“First rule: if we want to understand the world we must be able to ‘see the trees and the forest’;
we must develop the capacity to ‘zoom’ from the whole to the parts, from systems to components
and vice-versa…”
~ Piero Mella, Systems Thinking: Intelligence in Action
You will read in chapter 11 that a distance learning leader is “…a visionary capable of action who guides an organization’s future, is vision, mission, goals, and objectives. The leader guides the organization and its people who have faith in the leader, and have a clear understanding and acceptance of the organization’s worthwhile and shared vision and goals. A distance learning leader has competence in knowing, designing, managing, leading, and visioning distance education” (Simonson et al., 2012).
The leader discussed in Chapter 11 is described as someone separate from the instructor. However, sometimes the leader behind a distance education program is the instructor. Whoever this leader is, the instructor, a manager, an administrator--they must consider the many aspects of a distance learning program before creating the first bit of content. Even the decision to create one distance learning course involves many players who are part of a system.
Before we delve too much further into creating distance learning content, we must, as Piero Mella suggests, zoom out and take a look at the whole before we zoom back into the parts. This is the time to ‘see the trees and the forest.’
We will be reading Chapter 11 in your text and also returning to the case study from our previous lesson to initiate our discussion of the process we might consider when developing a distance learning program. The beginning of our discussion will focus on the elements of a larger system like the Ghana Education Service (GES.) Your goal throughout this lesson should be to consider the systems that you are part of and what should be considered before developing your distance learning lesson/module.
Chapter 11 - Teaching and learning at a distance, "Managing and Leading a Distance Education Organization"
READ: Case Studies in U.S. Distance Education: Implications for Ghana’s Under-Served High Schools
Please refer to sections beginning on page 350 under the heading titled “Proposed Model for Ghana”
After reading through Chapter 11, take a moment to describe what you believe the author’s top 3 most important considerations are for a distance education leader. Follow this list with what you believe the top 3 most important consideration are for a distance education leader (using the information from the text.) Follow this list with what you believe the top 3 most important considerations are for you in your own distance learning lesson/module design/delivery. This can be in list form or in a table or in paragraph form; your choice. It should be submitted together with Assignments 6.2 & 6.3.
9 Points possible, Assignment 6.1
After rescanning the case study from lesson 5 beginning on page 350 from the heading “Proposed Model for Ghana” to the end on page 353 please respond to the following:
Look closely at the researcher’s thought process on program development based on 1) his research results and 2) his needs assessment.
9 Points possible, Assignment 6.2
Your assignment 6.3 is as follows:
In Assignment 5.3 you were asked to list the instructional design (ID) you will be using to guide the design process of your distance learning lesson/module. In this assignment (and in future lessons) you are being asked to consider many of the various elements that form the development a distance education program. You will be compiling the information in the chart below over the next few lessons, to eventually create a final report that will accompany your final distance learning lesson/module.
Use this table to begin making plans and taking “notes” for the many considerations you must make when planning a distance education program. For this, and the next few lessons, you will be asked to send in your rough notes for certain topics. These are being turned in for credit, to help encourage your planning and process and for feedback from me before being submitted it all as a final report as part of your final project. For this assignment 6.3, please submit a rough-draft of the highlighted sections (below) of your Needs Assessment & Process Planning topics, as they relate to your final project planning. Your rough draft should be thorough enough to invite adequate feedback (should include 2-3 ideas for each topic that relate directly to your final project and the distance educational environment you are creating it to be a part of) but it may remain in a rough draft form. Please use each topic as a separate heading in the document you turn in.
Needs Assessment & Process Planning |
Brief Description |
Plans/Notes |
Program Objectives |
What is your overall instructional goal? |
|
Program Description |
Brief description of your lesson idea. (You should already have your description from lesson 5) |
|
Level of Program |
What is the academic or skill level of your audience? |
|
Target Audience |
Who are your learners? (your description from lesson 5) |
|
Project Team |
(ideally) Designers, Instructors, technology specialists, etc. |
|
Planning Stages |
(If this lesson is part of a bigger idea, what stages of development for the larger program should you be considering?) |
|
Budget Plan |
(Cost associated with project team, content development, software, hardware, delivery platform, infrastructure needs, etc.) |
|
Program Content |
What will you use for content? Created by you? Created by another source? How will your content close the distance between the learner and the instructor? |
|
Program Delivery |
Your chosen method (including synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid, etc.) How will the lesson be delivered? Technology Requirements? (some ideas for free distance learning platforms are HERE, HERE or HERE) The choice is yours but you will want to have reasons for the choices you make. Additional Resources: Selecting a Learning Management System: Advice from an Academic Perspective |
|
Faculty Support |
What knowledge would a member of the faculty have to have to implement this? Any technology training necessary? |
|
Student Support |
(See Figure 11-3 in your textbook “Web of Student Services for Online Learners”) Do any apply to your program? |
|
Assessment |
How will you know what your learners have learned? What ways might you assess their learning? (We will discuss this in more detail in a future lesson.) |
|
Evaluation |
How do you plan to evaluate your lesson/module? (See “Quality Control” section on page 331-333 of your text.) |
|
Accessibility |
In your workplace or in the environment you plan to implement your lesson/module, what considerations must you make with regards to your audience and possible accessibility issues? There are accessibility issues for students with disabilities: (This link can show you some of ways Virginia Tech helps to encourage accessibility for its students with disabilities or HERE is an example of what other universities provide for your reference.) There are also accessibility issues to consider involving language and culture which we will discuss more in a future lesson.) |
|
Privacy Considerations |
Consider the term “accessible” with regards to non-students. We do not want student information to be accessible to anybody not associated with your lesson/program. What considerations must you make to guarantee student privacy? Are you part of a system that has already outlined specific requirements that you will need to consider in this regard? |
|
18 Points possible, Assignment 6.3
18 Points Possible
6 - Submission includes notes on the following aspects of the distance learning course design: Program Objectives, Level of Program, Target Audience, Project Team, Budget Plan and Program Delivery.
6 - Notes are thorough enough (should include 2-3 ideas for each topic that relate directly to the final project) to invite adequate feedback on the final paper.
6 - Notes include references from the text as well as outside sources that are cited at the end of the document.
When you have completed all three assignments (6.1, 6.2 & 6.3) please submit them all at the same time in a single document. At the top of your document you should have the lesson name, and underneath that should be your name, email address, and the date. Your paper should be double spaced using a standard font such as Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. Most formatting questions can be resolved by using the APA Publication Manual guidelines. Make sure you have saved your file with the name “Assignment6”. After you have saved you file, go to the student interface and submit your assignment for grading. Click here if you need additional information regarding submission of your assignment.