Check out Becky’s article related to trends in MOOC’s:
https://seektolearn.home.blog/mooc/
PIDP 3100 Assignment 2: Foundations of Adult Education
Step 1
I searched the web and was surprised how many different trends there were in adult education. I’ve chosen duty to accommodate.
Step 2
I read the article and posted it in my Resources section under Articles.
The DisabilityServices Framework – Guidelines for the Accommodation of Students with Disabilities Attending Post-Secondary Education in British Columbia.
https://studentaidbc.ca/sites/all/files/school-officials/disability_services_framework.pdf
PIDP 3100 Assignment 2: Foundations of Adult Education
I selected the trend ‘duty to accommodate’ because of my step-daughter who is on the Autism Spectrum and I was interested to see how her education was affected by this trend. For this article, I’ll specifically look at British Columbia.
Duty to accommodate was created by incorporating several Federal and Provincial legislation and agreements including, but not limited to, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, British Columbia Human Rights Code, the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
It is recognized that providing education and services to students with disabilities is a responsibility shared between the Provincial Government, schools, colleges, universities and other post-secondary institutes.
The purpose of the duty to accommodate is to remove the barriers caused by a students disability and place the student on a level playing field with other non-disabled students. The institution has an obligation to look at every student individually, clearly examine the limitations and restrictions, and determine whether they can be accommodated. However, the institution is not required to satisfy unreasonable demands but is expected to tolerate some measure of hardship in the process.
Reasonable considerations have to satisfy certain criteria such as 1) the individual needs are clearly documented; 2) the most integrated experience is made possible; 3) the course/programs essential requirements are not compromised; 4) there is no threat to personal safety of the student or safety; 5) and there is no undue hardship or administrative burden.
The student also has responsibilities such as 1) bring the request for accommodation forward in a timely manner; 2) present appropriate and current documentation; 3) the documents must be from certified and/or licensed professionals; 4) must meet all pre-admission and academic standards; and 5) abide by all policies and procedures of the institution they attend.
There are a number of programs available for students with physical and mental disabilities listed in this article dealing with financial assistance, library services, employment, adaptive equipment, transportation, and specialized clothing.
This article gave me a clearer picture as to what the many learning institutions must do for my step-daughter and what her obligations are to the institutions. The system resource and agencies listed which are available to my step-daughter will be very helpful while going forward with her disability and education.
Article Submitted by Bekki Lacsamana on MOOCS
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnGPohV3eZI
MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) is a new paradigm of education for anyone, anywhere, anytime. It came up with numerous opportunities both for students as well as teachers.
What do students learn in MOOCs?
This is a much more difficult question to answer, because so little of the research to date (2014) has tried to answer this question. (One reason, as we shall see in the next section, is that assessment of learning in MOOCs remains a major challenge). There are at least two kinds of study: quantitative studies that seek to quantify learning gains; and qualitative studies that describe the experience of learners within MOOCs, which indirectly provide some insight into what they have learned.
Advantages of MOOC
(1) MOOC creates the opportunity for sharing ideas & knowledge and also helps improving lifelong learning skills by providing easy access to global resources.
(2) It improves cross cultural relationships which leads to collaboration between institution educators and learners locally and internationally.
(3) It gives an idea where I stand in the course in the current world as large number of students all over the globe would have registered for the same course on the same common platform and participate in the activities and discussion in the study group.
(4) MOOC enhances active learning. Research shows that students learn more through active learning (i.e. when they have assignments or discussion on an issue) rather than through listening to lectures. Students listen to lectures more attentively if they have been given a problem or task to solve before the lecture. In this regard the structure that most MOOCs have – short lectures alternating with assignments and quizzes – seems to be ideal. Of course, one could also do this in a classroom, but it would be more difficult to ensure that all students participate: some might need longer to assimilate the content of the lecture, and prefer to listen to it again before doing the assignment [2]. Peer-to-peer contact facilitated by MOOC can also trigger effective active learning.
(5) MOOC encourages flipping the classroom. Teacher-student contact time usually used for lectures could be used differently, e.g. for discussions, experiments, project and group-work, working with peers etc. Students watch lectures online at home and interact with faculty regarding their doubts while in class. It has been strongly advocated and demonstrated by Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy, in the context of school teaching. Teachers get time to work with students on an individual basis.
(6) Knowledge sharing in Discussion Forum helps reflective and global learners along with active and sequential learners. Reflective learners who are not able to share ideas inside the physical classroom can put their ideas in discussion forum ad get the view points of others. Global learners who feel themselves lost in the beginning can share their diverse ideas on the forum and can get other’s suggestions to find their solution. To know about different types of learners follow the post “Different Learning Styles”.
(7) “No exam fever” encourages deep approach of learning against the surface & strategic approach of learning.To know more about different approach of learning follow the post “Different strategies of learning”.
(8) Peer evaluation provides the opportunity to learn via grading others. Because it is the best way to learn when you teach or grade someone else.
(9) MOOC provides the opportunity to learn from world class universities and from renowned instructors without being a student of the respective university while sitting in the any part of the world.
(10) MOOC opens up the facility to get free of cost “statement of accomplishment” signed by the instructor of the course, which someone completes in all respect according to the requirement of the subject. There are provision to earn the verified certificates with university logo and instructor signature on the payment of the course fee. Anyone can show these certificates at the time of job applications also. The employer can go to the corresponding MOOC provider database to get the information regarding the candidate. Some universities also started allowing to fulfill credit requirements of a degree from the MOOC courses.
Dis-advantages of MOOC:
(1) MOOC provides all the video lectures and slides along with all related reading resources. This gives the students scope for not going through the lectures gradually but whole lectures in a single day which does not lead to deep understanding of the concepts.
(2) Real time question answering is also not possible while going through the lectures.
(3) Technical courses needing physical hands-on practical exposures (eg. Civil, Mechanical, Electrical etc.) are quite tough to be delivered through MOOC.
(4) There is no opportunity for effective assessment methods like Q&A in classroom, surprise quizzes and presentations.
(5) No proper evaluation methods are there as automatic machine assessments and evaluations are not effective. Peer evaluation sometimes lead to discouragement among students which lead them to dropout from the course.
(6) MOOC style of education will gradually kill the care, empathy and respect involved between teacher and students in a physical classroom. It only increases the virtual social community.
Part 1: Post #1 – Trends
I searched the web and chose an article on duty to accommodate, posted it in my Resource Section, and discussed it with my learning partner who chose MOOC’s.
The DisabilityServices Framework – Guidelines for the Accommodation of Students with Disabilities Attending Post-Secondary Education in British Columbia.
https://studentaidbc.ca/sites/all/files/school-officials/disability_services_framework.pdf
Bekki and I read each other’s articles and comments sharing them on e-mail and Skype.
I read your article on MOOC’s and u-tube video. It was very informative, considering I had no idea what a MOOC was until I took this course. For a general interest or hobby course, I feel it would be interesting but not for a more hands-on type of course like basic electrical wiring. There’s no way it would be appropriate for a more serious and in-depth college or university course. But I can see how hundreds of students could be together and discuss specific issues and topics which would really enhance the learning activity of a more for interest course. How do you know someone else isn’t taking the course for that person by completing their assignments and quizzes. The peer evaluation is a bit odd but there’s no way one instructor could mark hundreds of students papers. Also, what is the credibility of the instructor? My friend does not believe in MOOC’s because of the big name universities and renowned instructors taking the money and hope you don’t continue or complete the course. It was compared to the larger fitness chains. MOOC’s have their place in teaching but course specific.
As we were discussing about your trend-” duty to accommodate,” I read about an article , Canadian Human Rights Commission, questioning the quality of education given to students with disability. the lack of disability accommodation and support, lack of services and funding. As I told you I lived in Pemberton BC for so many years, and I’ve seen people with disabilities living in remote areas on First Nations reserves, the lack of support and exclusion is still present.. But I think the government of Canada have done their work in helping students with disabilities to gain access to post-secondary education . and still committed in creating opportunities to ensure the full participation of all people with disabilities, including students.
Bekki asked, Do you know whats in store for student with disabilities who graduated from high school heading off for post secondary? How about academic adjustment? examples, length of time permitted for the completion of degree requirement, adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted. How about students with impaired sensory,?
Vancouver Community College, for example, has clear policy https://www.vcc.ca/…/vancouver-community-college/…/students-disabilities-policy-d-04-01-pdf providing “full, fair, and equal access to all College services, programs, and facilities.” The college provides disability services for visual, hearing, physical, learning, mental, neurological, chronic, and temporary disabling conditions. This also includes course and program planning, college orientation and adjustment, and ongoing learning assistance such as equipment, braille, tapes, and interpreting. The length of time permitted for a degree can always be extended, especially for part-time students. I don’t know how long you can take. Adapting the course may be accommodated providing it is reasonable. “…it is intended to provide alternate ways for students with disabilities to participate fully in the learning environment and College community.”
I enjoyed the discussion with Bekki and I can see the benefit of Skype using it anywhere from a formal classroom setting to an informal talk while sitting in the park.
Part 2: Post #2 – Implications
The implications of these trends, and many others, in the way I will instruct is clear to me. The ‘old ways’ of teaching which my generation grew up with are no longer useful to deal with the challenges of tomorrow. Learners make more informed decisions and take responsible actions for their education. Lifelong learning must encourage changes in knowledge, skills, values, and attitude to enable future generations to meet their educational needs. The trends of today and future trends of tomorrow should be embraced and adopted into the classroom.
I have to learn as much as possible about these trends and the many not listed in this assignment. New information and technology are being discovered at a phenomenal rate. Should I have any credibility in the classroom as an instructor I should have a general working knowledge of what they are and what they do. Should I not promote my own lifelong learning and constantly improve skill sets, I can’t imagine what challenges I will face and opportunities missed without the knowledge to deal with them.
I have to look at other popular forms of learning and instruction delivery. The education trends help determine how best to educate students and what technology should be invested in. Studies have proven trends such as game-based learning enhances learning and classroom interactions, helps students maintain positive attitudes to learning, and motivates students to do better.
To prepare for the trends, I must realize I can’t wait for the ‘right’ time and my education must be proactive starting now. I will learn new skills, find some creative ways to learn and embrace future challenges in my life. I recognize my strengths and weaknesses and will continue to build on my strengths.
Part 3: Post #3 – “Aha” Moment
How little do I know about technology and information – smartphones, web video, Skype, apps, virtual conferences, and flipped classes? Stop the insanity! I’ve relied too heavily on others for technical assistance in so many areas and it’s time to step up to the plate and learn the technology. For example, online learning has exploded in popularity and it’s offered everywhere in most school districts and post-secondary institutions. I find the technical aspect of learning online very challenging and stressful. However, I don’t have the time or desire to sit in a brick and mortar class room participating in a lengthy, formal course.
On Task Teaching 