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=About Me: Pam Hill= Thanks for visiting my wiki for my courses at University of Maryland. I am currently in a Master's program for Distane Learning, hoping to improve my online teaching skills. During the daytime, I work for Anne Arundel County Public Schools as a Professional Development Specialist where I provide online staf development to various employee groups on topics such as Cultural Proficiency, Differentiated Insruction, Action Research, and Theories of Learning. Three years ago I began instructing online for Goucher College in courses for Technology Leadership, Theories of Learning, and Special Education. Online teaching and learning is definitely the future and I intend to be part of the movement!

=**Final Definition of Distance Education**= Distance Education is an alternative to the face to face instruction presented in "Bricks and Mortar" schools. The content of the course is similar, but the method of instruction is clearly different. With historical and philosophical differences such as "empowering the learner" to build learner independence and commitment, self-pacing, and mastery learning, distance education presents the learner with the opportunity to learn wherever they might be. This concept connects to the current social and societal needs of today's learners who might work various shifts, have family responsibilities, or other difficulties that prevent them from attending courses on campus. Personally, I love being able to learn at home on my own time. After working a full day, I often have difficulties staying fully mentally engaged when sitting in graduate courses at night. I view Distance Learning as a God-send.


 * Using the navigation link on the right side of the page, select the __Journal Reflection__ tab to see entries on my journey into Distance Education.**