Authors Simonson, Smaldino, and Zvacek (2015), describe and open source management system as a free management system that supports learning and meets specific needs of a learning community. The course I choose to review was Human Emotion presented by Yale University’s Psychology department. I first accessed this course though my iTunes U app on my smartphone, however, when I attempted to search online on Yale’s Open Yale Course website, the course was not available. I believe that since this is a newer course (dated October 14, 2013), it has been integrated in iTunes U rather than being available on the website: http://oyc.yale.edu/. I will also be providing screenshots throughout my discussion to demonstrate my experiences as I navigated this course.

Figure 1: Screenshot of the course page on iTunes U.

      Overall, as a browsed contents of this course, it appears to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment. The first design element that I noticed prior to viewing the course, is that there is a video and audio component of the lecture, supplemented by an audio only component of the same lecture. I enjoy this features as this gives the participant the opportunity to choose how much data they are willing to use to access a lecture. For instance, for a participant who does not have access to Wi-Fi, they can choose the option of listening to the audio only, unless there is access to connect to an available network.  Another element that indicates this course was carefully planned is the orientation that is given prior to the actual lecture. During this course orientation, the instructor June Gruber provided an overview on how the course is structured, what to expect and offered external links to be successful in the course.

Figure 2: Screenshot of course orientation.

    In Simonson et al’s text (2015), the authors outlined four recommendations for distance delivered instruction which includes:

Organizational Guidelines

      While this course does not follow this guideline, it is still organized in a manner that it clearly outlines which topics it is going to cover and also indicates if it is the actual lecture, take away questions, or the expert interviews.

Assessment Guidelines

    The authors indicate that for distance delivered instruction, it should have at least one major assignment per unit and one major assignment per two or three modules. One feature of this course is that at the end of each lecture, take home questions are provided to viewers to reflex on what was discussed. After each lecture, participants have the option of participating in a live discussion panel to discuss information presented in the lecture and pose any additional questions one may have had.

Content Guidelines

      Not only are videos and audio files are available through the iTunes U app, but there is also a supplemental website in which participants can access additional materials, external links, and the expert series that is also available in catalog listing.

Instruction/Teaching Guidelines

      Unfortunately, I was not able to review this guideline as videos were not time/date stamped and all the episodes of the course were listed.

One of the best activities that I found to maximize active learning for participants was the opportunity and individual has to participate in the live discussion available. While there are no discussion boards available for this course, the live discussion session is a great alternative to encourage discussion and collaboration amount students.

Reference:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., and Zvacek, S. (2015). Instructional design for distance education. In Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th ed., pp. 153-156). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc. 

Learning Management Systems at Work

      Described as one of the key components of e-learning, asynchronous learning is described as learning that is facilitated by various media such as discussion boards or email. This type of learning is supported by collaboration and learning between participants and the teacher, even when they all cannot be in the online environment at the same time (Hrastinski, 2008). This week, I choose the example of asynchronous training to explore. In this example, it described a biodiesel manufacturing plant that needs to implement safety training modules to staff regardless of their shift, and also a way for supervisors to monitor employees learning and engagement.

      Given this challenge, the first distance learning technology that I think suitable for this scenario will be the use of a learning management system (LMSs). According to Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek (2015), unlike a course management system that focus on instructor management, a LMSs main focus is on the participant learning and learning outcomes over a period of time. In the example provided, it stressed the importance of shift supervisors being able to monitor employee’s growth to ensure that the modules promote learning in the workplace.

      In a 2014 article by Harven, several examples were chronicles several universities debating the switch from course management systems to learning management systems. In the article, one Associate Vice President of academic technologies at Santa Fe College, admits that the university was successfully able to switch to Canvas by Instructure due to its ease of use. One of the benefits highlighted in this article of using a LMSs, was that participants were primarily in control of their learning and they were able to track their progresses in each course far better than in a CMS.  

      In discussing CMS and LMS, I found an interesting graphic from mfldstein.com/state-us-higher-education-lms-market-2014-edition/ that shows the progression and development in the switch from CMS to LMS. This graphic is particularly interesting as it shows the shift from facilitator management to participant management.

      The above graphic demonstrates that although blackboard (a CMS) still has a share in the distance education market, LMS platforms continue to emerge and place their mark on the industry. The LMS platforms noted above are Canvas, Sakai, Moodle, Angel, Brightspace, and Learning Studio from Person. As displayed in the graphic, from 1997 through the early 2000’s, CMS had a monopoly on the distance education market, however that started to shift with the introduction of the LMS. While not completely phased out, the graphic clearly shows the development and successful implementation of LMS in not only corporate institutions, but also in higher learning institutions as well.

References:

Harven, M. (2014, July 10). Changing learning management systems in higher education. Retrieved November 13, 2015, from http://edtechtimes.com/2014/07/10/grumbling-learning-management-systems/

Hill, P. (2014, October 22). State of the US higher education LMS market: 2014 Edition. Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://mfeldstein.com/state-us-higher-education-lms-market-2014-edition/

Hrastinski, S. (2008). Asynchronous & Synchronous e-learning. Educause Quarterly, 4, 51. 

      In 2008 when I started my online degree, my distance learning experience involved about 65% online learning while the other 35% of the time was spent in the physical classroom. At that time, everyone in my class resided in the state I lived in because we convened at least two days during the week for classroom time. My definition back then was: “distance learning is the process that afforded a student the ability to partake in classroom due to lack of time or some other instance, while still being able to have an educational community to support that learning.” Stating this course truly exposed me to what distance learning truly is: “A community of learners regardless of location, who are facilitated and guided electronically with the hopes of attaining the same goal; expansion of knowledge while obtaining a degree. While it may not be the same as an expert definition, Simonson, Smaldino, and Zvacek (2015), defined distance learning as “institution based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.”

      As I have learned in education, no definition remains the same as thoughts, and now technology are constantly evolving producing better ways of thinking and more efficient ways of doing things. Because of this evolution, the future of distance education will not remain as it is today, or even two years from now: what would work in today’s world, will not necessarily work in the future. This does not mean that what we are doing now will be null and void, however, the future holds much promise for advancement and new technologies. Distance education is not all about technological creations, but as the three part article from Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008) discussed, facilitators and instructional designers alike have as much as a stake in the advancement of distance education.

      In my current career, the value of any type of education is held to a certain standard as high expectations are place on employees after taking the course. While not all courses are delivered online, the ones that are hold great promotional opportunities to employees, while classes held at a physical location are more for personal development. In addition, the distance education opportunities that are presented online by my employers, offer an immediate solution to training employees on the ever changing policies. For instance, during open enrollment for health insurance every year, rather than reduce customer service man hours, job aids are created for online learning so that employees are able to multi-task learning and actual production. I believe that distance education will have a different meaning in each field as each organization has different goals to fulfill. Distance education is not one dimensional as there are many reasons in which organizations and individuals choose to participate: ease of access, limited travel resources, ease of distribution of content, and a host of many others. Maybe ten years ago technical knowledge may have played a role but I no longer believe this is the case as the advent of smart phones and constant software and hardware upgrades are constant.

      In my opinion, the strength in the distance education course that my company provides is that content is used every day and the added benefit of being able to receive promotions or merit raises from partaking in the course. For instance, to advance from a Grade 9 to a Grade 10, employees will have to take a total of three course within their first year of employment. I clearly remember nearing my one year anniversary at my job, even though I was achieving all of the metrics set forth by the company, I still had to participate in various distance education programs that were available on the company’s intranet. In this instance, distance education will continue to flourish due to the investment placed into it. While this is the case at my organization, another organization may not stress the importance and value in distance education for its employees. I believe that it is up to each organization to continuously train and invest in its IDs to continue the expansion of distance education programs.

      As we continue to experience changes and upgrades in technology, I strongly believe that it is up to stakeholders to keep up-to-date and grow with it. Education is not stand alone and we must all make an effort to ensure its growth. While traditional institutions will not go away, it must be understood that increasing work, family, and personal commitments will continue to change the meaning of not only education but also distance education. In my hopes for the future of distance education, trainers will be able to hold short (about 15 minutes) video sessions in a training environment that encourage interaction among employees especially in large organizations. I believe there are enough programs available for this, however, other variables such as upgrading computer systems and maintaining productivity will have to be worked out.

     

Resources

Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web.Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(4), 66-70. doi:10.1007/s11528-008-0179-0

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Definitions, history, and theories of distance education. In Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6^th ed., pp31-40). United States, USA: IAP