Interactive Tours

 Scenario:
A high school teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums.  The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the art work on display.  Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art.  As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district's instructional designer for assistance.  In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provde the best learning experience for her students?

Recommendations:
A virtual fieldtrip is a great way for our history teacher to expose her students to the exhibits in N.Y. museums.  Distance is no longer a factor to the west coast history teacher who wants her students to view new exhibits in N.Y.  As the instructional designer, I would suggest that our history teacher schedule a date and time in which each museum curator could
 Skype with her class.  During this virtual meeting, the curator could take the class on a virtual tour of their exhibits. Skype is a Web 2.0 technology that allows users to make voice and video calls over the internet.  Nate Hensley, author of  "The Skype Study Group," is a proponent of Skype as a distance learning tool.  According to Hensley, “This allows for real-time study groups. From the comfort of their own home, people can exchange ideas, pose questions about the material, and prepare for tests.” (Hensley, 2013) Let’s say that the curators have a limited amount of time to talk to the history students, so a virtual tour is not possible.  An alternative to Skype would be a Webcast. If the museum has already created a Webcast of their exhibits, the teacher can access the archived video from the curator. Most webcasts are archived and can be viewed at your convenience.  Webcast are audio and/or video web events broadcast LIVE and on demand; delivered right to your computer.  The use of technology is a great approach to make sure that the learning outcomes are equivalent to the student who resides in N.Y. and can physically attend the two exhibits in person.  Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek state, “…that the more equivalent the learning experiences of distant students are to that of local students, the more equivalent will be the outcomes of the learning experiences.”(2012)  

So the class has taken the tour and our history teacher wants the students to participate in a group critique of the individual works of art she has selected. Group collaboration can be facilitated by setting up an Edmodo site for the class.  Edmodo is a great tool designed for collaboration, engagement, and making resources available to students and parents when the brick and mortar building is closed.  Edmodo allows the teacher to divide her students into groups based on the paintings she wants them to critique.  Edmodo will allow her to customize settings for group participants to post their ideas, pose questions, and collaborate within their assigned group.  She can setup a survey where other groups can weigh-in and share their feedback.  Students find this tool both engaging and intuitive.

References:

Edmodo. (2013). Retrieved from http://edmodoteacherhub.wikispaces.com/The+edmodo+FAQ

Hensley, N. (2013). The Skype Study Group. Retrieved from http://www.distancelearning.com/the-skype-study-group/

 

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

TheTechDesigner. (2012). Skype Tutorial. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOf2mgSsXak&lc=qICqDT8mPOFB-bVpVMTbwYkD-AWr8G3KB_zljCdcgas

Wikipedia. (2013).  Webcast. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcast

Distance Learning

I remember the concept of Distance Learning being introduced to me in the late 1990s.  As I recall, traditional colleges and universities under-graduate programs were the preferred route and distance learning programs were an alternative for graduate school.  I defined Distance learning as online courses which provided the learner with course materials and access to an instructor virtually.  The instructor and learner could be located anywhere in the nation, and the internet provided the medium for them to communicate.  I visualized isolated assignments and timelines with little to no interaction with classmates.

                The resources provided this week, has totally changed my personal definition before enrolling at Walden.  The video and vodcast provided by Dr. Simonson had me revisit my definition.  Simonson defined Distance learning as “as formal education in which the learning group (teachers, students, resources) are separated by geography, and sometimes, by time.”(Simonson, 2012)  As I read the vodcast I found out that Distance learning dates back to the early 1800s.  It might seem strange, but I never associated correspondence courses as distance learning.  As I read the information on the timeline, it occurred to me that decades ago, I use to see advertisements in magazines and on the back of match-books for correspondence courses.  Unconsciously, I had framed Distance learning into the specific period of computers, modems, and internet access. 

                In the vodcast I learned that Anna Eliot Ticknor and her organization, The Society to Encourage Studies at Home started in Boston, MA. encouraged women to pursue their educational passions through mail correspondence courses, many of whom having limited traditional education opportunities. I also learned that a number of telecommunication technologies emerged such as Marconi’s Black Box, courses offered through radio and standard television, satellite and cable television broadcasts, courses via video tapes, and lastly through the internet, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technology.

                In the three-part article, The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web, the authors point out that very little, if any potential of e-learning is recognized or valued.  Corporate motivating factors are economic and in many cases effectiveness is not valued or measured.  According to the article, “Evaluation of any kind beyond the “smile sheet” is not planned, and often, there is no provision for the measurement of learning outcomes or utilization.” (Moller et al., 2008, p.70) Following ID approved methodologies is recommended to make sure that our field is not diminished by disappointing results.  Although the business climate insists on speedy solutions, ID professionals must fully define the training need before design and implement quality solutions.

“The challenge for ID professionals is not only to evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise.” (Moller et. al, 2008, p.66)

 In the higher education environment, adoption of a “craft approach” is not an effective way to approach distance learning.  Taking the materials, strategies, and approaches from a traditional classroom environment and putting it on the web may offer limited positive results. ID faculty members should outline the standards, policies, and accreditation for distance learning.  In K-12 environment, research is ongoing to determine the effectiveness of distance learning for younger students.  Many age dependent characteristics have not developed in younger learners which are necessary for online learner’s success.

                Finally, after reading the material provided this week, I now define Distance learning as formal education, which achieves learning outcomes by utilizing research- based, clear, measurable modules in spite of learners and instructors being separated by time and location.  I envision that distance learning will continue to grow exponentially as new technologies continue to emerge, as businesses, colleges and universities become more competitive, and as additional research is conducted for the effectiveness of distance learning and younger students.

References:

Moller, L., Forshay, W.R., & Huett, J. (2008). Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. TechTrends, 52(3) , p. 70-75.

Moller, L., Forshay, W.R., & Huett, J. (2008). Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. TechTrends, 52(4), p. 66-70.

Moller, L., Forshay, W.R., & Huett, J. (2008). Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. TechTrends, 52(5), p. 63-67.

Simonson, M. (n.d.) Distance Education: The Next Generation [study video].  Retrieved March 5, 2013, from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1341293_1%26url%3D