Annotated resource list

http://www.taftcollege.edu/dl/dl_tips.htm
This website gives some extremely useful advice for maximizing your distance learning experience.

http://www.mydistancelearningweb.com/tips/
This website provides links to help you as a distance learner to find resources to make your distance learning experience a positive one.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/06/30/7-more-tips-for-distance-learning
This blog gives an ongoing list of good ideas to help make the distance learning experience effective and useful.

http://www.helium.com/items/1906728-study-tips-for-distance-learning
This website sees things from your own perspective as a distance learner and gives valuable information to assist you in making the experience worth your while.

http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/03/2011/distance-learning-college-study-tips/
This website seeks to help you maximize your study skills to get the most effectiveness out of the least effort. It is well written and easy to read.

http://www.cccti.edu/DistanceLearning/DL2009/success.htm
This particular website seeks to give you practical advice to make the distance learning experience as easy to understand and efficient as possible.

http://www.thevelvetmind.com/distance-learning-tips.htm
Four super easy and practical tips to make sure the distance learning environment can be successful for you.

http://www.distance-learning-college-guide.com/distance-learning-resource.html
Valuable resource for all aspects of distance learning.

Virtual Tours

Interactive Tours

"Example 2: Interactive Tours

A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the art work on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district’s instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?"

This scenario caught my eye because I have seen firsthand the excitement this type of interactive tool can create. In the school I currently teach at, the history and art students get those very opportunities within the scope of their coursework, even as elementary students! The ultimate goal is of course “student-centered learning, because it strongly promotes active learning, collaboration, mastery of course material, and student control over the learning process” (Simonson et al., 2009, p. 231). What better way than to allow students to experience (albeit virtually) the wonders of a venue that is nowhere near where they are located physically? I watched as my own son was introduced to the virtual tour of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History as part of his fossil unit. He not only got to experience the fossil portion, but the entire museum. What a wonderful experience! Using this tool, a visitor can experience some of the key exhibits, use an interactive map of the museum, and explore areas that they might previously not have considered.

Another fabulous virtual tour site for students is that of the American Museum of Natural History, specifically the butterfly exhibit. This tour allows for identification of various butterfly species, exploration of a butterfly garden, and even a butterfly cam to allow the students to see through the eyes of a butterfly!

Both sites have sections for further educational value, and provide amazing insight into the behind the scenes aspects of these wonderful museums.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.


Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Located at http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/.

American Museum of Natural History. Located at http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/butterflies/tour.html.

Defining Distance Learning

I have used the distance learning mode of education for a number of years now. I have watched the definition of distance learning evolve and change, adapting to changes in technology and our culture. Distance learning used to mean mailing the assignments completed on paper to an instructor in another city or state. Slowly it has evolved to the point where we can now interact with people in different time zones and different parts of the world instantaneously. In fact, according to the resources this week, “distance education is one of the most dramatic of the recent technology-based innovations influencing education.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2011).

I began using the distance learning model when my son was only a year old. My husband of ten years had just been killed in a car accident, and I found myself behind the times in the job market. I set out to increase my marketability, and the only feasible way to do that at that time was using the distance learning model. I began attending Walden University at that time, and set about earning my first Master's degree. Once that was completed, I found myself hooked and began a second Master's degree program. The tools I have gained through this mode of learning have proven invaluable in my own brick and mortar teaching environment.

Several years passed and suddenly I was faced with my own child needing this environment in order to continue his education. He was diagnosed with some special needs and it became evident that the regular brick and mortar model was no longer going to work for him. I moved him into the virtual environment and have not regretted it for a single moment. He has blossomed and will truly be better prepared for furthering his education when he completes his schooling! I saw what a difference this made for him, so I set about moving myself into employment in this environment as well. Hence, this degree. I decided that getting this degree and understanding of how the whole distance learning concept worked from start to finish would help me get the job I had now set my sights on. I was right! I got my job this year, and was able to leave the brick and mortar environment behind forever. My son and I enjoy working "together" daily and the education I get to provide and he gets to master is phenomenal.

As schools run into more and more funding difficulties, and class sizes grow exponentially larger, the distance learning model is growing into a more and more popular choice for children as young as kindergarten. As more of these programs are offered, the competition aspect becomes more prevalent. The race is on to be the one that offers the largest choice, most dynamic curriculum, and the broadest scope available. The company I teach for is a national company, with schools in a growing number of states. It's amazing to see the options available to our students and I am constantly astounded at the quality of the education our students receive.

Like any other school, particularly one so dependent on technology, our school is constantly adapting and evolving to meet the ever changing needs. Our text said "the day is coming when the work done by correspondence will be greater in amount than that done in the classrooms of our academies and colleges; when the students who shall recite by correspondence will far outnumber those who make oral recitations" (Simonson et al., 2009, p. 37). In my opinion, this day is coming much sooner than anyone could possibly have anticipated!

Reference

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Acces my mind map here:
http://www.webspirationpro.com/view/1027738a26db3

Fitting the pieces together

As I have moved through the assignments, resources, and reflections of this course, I have come to the conclusion that learning styles and strategies play a much bigger part in how we actually learn than I originally thought.  I hadn't ever really considered how knowledge was transferred, or the role of memory in various learning theories and situations.  My view on how I learn has not really changed.  I am a learner that learns best intrinsically, on my own or by using my connections.  My best strategy is to learn visually, followed closely by actually participating in the learning activity.  Apparently, I am a strange mix of connectivism and constructivism as far as learning theories go!  I do find that I am heavily dependent on technology to find information.  This is in part, I am sure, due to the fact that I am unable to function at full capacity in a face to face social situation.  However, in a virtual world, I am not constrained by the social anxieties and fears that usually plague me in a brick and mortar world.  Creation of projects, displays of information, and organization of data are all made far easier by use of the computer.  This serves to bring home the fact that someone had to design the technological tools I now take for granted, and that I need to consider my user/learner when I in turn design a tool for use technologically.  In developing the learning theory matrix, in addition to our own course resources, I discovered some pretty valuable information at the following websites:

http://www.educ.drake.edu/romig/educ350/paradigms.html

http://otec.uoregon.edu/learning_theory.htm

http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~Lynda_abbot/Social.html

http://t4tl.wikispaces.com/file/view/Connectivism+luis+gutierrez%27s+paper.pdf

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm

I suppose the old adage my grandfather always said really is true, the only way to keep young is to continue learning in keeping with the times!

Connectivism

I used to depend upon solely my own abilities to learn.  However, as I have gotten older and the material has become more complicated and out of my comfort zone, I have learned to network to gain information on a variety of subjects.  I have learned to rely on my friends and family for information, particularly from those members who are older than I am.  The ability to network is a skill that has changed dramatically over the last few decades.  Technology has created opportunities that never existed before.  I now subscribe to various lists to gain information about subjects that I am not proficient in such as livestock guardian dogs, goat health, and now technology design.  Facebook is a fantastic resource because it links people on every continent together.  By doing so, it has widened the knowledge pool exponentially.  I also quite enjoy the ability to use search engines within the scope of the internet to find information quickly.  The process of researching information used to take a long time searching card catalogs (I know, I’m dating myself here), microfiche (again, dating myself), and encyclopedias.  Now, it takes merely seconds to have hundreds of choices at your fingertips.  When I learn something, it tends to stick with me and I have the ability to recall it when needed.  Because of that ability, people within my network often come to me to either get information or get help finding that information.  I was always very good at finding the information, now I am able to find it, use it, and share it with little effort.  Since the connectivism theory depends heavily upon our connections, I feel my learning network definitely confirms the validity of that theory.

Noelle's Mind Map

Learning and the brain

This is a topic that has truly fascinated me for years.  It's amazing to think that everyone is born with this almost unbelievable ability to take in and process information from so many different stimuli and sources!  As a teacher, I have worked very hard to see to it that every brain in my class, no matter the "ability level", was engaged and actively learning each day.  There is so much more involved in that than simply lecturing or providing new information.  We have to take each individual into consideration, and work to learn what makes each student "click".  During my research on this topic, I discovered a fantastic website that has links to all sorts of articles, links, and even maps dealing with the brain and how we learn.  There are several articles that I have bookmarked for reference later!  This wonderful website can be found at http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/front_neuro.html, I hope you find it as fascinating as I do!  Another article I found on the Kappan Magazine site is giving an updated perspective on using brain based education in today's classrooms.  It points out that there was lots of ongoing research, but in order for that research to be helpful to us we must be able to apply it with today's student population.  It made quite a few valid points that I found both interesting and helpful and can be found at http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm .  Another fabulous website I found has information about many other topics besides brain research while still incorporating that research in the articles, videos, and podcasts that are available there.  I have bookmarked this website as well, since I can see that it will truly help me as I move through my career in education.  Access this website here http://www.brains.org/.   Thanks for looking!
Noelle

Welcome to my Instructional Design blog!

 During my explorations this week, I found several quite helpful sites that resonated with me coming from a public school classroom background.  One of those sites is put out by DePaul University and addresses multiple issues found in a classroom setting no matter what level the classroom serves.  It was quite helpful to me to see what people in the instructional design field actually do in "real life".  I could see how it worked theoretically which is why I began this degree program, but had a very vague idea about what it actually entailed.  You can access this site at the following link:  http://www.iddblog.org/.

Another site I found extremely helpful was about what an instructional designer actually does.  This blog even goes into detail about various skills someone needs to get into the field, careers that use those skills, and even professional organizations people can join related to the field of instructional design.  The author even goes into helping the reader figure out if the field of instructional design is the right one for that particular person.  This site can be accessed at the following link:  http://christytucker.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/what-does-an-instructional-designer-do/ .

 The site that was by far the most diverse was one that lists the top eighteen blogs in instructional design.  This site has links to each of those blogs with a short blurb about each one.  Since the other blogs I bookmarked were not listed on this site, I now have twenty sites to access for information to help me along my way!  You can check this site out at http://www.networkedblogs.com/topic/instructional_design/ .

Thanks for looking!
Noelle Waller

References:

DePaul University. (2010). Instructional Design and Development Blog. Retrieved from http://www.iddblog.org/ on January 9, 2011.

Top 18 Blogs in:  instructional design. (2008). Retrieved from  http://www.networkedblogs.com/topic/instructional_design/ on January 9, 2011.

Tucker, C. (2007). What does an instructional designer do? Retrieved from http://christytucker.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/what-does-an-instructional-designer-do/ on January 9, 2011.