Course: EDUC 633 -Principles of Design & Mgmt. in Distance Education
Blog Video:
(Flynn, 2017)
Blog Video:
Best Practices for Distance Education
For this week blog posting I reviewed three
journal articles on best practices for distance education. My research
revealed; one of the most important practices was to is assessing students’
needs and identifying clear distance learning program objectives (Nsaih, 2013).
Another best practice would be to emphasize the vision of virtual learning
programs with the reality of needs, resources, capabilities (Nsaih, 2013).
Along with these best practices, it is imperative to begin with a clear vision
and strong leadership that can proactively support the structure and management
of a distance learning program (Nsaih, 2013).
One of the articles was about incorporating
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into the adult education. It is
important to have access to innovative technology for communication as well as
technology that can manage the data (Mariki, 2013, p. 185).
According to Miller and King (2003) the
following are best practices for distance learning; (1) when there are
technology changes they should be clear and consistent to reduce impact on
students; (2) provide online learner technical support; (3) the selection and
implementation of technology should be user friendly and appropriate for
different learning styles; (4) distance learning programs and degrees should
include general education requirements; (5) synchronous
or asynchronous should be used for teacher and student interactions; and (6)
distance education courses should include documented assessments as well as
data comparing students’ performance (p. 293).
I concur with the best practices covered by
these three journal articles. They contain all the best practices that I would
consider relevant for online learning.
References
Flynn, K. (2017). Best
practice clipart [Clipart]. Retrieved from
http://blog.edmentum.com/blog/kristinflynn
Mariki, B. E. (2013). Use of ICT in
distance education at Hanyang Cyber University: Possible best practices for the
institute of adult education. Turkish
Online Journal of Distance Education, 14(2), 185-195. Retrieved
from http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer .asp?
T=P&P=AN&K=89236848&S=R&D=ehh&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESepr
Q4y9fwOLCmr0%2Bep69Ssqa4TbKWxWXS
Miller, T., & King, F. (2003).
Distance education: pedagogy and best practices in the new millennium. International Journal of Leadership in
Education, 6(3),
283-297. doi:10.1080/1360312032000118225
Nsiah, G. K. (2013). Best practices in distance
education: A review. Creative
Education, 04(12),
762-766. doi:10.4236/ce.2013.412108
One of the best practices for distance learning you mentioned really resonated with me. In the article by Miller and King (2003) the third best practice for distance learning was “the selection and implementation of technology should be user friendly and appropriate for different learning styles”. I am interested in course design, specifically for students with special needs and/or different learning styles. I believe that is critical for my personal learning theory of constructivism. We should teach to the student and examine how they learn and what we can do for them to adapt to a productive learning environment.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Miller, T., & King, F. (2003). Distance education: pedagogy and best practices in the new millennium. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 6(3), 283-297. doi:10.1080/1360312032000118225
Susan
ReplyDeleteHello Susan and thanks for your feedback on my best practice blog post. I checked my blog a few minutes and no one had left a response. I appreciate you taking the time to check out my blog.
Evonne,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thorough discussion. I particularly agree that student-teacher interaction, whether synchronous or asynchronous, is important for students to feel invested in a course. Early in my teaching career, I attempted a graduate-level correspondence course but never completed it due to the lack of communication I had with any professor or representative from the university. It is important for both professors and students to develop an "online presence" to discuss classwork, expectations, objectives and assignments. Students who have a higher level of discourse with the professor typically report higher satisfaction with meeting objectives for an online course.
- Jennifer Houchin
Wallace, R.M. (2010) Online learning in higher education: A review of research on interactions among teachers and students. Journal of Education, Communication, & Information. 3(2), 241-280. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/abs/10.1080/14636310303143.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou make several good points in your blog this week Evonne. Assessing student’s needs, keeping them in mind with the reality of resources and capabilities, and strong leadership all all important in distance learning. In the research articles I reviewed this week, there was an interesting emphasis on the changing role of the instructor’s leadership in distance learning settings. Foster, Shurtz, and Pepper (2014) discuss the need to include interaction and feedback in effective course design. Makani, Durier-Copp, Kiceniuk, and Blandford (2016) discussed the importance of instructors creating a social presence, as well as a teaching presence in their courses while building a learning community in their instruction. They also pointed out that instructors must take the approach of co-learners with their students in the development of increasingly effective strategies and the pursuit of continued professional development in order to continue to improve the effectiveness of e-learning.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Foster, M. J., Shurtz, S., & Pepper, C. (2014). Evaluation of best practices in the design
of online evidence-based practice instructional modules. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 102(1), 31+. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=vic_liberty&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA361185588&sid=summon&asid=245601aaa8651491ee9d585e4bd84db8
Makani, J., Durier-Copp, M., Kiceniuk, D., & Blandford, A. (2016). Strengthening
Deeper learning through virtual teams in e-learning: A synthesis of determinants and best practices. Journal of Distance Education (Online), 31(2), 1-16. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/
docview/1863562628?accountid=12085