Distance education is the use of technology at a distance to connect learners to other learners, the instructor, and the community involved in the course. Distance education unlike ITV is not in real-time and for that reason the proper use of technology is vital for its success. The instructor has different responsibilities in this set-up, such as sending feedback only through email, a platform like Blackboard, or through a video system like Tegrity. It is not as instanteous of a response and has to be frequent to keep learners engaged. Distance education allows for a course to be more learner centered rather than teacher centered due to the amount of self-directed learning available. This makes the instructor’s role more of a facilitator and guide in the learning process. With more self-directed learning, there still must be set outcomes for the course outlined for the learner’s to understand what is expected of them. Engagement between learners is also different because it is not real-time and must be done online. The learners can use discussion boards, email, or videos to communicate and experience the collaboration within a group. Issues can occur with lack of familiarity with technology or if technology doesn’t corporate. The instructor must be understanding and also knowledgeable in order to avoid more difficult situations due to technology failures and errors.
Application:For this instructional method since intro courses are not taught online in most cases, I considered an online course about preparing for a career that could be taught to students through the Career Center. I thought something like FlipGrid could be very useful in this case. The students would be able to interact with one another as well as the instructor. I could post frequent prompts for them to respond to and they would have to interact with their classmates for credit. They would get to be involved with one another and also share their opinions on the course material. I could post feedback to students separately, so that there would be some privacy and a personal connection to the responses.
Assessment: Role Play (Barkley & Major, 2016 pp. 292-297)One example of an interaction they could have over FlipGrid would be role playing an interview. They could post interview questions and then their classmates would have to respond to at least five of their classmates with an answer and would only have a certain amount of time. This would teach them to make their answers more succinct and also, they would watch themselves to get rid of their nervous tics that can develop. They would also have to dress accordingly for an interview and act as professional as they would in real-life. After they had responded to classmates, we could have a discussion in another prompt about how it went and if they did as well as expected/what could they improve on? I would also grade their interactions giving them feedback on how they did following the Situation/Task Action Result (STAR) method. This would give students practice as well as feedback from me as the professor to make improvements. I think the preparation would be low on my part because the students would be responsible for the preparation and the implementation. The analysis on my part would be high, but worth it to see how they have taken to the concepts and if they are fully grasping what is being discussed.