After reviewing Unit 3 resources, I composed three questions about confusing or interesting ideas:
1) The first question – Can MOOCs be considered a disruptive innovation? According to Downes, disruptive means taking the product and extracting the main features of the product for a lower price point. It all depends on how one looks at it. Yes, technically MOOCs disrupt the existing educational market, but if we take education, extract the basics of it and make it more accessible, we can serve many more people. My argument about it is that if we are able to serve more people for a lot lower price, then at the end, the benefit will be the same. At the moment, mostly wealthy people can receive a high-end education from Harvard, or Yale, or any other expensive University. They do pay a lot of money to obtain an education, but if we extract the important information and put it into MOOC, a lot more middle-class people will be able to attend schools, paying less, but the number will compensate for a lost profit. Meaning that the more people sign up for MOOCs, the more money will come back. Therefore, MOOCs are disruptive to a point. Once they expand and find its way onto a standard way of life, they will not be disruptive anymore. If we look at it, every innovation is disruptive until it is wholly adopted, then it becomes a common feature of everyday life (Downes, 2016). 2) Another question comes from Bray”s and McClasky’s article, “Personalize your learning environment.” They talk about redesigning the learning environment after the class is designed and the teacher knows his/her audience. My question is - Is it really possible to redesign the learning environment at that stage? Bray and McClasky offer to divide the classroom environment into learning zones based on how the students learn and comprehend. In my opinion, redesigning a class or a course happens at the beginning, at the planning stage. Once a teacher plans his/her course, then the redesigning part begins when all the planned information is transferred into videos, interactive discussions, games, tests, and assignments, - all this is part of personalization in instance education. However, personalizing learning environment would not happen halfway through a semester, it would happen at the planning stage. Some adjustments can be made to help the students understand and follow the curriculum within a course, but I do not see it happening after a teacher learns his/her students in an online environment (Bray & McClasky, 2014). 3) And finally, the third confusing idea I came across in Unit 3 – Is it possible to avoid contextual ambiguity? Dron and Anderson offer to divide different groups of people into different conversation groups so that it allows them to share what they want to share but by specific groups segregated by context. I still think this concept is very vague. In today’s world of technology and free speech, anyone can share anything they feel like sharing on the Web. The main problem for distance education, in my opinion, is not how to avoid contextual ambiguity, but how to help the students navigate the Web for appropriate information. One way is to provide the students with resources the educational institution wants the students to read, and another way to avoiding any conceptual ambiguity in distance education is to provide a stricter set of rules on how to choose appropriate information and resources for assignments and collaborative discussions (Dron & Anderson, 2014). In today's world we do have all the learning tools in our pocket, now we need navigation and guidance on how to use them. • Write 2 predictions based on one of the resources (what will happen next) Prediction #1 Dron and Anderson also state that disruptive innovations can only take root when they don’t compete directly with existing technologies (Dron & Anderson, 2014). My prediction is that in about 10 to 20 years, such things as Distance Education, online learning, and MOOCs will not be considered disruptive innovations. They will find its way to adapt to the way of life and will become something natural and easily accessible. I think it is a perfect way to educate those populations that still do not have means to obtain an education. Every new thing can be considered disruptive until it is not. Some things cannot compete with traditions, and they disappear, but some innovations are there to stay. It took around twenty years for jet engines to substitute propellers; therefore, I think we should give some time for distance education to become undisruptive (Dron & Anderson, 2014). Prediction #2 The professions that are considered impossible to study online at the moment will find its way to be taught online as well. Some occupations: doctors, K-12 teachers, language experts, some hazmat technician professions, and many more, will be trained with an online option as well. • Make one connection based on the resource (connect to something you know or have experienced) When Downes talks about disruptive innovations, the one thing that comes to my mind is the first computer I have ever used in University in Russia. We had a computer lab with computers where we could come for the whole day to type up our theses and final capstones. Our library was open 24/7, so we could go there, lock ourselves up in a separate room, and research actual physical books, journals, and articles in periodicals. I used to hand write everything I studied, then I would go to the University computer lab to type all my written research. It took me forever to type as my fingers were not used to finding the right buttons. Now I am in the process of obtaining a degree that is completely online. I have days when I sit at my computer the whole day trying to catch up for the days when I do not have access to the internet because of my profession. I am going to repeat myself, but I agree with Downes, Dron, and Anderson, and, I am sure, many others that anything that seems disruptive at the moment but makes sense to have, will find its way to becoming standard one day. Unit 3 and overall experience Unit three had a lot of required resources. Most of them I had to print out to read because I am in one of the military courses at the moment where there is no Internet in the barracks. It felt like in the old days in the library. But I did find a way to read them all. In the beginning, I had a hard time figuring out how all the resources are connected to learner support, but learner support in DE, like the whole notion of distance education, is relatively new as well. DE is a completely turned upside down phenomenon that requires new ways of teaching and instructing, new support systems, and unique approach to students; therefore, it all makes sense at the end. Now, I am in the process of posting my last clusters of questions for this unit. I still have to catch up on unit 2 posts, but I composed most of the presentation when we worked with my partner, that is why that part should not be too complicated. I am also getting ready for my new group to participate the debate next week. After this weekend, the group debate will be my focus. I did struggle this semester with time management. Military course on top of master’s degree was rough, I had to pick and choose what to grab first to learn, but it all is coming to an end and a little break. In this course, I learned a lot about what seemed so apparent at the beginning and became so complicated after reading course material – learner support in DE is not just libraries, tutors, and writing centers. It is a complex system that can be very particular for each educational institution. Being part of disruptive innovation, online learner support still encounters many issues and obstacles, but I believe one day there will be policies and entirely new set of rules on how to use them. References Dron, J. & Anderson, T. (2014). Issues and challenges in educational uses of social software. In J. Dron & T. Anderson (Eds.), Teaching crowds: Learning and social media (pp. 275-298). Retrieved from http://klangable.com/uploads/books/99Z_Dron_Anderson-Teaching_Crowds.pdf Bray, B., & McClasky, K. (June, 11, 2014). Personalize your learning environment. ISTE International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/explore/ArticleDetail?articleid=11 Downes, S. (2016, July 27). Disruptive innovations in learning. TCU International e-Learning Conference, Bangkok, Thailand (Keynote). Retrieved from http://www.downes.ca/presentation/389
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