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Students with family or work responsibilities are often unable to commit to a traditional course because they cannot be in the same place at the same time for 15 consecutive weeks.

Although some instructors may discover more than they wanted to know about their students, my online teaching experience disproves the notion that online courses are impersonal and do not foster relationships, either between students and instructors or among students themselves.

. Online education is neither right for all students nor right for all faculty, but it frequently meets the needs of both for an exciting, high-quality educational experience.

can refer to their course materials and think through their answers

Careful choice of words

Sharing personal story.

It feels real.

Professor was right in pointing out that during online course the predominant form of student participation is discussion forum, and it’s up to the course designer to devise ways that can evaluate student’s understanding of the course materials.

I believe my problem is typical of first-time online course takers. Online learning environment requires a very different mindset and learning style from the students (from teachers as well) in order for the course to be effective and successful. When learners are not aware of this fact, of what their responsibilities are in making it work, online courses are less likely to move forward.

These students had time to synthesize and incorporate new ideas from the lecture into their prior knowledge and experiences.

ombined in-class practice and frequent formative assessments (such as pretests) with an emphasis on real-world applications.

ecognize the limitations of a mono-cultural education system,

While western science and education tend to emphasize compartmentalized knowledge which is often de-contextualized and taught in the detached setting of a classroom or laboratory, indigenous people have traditionally acquired their knowledge through direct experience in the natural world.

The incongruities between western institutional structures and practices and indigenous cultural forms will not be easy to reconcile

The complexities that come into play when two fundamentally different worldviews converge present a formidable challenge.

As a concept, indigenous knowledge benchmarks the limitations of Eurocentric theory — its methodology, evidence, and conclusions — reconceptualizes the resilience and self-reliance of indigenous peoples, and underscores the importance of their own philosophies, heritages, and educational processes. Indigenous knowledge fills the ethical and knowledge gaps in Eurocentric education, research, and scholarship (2002:5).

The study of indigenous knowledge systems as it relates to education falls into three inter-related research themes: documentation and articulation of indigenous knowledge systems; delineating epistemological structures and learning/cognitive processes associated with indigenous ways of knowing; and developing/assessing educational strategies integrating indigenous and western knowledge and ways of knowing.

Emphasis is placed upon its use as a "more authentic tool for curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assess

instructional design as a separate discipline, has developed from several forms of inquiry: (a) research pertaining to media usage and communications theory; (b) general systems theory and development; and (c) psychological and learning theory. Reigeluth (1983) suggests that the three theorists most responsible for the current development of instructional design knowledge include B. F. Skinner (1954), David Ausubel (1968), and Jerome Bruner (1966). Skinner is identified because of his work with behaviorism and Bruner and Ausubel are recognized because of their contributions to cognitive psychology. Reigeluth (1987) has also compiled information on several other authors, theories, and models he believes important to the development of instructional design as a profession. Gagne (1985), Piaget (1966), and Thorndike (and colleagues) (1928) are other scholars frequently cited as foundational for much of today's thinking about instructional design.

As Hollis (1991) notes, "traditionally, instructional technologists have largely ignored the humanists' ideas among all the available theories from which to draw upon and incorporate into their schemes. Theoretically, instructional technology has been based on research in human learning and communications theories. In reality, more borrowing of ideas is needed, especially from the ranks of the humanists" (p. 51

Humanism generally is associated with beliefs about freedom and autonomy and notions that "human beings are capable of making significant personal choices within the constraints imposed by heredity, personal history, and environment"

Humanist principles stress the importance of the individual and specific human needs. Among the major assumptions underlying humanism are the following: (a) human nature is inherently good; (b) individuals are free and autonomous, thus they are capable of making major personal choices; (c) human potential for growth and development is virtually unlimited; (d) self-concept plays an important role in growth and development; (e) individuals have an urge toward self-actualization; (f) reality is defined by each person; and (g) individuals have responsibility to both themselves and to others (Elias & Merriam, 1980).

"If an individual is concerned primarily with personal growth and development, how can that person truly be concerned with what is good for all of society?"

The learning environment should allow each learner to proceed at a pace best suited to the individual.

It is important to help learners continuously assess their progress and make feedback a part of the learning process. 5. The learner's previous experience is an invaluable resource for future learning and thus enhancing the value of advanced organizers or making clear the role for mastery of necessary prerequisites.

We do recognize there may be times when self-directed opportunities are minimal, such as when involved in collaborative learning or when learning entirely new content, but believe that the assumption of personal responsibility is possible in ways not tied to the type of learning or content.