Assignment # 2. Reflection on course
Yajun Huang
University of Victoria
Distributed and Open Learning
EDCI339
Dr. Verena Roberts
July 30, 2021
When I experience online learning and open learning for the first time, I didn’t know the difference between these two, nor did I understand the detailed information. Since the beginning of the epidemic, everyone has been forced to study at home and this may be the first time many people experience online learning, but it is not for me. I was exposed to online learning when I was in high school. At that time, I had a one-on-one online class with teachers from other provinces. After three months of learning, my learning results were not satisfactory and I paid expensive tuition. In my past opinion, although online learning is convenient and fast, powerful in teaching functions and other advantages that traditional learning modes do not have. Online learning will have unlimited capabilities in the future. However, at present, online learning still has many limitations. It cannot interact on-site, supervise in real-time, and teachers cannot get feedback from students; therefore, it cannot further improve students’ actual results. Since then, I have not had a good impression of online learning, and I believe that online learning cannot replace traditional teaching. But after these four weeks of courses, my views on online learning and open learning have undergone many positive changes.
The Edtrend I chose to study this time is E-Learning. According to Weller (2020), I can learn that E-Learning had already appeared in 1999. Many external criticisms of E-Learning reveal the advantages of face-to-face education over distance learning. The public believes that face-to-face education is the only effective form of education (Weller, 2020). But this criticism ignores the advantages of E-Learning: remote, open and flexible learning options. As a new type of learning method, E-Learning reduces the cost of learning and can provide distance courses for thousands of students. Weller (2020) participated in the first fully open online course project of the Open University (OU) in 1999. The result showed that many people are waiting for this opportunity and hope to learn this way. The example of Weller (2020) indicates that these students are keen to use E-Learning. However, with the development of E-Learning, more software needs to be developed and specialized instructors need to be hired. These costs are costly. Therefore, the arrival of E-Learning has not significantly reduced the cost of higher education (Weller, 2020). When I first used e-learning, I only used simple FaceTime to have one-on-one conversations with teachers, but E-Learning has been equipped with more advanced equipment in recent years. For example, I will download some corresponding online learning software, such as Zoom, Tophat. These softwares are part of online learning, and their design and functions are very convenient. From 1999 to now, E-Learning has been developing for 20 years, and many changes have taken place in these 20 years. In the next ten years, or in the next two years, there will be many changes in E-Learning. In simple terms, with the rapid development of deep learning algorithms, computers can better capture students’ mental states and emotions which is something that traditional teaching cannot do. The most important thing is that online teaching can integrate the teacher’s teaching process and recorded it. The algorithms can also automatically classify the teacher’s teaching process, place notes on important nodes, and add notes, which will undoubtedly improve the teaching significantly.
Now I wonder why my high school experience of online learning was not good. I think a large part of the reason is that my teacher was not used to online learning and my study attitude was not positive. I recently learned about the UDL Guidelines (CAST, 2011) through course reading, an educational guide that provides specific advice for all learners. UDL is divided into three parts: participation, expression and action expression (CAST, 2011). These three parts represent the reason, content and method of learning. By using UDL, learners can evaluate their own learning needs; master their own learning progress; learn to use tools and resources to maximize their learning efficiency. As a set of guides specially designed for learners, UDL also plays an essential role in the future development trend of E-Learning.
Through the four weeks of study, I learned many histories and detailed information about online learning, open learning and E-learning. I also learned to use UDL to monitor and help my learning progress at any time. In general, I always believe that the best way to learn is that students need to have a positive attitude to create a real and meaningful learning environment for themselves.
Reference
Weller, M. (2020). Chapter 6 – 1999 E-Learning. 25 Years of Edtech. AU Press. Retrieved from https://read.aupress.ca/read/25-years-of- ed-tech/section/2f403890-5fb5-431a-baf8-876144a4656d#ch06
UDL: THE UDL GUIDELINES udlguidelines.cast.org