Week 10

HOW CAN WE REMAIN RELEVANT IN DISTANCE LEARNING IN A TIME OF CONSTANT AND ACCELERATED CHANGE?

            In this time of age, things are always drastically changing. I remember when I was a child and my dad was showing me his record collection. He then went on to explain how they would probably not exist anymore-even C.D.’s which was just the new fad at the time. He said it will probably be a little chip that holds all your music in one device. I was sure that it was a off the wall thought, but to my surprise years later the iPod was created, then the IPod mini. It’s amazing how things have changed in just a short amount of time.

            I remember receiving my first cell phone in 8^th grade. Comparing it to the phone now, amazing how it has become super thin, small with a lot more functions on it. When the iPhone first came out, they were extremely expensive. They still are, but the older versions are at least with a discount. For the longest time, I refused to get an iPhone. I didn’t think it was smart to have all of my “eggs in one basket.” I had a Sony camera and iPod and a flip phone/blackberry at the time. I refused to go over to an iPhone. It wasn’t until my husband decided we should go on our own phone plan and my friend kept accessing pinterest on her phone. I was planning my wedding, so pinterest was really on my new watch list. I started to like the iPhone and thought it was actually better that I had a camera and music on one device. Easier to pack and travel with.

            For me to stay relevant in a time of constant and accelerated change is to stay up with the times. It’s important to “stay continually educated and evolve with the changing educational landscape” (Lancaster). I remember the thought of never having an iPhone as I was holding my first one in the AT&T store. The thought of silliness and “why did I ever think that” crossed my mind. It still does. Every vacation my husband and I have taken, I have always used our phone for a picture or a “selfie!” Now with the iPhone you can upload the photo directly to Facebook. I would have never known this, unless I observed my friends on their iPhone and learned from others.

    As an educator I am constantly learning new things to implement into my classroom. This week, I went on a website you may have heard of it, teacherspayteachers.com, If you haven’t heard of it, this website has all different lessons and activities you can do with your students. All you have to do is download them to your computer. All of the lessons are free or $1-12 at the most. On the website you can also sort by grade and subject as well. You can also follow the teacher for any upcoming new products. The website also allows you to upload units for sale. I think the site gets a commission, but some teachers have retired and only use this website for their income. It’s amazing how many teachers use this website and pay for other ideas. This is how you stay relevant.

    You have to “learn as an active rather than a passive process.” (Anderson and Dron). I am constantly learning new things to use in my classroom. I’m taking any training I have extra time for and trying to implement new strategies while teaching. The YouTube video shows ten new future technologies that will change the world. It’s very interesting and disturbing at the same time.

         I can’t find the article, but recently on BBC it explained how students in rural England and India are using a virtual teacher. Throughout the whole reading this week, I kept thinking about this article. Basically the students would walk into the classroom and there would be a computer for them to log in. The students would then start discussing and learning from the teacher that was being projected onto the screen.  In rural areas in Alaska students are given an opportunity to take certain classes that are not offered to them by distance. “Students can learn wherever they are located from instructional resources wherever they are located” (Moore and Kearsley) and this is what distance education is all about. It’s providing an opportunity for students who don’t have the access or the ability to take a course.

         The reading mentioned how some of the videos teachers have created are of low quality and hopefully in the near future have “high-speed access to the World Wide Web becomes more generally available” (Moore and Kearsley) I think this has already occurred. Accessing the web on my phone, laptop, iPad or at school is quite fast. I understand in the areas of the world such as Africa for example, they might not have the ability to receive quick bandwidth. I know when my husband and I visited Africa; it was eye opening and definitely a third world country. The fact that there is some distance education occurring is mind boggling to me. While touring there we didn’t see any homes made out of wood, brick or clay. We saw earth home that were made out of dirt and had bamboo roofs. We met a peace core women who was staying with a family and the description of her environment made me very thankful for what I had when I returned home. Another way to stay relevant is to travel and see what has already started to be developed in other countries.

         This week my students are learning about Johnny Appleseed. Today they had to write how they would change the world for the future. After watching the video and reading the new upcoming technologies, it’s interesting to me that some of my students “inventions” were pretty close to the ones mentioned. Some mentioned were flying cars, robots, 10 foot bed with arms to get breakfast and help people from being late to work (I had to put that one in to make you smile) and from the reading “emotionally responsive toys and robots” (Moore). Whatever the invention is it’s important to remember to choose the technology that will help your students be the most successful.

         There are many technologies that are going to be developed and explained how to implement them into your life or even the classroom, as an educator we need to be knowledgeable of the tool and use with caution. Not every tool is going to work for a student or the class. Depending on the activity, it’s important to choose wisely. To stay relevant it’s important to stay educated and attend trainings as much as possible. It’s also important to travel and experience new things in person and to read literature, watch tutorial videos and follow other educators.

         While working on my bachelors I took a computer class. A consultant from Smart Technology came to present to our class. I remember the presenter mentioning there are “65,000 technology jobs that will be available for your child and we don’t even know what they are yet.” Now, I know what you’re thinking, because I had the same thought. How does this person know that? Is it really that many jobs? As the times are changing and new technology tools are created, I’m starting to think this person was on to something. The key to being successful is to staying knowledgeable, (via twitter, YouTube, blogs, MOOC’s, educational trainings, peer collaboration and literature) of the items being invented and choosing wisely which ones to implement into your classroom and/or job.

Technology Events Timeline

This is an interesting read!  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7625680.stm

Resources

Moore, M.G., and Kearsley, G. (2011).  Distance Education:  A Systems View of Online Learning, 3^rd Edition.  Belmont: Cengage Learning.

Lancaster, M. (2014, March 27). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from https://farfromhomenearathand.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/how-can-we-remain-relevant-in-distance-learning-in-a-time-of-constant-and-accelerated-change/

Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011, March 1). Three Generations of Distance Education Pedagogy. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890/1663

The International Association for Distance Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.iadl.org.uk/Article17.htm

10 Future Technologies That Will Change The World. (2014, November 30). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMymFYJWW5M