Best Practices – Converting to a Distance Learning Format

What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?

            As the trainer begins planning for the conversion, it is important that they consider who the learners are, as well as the objectives that the training is setting out to address.  With these in mind, the trainer should work to ground the delivery in a distance education theory.  According to Dr. Saba (n.d.), theory serves as a guide or a map to help practice. Equivalency theory is a practical place to start, which focuses on learning outcomes. The goal is not to create an identical experience to the classroom experience, but to provide an equivalent learning experience to meet those outcomes (Simonson, n.d.).  In a training situation, where adults are the primary audience, Andragogy is also valuable to help understand the characteristics of learners as well as the characteristics of systems that will support their learning at a distance.

What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?

 

All aspects of the original training program should be looked at to see how they could be enhanced in a distance format.  Beldarrain (2006) states that regardless of the delivery method, technology should:

(1) Encourage contact between students and faculty.

(2) Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students.

(3) Use active learning techniques.

(4) Give prompt feedback.

(5) Emphasize time on task.

(6) Communicate high expectations.

(7) Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.

How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?

 

            Generally, trainers are used to functioning in a “teacher-centered” model.  A distance model which uses andragogy as the theoretical framework is however a “student-centered” model.  The trainer needs to be prepared to move from simply delivering content, to facilitating learners in actively engaging and participating in the process (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).

What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

 

            The two primary things that a trainer can do to encourage trainees to communicate online are establishing a classroom culture that is conducive to learning and establish the rules of etiquette to be used within the online environment (Simonson, et al 2009).

            Establishing a culture (or environment) that promotes respect and dignity for the adult learner is a key component of Andragogy (Simonson, et al 2009).  The creation of the culture is the responsibility of all participants, but since students do tend to look to the trainer for leadership (Paz Dennen, V. 2005), the trainer does play an important role.

            Particularly if learners are new to an online environment, it is important that they understand the complexity of the setting and how to participate in an appropriate manner. Adult learners need to feel supported and it is important that ground rules are established so comments are not directed toward a person (Simonson, et al 2009).  The trainer plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining the etiquette of a classroom which will help ensure that all participants have the experience of being supported.

References

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.

Paz Dennen, v. (2005) From Message Posting to Learning Dialogues: Factors affecting learner participation in asynchronous discussion. Distance Education, 26 (1)127–148.

Saba, Theory and Distance Learning [Video] (n.d.)

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

The Impact of Open Source

I had certainly heard about “open courses” offered by a number of universities in the past, but had never taken the time to explore one of them before. This week, I looked through the courses available through the Open Yale courses program: http://oyc.yale.edu/   In particular, I looked at “PLSC 114: Introduction to Political Philosophy (Fall, 2006)” which can be found at: http://oyc.yale.edu/political-science/introduction-to-political-philosophy

Simonson et. al (2009) list a number of sets of best practices in course design for distance education. If we look at this Open Yale courses against the six criteria used to design the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network, these “open courses” do not meet any of the criteria:

1.    They are based on clearly established learning needs and built around succinct statements of outcome.
- The Syllabus outlines what will be “taught”, but not outcomes.

2.    They are based on a variety of teaching and learning strategies and methods that are activity based….
- Teaching strategies include lectures and readings, no learning strategies are addressed.

3.    Effective distance learning materials are experiential… they address the learner’s life experience….
- Learners get the experience of listening to a lecture or reading – and participating in a survey at the end.

4.    Quality distance learning programs are participatory in that they emphasize the involvement of the learner in all facets of program development and delivery.
- This is where the course really falls short. The program is instructor centered, not learner centered.

5.    Successful distance learning programs are interactive and allow frequent opportunities for participants to engage in a dialogue with subject-matter experts and other learners.
- Absolutely no opportunity to engage in dialogue with the instructor, experts or other learners.

6.    Learner support systems are an integral part of any successful distance learning program.
- Learner support is essentially a FAQ page to assist with technical issues.

Are they really courses?

I’m not sure that it is fully appropriate to call these “courses”, as there is no opportunity for interaction available with the instructor, or others who may be participating in the course. The aim expressed on the Open Yale courses site is “to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.” (Yale, 2011). Absolutely, this project has made materials available – but are materials on their own a “course”? Where is the interaction, the evaluation and the application of learning? If they are looked at purely as “resources”, they are excellent – but when judged as “courses” they fall short.

I couldn’t help but think of the line from the movie Good Will Hunting (1997). , “…you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a ****** education you coulda' got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library”.  I remember thinking when I heard that line the first time that dear Will had missed the point of education. It’s about more than just acquiring knowledge through books (or online lectures). While I commend Yale for putting these “resources” online – they are just that – resources and are not an education.

References:
Open Yale courses, (2011). Retrieved from: http://oyc.yale.edu/

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

 

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

The technological solution needs to consider a number of factors.

This week, we have been assigned the task of looking at a scenario and proposing 1-2 technologies to use in addressing this scenario.  We’ll look this scenario from the framework of finding technological solutions that address:

1.    The Scenario

2.    The Requirement

3.    The Assumptions

4.    The Instructional Designer (ID)

5.    Support for the ID (and the Solution

The Scenario: Asynchronous Training

In an effort to improve its poor safety record, a biodiesel manufacturing plant needs a series of safety training modules. These stand-alone modules must illustrate best practices on how to safely operate the many pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor. The modules should involve step-by-step processes and the method of delivery needs to be available to all shifts at the plant. As well, the shift supervisors want to be sure the employees are engaged and can demonstrate their learning from the modules.

The Requirements:

As a starting point, let’s look at the requirements that this scenario needs to address:

1.    Independent design of modules so they can stand-alone

2.    Design which contains step-by-step processes

3.    Continual availability so that training can be done by all shifts

4.    Design that engages employees

5.    Reporting that will demonstrate that learning has occurred

The Assumptions:

With the requirements down, the ID needs to ask some questions about the technology available at the delivery point.  From these answers, come assumptions which will serve as parameters for the technology that can be used for creating the training modules.  So, let’s say that the ID asked some further questions and discovered the following about the organization and delivery environments that were available:

1.    The organization does not have any existing Learning Management System (LMS) or Learning Content Management System (LCMS).  A LMS will need to be considered in the solution, as the focus will be on individuals and tracking individual needs and learning outcomes over time (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2009).

2.    The organization does not have the internal ability to support these modules technically and is not open to purchasing or installing a LMS or LCMS that they will need to maintain.

3.    Web-enabled, high-speed terminals are available at each work-station within the plant with audio capabilities.

4.    The organization is not able to support additional follow-up with subject matter experts.   The modules truly need to be self-contained without any expectation of instructor or subject matter expert interaction with learners.

These assumptions need to be considered into the technology choices as well.

The ID:

The technological assumptions help to narrow down the choices.  The technological capabilities of the ID need to be considered, as well as the budget for the project.  So, let’s say that the ID has skill adequate enough to use video, audio and image editing software to support the development of the modules and has adequate skills to use a basic “What you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) development environment, but not enough budget to develop highly complex and customized interactivity using a tool such as Flash.  The ID also does not have significant technological skill in terms of determining interoperability issues that may arise related to integrating the modules with the LMS (and there is no technical back-up from the organization to deal with this either).

The Solution:

With all of these requirements, assumptions and parameters in mind, the ID sets out to find a set of technological solutions that meets all of the criteria.  The criteria that poses the greatest challenge in this situation, is the need for LMS tracking functionality without having the ability or technological support to house the LMS internally.  This eliminates some of the alternatives available that seamlessly allow the ID to create modules and publish them to a LMS (i.e. Lectora Products). 

What the ID ultimately proposes in this scenario is:

a)    Stand-alone modules  developed using the Articulate Studio (which includes Articulate Presenter, Engage for creating step-by-step scenarios, and Quizmaker for creating evaluations to measure learning)

b)    LMS tracking and reporting capabilities supported through Articulate Online (which is designed to support delivery of the Articulate modules).

The Support:

This full solution set has been used successfully by organizations such as Quality Health Australia P/L and EMsono, LLC (Articulate, n.d.).  Creation of stand-alone modules using Articulate Studio, which support employee engagement and delivery of step-by-step processes and evaluation to measure learning have been implemented by many organizations.  Articulate also has a strong, active community of users which can/will serve to support the ID when they encounter questions and/or issues with development and/or deployment.

References:

Articulate:  www.articulate.com

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a

         distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Distance Learning

Old Definition:

Learning activities where the instructor and learner are not interacting within the same physical space at the same time is what I would say was my personal definition of distance learning prior to completing the readings this week.  This includes paper-based correspondence courses where communications are sent back and forth by mail, distance education courses, corporate training done in a self-study or webinar format as well as coaching that may be done by phone or through other media.  It includes all formal and informal learning that occurs in this manner.

When Dr. Simonson described “Distance Education” in the video this week, he defined it as “Formal education in which the learning group (teacher, students, resources) are separated by geography and, sometimes by time (Simonson, n.d.) .  It includes both “distance teaching” and “distance learning”.  So in this context, “distance learning” is a part of “distance education”, but not synonymous.  When I review my original definition, I can see that there is a collapse between “distance teaching” and “distance learning”.  I don’t think that the mediums add any value to the definition either, as they are not 100% inclusive and I don’t believe that informal learning belongs in this definition either.

Revised Definition:

My revised definition  of distance education would now be:

Formal learning activities that occur where there is a distance between the learner and the source of the instruction. 

Future Evolution:

As distance learning continues to evolve, I think that ultimately, learner preferences will move more to the forefront.  I see a significant shift occurring (which has already started) where learner needs and desires move to the forefront, over those of instructors or institutions.  This will include considerations on the “when and where” that Simonson et. al (2009) speaks to.  The mediums of the future will be learner driven.  Those that don’t suit learners will die out – and those that are preferred will thrive.   Learners will continue to become more sophisticated as consumers of learning, and there will be less and less tolerance for poor quality as the field becomes more competitive and learner driven.  I also see “community” taking a larger role than it currently does, with more teaching and learning occurring through that vehicle than in the more formal structure that we are used to.

References:
Distance Education: The Next Generation [Video]. (n.d.)

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

Humble Pie - Week 1

Well, it looks like I have to admit that I didn't fully read the instructions for the Blog Assignment this week and catch that I was supposed to post an initial welcoming note...  Definitely a significant miss on my part.

With that said, welcome to my blog EDUC-6135-4 Distance Learning cohorts. I'm looking forward to learning with and from you over the upcoming weeks.

Fitting the Pieces Together

Fitting the Pieces Together

This week, we have been tasked with revisitng “how we learn” and responding to a few questions about how our views have changed after seven weeks of exploring learning theories and styles.

Now that you have a deeper understanding of the different learning theories and learning styles, how has your view on how you learn changed?

While I enjoyed the opportunity to re-visit learning theories in this course, I cannot say that it has changed my view on how I learn.  I still see that I learn physical tasks best through behavioural strategies, only wish to learn things which have immediate relevance to me which is addressed through cognitive strategies and see that I am an active participant in constructing knowledge in many domains.  Praxis is still important to me as well.

Where my views did change, were in applications of learning theories such as connectivism outside of the audience that I am most familiar with (adults).  I found a great deal of value in exploring this and expanding my perspective in this domain.

What have you learned about the various learning theories and learning styles over the past weeks that can further explain your own personal learning preferences?

How I learn, is very much linked to the type of task.  I found great value in the exploration of the conversations that occurred in Karl Kaplan and  Bill Kerr’s blogs, which were summed up in the phrase “using _isms as a filter and not as a blinker” (Kerr,2007).  There is value in looking at all approches – and using them where they suit the goal best instead of sticking to any one.

I also appreciated the clarification made by Dr. Ormond that there really are only two different learning styles – and that there is value in focusing on strategies over styles (Ormond, 2009).  There has been significant conversation around learning styles in the ID and Educational spheres over the years.  Howard Gardner summed it up well in that “Whether a student falls into one or more of Gardner's nine dimensions of multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal or naturalist intelligence, the focus of instructional design should be the educational goals (Gardner, 2008).

What role does technology play in your learning (i.e., as a way to search for information, to record information, to create, etc.)?

Technology plays a significant role in my own learning.  Technology assists me in searching for information, recording it, creating it – and connecting with others to help me construct knowledge.  Technology (in many different forms) also provides me feedback on how I am doing, and whether or not I am meeting my learning goals.

References:

Gardner, H. (2008). The 25th anniversary of the publication of Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.howardgardner.com/Papers/papers.html on February 20, 2011.

Kerr, B. (2007, January 01). _ism as filter, not blinker [Blog]. Retrieved from http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Ormrod, J. (2009) Video:  Learning Styles and Strategies.

Constructivism

We were asked to create a .jpg representation of our own learning network.  Here is mine:

This week, as we looked at connectivism, we were also asked to reflect on a number of questions:

How has your network changed the way you learn?
I’m not sure that I can answer how my network has "changed" the way that I learn – but can speak to how it has impacted the way that I learn. I have always had a network. As a pre-schooler, it consisted of my family, neighbours, church members, and members of the physical community that I lived in. Over time, my network has grown and I have also grown more comfortable with age in using my full network for learning when required. As my network grows, so does the richness of knowledge that is available to me. It is important to recognize when we look at our network – that it does not "end" with the individuals within our network. Each of those individuals has their own network as well that becomes a part of our "extended" network. I can’t say that I have always been aware of my network though, and the value that it brings to learning. Reading John Seely Brown’s book in 2002, "The Social Life of Information" (Seely Brown, & Duguid, 2002) was probably the first event that started bringing the awareness of my network as a learning tool into my awareness. After reading that book, I started to recognize how my network, and the context of my network shapes my own information and learning

Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?
Google would be the highest on my list for digital tools that facilitate learning for me. The whole World Wide Web exists as a function of "connections", and Google helps navigate through the information to find what is relevant.

After Google, I would have to say that the "tool" is closely related to the context. For example, if I am troubleshooting or trying to work through a new application with software – forums seem to work best. If I am looking for information about a specific organization, or specialized knowledge – I often go to my LinkedIn network to see if I know someone there who might have the answer (and if they don’t know the answer – they have a high-likelihood of knowing who would).

How do you gain new knowledge when you have questions?
This may seem like an over-simplified response – but I gain new knowledge when I have questions by actually asking those questions and seeking a response. Whether I am typing my question into Google, sending the question by email to someone, searching for it (and the answer) on a forum – it all starts with asking. Simply asking though, does not guarantee a response – or more importantly a "quality" response. When I have a question – there generally is a context for it. If the response doesn’t fit or work – it leads me to more questions to try and get to what I need, in the context I am working in.

In what ways does your personal learning network support or refute the central tenets of connectivism?
For this question, it is important to consider the seven principles that George Siemens believes are core to connectivism (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008):

• Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.
• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.

As I look at my own learning network, I am unable to see any area (or application) of my network that refutes these principles so I would have to say that my personal learning network supports the central tenets of connectivism.

The next question this leads to is "Why"? This goes beyond the scope of what was asked here, but I think that there is value in exploring this. My work for the past 13 years has been in the domain of eLearning, primarily for corporations. It is the intersection of technology, learning and performance. If I had chosen a different career path, would my learning network, and my view of the importance of a learning network and all of the principles that Siemens has listed have evolved differently? If survival and growth within this industry wasn’t contingent on having and using a rich learning network, would I have developed such a rich network otherwise?

References:
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

Seely Brown, J., & Duguid, P. (2002). The Social Life of Information. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

Applying Research on the Brain to Learning

How smart is it really to apply brain research to learning?

For many years, I’ve had a fascination with understanding how the brain works, and using that knowledge to create better educational and training experiences for learners.   For this blog post, I decided to explore the other side of my bias and see what criticisms existed related to applying brain-based research to learning.

The New Horizon’s web-site offers some very thoughtful articles on the linkages between brain-based research and learning.  I particularly found value in an article by Dee Dickson where she poses a number of questions that she feels educators should be asking neuroscientists around how to apply their research to education.  She argues that historically, educators have used neuroscience as a way to support existing methodology and to create cases for approaches that they would like to use vs. actually using findings in meaningful and appropriate ways.

I also appreciated the editorial by Elsbeth Stern in Science Magazine titled “Pedagogy meets Neuroscience”.  Stern illustrates in this article that research in neuroscience can (and is) taken out of context when applied to learning – with only the portions of the research that “support” a learning methodology used.  She uses the example of the research findings on rapid synaptic development that occur early in life which has been used to create a case for teaching infants vocabularies and broad based facts with audiovisual materials.  She accurately points out that it is not clear whether there is a long-term benefit to infants learning so much un-related material early in life, and whether or not these children ultimately perform better than their peers.  In Canada, our educational priorities have shifted radically towards early years programs as a result of this same research.  Unfortunately, this focus on the first five years has been at the expense of programs for the remaining 60+ years of a person’s life. 

So, while I still whole-heartedly believe that understanding how the brain works can help us create better training and educational experience, I do also appreciate the danger of educators and educational policy makers relying only on brain-based research to make changes to current systems.  My hope is that as we move forward with further advances in neuroscience, that greater cross-over between the disciplines of learning and neuroscience occur.

References:

Retrieved from the New Horizon’s website:  http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/front_neuro.html

Stern, Elsbeth. "Pedagogy meets neuroscience." Science 210.5749 (2005): 745. Expanded Academic ASAP.

Instructional Design and eLearning

This week, I'm taking a look at three different blogs that are relevant to instructional design in eLearning:

1. Allen Interactions - eLearning Leadership Blog
2. Clive on Learning
3. The Rapid eLearning Blog

Allen Interactions - eLearning Leadership Blog


Ethan Edwards


This blog is maintained by Ethan Edwards, the chief instructional strategist at Allen Interactions. Ethan injects a fair amount of humour into his work here, and challenges instructional designers and developers to re-think many of their preconceptions about what eLearning should look like, and how it should function to be effective.

Allen interactions is a custom eLearning development company which was started by Michael Allen.  I've enjoyed a number of Michael Allen's books over the years including his "Guide to e-Learning". 


Clive on Learning


Clive Sheppard


Clive Sheppard is one of the more active bloggers who touches on instructional design in his eLearning blog. Clive reviews books, case studies, trends and explores a number of questions that are relevant to eLearning. 

Clive is based in the UK, I appreciate the "global" perspective that his blog brings to eLearning and instructional design. He isn't afraid to challenge assumptions and invites his readers to do the same.


The Rapid eLearning Blog


Tom Kuhlmann


I've saved my favourite for last - Tom Kuhlmann's "The Rapid eLearning Blog". Tom works with Articulate and has been a key force in creating a community of committed Articulate users through is weekly posts. The content is geared towards using the Articulate toolset, and creating meaningful and visually engaging learning experiences.

Even though Tom only blogs once a week, he is still one of the more regular bloggers in the field of eLearning. His posts are relevant, useful and engaging.  All things that good eLearning should be.  Each week I learn something new from his blog that I am actually able to apply to the work that I do.  Many blogs on instructional design and eLearning focus very heavily on the theoretical and philosophical end of creating learning experiences.  Tom's post are very practical and hands on and I appreciate that a great deal.