Topic 2: History and Context of Distributed and Open Learning

Open hands with peppers

Image: Gabrielle Cepella on Unsplash

Things to do by July 13 (all activities are on you and your pod’s WordPress sites)
  1. Copy your Topic 1 initial post from Brightspace and re-create it as a new post on your own blog.
    • If you want to edit or improve it based on your pod’s comments, please go ahead
    • If you don’t know how to add posts to WordPress, please review this video
  2. Read the two assigned Topic 2 readings.
  3. Meet with your Learning Pod to discuss Topic 2
  4. Begin planning your Digital Equity and Perspective project with your Learning Pod
    • Share a draft with me by July 15 – send me a link or file on Mattermost
    • Be sure to review Pod Project Tips for additional guidance
    • See completed examples from previous courses: A, B, C, D, E – please note that these examples are of varying quality
  5. Write a post related to the Topic 2 readings (share on your personal blog) – due Tuesday, July 12
    • Let your pod members know when your post is up. Message them on Mattermost or wherever you have decided to chat
    • You can find each students’ blog URL on our student blog list
  6. Comment on your pod members’ Topic 2 posts to stimulate conversation, reflection, and critical thinking – due Wed, July 13
    • If you want to improve your ability to learn “openly”, you could experiment with using an RSS reader, such as Feedly, to be notified of their new posts
  7. Review the course schedule to ensure you are aware of all activities and deadlines
Topic 2 Readings
Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching Online – A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=3318874 (pp. 76-108) Note: UVic login required.

  • read Chapter 4: Course Structure
Jordan, K. & Weller, M. (2017). Openness and Education: A beginners’ guide. Global OER Graduate Network.

 

As you likely know by now, the remainder of EDCI 339 will be run from WordPress. Please bookmark https://edtechuvic.ca/edci339 for easy reference.

You can find links to my update posts under ‘Sections’ then ‘Summer 2022 Section A02 with Ryan’.

Your work in the rest of the course will also happen on your own WordPress blog that you should have set up by now. It is very important that you get to work on this as soon as possible so that we can work through any difficulties you may encounter. Please watch this video to help you publish your Topic 1 and 2 posts.

As we wrap up Topic 1, I want to highlight that the topics of privacy and human-centred learning were the main focus.

  • For privacy, we were considering the many aspects of privacy related to learning online and using technological tools to support learning (in online or in-person courses).
  • For human-centred learning, we were considering the roles that humans should or do play when learning online or using edtech tools.
    • E.g., what roles do teachers play in online courses? What roles do peers play in online courses? what roles do teachers play in courses where students do most of their learning and assessment activities within edtech platforms?

In Topic 2, we are exploring the history of distributed and open learning. This contributes to a number of our course learning outcomes; especially #3. (Reminder that in your Digital Portfolio you will be showcasing your learning in relation to the learning outcomes). In the readings, there is a strong focus on open learning and explaining where it came from and where it is at today.

The reading from Major (2015) provides examples of many different distributed (or online) course structures. The structure is broken down into five different variables, one of which is “enrollment”. That variable absolutely relates to this class’s conception of open learning. What about the others? When reading the examples you may want to reflect on the various courses and learning experiences you’ve had: how would their structures be categorized? What about informal learning like watching educational YouTube videos? Does that fit anywhere?

The reading from Jordan and Weller (2017) is just a brief overview of many different terms and moments in open history. I would encourage you to skim this one, instead of diving in too deep. You may want to consider: Which terms are new to you? Are you surprised by any of them or the timing of them?

In addition to these two readings, you may also want to explore the history of educational technology by visiting these resources: 25 Years of EdTech & 25 years of EdTech Timeline. The timeline is definitely worth a few minutes of your time. Does anything catch your eye? Which items in the timeline do you have direct or indirect experience with?

Thoughts on ‘Distributed’ vs. ‘Open’

One of the things that you should be sorting out by now is the difference between distributed and open learning environments. Here’s a table that may be helpful for you in sorting out these differences.

Distributed Both Open
analog (offline) or digital (online)
in-person attendance is not required (location)
synchronous attendance is often not required (time)
access is limited access is not limited
learner work is hidden learner work is considered a contribution to public knowledge and is accessible
more often accredited (learner receives credit) often is non-accredited

If you want to dig deeper (ie. optional), here is a 30-minute conversation between Robin DeRosa and Clarissa Sorenson-Unruh that goes deeper into the unique characteristics of ‘open’.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Hqjkk-tsI]

Topic 2 Blog Post Instructions (on your personal website)
After completing the readings for Topic 2, please create a new post on your own blog and respond to (not summarize) the topic 2 readings. If you are unsure of how to write an effective blog post, please read this post. You can use one or more of the following prompts:

·      What do you notice?

·      What do you wonder?

·      What do you think the authors got wrong? Why?

·      How can you apply what you learned to your work in this course?

·      How can you apply what you learned to your learning inside of university?

·      How can you apply what you learned to your learning outside of university?

·      If you are a teacher or planning to be, what can you apply from these readings?

·      What do you want to get clarification on?

As with last week, your post should be 300-500 words and should extend the concepts discussed in the readings (aiming for the extended abstract area of the SOLO taxonomy).

I can’t wait to see what you come up with this week! Happy learning!