Me in 2013
Like most people in this degree I had a connection to distance education and eLearning - my role was manager of a unit that provided distance education, eLearning and educational technology support to academic staff. I came into this from a technical slant as a web developer developing online materials and was promoted fairly quickly through a number of position until I became the unit manager.
What I thought I had skipped on the journey was some of the background and theory to online learning. I was suggesting practices and solutions to teaching staff, but in some ways lacked the theoretical knowledge to explain why we did the things we did.
I decided that an Australian University would give me a similar perspectives to those I was already exposed to and this formed part of my decision to undertake the Masters in Distance Education and eLearning.
My start to the course was quite hectic with a volunteer assignment in the Maldives and a wedding to plan - you can read my first blog post here.
What I thought I had skipped on the journey was some of the background and theory to online learning. I was suggesting practices and solutions to teaching staff, but in some ways lacked the theoretical knowledge to explain why we did the things we did.
I decided that an Australian University would give me a similar perspectives to those I was already exposed to and this formed part of my decision to undertake the Masters in Distance Education and eLearning.
My start to the course was quite hectic with a volunteer assignment in the Maldives and a wedding to plan - you can read my first blog post here.
Program Reflection
When I read the program outcomes to the right I was in a role that required me to incorporate all of them, but I do look back with some trepidation that I did a lot without much formal knowledge or broad understanding.
How am i different from the start of the course. Looking forward I am:
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Theory matters
The degree has provided greater appreciation for the history and theory of distance education, The theorists didn't pick ideas out of the sky and record them. They watched, observed, and participated in the development of distance education. Mistakes were made, lessons learned and successes communicated.
A broader and deeper understanding of the theory of both distance education and education in general gives me a better foundation to work effectively in the field of educational technology. Consistently through the program ideas from the theory 'clicked' with my understanding from a practice point of view - this is when theory give better understanding or language to ideas we seem to already have. There are also a set of theories that I didn't have exposure to.
Research matters
In some ways finding research is so much easier with the help of Google Scholar and sophisticated library databases. Determining what is useful is a very different matter. Through the program I have identified journals and writers and follow through various channels. Knowing more and being better connected to research sources has helped me to better explain decisions in the workplace, and how I contribute to wider conversations.
Managing change matters
In an organization and an industry that continues to change rapidly, how we mange that change is important.. Higher education may evolve slowly or go through more rapid revolutionary change. There will be impact on technical staff, academic staff, university leaders, students and a set of roles we don't yet know about. Spotting trends, developing a vision and leading people will be important skills.
Learning design matters
It is important to remember that the core role of education is usually undertaken in a very small scale, with a group of students and teachers. Developing and designing these courses is both art and science. There are a set of underlying principles and understanding that contribute to student learning. There is also a place of innovative ideas and creativity to make a course engaging and interesting.
So am I that different? Well a lot has happened in 3 years. I certainly know a lot more and I am much more comfortable that this is the area I want to be professionally involved in. I do have a sense of achievement at completing the program that bodes well for future study.
So I think I am different, and the program has contributed to this.
The degree has provided greater appreciation for the history and theory of distance education, The theorists didn't pick ideas out of the sky and record them. They watched, observed, and participated in the development of distance education. Mistakes were made, lessons learned and successes communicated.
A broader and deeper understanding of the theory of both distance education and education in general gives me a better foundation to work effectively in the field of educational technology. Consistently through the program ideas from the theory 'clicked' with my understanding from a practice point of view - this is when theory give better understanding or language to ideas we seem to already have. There are also a set of theories that I didn't have exposure to.
Research matters
In some ways finding research is so much easier with the help of Google Scholar and sophisticated library databases. Determining what is useful is a very different matter. Through the program I have identified journals and writers and follow through various channels. Knowing more and being better connected to research sources has helped me to better explain decisions in the workplace, and how I contribute to wider conversations.
Managing change matters
In an organization and an industry that continues to change rapidly, how we mange that change is important.. Higher education may evolve slowly or go through more rapid revolutionary change. There will be impact on technical staff, academic staff, university leaders, students and a set of roles we don't yet know about. Spotting trends, developing a vision and leading people will be important skills.
Learning design matters
It is important to remember that the core role of education is usually undertaken in a very small scale, with a group of students and teachers. Developing and designing these courses is both art and science. There are a set of underlying principles and understanding that contribute to student learning. There is also a place of innovative ideas and creativity to make a course engaging and interesting.
So am I that different? Well a lot has happened in 3 years. I certainly know a lot more and I am much more comfortable that this is the area I want to be professionally involved in. I do have a sense of achievement at completing the program that bodes well for future study.
So I think I am different, and the program has contributed to this.
Advice to other students (and for me in my next course)
Are you looking at this because you are doing the MDE or thinking about it? Here are a couple of my reflections
- I enjoyed the courses when I was only doing one a semester - there was time to think, reflect and really engage with others in the course.
- Think about the audience when writing. I think my greatest frustration was with other students who responded to questions with summaries of papers or 'i agree' statements. Be controversial, disagree with papers - it is a really safe place to play and makes forums better.
- Download and save every piece of work returned to you. It is easy to click on it and read the feedback (and mark), but that doesn't save the paper.. But going back afterwards is really interesting. (And having all these will improve your portfolio).
- Organize your readings - save the one you are interested in to one folder and have a word summary of what is in the papers. Finding the papers once the course sites have been removed is really frustrating. I would even go as far as saving the reading lists and unit summaries. If you are really organized - go with Zotero or another
- Write your forum posts in a document and them paste them into the course site. This means you have an ongoing record of what you contributed, and hopefully how you progressed through the course.
- Use the writing coach. For me setting myself the deadline a few days early meant I had time to think about the paper and make edits before the actual deadline. The writing coach comments will find anything that is unclearly written.