Week 3 Application - EDUC 6135

Example 2: Interactive Tours

First and foremost would be the need to see the exhibits. There would be no ability to discuss and critique without first seeing the exhibits. This would require a nice Adobe Flash-based interactive graphic. This would be the classroom technologies part of distance learning, used to record, present, and display instructional information. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012) A good example is the Colonial Williamsburg Museum Project:

(http://www.history.org/history/museums/murraySisters/)
They use a flash-based graphic to show the different aspects of restoring priceless works of art to people outside of the process. A similar style can be used to showcase the two museums and each exhibit the teacher wants to focus on. If a tour of the entire museum is what the teachers wants, the virtual tour used by the Smithsonian is great:

http://www.mnh.si.edu/vtp/1-desktop/

Using this method of overlapping panorama pictures to give the illusion of being in the museum would be the next best thing to actually going to New York. This would be beneficial to students from other states that are learning these ideas but cannot make it to the Smithsonian. My wife's 1st grade class visits this site to reinforce some of the ideas they are learning.

The other part to distance learning is the telecommunications technologies that connect instructors to distance learners. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012) This would be a CMS that would have the capabilities to email questions, post to a discussion thread, view outside resources, access grades, and any formative assessment the teacher would like to use. In the scenario the teacher wants the students to critique the exhibits as a group. Using a website like Haiku, they could post to a discussion for everyone to see. This would open the learners to new ideas they might not have thought of on their own. The email part, as well as the discussion area, would also be open to museum curators' interaction that could answer questions and give more background information.

Since the teacher is a novice, a website like Haiku is good for her because it can guide her in the right directions to edit the areas she needs. This would take some help from the ID (me), but it would empower her to be able to make changes on the fly without having to rely on me each time. Of course I would be there for any support she would ask for, but the goal is for her to manage it autonomously without any major supervision. 

References

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

EDUC 6135 - Week 1 Assignment 1

Before entering this course, my ideas on Distance Learning were based on my previous courses during my experience with Walden. I assumed it was only for colleges and universities to teach adults. I figured it was something that was newer, and only started about 10 years ago. I guessed that only teachers and college students were involved and the rest of the world was ignorant to it's processes. Little did I know.

The definition of DL is constantly changing along with the rest of the world. With new technological advances and worldly collaborations, our planet is smaller than it ever has been. This allows for a diffusion of ideas between cultures at the snap of a finger. To keep up with these changes, businesses and industries are changing rapidly.

For example, the cell phone industry and mobile communications have altered the way we do everything. One small device can help you with healthcare, education, nutrition, finances, dating, employment, music, art, and a million other areas (Thijm, 2013). With this rapid growth, the education world needs to keep up with the rest of the world. Distance Learning is over 100 years old, but with the Internet and mobile phones, there has been a rapid growth. The Distance Education and Training Council predicts a more than 300% increase in distance learning in the next 5 years. (Moller, 2008)

When revising my definition of DL, I tried to come up with something that was universal. It would have to incorporate every major and field of study. Were the changes I made based on my knowledge or my target audience's? I feel that my beginning point would always be education and branch out to consider all fields. My definition summary would be; “Distance Learning is collaboration with experts from areas outside of my own that motivate me to think differently while I conduct my studies from the comfort of my home.”

As much as I tried to make it apply to everyone, it doesn't. The definition must vary from person to person. If there is a blanket statement it would not be much of a definition. It changes so much that in 10 years there might be a new definition for the times. I am sure that back in 1903 they did not think they could correspond with people instantly and send pictures and other media instantly (video was barely a notion). Looking towards the future, there needs to be change to account for the advances in technology that could one day make us all holograms in the same room learning a blend of traditional learning and distance learning all at once.

References

ï 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. Retrieved from Walden University Database

Thijm, Yvette. (2013). Your Cell Phone Can Change the World. http://www.forbes.com/ sites/skollworldforum/2013/04/08/your-cell-phone-can-change- the-world/. Forbes.com 

Week 1

Hello everyone. My name is Tim Walsh and I am a middle school teacher in Youngstown, OH.  I am in class 7 out of 10 of my master's program, and look forward to collaborating with you guys/gals.