Distance Learning Technologies

As an instructional designer, I have been assigned the task of working with a high school history teacher who is located on the west coast of the United States. She has decided to incorporate the use of technology by allowing her students to see art exhibits at two prominent New York City museums. She would like to have her students take a tour and interact with the museum curator as well as choose pieces of art for students to critique. As the assigned instructional designer, it will be my job to assist the teacher with providing the best learning experience for her students.

Chickering and Ehrman (1996) provided seven principles for implementingNew technologies in distance education programs. Online distance learning can integrate emerging technologies for either synchronous or asynchronous modes by applying seven principles.
1) Encourage contact between students and faculty
2) Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students
3) Use active learning techniques
4) Give prompt feedback
5) Emphasize time on task
6) Communicate high expectations
7) Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

Using the seven principles as a guideline, my recommendations would be to use video conferencing and blogging as a distance learning technology tools. Video conferencing would provide students with the opportunity to learn in a 2-way communication platform. Video conferencing would allow students to explore, communicate and interact with the museum curator as well as visually explore the pieces of artwork on display. If the museum had an interactive multimedia website, the students would have an opportunity to have a close-up view of the collection of art. My second recommendation would be the integration of a blog, which would promote students to share their critiques of the chosen artwork with the instructor and peers in the class.
As I explored the internet in search of video conferencing and blogging technology tools that had been successfully used in distance learning, I came across an article entitled, “Virtual Field Trips Open Doors for Multimedia Lessons. In this article, electronic virtual field trips had grown because of budget cuts the school district faced, which led to a cut back on off-campus excursions. In a middle school in Los Angeles, a teacher was able to plan a trip to the British Museum without having to leave the classroom. By using the museum’s interactive website, students had the opportunity to see the vast collection of artifacts on display.
When highlighting the successful use of blogging, I cannot help, but think about my own experience at Walden. Before enrolling in the program, I had heard of blogging, but did not utilize it until I started participating in the program. Not only was a taught to use this wonderful tech tool, but I was given the opportunity to share my thoughts and collaborate with my peers about a common area of interest.
These technology tools along with e-mail, instant messaging, social networks, mobile phones, and wikis provide us with an arsenal that will indeed change the world of education, as we know it.

References:
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating New technologies to Foster Student Interaction and Collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.


Manzo, K. (2009). Virtual Field Trips Open Doors for Multimedia Lessons. Education Week 28(21), 1. Retrieved from www.edweek.org/