Blog Review

I found blogging a little strange at first since this is all new to me. I felt at ease in writing it but also isolated. I had a peer who would comment on my thoughts but who else would ever see it. I tried to blog about course material but I often found myself drifting to life experiences in training, DE and teaching.

I enjoyed reading Robin's blog. I also read my other classmate's blog. Reading those blogs allow me to see what my peers were thinking about the course material. I applaud those who have years of experience in the DE world and or the ISD world. I was like a sponge soaking up what I read.

Often time my Pedagogy experience kicked as I try to relate what I taught, in 1994-1999 in the US Army, to today's transmission models. I must say those experiences are outdated but they gave me a great foundation in DE. Most of the technology did not exist or was not fully developed 10-15 years ago. There were no PDAs and most folks did not understand synchronous and asynchronous distant learning online. I actually love the asynchronous format.

From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side

After Reading the board, the notes reminds me of some training I had in a System Approach to Training Class at Ft. Sill, Okla in 1994. The "Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side" was used a lot. I did not really understand it since I was a new Instructor Candidate. However, I've always come back to the same except from Alison King.

Here's another one, an excerpt from an article in College English by Alison King:
In most college classrooms, the professor lectures and the students listen and take notes. The professor is the central figure, the "sage on the stage," the one who has the knowledge and transmits that knowledge to the students, who simply memorize the information and later reproduce it on an exam-often without even thinking about it. This model of the teaching- learning process, called the transmittal model, assumes that the student's brain is like an empty container into which the professor pours knowledge. In this view of teaching and learning, students are passive learners rather than active ones. Such a view is outdated and will not be effective for the twenty-first century, when individuals will be expected to think for themselves, pose and solve complex problems, and generally produce knowledge rather than reproduce it.

From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side
Journal article by Alison King; College Teaching, Vol. 41, 1993

Assignment #1 Grade

I got my grade back today for Assignment #1 and it was a 88. I think my grade would have been better for few reasons.

1. I had a few format errors.
2. I did some good research but my content could have been pieced together a little better.
3. I did not spend enough time on the paper. I put it together over a 4th of July weekend while I was in New Orleans.

With all that being said, it is really no excuse. I did some good research but I shorted myself by not setting my priorities for the assignment and then by not letting someone review the paper.I guess as Adult Learns, we think we still can cram everything it too a short period of time w/o having any consequences. I guess as a formal Military Instructor with a MBA we know all of the short cuts. My next effort will be better!

Dave

Robin's Blog response

Robin,

What was the most challenging issue did you have with WebEx and Desire2Learn? After reading the chapters, and then preparing my project, it appears that the Asynchronous format is leading the way. Synchronous still requires you to meet a schedule. I need flexibility as I get older and my schedule becomes more hectic.

Dave

PS: I've tried to post to your blog to two different occasions from two different locations.

Bricks and Mortars vs. DE

I'm trying to analyze my educational experience from childhood to present day. In the past, and BTW I'm only 45, we were in brick and mortar schools with the old style desk and chair combos or with the standard chairs made of wood that hurt your butt. Learning was Teacher centered. Our learning came from books, paper and pencils, chalkboard examples and illustrations. If you missed a class, you had the beg the teach for the work or some type of extra credit. We played Dodge Ball and clean our rooms. We formed lines as we marched out to play and when we left for the day.

As an adult, I had to figure out what I wanted to take in school since no Teacher existed at that stage. There was a Guidance Counselor but who really used them after establishment of your initial road map? Today it's like "I have to go" because I want better pay or I want to become something in life. It has become task oriented instead of fun oriented.

However, with DE, adults have taken some of the boredom out of school. We are able to meet our educational goals on our schedule. The comfort of the Teaching holding our hands has disappeared somewhat but the trade off is FLEXIBILITY. The desk and chairs have been replaced with the Internet, computers and e-mail. We even use virtual blackboards that exist on computer servers somewhere in the universe.

I'm not sure if things have been made easier or did we complicate easier things?

DE vs F2F.....

So far the course has made me reflect on my teach still and my approach to training and learning at a Distance. One thing I do have to be aware of it that the technology used in DE is constantly changing. I used Blackboard in one class and Webtycho in another class. Both are asynchronous learning and offer some similarities. Blackboard appears to be more user friendly which is a plus since students don't want to waste time trying to figure out the LMS. I say this because I had some issues trying to upload my assignment. It's a snap using Blackboard by with Webtyco I had to add an extra step..(brain freeze)

Our current Module we are discussing the differences between DE learning and Face to Face learning. For me, and when I was teaching, I always felt a level of comfort by seeing the Teacher's face. I knew I could always ask a question or in fact wait on another student to ask a question when I was afraid to, in order to get the answer or concept I was looking for.

I taught in the US Army from 94-99 and it was a great experience. One thing I did notice was there were students who couldn't learn from the Instructor no matter how many times or how many different ways I taught the subject. They would actually learn from their peers in nightly student hall. I determine that they just did not have confident in themselves or the process. In fact, the less confident students, actually did better than the peer. DE doesn't offer that aspect of learning. In Asynchronous learning it's every man for himself unless we are assigned a team project.

DE learning, (asynchronous) does offer flexibility which I think is what is required for the working adult. I'm in 6-7 meeting a week and many of them overlap. Currently, I could not be focus on a scheduled synchronous course. Moore and Kearsley indicate that one of the key objectives for successful completion of a DE course is to encourage students to be as autonomous as possible in their learning process (p.105) I couldn't be motivated enough by listening to what appears to be another boring routine meeting....Sounds too much like work...lol

DH

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2011). Distance education: A systems view (3rd ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Summer Classes

It is funny that I'm taking to two online classes, Instructional System Design and Distance Learning., that are fairly similar. Both are presented in the asynchronous format but they used different learning management systems. Both classes have similarities and sometime overlap in their approaches. In my reading and my research, one class seems to reinforce the other.

I actually had a problem with one, mainly because I was impatient, when I tried to upload my project for my DE Class. This should be a interesting ride going down the stretch. I chalk in up as to getting back in the swing on school after a five year break.

DH