Principles, Theories and Models

 

Artifact

 

Reflection

Course: EDTEC 550

Purpose: To research distance education and the systems behind the scenes to determine the criteria that make a quality institution, course and instructor.

Situation: Distance education is often falsely viewed as an easy way to teach and learn. To the uneducated observer, comments such as these are banal : “What is so different about being an educator at a distance?” “Why can’t you take material from a campus course and teach it online?” “Being an instructor for a distance course is so much easier than being one in the classroom” and “Anyone can upload information and manage a distance course.”

How are distance courses assembled, maintained, and delivered? Who is in charge of quality control? What are the unique traits that are possessed by an effective distance educator?
 
What problem(s) or opportunities arose as you were developing this artifact? The biggest problem I encountered was figuring out how to investigate institutions behind their shiny facades. Some questions that arose included: How do the “diploma mills” camouflage their appearance ? What does accreditation mean? Which are valid? What does it take to be a successful online educator? Who else helps develop curriculum?

What did you learn from engaging that problem or opportunity, and how do you hope to apply in the future the experience you gained? ? The main thing I learned is the systems approach to instruction, which should always include a team of professionals that collaborate and design courseware. Additionally, I am now also more aware of the fact that many people work behind the scenes of an online class.

What does this work demonstrate about you and your capabilities? This work demonstrates my ability to research and examine qualitative data amongst the plethora of embellished information on the Internet.

What did completing this work teach you about yourself within the field of educational technology? The completion of this work taught me how to design distance education courseware using a systematic approach model. I also learned how to create a learning management system (LMS) using Moodle.