Monday, August 15, 2005

~ Time Sensitive Information ~

ONLINE WORKSHOP -
TEACHING AT A DISTANCE: FROM CONCEPT TO PRACTICE

You are invited to join other educators in a 5 week online learning experience focused on distance education. Modeling the very best in distance education pedagogy, "TEACHING AT A DISTANCE: FROM CONCEPT TO PRACTICE" involves you in every aspect of distance education by involving you as a distance education learner.

Join Dr. Joe Levine (Michigan State University, Michigan, USA), Dr. Jose Chotguis (Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil) and Dr. Stanley Mpofu (National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) for an active look at the world of distance education.

This five week online program (October 2 - November 5, 2005) is designed for educators involved with the design, development, delivery and evaluation of distance education programs. It is focused very directly on
the learner in distance education with a major foundational theme each week which examines key concepts and ideas to support the effective use of distance education as an instructional strategy to bridge the distance between learners and learning resources.

Week 1 Theme ~ The Framework of Distance Education
Week 2 Theme ~ The Learner in Distance Education
Week 3 Theme ~ Distance Education Instructional Strategies
Week 4 Theme ~ Implementing Distance Education
Week 5 Theme ~ Evaluating Distance Education

All participants will receive a printed copy of (and online access to) the soon-to-be-released book - "Making Distance Education Work: Understanding Learning and Learners At a Distance". The workshop has
been set up so that it's possible for each participant to interact in an entirely independent/asynchronous manner - allowing you to be involved when it best fits your own day-to-day schedule.

Enrollment will be limited to 30 participants. Cost for the entire workshop is $190. For complete information about "Teaching At A Distance: From Concept to Practice" and an online Registration Form, please go to:

http://www.learnerassociates.net/tad/

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Using Instructional Design Strategies To Foster Curiosity.

Educators and instructional designers recognize that instilling curiosity in students encourages their disposition to learn. When students are magnetized by a new idea or a new situation and are compelled to explore further, regardless of external rewards, they can be said to be truly motivated. In each new project, they discover seeds for a future project or a new question to examine. Curiosity is a heightened state of interest resulting in exploration, and its importance in motivating scholarship cannot be ignored. Read further for stimulation ideas on encouraging curiosity to stimulate learning...

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Professors Give Mixed Reviews of Internet's Educational Impact

When asked whether the Internet has changed the quality of student work, check out the results of the nationwide survey, of 2,316 faculty members, was conducted in May 2004 by Steve Jones, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Camille Johnson-Yale, a graduate student in communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The researchers have been presenting highlights of their findings at academic conferences, and they have submitted a report on the survey to a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

This article was originally shared by Charlie Balch on Penn State's DEOS listserv. Interesting!