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last.updated 5.20.12

 

The Promises & Perils of Distance Learning


Purpose

Today we will begin the class with a discussion about writing at the graduate level to help you understand the expectations for the writing that you will do for this class (and maybe beyond). Then we will address the question, "Should colleges offer courses to students at a distance?" as well as "If so, why?" and more importantly "If so, how do we do teach the courses well?"


Lecture–Graduate Writing as the Burkean Parlor

The instructor will present Graduate Writing as the Burkean Parlor to explain the expectations for your writing throughout the course (and your graduate career).

Discussion I–Who are the stakeholders

As a class we will list and discuss who the different stakeholders in distance education are.

Activity

Using the assigned Google Document, you and your group will answer the following question together and compose your answers in the document. It is recommend that you use the chat function in Google Documents to discuss your answers and strategies for answering the questions before you compose your answer.

Group Members Tasks
1 Eric, Patricia, Jennifer, Beth, Azania
  • Why teach courses at a distance?
  • What concerns should administrators and instructors have teaching at a distance?
  • What strategies should administrators and instructors adopt to design effective courses (and programs)?
2 Cheri, Nancy, Mark, Megan
3 Catrina, Sarah, Geoerge, Angela

Each group will have 45 minutes to address the questions.

Discussion II–Exploring Best Practices

We will discuss the following:

  • What questions did you have about the readings?
  • According to the readings, why would we want to teach at a distance?
  • Also according to the readings, what are the issues that administrators and instructors must consider when offering courses at a distance? How might a community of inquiry or blended learning respond to these issues?
  • In what ways do these readings resonate with your experiences teaching at a distance or teaching with technology?
  • What strategies should be adopted when teaching courses through computer technologies? How do we make these arguments to the appropriate stakeholders?