Essential Question: What lessons can we take from Global Distance Learning Efforts?I did not realize how far back distance education went. There have been a lot of advances in technology but some of the framework still remains the same. Moore & Kearsely (2011) discuss so many varying options for different countries. Some of the top that stuck out were that at UKOU the tuition is low ($7500 for a baccalaureate degree) and that there are not any prerequisites to get in. I believe education should be available to all who desire it. I think it is also beneficial to have programs that offer 4 year degrees that are fully online. I know that the Korean National Open University (KNOU) now has this capability. Some countries that have fantastic distance programs also have the support of their government. I think that countries that place a high priority on education are seeing bigger results. For example "Norway is also now among world leaders in a new innovation, the setting up of learning networks. The most prominent of these, founded in 2007, is a network called Studiesenteret that provides learning programs in 80 municipalities and seven university colleges." Norvig (2012) talks about a setup that allowed for success in his class. He tried for the 1 on 1 tutoring approach in their videos. This means that he filmed a video as if he were actually tutoring a student. He aimed for videos under 10 minutes an embedded questions. "Students learn best when they are actively practicing." These questions were open ended to provide more application outside of the learning modules. Finally he set due dates to keep students on track. These are easy practice to implement and ones that I plan to use. His audience was over 160,000 students with 20,000 completing the class. When education is global there can be some challenges. One of the top challenges is cultural misunderstandings. Shirvani, Scorza, Alkhathlan, & García (2011) found that in developing countries one is likely to find one or more of the following conditions:
There are so many ways to approach distance education and I don't believe there is one correct way. I think looking at all of these examples just makes me realize that it is important for students to find a program that works for them. Sources
Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2011). Distance education: A systems view of online learning [Kindle Edition]. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Norvig, Peter. [TED]. (2012 June 18) The 100,000-student classroom. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYclUdcsdeo Shirvani, H., Scorza, J., Alkhathlan, K., & García, F. L. (2011, November 27). GLOBAL: The challenges of global online education. Retrieved November 04, 2016, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111125211420618
7 Comments
Teresa
11/4/2016 12:41:50 pm
I like your comment "I don't believe there is one correct way." So true. You quoted that "Students learn best when they are actively practicing." I just watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy where this was the topic of the episode, that their students learn best by doing, which was controversial because people were set in their ways. This is true for any field. We prefer to do things in one way, but it's changing so quickly. What works one year may not work a couple years later.
Reply
Sara Lucas
11/6/2016 10:11:36 am
Was that the new episode of Grey's? I just watched it. I can totally be related to the reading this week. Somehow, even in an online environment, we need to try to engage students by actually doing things in an authentic way. Students need to make their own meaning and that only comes when they do something for themselves.
Reply
Theresa
11/4/2016 07:13:44 pm
Sara- I didn’t realize either how far back distance education went. I also agree that UK is one that stuck out for me as well. I think that is a excellent approach that Norvig is using for online education. I also how he stops for students to reflect and try to make it feel like a one on one approach. That is also a good point to look out for cultural misunderstanding. Great points!
Reply
Sara Lucas
11/6/2016 10:31:22 am
Norvig's approach was great. I use edpuzzle but the question are a comprehension check, not questions that cause the students to really reflect. I'm thinking I may have to change up some of the questions.
Reply
Dan Marshall
11/5/2016 12:41:31 pm
Sara, I appreciate your posting the points to keep in mind with consideration to teaching globally. It is truly amazing to witness the transformation that is taking place in education since now real change has taken place in the last 100 years. The truth though is that the change is happening from without rather from within. Change in a public venue like education is almost impossible, and what we are seeing with this global transformation is just incredible. By the way, thanks so very much for your expertise and your contribution last Thursday night. So appreciative.
Reply
Sara Lucas
11/6/2016 10:34:09 am
Thank you Dan for sharing the resources! Especially this ted talk!! Norvig had some great points to consider. I agree that we are seeing a lot of change and hopefully we will see more change in face to face education as well.
Reply
BridgetQiao
11/6/2016 03:06:00 pm
HI, Sara, I really like what you said: keep those points in mind, and I do agree that there is no one correct way. Each case, each program is different. I was thinking if a program can offer different levels, for example, a free class for general demand, and a degree class for higher level, that will be great. Bridget
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Virtual Learning & TeachingCategories |