Distance Education (Week 10)

Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to the last post of this blog. Today, we learned about distance learning and this topic caught my interest as I am currently a student who is studying in this mode. Distance learning is defined as delivery of instruction to students who are separated from their teacher by time and/or location. As for in my case, my main campus is in Kuala Lumpur, but I am studying in Pulau Pinang, which is far for daily travel. 

Distance education affects teachers by offering flexible licensing renewal and/or professional development causing them to rethink the conventional nature of instruction which is chalk and talk. Distance learning provides the environment where teaching and learning are no longer among the 4 walls but across districts, states and countries. This new educational style also affects education by the change of courses available in higher education and by providing instruction to home bound students.

Designing Distance Education Instruction

In designing distance education curriculum and instructions, the preparation of students is very important. They should be assessed to know if they are compatible with the distance learning system. Students should be oriented to work independently so that they can be more effective and check on their own progress from time to time. Feedback should also be provided as it is an integral part of education even in the conventional manner. 

Distance Education Support Technologies

1. Synchronous Support Technologies
   
   💬 Support instruction that all occurs at the same time.
   💬 May be at different locations.
   
2. Asynchronous Support Technologies
   
   💬 Support time-shifted instruction.
   💬 May be at same or different locations.

Synchronous Technologies	Asynchronous Technologies
Telephone (e.g. Speaker phone, audio conferencing, phone bridges)	Phone technology (e.g. Voicemail, fax)
Video conferencing	Email
Internet chats	Electronic discussion/ forum
Internet classroom	Online classroom

Finally, our lecturer discussed some of the issues in distance education which are namely learning management systems, teacher student readiness, preparation and classroom management time, technical and instructional support and copyright issues for teachers.

In conclusion, I have learned many things from this subject. I would like to thank my course leader, lecturer and friends for offering their insights to help me finish this assignment. As interesting as it was, I did have some trouble such as connecting to the Internet due to the rainy season in my area, a lack of understanding in some subtopics due to my low interest in Mathematics mainly. As time progressed, I began to open up and used some of the educational games to sharpen my Mathematical skills. I truly enjoyed myself and also managed to brush up my calculation skills and I could see the difference. I am more confident now to teach Mathematics in a classroom using technology, thanks to this subject.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment below. Till we meet again, take care and goodbye! 😃