Reflective Learning Journal
This reflective learning journal is meant to help facilitate ongoing reflection of my learning process throughout the Masters in Distance Education program. Furthermore, a reflective learning journal is meant to support the practice of reflecting upon what I have learned from my coursework, through course readings, interactions with classmates, visiting experts, and my instructor. This includes reflecting on your learning process and outcomes, my experience of learning, how my understanding of the course content has changed, and identifying my learning strengths and weaknesses and how to address them. The learning journal is a metacognitive activity that encourages deeper learning and critical reflection on knowledge gained as I progress through my courses. I will record my thoughts, ideas, opinions, and learning experiences in this section of my e-portfolio.
Journal Entries
Journal Entry 1
My initial definition of distance education is using a form of media such as audio, video, teleconferencing, printed and written materials, and computer communications and programs to teach and help students learn educational information or material without having to communicate or interact face-to-face with an educator, instructor, professor, teacher, or mentor.
My understanding of distance education has changed after two weeks of being in OMDE 601 because I have learned that this form of education has been around since Bible times. Distance learning is an industrialized mode of education because during the industrial revolution, there was a “massification” of teaching and learning. In our day and time, distance education is still a worldwide phenomenon because many colleges and universities offer distance, correspondence, online, and extension courses to people off campus. Furthermore, I have learned what makes distance education both similar to and different from other forms of education, its origins, and how it has evolved toward its current form.
As a learner, I view myself as someone who is holistic, visual, and pictorial in nature. I like to use words and pictures to help me learn. These things can include mapping, drawings, and color-coding as note-taking strategies to make information visual and to capture the main ideas or big picture. As an online learner, I am a detailed-oriented person. When I read information, I try to pay attention to important details such as concepts, definitions of important terms, examples or applications. My ideal learning environment is reading and studying in a quiet area, where I can focus and brainstorm about what the learning material is about. I need a lot of structure when it comes to me trying to learn information. I enjoy pursuing independent projects, and I like to have independence within a structure. I work well with others and enjoy working in groups. As a divergent thinker, I think about things at a large scale. I am very confident and passionate about learning. In life, people never stop learning, and partaking in knowledge will help me become a more wiser and knowledgeable individual.
My view of MDE has changed because I have a more positive outlook on the program. I am starting to learn the concepts and theories as they relate to teaching and learning. I think that the MDE program will have a very positive impact on me as a learner.
Journal Entry 2
My original definition of Distance Education has evolved because I learned how this form of education was influenced by social, economical, and political forces, and developments in technology and educational theory. There has been an increase in the speed of interaction and feedback that has helped reduce the sense of distance, a changing role of the instructor, and of teaching approach which has shifted from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Distance Education has created more opportunities for student-student interaction and learning communities.
The things I learned in the first wave of Distance Education that surprised me is that the main driving forces was accessibility because education was not just for the wealthy, but it allowed the educationally disadvantaged a chance to obtain a quality education. In addition, I learned about the attributes of Distance Education. These characteristics include the following:
- It is independent of time and place;
-Teaching is brought about by media such as written and printed material, audio, video, radio, television, computer, and telephone;
-Presentation of learning matter, and the interaction between students and those teaching them; and
-A one-to-one relationship between the student and teacher.
These things surprised me because I was not aware that accessibility was the central driving force for distance education, and it pushed this pedagogy to the forefront during the first wave. Also, I learned about the characteristics that described distance education during the first wave, and I was not knowledgeable about this information.
The most important work of early Distance Education scholars was carried out by Hermod in Sweden and Harper in the United States. Both of these scholars identified important principles that were characteristic of Distance Education. These attributes are still influential today. By comprehending the historical development of Distance Education, this will help me to gain a better understanding of this concept.
By studying the early developments of Distance Education, this has affected me as students of Distance Education because it has helped me to comprehend the potential of this pedagogy for its present and future applications.
I have had more positive experiences when it comes to learning collaboratively as part of a small group with specific tasks. Working in a group can be enjoyable or frustrating. Learning and working in groups involves shared and learned values, resources, and ways of doing things. Effective groups learn to succeed by combining these factors.
Creating and developing a grid about the evolution of Distance Education had impacted the way in which I understand the history of Distance Education because it helped me to acquire knowledge about this pedagogy from the other group members, and it assisted me in constructing ideas about the first wave of development in Distance Education.
Journal Entry 3
1. The aspects of Wave 2 that I found to be most interesting were the institutional and organizational development section. During Wave 2, new forms of institutions started to arise. Wave 2 was characterized by new institutional forms of distance education. These new forms of institutions allowed for the mass production and the ability to realize the economies of scale. Due to the demand for higher education, lifelong learning, independence, and student-centered learning; new types of distance education organizations started to form. These new establishments started to form in response to the need for higher education. Therefore, these organizations had to develop practices to serve a large population of people and to capitalize on the economies of scale (Peters, 2010).
The least interesting topic was the systems theory because this concept was hard for me to understand. It was suppose to be a theory that explains how distance education should function. Distance education is viewed as a system with its corresponding parts, which are consisting of the necessary processes needed in order to teach and learn at a distance. I had a difficult time comprehending how distance education should be treated as a system. In addition, I could not relate to how it was suppose to be used to help us describe and compare the wide range of distance education institutions. After reading more about this subject, the systems theory became clearer to me (Rumble, 2005).
2. My “a-ha” moments during Wave 2 was trying to understand the theory of transactional distance. The three parts of transactional distance is dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy. All of these elements play a key role in determining the cognitive or physiological distance between the student and teacher (Peters, 2004).
I learned that all these three components have to be balanced, in order to have the correct amount of transactional distance between the teacher and learner. Learning about this concept excited these moments because I learned how useful transactional distance was in designing and writing courses. It influenced my understanding because it provides a means of understanding about how these design elements can be addressed based on the teacher’s knowledge of the learning and teaching content (Peters, 2004).
3. I would revise my definition of distance education as being “A field of education that uses technologies to reach and teach learners at a distance, and it is designed to encourage learner interaction and the certification of learning.”
The specific readings and experiences that have influenced my views about distance education are “Organization and technology of distance education,” by G. E. Miller in the course text called “An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era.” The second book that influenced my views about distance education is called “Learning and teaching in distance education: Analysis and interpretation from an international perspective,” by Otto Peters.
I learned that different forms of institutions use various types of technologies to mass produce and disseminate education to large groups of people. These articles help me to gain an adequate and broader understanding of distance education, along with its evolution and developments.
4. The lasting impressions that I had is that I learned about the second Wave and the history of the British Open University in the United Kingdom. There was an emphasis on producing high quality education based on pedagogical principles and technologies. The Open University filled in a major gap in the higher education system in Britain during that time. This helped me to see how important distance education was back then and today because these new forms of institutions allowed people to have a second chance at obtaining a secondary education. Education is very important for people to have in our day and time. Due to the changes in technology and the need for more skilled people, employers are demanding that people have an education beyond a high school diploma for certain job requirements and positions (Peters, 2010).
5. I do feel that the course objectives are being met and fulfilled because I have learned to recognize the unique characteristics of distance education. Furthermore, I have grasped how the social, political, and economic forces affected the development of distance education from its early beginning to the current technology-based practices. I assimilated how to identify the key authors and theorists in distance education and analyzed their contribution to the field by doing the distance education grid in my group.
I comprehended how the distance education methodologies have evolved over time as well as how the role of the student and educator has changed as well. I understand the different types of distance education institutions and the relevance of the systems approach to teaching and learning by writing assignment 2, and answering questions in the daily conferences.
I ascertained how to evaluate the impact that technology had on the nature of teaching and learning in distance education by reading material and answering questions in the conference area. Also, I have mastered how to navigate and use online learning, virtual spaces, and social media for the purpose of learning, documenting learning, and creating content by using Webtycho, maps, charts, google docs, weebly, twitter, blogs, Diigo, and Vimeo through the class skill builders.
I have learned how to master and apply research skills for the purpose of critically analyzing issues and topics discussed in relevant literature, synthesized findings, and communicating ideas and arguments with supporting evidence. I learned how to collaboratively use social media and other shared virtual spaces to create content and successfully complete assigned team projects by working with my group members and doing skills builder assignments.
Finally, I learned how to reflect on learning and articulate changes in my thinking, feelings, and behavior by making my e-portfolio and writing my reflection journal. Therefore, I truly believe that all my class objectives are being met because I learned and mastered all of these course goals already. At this point in time, I am constantly building on them. I have acquired the knowledge and specific skills that the course goals and objectives have outlined for this class.
References
Peters, O. (2010). The greatest achievement of industrialized education: Open universities.
Distance education in transition: Developments and issues, 57-81. (5th ed.). Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Retrieved from http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct.
Peters, O. (2004). Learning and teaching in distance education: Analysis and interpretations from an international perspective, 28-54. London & New York: Routledge Falmer.
Rumble, G. (2005) Systems thinking and its application to study of distance education. Unpublished document.
Journal Entry 4
1. I think the group’s revolutionary grid as a learning tool will serve as a good learning resource. The group’s grid is a skill builder, which is related to the class’ course goals and objectives. The process that was used to develop this grid was very insightful because all my group members worked together to create a grid that depicted the evolution of distance education from wave 1 to wave 3. This grid helped me to learn about the dominant forces that drove distance education, theories and ways of understanding distance education, institutional and organizational developments, prevailing teaching and learning theories and methodologies, predominant technologies, and key authors and theorists.
2. The aspects of the course that has influenced my understanding of distance education are the social, political, and economic factors; theories and concepts; learning and teaching models; technology and media innovations; institutions and systems; and the major writers and theorists that have shaped the development of this field.
My revised definition of distance education is “a formal educational process under which the institution provides instructional materials, by mail or electronic transmission, including examinations on the materials, to students who are separated from the instructor. Interaction between the instructor and the student is limited, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student; courses are typically self-paced.” Furthermore, distance education can be called distance learning, correspondence study or education, open learning, open teaching, non-traditional education, adult education, continuing education, independent study, teaching at a distance, home study, extension study or education, external education or study, lifelong education or study, professional study or education, flexible education or study, contract education, experiential learning or study, self-paced study, drop-in learning, independent learning, self-directed learning, self-regulated learning, self-determined learning, autonomous learning, self-governed learning, controlled learning, regulated learning, individualized learning, resource-based learning, self-assessed learning, self study, and supported self-study.
There have been many definitions put forward in modern literature and finding an accurate definition of distance education is not easy. My definition has changed because I have acquired more knowledge about distance education from wave 1 to wave 3. With the history of distance learning encompassing so many different learning environments, I had to find a definition that fits in all situations. Also, due to introduction of technologies over the years, this has impacted the way distance learning is defined.
3. After considering all of the course objectives, all of these goals were met and satisfied to the fullest extent possible. I feel this way because I have learned to recognize the unique characteristics of distance education. Furthermore, I have grasped how the social, political, and economic forces affected the development of distance education from its early beginning to the current technology-based practices. I assimilated how to identify the key authors and theorists in distance education and analyzed their contribution to the field by doing the distance education grid in my group.
I comprehended how the distance education methodologies have evolved over time as well as how the role of the student and educator has changed as well. I understand the different types of distance education institutions and the relevance of the systems approach to teaching and learning by writing assignment 2, and answering questions in the daily conferences. Furthermore, in assignment 1, I learned how to define distance education based on my own definition of it. I matched my definition with a definition in scholarly source, that closely followed mine. This helped me to gain a greater understanding of the term distance learning. In assignment 3, I learned about an earlier distance education theory, called andragogy, and how it influenced the current practices in distance education.
I ascertained how to evaluate the impact that technology had on the nature of teaching and learning in distance education by reading material and answering questions in the conference area. Also, I have mastered how to navigate and use online learning, virtual spaces, and social media for the purpose of learning, documenting learning, and creating content by using Webtycho, maps, charts, google docs, weebly, twitter, blogs, Diigo, and Vimeo through the class skill builders.
I have learned how to master and apply research skills for the purpose of critically analyzing issues and topics discussed in relevant literature, synthesized findings, and communicating ideas and arguments with supporting evidence. I learned how to collaboratively use social media and other shared virtual spaces to create content, and successfully complete assigned team projects by working with my group members and doing skills builder assignments.
Finally, I learned how to reflect on learning and articulate changes in my thinking, feelings, and behavior by making my e-portfolio and writing my reflection journal. Therefore, I truly believe that all my class objectives are being met because I learned and mastered all of these course goals already. At this point in time, I am constantly building on them. I have acquired the knowledge and specific skills that the course goals and objectives have outlined for this class.
I have learned so much from this class this semester. I did not think that this course would have made a huge impact on me and it did. I was surprised by all the information that I learned and ascertained. I have taken many classes at UMUC, and this is one of the best classes I have taken so far. I hope that the other classes that I take in the OMDE program will be just as satisfying and fulfilling as this one.
4. I think that working with my other group members to create the revolutionary grid was very beneficial for me. I like working in group because it helps me to learn how to collaborate and learn from others. I learned that working with other people in different ages groups, backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise helped me to grasp and take in new knowledge that I would not have acquired alone. Everything in my group worked out pretty well, and I could not think of anything that did not work. I feel that we all worked well together and we got along really good. None of the group members’ attitudes or personalities clashed. We may all had different schedules, responsibilities, and commitments; but in the end, the group pulled it all together and finished the grid assignment collectively. I think that some people in the group contributed less than others to the grid. If everyone in the group had gave an equal contribution to the grid, then may be our grid could have been better. This could have been done in order to improve and make the group’s working process a little smoother. But overall, I do not have any real complaints about my work members. I think that the my experience of working together to make a collaborative document was a good and positive one. I really enjoyed working with other people because the experience was very insightful. The benefits of online collaboration are:
The drawbacks of online collaboration are:
This activity can be improved by the group creating an environment in which cooperative learning can take place. Each group member needs to feel safe, but also challenged. Second, groups need to be small enough that everyone can contribute. Third, the task students work together on must be clearly defined. When cooperative groups are guided by clear objectives, students engage in numerous activities that improve their understanding of subjects explored. The cooperative and collaborative learning techniques presented here can help make this process better. The will help the group to work collectively together, in order to create a meaningful project.
Journal Entry 5
Building the group's grid has influenced my understanding of distance education because it helped me to comprehend the different factors that impacted distance learning from wave 1 to wave 3. These factors include the economic, political, societal, and technological transformations. These modifications influenced the surges of development in which we called "waves." Throughout each wave or surge of development, emerged new theories, institutional and organizational developments, teaching and learning methodologies, new technologies, and new scholars and theorists. By creating this evolutionary grid with my group members, I was able to explore, discover, and gain an understanding of each wave of development through the course readings. The dimension of the grid that was most interesting to me was the teaching and learning methodologies because these theories helped me to gain knowledge and understanding about the developments in distance education, and these theories helped to explain the field of distance education. The changing and diverse environment in which distance education is practiced has inhibited the development of a single theory upon which to base practice and research. A variety of theories have been proposed to describe traditional distance education. They include theories that emphasize independence and autonomy of the learner, industrialization of teaching, and interaction and communication. These classical theories emphasize the notion that distance education is a fundamentally a different form of education. An environment in which technology, society, economics, politics, and approaches to learning are all in transition suggests that theories, definitions, and the practice of distance education will continue to progress and develop.
Working with a group helped me to construct new knowledge because it helped to foster a collaborative learning environment. This has helped my group to gain a shared understanding about the field of distance education. People construct new knowledge when they actively interact with their environments. Furthermore, working in groups help students to participate in cooperative or collaborative learning. This can help everyone in the group to acquire new knowledge and make a sense of it because it provides each person in the group with an opportunity to acquire and practice skills that lead to successful group interactions. In turn, each person in the group can learn with and from one another. The group was composed of people from different backgrounds, ages, nationalities, experiences, and competencies. All this knowledge and experience can be shared among one another to help construct new knowledge and learning experiences with everyone.
My initial definition of distance education is using a form of media such as audio, video, teleconferencing, printed and written materials, and computer communications and programs to teach and help students learn educational information or material without having to communicate or interact face-to-face with an educator, instructor, professor, teacher, or mentor.
My understanding of distance education has changed after two weeks of being in OMDE 601 because I have learned that this form of education has been around since Bible times. Distance learning is an industrialized mode of education because during the industrial revolution, there was a “massification” of teaching and learning. In our day and time, distance education is still a worldwide phenomenon because many colleges and universities offer distance, correspondence, online, and extension courses to people off campus. Furthermore, I have learned what makes distance education both similar to and different from other forms of education, its origins, and how it has evolved toward its current form.
As a learner, I view myself as someone who is holistic, visual, and pictorial in nature. I like to use words and pictures to help me learn. These things can include mapping, drawings, and color-coding as note-taking strategies to make information visual and to capture the main ideas or big picture. As an online learner, I am a detailed-oriented person. When I read information, I try to pay attention to important details such as concepts, definitions of important terms, examples or applications. My ideal learning environment is reading and studying in a quiet area, where I can focus and brainstorm about what the learning material is about. I need a lot of structure when it comes to me trying to learn information. I enjoy pursuing independent projects, and I like to have independence within a structure. I work well with others and enjoy working in groups. As a divergent thinker, I think about things at a large scale. I am very confident and passionate about learning. In life, people never stop learning, and partaking in knowledge will help me become a more wiser and knowledgeable individual.
My view of MDE has changed because I have a more positive outlook on the program. I am starting to learn the concepts and theories as they relate to teaching and learning. I think that the MDE program will have a very positive impact on me as a learner.
Journal Entry 2
My original definition of Distance Education has evolved because I learned how this form of education was influenced by social, economical, and political forces, and developments in technology and educational theory. There has been an increase in the speed of interaction and feedback that has helped reduce the sense of distance, a changing role of the instructor, and of teaching approach which has shifted from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Distance Education has created more opportunities for student-student interaction and learning communities.
The things I learned in the first wave of Distance Education that surprised me is that the main driving forces was accessibility because education was not just for the wealthy, but it allowed the educationally disadvantaged a chance to obtain a quality education. In addition, I learned about the attributes of Distance Education. These characteristics include the following:
- It is independent of time and place;
-Teaching is brought about by media such as written and printed material, audio, video, radio, television, computer, and telephone;
-Presentation of learning matter, and the interaction between students and those teaching them; and
-A one-to-one relationship between the student and teacher.
These things surprised me because I was not aware that accessibility was the central driving force for distance education, and it pushed this pedagogy to the forefront during the first wave. Also, I learned about the characteristics that described distance education during the first wave, and I was not knowledgeable about this information.
The most important work of early Distance Education scholars was carried out by Hermod in Sweden and Harper in the United States. Both of these scholars identified important principles that were characteristic of Distance Education. These attributes are still influential today. By comprehending the historical development of Distance Education, this will help me to gain a better understanding of this concept.
By studying the early developments of Distance Education, this has affected me as students of Distance Education because it has helped me to comprehend the potential of this pedagogy for its present and future applications.
I have had more positive experiences when it comes to learning collaboratively as part of a small group with specific tasks. Working in a group can be enjoyable or frustrating. Learning and working in groups involves shared and learned values, resources, and ways of doing things. Effective groups learn to succeed by combining these factors.
Creating and developing a grid about the evolution of Distance Education had impacted the way in which I understand the history of Distance Education because it helped me to acquire knowledge about this pedagogy from the other group members, and it assisted me in constructing ideas about the first wave of development in Distance Education.
Journal Entry 3
1. The aspects of Wave 2 that I found to be most interesting were the institutional and organizational development section. During Wave 2, new forms of institutions started to arise. Wave 2 was characterized by new institutional forms of distance education. These new forms of institutions allowed for the mass production and the ability to realize the economies of scale. Due to the demand for higher education, lifelong learning, independence, and student-centered learning; new types of distance education organizations started to form. These new establishments started to form in response to the need for higher education. Therefore, these organizations had to develop practices to serve a large population of people and to capitalize on the economies of scale (Peters, 2010).
The least interesting topic was the systems theory because this concept was hard for me to understand. It was suppose to be a theory that explains how distance education should function. Distance education is viewed as a system with its corresponding parts, which are consisting of the necessary processes needed in order to teach and learn at a distance. I had a difficult time comprehending how distance education should be treated as a system. In addition, I could not relate to how it was suppose to be used to help us describe and compare the wide range of distance education institutions. After reading more about this subject, the systems theory became clearer to me (Rumble, 2005).
2. My “a-ha” moments during Wave 2 was trying to understand the theory of transactional distance. The three parts of transactional distance is dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy. All of these elements play a key role in determining the cognitive or physiological distance between the student and teacher (Peters, 2004).
I learned that all these three components have to be balanced, in order to have the correct amount of transactional distance between the teacher and learner. Learning about this concept excited these moments because I learned how useful transactional distance was in designing and writing courses. It influenced my understanding because it provides a means of understanding about how these design elements can be addressed based on the teacher’s knowledge of the learning and teaching content (Peters, 2004).
3. I would revise my definition of distance education as being “A field of education that uses technologies to reach and teach learners at a distance, and it is designed to encourage learner interaction and the certification of learning.”
The specific readings and experiences that have influenced my views about distance education are “Organization and technology of distance education,” by G. E. Miller in the course text called “An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era.” The second book that influenced my views about distance education is called “Learning and teaching in distance education: Analysis and interpretation from an international perspective,” by Otto Peters.
I learned that different forms of institutions use various types of technologies to mass produce and disseminate education to large groups of people. These articles help me to gain an adequate and broader understanding of distance education, along with its evolution and developments.
4. The lasting impressions that I had is that I learned about the second Wave and the history of the British Open University in the United Kingdom. There was an emphasis on producing high quality education based on pedagogical principles and technologies. The Open University filled in a major gap in the higher education system in Britain during that time. This helped me to see how important distance education was back then and today because these new forms of institutions allowed people to have a second chance at obtaining a secondary education. Education is very important for people to have in our day and time. Due to the changes in technology and the need for more skilled people, employers are demanding that people have an education beyond a high school diploma for certain job requirements and positions (Peters, 2010).
5. I do feel that the course objectives are being met and fulfilled because I have learned to recognize the unique characteristics of distance education. Furthermore, I have grasped how the social, political, and economic forces affected the development of distance education from its early beginning to the current technology-based practices. I assimilated how to identify the key authors and theorists in distance education and analyzed their contribution to the field by doing the distance education grid in my group.
I comprehended how the distance education methodologies have evolved over time as well as how the role of the student and educator has changed as well. I understand the different types of distance education institutions and the relevance of the systems approach to teaching and learning by writing assignment 2, and answering questions in the daily conferences.
I ascertained how to evaluate the impact that technology had on the nature of teaching and learning in distance education by reading material and answering questions in the conference area. Also, I have mastered how to navigate and use online learning, virtual spaces, and social media for the purpose of learning, documenting learning, and creating content by using Webtycho, maps, charts, google docs, weebly, twitter, blogs, Diigo, and Vimeo through the class skill builders.
I have learned how to master and apply research skills for the purpose of critically analyzing issues and topics discussed in relevant literature, synthesized findings, and communicating ideas and arguments with supporting evidence. I learned how to collaboratively use social media and other shared virtual spaces to create content and successfully complete assigned team projects by working with my group members and doing skills builder assignments.
Finally, I learned how to reflect on learning and articulate changes in my thinking, feelings, and behavior by making my e-portfolio and writing my reflection journal. Therefore, I truly believe that all my class objectives are being met because I learned and mastered all of these course goals already. At this point in time, I am constantly building on them. I have acquired the knowledge and specific skills that the course goals and objectives have outlined for this class.
References
Peters, O. (2010). The greatest achievement of industrialized education: Open universities.
Distance education in transition: Developments and issues, 57-81. (5th ed.). Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Retrieved from http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct.
Peters, O. (2004). Learning and teaching in distance education: Analysis and interpretations from an international perspective, 28-54. London & New York: Routledge Falmer.
Rumble, G. (2005) Systems thinking and its application to study of distance education. Unpublished document.
Journal Entry 4
1. I think the group’s revolutionary grid as a learning tool will serve as a good learning resource. The group’s grid is a skill builder, which is related to the class’ course goals and objectives. The process that was used to develop this grid was very insightful because all my group members worked together to create a grid that depicted the evolution of distance education from wave 1 to wave 3. This grid helped me to learn about the dominant forces that drove distance education, theories and ways of understanding distance education, institutional and organizational developments, prevailing teaching and learning theories and methodologies, predominant technologies, and key authors and theorists.
2. The aspects of the course that has influenced my understanding of distance education are the social, political, and economic factors; theories and concepts; learning and teaching models; technology and media innovations; institutions and systems; and the major writers and theorists that have shaped the development of this field.
My revised definition of distance education is “a formal educational process under which the institution provides instructional materials, by mail or electronic transmission, including examinations on the materials, to students who are separated from the instructor. Interaction between the instructor and the student is limited, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student; courses are typically self-paced.” Furthermore, distance education can be called distance learning, correspondence study or education, open learning, open teaching, non-traditional education, adult education, continuing education, independent study, teaching at a distance, home study, extension study or education, external education or study, lifelong education or study, professional study or education, flexible education or study, contract education, experiential learning or study, self-paced study, drop-in learning, independent learning, self-directed learning, self-regulated learning, self-determined learning, autonomous learning, self-governed learning, controlled learning, regulated learning, individualized learning, resource-based learning, self-assessed learning, self study, and supported self-study.
There have been many definitions put forward in modern literature and finding an accurate definition of distance education is not easy. My definition has changed because I have acquired more knowledge about distance education from wave 1 to wave 3. With the history of distance learning encompassing so many different learning environments, I had to find a definition that fits in all situations. Also, due to introduction of technologies over the years, this has impacted the way distance learning is defined.
3. After considering all of the course objectives, all of these goals were met and satisfied to the fullest extent possible. I feel this way because I have learned to recognize the unique characteristics of distance education. Furthermore, I have grasped how the social, political, and economic forces affected the development of distance education from its early beginning to the current technology-based practices. I assimilated how to identify the key authors and theorists in distance education and analyzed their contribution to the field by doing the distance education grid in my group.
I comprehended how the distance education methodologies have evolved over time as well as how the role of the student and educator has changed as well. I understand the different types of distance education institutions and the relevance of the systems approach to teaching and learning by writing assignment 2, and answering questions in the daily conferences. Furthermore, in assignment 1, I learned how to define distance education based on my own definition of it. I matched my definition with a definition in scholarly source, that closely followed mine. This helped me to gain a greater understanding of the term distance learning. In assignment 3, I learned about an earlier distance education theory, called andragogy, and how it influenced the current practices in distance education.
I ascertained how to evaluate the impact that technology had on the nature of teaching and learning in distance education by reading material and answering questions in the conference area. Also, I have mastered how to navigate and use online learning, virtual spaces, and social media for the purpose of learning, documenting learning, and creating content by using Webtycho, maps, charts, google docs, weebly, twitter, blogs, Diigo, and Vimeo through the class skill builders.
I have learned how to master and apply research skills for the purpose of critically analyzing issues and topics discussed in relevant literature, synthesized findings, and communicating ideas and arguments with supporting evidence. I learned how to collaboratively use social media and other shared virtual spaces to create content, and successfully complete assigned team projects by working with my group members and doing skills builder assignments.
Finally, I learned how to reflect on learning and articulate changes in my thinking, feelings, and behavior by making my e-portfolio and writing my reflection journal. Therefore, I truly believe that all my class objectives are being met because I learned and mastered all of these course goals already. At this point in time, I am constantly building on them. I have acquired the knowledge and specific skills that the course goals and objectives have outlined for this class.
I have learned so much from this class this semester. I did not think that this course would have made a huge impact on me and it did. I was surprised by all the information that I learned and ascertained. I have taken many classes at UMUC, and this is one of the best classes I have taken so far. I hope that the other classes that I take in the OMDE program will be just as satisfying and fulfilling as this one.
4. I think that working with my other group members to create the revolutionary grid was very beneficial for me. I like working in group because it helps me to learn how to collaborate and learn from others. I learned that working with other people in different ages groups, backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise helped me to grasp and take in new knowledge that I would not have acquired alone. Everything in my group worked out pretty well, and I could not think of anything that did not work. I feel that we all worked well together and we got along really good. None of the group members’ attitudes or personalities clashed. We may all had different schedules, responsibilities, and commitments; but in the end, the group pulled it all together and finished the grid assignment collectively. I think that some people in the group contributed less than others to the grid. If everyone in the group had gave an equal contribution to the grid, then may be our grid could have been better. This could have been done in order to improve and make the group’s working process a little smoother. But overall, I do not have any real complaints about my work members. I think that the my experience of working together to make a collaborative document was a good and positive one. I really enjoyed working with other people because the experience was very insightful. The benefits of online collaboration are:
- Learn from other people and their experiences;
- Build new knowledge;
- Get more work accomplished by working in a group, instead of working alone;
- Build new friendships and relationships with others;
- Engage in reflective learning;
- Extend and deepen learning experiences;
- Test out new ideas by sharing them with a supportive group;
- Receive critical and constructive feedback;
- Promotes transformative learning;
- Encourages student-to-student interaction as the primary mode of learning;
- Supports socially constructed meaning and knowledge creation;
- Creates a structure for online courses, by providing ground rules for interaction and participation;
- Creates rich learning environments;
- Creates a sense of responsibility for learning;
- Creates a shared purpose for coming together such as sharing information, resources, and interests;
- Learn to deal with conflict;
- Share strengths and develop weaker skills;
- Individuals are held accountable for their work in the group;
- Work of the group as a whole is assessed;
- Develop interpersonal skills;
- Students are invested in their own learning;
- Respect is given to every member;
- Projects and questions interest and challenge students;
- Diversity is celebrated;
- Contributions are valued;
- Members draw upon their past experiences and knowledge;
- Research tools such as the internet is made available;
- Build cooperation;
- Raises trust levels;
- Build and construct new knowledge and information;
- Produces diverse and creative ideas; and
- Successful achievement of course goals, learning objectives, and class competencies are increased.
The drawbacks of online collaboration are:
- Causes problems with scheduling meetings due to each group member having different schedules, variations in time zones, and having personal responsibilities, obligations, and commitments;
- Each group member has different personalities, learning styles, and attitudes. This can hinder collaboration because it may affect how people interact and get along in the group and cause conflicts;
- Creates communication problems and hurdles;
- Language Barriers;
- Time constraints;
- Can cause reduced accountability to the team and group assignments; and
- Mediation of conflict can be more difficult.
This activity can be improved by the group creating an environment in which cooperative learning can take place. Each group member needs to feel safe, but also challenged. Second, groups need to be small enough that everyone can contribute. Third, the task students work together on must be clearly defined. When cooperative groups are guided by clear objectives, students engage in numerous activities that improve their understanding of subjects explored. The cooperative and collaborative learning techniques presented here can help make this process better. The will help the group to work collectively together, in order to create a meaningful project.
Journal Entry 5
Building the group's grid has influenced my understanding of distance education because it helped me to comprehend the different factors that impacted distance learning from wave 1 to wave 3. These factors include the economic, political, societal, and technological transformations. These modifications influenced the surges of development in which we called "waves." Throughout each wave or surge of development, emerged new theories, institutional and organizational developments, teaching and learning methodologies, new technologies, and new scholars and theorists. By creating this evolutionary grid with my group members, I was able to explore, discover, and gain an understanding of each wave of development through the course readings. The dimension of the grid that was most interesting to me was the teaching and learning methodologies because these theories helped me to gain knowledge and understanding about the developments in distance education, and these theories helped to explain the field of distance education. The changing and diverse environment in which distance education is practiced has inhibited the development of a single theory upon which to base practice and research. A variety of theories have been proposed to describe traditional distance education. They include theories that emphasize independence and autonomy of the learner, industrialization of teaching, and interaction and communication. These classical theories emphasize the notion that distance education is a fundamentally a different form of education. An environment in which technology, society, economics, politics, and approaches to learning are all in transition suggests that theories, definitions, and the practice of distance education will continue to progress and develop.
Working with a group helped me to construct new knowledge because it helped to foster a collaborative learning environment. This has helped my group to gain a shared understanding about the field of distance education. People construct new knowledge when they actively interact with their environments. Furthermore, working in groups help students to participate in cooperative or collaborative learning. This can help everyone in the group to acquire new knowledge and make a sense of it because it provides each person in the group with an opportunity to acquire and practice skills that lead to successful group interactions. In turn, each person in the group can learn with and from one another. The group was composed of people from different backgrounds, ages, nationalities, experiences, and competencies. All this knowledge and experience can be shared among one another to help construct new knowledge and learning experiences with everyone.