Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with distancelearning

Distance Learning at George Brown College

drezdn — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:42:11 -0800

How was your experience with George Brown College as a distance learner?

How to transfer learning dialogue into an asynchronous online world?

jeanmari — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:32:06 -0800

Looking for specific techniques to put engaging interaction back into online learning at the university level. I'm helping a graduate program to adapt some of its course offerings so students who don't live in state can participate in some of the programs.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel if there are tested methods for engaging students with the content (and each other) online. But I'm not finding any specific best practices out there. There are general concepts and philosophies, but I know those. There is technology that is offered, and I have that (Adobe Connect, webcams, Blackboard, wikis, blogs, etc.). There are books that highlight tips and tricks, but these are often not robust enough to address the more complex problems that I am trying to solve.

Here's an example of something I am trying to address from a real classroom experience:

Class is reviewing a more complex model of motivational theory. The instructor asks if the students understand it or if she should provide more examples as illustration. After a long pause, one student hesitantly admits to needing more clarity and asks for an example. The instructor turns the question back to the class, "What examples would YOU give her?" The class begins to try and answer her question and many students stop mid-reply, realizing that what they thought was clear to them isn't really all that clear. They admit that they also are a little unclear on how to apply the model. This leads to a productive discussion of the application of the model that enhances everyone's understanding of its use.

These are learning exchanges that I need to find a way to preserve or replace in an online world. It would fabulous if we could assume that all of the students would just jump in and feel self-motivated enough to admit learning gaps and exchange in dialogue in a forum (like we do on Ask Mefi). However, I think that there are some real barriers to that (students work in the same field and want respect of peers, ego, hesitant to publicly admit that they don't know something if they sense that everyone else is understanding what is going on).

So, are there any resources or case studies of techniques and instructional design methods that have been used to either replace or preserve learning that takes place in the classroom when it is transferred online?

How have instructors and designers prompted students to admit that they are not understanding the material and reach out to peers/instructors? What could the exchange look like? And how to accomplish this asynchronously?

I don't think that just putting the readings out there and requiring students to write a paper about the readings is what we want to do here. If it helps, this model reflects my philosophy of instructional design. Not that every learning experience has to hit all of these points, but I'm not a tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you've told them designer. I'm used to designing in-person, robust learning environments and engaging experiences. The online design I've done has involved content that is more transactional. In this project, I'm trying to combine online learning with more complex (less transactional) content.

Any ideas, links, anecdotal experiences or case recommendations are welcome!

Know of any online for-credit econometrics courses?

Ashley801 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:57:21 -0800

Do you know of any online for-credit econometrics courses? Do you know of any online, for-credit econometrics courses for non-matriculated students?

I'm looking for courses from accredited US or Canadian schools.

This Drake course is a good example of what I'm looking for.

https://oias.drake.edu/pls/PROD/bwckctlg.p_display_courses?term_in=200905&one_subj=ECON&sel_crse_strt=107&sel_crse_end=107&sel_subj=&sel_levl=&sel_schd=&sel_coll=&sel_divs=&sel_dept=&sel_attr=

However, I'm looking for something a bit less pricey (under 1k).

If you know of a course, don't worry about the cost, just let me know about it and I'll check how much it costs myself.

How do I deliver live training video online with interactive Q&A?

nicknd23 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:57:50 -0800

How do I broadcast live (video) training online? Most webinar solutions focus on sharing slides + webcam + teleconference. I need streaming video (primarily) + interactivity... not slides. I provide live training. Trying to figure out what it would take to build/buy a way to deliver live training to 20-30 attendees in various locations. Would also like to archive the session for on demand viewing.

My biggest challenge is navigating through the jargon/technology... googling is an endless loop of mystery.

Most solutions (webex, yugma, gotomeeting, etc) tend to focus on sharing powerpoint with audio and a webcam. My primary content is me with a flipchart. Seems like I would need to stream live video + incorporate a way for people to ask questions + record for viewers to watch at a later time.

People really enjoy the Q&A part of the training -- which is why I don't want to just film for on-demand viewing.

Really need help getting started in the right direction.

Thanks!

what's up in the elearning community?

tingting — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:48:38 -0800

I am in need of examples of successful and attractive e-learning sites, preferably geared towards changing jobs and/or women over forty. Gracias.

Are writing workshops worth the money?

Brittanie — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:40:50 -0800

Does anyone have experience with taking an online writing workshop? I am trying to make the decision of whether or not this class is right for me before I drop cash money on it. The details of the workshop are here. As you can seen, it is organized by the Liberal Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Now typically I would try to pair up with another writer or take a creative writing workshop in person, but I am currently living in a very small town 6,000 miles away from home in a foreign country and have little access to anyone who speaks English, much less someone who can read it critically. I also think having my work professionally critiqued (as opposed to being read by a friend) will do me some good.

I will probably take the $175 option, which includes an additional 2,000 words worth of critique. The class is one-on-one and all communication with the instructor is via email. I am not interested in credit for this class (it's a non-credit class anyway). I am only interested in my own personal benefit.

So here are my questions: First, does this seem like a legitimate course or a waste of money? Has anyone found benefit in taking an online writer's workshop? Any additional advice/experience is welcome.

Learning science while travelling abroad

palmcorder_yajna — Sat, 12 May 2007 19:11:29 -0800

Please help me keep my science education going while I trot around the globe. In about three months, my spouse and I will be taking off for Asia for about a year. This is 98% awesome, but it does mean an extended break from my protracted-but-beloved effort to acquire enough of a life science background to get into wet-science grad school.

I'm planning to do distance courses in math during my year away, (In my prior academic life, I was an art history major (sigh) and then a lawyer (gut-shot yowl), so as you might guess, my math skills are rawther lacking), but I'd like to do something to keep up up the biology-specific momentum as well. Any ideas about how to do that?

I imagine that simply assigning myself a big pile-o-reading might be just the ticket, but what should that reading be? Would it be at all useful to read textbooks for classes that I'll likely take when I get back? Can y'all recommend a weighty tome or three that I can take with me? (Weighty is good-- I'd rather have one 1500-page brick of a thing than a dozen slimmer volumes.)

I'd also love to hear about other good, rigorous autodidacticism options. Do you know of any nifty sources for online or correspondence classes? Are there any podcasts out there that I should be following? (I already listen to the Nature podcast and the Cell podcast, when they bother to put it out.) Are there other other possibilities that I'm just not thinking of?

My current interests include mycology, evo-devo, and genetics, but I'm really open to studying just about every sub-discipline of biology.

Thanks, all.

Sally Strothers: "Would you like to make more money? Sure, we all would..."

lekvar — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 14:40:44 -0800

Have you ever taken correspondence courses? I remember the late-nite infomercials with Sally Strothers pushing the chance to learn gun repair and notary certifications. Have any of you ever taken one of these courses? Do they actually teach usable skills or are they just a means of selling study materials to the desperate unemployed? I'm interested in broadening my skill-set, maybe watch repair or locksmithing, and if these programs are legit they could be just what I'm looking for. Please share any anecdotes, tangental info, hearsay or rumor you've heard. Fact and direct personal experience is accepted as well.

Can you help me find an online programming class?

D Wiz — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:06:01 -0800

Can you help me find an online programming class that will fulfill my prerequisite for graduate school? In order to start graduate school in the fall, I need to have taken a programming class. This means that I need to take the class over the summer. I am looking for an online class to fulfill this requirement. My problem has been twofold. First of all, I need a class that requires no prerequisites. I only want to take one class for programming this summer as I have other classes to take. So I don't have time to take any classes that require another class to be taken first. (I did take a math class and a general computer applications class (ie. Windows, Word, Excel) to fulfill my undergraduate requirements. Other than that I have not taken any other classes that would fulfill the prereqs for a programming class.) I need a class that teaches me the basics of programming without any other strings attached. My second problem is that it needs to be some sort of online class, not just a tutorial or a book. I need to be able to show the graduate school some sort of proof that I finished this course so it needs to be able to provide me with a transcript or something like it. All of the online classes that I have found so far fail to qualify for one of the two conditions. Here is the Graduate School's requirements for the prerequisite programming class I must take:
"Proficiency in a programming language such as C, programming methodology and style, problem analysis, program structure, algorithm analysis, data abstraction, and dynamic data. Normally met through an introductory course in programming in C, C++, Pascal or JAVA, that requires the student to write programs of about 300-lines of code from scratch. "
Thanks in advance for your help!

Good distance learning schools?

cactus — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 06:02:20 -0800

Please help me find a respectable university where I can finish my bachelor's degree via distance learning (preferrably online). I have an Associate's degree in Liberal Studies and somewhere around 3 years of college credits, but I want to finally finish my Bachelor's degree. I'm leaning towards a Business Management or Administration degree, possibly with a focus on international business.

Attending a brick and mortar school for this is somewhat difficult because I travel a lot and don't plan on being in one place long enough to meet physical residency requirements, hence my desire to find a distance learning school.

My google searches mostly turn up diploma mills or colleges such as University of Phoenix or ITT, which don't impress me much. I'm a fairly intelligent guy and scored in the 99%ile on my ACTs and 97%ile on my SATs and have mostly gotten very good grades throughout high school and college, with the exception of having to drop or withdraw from some college classes due to work conflicts when I was working in Silicon Valley as a computer geek.

What respectable brick and mortar schools also offer online degrees? I've been looking at some of the SUNY schools, such as Empire State College, but don't know much about them.

I do realize that the quality of an online education will differ significantly from that of classroom instruction but I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

I'm also interested in how receiving a degree from such an institution will affect my chances of acceptance to a resident MBA program at a decent university in the states. Will my degree matter as much as my work experience and GMAT scores?

Thanks in advance, AskMe! You're the bestest!

Distance learning for programming languages

snwod — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 19:59:05 -0800

Has anyone used Learning Lynx to learn computer programming languages? I am interested in learning computer programming. But, I am not so good with self study, and I'm not in a location where I can take a class at a community college. So, I'm looking at distance learning. I came across the Learning Lynx site, and it seemed like what I'd like. I'm interested if anyone has any experience with them. Or, does anyone have a suggestion for another place to look for a programming language distance learning course?

Powerpoint at a distance.

biffa — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 07:19:31 -0800

We have separate campuses and lectures from one are often transmitted from one campus to another so students don't have to travel. Problem: many lecturers use powerpoint projections, filming the lecturer at one end doesn't always show up what's happening on screen, what's being pointed at, etc. [MI] Can anyone suggest solutions for dealing with this. We have 2 screens at this end so could show potentially show different things on screen. Potential solutions : 1) Filming both lecturer and screen separately. 2) Having stuff set-up so that presentation is being shown simultaneously on screens at both sites (ie so mouseclick moves moves to next slide on both screens). What's likely to be easier/cheaper? How should we go about whatever you recommend? Do you have better solutions? (Yes, I'm not very technical, and neither are our IT support)

Distance learning in IR - more MSc than PhD

dmt — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 10:12:33 -0800

Postgraduate qualifications in International Relations by distance learning: does anyone know of any good schools or courses, I'm thinking probably MSc rather than PhD. Also any experiences with distrance learning gratefully appreciated