Recent Changes

About Me: Pam Hill
work for AneAnne Arundel County Three years ago I began
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.

Here is the link to my second project. {Hill, OMDE 601, 9040, A2.pdf}
Project 3
final project. {Assignment 3.docx}

Module 3 Objectives
o Identify the primary types of institutional structures that support DE
Identifyo Identify the top unique characteristics
Analyze
o Analyze the critical institutional structure
Give
o Give examples of structure in 1) North America1)America 2) Europe and 3) Australia/Asia/South America/Africa
CriticallyAustralia/Asia/Africa
o Critically examine the and pedagogy
Select,
o Select, research, analyze,
7/28/2010
My student group has researched the primary institutional structures that support DE and chosen to focus on the Single Mode as our typology. We have been working diligently to develop a classification scheme, a task that has been rather challenging online. Within the group we seem to have difficulty understanding the assignment and deciding how to best approach the assignment. The lesson learned here is that asynchronous planning is very ineffective and the likelihood of getting off task is great. Although we were able to get out project submitted by the deadline, using technology made this task much more difficult than it would have been in face to face sessions.
Our final project is much better than the previous draft. We pulled together, creatively solved issues, critiqued each other's work, gave constructive feedback, and firmed up our understandings of institutional modes. Through our discussions in WebTycho and on Skype, we all grew collectively and personally. Although this project was at times frustrating, I'm glad that I was able to participate with such a great team!
Module 3 Reflection and Overall Course Reflection
Reflecting on this module gives me an opportunity to look back over the features of DE and think about the characteristics of successful DE programs worldwide. I have researched institutions on several continents and found that Peters' industrial model is being used to design and implement DE modes. Understanding the way to classify institutions is a critical skill in the process of evaluating schools, planning course design and interaction, and ultimately the success of the endeavor. The content of this course has helped me to better understand DE, and hopefully being a better online instructor. This foundation course will be an important first step in becoming proficient in this new area.

8/1/2010
My group received feedback on our draft, and we have much work to complete the assignment within a week. We have scheduled a Skype meeting for tomorrow which I hope will help our efficiency. We have assigned new responsibilities and roles for the final part of this assignment, continuing to refine our chosen typology, and bringing focus to our characteristics. This should help me to write the final assignment that identifies 6 major institutions based on our classification scheme. The pressure is really increasing.
8/6/2010
Our final project is much better than the previous draft. We pulled together, creatively solved issues, critiqued each other's work, gave constructive feedback, and firmed up our understandings of institutional modes. Through our discussions in WebTycho and on Skype, we all grew collectively and personally. Although this project was at times frustrating, I'm glad that I was able to participate with such a great team!
Module 3 Reflection and Overall Course Reflection

Module 2 Objectives:
Analyze the pedagogic structure of DE in light of distinct models of DE
Learn about DE in terms of distinct pedagogical categories
Explain pedagogical advantages and disadvantages inherent to DE
Explain the deep-rooted changes of the pedagogical structure of DE caused by increasing digitization
Distinguish different theoretical approaches worldwide and relate them to cultural differences
7/11/2010
This has been a busy week for me, participating in discussions with Otto Peters and other classmates. The ability to hold discussions with experts in the field are truly amazing. While reading the document from the EDEN Conference, it occurred to me that 2 of the 3 major contributors to the DE field have already been part of my experience with UMUC. This is really 1st class! From our discussions about the statement Peters made about "Distance Education being an invention of the industrial age". Seems from reading the EDEN document that he has had some heated discussios with others about this. Personally I agree with him that societal changes post industrial age have opened the doors to more transactional forms of education. With the invention of the internet, new possibilties can be explored and I see think as a revitlization of education, allowing students to make choices about how they receive their training, using various Web 2.0 tools to create real, problem based learning opportunities. As an online instuctor, it is making me re-evaluate not only what I teach but how I teach. I am inspired to try new methods and web tools in both my college teaching and my professional development courses!

Module 3 Objectives
Learn about DE in terms of distinct pedagogical categories
Explain pedagogical advantages and disadvantages inherent to DE
Explain the deep-rooted changes of the pedagogical structure of DE caused by increasing digitization
Distinguish different theoretical approaches worldwide and relate them to cultural differences
o Were these objectives achieved? 2 Objectives:
7/11/2010
This has been a busy week for me, participating in discussions with Otto Peters and other classmates. The ability to hold discussions with experts in the field are truly amazing. While reading the document from the EDEN Conference, it occurred to me that 2 of the 3 major contributors to the DE field have already been part of my experience with UMUC. This is really 1st class! From our discussions about the statement Peters made about "Distance Education being an invention of the industrial age". Seems from reading the EDEN document that he has had some heated discussios with others about this. Personally I agree with him that societal changes post industrial age have opened the doors to more transactional forms of education. With the invention of the internet, new possibilties can be explored and I see think as a revitlization of education, allowing students to make choices about how they receive their training, using various Web 2.0 tools to create real, problem based learning opportunities. As an online instuctor, it is making me re-evaluate not only what I teach but how I teach. I am inspired to try new methods and web tools in both my college teaching and my professional development courses!

Explain the deep-rooted changes of the pedagogical structure of DE caused by increasing digitization
Distinguish different theoretical approaches worldwide and relate them to cultural differences
Wereo Were these objectives achieved? Show your accomplishment of an objective by choosing one and describing how it
has been achieved.
7/11/2010
This has been a busy week for me, participating in discussions with Otto Peters and other classmates. The ability to hold discussions with experts in the field are truly amazing. While reading the document from the EDEN Conference, it occurred to me that 2 of the 3 major contributors to the DE field have already been part of my experience with UMUC. This is really 1st class! From our discussions about the statement Peters made about "Distance Education being an invention of the industrial age". Seems from reading the EDEN document that he has had some heated discussios with others about this. Personally I agree with him that societal changes post industrial age have opened the doors to more transactional forms of education. With the invention of the internet, new possibilties can be explored and I see think as a revitlization of education, allowing students to make choices about how they receive their training, using various Web 2.0 tools to create real, problem based learning opportunities. As an online instuctor, it is making me re-evaluate not only what I teach but how I teach. I am inspired to try new methods and web tools in both my college teaching and my professional development courses!