Impact of Technology and Multimedia

This weeks blog post is about my experiences creating a course management system. I will reflect upon it and discuss some key concepts and ideas that should be incorporated if you were to create on yourself.

The impact of technology and multimedia in an online learning environment is huge. You could say thiat without both of them online learning would not be what it is today and nearly impossible. I have had minor experiecnes with online learning throughout my life and always knew a little bit about it before. It wasn't until I started at Walden that I really learned the potential it has. Distance learning however has been around for a long time in different forms. I remember a time when distance learning involved either conference calls where you sat with others in a room while you had a teacher from a remote location on video or phone teaching. Another way was to get pre-recorded lectures and watch them on your own time. The changes in technology and forms of expression are constantly changing and what we experience in a distance learning course is effected greatly by what gets taken advantage of in the course. The existance of great technology and multimedia is only as good as the amount it gets used. If an instructor uses the most basic of all technologies to teach an online course then the students will not get the chance to learn new multimedia features and also won't really get the full experience of the course.

Once an instructor plans the technologies they will be using in their online course there are a few considerations that must be taken. One of them is to ensure that the students know how to use the technologies well enough to be successful in the course. That should happen both by explaining through words and videos how to use the technology and also a chance for the learners to use the new software without an evaluation being attached. Also, as we read in our resources, the instructor themselves should keep things simple if it is new to them. Don't expect the students to use or do something that is even beyond your own level of understanding. During one of my classes when I was a teacher I had some experience with using a new feature in a software I had years of experience with. What I did was incorporate the students into the learning process. I made a project of learning how to use the different features and then presenting it to the class. Each student had a different feature to learn. It wen well and the student really learned something new by doing it.

Usability and accessability of technology tools have great implications on online teaching and learning. Not only do you have to ensure that everyone has access to the technology, through online or a dvd/cd, but also that they know how to use it. If you look at software online there are usually many different tools and software that can do the same thing. Some are more user friendly while others are made with extra feature that aren't needed are can get very intimidating. Also software is constantly changing so it is a teachers responsibility to keep what they use constantly updated. If you are trying to prepare learners through training or a future job it is important that they know how to use the latest software.

There are some online tools that I prefer as an instructor and recommend for others to at least try. There are several listed in our resources that I agree a good options. Blogs, and discussion forums are a good way to create communication between all members in a course. Some form of video or conferencing software is a good idea so the learners can get a chance to see their instructor face to face for small periods of time. It makes a better connection between student and facilitator. Some times an instructor may want to create a video that the students can watch at a convenient time either to demonstrate how to do something or lecture on a topic. Some form of direct communication for the student to get ahole of the instructor like email or instant messenging services to have a way to field students questions and comments is almost a must. It is another chance to let the students feel more comfortable in the course.

Thank you for your interest in my blog and I hope you come away from this having learned some valuable information.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.