- From Chapter 28 locate 5 examples of distributed learning. You may pick and choose from the following list.
Corporate distributed learning
Dale Carnegie Training http://www.dalecarnegie.com/
DCT is a performance based corporate training company that also offfer individual development opportunities. Classes can be taken through 2 and 3 day seminars, through webinars or live online sessions.
2) Academic distributed learning
Dallas County Community College District provides all of their online classes through Dallas TeleCollge. Students may specifically attend the online college for a full virtual experience or mix this option with classes taken on campus. Online classes can be assessed through the school’s online service called ECampus.
3) Distributed resource support
Global Virtual Classroom http://www.virtualclassroom.org/
GVC is a free online website that allows teachers and students from around the world to collaborate through virtual classes, activities and resources.
4) Distributed learning via virtual institutions
Connections Academy of Texas
5) Skills-based training
EnCompass LLC www.encompassworld.com
EnCompass is a consulting firm that provides skill based training for business development, in person and through an e-learning system.
- Chapter 29 discusses the concept of reusability. Think back over the courses you've had over your educational career and identify one with poor reusability characteristics. Explain how the course could be redesigned to improve reusability without changing the underlying content.
I took a self-paced history class in western civilization that could have been redesigned to improve reusability. This course involved having one meeting with the instructor at the beginning of the class to detail what was expected of students. The format of this class was to read 4 to 5 chapters at home and to take a test in the testing center without any teacher involvement throughout the semester. Although the convenience of this class was a plus, the chapters were very long and I needed a component that would allow me to focus on main ideas in each chapter. What I would consider important throughout the chapters would not be the material on the test. An online module through the school’s e-learning system would have allowed the instructor to create online lecture slides that would give students a focal point as we read through a mountain of material.
Another component that would improve reusability for me is videos, especially for history lessons. I recently watched a television series called the Tudors, which is a reenactment of the life of Henry the VIII of England. I learned so much about this important part of history. Watching the series made me realize how hard it is for students to relate to a time period of the past without having a visual part for them to relate to.
- Chapter 30 takes a look at using rich media. Find or create a visual for instruction describing its surface and functional features.
After starting a new career in teaching, I have talked to many parents who are seeking for a way to help their children read at home. One main complaint is that they lack the ability to hold their child’s attention while reading books with them. In looking for resources to help parents and myself with students in reading, I found the website, www.starfall.com. This website covers the same areas of teaching students to read in early childhood that is used in classrooms, but with rich media enhancements. Students can learn to read through hearing the sounds of words as they click on the word. There are also animated characters that show the actions of words as they are clicked by students. For example, when a student clicks on the sentence, the rat ran, there is an animated rat running. This visual component draws students’ attention to learning and allows them to connect to learning through the familiarity of animation. The sound and visual parts are also used on this website to play card games that assist students with learning to read.
- Chapter 31 discusses the future of instructional technologies in the near future from metadata to nanotechnology. Describe how nanotechnology could be used to improve a specific job or task you are familiar with.
Nanotechnology could be used to improve communication between teachers and English language learners. Communication is also a problem between teachers and parents of English language learners to converse with one another about their child’s education. Nanotechnology could be useful in the creation of technological devices that will automatically translate what is being said between languages. This improvement is important because I have witnessed how the barrier of language in schools can keep a child from reaching their full potential. These devices will also further the effort of some school districts to further integrate classes between English speakers and English language learners. Not only will both parties learn a new language, but diversity relations will improve as well.
- And finally! Chapter 32 provides two points of view on the direction of the field - the straight and narrow road and the broad and inclusive road. Which point of view do you agree with and why?
I agree with the broad and inclusive road perspective for the future of instructional design. This point of view still has the important foundation of the straight and narrow road, but allows for the flexibility of constant change in the field. For example, the straight and narrow point of view method of inquiry uses established research methods, while the broad and inclusive road uses methods that are quantitative and qualitative.
There is also a rapid change in technology that can be utilized in instructional design and the broad and inclusive road will allow for enhancement in this field. The broad and inclusive road seems to take the learning abilities of different people into account. Professional practices, diversity and humanities are important in establishing new ideas that can be used in instructional design. While the goals of both perspectives are the same, the broad and inclusive road allows instructional designers to use more resources and growth to reach that goal.
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