DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDY GUIDE

Almost all distance education courses are based on a  study guide , which provides a map of the course and the framework for the other materials to rest on. Much of the presentation of information, as well as the analysis, explanation, and discussion, that an instructor might make in a face-to-face setting can be put into the study guide. Traditionally the study guide was distributed in printed form, but today it is more likely to be available in electronic form online.

 

 A typical study guide contains the following:

·         An introduction to the course and a statement of its goals and objectives

·         A calendar and schedule of when specific lessons or activities are to be completed

·         A map that makes the structure of the course clear

·         Guidance about how to use the time allotted for study

·         A substantial presentation of information relevant to each objective, with the instructor ’ s commentary and discussion

·         Explanation of relationships between contents of reading and other media

·         Directions for activities and exercises

·         A set of self-testing questions to be answered or issues to be discussed for the purpose of self-evaluation

·         An explanation of the grading scheme and other course requirements

·         Directions and advice regarding the preparation and submission of written and other assignments

·         An annotated bibliography and other references

·         Suggestions for application work or other activity outside the course

·         Suggestions regarding good study techniques

·         Information about how and

Copyright | CENGAGE Learning | Distance Education | lawandabritt@yahoo.com | Printed from www.chegg.com

 

DISTANCE EDUCATION WRITING STYLE

Writing Style

Although all authors can be encouraged to develop some personal writing styles, it is important that study materials be written in a conversational rather than literary or scholarly tone. This means using the first person rather than the third, and using as simple a vocabulary as the subject and level of student allows. The study guide is meant to substitute for the normal explanations given by an instructor in a classroom or instructor   ’s office, and the language should reflect this. The way in which difficult concepts are recognized as such, the use of per-zonal anecdotes or examples, comments reflecting different opinions or disagree-mint with the text or readings, and the raising of questions for students to think about, all help to establish a more conversational atmosphere in the study guide. Ideally, the design team can project an instructor   ’  s personality into the study guide, so the students have a sense of being  “  taught  ”  by a specific individual. Although this may appear to be inconsistent with the point made earlier about distance education course being taught by a team, it is not (Moore & Kearsley

 Copyright | CENGAGE Learning | Distance Education | lawandabritt@yahoo.com | Printed from www.chegg.com

The Trend

5. Mobile Learning

Mobile devices are a big part of our daily life. I bet you’re using it right now to read this post or, at least, it’s within your reach. Am I right? That’s why mobile devices are the best tool to prolong your learning and to access study content everywhere at any time. More info here.

6. Bring your Own Device (BYOD)

While the concept of mobile learning appeals mainly to students, BYOD focuses on the teaching perspective and encourages every student to bring their own device to class in order to follow the lesson. In this sense, there are a vast number of education apps that teachers can use to design an engaging lesson. Why don’t you try ExamTime Mobile now?

      

7. MOOCs

Massive open online courses have been popularised by top universities in the last few years. This trend allows any person to access quality education regardless of your demographic and financial situation. It has proven to be a win-win scenario that will continue to thrive in the future.

8. Blended Learning

Even though some people might get confused by its name, the reality is that this trend is already in place in the majority of institutions. It consists of splitting learning between the online and offline world. Thanks to the arrival of apps such as ExamTime, blended learning has become the preferred option worldwide for modern education.

Open e-learning paper

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Issue No.40 Assessment, Certification, and Quality Assurance in Open Learning

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Open Learning and its Future of Assessment, Certification and Quality Assurance. 

 

Open learning is scaling up again after the ODL-peak in 1990’s. Thanks to the ongoing changes in societies, working life and technology enabled globalization of education, open education has more potential users today than ever before. The major question is how to implement it for achieving best learning results. 

 

Many initiatives took place during the last years: The ongoing debate on Open Educational Resources was leading to the influential 2012 Paris OER Declaration by UNESCO. In 2013, the "Opening up Education" communication was published by the European Commission demanding for "Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources". And this year, the "Declaration of Crete" calling for "Re-establishing Openness as Default" was approved in a common workshop of the International Community for Open Research and Education (ICORE) and the Open Education Consortium (OEC) at the international LINQ conference 2014.

 

Today open learning is introduced in many educational systems and sectors throughout Europe thanks to major flagship initiatives like Open Discovery Space and Inspiring Science Education involving all 28 EU member states and beyond. The proof of concept and potential benefits will be demonstrated and evaluated in the next years requiring a strong focus on assessment, on certification and in particular on the key quality dimension in open learning. Currently the vision of open learning is applied and amended for opening up education combining innovations and quality (Stracke 2014).

 

This issue of eLearning Papers presents a collection of in-depth articles and reports from the field on "Assessment, certification, and quality assurance in open learning". These papers provide a comprehensive glimpse to what is taking place in open learning today.Open 

Harvard online course experiment

MOOC philosophy has always come across as "Go big or go home." But some of the most interesting experiments occurring right now would better be described as "Divide and conquer." These undertakings — one an experiment at Harvard (MA) and the other a longer-term commitment at the University of Michigan — are allowing schools to try out new practices from a narrower perspective, while still impacting the broader workings of the institution.

International Ties

The population of non-U.S. students at the University of Michigan has increased every year over the last decade. The 2,619 students from China, Hong Kong and Macau make up 44 percent of the institution's international enrollment in the 2014-2015 academic year. Yet that's a pittance compared to the nearly 23,000 Chinese students who have registered for "Model of Thinking," one of U Michigan's first massive open online courses to be produced in Mandarin for the China market through its Coursera ties.

Coursera's site features Chinese-language courses from four schools in China, including Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong U. But over the last couple of years the company has announced deals with three Chinese firms, NetEase, Hujiang and Guokr, to launch Chinese-language versions of its English-language courses.

As one of the first four institutions to sign up with Coursera in 2012, it makes sense that U Michigan would participate in the China projects, alongside other Coursera members. But beyond that, said James DeVaney, assistant vice provost of Digital Education & Innovation at the university, this project could also be considered an extension of the school's own ties to the country. The institution has been undertaking research, education initiatives and partnerships with Chinese universities "since James Angell was president," he noted (Angell's term lasted from 1871 to 1909.)

Although the courses are just beginning to crank up, DeVaney expects to see two promising outcomes:

Dropout rates will probably stink in China too, but the data will be rich.DeVaney said that it's a "fair assumption" the university will see the same kind of low completion rates in the China MOOCs as it does in its English-language MOOCs. But even rock-bottom rates may not matter, he pointed out: "One of the issues with the completion rate as a metric is that we're finding that the students participating in MOOCs don't always intend to complete [them]. That's not their learning objective."

MOOCs equate to research hotbeds for the schools that undertake them, and the China efforts should be no different. "There's lots of experimentation with different forms of video, with different interaction tools, with tools that live outside these classrooms, which may impact the overall level of engagement," DeVaney explained. "There are many different 'micro experiments' going on within each of these courses. What will emerge over the next two, three, four years is more compelling and comprehensive learning analytics data about these courses that will go deeper than just the completion statistic."

Faculty can improve their instruction in the face of diversity.What's most profound for institutions participating in non-traditional MOOCs, said DeVaney, is what faculty learn from those teaching experiences that they can bring back and apply in residential learning environments. He cited the example of Margaret Wooldridge, a professor of mechanical engineering who teaches "Introduction to Thermodynamics: Transferring Energy from Here to There," a MOOC being offered three times this year on the NetEase China Web site.

DE mission statement

I like Singularity mission statement to get students inspired..

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What is Singularity University? Our mission is to educate, inspire and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges. “Singularity University is an opportunity to bring people from every conceivable walk of life with people that share a common aspiration that is to do better, to be better, and to make a […]

OMDE 603

Understanding distance education in the new era can be complex practice.