Final Post and Class Review

From exploring the different technologies each week, reading others' reflections, giving/receiving feedback from peers, it was a bit easier to develop the design project. In the area of the Learning Theories since we were able to explore a few ahead of time I was able to utilize my research from past weeks and apply it to that particular section of the final design project.  The Learning Theories and Instructional design Models within themselves would have not been as clear and understood without the opportunity of the weekly online discussions. 

In addition being able to explore the many different technologies assisted me with the opportunity to not spend as much time understanding how to apply those systems and incorporate them into the final project.  For example since I had not thought in a few years, it was of great advantage to get a refresher in how to use EDMODO.  If I had not had the weekly design experiment I believe that I would have been quite lost on what the necessary steps and systems I should use in order to make my project complete.  Honestly, it was still quite a bit difficult to complete the entire assignment, at times it took me hours just to get through the content for only a few slides, but I believe knowing my personality I would have just giving up or done a poorly executed job without the assistance of the weekly assignments.

        For my final discussion post, the following is what I shared with my classmates on what I learned from my experiences in class in these past 4 weeks:

Distributed Learning and its definition was a revelation to me:

Distributed learning is not just a new term to replace the other 'DL,' distance learning. Rather, it comes from the concept of distributed resources. Distributed learning is an instructional model that allows instructor, students, and content to be located in different, non-centralized locations so that instruction and learning occur independent of time and place. The distributed learning model can be used in combination with traditional classroom-based courses, with traditional distance learning courses, or it can be used to create wholly virtual classrooms" (Saltzberg & Polyson, p. 10).

Reference

Saltzberg, S., & Polyson, S. (1995, September). Distributed learning on the World Wide Web. Syllabus, 9(1), 10.

                Dissecting the definition of distributed learning is creating the definition of modern teaching.  No longer are teachers the lecturers standing in front of class spitting out all the knowledge that is stored in their mind or from what they were able to gather, from preparation readings the night before. Teachers now must be creative, prepare not only small brief lectures explaining the lessons, but creating the outlets for students to be able to assess their own learning and access information that can be used independently from what is giving out in the classroom environment.  The Flip classroom model is the new and modern way of having a learning environment that is non-centralized, that can be combined with a classroom learning environment and make additional resources available outside of the classroom, that possible can’t be covered during class time or that students are needing more time to digest.  Currently, at the high school that I thought at students must take 8 classes a day for 45 minutes, so much information must be covered in each class that a flip classroom environment makes sense in order for students to catch up or be able to digest all the information thrown at them each day.