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Jon Baggaley Professor of Educational Technology, Athabasca University, Alberta. DFL: Ten hurdles and Solutions. University of the South Pacific (Suva, April 2005). Athabasca University, Canada. http://cde.athabascau.ca. Ten hurdles to effective DFL.
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Jon Baggaley Professor of Educational Technology, Athabasca University, Alberta DFL: Ten hurdles and Solutions University of the South Pacific (Suva, April 2005)
Athabasca University, Canada http://cde.athabascau.ca
Ten hurdles to effective DFL Online distance learning as individualised 100% flexible learning as anarchy Learning doesn’t happen in isolation Teaching methods are discipline-specific Centralisation vs. decentralisation Reduced support for traditional media New media increasingly inaccessible Online work generates stress Inertia and complacency Reinvention of the wheel
Ten hurdles to effective DFL Online distance learning as individualised - worthy ideal though often impractical - promote community activities 2) 100% flexible learning as anarchy - teaching and the teacher devalued - monitor and curb learner control 3) Learning doesn’t happen in isolation - “politically correct” to overlook teacher - don’t rely on “constructivist” approach 4) Teaching methods are discipline-specific - avoid rigid media frameworks
Ten hurdles to effective DFL Centralisation vs. decentralisation - cycling between extremes: discontinuity - preserve both Reduced support for traditional media - newer is not necessarily better - avoid unjustified changes of media New media increasingly inaccessible - online delivery and connection speed - monitor access and operating skill Online work generates stress - avoid teacher and student burnout
Ten hurdles to effective DFL Inertia and complacency - defensiveness and one-sided claims - DE should discuss the problems 10) Reinvention of the wheel - identical materials and mistakes - avoid duplication via collaboration
Networking activities • IDRC’s PANAsia Network: - DL technology projects in 12 Asian nations - collaborative research/evaluation methods - identification of appropriate software - campus and DFL settings involve different selection criteria - “learning object” sharing - ongoing publishing and conferencing - OSS programers training communities • COL Virtual University for Small States: - liaison with ASEAN, UNESCO, SACODIL
Software evaluation http://cde.athabascau.ca/softeval/
Software evaluation http://cde.athabascau.ca/softeval/
References and Links • Re: Evaluation of online collaborative methods:http://cde.athabascau.ca/softeval/ • Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada: http://www.athabascau.ca • AU’s MDE Program: http://cde.athabascau.ca • IDRC’s PANAsia Network: http://www.pan-dora.org • JPB (Web): http://baggaley.com/acad/ • JPB (E-mail): baggaley@athabascau.ca