etec501: Celest Galipeau-Woods week 2 summary & reflection of synchronous dimdim group meeting

Following is my second week blogpost for etec 501, which is intended to answer the following three requirements according to the class 2 session notes:

1. (direction #1 asked me to post the bloglist) Here is my posting of the etec501 class bloglist address
http://eunokbaek.com/etec501/etec501_bloglist.html

2. Summary of DimDim discussion along with reflections (definition of e-Learning, the reason for different definitions of distance education, and trends in e-learning/distance education in my work place):

Definition of e-Learning:
To me "e-Learning" means learning with the aid of electronic devices and technology. However this is far too general since it doesn't take into account the reasons behind the use of "e" electronics in the first place. Is the reason for learning electronically because of a time constraint? Or, is the need due to geographic limitations? Or is there a social reason or behavioral reason behind choosing e-Learning?  The questions are as numerous as the reasons.

Therefore, it becomes important to distinguish between the different types of "e-Learning", which the Sloan Consortium has divided into three definitions Please note these definitions are provided from the text in chapter one:
On-line courses= Classes where most of content delivered is on-line (at least 80% of course contents)
Hybrid or blended courses= Combines online and face to face (30% to 79% of course content is delivered online)
Web facilitated course= Uses web based technology but less than 29% of content is delivered online.

After that there is still "virtual school" which is a traditional school setting done on line which is what makes it "virtual" rather than "actual" (chapter 2). Followed up by "open university" or "open learning" which refer to education that is less traditional and is more gauged to individual needs or specialized content.  This is often used by professions to allow workeres to gain more training to get higher pay or better opportunities within their fields, or for self-improvement or hobby.  The "open" education is not traditional which has caused concern that it could could breed "diploma mills" (chapter 2) which is why many in our field are calling for "accreditation" (chapter 2) to limit possible fraud or misleadings.

Finally, the other important feature in definining "e-Learning" is its delivery and practice.
Coledway came up with "quadrants" to categorize educational practices to account for time and place constraints.  The quadrants are: Same time- Same place; Different time- Same place; Same time - Different place; Different time- Different place.

Essentially what these quadrants imply is that the learning content and instruction is provided either at the same time in the same place (like the DimDim session last night), or is available  for access at different times but in the same place (traditional blackboard online courses are structured like this). Next option is to provide instruction and information available to student same time but different place (this might look like students being required to meet at the same time each week but accessing different learning systems to learn from or with like DimDim one week and Skype the next week.  The final scenario is different time different place which could look like an online course where the student can control when they access content that is spread througout different technology or VoIP systems.

However, more recently Michael Moore came up with Transactional Distance in 2007 to further define the time and place constraints common to distance and e-learning.  In this theory, the learning is divided between: Student- Content; Student-Student; Student-Instructor. Meaning that the learning occurs between student and content or student to student corresponding and collaborating, along with student and instructor collaboration or communication.

In the end, it becomes apparent that in order to be "e-Learning" there must be a separation between student and instructor, and that in order to be effective, the instruction must be well planned, well organized, and must be designed so that the student can visualize and understand clearly all instruction and concepts so that they will retain such knwoledge effectively.

Reasons for different definitions of distance learning
I think the text book sums up the reson behind the variety of definitions of distance learning quite effectively on page 35 with the term "globalization".  What I mean here is that in light of today's technological advancements, our world is getting smaller as communication becomes easier and more widely accessible amongst the world's population.  Today, it is realistic that a child in Tokyo Japan can collaborate with a child in Los Angeles simply by turning on a camera and opening the microphone and speaker capability on their telephone or computer.  Of course along with globalization  comes  societal changes, as well as constant improvement of capabilities of technology, all of which opens a need for learning at distances we may not even be aware of like outer space.  A result of this globalization is "unpredictable change" (text, pg. 35) for which education must be able to adapt and reach those in need of training and further learning, and since education is not limited to just students K-12, or university level, but also must cater to students in business, or in need of further training to advance in their careers, all the way to someone looking for a new recipe to serve at holiday time. 

What remains is a definition of distance learning as unique as it's intended goal; for example if the learning being acquired is meant to  focus on more "local or individual needs" (p. 35) it may be defined as "Open Learning" (p. 35) whereas if the distance learning is tailored more to traditional school, it might be defined as "virtual school" (p. 35), all the way to distance learning aimed at providing an employee with additional vocational training to advance them in their career, in which case it might be defined as "correspondance" which coul also infer the distance could be lessened by use of traditional mail system rather than just technology.

So to make a long answer shorter, I believe, after reading the text and discussing on DimDim, that the reason for the multiple definitions of distance education is due to the multiple reasons and goals and intentions behind the education being offered.  The only part of the definition that seems to stay true throughout though, is that there must be a distance in time or space that separates the learner from the instructor, but other than that, the definition is a broad as the technology and resources available at the time of definition.

Trends in e-learning/distance learning in my workplace:
As for trends in e-learning/distance education in my workplace, I offer a unique perspective in that my "office" is online, and my "classroom" is in the student's home or online, for you see, I work for Los Angeles Unified School district as a reponse to intervention "intensive" tutor for special education students underachieving per No Child Left Behind guidelines (now NCLB is referred to as "beyond the bell").  As a result, my job requires me to check in daily online, as well as to utilize specific websites to attain instructional materials, learning goals adapted to specific standards, not to mention that I must log in daily progress and attendance online as well as provide thorough, detailed weekly reports on each student assigned to me.  If I make mistakes on my paperwork or if my students fail to progress, my pay reflects it by losing bonuses, etc.

That said, I am always looking for tools and sites to use that enhance the required sites I must rely on. Among the trends used in my workplace are Twitter and Facebook, believe it or not.  In fact, I have successfully used Twitter and Facebook with my students to allow them ways to collaborate with other students in their neighborhood, that I teach.  I am authorized to use these sites because most of my students are being instructed at home due to emotional issues or levels of autism that make it difficult for them to excell in the traditional classroom setting, so these social networking sites enable them an opportunity to engage with peers and to learn with and from one another accordingly.  Now I justify the use of these sites like Facebook and Twitter out of my commitment to providing my students with high quality, meaningful instructional opportunitites that also build socialization.

In fact, I plan on proposing the use of blogs in my next collaboration meeting with fellow teachers at my site as a result of this class. So far my co-workers are open to the idea since we are always trying to improve our teaching methods and since we have more freedom to test new learning tools than our traditional teaching counterparts in the classroom.  Our hope for the future is that we 'stumble' upon some great new technologies that can be incorporated into the traditional classrooms that will allow our students their chance to participate in traditional classrooms amongst their peers rather than remaining separate like they are now.

3. Blog about my experience using DimDim (strengths and weaknesses; compare with Skype and/or Talkshoe):

Well I have only used Skype prior to last night's DimDim session, so my comparison is quite limited, but based on information provided by Dr. Baek, about DimDim's unique features/capabilities, such as allowing the use of whiteboards, the ability for the presenter to show their personal desktop in their group presentation, as well as the limitation of three open microphones at a time, all are features that enable DimDim to standout as a  useful in a variety of group situations (business to education), not to mention making it a valuable learning and instructional tool I can add to my teaching arsenal. As a special education teacher I can actually see myself using DimDim with my students for activities and learning goals requiring visual instruction and demonstration.

Among the other strengths of DimDim is it's easy to read screen, simplicity in the log in process, as well as the fact that I never once lost connection and I left the session eager to return.  With Skype I have had trouble logging in, I have lost contact midway during classes I have attended, and I remember feeling "tense" at the thought of logging back on.  I definitely agree with Dr. Baek's comment on how DimDim is truly 'new technology' whereas Skype is older technology. Unfortunatley, I have never used Talkshoe so I can't comment on it.

As for a weakness, the only glich was that I was unable to use my headset, eventhough I "allowed" dimdim to access my audio and I performed a self-test confirming that my set was working.  But, Dr. Baek was able to access my video so I am sure I will get my headset working before any future meetings. 

Furthermore, I just became a graduate assistant and one of my first tasks is to review soundbites that are stored in DimDim, so I was very grateful to learn more from Dr. Baek last evening regarding the site's storage potential, recording capabilities, etc. Now I look forward to taking on the task of further exploration of DimDim's features rather than dreading or fearing this new technology.