Monday, February 17, 2014

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY 1.2


“An Expression in Search of a Definition”


Nyberg (2010) proposes “the following as a definition of ‘open education. “Open education” is that form of educational practice which is characteristically regulated by the following rules:”

1.      Students are to peruse educational activities of their own choosing: students should learn things of educational value and interest to them; not freedom to do anything, but freedom to choose wisely what they like.

2.      Teachers are to create environment rich n educational possibilities: the learning environment should be suitable for learning; this should be structured by the teacher in order to create educational possibilities for students to be interested in.

3.      Teachers are to give a student individualized instruction based on what he/she is
interested in, but they are also to guide the student along educationally worthwhile
lines; explicitly states that the teacher is to start with what the student is interested in. in the matter of guidance, the teacher must judge with he thinks is the interest of the student and work around it.

4.      Teachers are to respect students. The following count as exhibiting respect for the student:
a) The student is granted considerable freedom; he/she is, for the most part,
autonomous: this makes the student fully responsible of these decisions with the intention of promoting trust and respect.
b) Teachers are to create an environment rich in educational possibilities: connected with the 3rd rule, where the student has the right study in the right environment, focused on his education and educational needs.

c) The student’s interests and ideas are considered to be important and he/she
receives individual instruction and guidance based on his/her interests: this considers the student’s ideas relevant for his learning and, in a sense, it sets the teacher and the student as equals, in terms of importance. 

d) Students are rarely commanded; uses of authority are minimized: student’s feelings must be taken seriously; student is considered a reasonable and capable human being; dignity is at the most.

e) Students’ feelings are to be taken seriously: to show respect, respect student´s point of view, respect feelings instead of judging them.

David Nyberg 2010, THE PHILOSOPHY OF OPEN EDUCATION 2010



Advantages and Disadvantages of Distance Education”





Advantages


             Disadvantages

* study at own pace, has time to submerge into theme , time arrangement to fit needs, more family time

* control of pace to a great extent, control the way one learns

* in cases, full manageability of tasks

* open to different learning styles and strategies

* control the emphasis of what one study

* can skip past areas where one is already competent in order to save time and energy

* makes you more autonomous and aware of the decision-consequence process

* more materials then inside classroom , more open to different realia and materials

* helps you with the use of technology

* it is financially less expensive

* there are more chances to find space in an open education class


* human interaction
                
* too much free time might endanger the pace of the whole curricular repertoire

* very isolated experience

* absence of social links

* might be a little boring

* interruptions to learning can frustrate and demotivate

* certain real life things are taken for grated


Howard, Ron 1995, Distance Education for Language Teachers: A UK Perspective Multilingual Matters (Series)



“Own definition of distance education and open education”

What is distance education?
As we understand there is no precise definition for such term. To me, distance education could be defined as the way an institution practices its formal education through a separation of students that will use technological appliances and services as their main platform for interaction. This platform is the connector between students, teachers, and the materials needed for coursing and approving subjects in order to obtain valid assessment.
http://youtu.be/Rb0syrgsH6M


What is open education? This concept relates to distance education, but I think it is much wider since open education tends to be more “open” in many ways. This concept, to me, lets the student take almost all the control over what and how learning should be done. It lets student choose its own learning strategies, and the access to materials and resources comes in different ways; sharing input and output is also a crucial aspect of open education. “Openness is the only means of doing education.” Distance learning falls into the category of open education. 

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