Distance education bridges geography to bring learning directly to students anywhere at any time. Overcoming obstacles of a traditional brick-and-mortar setting, online learners independently and collaboratively take their learning to a higher level, often providing an even more interactive experience than is provided in a face-to-face setting. Seat time is replaced by learning time. There is no need for busy work. The learning experience becomes unraveled from non-learning activities which bog down learning in traditional settings.
As an administrator for an online school and a student of yet another online school, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of online schools. Accessibility is the first and most commonly recognized advantage of distance learning, however there are many others that this blog will seek to explore.
Throughout this blog, we will share resources, engage in meaningful dialog, and I will continue to add content that corresponds with my Distance Learning course at Walden University, applies my experiences as an online student and also as an online school manager.
To begin, I would like to share a few resources applicable to our shared learning and exploration of online learning and distance education.
Resource Links:
* http://voices.yahoo.com/online-learning-4-reasons-why-distance-learning-is-11958318.html
* http://www.usjournal.com/en/students/help/distancelearning.html
To
I am very excited to hear about your experience in dealing and working with two completely different online school. For your first blog, this is really pretty and appealing visually. Your resource link is very interesting. I'm wondering if you have noticed any positives in one school as opposed to the other school with your experience working with both.
ReplyDeleteIzzi
Izzi,
ReplyDeleteI actually work with four different online schools for my job and also attend Walden. The experiences are very varied.
One thing I have noticed is that the online schools I work for are Kinder-12th grade and provide a lot of synchronous instruction, which is part of those programs and also a state requirement for funding. Walden provides asynchronous instruction and more of a blogging approach to interaction.
K-12 students would need more synchronous learning, while graduate students like ourselves are more independent and will thrive (especially with our busy schedules) with an asynchronous model.
The designs are different (synchronous versus asynchronous), but both the K-12 and grad programs provide text materials, articles, and other resources, as well as instructors and advisers to guide students towards success.
Between the four schools I work with, there are noticeable differences. One provides experiences for Kinder-12th, another provides a CTE focus for high school, another focuses on at-risk students in high school, and the last one is much smaller and will likely become a hybrid program.
All four schools (used to have five) are part of one parent company. The approaches of each program are a bit different and each has its own unique elements. They each utilize different curriculum and have a different set of teachers.
The diversity of the programs is definitely an advantage. Students who are not successful in one model may do very well in another.
One thing I absolutely love about the K-8 program is that students can continue on their coursework during breaks and even during the summer. This allows them to cover more than one year in a year, which helps students who are behind to catch up and also challenges students who are ahead to keep moving at their own pace. The K-8 program is mastery based, which is absolutely beautiful. Only one of our high school programs provides credit recovery, but summer school is an option for students. We also help students even after they have completed coursework to ensure they have opportunities to meet state testing requirements.
The elementary and middle schools also offer many face-to-face outtings for students based on geographical locations of students and our high schools provide events such as Prom and graduation ceremonies. I hope to attend a grad ceremony with Walden, once I have completed my MS. I really appreciate that piece, since online students work every bit as hard (sometimes harder) than those in a classroom. It is important that the same types of benchmarks and recognition are provided.
I think many people would be very surprised to know the education that is really happening in distance and online learning. Education is being transformed and we are part of a metamorphosis. As online students enter colleges or leave colleges into the "real world," employers are truly becoming more aware and impressed with the quality of work and depth of knowledge presented. How do you feel to be part of this movement?
Aubrey
Aubrey
Hi Aubrey,
ReplyDeleteConsider a few relevant photo's for your blog, to intrigue the reader.
I don't have a digital camera at this time, but when I do that is a really good suggestion :)
DeleteVery interesting Aubrey. I look forward to following your blog.
ReplyDeleteJoy
Thank you, Joy!
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