The Impact of Open Source

The Walden EDUC 6135 course has been progressing well and I have been busy creating and populating a content management system with information about technology tools (i.e. wikis, streaming video, etc.) and effective distance learning practices (i.e. technology knowledge, time management, etc.). 

This is Week 5 of the Walden course, a portion of which includes a review of an online course.  I reviewed the course:  The Art and Science of Negotiation offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the free Open Courseware Consortium (OCW) web site (Laws, 2006).  Having concluded my review, I will be responding to the questions outlined below with my analysis findings beginning with an overview of planning instruction.

Overview:  Planning Instruction

When planning for instruction, the process involves critical components of the:  learner; content; method and materials; environment; and, technology which must interact both efficiently and effectively to produce quality learning experiences.  Additional elements to keep in mind for distance education include (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012):

·         Courses previously taught in traditional classrooms may need to be retooled where the focus of the instruction shifts to visual presentations, engaged learners, and careful timing of information.

·         Plan activities that encourage interactivity and allow for student group work.

·         Be prepared in the event that technical problems occur.

·         Examine issues associated with the separation of instructor and students such as time constraints for class delivery, lack of eye contact, visualization of materials, and interaction.

Course Analysis Findings

Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?

Learner satisfaction in distance learning is determined by “the attention [the learners] receive from the teachers and from the system they work in to meet their needs - what distant learners want and deserve” include: 1) relevant content; 2) clear directions; 3) as much control as possible of the learning pace; 4) a means of drawing attention to individual concerns; 5) a way of testing their progress and receiving instructor feedback; and, 6) materials that are useful, active, and interesting (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 176). 

The seven elements framework for negotiation, developed by
Roger Fisher, is one of the topics discussed in the course.
(Image by Prof. David Laws).

For the MIT course, I found the above determinants of learner satisfaction to possess varying degrees of effectiveness as outlined below.

Relevant Content – The content is relevant and combines skill-building with social theory which includes reading, problem sets with required participation in discussions and simulations as well as a final project.

Clear Directions – The format of the course is easy to navigate with all web pages associated with the course listed on the left side of the web page for easy access.  A course syllabus is provided as well as directions for each section’s topic. Assignments and the final project were clearly explained.  A calendar of activities with applicable key dates is included.  There are links to information for Getting Started using OCW materials, technology, etc. These FAQs pages provide answers to common questions learners may have about the course.  There is even a link that provides the in-text citation reference for the course.

Learning Pace Control – The learner has full control over the pace of this asynchronous course.

Addressing Individual Concerns – An email link is available to send feedback to the MIT site administrators.

Test Progress & Receive Feedback – This information is not available with the free course.

Useful, Active, and Interesting Materials – Materials are separated into four general areas which are of interest to me:  1) Bargaining and Strategic Interaction; 2) Cooperation and Mutual Gains; 3) How Can We Shape the Game We Play?; and, 4) Big Cases. 

In my opinion, the materials, discussions, exercises and simulations would be more effective using the blended learning approach of the tuition-based course; however, for a foundational understanding of the topic the asynchronous free course is useful and interesting.

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook?

MIT faculty and instructors publish only as much content as they are comfortable providing on a Web site that is freely accessible worldwide.  In some cases, solutions to homework assignments, quizzes, and exams are only discussed and presented in a classroom setting and not made available in print or electronic format.

The resources in the Walden course caution designers to avoid “dumping” a face-to-face course onto the Web (Simonson et al, 2012), and for the blended MIT course, that is exactly what was done.  However, being that it is a free course;  the method is a cost savings measure for the school.

This being said, it is apparent the designers of the MIT course followed many of the best practices for online instruction including (Simonson et al, 2012, pp. 135-136):

·         Organizing the course and making the organization and requirements clear to the learner.

·         Keeping learners constantly informed.

·         Including learner interaction through discussion boards.

·         Incorporating simulations for practicing negotiating skills.

·         Applying adult learning principles (self-directed assignments).

·         Training learner to use the course site (FAQs pages).

 

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?

Active learning for instructional designers is described as incorporating strategies which involve learners doing things and having them think about the things they are doing (Austin, n/d).  Best practices for instruction also involve providing for “real “ experiences.  For both children and adults, “real” experiences provide the foundation for learning; however, more “realistic” forms of learning can be less efficient in terms of resources and/or distractions.  The critical job of educators and designers of distance education is to be only as realistic as is needed in order for learning to effectively occur (Simonson et al, 2012).

The MIT free course provided active learning activities by including a beginning and end to each activity; stating a clear purpose, providing clear directions, and including instructions for utilizing the site contents (Austin, n/d).  Realistic instruction is incorporated in the tuition-based course in the form of simulations.

References

Austin, D. (n/d). Strategies to incorporate active learning into online teaching. Retrieved from http://www.icte.org/T01_Library/T01_245.pdf.

Laws, David. 11.011 The Art and Science of Negotiation, Spring 2006. (Massachusetts 
              Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 27
              Nov, 2012). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a
              distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.