Distance learning is where there is little or no in-person, face to face meetings on one’s learning. I have just found out that it is becoming more common among students who live in rural areas, where students engage in meaningful learning over the internet – distance. Wolcott recommends to minimize the psychological distance for the student there should be a “learner-centered approach” through building rapport, decreasing isolation and enhancing interaction.
To build rapport I strongly affirm with the view that a person’s attitude can affect their own learning. If a student has the attitude that distance learning is “second best” then face to face teaching they can end up self-fulfilling their prophesy. As teachers we should be constantly challenging and building up our students towards learning. Wolcott states that “If our teaching methods demoralise students, rather than challenge them…there is little dignity in being learner”.
Distance learning can be challenging for students this is why it is also important for teachers to aim at decreasing the isolation and enhancing interaction between teacher, student and other students. This could be done through cross-group discussions where students can talk informally to each other, incorporating activities like role playing and case studies. Students could do podcasts and send them to each other, getting feedback. They could enhance social interaction through the use of a blog or a buddy through emails. I just thought that another way to decrease isolation could be to arrange a one-off soical meeting with other students.
I believe that distance learning can be just as effective, if not more practical for those students who are not apart of school environment.
Journal article:
Wolcott, L. (1996). Distant, but not distanced. A learner-centered approach to distance education. TechTrends, 41(4), 23-27.
I just have to realise that technology is all about experimenting, practicing and fiddeling. I am a person that likes to know the clear cut reason behind what I am engaging with and thus find it very difficult to just sit and fiddel on a computer. So from experimenting and playing around for over five hours on two different assignments using two different programs, was all for a *snap* *crackle* *POP* show!! In short i lost both works and now i have to start again. From this I’ve learnt that there are never any guaratees with tech, expect the unexpected. So back to the experimenting, practicing and fiddeling i march.
I will leave you with this thought, if technology is something we are persuing to catch up with, yet we are the designers of our own creations, why then are we struggling to keep up with it?
I found this image and it made me consider many things about a probable future picture of teaching.
The structure of the class will change – there will be a need for bigger tables to accomodate for writng space and a keyboard. The traditional desk underneath the table for storing a students books will no longer be needed as students work will be stored in folders on the computer - therefore the need of books and paper will also go. However, the tapping of keys throughout the day could cause a disturbance to learning, whilst students could also be having their own private discussions across the room if a teacher is trying to model something out the front. This has made think that the focus is now diverted to the screen in front of the desk- whereby the teacher is in competition with the computer to get attention.
In comparison, students would develop skills that enhance their learning- as there would be a higher focus in engaging them.
http://www.online-distance-learning-education.com/images/pic4.jpg
This except from a speech by Papert in the 1980’s clearly conveys his ideas on educational innovation by the two approaches of Constructionism and Instructionism. “Instructionism is the theory that says, “To get better education, we must improve instruction. And if we’re going to use computers, we’ll make the computers do the instruction.” Whilst “Constructionism” is the view that learning is precedded from constructing knowledge. So thereby knowledge is constructed from being “teacher” over the computer.
This makes me ponder and question “What kind of teacher am I?” Do I follow the constructivist approach or am I more of an Instructionalist in my teaching?
http://www.papert.org/articles/const_inst/const_inst1.html
“We prepare youth for full participation as productive and effective citizens in an increasing global economy”.
I discovered this website in my exploration. This worldwide school net community with 90,000 members from 194 countries addresses 21st century technology ideas that interplay in the lives of children today. It has opened my eyes to a new dimension of meaningful project learning experiences that can take place in the class and be connected with other people around the world. This website will be a good tool to use as a future teacher to assist with ideas and propelling lessons towards collaborative learning on a global scale, which I think is crucial for students to be involved with. This allows them to connect and share ideas and experiences with others whilst improving their social skills.
http://www.globalschoolnet.org/index.cfm
Have you ever built a sandcastle?? Well then you are a Constructionist! Harel depicts explicitly the nature of “Constructionism” as being consciously engaged in the building and designing of a public entity – ‘in the present moment’. Sandcastles are built upon, shared with, played with and dug around in the present moment. They cannot be extended or added to from the past or future, as they are not continuous entities. Similarly, technology is built upon in the present moment. They are shared with others, played with and are tool for digging around and finding new information. However, unlike the sandcastle they can be added to and modified over time to create better models than what previously had existed. Just like building a sandcastle – there is no boundaries; it is open ended play, hence technology is exactly the same. We are open to constructing whatever we like, where we like by engaging in open-ended play. Constructionism, emerged from Seymour Papert that encourages open-ended play which suggests that children learn best when they are in the role of a designer or constructor. So when considering the role of technology when teaching, we should be encouraging children to experiment and play and not restrict their play to certain resources. This allows them to become the constructionists of their own learning.
This is my 2nd vodcast on the 6 C’s of Motivation….
meeeee
This is a funny clip in the US on the significance of maths today, i thought people may enjoy it.
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