Scope Creep: choices that I had to make
Some years ago, I taught in Ireland after I decided to leave the corporate world for good in Italy. I worked for a school with special needs children that included autistic, ADHD, physically and sexually abused kids. The class that I had taken over had nine teachers who had given up on them in the span of three years. I was the tenth. It was a daunting situation in the beginning but turned out to be an enriching experience.
During these years, game boys were starting to populate amongst my students and interest for internet games and activities were starting to influence the teaching and learning in the classroom. Coming from an IT background, my principal had offered me a project to set the IT laboratory specifically set up for my class.
I was then taking some courses in IT at the Trinity College, Dublin and I had thought of engaging a part of my class for this project. The budget of €15,000 was approved by the board of the school and additional €2,000 from the parents. With these figures in mind, I did a project schedule and a budget allocation for both human and material resources. We needed manpower especially for setting up the lab as well as ordering furniture to suit especially the special needs students if they were accommodated in this project. This was one condition I accepted the project.
As it turned out, furniture as well as the software for these kids with special needs had used up about €12,000 of the total budget. With only €5,000 left, I had to explain and justify my request for an increase of funding. I had to do it fast as the Easter break was fast approaching we had a two week break. I wanted to get some work done during the break so I would not have to worry about my teaching time.
To my surprise, my request for funding was approved a week before the break. However, when I looked at the condition, the funding can only be released if I was totally to remove the area planned for the special needs children. I read the condition hoping I had understood it wrongly but it was right! My heart sunk. It was for my class which had the most special needs students that the project was conceived. I thought I had explained it clearly in my project proposal/charter which all stakeholders signed and agreed before approving the project. Why were the special needs children being discriminated? The reason stated was that special needs students do not need to avail of technology but basic skills in order to cope with their learning disabilities.
I met with my principal and discussed alternatives. I had to re-write the proposal and find cheaper resources for these students just as to provide them with this opportunity. I also realigned the resources especially the human resources asking my classmates on my course not to be paid if possible. The response to my appeal was a big NO! With a heavy heart, I continued on to finish the project three months later but my real goal was not achieved. I learned that the project was later implemented after three years when the a law was passed by the Minister of Education requiring all schools to provide a venue for special needs children to have an opportunity to work in technology.
In hindsight, I should have been present during the presentation of the project rather than entrusting it to my principal who had no clue of the ins and outs of it. When I was refused for an increase of funding, I should have not accepted the increment but rather worked around the initial budget so as not to compromise the real aim of the project. I should have included the participation of the parent board to get more voice in the whole project. Lastly, I had just arrived in Ireland and was getting to know the culture around the community. After three years of living there, I would have asked advice from various sectors to fight for my cause. I thought knowing the principal and having an IT background was enough to get through. It needed much more than this.
Malu
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Blog Assignment: Talking about Communicating
Wow! I had completely forgotten what all those three modalities could do to you especially on that issue of soliciting a report.
After I read the email, I asked myself, how would I feel if I were to get an email of this sort? Would I feel pushed or pressured? The voicemail of the same message did not appeal to me at all. I thought the email had a more powerful hold on me since it was something written. As I watched the video (choppy as I am still in Istanbul!), I knew that if a message of this sort was given to me face-to-face, I would immediately jump from my table and do it. How could you ignore a request handed to you in personal way where the speaker took time out of her busy schedule to come and speak to you PERSONALLY? Eye contact to me is essential that is why I am reluctant to join some chat discussions. I would rather prefer a skype video call to a chat message. However, with our busy lifestyles this is not always possible.
As I reflected on the videos, I realised that the art of communicating is essential to us not only in a project but in expressing our thoughts in our daily lives. I try to learn from people I meet and relationships I had on how to “communicate” with honesty and integrity. When I lived in Africa when I was young, an African friend of mine once told me that he had to be honest or else they would have their finger cut. At the moment, I thought it was something hilarious but in hindsight, I think this meant the integrity of the person was at stake.
In the international teaching world I work, there is so much use of this “art of communicating” but for other purposes which can sometimes be destructive. I believe the real communication incorporates not only the verbal aspect but most especially the non-verbal aspect of a message. Though we can talk about high technology in communication, using chat rooms, or asynchronous discussions, there is no better way than seeing the person face-to-face. Lastly, it is not the amount of words that matters but the quality of message being transmitted that counts often. I’m guilty of this many times.
Malu
After I read the email, I asked myself, how would I feel if I were to get an email of this sort? Would I feel pushed or pressured? The voicemail of the same message did not appeal to me at all. I thought the email had a more powerful hold on me since it was something written. As I watched the video (choppy as I am still in Istanbul!), I knew that if a message of this sort was given to me face-to-face, I would immediately jump from my table and do it. How could you ignore a request handed to you in personal way where the speaker took time out of her busy schedule to come and speak to you PERSONALLY? Eye contact to me is essential that is why I am reluctant to join some chat discussions. I would rather prefer a skype video call to a chat message. However, with our busy lifestyles this is not always possible.
As I reflected on the videos, I realised that the art of communicating is essential to us not only in a project but in expressing our thoughts in our daily lives. I try to learn from people I meet and relationships I had on how to “communicate” with honesty and integrity. When I lived in Africa when I was young, an African friend of mine once told me that he had to be honest or else they would have their finger cut. At the moment, I thought it was something hilarious but in hindsight, I think this meant the integrity of the person was at stake.
In the international teaching world I work, there is so much use of this “art of communicating” but for other purposes which can sometimes be destructive. I believe the real communication incorporates not only the verbal aspect but most especially the non-verbal aspect of a message. Though we can talk about high technology in communication, using chat rooms, or asynchronous discussions, there is no better way than seeing the person face-to-face. Lastly, it is not the amount of words that matters but the quality of message being transmitted that counts often. I’m guilty of this many times.
Malu
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Post Mortem of a Project in Italy
I am continuing the sequel from my discussion post to the blog. For those who have not read it I have re-posted it again.
I was preparing a training course for a rollout of a new application to improve the supply chain management programme especially on the logistic side as deliveries were always delayed causing customers to be discouraged. The stakeholders were the executive director and the managers of the sourcing office in Florence, the project manager was someone from San Bruno, CA and the instructional designer was from Hongkong and I was the instructor/facilitator. As Allen & Hardin (2008) state that preparing the different phases of a project requires time. I would like to add that the final project is an evolution of a scaffold process built on hours, days and weeks up to months of preparation.
The project was proposed to rollout after 6 – 8 months of preparation. I was part of the every process since I was handling the logistic department in particular in the IT aspect of it. During this period, I struggled to communicate with the stakeholders because they wanted the end product without looking into the process. The Project Manager had scheduled every aspect of the project but did not include the time difference amongst us not to mention time needed for each aspect to be organised. Our instructional designer did not understand the culture of the people to whom I was going to deliver the training – they were Italians! Two weeks before the actual rollout, I had to call a conference call for everyone to meet after I had sent an extensive email explaining how entangled various aspects had become. As a facilitator, I no longer understood what I was going to deliver.
This was a project that needed a good and efficient project manager. If I had the opportunity to manage this project, I would have considered the timeline and check if all the deliverables would have been met. Also the staffing was essential for the project to succeed. The time differences between its members almost led the coordination into a very tight position. I really would not know how to solve this aspect as the staff selected was highly qualified. Meeting up was one of the greatest frustrations in this project. One way or the other someone had to stay awake in the wee hours of the morning.
If I had a magic wand, I would have flown everyone into Italy for a week or two so we could discuss issues properly without obstacles of time and space. The stakeholders who have been more included in the discussion and not during decision making alone. In this way, they see the process and understand what it means to plan a new application that will correct the previous problems causing the delay of deliveries into the retail stores. The new application rolled out a year later due to various issues.
Having said this, I immensely enjoyed the discussions and the exchange of ideas from people of different cultures and walks of life. It was extremely enriching to see other points of views and consider them in my training. This gave me a possibility to look into other systems and consider what is valid for my office. Yes, it was exhausting but however you put it, the learning experience was the best part of it.
I was preparing a training course for a rollout of a new application to improve the supply chain management programme especially on the logistic side as deliveries were always delayed causing customers to be discouraged. The stakeholders were the executive director and the managers of the sourcing office in Florence, the project manager was someone from San Bruno, CA and the instructional designer was from Hongkong and I was the instructor/facilitator. As Allen & Hardin (2008) state that preparing the different phases of a project requires time. I would like to add that the final project is an evolution of a scaffold process built on hours, days and weeks up to months of preparation.
The project was proposed to rollout after 6 – 8 months of preparation. I was part of the every process since I was handling the logistic department in particular in the IT aspect of it. During this period, I struggled to communicate with the stakeholders because they wanted the end product without looking into the process. The Project Manager had scheduled every aspect of the project but did not include the time difference amongst us not to mention time needed for each aspect to be organised. Our instructional designer did not understand the culture of the people to whom I was going to deliver the training – they were Italians! Two weeks before the actual rollout, I had to call a conference call for everyone to meet after I had sent an extensive email explaining how entangled various aspects had become. As a facilitator, I no longer understood what I was going to deliver.
This was a project that needed a good and efficient project manager. If I had the opportunity to manage this project, I would have considered the timeline and check if all the deliverables would have been met. Also the staffing was essential for the project to succeed. The time differences between its members almost led the coordination into a very tight position. I really would not know how to solve this aspect as the staff selected was highly qualified. Meeting up was one of the greatest frustrations in this project. One way or the other someone had to stay awake in the wee hours of the morning.
If I had a magic wand, I would have flown everyone into Italy for a week or two so we could discuss issues properly without obstacles of time and space. The stakeholders who have been more included in the discussion and not during decision making alone. In this way, they see the process and understand what it means to plan a new application that will correct the previous problems causing the delay of deliveries into the retail stores. The new application rolled out a year later due to various issues.
Having said this, I immensely enjoyed the discussions and the exchange of ideas from people of different cultures and walks of life. It was extremely enriching to see other points of views and consider them in my training. This gave me a possibility to look into other systems and consider what is valid for my office. Yes, it was exhausting but however you put it, the learning experience was the best part of it.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Distance Learning and its Future…. A reflection
The 21st century learner is more sceptical and more critical in many ways. This also comes when choosing learning experiences. It is evident that computer literate people are more keen on taking on board online courses and are less sceptical towards these learning set ups. However, this is not the people that you would like to target when offering online courses. People who have had frustrating experiences in technology tend to be more apprehensive if not impatient working in these scenarios. Most people think that distance learning courses are easy and fast to do. Unfortunately in my experience, it is time consuming. Without superb organisational skills and a good dose of self-motivation, it can be a nightmare.
Challenges face me as a future instructional designer. I foresee myself creating training workshops in the near future and I know for sure that a participant in a workshop will always seek other ways to extend one’s knowledge through supplemental courses either online or on hard copies like books or training materials. I once gave a workshop to a group of teachers on implementing a social constructivist classroom for early language learners. It was only a one day workshop but the supplemental resources were crucial for about half of the participants as most of them had decided to take on online courses to enrich their knowledge of this strategy.
I believe that I can make a huge difference in changing misconceptions of distance learning education by first of all providing an excellent experience and at the same time bring honesty and integrity into whatever I am doing. I strongly feel that the learner must both have a positive and an enriching “technology experience”. This does not mean that everything will work out well. I suppose it is also important to let the learner understand and accept that technology does not have the solutions to all our problems. There will be issues on connectivity or software installations which can be frustrating. For as long as it is part of the learning curve, then it should be welcomed as part of the learning experience. Most of the people I interviewed were keen on using technology but were apprehensive in solving problems especially on hardware ones.
How will I foresee Distance Learning Education in the future? Siemens says that the signs of the times are changing and that more people will turn to technology to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family as the world moves towards globalisation. Even children of small ages will learn quick how to use technology to play games, to watch videos, to listen to music and most especially to communicate with their peers. Social networking sites will continue to flourish. As a consequence, distance learning will be an easier option for technology users who move around the world for leisure or for work. Distance learning will be an offshoot of communicating and networking with other people as well as enriching one’s professional development.
In my current experience, I have found distance learning education my lifeline to gain more knowledge even if at times it can be challenging to let work and studies reconcile. It continues to nurture my quest for a lifelong learning experience as well as creating a network of professionals I can “converse with”. It took me time to understand the makings of a distance learning course and I am getting there. This course has also helped me understand the ‘behind the scenes’ of what happens in each course. It was an interesting eight weeks but at times over loaded with projects that helped me less to do proper scaffolding of how to create my own Orientation Project. It would have been better to have lesser tasks that led you gently to a good Orientation Project.
In conclusion, I hope everyone tries at least an online course for 6 months to see how things work out. It has been an enriching and exciting learning experience for me so far and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to take risks to make mistakes and to learn from them because it the most important part of a wholesome and a well-rounded learning experience.
References:
Video Program: "Facilitating Online Learning", Laureate
Education 2010.
Durrington, V., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190–193.
Lambert, J., Kalyuga, S., & Capan, L. (2009). Student perceptions and cognitive load: What can they tell us about elearning Web 2.0 course design? E-learning and Digital Media, 6(2), 150–163. Retrieved from http://
www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp
The 21st century learner is more sceptical and more critical in many ways. This also comes when choosing learning experiences. It is evident that computer literate people are more keen on taking on board online courses and are less sceptical towards these learning set ups. However, this is not the people that you would like to target when offering online courses. People who have had frustrating experiences in technology tend to be more apprehensive if not impatient working in these scenarios. Most people think that distance learning courses are easy and fast to do. Unfortunately in my experience, it is time consuming. Without superb organisational skills and a good dose of self-motivation, it can be a nightmare.
Challenges face me as a future instructional designer. I foresee myself creating training workshops in the near future and I know for sure that a participant in a workshop will always seek other ways to extend one’s knowledge through supplemental courses either online or on hard copies like books or training materials. I once gave a workshop to a group of teachers on implementing a social constructivist classroom for early language learners. It was only a one day workshop but the supplemental resources were crucial for about half of the participants as most of them had decided to take on online courses to enrich their knowledge of this strategy.
I believe that I can make a huge difference in changing misconceptions of distance learning education by first of all providing an excellent experience and at the same time bring honesty and integrity into whatever I am doing. I strongly feel that the learner must both have a positive and an enriching “technology experience”. This does not mean that everything will work out well. I suppose it is also important to let the learner understand and accept that technology does not have the solutions to all our problems. There will be issues on connectivity or software installations which can be frustrating. For as long as it is part of the learning curve, then it should be welcomed as part of the learning experience. Most of the people I interviewed were keen on using technology but were apprehensive in solving problems especially on hardware ones.
How will I foresee Distance Learning Education in the future? Siemens says that the signs of the times are changing and that more people will turn to technology to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family as the world moves towards globalisation. Even children of small ages will learn quick how to use technology to play games, to watch videos, to listen to music and most especially to communicate with their peers. Social networking sites will continue to flourish. As a consequence, distance learning will be an easier option for technology users who move around the world for leisure or for work. Distance learning will be an offshoot of communicating and networking with other people as well as enriching one’s professional development.
In my current experience, I have found distance learning education my lifeline to gain more knowledge even if at times it can be challenging to let work and studies reconcile. It continues to nurture my quest for a lifelong learning experience as well as creating a network of professionals I can “converse with”. It took me time to understand the makings of a distance learning course and I am getting there. This course has also helped me understand the ‘behind the scenes’ of what happens in each course. It was an interesting eight weeks but at times over loaded with projects that helped me less to do proper scaffolding of how to create my own Orientation Project. It would have been better to have lesser tasks that led you gently to a good Orientation Project.
In conclusion, I hope everyone tries at least an online course for 6 months to see how things work out. It has been an enriching and exciting learning experience for me so far and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to take risks to make mistakes and to learn from them because it the most important part of a wholesome and a well-rounded learning experience.
References:
Video Program: "Facilitating Online Learning", Laureate
Education 2010.
Durrington, V., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190–193.
Lambert, J., Kalyuga, S., & Capan, L. (2009). Student perceptions and cognitive load: What can they tell us about elearning Web 2.0 course design? E-learning and Digital Media, 6(2), 150–163. Retrieved from http://
www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Win-win Guide to Blended Courses
Here is a guide I created for those considering Blended courses. It talks about what to consider before converting from face-to-face to Blended format.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Open Sources – Excellent supplement to Online Learning
Browsing through the Open Sources listed on the resources, I chose Stanford on iTunes U: http://itunes.stanford.edu/ . I found it extremely organised and most especially the quality of the podcast or videos have been carefully selected to suit the listener whether he may be a beginner or a seasoned user. I suppose everyone at this point of time uses iTunes which facilitates an easy access to the site. If you do not have the application, it prompts you to download the application to your pc.
While browsing through the website, I continuously asked myself why did Stanford utilise iTunes for an Open Sources venue. As I clicked from course to course, podcast to podcast and watched some videos, I understood that it was a brilliant place on the internet to reach a lot of users since iTunes has been one of the most widely used music and video providers especially for the young people. What a better place to find an Open Source site than on iTunes?
The site presents itself well because it takes the format of iTunes which has optimum graphics and easy access to courses especially to a beginner. You can download the podcast or the video into your iPod or iTouch or pc and listen to it another time. The site also takes you to other related websites where similar lectures can be downloaded along with a video and the transcription of the lecture you choose to listen. The possibilities presented by Stanford University Open Source are endless allowing users to navigate and enjoy lectures to augment or compliment what they are doing at the moment at any time it suits them. It can take a form of an audiobook to listen to in a car while driving or a short movie one can use while in a waiting room.
I find this site innovative while respecting the classical lecture – podcast format which most users are familiar with. It provides different perspectives and allows the user to choose as well as decide for himself how to make connections using his previous and current acquired knowledge.
Obviously, this way of learning requires a lot self-motivation and initiative on the part of the learner. To give this option will surely enhance the teaching and learning on online courses. As Beldarrain (2006) states that new technology must first of all encourage interaction between faculty and students which leads to reciprocity amongst students. Utilising an asynchronous delivery of the subject matter, I do not believe that there is an option for the users to interact with each other therefore discussion boards should be added support this aspect. Lastly, since none of the courses are obligatory, chances are most learners will use them willingly and intrinsic motivation is the key to lifelong learning.
Malu
Reference
Stanford on iTunes U: http://itunes.stanford.edu/
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.
Browsing through the Open Sources listed on the resources, I chose Stanford on iTunes U: http://itunes.stanford.edu/ . I found it extremely organised and most especially the quality of the podcast or videos have been carefully selected to suit the listener whether he may be a beginner or a seasoned user. I suppose everyone at this point of time uses iTunes which facilitates an easy access to the site. If you do not have the application, it prompts you to download the application to your pc.
While browsing through the website, I continuously asked myself why did Stanford utilise iTunes for an Open Sources venue. As I clicked from course to course, podcast to podcast and watched some videos, I understood that it was a brilliant place on the internet to reach a lot of users since iTunes has been one of the most widely used music and video providers especially for the young people. What a better place to find an Open Source site than on iTunes?
The site presents itself well because it takes the format of iTunes which has optimum graphics and easy access to courses especially to a beginner. You can download the podcast or the video into your iPod or iTouch or pc and listen to it another time. The site also takes you to other related websites where similar lectures can be downloaded along with a video and the transcription of the lecture you choose to listen. The possibilities presented by Stanford University Open Source are endless allowing users to navigate and enjoy lectures to augment or compliment what they are doing at the moment at any time it suits them. It can take a form of an audiobook to listen to in a car while driving or a short movie one can use while in a waiting room.
I find this site innovative while respecting the classical lecture – podcast format which most users are familiar with. It provides different perspectives and allows the user to choose as well as decide for himself how to make connections using his previous and current acquired knowledge.
Obviously, this way of learning requires a lot self-motivation and initiative on the part of the learner. To give this option will surely enhance the teaching and learning on online courses. As Beldarrain (2006) states that new technology must first of all encourage interaction between faculty and students which leads to reciprocity amongst students. Utilising an asynchronous delivery of the subject matter, I do not believe that there is an option for the users to interact with each other therefore discussion boards should be added support this aspect. Lastly, since none of the courses are obligatory, chances are most learners will use them willingly and intrinsic motivation is the key to lifelong learning.
Malu
Reference
Stanford on iTunes U: http://itunes.stanford.edu/
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Example 1: Collaborative Training Environment
While I was working with a multinational company in Florence, Italy years ago, I found myself in a similar scenario. I was working in the IT training department and the central office in the US has exactly disseminated a new logistic system that required all sourching offices from Europe, Middle East and Asia to collaborate because from this collaboration, the new logistic software would be developed in the main office.
In hindsight after having gone through various courses in these programme, as an instructional designer, I would use Media Sharing for documents that could be shared as well as photos, presentation and reports if necessary. I don’t remember if You Tube was available for uploading videos yet but that would have been great since vendors and tracking systems could have been recorded and sent online for other offices to see. One of the issues which this company faced was their delayed goods from the vendor to the warehouse and finally to the retail store. I would have used the calendar to post some important events where anyone who logs on would see. Since Europe CET) and Pacific Time (PST) had a huge time difference, I would also create a Ning community or a Wiki for people to communicate their thoughts and ideas without losing on the time difference.
This scenario was happening during the onset of the new millennium and therefore innovative software were starting to take hold of the internet. Chats like Yahoo or MSN Messenger were popular then and were used for simultaneous meetings. “Blackboard” discussion boards were utilised for simultaneous meetings. However, the internet connections were still slow and transfers of packet data was always an issue. Huge uploads were almost impossible.
Today, Media Sharing would enhance this scenario immensely. It would provide ample tools for those who would share, report and discuss on the new logistic system without too much obstacles in trying to adhere to what is required. Discussions boards like Tangler offers an enormous possibility to post discussion, post and share photos and videos. I would use Elluminate as a Web Conferencing tool if two offices could simultaneously share their ideas. Life would totally be different if we had all these emerging technologies then. Baldarrain (2006) says that the versatility of social software and other collaboration tools available today support constructivist environments that seek to motivate, cultivate, and meet the needs of the 21st-century learner.
It is obvious that training would be no longer boring or monotonous with these emerging technologies the learner has at his disposition. It would be more enticing and interesting for a distant learner to construct his knowledge and understand of concepts while still working, travelling or simply just living his day-to-day life.
Malu
Reference
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.
While I was working with a multinational company in Florence, Italy years ago, I found myself in a similar scenario. I was working in the IT training department and the central office in the US has exactly disseminated a new logistic system that required all sourching offices from Europe, Middle East and Asia to collaborate because from this collaboration, the new logistic software would be developed in the main office.
In hindsight after having gone through various courses in these programme, as an instructional designer, I would use Media Sharing for documents that could be shared as well as photos, presentation and reports if necessary. I don’t remember if You Tube was available for uploading videos yet but that would have been great since vendors and tracking systems could have been recorded and sent online for other offices to see. One of the issues which this company faced was their delayed goods from the vendor to the warehouse and finally to the retail store. I would have used the calendar to post some important events where anyone who logs on would see. Since Europe CET) and Pacific Time (PST) had a huge time difference, I would also create a Ning community or a Wiki for people to communicate their thoughts and ideas without losing on the time difference.
This scenario was happening during the onset of the new millennium and therefore innovative software were starting to take hold of the internet. Chats like Yahoo or MSN Messenger were popular then and were used for simultaneous meetings. “Blackboard” discussion boards were utilised for simultaneous meetings. However, the internet connections were still slow and transfers of packet data was always an issue. Huge uploads were almost impossible.
Today, Media Sharing would enhance this scenario immensely. It would provide ample tools for those who would share, report and discuss on the new logistic system without too much obstacles in trying to adhere to what is required. Discussions boards like Tangler offers an enormous possibility to post discussion, post and share photos and videos. I would use Elluminate as a Web Conferencing tool if two offices could simultaneously share their ideas. Life would totally be different if we had all these emerging technologies then. Baldarrain (2006) says that the versatility of social software and other collaboration tools available today support constructivist environments that seek to motivate, cultivate, and meet the needs of the 21st-century learner.
It is obvious that training would be no longer boring or monotonous with these emerging technologies the learner has at his disposition. It would be more enticing and interesting for a distant learner to construct his knowledge and understand of concepts while still working, travelling or simply just living his day-to-day life.
Malu
Reference
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.
Monday, September 13, 2010
In the past, I considered a traditional classroom where face-to-face method of teaching the best strategy of conducting education. As a daughter of a diplomat, I had the opportunity to study in the best schools in various countries. Later in life around 10 years old, due to the nature of my parents’ work, I was home schooled for a few years and later sent to a rigid boarding school for girls. In these years, I enjoyed home schooling very much because of the flexibility and the creativity it allowed me to work on projects. When I started tertiary studies, I was initially lost due to the independent set up of classes in the university. Several years later when I had an excellent opportunity to pursue my post graduate studies in Psycholinguistics in Italy, I could not believe that attendance to lectures were not compulsory. I had to schedule my time so I could read and study 3 – 4 books per course and sit for the exams. The past year that I have started this programme, I have come to appreciate even more distance education and what it can do to help me professionally and to meet people of the same interests and field. My concept of traditional education has completely changed radically.
Tracey & Richey (2006) cites B. Holmberg and his key assumptions of distance education. He believes that interaction and emotional involvement are essential in teaching. However, Moore enumerates three types of interaction: learner-content; learner-learner; learner-instructor. I firmly believe that both theories are applicable in traditional as well as distance education. Moore’s assumption suits very well distance learning in many circumstances. Somehow, these three types of interaction intertwine especially when the material is introduced to the learner and he elaborates on it making it his own. Discussions are an excellent venue for learners to interact while instructor feedback is a must so that learner will understand how he is doing.
Through the past courses I have gone through in this programme, I come to appreciate the flexibility distance learning offers to people like me who are in constantly travelling. It is allows me to work at a pace I can manage and at the same time to cater to my needs most especially in a place like Iraq where the infrastructure is not yet in place. I think this course will allow me to put it to test.
Distance learning is becoming even more an important part of acquiring knowledge and understandings in the 21st century. More educational institutions and students are moving towards acquiring degrees through online learning. Most teachers I meet who work outside their country of residence or who are in a city where there are no good educational institution avails of the chance to enrol themselves in an online programme. Personally, my concept of distance learning has changed 360 degrees from being almost restraint from hearing about it. As technology improves along with its software and hardware, enormous possibilities can be achieved so that education can be disseminated in parts of the world where no instructors can be found. For example, there are parts of India where students can use computers to access online courses but there are not enough instructors to meet their needs. I foresee distance learning to serve teachers for professional development, networking and exchange of strategies or best practices. Distance learning to me should bridge gaps between the rich and poor so that everyone has access to information, to knowledge henceforth, create their own understanding based on their own experiences. Learning online should be introduced from primary so that children are introduced to the system so that later in life they can use it to the fullest. Distance education should be part of a global society where free information is shared and not withheld.
Unfortunately, Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008) mentions in their paper that distance learning is a concept not understood by administrators and often those who fund educational institutions. Partly, there are various factors to consider in applying Distance Learning. My current situation which is in Iraq is far way behind not only in terms of infrastructure but perspective wise. The culture in itself believes that traditional learning is more effective than distance learning. Teachers and students need to see each other. In this culture, the teacher is the sole source of knowledge and information.
Though I convinced to the impact of distance learning in education, I have doubts how this western thinking and technology can be applied in countries like the Middle East. I suppose my question is: will all cultures consider distance education as an alternative for giving equal opportunities for their people to acquire knowledge and understanding? How far can it go and how useful will it be?
Malu
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.
Tracey, M., & Richey, R. (2005). The evolution of distance education. Distance Learning, 2(6), 17–21.
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