ETC677 Spring 2009

Common Question III: Most of people probably would agree that all instructions should have integrated online (distributed learning) technology. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Please at least provide three reasons with good literatures to support your arguments.

I am going to play the devils advocate here and disagree. I do think that in some situations integrated online technology can be utilized to create a better learning enviroment. However I do not think that it is needed in all instructions. I feel that some times adding this distributed learning could take away from the content learning, because then instructors are not focused on what they are teaching so much as the tool they are using to teach it. This is discussed inds the Assessment portion of Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning by: Ana DiStefano, Kjell Erik Rudestam, and Robert Jay Silverman. The Encyclopedia also discusses briefly in the section on cognitive development another possible issue with distributed learning. The issue is that of isolation that distributed learning can create and how this can affect cognitive development. But as the Encyclopedia says long term results are not known because of the relative newness of distributed learning. I have taken many traditional classes that I feel were just fine without the added element that distributed learning brings. I think in some of those classes the teachers could not have handled a distributed learning element so it would not have been effective, if anything it would have taken away from the class, in fact I have taken some classes where this happend as well and the distributed learning took away from the content. Jeanette

Hi Everyone, I added a sticky note here to let you all know I added the conversation from Elluminate between Max and me. Again, sorry they changed the time for my mom's dinner and my second to oldest sister wouldnt let me use her laptop to let you all know where I was....she is in school to but she could have let me used for a sec...lol. Thanks. I think I may try to send you all a video discussing my thoughts on the assignment but we will see how that works out...take care.

I added a few more work page in this area. we can discuss them when we meet.

cool

I think that this is a cool theme for the Flock social browser.....this is a test to utilize the DIIGO tool...lol! thanks mary

If you do not see the discussion questions, click the triangel to expand the navigation menu.

This is a good feature to monitor the course wiki activities.

This is a good feature to know who are the top contributors in our class. :-)

If you would like to respond to this question, please post your resposnes here.

wow....this really is a neat feature professor....digitized world :)

Please respond to each discussion question/page, not this page. Unless you have comments on Lesson 1 Discussion home page.

I added these pages just to get the feel of working with wet paint. We can change them if need be.

cool feature go the note