The current state of online learning has been under debate for quite some time now. Many of us love the convenience of not having to commute twice a week to a class when we can just check the status of an assignment or a future due date on our iPhone, Android, or tablet. I, myself, during my undergraduate studies had my reservations about taking an Art History class online. My first thought was how was I going to teach myself a subject so broad in meaning? This subject consists of so many eras and countless artists, how was I going to encompass the importance of each piece? I learned to ask more questions in order to succeed in my course. Creativity became the key to fully engaging myself in the curriculum and staying on top of my work. Through time, assignments on discussion board turned into poetic opinions and explanations about numerous pieces, and essays became a means to fully expressing my feelings about a piece.
To me, the current state of online learning is still being developed, but, why not give students a chance to access resources freely, i.e scholarly journals, text, surveys, and interviews? So many face-to-face courses are just that-FACE-TO-FACE-- and nothing else. Where is the substance? Certainly, there are online courses that lack quality due to insufficient resources and funds. In addition, the role of the student becomes even more vital than the role of the professor in an online environment. I am pleased to say that Cal State University, San Bernardino is offering a communications course online this quarter! Looking over the syllabus, I discovered the required usage of webcams, YouTube presentations, and even video chats. What this professor is doing is taking the virtual world by storm. The essence of communication is about effective dialogue and not busy work that many professors give their students. The current state of online learning definitely has come far and its success depends upon numerous things-- first and foremost the commitment of the student, effective communication, adequate technology, and a stable learning environment, where all documents are easily accessible. I believe the state of online learning will continue to grow as technology is the way of the future and a dependency for many people who are required to work and just can’t make it to a MW 5 P.M. class.
The three D’s, Design, Development, and Delivery are topics I learned a great deal about in my undergraduate education. I received my degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Assurance and Security Management (IASM). Marketing and my IASM core courses focused a great deal on technology, its advances, and the lifecycle of a product or venture. For example, in marketing we learned about the four P’s: Price, Place, Promotion, and Product. These four components are diverse, implemented in different ways, and can either be a success or a fail. This is what Instructional Technology is about as well--finding a module that fully satisfies the needs of the end user, i.e. students and businesses. In my IASM courses, we discussed systems analysis and design, information technology trends, and competitive alternatives. My system analysis and design course discussed the feasibility of systems, methods and tools essential to learning, modeling of future products, system applications, documentation,testing the system, and finally implementation strategies. Where did design, development, and delivery come into place? Design was the creativity behind the system we were required to create. Development was the trial and error process, documentation of resources and surveys, and finally testing and policy. Delivery was the expression of practical skills and finally concluding if the system was an ideal model for the audience.
ETEC 541 promises to be an enlightening course and I look forward to a great academic quarter and learning more about online learning and design!
