it's difficult when people misinterpret the meaning behind words.

      Delete