Annotated Bibliographies
Open educational resources: education for the world?
Thomas Richter & Maggie McPherson (2012): Open educational resources: education for the world?, Distance Education, 33:2, 201-219
This article addresses the United Nations issues of poverty stricken countries and their need for education to build the necessary foundations to equip the country toward economic growth. “Degesys (cited in Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, & Miall, 2011, p. 240) claimed that as “educational systems can sustain conflict within schools, they can also liberate it.” However, even with greater enrollment in educational institutions in developing countries, the lack of proper materials diminishes the quality of education and thereby affects the human capital for economic sustainability. With some major companies to develop and provide Open End Resources can make a difference toward resolution however, OER is not the complete solution. “OER will be of value for learners only if they fit the learners’ own context and are thus genuinely reusable or at least fully adaptable.” The article states that OER for a western culture will not be the same for other developing country’s culture due to incomplete infrastructure concerns, extreme poverty and government policies that restricts its use. The article continues to look at those who have the potential to provide the resources and their responsibility to the development of the shift in education and issues such as policy, quality and value that will help provide the support OER needs to go forward globally.
Thomas Richter & Maggie McPherson (2012): Open educational resources: education for the world?, Distance Education, 33:2, 201-219
This article addresses the United Nations issues of poverty stricken countries and their need for education to build the necessary foundations to equip the country toward economic growth. “Degesys (cited in Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, & Miall, 2011, p. 240) claimed that as “educational systems can sustain conflict within schools, they can also liberate it.” However, even with greater enrollment in educational institutions in developing countries, the lack of proper materials diminishes the quality of education and thereby affects the human capital for economic sustainability. With some major companies to develop and provide Open End Resources can make a difference toward resolution however, OER is not the complete solution. “OER will be of value for learners only if they fit the learners’ own context and are thus genuinely reusable or at least fully adaptable.” The article states that OER for a western culture will not be the same for other developing country’s culture due to incomplete infrastructure concerns, extreme poverty and government policies that restricts its use. The article continues to look at those who have the potential to provide the resources and their responsibility to the development of the shift in education and issues such as policy, quality and value that will help provide the support OER needs to go forward globally.
Politics, practices, and possibilities of open educational resources
Liam Phelan (2012): Politics, practices, and possibilities of open educational resources, Distance Education, 33:2, 279-282
Open Education Resources (OER) application in learning is showing a shift in educational achievement thereby changing students from didactic to autodidactic. In the article the author opens a dialog with, “I wonder if, over the next few years, we will witness a change in societal understandings of what it means to be a learner: from someone who (as a young adult) “goes to uni,” for example, and engages with what is offered there, to someone who is creative and driven in their approach to their learning, so much so, in fact,
that they succeed in seeking out and pulling together a coherent learning program for themselves outside a tertiary institutional setting, which they then pursue through to a self-defined conclusion. And then, what if that achievement was validated formally, so as to be recognized socially?’
The article recognizes the way society could possibly validate this type of learning but brings about issues of costs connected to practices and politics thereby the author closes with these continuing questions, “The open educational resources (OER) movement may provide a pathway to that possible future. However, the prospects for such a shift also raise important questions about if and how that future might unfold. Could it happen? Will it happen? Is it desirable?”
Liam Phelan (2012): Politics, practices, and possibilities of open educational resources, Distance Education, 33:2, 279-282
Open Education Resources (OER) application in learning is showing a shift in educational achievement thereby changing students from didactic to autodidactic. In the article the author opens a dialog with, “I wonder if, over the next few years, we will witness a change in societal understandings of what it means to be a learner: from someone who (as a young adult) “goes to uni,” for example, and engages with what is offered there, to someone who is creative and driven in their approach to their learning, so much so, in fact,
that they succeed in seeking out and pulling together a coherent learning program for themselves outside a tertiary institutional setting, which they then pursue through to a self-defined conclusion. And then, what if that achievement was validated formally, so as to be recognized socially?’
The article recognizes the way society could possibly validate this type of learning but brings about issues of costs connected to practices and politics thereby the author closes with these continuing questions, “The open educational resources (OER) movement may provide a pathway to that possible future. However, the prospects for such a shift also raise important questions about if and how that future might unfold. Could it happen? Will it happen? Is it desirable?”
Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications
Janette R. Hill, Liyan Song & Richard E. West (2009): Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications, American Journal of Distance Education, 23:2, 88-103
This article analyzes the social learning perspectives in the design and application in teaching, especially in Web-based learning environments (WBLEs). This research includes three areas. ‘(1) examining learners’ individual characteristics in WBLEs, (2) identifying strategies for promoting social interaction in WBLEs, and (3) developing effective design principles for WBLEs.’ Therefore, this article is: ‘(1) to review and analyze the literature of WBLEs from the perspective of social learning theory and (2) to provide suggestions for the design and development of WBLEs using the frame of social learning theory with implications for future research.’
Janette R. Hill, Liyan Song & Richard E. West (2009): Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications, American Journal of Distance Education, 23:2, 88-103
This article analyzes the social learning perspectives in the design and application in teaching, especially in Web-based learning environments (WBLEs). This research includes three areas. ‘(1) examining learners’ individual characteristics in WBLEs, (2) identifying strategies for promoting social interaction in WBLEs, and (3) developing effective design principles for WBLEs.’ Therefore, this article is: ‘(1) to review and analyze the literature of WBLEs from the perspective of social learning theory and (2) to provide suggestions for the design and development of WBLEs using the frame of social learning theory with implications for future research.’
Student Views of Effective Online Teaching in Higher Education
Suzanne Young (2006): Student Views of Effective Online Teaching in Higher Education, American Journal of Distance Education, 20:2, 65-77
In this investigation a survey of online students was conducted to find the effectiveness of online teaching.
The following were considered the core issues.
Suzanne Young (2006): Student Views of Effective Online Teaching in Higher Education, American Journal of Distance Education, 20:2, 65-77
In this investigation a survey of online students was conducted to find the effectiveness of online teaching.
The following were considered the core issues.
- 1) adapting to student needs
- 2) using meaningful examples
- 3) motivating students to do their best
- 4) facilitating the course effectively
- 5) delivering a valuable course
- 6) communicating effectively
- 7) showing concern for student learning