Distance Learning Technologies

This week’s blog post has to do with a scenario to help in the development of distance learning, and identify one to two distance learning technologies you think provide the best solution for the given challenge.

The dilemma

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 situation the first thing I need to know is what museums, specifically the teacher has in mind.  There are many, many art museums in New York and not all of them have interactive web sites.  There are two that I know of that offer virtual tours and resources for teachers.  The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) has virtual tours of all of their floors, galleries, and exhibits. www.moma.org.  Also, on their home page is the Google Art Project, which allows you to view museums around the world, and their collections.  Under the learning link for k-12 teachers there is a section called Modern Teacher Online, which connects teachers with resources and user’s guides. http://moma.org/modernteachers/.  The other site is the New York Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org.  The site has virtual tours of select collections and still pictures of most of their collection.  It has an interactive timeline of art history.  It has a site for teacher resources where you can order or download materials for the classroom. http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/classroom.asp. 

Interaction with a museum curator would be best if the teacher used two-way audio/video.  This way sites can be connected via compressed video and sent out over an internet connection.  This type of two way communication allows people in two separate locations to hold a live conversation that can be recorded for future references.  A great source for this technology is SKYPE  www.skype.com.  The video runs at real time and the audio streams right along with the video with no gap between the two. 

For group critiques of selected works I would suggest a discussion thread.  There are several sites that offer free discussion thread software that can be integrated right onto a teachers web page or CMS. At www.activeboard.com   one can set up a forum in just a few minutes.  The free version is ad supported, but if you can get over pop-up ads its a simple tool to use.  Simple Machines at www.simplemachines.com is a much more comprehensive site and would be better suited for someone a bit more tech savy, but it’s worth a try for someone who wants to integrate a chat feed on their web page. I would also suggest that the teacher set up a CMS for that lesson.  Edu2.0 offers a place for blogs and chat where students can critique a work of art that the teacher has selected, and can comment on other student’s critiques. 

There are may tools that can be used, but my job is to help create solutions that are the most user friendly, and are on pace with the teacher’s technological skills.

Resources

Active Board (2011) http://www.activeboard.com

Metropolitan Museum of Art (2011) http://www.metmuseum.org

Museum of Modern Art (2011) http://moma.org

Simple Machines (2011) http://www.simplemachines.com

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

The Impact of Distance Learning

            Distance learning to me has always meant independent learning.  That means the ability to learn on your own time, at your own pace.  I remember commercials and advertisements for correspondence schools where you could learn a multitude of “trade” careers on your own, by ordering the materials and submitting the exams by mail.  I would have to say that distance learning has vastly changed since those days.  The Internet opened up a world of opportunities for the “non-traditional” student to advance their education without having to spend their time in a traditional classroom.

            According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, (2009) in Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education distance learning is “institution- based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources and instructors” (p. 32).  They also go on to list the four components needed in order for learning to be considered distance learning: it is institutionally based, the teacher and the student are geographically separated, interactive telecommunications allow for synchronous or asynchronous learning, and learners, resources and instructors are connected so that learning can occur.  This is a more detailed description than I would have ever thought of before embarking on my educational journey.

            I never realized that distance learning occurred outside of an educational setting.  Not spending time in the corporate world for an extended period of time never afforded me the opportunity to learn about how distance learning could benefit a large corporation.  My only experience was face-to-face training, and even as the trainer, I felt it was an arduous unnecessary training.  There was no evaluation other than a smile sheet and language barriers were never taken into consideration.  E-learning in the corporate setting is starting to be embraced because it cuts down on delivery costs, is instantly available, and all employees have access to it immediately. “These benefits far outweigh the relatively high up-front cost of training development using e-learning” (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008, p. 70).

            Being in education and being a distance learner myself I understood the usefulness of e-learning.  What I never considered was all of the detail that goes into creating an effective and purposeful online learning course.  Being pretty tech savvy, I figured that developing an online class would be as easy as taking what I know and putting it online.  I have since come to realize that designing an online learning course involves more design and thought than I ever imagined.  “Taking what one is familiar with and/or using what works in one environment and simply duplicating it in a new environment can lead to limited positive results” (Moller, Foshay & Huett 2008, p. 67).  I am learning in every course I take how true that is.

            As distance and e-learning evolve, I see more of this type of learning as becoming an integral part of education and training.  As technology advances, more opportunities arise to learn electronically.  E-learning is more cost effective, less time consuming, and the learner can learn at their own pace. Colleges and Universities that offer distance learning as a part of their program, can sustain growth and increase their financial gains.  As corporations spread to global market, e-learning allows them to train many people in many different places, and not lose productivity due to mass trainings of employees at the same time.  K-12 institutions are offering more courses online, especially for the student with outside circumstances that prevent them from attending a traditional school.  K-12 virtual schools are also becoming a viable alternative for nontraditional students who want an alternative to traditional school.  As an ID, it is essential for me to be able to grow with this trend and develop the most effective learning for whichever setting I am designing learning.

Resources

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.

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.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.


Link to mind map    http://www.webspirationpro.com/view/982844a29cfd

Distance Learning 6135

A new class a, new school year, a new beginning.

 Greetings classmates.  It's great to see so many familiar names, and some new ones too.  As we enter the second leg of our program, I am amazed at all of the knowledge we have gained since day one.  I look forward to continuing on this journey with you all.