Day 4: Distance Education Tools

Day 4 - Topics

  • Learning Management Systems
    • Houses, delivers, & tracks content
    • Examples: Blackboard, Moodle, Saba, SumTotal
  • Learning Content Management Systems
    • Combines an LMS with authoring content capabilities
    • Examples: Saba, SumTotal
  • Social Interaction Tools
    • Houses content and allows for communication
    • Examples: Adobe Connect, Wimba, Webex
  • Authoring Tools
    • Allows you to create content for a course
    • Examples: Lectora, Captivate, Flash
  • Impacts on Design
    • Synchronous versus asynchronous
      • Synchronous systems - more dialog, more interaction, real-time communication
      • Asynchronous systems - self-paced, communicate over time
    • Designing with technology
      • Advantages - more accessibility to resources, more interaction among participants, ability to provide video/audio resources within lesson
      • Challenges - learners' lack of knowledge about technology, limited IT support for learners, storage space, interaction with other software

Day 4 - Assignments

  • Complete Distance Course Design Document & Session Description. – Due Day 5
    • Course Design Document
      • Use the provided template to create a course design document
      • Include the following in your design document and post to the discussion forum:
        • Course description
        • Course instructional/learning strategies
        • Course media platforms
        • Course provision for learner autonomy
        • Course provision for structure
        • Course communication
        • Major and minor assessments
    • Session Description
      • Choose one session within your course to describe in detail using the provided template.
      • Include the following in your session description and post to the discussion forum:
        • Session objectives
        • Session structure or procedures
        • Learning activities
        • Deliverables
        • Assessments