Foundations of Distance Education & E-learning (OMDE601)
Course Description
A study of the history and evolution of distance education. Social and political/economic factors, theories, learning and teaching models, technology and media innovations, institutions and systems, and major writers that have shaped the development of the field are critically examined. A variety of technologies are used to support the development of foundational skills that are integral to current practice.
Course Goals/Objectives
Knowledge:
Specific Skills:
Artifacts
The work I did in this course was recorded as a separate page and a learning journal, and I have left these in place - just use the links. The course introduced the students to the idea of an ePortfolio, which this site evolved from.
Reflection
This was my first course in the degree and a lot of the experience was around adjusting to study and gaining an understanding of the flow of online learning. This class was also one of the first at UMUC in their new learning management system (Desire2Learn).
The course structure was a tour through the development of distance education, from early print, through broadcast media to the use of computer technology.
This course made me consider two questions
Current eLearning counters a number of these assumptions. In many organizations the use of online technologies to compliment face-to-face courses, meaning that courses are increasingly described as blended. As they become more online, they come to DE without the same theoretical basis.
The real questions that permeates through my course of study is, how much does and should the theoretical foundations of distance education influence the practice of online education.
I could of course answer this, but I'm not sure you would still buy the book if I wrote it.
A study of the history and evolution of distance education. Social and political/economic factors, theories, learning and teaching models, technology and media innovations, institutions and systems, and major writers that have shaped the development of the field are critically examined. A variety of technologies are used to support the development of foundational skills that are integral to current practice.
Course Goals/Objectives
Knowledge:
- Identify the unique characteristics of distance education
- Describe the major influences - social, economical, and political - in the evolution of distance education from its early beginnings to the current IT-based practices
- Identify the key authors and theorists in distance education and analyze their contribution to the field
- Describe how distance education methodologies have changed over time, in particular how the role of teacher and learner have evolved
- Describe various types of distance education institutions and the relevance of a systems approach to teaching and learning
- Analyze the impact of technological changes on the nature of teaching and learning in distance education
Specific Skills:
- Navigate and use an online learning environment, shared virtual spaces, and social media for the purpose of learning, documenting learning, and creating content (e.g., learning management system, maps, charts, wikis, Google docs, Weebly, Twitter, blogs, Diigo, Vimeo)
- Master and apply research and writing skills for the purpose of critically analyzing issues and topics discussed in relevant literature, synthesizing findings, and communicating ideas and arguments with supporting evidence
- Learn collaboratively by using social media and other shared virtual spaces to create content and successfully complete assigned team projects
- Reflect on learning and articulate changes in thinking, feeling, behavior
Artifacts
The work I did in this course was recorded as a separate page and a learning journal, and I have left these in place - just use the links. The course introduced the students to the idea of an ePortfolio, which this site evolved from.
Reflection
This was my first course in the degree and a lot of the experience was around adjusting to study and gaining an understanding of the flow of online learning. This class was also one of the first at UMUC in their new learning management system (Desire2Learn).
The course structure was a tour through the development of distance education, from early print, through broadcast media to the use of computer technology.
This course made me consider two questions
- Is distance education different to face-to-face education?
- Is eLearning different from distance education?
Current eLearning counters a number of these assumptions. In many organizations the use of online technologies to compliment face-to-face courses, meaning that courses are increasingly described as blended. As they become more online, they come to DE without the same theoretical basis.
The real questions that permeates through my course of study is, how much does and should the theoretical foundations of distance education influence the practice of online education.
I could of course answer this, but I'm not sure you would still buy the book if I wrote it.