Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

This post focuses on a scenario involving a west coast high school history teacher who desires to expose students to artwork presented on the east coast.  The school and the museum are separated by a great distance.  The teacher does not want to deny the students the educational experience, so the teacher seeks an alternative route.  Even though students cannot attend the actual museum, an online visit or tour would expose them to the facilities.  In addition, the instructor wanted students to interact with a curator and to view two distinguished pieces from each location.  The teacher consults with an instructional designer on the best approach to engage in the online distance learning experiences.

As the instructional designer I would assess the situation to determine if the online tour of the museum would be beneficial to the students.  First, I would research how previous educators implemented the process.  Next, I would examine limitations using an online tour and review suggested approaches for improved results.  Also, I would consider the possibility of if other museums will provide equivalent learning experiences beside the two prominent New York locations.  Is it necessary that students interact with the curator?  After considering the previous thoughts, I would suggest two options to connect with museums: 1) mobile apps and 2) Google+ application.

After completing a search for scholarly journal articles, I found the topic to be limited, possibly because of the newness of the field.  My online search of art museums conducting distance learning tours, generally charge a fee.  Understandably, this would cover the connection charge and expert knowledge of the presenter. 

Fortunately, I found a link with an open source continually collaborating with project managers and technology experts to use mobile devices to connect classrooms with museums.  The Museum Wiki (n.d.) website shares a wealth of information on mobile apps.  One case study, Enhancing Group Tours with iPads (Isaacson, Krueger, McGuire, Sayre, & Wetterlund, 2012), noted interactivity with distance learners as they toured the facilities and collaborated not just with scheduled groups.  The project research explored:  1) Response – visitor, tour guide, museum educator, and museum-wide; 2) Obstacles – political and psychological, physical, and technical; and 3) Logistics - training needs, material preparation and organization, most effective materials, and hardware management (Isaacson et al., 2012).  Using an iPad, a tour guides moved about the facilities while providing detail about the operation.  The tour guide prepares an organized collection of images readily available so users can access items without a lengthy search at a website similar to artsconnected.org (n.d.).

Google+ offers integration with mash-up tools for video conferencing, sharing documents, and photo galleries. Gopnik (2011) explains that Google’s think tank, a group of technological experts and project managers, explores ways to bring the museums to the public without physically traveling to the location.  Over 17 art museums offer access using Google+, which includes high-tech zooming capabilities. Because of copyright issues, not all paintings may be viewed using technology.  This two-way streaming video would be a free medium for the instructor to utilize.   

In closing, use of the mobile apps and Google+ at the current designated museums may offer equivalent experiences needed for the history teacher’s class.  The instructional designer would have to communicate with the museums to determine if new options have been added to make the learning experience more purposeful.  Presenting “activities alone cannot lead to learning,” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright,  & Zvacek, 2012, p. 153) so careful planning of what work is necessary.

References

Arts Connected.  (n.d.).  Arts connected: Tools for teaching the Arts.  Retrieved from http://www.artsconnected.org/.

Gopnik, B. (2011, February 11).  Google Takes Street View Inside 17 Museums for Virtual Tours. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/02/01/google-virtual-museum-tours-will-technology-overpower-the-art.html.

Isaacson, A., Krueger, L., McGuire, S., Sayre, S., & Wetterlund.  (2012, October 12).  Enhancing Group Tours with the iPad: 2012 Updates and Discoveries.  Retrieved from http://mobileappsformuseums.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/enhancing-group-tours-with-the-ipad-2012-updates-and-discoveries/.

Museum Wiki.  (n.d.) Retrieved from http://wiki.museummobile.info/category/mobile-faqs

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Defining Distance Learning

Personal Definition of Distance Learning

Prior to viewing instructional resources aligned with this course, Distance Learning (DL), I defined DL as an online synchronous instructional format where students participate without physically appearing in a traditional classroom setting.  I derived at the understanding because in 1997 during a conference at Florida International University, a panel of students from different schools participated in a blended course by debating in real-time, through satellite compressed video (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012), relevant issues to the future of K-12 educational systems.  The professor served as the moderator controlling the discussion and the switching of the camera to view the speaker.  Additionally, in 1998 I taught an administrative assistant program at a technical school.  Two disabled students participated in the program daily, but off campus at two different libraries.  Each morning, I had to turn on a V-Tech system where the students could view the classroom and participate in lecture discussions. A document camera was used to project the teacher’s computer screen for demonstrations and to show hard copies.  These experiences helped me to form my personal definition of DL.

Revised Definition

Simonson et al (2012) denotes distance learning as institutionally-based, “formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors (p. 32).”  This term includes distinct features:  1) used primarily by institutions with courses eligible for accreditation, 2) distance factored into the course offering with a possible variable of time and space, 3) use of alternative interaction means of communication via technology or other logistic means like the postal system, and 4) the use of learning communities and course resources.  These features enabled the connection of teachers and students to socially move learners academically forward. 

My former experience with distance learning similarly aligns with most of Simonson et al (2012) definition of DL.  However, clarification of the coined use of distance learning, coming primarily from institutions and the inclusion of a social aspect for learners, is new to me.  However, I can see why distance learning should be encompassed by institutions to gain accreditation primarily to ensuring high standards of quality for learners.

Vision for Distance Learning

I envision the future of DL as being an inevitable means of instructional delivery because technology improvements continue to improve.  In fact I predict that with the advancement of mobile and tablet technology, which includes WI-FI access, DL will overtake secondary education, higher education, and corporate training partly because the current generation shows a high growth in the virtual school format (Huett, Moller, Foshay, & Coleman, 2008).  Our traditional form of education could be obsolete or available with limited use as an area of specialty for individuals requiring one-on-one or small group assistance.  However skilled training for job performance should continue with teacher lead instruction including demonstrations and practical hands-on experience.

Observing my 4 year old grandson influenced my thinking on the future of Distance Learning.  One day my grandson grabbed my cell phone wanting to view a “Letter Y” instruction video on YouTube.  Because I never used the feature before, I gave up easily on navigating through the system to locating the application.  Amazingly, within seconds, he found the search option. He only needed me to type the proper query.  For me the unknown was is a struggle, but young learners use informal training to adapt swiftly to real-word, problem solving situations.. 

Conclusion

Brick and motar cannot hold our future learners back.  As technology advances, the comfort level of users improves and demonstrates empowerment.  DL enables students “not normally communicative in a face-to-face classroom (Huett et al., 2008, p. 63)” to open-up and communicate more through the alternative format.  Use of Web 2.0s like social media enables today’s learners to work collaboratively with peers and experts to solve real-world problems (Shaffer, 2011). 

References

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–6 7.

Shaffer, S. (2011, October 21).  Colleges embrace social media in the classroom.  Retrieved from http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2011/10/21/classroom-social-media/.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Welcome to My Distance Learning Blog

Welcome to my distance learning blog!  As I explore distance learning as an alternative means of educating new learners, this blog will serve as a collection of experience encounter through my online course at Walden's University.  I look forward to learning theories and practices to make learning experiences purposeful in every way.  Distance learning is here to stay and I intend target student-centered learning beyond the brick and mortar institutions.