This Week's
Hot Topic

Distance Learning

Well, I am just going to be shocked and surprised if anyone says they don't know about this hot topic!  You are wading ankle deep...knee deep...waist deep... and maybe some of you even think neck deep in this topic right now!  You are experiencing it first hand - no better way to familiarize yourself with something than to jump right in and experience all you can.  I believe I can safely say that I have given you the opportunity to experience one form of distance learning to the fullest extent possible in the last 8 weeks.  However, online learning is just one of the many forms of distance learning.  It is certainly the hottest form right now, but there are many forms that have been around MUCH longer.  There are correspondence courses, radio instruction, television-video based instruction, satellite instruction, computer-based training, interactive television, etc.

Distance learning takes many forms but at its base is simply the principle that students and instructors are separated by distance.  Many people say they are also separated by time - which in some cases (such as asynchronous forms of instruction) this is true, but in other forms, such as in our interactive distance learning classroom on campus students and instructors are only separated by space.  In our case, they are separated from FWB to Pensacola but all the instruction is in real time so they are not separated by time. 

As you have figured out by now, distance learning usually requires more effort, organization, and self-regulation, than traditional classroom learning.  These requirements make distance learning appropriate for some but maybe not all individuals.  Some of the ethical and equity issues arise within this topic as well.  Should we allow any student to enroll in an online course regardless of their readiness?  Should we make sure our courses are accessible to all those with varying disabilities? How much responsibility for success should be placed with the learner and how much should be placed with the instructor? Some of these may seem to have straightforward answers to you, but other may not be so clear cut.

As you expand your understanding of distance learning this week to encompass more than your experiences in this course, I am also going to ask you to complete your first reflection paper for this course.  The reflection paper will provide you with an opportunity and forum to reflect on your online learning experience, this course and its topics, distance learning in general, and other issues that surround it.  I look forward to reading all of them.

Distance Learning

There are a multitude of web resources related to distance learning - just put in the search term in any search engine and you will get more hits than you can imagine.  A few of the more basic sites that provide great overview on the topic are:

• Distance Education, An Introduction (at Distance-Educator.com)

• Distance Education at a Glance

• Issues in Distance Education

• ELearning Post

• Online Learning Daily

Also, if you want to learn more about distance learning across the state of Florida, check out the following sites:

• Florida Board of Education DL

• Florida's Virtual School

There are a multitude of distance learning programs for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate.  Some of these programs are completely virtual (they have no physical building) while others are traditional schools that have branched out to offer distance learning programs to a wider audience than the one they are able to reach in their region.  A few programs of interest may be:

• University of Phoenix
• Penn State's World Campus

Drill

For this drill you have a choice!  There are many different aspects of distance learning that we could discuss for an entire semester (which is why there is a complete course just on this topic).  Our purpose here is to simply get an overview of the forms of distance learning, the issues that surround its design and delivery, and the different ways organizations implement and evaluate distance learning.  The sites above give you a place to start on any of the drills below.  You should choose one of the options below.  For extra credit you can choose more than one to complete.

Option 1:

Use the links above and other links you may search and find to make  a scholarly argument (meaning it cannot be just what you think but what has been substantiated by research) for or against distance learning based on what it is and what the research is showing about the effects of distance learning on student performance! Post your scholarly argument to the threaded discussion.

Option 2:

Find the web site for a distance learning program provider (you cannot use the ones above or UWF's - there are plenty of others to choose from). Peruse their site and discover what types of distance learning they provide (asynchronous, synchronous, online, video, correspondence, etc.) and to what audience (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, corporate, professionals, etc.) and what they have to offer (degrees, certificates, etc.).  Summarize your findings on the threaded discussion and provide the url.  Some of you teachers and parents may be surprised to find online learning for Kindergartners (there are at least 2 in California that I know of).

Option 3:

Find a web site (not one above) that would be an EXCELLENT resource for people wanting to learn more about research related to distance learning, evaluation of distance learning, and other issues surrounding this topic.  In the threaded discussion, give the url, summarize what the site provides, why you think it is high quality, and at least one new thing you learned from it.

Research and Reflection

As a reminder this week I would like to recap your research summary table assignment we began several weeks ago. I hope everyone has been working diligently to identify the 5 empirical articles required for this assignment. If any of you still have questions or concerns about the articles you have identified please feel free to send me an email.

As a review I would like to remind you that the outcome of this assignment is that you create a table with the following columns and rows of information for each article. Ultimately your table will be included as part of your electronic portfolio website you will begin building in a few weeks.

The table headings and content (introduced in Week 4) you will include will be:

• Complete reference in APA 5th edition format
• Description/Procedures - to include bullets associated with the research questions posed, data collected, participants, and other procedures
• Results - to include bullets covering major findings, limitations of the study
• Implications for Practice/Future Research - to include bullets identifying suggestions for implementation, strategies/activities suggested, future research suggestions

The guiding questions you will use (introduced in Week 5) to assist you in analyzing the articles and providing content are:

Research problem/question:

• Is the problem an important/relevant one to your field of study?
• Will this study contribute to our understanding of the problem?
• Do they provide a good rationale for why such a study is important?

Literature review:

• Does the literature review provide definitions of the key constructs they are investigating?
• Do the authors critically evaluate the studies they review?
• Does the literature provide support that this study is needed?

Research questions/hypotheses:

• Are the questions/hypotheses clearly stated?
• Will the answer(s) to the question(s) be applicable to practice in the field?
• Will the answer(s) to the question(s) help us understand the problem better?

Research Design and Methods (components 4 and 5 combined):

• Is the sample (subjects) they used appropriate for answering the questions?
• Can you generalize findings to a larger population? Will you be able to apply their findings to similar settings?
• Were the instruments or measures they used clearly identified/explained?
• Do the authors convey clearly the procedures used for collecting and analyzing the data?

Results and Discussion:

• Are the analysis techniques they used (whether quantitative or qualitative) clearly explained?
• Do the findings they report seem plausible given the data they analyzed? Do they make sense?
• Do the conclusions they make follow logically from the data analysis findings?
• Do the conclusions they make match the questions they posed at the beginning of the article?
• Do the authors report limitations to their study?
• Do the authors provide important implications for practice?
• Do the authors make suggestions for future research in this topic?

TIME FOR REFLECTION

In the syllabus it states that you will complete 2 reflection papers in this course.  Now is the time to complete your first reflection paper.  Reflection papers are like informal personal memos to the instructor. They are your reactions, feelings, observations, or critiques about what is happening in the course and how it relates to your current and future life. Such reflection may be stimulated by something you have read or discussions in class. They may be in the form of questions that you would like to have answered or discussed. They may be contributions of experiences you have had that are directly related to the course.

The purpose of reflection papers is for the instructor to learn what ideas are being entertained by participants in the course. They are used as a method to learn more about where individuals are with respect to the course and its connection to life.

Drill

The minimum length is three pages typed.  You are to attach your reflection paper and send it via email.  Do not forget to save it as a .rtf file.

The following are some guiding questions for your reflection paper that's due this week.  These are only intended to be a guide for you about the types of "reflections" I would like to see.  Please do not feel as if you must answer each and every question or that you cannot address other relevant issues you are reflecting upon.

• How do the things you are learning within this course relate to your personal life? your work setting? your future?
• What role do you think instructional technology will play in the future of learning?
• What issues do you think will come to the forefront as instructional technology expands?
• What role does instructional technology play within a culture and/or society?
• What curiosities and/or interests do you have within the field of instructional technology that have yet to be addressed in this course?
• What hot topics have interested you most?
• What hot topics would you like to see added/deleted?

Fire Marshal Badge: Adding Lecture Notes to Your PowerPoint Lesson

Everyone should now have a rough draft of your PowerPoint lecture completed (if you don't - shame on you :-). Now that you have your slides created it is time to add a little zing to your presentation with slide transitions and graphics and to create your lecture notes to use when you give the presentation (you are not really going to give this within this class but we are pretending as if we are).

This week I would like for you to go back through your presentation and add relevant media (graphic, sounds, video) where appropriate (remember, do not just put a picture in there for the sake of having a picture -  make it fit with your presentation).  PowerPoint provides a library of images and sounds you may use or you may find a perfect graphic on the Internet to copy and paste into your presentation.

Once this is completed add slide transitions and/or builds to your presentations.  Finally, use the slide/speaker notes feature and insert the text you will use during your presentation for each individual slide.

If you need assistance with these tasks use the tutorial below from last week or email the tech mentor.

Possible tutorials to use:

• PowerPoint in the Classroom (97)
• Download PowerPoint 97 Tutorial from Microsoft
• PowerPoint 2000 tutorial
• PowerPoint 2000 Basics (very thorough)
• PowerPoint resources for educators from Microsoft (has something for all versions)
• PowerPoint tutorial (Mac)
• Somewhat generic PowerPoint tutorial

Drill

This week in PowerPoint:

• add media
• add slide transitions and/or builds - at least one for each slide
• add slide/speaker notes - you must have some for every slide
• save it using your name as the file name (make sure you have a .ppt extension on the file name) and send it to me as an attachment

If you want to jump ahead to next week's tasks with your PowerPoint then:

• Create a folder on your C: drive called "powerpointweb" and then save your presentation with the slide notes as a web page to that folder. (More instructions will be given next week if you do not know how to save your presentation as a web page. If you have the option of saving the file as a "web page" or a "single web page", select "web page" for the file type.)

• Check the FAQ Page to see if your question has already been answered.
• Email Chief Curda.
• Email EMT Kelly.
• Email the firehouse crew and see if another firefighter knows the answer.

Now let's take a look at the Chief's
Inspection List for this week!