APT 502 Assignment 1

1. DISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES
Shonda Robinson

2. DEFINING DISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES
• Communication technologies used during distance learning and education.
• Communicates information to large groups of people using the Internet
• Used in business sector as well as education

3. ISSUES SURROUNDING DISTANCE
LEARNING
• Equity
• Effectiveness
• Building a community
• Communication

4. SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Videoconferencing
• Podcasts
• Blogs

5. LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
(LMS)
• A software application that’s used for educational purposes
• Useful in both the education and business sectors
• They are designed to identify learning and training gaps
• Are used to create course content, access and track student performance and give
feedback
• Examples include Blackboard, Sakai and itslearning

6. MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES
(MOOCS)
• Free online courses available to everyone
• Contain traditional course material such as filmed lectures, readings and problem
sets
• Can be interactive with forums allowing interactions between teachers and
students
• Examples include edX

7. ADVANTAGES
• Improved access to higher education
• Affordable
• Flexible schedules
• Allows for online collaboration and communication
• Access for those in rural locations

8. DISADVANTAGES
• Requires digital literacy
• Language barriers
• Quality concerns due to user generated content
• Requires participants to self regulate

9. BARRIERS
• User access to technology
• Acceptance of distance learning
• Language barriers (75% of MOOCs are in English)

10. SOLUTIONS
• Open source course material
• Government initiatives
• Ex. Access Distance Learning Alabama
• Accreditation
• Content developers are developing courses in other popular languages

11. FUTURE ENDEAVORS
• Virtual Reality
• Designed to more closely fit the real world experience
• Provides “hands on” training
• Gives students a sense of presence
• Further develops communication skills