LT 741 Distance Learning Systems and Design
Dr. Dan Coldeway
Course Description:
This course was an analysis of the
history, philosophy, design, and evolution of distance learning systems.
Distance learning is a world-wide concept and the course used
examples from many countries to emphasize institutional, program and course
design methods and approaches. The course assumed
a system perspective in the analysis of distance education and the distance
learner. The various components of distance learning
systems were introduced and overviewed including a)
course development and design; b) course production; c) course delivery; d)
learner support; e) evaluation of courses and the methods of cybernetic control
of both student performance and instructional effectiveness; and f) research and
evaluation of distance learning systems.
Course Reflections
Although I felt a lot of anxiety before completing the final project in this course, it ended up being one of my favorite projects throughout the MSET program. For the final, we were put in teams of two or three. Our assignment was to choose a topic of interest regarding distance education and lead the discussion board for three days. We had to lead the discussion topic and assign readings, pose questions on the discussion board, and respond to the other's answers and comments. My group only had two members, Sandy Krage and myself. We were assigned as the first group because, at the time, I had a baby due in a few weeks. We chose the topic "Should DE systems be individualized for most learners, or is group learning a better way to go?" and provided examples of open learning and virtual reality projects in which the students were presented with authentic tasks and professional-quality software tools to enable them to pursue their own interests and guide their own learning. Sandy and I communicated with each other through NetMeeting, phone calls and in person to prepare for the discussion board. This was my first experience leading a discussion board. Our classmates responded very well to the web board, and I looked forward to reading the comments each day. Being the facilitator required much more time and preparation than being a participant in the discussion. It made me work harder to get additional background information so that I could respond intelligently to the comments from others. I enjoyed this type of discussion because I had time to think before responding. At the completion of the web board discussion, each of us was required to write a paper relating to our topic.
Projects Completed
Syllabus Themes Plan of Study Distance Education