The Class is Coming to an End

Well, the class is almost officially over. In some ways I am relieved because I need a break. A really long break. This semester has had to be on the most challenging semesters EVER in my graduate career. My participation in my courses was atrocious. Should I have taken the semester off? Probably, but it was my last semester and I was afraid that if I took a semester off, I wouldn't return. But did I make the right decision? I've been fighting a terrible illness during this entire time and it has literally left me weak, extremely fatigued, and depressed, and oh the list can go on and on. I am so disappointed in my performance. My academic advisor informed me that my condition would allow me to ask my professors for an "I" to give me time to complete my work. I don't really know why I just didn't take the time off or talk to my professors. I'm such a closed person and I guess I have to come to terms with that soon.

What's really sad is that I've enjoyed reading every one's posts and the class discussions were definitely lively. But lack of energy definitely stopped me from joining in. The one benefit I've seen from keeping a learning journal is that this is where I always tend to find my voice. I've found that writing in my learning journal is stress free and I feel like I can be myself without worrying about if I'm including enough sources to back up my statements. I am free to express myself without judgement from my peers. Well, they do have access to my journals and then there is the fact that the professor has to grade it, but it's one area where I do not fear those things. I'm guessing that is one of the greatest tools of a learning journal.

I said that I was in some ways relieved that the course was over. Well, on the other hand I am not. I had so much more to offer and I did not get the chance to do that. I did learn a lot from this course and I look forward to pursuing distance learning teaching opportunities in the future and this course has given me a great foundation with which to build on. Thank you!

Collaborative Assignment

I think I had THE MOST fun in this course with the collaborative assignment. I'm not usually a fan of collaborative assignments due to group members not contributing equally. But my group was stellar! The first collaborative assignment we had in the beginning of the semester was a bit challenging because we started late and it was a little hard trying to get everyone going.

But this time we were ready. Even though we were only given one week to complete the project, I think we did an outstanding job! Everyone came and was ready to work and this is such an important aspect of group work. It's funny that we were able to come together and effectively complete this project asked each group to come up with a class to implement at a learning institution and analyze it using the ACTIONS model and we came up with designing a course on Organizational Effectiveness.

Each group member brought their own area of expertise which helped to produce a cohesive project. I particularly like assignments that call for us to analyze a situation/product/etc because it helps me to learn more about it. The ACTIONS model consists of Access, Costs, Teaching and Learning, Interactivity and User Friendliness, Organizational Issues, Novelty, and Speed. We had to use these components to analyze the practicality of implementing a course such as this via distance education and if it would be beneficial to the students and the institution.

The ACTIONS model closely resembles the SECTIONS model that I had to use in a previous MDE course. I should have posted the question to the discussion board asking what the main difference was between the two models since they basically cover the same things. I kept finding myself wanting to refer back to the SECTIONS model and had to keep reminding myself not to do so.

But back to the project, while I at times fight against collaborative work, I do recognize the benefits. Collaborative learning has been shown to maximize the learning experience and my reaction to this project is example of just that. I felt I learned a lot from working with the other students on one assignment. Working with this group restored my faith in group work and I look forward to doing more. I feel my leadership potential shine through more when I work in groups. Is that weird?

Videoconferencing

Now there's an interesting form of communication! I've never had the pleasure of using videoconferencing in a distance education course but I do love to participate in videoconferencing. It makes e feel more connected, at least more so than simply chatting online or sending emails. But the topic was brought up as to whether videoconferencing should be included in distance education courses or not.

It is my opinion that videoconferencing within a distance education can have benefits. I argued that it could be used a supplementary resource to increase interactivity and build a greater sense of community. I did note that there are potential drawbacks to videoconferencing such as the costs associated with it and then accessibility issues which may hinder the learning process if too many problems are encountered.

I don't think it should be used as the primary means in delivering a course but I do think more institutions should look into including it in their courses. Having more than one mode of communication in a course such as videoconferencing may attract more students. I know I'd certainly be enthralled with videoconferencing in a future course!

Module 4

Module 4 presented us with the costing of educational technologies. The topic that interested me the most was in regard to print media. Print, or texts, are still the number one choice of many institutions when deciding on course materials. Within the topic it would appear that institutions configure the costs of using print/texts in their course when undergoing the course design and development phase. This sounds good but what I've begun to see in many online programs, excluding the MDE program at UMUC, is the fact that a course will require a student to purchase a particular text or set of texts in order to complete the class.

I know it seems as that is not a problem and it may be somewhat different than what the topic is referring to but it's something I felt the need to write about. The problem I've begun to see is that courses are requiring these texts and are barely using them throughout the duration of the course. Now why increase a student's cost for materials that aren't going to be used extensively? I mean I have at one time spent $250 on course material only to have used it ONCE!! That's outrageous! And yes, it has occurred in an online course.

I personally like the way UMUC's MDE program works in that the majority of the course material used is provided free for the students. Now, there may be a fee for us to access this material for free but if there is, it has already been included in our tuition and fees. I think more online courses should try to incorporate course materials that can be accessed for free or in other words, not be an additional expense on top of tuition and fees. Students already pay LOTS of money to even enroll in the course, can't some slack be cut for us? I'm just saying...

Redemption with Assignment 2

So after a not so good start with the grade I received on Assignment 1, I totally redeemed myself with Assignment 2!!! First off, it was a writing assignment. Writing is definitely my niche, regardless of what the content is, I am a great writer. And not just a great writer but great at exploring concepts and tying them in to course readings.

This essay called for answering 1 of 2 questions and presenting your ideas in 2 pages or 1000 words. I'd like to first say that word limitations always tend to be tough for me. Once I get into the assignment, I never have a hard time meeting the word limit, I have a rough time not going over it. I wonder why putting word limitations on assignments is important? I can certainly understand having a minimum number of words but don't fully understand the maximum. But that's another post.

The question I chose to present on focused on the impoact of ICTs on distance education, ascertaining whether DE institutions were vulnerable and applying Rumble's vulnerability debate and determining whether it was still valid or not. A mouthful, right? That's what I thought until I began writing. I actually found lots of enjoyment writing this assignment.

Rumble's vulnerability debate centers around the escalating competition between distance education institutions and campus based institutions that are branching out into distance education by adding distance education courses/programs to their portfolio. This increasing competition, brought forth by the increase in ICT has indeed placed distance education institutions. I concluded that if DE institutions are to remain viable they must collaborate with other campus based universities or become a dual mode university, serving both traditional and distance students.

It was an A paper and definitely redeemed the utter disaster that was my first assignment. Okay, not total disaster, but any grad student will tell you that a C is tragic!

Online Courses

In Module 3 we had a visiting expert, Greville Rumble. In one of the earlier discussions with him, the speculations as to why students tend to drop out of online courses came about and I found this rather interesting. I have personal experience in this matter and would like to reflect on that. A family member of mine decided to return to school for an undergraduate degree and attending online was the chosen method of attending. Before enrolling I explained that online classes are not easier than traditional classes, in fact it may be harder.

I also explained that taking classes online require a great amount of motivation, independence, and sacrifice. Off course that went in one ear and out the other and now not even done with the first semester it does not seem likely that they will continue on.

It was always struck me as weird that many people don't take distance education seriously. Even in the working industry there are still people who frown their noses at potential employees who have received their degree online. Why is this when an online program can be just as rigorous, if not more so, than a traditional program? I have attended both a traditional program and an online program and both were a great experience. For me, the only difference was the sense of community at the traditional institution and quicker access to a variety of sources. But as far as the level of education I received, I believe they were both equal. I put in more effort into my online program than I did my traditional program but this could have been due to my having a different focus, being older.

Due to many people underestimating the time and quality of distance education courses, there appears to be a student retention problem. Many students are opting to not finish their programs. This may not all be due to students not taking online courses seriously, life changes could also be the result. But it is in my opinion that student motivation ranks high in why the drop out rates are high.

Overview of Module 2

Well, there wasn't much participation in this part of the module and that was due to everyone focusing on Assignment 1. Let me tell you, math is definitely NOT my strong suit. Instead of me asking for help, I soldiered on thinking that I could tackle it by myself. Well that was a major mistake! I didn't fail the assignment but getting a C on an assignment in grad school is definitely a no-no.

I think if I had participated in the conference discussions, I would have understood the assignment better. The first part of the module discussed how you go about creating a budget for distance education and listed a method called "the ingredients approach" which I found to be rather interesting. You start by deciding the type of course to be developed, the activities to be done within the course, the materials needed, how many students are to be enrolled, etc and then you determine the costs for each.

At first glance this may not seem like a hard task but when you really get into designing the course those costs begin to add up. How do you determine what is definitely needed and what is not? What should the average distance education class cost or is that only determined by the content being studied? So many more questions come to mind that it adds more to the mix making creating a budget rather time consuming. Impossible? No. But you have to have a good grasp on the essentials of course design or else you'll be lost.

The module then progressed to classifying costs by determining if they were direct or indirect costs. The professor listed direct costs as those things pertaining to developing and teaching the course while indirect costs pertained to operating costs and costs that were fixed and those that were variable.

These topics were to lead us to success in our first assignment. When I was completing the assignment it seemed a hard task but after it was completed it seemed so simple. It's amazing how when you're too close to something you can't make see it clearly until you step away. I guess I should have stepped away before submitting it! But I have learned my lesson for the next time around, I will make sure to ask my professor for clarification on anything because that is what they're there for. In fact, the instructor is one of those "ingredients" in course design and one that should be sought as a primary source.