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last.updated 5.17.10

 

The Labor of Distance Learning


Purpose

For this class, we will examine the labor of distance education. The decisions that we make to design curriculum for a distance writing course will be colored by the working conditions that the instructor (and others who support the class) are subject to. To this end, you will use asynchonous media to work in your groups to understand the issues about the labor of distance education and you will draft a policy based on what your group determines are best practices.


Activity

Each group will pretend that they are the members of the technology committee for their English/Writing Department. The committee have been informed that their writing faculty (of all ranks) who teach courses at a distance feel that policies and infrastructure for distance education favor instructors who simply lecture and test. Your department chair has given your committee the task of composing and proposing a policy to the Office of Distance Education to improve conditions. However, you have until Monday by 4:45 to complete this task and your busy schedules do not allow you to easily meet face-to-face.

In the following groups, use the Blackboard Discussion Board to discuss the readings (including possibly disagreeing with DePew, et al.) and address the following questions. As you address these questions think about the obstacles that need to be overcome.

Group Members Tasks
1 Cynthia, Susan, Danielle, O'Neika,
  • What is the ideal interaction between instructor and student? What should an instructor do to achieve this ideal? What type of support or infrastructure* does an course need?
  • What is the ideal interaction between students? What should an instructor do to achieve this ideal? What type of support or infrastructure does an course need?
  • What is the ideal interaction of the students with the course content? What should an instructor do to achieve this ideal? What type of support or infrastructure does an course need?
  • How can we best use this opportunity to also teach the students about using/writing with computer technologies?

* an infrastructure includes, among other things, the media of instruction, the support to design the pedagogy, the support to use the technology for both instructor and student, the training to use the technology for both instructor and student, and the means in which the instructor will be compensated for her work.
2 Christie, Tesha, Diane
3 Nathan, Nancy, Chevonne, Zsuzsanna

Each group should determine how they will approach this task. You and your group are required to use the Blackboard Discussion Board to show the process of your work, as well as the final product. Thus you are encouraged to develop a thread for each of these questions. You will produce a thread that has the final, polished draft of the policy. The policy should be 1-2 pages, single spaced.

You should be done with this by 4:45 on Monday, May 24, 2010. Try not to spend more than three hours and ten minutes total on this.