Portfolio

**Research and Practice in Distance Education**

 * Goal: To be knowledgeable about research in aspects of distance education and the use of telecommunications in educational and other settings.**


 * Objective:** //Create a plan for a topic of a content area (e.g., a thematic unit, a text chapter, an interdisciplinary unit) to demonstrate application of the principles of macro-level design. (1.1.2a )//

The chapter one assignment was to read and review “Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning”. This chapter introduced the new theories for online and distance education. Of particular interest to me was the idea of connectivism, the idea of the learning experience being shared by both the machine and the human using the machine. Chapter two, “Towards a Theory of Online Learning”, was designed to facilitate understanding of the unique environment of online education. It emphasized the Importance of community, interactivity, and functioning in a virtual environment.

The narrated presentation of chapter 10, “The Development of Online Courses”, discusses the many aspects of online course design. It focused on the need to have an active, engaging, collaborative course built around active course design following established design principles. Chapter 13, “The Quality Dilemma in Online Education Revisited”, discusses quality standards that have been proposed for the delivery of online instruction. This narrated presentation focused on developing standards to use in creating, designing, and evaluating quality online education.

The research synthesis project entailed creating an annotated bibliography of articles concerning “Factors Influencing Attrition Rates in Online Education”. This bibliography consisted of research surrounding the high attrition rates seen in online education and possible causative factors.

These assignments were important to me because they represent a new paradigm in education and technology. Ways of comprehending data, teaching skills, and sharing knowledge are all being rewritten as technology advances. Ideas surrounding the development of communities, interactivity, pupil engagement, and student motivation were all discussed, with an emphasis on creating an environment where learners are allowed to learn from the instructor, other students, and the technology itself. It is important for me as a designer and educator to keep abreast of and skilled in the new areas of teaching. I will definitely need to learn and assimilate new theories in the future if I plan on becoming an innovative instructor/designer.

Chapter One Discussion Chapter Two Discussion Narrated Presentation of Chapter 10 Narrated Presentation of Chapter 13 Research Synthesis (Annotated Bibliography)
 * Assignments:**

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 * Goal:** **To critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business settings.**


 * Objective:** //Identify policies and regulations which apply to the utilization, application, and integration of distance delivery technologies. (3.4.5 )//


 * Objective:** //Demonstrate leadership attributes with individuals and groups (e.g., interpersonal skills, group dynamics, team building). (4.0.1 )//

As a group, we were tasked with creating rubric with which to determine the effectiveness of online course sites. This exercise generated an interesting amount of debate concerning how to weigh individual parts of a class. We needed to evaluate the course, but also needed to make sure we gave an adequate amount of weight to each area. With this rubric, we were then asked to evaluate online course sites to determine their effectiveness in conveying the knowledge and skills for which they were designed. As an individual, I enrolled in a class group’s online LMS build to both try out their site and see how they created a virtual class.

This proved to be eye opening for me in that it is evident when a course is designed specifically for online delivery, versus one in which traditional classroom material is simply shared online. These assignments created a schema for me, a basis from which I can determine the effectiveness not only of virtual courses, but also of those which I will create. It was a very effective way to give real world examples of the importance of strategically developing online class material.

LMS Rubric MIT Course Evaluation Yale Course Evaluation [|LingoLearner]
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 * Goal: To construct effective delivery of courses, topics, or training by using existing CMS tools.**


 * Objective**: D//evelop and prepare instructional materials and products for various distance education delivery technologies. (2.4.2 )//


 * Objective:** //Create instructional plans (micro-level design) that address the needs of all learners, including appropriate accommodations for learners with special needs. (1.1.2b)//


 * Objective:** //Incorporate contemporary instructional technology processes in the development of interactive lessons that promote student learning. (1.1.2d )//


 * Objective:** //Demonstrate leadership attributes with individuals and groups (e.g., interpersonal skills, group dynamics, team building). (4.0.1 )//

As a group, we were given the task of constructing an online course using and LMS and creating an individual reflection of our work. The LMS was created collaboratively, and was entitled “An Introduction to Grant Writing”. We used our combine skills to create a course for our classmates using what we learned in this course and those we were previously enrolled in.

This assignment brought together everything we learned into one activity. It was, again, an eye opener. Although I believe we created a very useful and engaging course, it was only afterwards that it became clear that there were small details that should be addressed. In using the rubric from the KMS evaluation assignment, I noticed that I had become caught up in the “big picture” and forgot about important things such as accessibility, outside links, videos/audio, and many other interactive and collaborative tools. I definitely can use the lessons learned from this assignment to create better courses that incorporate more for the learner in the future.

[|LMS Build] LMS Refelction
 * Assignments:**

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