U2: Activity 2.1

Reflection: Opportunities and difficulties that a distance student might have...

We have already mentioned several times the opportunities presented by distance education, however it is important to remark the fact that it improves student autonomy and responsibility. It is also a system that can be adapted to the student needs, so if the time or distance is a problem for a student to attend to face to face class, by having distance classes these problems do not exist.

However, this time I would like to focus a bit more on the problems that can be presented when taking and teaching distance classes.

When new students take distance classes the first problem they might have is the simple fact that they are not used to look for information by themselves. They are used mostly to get what they need from the teacher, so at first, this would be the main problem. This problem needs to be solved (most of the times) not by the students but by the teacher because, since there is a kind of disinterest by the students, s/he needs to find a way to make the class attractive. Teachers need to encourage their students so that they do not lose interest in the class.

As I said before, most students are used to have a figure of “teacher” in front of them; a teacher who will help them to solve or answer their questions, so when in a distance class students have a doubt or find a trouble, it might take them plenty of time to solve it. However, students are not the only ones that need to face difficulties in taking a distance class; teachers also have problems because they need to find the appropriate and understandable material for their students so that, what I mentioned before is avoided.

Eventually, once students have taken several distance classes, they gain confidence in these types of classes. The same applies for teachers who teach distance classes. When they have taught several times these classes, they get to know what is better for the students; what is better in order for them to avoid misunderstandings, etc.

U 1: Activity 1.3

Well guys, this is my essay based on what I have read and comprehend.

Open Education and Distance Education

Everything changes, and since education is part of everything, it also changes. The XX century is known as the century of the technological “Boom”, bringing many changes in the life of human beings, including changes in education. Fortunately, I would say that 90% of these changes are positive. Let´s think in the biggest change that emerged in the XX century: the internet. Internet brought with it many opportunities for countless fields, and among them, education suffered one of the biggest ones. Within this changes in education, I would like to emphasize what is know as distance education, and along with distance education, we got open education . But… what does these terms mean.

     Let's start by defining Open Education because in my opinion, it is the most difficult term to define. And is not the fact that I lack of information about this term, is the fact that, even when I have this information, it results somewhat difficult to make a decision on how to define Open Education. What I can say is that it can not be defined with a single statement, but we need a mix of statements with a complex meaning each one to get an idea of ​​what it means. We have 4 main statements that help us to define Open Education. Let´s try to detail each one:

1. Students are free to choose what educational activity they want to do: This means that the teacher should give students freedom to do anything they want as long as the activities that students choose have educational purposes.
2. The environment must have many educational opportunities: This means that all students should have the same opportunities than their classmates.
3. The instructions must be clear to every student: Although the students decide which activity they want to do, the teacher is who guides them in such activities. Therefore, s/he must pay attention to each student equally, and s/he has to know how to guide his/her students to do any activity they want in the correct way.
4. Respect: Above all things, there must be respect. Respect from the teacher to his/her students as well as from students to the teacher.

     Now, let's talk a little about Distance Education, and even when it is much easier to define, it goes hand by hand with Open Education. Many people think that Distance Education can only happen if the teacher is at a great distance from his or her students, however, this is not always true. Distance Education can happen even when both, teacher and student, are in the same school where the course is being taught. What characterizes and identifies more Distance Education is that the teacher has no control over the student (or perhaps there is some control, but it is very low). It is true that both, teacher and student need to follow a lesson plan, just like in a face-to-face class; however, what the students do to follow this lesson plan is up to the student, not so much up to the teacher.

     Open Education and Distance Education, as I mentioned before, go hand in hand because Distance Education leads to Open Education. However, although these education methods work together, there are small differences that stand between these methods. For example, the first statement that defines Open Education cannot be 100% applied in Distance Education, as students do not choose what activities they want to do, instead, the activities are chosen or decided by the teacher. However, students can choose how to do such activities. These are the types of details that emphasize the differences between Open Education and Distance Education.

     Of course there are advantages when applying these methods in education. The best known and most often said is that the autonomy and responsibility of students grow and/or are improved. And it is true, since the activities done will depend 90 % on students and their decisions on how to do them.  On the other hand, the most known disadvantage is the lack of technology. To use Distance Education effectively, it is necessary that both teacher and student can access to technology. Without it, it is practically impossible to carry out this method. Unfortunately, nowadays there are many places in the world where it is impossible to apply this method.

     Currently there are many schools and universities in which these teaching methods are used. Some of them have a higher status; however, these methods work in both, high and low status institutes. Personally, I can say that these methods work quite good in the college where I´m studying my degree, the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (a.k.a. UABC).

     Finally, we must remember that Open Education and Distance Education are teaching methods that work separately, but if we join them, they can work even better. However, although they good teaching method , it is up to the institution or the teacher to use such methods.

U1: Activity 1.2

Hello guys, these are the definitios of Distance Education and Open Education according to what I read (and I think most of you) and to what I have read before.

What is Open Education?

When I first read that, because of its great amount of definitions, instead of explaining what Open Education is, we need to explain what it is not, I totally disagreed with this thought. We can explain many things that are not Open Education; however, it does not mean that these things are going to help us to define Open Education. Then , I understood that Open Education cannot be define in a single statement, but rather it needs a set of statements that work together to get and accurate definition. These statements are: a) Students can choose the educational activities they want to do. B) The environment must have many educational possibilities. C) Instructions must be clear for every single student. These instructions must be based on what students want to do. D) Teachers must respect students and vice versa.

What is Distance Education?

I would define Distance Education as the education in which a figure of “teacher” is not in front of the student. I could be a course where the student is in front of his computer in Mexico City while the teacher giving the course is in London, but it could also be a course where the both, student and teacher are in the same city, or even in the same school. In other words, it is an Education where the teachers´ control over the student is “open.”

U1: Activity 1.1

Face to face and Distance education

As we may know, not everyone learns the same way as well as not everyone has the same resources or opportunities to learn. Some students are able to attend to a classroom and take their classes there, but what happens with those who can not attend to a classroom, and yet they want to learn. These people have the choice of learning via internet, which means, open and distance education.

Let´s now talk about the main differences between these two ways of learning.

The classes where we need to attend to a classroom –better known as campus classes, provide us immediate feedback when we have a problem. Most of the students are used to this, and that´s why they prefer this kind of classes. Another advantage that campus classes have is that the teacher makes sure that the exercises are done correctly. However, campus classes tend to be more expensive than distance education.

On the other hand, distance education is a very good way to improve our autonomy. It also allows us to set our own place and time to study. Even though distance education does not allow us to interact physically whit our classmates, we can always use forums or discussions rooms to interact with them. However, it will always demand access to a computer and internet, and unfortunately, in our country, it is not always possible to have this two elements.

In summary, if we want to study a career, master, PhD, etc., we have these two options. I will not say that one is better than the other one because every person decides which method is the best for his/her needs.

Source: www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk