Distance Learning Reflections

Distance Learning -- Reflection

Hermes Sanchez

Walden University

EDUC 6125: Foundation of Distance Learning

25 December 2011

Learners Motivation -- Reflection

Starting this course was exciting for me as I was looking forward to making my mark as its where I looking to start my next career as a teacher online.  Understanding the concepts of distance learning is vital for any teacher or instructor.  There are many factors to consider as I learned throughout this course.   Its has made me think about where the perception of distance will be in the future and how as an instructional designer I can be a proponent and positive force to this ever growing field of distance learning.

During my classes I have learned that learning is all about getting that change in behavior.   Distance learning seems to fall in the same category as for this field to excel in the future, people need to learn and understand this field.  There may be many kinds of actions that have shown that this field is heading this that directions as record number of students are joining the crowds to online classes.  It comes down to the person believing that doing this instruction and being able to change their behavior and at what level (Ormond, 2009). I never thought that this was such a complex process especially since everyone has some areas that differ from others.   In 10 – 30 years, most universities will have more students online that in class just due to the cost and availability to the students and the schools themselves (Simonson, 2009).   Soon companies will value degrees from distance learning as high as any traditional university and that will be the paradigm that will break and keep distance learning going strong. 

My experiences over the last 19 years in the military have given more experiences that most executives would never have in a lifetime. I do believe what works for you now might not work for you later in life. This is why it’s so important to get this information out how this invaluable resource is used all the time in online courses.   Instructor designers must know that these concepts or ideas need to be carried out to the schools and workplaces to show how great this type of instruction is.  Some instruction must be designed to effect a change in belief and value systems (Conlan, 2003).   This is why I am a big proponent for distance learning and its most vocal cheerleader.  I encourage folks to try this medium so they can get some type of connection to see its benefits.    This is how we get the connection with all the theories, styles, and motivation from distance learning.  Once we understand their distance learning process, the others will fall in place. 

I have met so many folks who are thankful to the lord for distance learning. Whichever online education options you choose, they all require focus, dedication, and motivation (Simonson, 2009). These are all traits you look for when you go too any traditional university or trade school.  With the ease of scheduling and empowerment of assignments deadlines, it seems that it gives everyone a change to get their knowledge and power in order to get that degree to get that promotion, pay raise, or new position.  These positive forces is a big wave to information that is slowly getting to the all of US as schools await for more homes to catch up to the technology to allow more folks to get online and get their degrees.  It’s a big force that will assist many people in a positive way.

With all my schooling and work experience; I was amazed on how things go on when it came to distance learning. The concepts and styles allow me as a instruction designer to be able to see and understand how to deal and assist any student.  I will be able to know which way I should take the course or class, what questions will get them to open up and what teaching media and instructions will work best for that student (Ormod, 2010).  Distance learning is a field that is getting stronger and will be a major positive force in the educational world.  This course has help me feel better prepared to run a course and be able to adapt.  This is a course that has given me the tools to succeed and I will be a positive influence that will guide to others on how to succeed and prosper.

References

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York. pp53

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a
distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

Ormrod, Jeanne , (Director). (2010) . Information Processing and the Brain. [Motion Picture].

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Converting to Distance Learning

Distance learning is becoming a bigger media when it comes to education.  Many educators will need to break from that paradigm in order to keep up with the technology and not be left behind.  I have created a document that will discuss the different avenues, methods, and ideas that would be helpful to any educator who wants to transfer over their courses to distance learning.  The biggest shame is that educator don't even realize how much help its make to so many people by teaching them a subject they would not otherwise have a chance to live day to day.

Hermes Sanchez

To be Open or Closed

To be Open or Closed

By Hermes Sanchez

         In our society, it seems that when items and programs are free, a certain value is placed.   Open Course is a free resource that has been most individuals are unaware of.   These courses are tool to improve learners’ knowledge. Many use these courses to coincide with their regular studies, to plug in holes or to get an awareness how other universities treat a matter (Simonson, 2009).  Any students would strongly benefit from some more coordination and from some access to teaching beyond the pure material.  One example of a good Open Course site is http://webcast.berkeley.edu.

 

         They handle a wide arrange of courses that would benefit any student looking for quick refresher or updated their knowledge.  They also have campus service for recording and publishing course and campus events for students and learners.

         One aspect that grabs your attention is the educators’ involved in these courses.  Its your list of the top scholars of each department.  Their focus is primarily on leveraging technology to bring down the overall cost of production and distribution (Simonson, 2009). They have developed system automatically invites eligible faculty to participate each semester, manages their responses, create and schedule course recordings, and process and publish media files to Webcast Berkeley. 

         This clearly shows that Berkeley has carefully pre-planned and designed their courses more for a distance-learning environment.  With majority of the courses in You-tube, most information is directly form the course itself with an institute course premise and outline that allows students to follow carefully and be able to build their knowledge base.    This is a basis that seems to be growing and a fast rate as its development is setting new standards for open course learning objects.

         The latest design that the schools are looking to enhance is the OpenCast Matterhorn Community. 

  

Opencast Community is looking to launch a development project which is a collaboration between 13 partner institutions to develop and deliver an open-source automated lecture audio and video capture, processing, and distribution system.  They will set a new precedence on the value of the open course that very well even go further than the original concept on the online community chat that can involve world wide talk which will open to everyone.  Course designers have look in a way to fully maximize the course activities with interaction with students aboard and possible networking and knowledge base that will only benefit any learner who goes into this open course.

     Open courses seems to be a big trend that many big universities are using to enhance their students, prepare them for their courses, and for what the future will be in distance learning.  Berkeley has a good open course program that is beneficial to any learner or student who is looking to build the information tank and be able to tackle any additional courses to get that degree.  Course developers have set good planned course material and gathered their top educators on video to give the student a complete interaction for the old school or classroom traditionalist but given a small sample how the distance learning will be a big force in the future.  I would be “Open” than be closed when it comes to these courses.

Hermes Sanchez

Reference

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pear

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

The example I selected to work on deals with Asynchronous training. This type of training is a difficult as there is no interaction with teacher and student. The instructional designer must be able to create a training environment that will keep the students compelled with the instruction and be able to enhance their learning and experience (Simonson, 2009). Furthermore, being able to give them scenarios that will allow them to use their experience to be able to present plausible answers to the questions at hand.

With this in mind, I wanted to look at the situation at hand.   It discusses how a company is trying to improve their safety training modules with flexible training schedules, quality training and ease of use. In my experience when it comes to safety training, there is no room error. My four years as a Safety training monitor at my unit has shown me that realism is key in training and gives the value in importance. It’s important to find a module that can support the Asynchronous training while being able to show the vital aspects of safety training. That system is School Rack.






It has the capability to share information, documents and files. This is important as Safety always have standards and policies for example OSHA safety regulations that we used in the military was a important document for personnel to know and understand especially if you work with hazardous material.

SchoolRack’s rich text editing system allows a instructional designers to publish any form of content on their Learning module (Shaughnessy, 2009). They can post anything from a hyperlink to a YouTube video. This is definitely one of the best features as it can show the importance of safety as its highest level. Safety training makes its strongest compelling lessons by giving the learner a visual experience of vital essence of safety. With the flexible system, many educators use SchoolRack to manage large lists of resources for students, such as a list of links to external learning sites. With the large numbers of Safety sites on all data and government & State safety regulation, this will at least give the learners an open avenue to find the answers to their safety question.

Other qualities of SchoolRack are the discussion board, private messaging and Text editor. The discussion board is where members of groups, which deals with Safety, will be put in module where the training is taking place. This is grand opportunity for learners can interact with other educators whose experience might give insight for others to do their work.



Private messaging works great if you need to get in touch with those members to get first hand communication with those individuals who have similar experience you have, and is able to answer some safety questions you are having trouble fixing.



The SchoolRack text editor ease of use is one of its attributes. It has is the “Insert Image, Media, or File” button where you can easily grab images or files from your account, or embed a YouTube video or other widget directly into a post. This will allow the educator to tie in all important safety aspects and develop step by step instructions for the students to complete the training modules .




SchoolRack module will do wonders for any organization that is looking to train their employees with all its tools, flexible scheduling, and ability to give and store invaluable safety information that will give supervisors and mangers comfort in knowing that there employees got high quality training and knowledge that can avoid lost of equipment, materials and life.


Hermes Sanchez

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Shaughnessy, S. (2009) 
”An Interview with Artie Mohbeg, SchoolRack.” EducationNews.org
ENMU
Portales, NM.

http://www.schoolrack.com/

EDUC-6134 - Distance Learning

Hello folks,

Most of the last blogs has talked about the importance of my work of becoming an Instructional Designer. This would not be an after thought if not for the current class I have just began, Distance Learning. Majority of the classes I took before I joined the military was your classical in class learning environment and I did ok but often failed to reach the full potential of what I am capable of. Distance Learning has saved my educational and professional career. Its application to give the knowledge, set your time and capabilities to interact with classmates without any fear being rejected or feeling safe has allowed me to flourish and achieve my degrees. I am a strong advocate for Distance Learning and hoping to be an instructor online so I can influence others that you can learn and gain valuable knowledge to enhance your career and personal lives. Distance Learning is one class I have been looking forward to. I hope you enjoy the journey with me.

Hermes Sanchez

Reflections

Learners Motivation -- Reflection

When I first started this course, I thought it would be a long drawn out class reading about boring theories and “how-to-teach” concepts. I was truly wrong on all concepts. Understanding the concept of learning is vital for any teacher or instructor. It’s difficult for anyone to comprehend because it’s different for everyone. In my reflection, I will discuss how surprisingly educated I have become on how people and I learned, understand the learning process and its connection to the theories, styles, technology, and motivation.

Learning is all about getting that change in behavior. There may be many kinds of actions, which might count as confirmation of having learned a standard or policy. It comes down to the person doing the instruction and how much of that changed behavior is due to learning, or at what level (Ormond, 2009). I never thought that the learning was such a complex process especially since everyone has some areas that differ from others. Even my principle learning habits have seems to work best of taking the least known fact and showing me either visually or physically, how that fact pertains to whatever subject I might be learning. It makes me feel like I am solving a puzzle or riddle. Also it seems doing activities will help the brain with problem solving. My learning style is to learn how all things are incorporated with everything around it self or how everything is connect to each other. It seems to solve my long term memory best. All of us have an amazing ability to remember what we see, largely in an image form, but in general, visual imagery is a highly effective way of remembering things (Ormrod, 2010). Trying to keep up with the world is very tough especially when you get older and you need to keep your main organ on top shape.

My experiences over the last 19 years in the military have given more experiences that most executives would never have in a lifetime. I do believe what works for you now might not work for you later in life. This is why it’s so important for most of us who want to work as Instructor designers that we must know whether the concepts or ideas will be in work or conflict with the learner. Some instruction must be designed to effect a change in belief and value systems (Conlan, 2003). We must recognize the students thought process so we can decide whether their learning to be problem-oriented, personalized and accepting of their need for self-direction and personal responsibility. This is how we get the connection with all the theories, styles, and motivation. Once we understand their learning process, the others will fall in place.

This course has been a great surprise to me as I thought with all my schooling and work experience; I knew how things work when it came to learning. I was wrong. The concepts and styles allow me as a designer to be able to see and understand whenever I deal with any students. I will be able to know which way I should take the course or class, what questions will get them to open up and what teaching media and instructions will work best for that student. I feel better prepared to run a course and be able to adapt. This is a course that has given me the tools to succeed and now I will in-turn use it to give that same guidance to others.





References
Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York. pp53
Ormrod, Jeanne , (Director). (2010) . Information Processing and the Brain. [Motion Picture].
Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Fitting the Pieces Together

As time goes on, I have learned that when I was young, I was pretty naïve when it came to my thought process. Even during the time in the 90’s when I was first at college, there were so many factors and knowledge I wish I was more aware of. My course at Walden has shown me that we need to educate our folks more with some of these concepts and theories we have discuss during last 6-7 weeks. We should learn a few learning concepts to gain a deeper understanding, help our personal learning preference, and be aware of technology role in this arena as it changes every day.

Behavioral, Cognitive, Social, Construct, etc. . .of course, you feel overwhelmed when you first start learning that when you learn some idea or concept, no matter how you did it, I am sure they had some theory or style on how you did it. But this is a great tool for our teachers and Instructional Designer as they can now tailor certain subjects to the folks who would benefit the most. Before when we were young, we were all grouped together and expect to learn a subject one way. It only help a few excel while other where trying to keep up. Now that we can pinpoint certain aspects on how and why a student might pick up Algebra or Chemistry at better pace and time just by making a class more group orientated instead of solo projects.

I have seen a progression in my own learning styles which is currently helping me get thru my course at Walden and be better prepared for my military rank testing. Being able to understand on how I can improve my knowledge on subjects has done wonders. This has helped me get thru my courses for my degrees but also score well and make more rank. This is truly a big benefit.

Technology has not only played big part in my learning but has shown my ways to improve my knowledge in many ways. Online course has revived my educational hunger I have had since I left college and joined the Air Force. The realism is that is shown in some of the courses helped with the knowledge portion of my brain but also given me guidance on what to look forward toward once I am able to use this concepts.

We live and work in a changing world. New laws are introduced that lead to the introduction of new policies. New ideas and approaches emerge. New problems arise and new solutions are sought. The world of work is therefore a constantly moving and evolving one. What this means is that, if we are not constantly learning as we go about our day-to-day business, then each day we are getting further and further out of touch with the demands of the modern working world. This is why learning these theories and styles are vital and technology is a area which must be kept always in our vision. Always remember that there is always room for improvement.


Hermes Sanchez

Connectivism: My Mind Map

When instructors and course developers try to find a new theory of how and why certain people think they way they do, they will try to conceptualize the method in the present or future aspect that makes it simple to explain. One of the latest one is called Connectivism. Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations (Davis, 2008). They have even devised a way to put this concept on graph called a Mind Map. A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is an illustration thinking tool that helps arrange data, helping you to better examine, understand, produce, evoke and make new ideas. My mind map is set to my goal of achieving my 2nd Masters degree.

When I was going for my 1st degree, a lot of these branches and networks would have been different compared to what I have now. My branch toward the “Technology” would have been smaller as it wasn’t a big concept I would have to worry about. It’s a branch that is constantly growing and making its present know that technology is a constant growing network that I must continue to learn or it will get to big and unbalance my map. My priority and motivation will be my main factors to ensure my mind is on these subjects because I know of the consequences if I don’t. It has help us define not just how learning occurs but also provide us with information on future trends that we can build our educational systems on (Siemens, 2009). I have become aware of that the Technology branch will be my biggest challenge.

Staying on top of most of these branches will be difficult but some the use of these digital tools will be helpful. Most Microsoft Office programs will be most helpful like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. All three programs are the most used program throughout the US and keeping up-to-date will be vital. Taking classes whenever new updates come up has help me with work, developing new programs ensuring we are ahead of the curve. At home, new budgets, calendars’ to keep our family stabilized with all of our schedules and finances. Finally for school, all three programs will help me produce top notch papers and projects to help me achieve top grades.

The mind map has help me look at what entails my current life schedules and let me decide on timeframes, elements, and priorities in my daily schedule. It lets me figure what branches are bigger than others so I can concentrate on what matter most now and in the future. Decision-making is a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the environment that is constantly changing. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to the shift in the information climate impacting the decision. This is why this map is a great tool for those who need all the data in front of them to make that choice.




Siemens, G. 2009. [Director]. “Connectivism”. Motion Picture


Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Are our Brain there yet?

This week at our course we took a special look at how the brain and learning work together. Most folks including myself believe that the brain is just an organ that is to complex and it will take years before we understand how it works. To my surprise, there has been tons of research and our science has been able to get started on the blue prints of our mind and possibly comprehend how to learn and understand all subjects at a better efficiency.

Learning is important because no one is born with the ability to function competently as an adult in society. Of course we start off at with looking at our younger years. Educators hope that children will transfer learning from one problem to another within a course, from one year in school to another, between school and home, and from school to workplace. One idea is that we must ensure that they are kept in the right path and not doing foolish behavior. In the article “Are Teens Just Wired that way?” by Shanker Vedantam, found some researches that believe that the brains appeared to change in unexpected ways as the youths matured through adolescence.

The hypothesis is controversial because the roots of behavior are intricate and cannot be easily explained by relatively superficial changes in the brain. Critics say the theory reduces the range of teenage behavior to stereotypes. Just because one person’s environment is different from another does not have doom a teenager for the rest of life. "The idea that because the frontal portions of the brain are immature and therefore children undertake risky behavior is nonsense," said John Bruer, president of the James S. McDonnell Foundation (Vedantam, 2001). This type of research need to be further researched to find definite answers. Linking brain alterations with actions probably requires consideration of the complexity of inter-neural connections, which is probably where the chemistry of the brain becomes thought, ideas -- and behavior (Vedantam, 2001). Science isn't there yet, which is why brain images cannot tell the difference between people with IQs of 80 and 160.

Another interesting article came from an online parental magazine called Curious Parents. The article “The Brain & Learning” by Dr. Richard Bucko looked at how brain-based learning may be the most important influence in the way we teach since the first school was founded. Processes of learning and the transfer of learning are central to understanding how people develop important competencies. Three areas that Dr. Bucko mentions in his article were great tips for parents to think about when raising their kids, movement, languages and mental challenges.
Movement primarily dealt with giving plenty of stimuli to the kids during all stages of their lives. Walking thru the park, going to the zoo, museum trips, would give any child’s plenty of stimuli rather than sitting in front of a TV. The use of music aerobics provides an opportunity to combine movement and rhythm—a powerful learning combination (Bucko, 2007)
Language is in important to learning and most folks would not even think it matter at all. Building better talking and listening skills would stimulate the brain immensely. Research provides a clear link between a child's language skills and the quality and quantity of language used in the home (Bucko, 2007). This is most likely an area that is taken very lightly and could easily be fixed immediately.
Mental challenges are basically like any other physical challenge. Remember the brain is like a muscle and needs to work out like any other muscle in the body. Engaging kids in fun facts toys and puzzle where one must be able think and develop answers for their games is more than fun. It’s like doing 50 pushups a day.
This week was certainly a eye opening experience as I have learned that I need to update my own knowledge and develop better systems to not only help my knowledge base but also my kids. One of the most famous commercial I grew up watching always talked about taking drugs and that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. After reading and understand new research on the brain and learning, Taking drugs is not the only factor that stumps your growth in learning but ignorance. There are great tips out there for everyone to improve their knowledge and understanding, and simply ignoring it is a disservice to you and everyone else.

Hermes Sanchez

Vendatam, S, 2001. “Are Teens Just Wired That Way?”. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. pp. A01

Bucko,S,2007. http://www.curiousparents.com/Main/xq/asp/article.Brain_and_learning/qx/article.htm

From Blocks to Blogs

   Back in the day, life was so easy when it came to finding information, data, and knowledge to do your paper, develop new lesson plans or to be up to date on any data.  The library was your main hub of information and only sci-fi movies would only allow people to dream of being able to get this info at home with a small device.  It started with build blocks with the library, and journals. Now with the Internet, it comes in many forms including Blogs.  They are you new source that can get you any journal, magazine, or interview with folks you would have to wait months to read about.  Ever since I started this new course, I was looking forward to learning new ways to gather information and learned that I have been using this technology without even thinking about.  Being a big sports nut and away from my home state of New York, finding information was difficult especially being in the military always on the move.  Blogs have been my savior.  Now with this course I have found three blogs that I know will increase my knowledge base but maybe even make some contribution of my own.
      The first blog I found was elearnspace.org/blog.  This site is well known for posting new learning concepts that being research, new changes in theories of learning, technology that will enhance any instructors class, etc. . .  They have form a good series of tags which can quickly allow anyone to take a glance of a particular topic which would excite any Technology designer.  Furthermore they can help you network with other sites in order to get your proposal of a new process to understand any particular subject.
     The next blog is ideas.blogs.com.  They are primarily looking at e-learning.  With the new technology moving so quickly, its important for any education or designer to make sure and keep up with all types of new tools used in the Internet to teach students.  This blog will be essential to not only stay within course of the world but also be able to ask questions to those who work the issues.
     Finally, the last blog is technologyforcommunities.com.  The last blog help us with using our educational tools and implementing them in the Internet to ensure our students can learn to the best of their ability.  This blog will help us with all the technology tools we will have to use.  Whenever new computer terms come about talking about the RSS feed and the URL link, this blog will give tips and terms that will help those of us who need the idiots guide to be able to achieve these steps.  Learning the new features and tools can work great but sometimes you need a blog to keep it slow and maybe have a few guides that help us not fall behind.
      Blogs have certainly been able not only keep use stay up on the workforce but also allow us to be part of it.  Whenever you feel that you have found a common misconception that has hurt many others, you have the tools to put the word out and help others.  This is probably on of the most beneficial items that blogs have brought to us since the blocks.

Hermes