Best Practices Blog
I found these three books on distance education. I am going to focus on the first book, but the third book is very interesting as well because it shows how distance education can be used in so many fields.
1st Book : Learner- centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Cases for Higher Education by Thomas Duffy
2nd: Best Practices in Distance Education by Lynn Smith (for higher education)
3rd: Best Practices in Distance Education Vocational Rehabilitation Training
The book by Thomas Duffy is excellent. It focuses on community building and the constructivist model of learning. Also the book explains why a traditional class cannot just be put online without careful consideration for what the students are learning. The focus of a course when it is put online needs to be the objectives and the activities that the students will be engaged in. It is not just enough to put the materials online for the students to read and take a test on. Learning does not occur through this method (Duffy, 2004).
Duffy explains that learning is an activity that the students will do and not just a “thing”. When students are engaged in an activity it makes the material so it is not abstract and is easier to absorb. Learning takes place through interaction and not just the way the information is taught (Duffy, 2004).
Duffy’s article is right on target with what I think the best online practices are, as well as face to face practices. I teach high school math and I have my students in groups where they can work together with each other. This is where the higher level thinking comes into play, because they can learn a lot from one another. Plus it makes class more enjoyable for the students. If the students are enjoying the class then their performance will be better as well.
Reference:
Duffy, T.M, Kirkley, J.R. (2004). Learner – centered Theory and Practice in Distance
Education: Cases from Higher Education. Lawrence
