Hello Everyone,
My name is Brigit McAroy and I teach first grade in Pensacola, Florida. I have been teaching for 14 years and love every minute of it. Well, not all of the paperwork! :) I look forward to learning new technologies and communicating new ideas with Dr. Powell and my classmates.
Brigit
Hi Brigit – From: Cecil Mittoo @ http://mittootech.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI agree that the qualities of distant education arguments by Moller, Huett, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) and Simonson (video presentation, 2008) do elicit some similar thoughts. However, Simonson wants us to recognize that 21st century technology has allowed us to believe that there is better interaction with digital learning technology today, parallel to face to face encounter as with the traditional education. The “hands on school” that you refer to perplexes me a bit. However, if I may interpret this to be the traditional school then the face to face encounter is thought to allow for better quality of teaching and learning theoretically. The distant education “quality” is in the making and this is where the Educational Technologists as changed agents will have to diffuse the innovation in a communication channel that meets the criteria of time and the social system needs.
There are several learning technologies and strategies that with proper instructional designs can meet the needs of all students. However, it is the innovation in the delivery and receiving technology and also the psychological and mental focus of both the instructor and the learners of distant learning that is in question. Duarte and Synder (2001) in Pallof et al. (2005) believes that distant Education requires Virtual Team Dynamics. This is identified as building trust, integrity, and concern for the well-being of others. While Dr. Simonson espouses that “Equivalency Theory requires that distance and face-to-face education should have the same learning outcomes and provide equivalent learning to meet these outcomes,” I believe that he recognizes the “old school” worth, but the reality is that if online learners and instructors alike are committed the distant learning can exhibit quality digital learning through the learning theories of constructivism and connectivism.
References:
Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer) (2008). Distance Education: The next Generation. Baltimore, MD: Author
Palloff, M., Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating Online. Learning Together in Community: Jossey Bass Press/ www.josseybass.com