This week’s readings really shed light on the history of distributed and open learning, and they also really helped me clarify some of the central ideas of open learning. After this week, I have a much better understanding of what open education really represents, and how it takes shape in a traditional education setting. A key point in the 2017 piece by Jordan & Weller for me was the introduction of open practices as a concept, and the recognition that the provision of educational tools and resources is not always sufficient to higher education. I began to ask myself why the provision of resources does not participate as directly to higher learning as one would believe, and the next reading by C. H. Hopkins helped explain the difference in online, blended, and in-person learning environments. One of the key differences that I found was timing, especially in that students are able to have their questions answered in an instantaneous fashion, which I think makes a very big difference to ones learning. Further, this was visualized by the learning pathways in figure 4.1 on page 86 of the Hopkins reading. The learning pathways made me realize that in-person course naturally take a more decentralized or distributed learning pathway by having students interacting in a classroom. On that note, online learning environments present much more of a challenge as I feel as though they naturally take a centralized learning pathway as student communication is limited.
I also found the course hosted in Second-Life was hilarious, and to see such a positive response really made me think of some of the learning platforms that people are using without even realizing it! I look forward to reading some of your posts!
Aiden
References
Jordan, K., & Weller, M. (2017). Jordan, K. & Weller, M. (2017) Openness and
Education: A beginners’ guide. Global OER Graduate Network. https://go- gn.net/research/openness-and-education-a-beginners-guide/
Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research, and practice.
Johns Hopkins University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/reader.action? docID=3318874&ppg=87
Hey Aiden 🙂
Thank you for your thoughts on the readings this week! I found that our thoughts differ slightly regarding learning pathways in teaching formats. In my experience, I would say that most face-to-face / traditional learning environments in universities took a more centralized approach and online learning classes were more decentralized/distributed. This cycles back to the Morris & Stommel reading where traditional education is described in the form of a banking model, transactional between students and teachers. But things are changing and decentralized/distributed is becoming more common, especially in the K-12 system.
I chuckled a little at the use of Second Life in an educational setting too but if it works, it works! I think the D-I-Y nature of integrating social media sites into digital learning is beneficial in some ways, as most students are already familiar with how to use said programs. What do you think? Do you like the D-I-Y style or more the use of learning management systems (LMS)?
Hey! Thanks for your reply, that’s a difficult question to answer because I have never really had a DIY course delivered outside of in person courses. I think an example of this would be in one of my Indigenous studies courses that was significant to me choosing to pursue Indigenous studies in an institutional setting was told entirely through storytelling. That being said, I think DIY edtech would work well for me, as it may be engaging in ways online learning can miss.
Hi Aiden!
Thanks for your thoughts on this weeks readings!
I liked how you pointed out the timing aspect of the different course delivery options. This was huge for me when we were all doing online learning in 2020. I found asynchronous courses difficult because I couldn’t ask my questions immediately as I went through the material. Did you/do you have a preference between synchronous and asynchronous classes? why? I eventually learned to love asynchronous courses because I could take my time with the material and was able to process it in my own way.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Hey! To answer your question, I think I prefer asynchronous, but that may be because it’s the summer so it allows for more freedom in my schedule for activities. Synchronous courses are fine too, but my most memorable learning experiences have come from in person classes, just because of the educators ability to connect with me, and other students.
Hi Aiden!
I really like how you brought up the idea of response time in regards to different learning structures! This is a really important point, because feedback has such a great impact on learning especially when it is timely and specific to the individual learner. This does seem to be a struggle in a lot of online learning environments as you have to wait until others are online in order to interact and this often is not happening in real time (especially with asynchronous learning). It can be hard to find the value in asking questions when you do not get immediate support, which then can impact the teacher-learner relationship. I know I never ask as many questions to an instructor of an online class as I would in-person and this ends up limiting my interactions to only what is required through the course. As a future educator, I have found this hard as the bond I have made with a lot of my in-person instructors is a valuable asset to my future as a teacher. The connections and support I have gained from them and the comfort to reach out in my future teaching career is indispensable, but I have not experienced this in any online course as the student-learner relationship has always been harder to form. I also wonder how the lack of connection can impact the specifics of feedback on course work. Are online instructors able to fully know us as learners through only a limited amount of content?
I also really enjoyed the idea of using a platform like Second Life for online learning! It seems like that could be beneficial in creating some of the social interaction that usually is missing in online courses, while also being pretty funny!
Thanks for the post, Aiden! I appreciate how you were able to bring together ideas from both readings into your thoughts. In some cases, I wonder if you could explain what you mean more. For example, “I began to ask myself why the provision of resources does not participate as directly to higher learning as one would believe”. Provision of resources isn’t a common phrase. Can you explain what you mean by it?
Going to one of your other points, you mentioned, “online learning environments present much more of a challenge as I feel as though they naturally take a centralized learning pathway as student communication is limited”. I have two thoughts on this, 1) it really depends on the course. There are plenty of online courses that are decentralized, but you may be right that the common online (especially “COVID forced remote-delivery”) course is centralized, and 2) students tend to be more challenged by decentralized courses. Many students are much more comfortable staying within a box and following steps. The learning isn’t as rich and they find it easier. Do my thoughts go against your experiences?
Hello! Thank you for your reply, by provision of resources I mean resources such as laptops from the library, access to the online databases in the library, student unions, and other student oriented resources that would potentially enable students to improve their learning abilities on their own volition. I agree with you that COVID forced remote-delivery has limited options in their delivery methods. I would add that I think the effectiveness of a learning pathway can also be very dependent on the course material.
Hello Aiden!
I totally agree that timing is a huge factor in online course structure. Asynchronous and synchronous courses differ by quite a lot! I’m not sure if I have a preference but they both have their pros and cons. Asynchronous courses offer flexibility while synchronous ones aid in staying on track and real-time responses. I wonder whether synchronous or asynchronous courses are easier for instructors to teach and put together, given their unique structures.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Aiden!
I enjoyed reading your post and can agree with you when you say the reading helped you with your understanding of education. I also want to mention you had some very interesting points about figure 4.1, a way that I never looked at it! If you had a preference of learning what style would it be? Also, we’re you able find some learning platforms you didn’t realize you were using beforehand?
Thanks for the post! I look forward to reading your next one.
Hey thank you, I think mine would definitely be decentralised in an in-person environment, as I find that I naturally talk to my peers about course material in class. I think one learning platform that I didn’t realise was having an effect on my learning was youtube. I know it is a very popular app, but I often use it to break up my day during long study sessions. I think this helps distract my mind, and be able to reapply myself to another subject after working for a while.