Elements of Distance Education Diffusion
George Siemens discussed the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational spheres, including three possible elements of distance education that are creating more effective learning experiences and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from F2F courses: (a) global diversity, (b) communication, and (c) collaborative interaction. Do you agree or disagree with his view?
Select one of these three elements for your reflection in this module and respond to the following in your blog:
- How has this element evolved?
- What online tools are available today to facilitate these interactions among learners?
For the most part, I agree with George Siemens spheres and views.
Out of these three elements I choose......... COMMUNICATION
Communication has evolved from both parties having to be online to send or receive an email, to having lectures recorded live and being able to access and watch the lectures anytime you want. Tools such as skype, blogs, tango, and even social networks allow you to communicate with a number of people at one time. You can also see and talk with people who are a million miles away as if you were face to face.
Hi Allison,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your expertise on communication. I am not familiar with Tango, is it only available for the iPhone, and do you use it with students? I was also wondering if you have found any other blogs you find helpful with communication ideas for students? Thank you.
Sincerely,
LeAnn
I am also wondering what Tango is. I've never heard of it. What are some ways you would use it with students?
ReplyDeleteAllison,
ReplyDeleteYou made an excellent point when you mentioned both parties not having to be present during the actual time of the communication creation. I like the fact that I can view our lessons more than once, stop it when I need a moment to process, and move forward at my own pace. Our school has a gradebook system that allows us to communicate with all or multiple parents at one click, so we do not have to type several emails with the same message and make sure that all of them are sent privately. I like to be able to post important comments and announcements on my class page in Edmodo and Angel, and have set up a text alert system to notify parents and students when there is something important coming up or in case something needs to be change(tutoring sessions, testing, recovery...) There is no limit to the ways we can communicate now with many different technologies.
Karen,
ReplyDeletethe two systems you mentioned: Edmodo and Angel seem like they would make my life as a teacher a lot easier. I am definitely going to look into these two tools. Thank you.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteTango is an application very similar to facetime if you use apple products or skype. It allows you to communicate or talk to a person while viewing each other through the cameras on your mobile or electronic devices.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Tango. I am interested in looking into it. I love the communication advantages of online education. Traditional programs offered in my area are full of students with very similar education and professional experiences as myself. Distance education provides a wide variety of individuals to communicate with and learn from. Do you believe this enhances the knowledge of students attending online courses? If so, do you think these benefits outweigh the negative connotations perceived by the public population?
Thanks,
Sarita
Sarita,
ReplyDeleteTango is an application for video chatting that is very similar to Facetime if you are familiar with Apple Products and Iphones. The big difference is you do not have to be connected to wifi to use it.