The Importance of Technology in Distance Education

Reflecting on previously learned material is an important part of the learning experience.  In a recent course through Walden University I had the opportunity to set up a course management system (CMS) for a project.  The CMS I used, canvas, was quite easy to set up.  I can see how using the CMS tool for an online learning environment can make the work of the facilitator and learner easier.  A few questions need to be answered in regards to using technology tools, such as a CMS, for an online course.  Those questions are as follows:

What impact does technology and multimedia have on online learning environments?
Technology and multimedia are the backbone of the online learning community's resources, if utilized properly.  Technology is the backbone of an online learning community.  Without the use of technology (computers or mobile), students have no means of collaborating or communicating.  Without some type of organized communication piece students will have difficulty know the expectations of the course.  When students are able to quickly and easily locate the syllabus and course assignments and resources, the learning environment can flow and the collaborative process will help students obtain maximum learning from the course.

What are the most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology?
It is important to remember that using several technology tools in your first course is not a requirement.  Use the ones you know and are familiar with most.  There must be somewhere for students to feel a social presence, as described by Boettcher and Conrad (2010).  The online place where students are physically present is in a CMS or a learning management system (LMS), as mentioned by Boettcher and Conrad (2010).  Also, the instructor should keep in mind that his/her students are diverse.  This means some students speak other languages, could be using mobile technology, etc.  For example, as discussed by the experts on Laureate Education (2010), students could be dealing with dial-up on their computers.  For this reason, simply having several videos as resources per week would make things difficult for students with dial-up.  It is important to have several resources, not just multimedia type resources, available for students.  The instructor should be aware of the importance of creating an “online social presence” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 54).  This is “one of the best ways to get a course off on the right foot” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 54).  Finding the right technology tool to assure students can collaborate with one another and with the instructor is imperative to the success of the course.  When doing so, the “best approach teaching your first online course is to keep it simple” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 57). 
 
What implications do usability and accessibility of technology tools have for online teaching?
“Online students have schedules from many competing responsibilities, such as working, parenting, and travel” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 82).  Having access to the learning material at the exact time students are trying to work in a course is imperative to honor their time.  If students are unable to use the technology tools, this can make or break a learners experience with a learning community.  Continually getting an error when clicking on a video resource, as an example, can cause a great deal of stress for a learner.  Since the learner in in an online environment, getting in touch will the instructor when the student chooses to do his/her work may be difficult.  If students are constantly sending emails questioning how to view a multimedia resource or stating the multimedia is not working, this could cause students and the instructor to spend valuable time with technology problems, rather than spending that time learning.

What technology tools are most appealing to you for online teaching as you move forward in your career in instructional design?
I believe some important technology tools to use in an online course are email, CMSs, YouTube, and video resources.  These are the basics for an online course.  An LMS or a CMS is the meeting place for students and instructors to get together, as stated in Boettcher and Conrad (2010).   For me, I prefer to post information to a blog, rather than to always use discussion boards.  I think using a blog makes the information more "my own."  Getting to design a page and have information on my personal page helps me to own my learning and keep my material in my own place.  I am also fond of using presentations like PowerPoint and Prezi.  I feel both presentation tools are equally as important as the other.  I personally like using Prezi because the presentations looks better to me and it is a newer way to present.

It is important to remember, as a first time course instructor, to keep it simple (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  Do not try to tackle all the technology tools out there, rather take the time to thoroughly learning those most important to the success of the students.  The technology tools that make communication easier are important.  Also having a place to house and discuss your expectations is also important to the success of the students.  The success of a course is worth the time spent learning to use an LMS or CMS.    
 

Resources

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Enhancing the online experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

 

Setting Up An Online Course

Confucius once said, “Success depends on previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”  Setting up an online course requires a lot of preparation.  As an elementary teacher I have found that prepared lessons always turn out better than those lesson that I have thrown together last minute.

It is extremely important to know the technology you are dealing with as the instructor.  Boettcher and Conrad (2010) caution that when teaching an online course for the first time, it is smart to “keep it simple” (p. 57).  “Focus on the essential tools, and build your first course around those” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 57).  A course management system (CMS) is one of those important first tools to become familiar with, according to Boettcher and Conrad (2010).  This will assure students in the online course, and you as the instructor, have a place to communicate.  This is where the course interactions take place, thus, may be the most important piece of technology needed in the course.  It is also important that an instructor is familiar with the usage of email, in order to communicate with students (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  Over time an instructor needs to become familiar with more tools that can be used within a course, such as audacity, blogs, social networking sites, etc. (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

As an instructor, it is always important to have clear expectations, whether the course be online or face-to-face.  In the online community, it is especially essential to be clear with expectations since the students will be viewing the information from the syllabus or course assignments on their own.  It is also important to communicate to students when you, as the instructor, will get back to the student if a problem should arise.  Boettcher and Conrad (2010) state, “I’ll reply to emails within twenty-four to forty-eight hours during the workweek.  I’ll check urgent messages on the weekends” (p. 74).  This tells the students exactly what to expect when emailing their instructor, whether it be a weekday or weekend.  This is just one example of how an instructor can make sure students know what they can expect throughout a course.  In a course through Walden University I liked that the instructor gave an introduction stating the time their email is usually checked during the day as well.  The instructor stated, “I check my email first think in the morning on workdays.”  This helped me to know what to expect.  Anything extra the instructor can do to help the students is always a plus.

It is important for an online instructor to recognize student are coming from all different areas of the world, with different backgrounds, and diverse cultures.  I think that is the most difficult thing to overcome when designing an online course, students will be very diverse.  That is also what makes creating icebreakers for students to get to know one another and designing assignments where students are asked to share some background experiences so exciting.  As the experts in Laureate Education (2010) discuss, it is important as an instructor to set up a community early on.  An instructor should be leery about posting academic-based introductions, according to Laureate Education (2010), rather he/she should post personal information to show students that they are personable.  I think this is an important piece of information to note.

It will take some experience and learning as a course instructor to get the hang of all the details of designing and facilitating a course, but with these tips in mind, one can hopefully be one step ahead.  I will reference back to the Confucius quote where I started.  Always, always prepare and you will succeed.

 

Resources

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Launching the online learning experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Quote retrieved from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/preparation.html

Online Learning Communities

The online learning community has impacted my life in a positive way.  In the past two years I have learned what distance learning can be, whereas in the past I had only seen a class at a time and not much in the way of collaboration toward learning from others. 

Online learning communities significantly impact student learning by allowing students to take courses at their own pace, work from home, and carry a career while working in a distance course.  An online learning community can satisfy the needs of individuals by allowing students the opportunity to take their time formulating their thoughts before responding to questions, and allowing for all students to respond to each questions.  Personally, when I am in a face-to-face setting, I find that there always seems to be the student with the quickest response time that speaks the most in class.  In an online setting everyone participates.

The essential elements in an online learning community are collaboration with reflection of learning, sticking to the objective, "learner-to-learner engagement" (Laureate Education, 2010), instructor as the facilitator and a well-designed course.  As stated by the experts in Laureate Education (2010) it is the responsibility of all the people in the environment, students and instructor, to continue the collaboration in the community.  This really hit home for me.  This puts the ownership of the learning on the learner, instead of putting the responsibility on the teacher.

An online learning community can be sustained by "assuring the people in the community can interact" (Laureate Education, 2010).  It is important to keep the collaborative learning going and build one piece of learning off the other.  I like that Walden University courses start with a small piece of information at the start and builds through an eight week course, making each week more and more in depth with that same information.  Not all schools do that, believe it or not.  Some schools bounce around with all types of information and do not stick to an objective.

The relationship between community building and effective online instruction is important within the first two weeks, according to Laureate Education (2010).  Building community by having the students get to know each other and letting them know the instructor cares within the first couple weeks is imperative.  Getting to know your students is very important!  I think in an online learning community it is even more important to have students share, since there is no way to see them and hear them.  Having students share is the best way to know how to group them later on in the course and the find out who the students are.  Laureate Education (2010) discusses the importance of orientation course.  Whether it is through an orientation course, a blog post, a discussion post, email, etc. I think any introductory paragraph where the instructor states a clear picture of what needs to be in the paragraph (background, career, family, etc.) is enough.  This will set the expectation and assure students put more than "hello, my name is..." as a one liner. 

I truly feel that Walden University is the reason that I have learned what I know now about collaboration in an online learning community.  I know that in the past all I did in online courses was read a little from a text or online reading and take a quiz as many times as I wanted until I passed it.  That was not real learning.  Collaboration is!  Working with other learners is learning.

I find that lately I have been able to come away with information to help me become a better instructor.  This week's assignment has taught me that skipping the orientation course or introductory session of the course would be a huge mistake for me and my students as a future online instructor or course designer. 


Resources

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Online learning communities [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Greeting!!!

Hello Everyone! 

My name is Jenny Hogg.  I live in sunny, (and HOT right now) Phoenix, Arizona.  I am a wife and a mother of an 8 year old son.  Currently I am teaching kindergarten for the district in which my home is located.  I am about six miles from the school where I work, making my commute an easy one.  This is my sixth year teaching, but only my second year teaching kinder.  Previously I taught first grade and loved it as well.  I know my place is in the education field, but feel I need to expand my knowledge into IDT.  That is why I decided to state working toward my master's degree last year.

My son is in second grade this year and keeps me busy with all his activities and energy.  My husband and I enjoy being a big part of our community.  We play volleyball with friends in our neighborhood when the summer heat breaks and the nice seven months begins (Oct.-April).  We enjoy traveling when we have time, boating with friends, going to concerts and sporting events, and pretty much anything that involves the outdoors in nice weather. 

We moved to Phoenix from the St. Louis area over five years ago for a better opportunity for my husband's career and it was the right choice for us.  We have built a beautiful life here.  I really love it hear, but miss the seasons when I see all the fall leaves and the snow at Christmas time.  Luckily I still have plenty of family and friends in my hometown of West Frankfort, Illinois, that I can visit when I need to escape the desert climate. 

I am so excited to have only two classes left to receive my master's!  It seems like I just started the program and have been in it forever all at the same time.  I look forward to working with any newcomers to the class that I have not met yet and I am happy to see any familiar peers also.  I am always open to any questions and I will try to answer anything related to the early childhood field that I can.  Please do not hesitate to ask.  Thanks for reading about me and following me if you so choose.

Jenny :-)