Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

 Example 2: Interactive Tours

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?

Possible Technological Solution

Because teens are the audience of this project, ENGAGEMENT is the key in making a choice on distance learning technologies. Also distance learning techniques can solve a problem of a traditional setting that many museum curators report “High school students are very quiet. Over the years I have learned that quiet does not always mean disengaged. At this age level peer pressure is heavy and the fear of giving a wrong answer is intense. They also dislike being controlled by adults.” (Schlageck, K., 2009) Wedemeyer’s Theory of Independent Study places an emphasis on “learner independence and adoption of technology as a way to implement this independence.” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 43)Therefore discussion thread will be optimal for individual students to share their opinion on the topic, whereas a task calling to rely on their experience will make this discussion meaningful. Kathrine Schlageck (2009) a curator from Beach Musem of Art, Kansas State University provides an example of an engaging topic for discussion:

“You are the curator of the Beach Museum of Art. The tornado siren goes off, you are in the galleries, and you have time to save one piece of art. Which one is it?

After the tornado is over the Director wants to know why you saved the piece – your job depends on your answer!

Some things to consider: The artist’s technical ability, the importance of the artist or the work, the message of the work, the historical value of the work, and the collections mission of the Museum.”

One more important factor to consider is THE DEPTH WEB 2.0 CAN PROVIDE FOR LEARNING. Art video podcasts or museum virtual tours, if available, will do a better job familiarizing students with the art works than a textbook entry, as it suits the learning styles of both audio and visual learners. “Research shows that use of visual and verbal modes of learning together significantly increases learning.  The results of several studies also indicate that online students who listen to podcasts demonstrate more effective learning, greater satisfaction, greater autonomy, and greater motivation than online students who do not.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012)

Information about art collections can also be researched by students themselves and compiled into a wiki, to elicit “student discovery and construction of knowledge” as required by a Lerner-Based Instructional Model (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 124)

Videoconference with curators can serve the purpose of introducing the collections, it might start with a slide show followed by inviting students to respond. Catherine Arias (2009) from The Museum of Contemporary Art shares her vision of a follow-up discussion “Ask follow-up questions in a non-threatening way. I watched an educator smile and enthusiastically ask teens who giggled and called a video in the exhibition crazy and trippy, “What’s crazy about it?” “What’s trippy about this video?” The educator showed appreciation for their initial tentative comments and gently pushed them to explain further.” In this example we can see how Wdemeyer’s emphasis on the development of the relationship between students and facilitator can be realized. (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 44)

As an educator I find this situation rich in opportunities to use technology to take learning to the next level of Lerner-Centered environments, where success is determined by “demonstrated knowledge and skills”, not by “accumulated credit hours.” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 124)

References:

Arias, C., Schlageck, K., How to engage the high school museum visitor. Doctor Dada. (2009). [Blog]. Retrieved from http://doctordada.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-engage-high-school-museum.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012). The Technology of Distance Education [Video webcast].

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Defining Distant Learning

My Definition of Distance Learning

   Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century

 – Perelman

Extending S.J. Perelman’s quotation I would add “...through their engagement in distance learning”.

Prior to this course I defined Distance Learning as an interaction between participants of the instruction process that is not limited by time and space. After some exploration of the topic I still see this definition as valid, however I would add a couple of important points.

•           Distance education is institutionally based as opposite to private study and self-study.

•           Apart from being separated in time and space, students and teachers are also separated intellectually.

•           Instruction is enabled through interactive communications.

•           Learning experience comprises sharing of data, voice and video.

Thus my definition complies with 4 components to the definition of distance education provided by Simonson et al. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012, p. 33)

Starting as a correspondence course 160 years ago Distance Education has undergone a number of important changes in its methods of delivery but has retained its flexible character. According to Moller et al the primary driving forces of Distant Learning are economics and access, however there is one more driving force, even more important – effectiveness. “Many contemporary approaches assert that while most traditional instruction does well to control and to manage the educational experience, it does little to maximize, and may even inhibit, natural human learning abilities “ (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008).

Distance learning future is in the hands of generation Millennium, who came of age in the 1990s when the technology revolution exploded and, generally, are technologically sophisticated.  “Information revolution created a situation where there should be less emphasis on the accumulation of personal knowledge and more on tools necessary for informational retrieval.” (Junginger, 2012) Millennials want to learn by using teamwork, technology, structure, entertainment, excitement, and experiential activities, hence the change of paradigm in education and evolution of learning theories.

I share Pr Siemens' vision of the future of Distance Learning as a gradual blending of traditional education and e-learning, where traditional school is not abolished but incorporates e-learning into all educational and training settings.

I also find it very credible that “Full scale online education will occur as the result of compounded growth, increased familiarity and acceptance, various models of scalability, and possible wildcards which may accelerate growth.” (Sener, 2010)

To conclude I would like to address a concern voiced by Moller et al “If mediocrity becomes the norm, then ID practitioners will all be tarred with the same brush regardless of their competence or the theoretical persuasion of their training” (Moller, Foshay & Huett, 2008). While this concern is certainly justified, I share John Sener's claim that ID has entered the second era of improving quality, whereas the first era was focused on providing access.

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), 63–67.

Junginger, C. Who is training whom? The effect of the millennial generation. (2008.) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,  77(9), p. 19-23. 

Sener, J. (2010). Why Online Education Will Attain Full Scale. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 14(4), p3-16

Siemens, G., (2012). Distance Education: The Next Generation. Laureate Media. (n/d).

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

New Year, New Course, New Beginnings

hi everyone,

welcome to my blog and my thoughts and insights on instructional design and distance education. I am really looking forward to an exciting exchange of ideas and making new friends!