I am so fortunate to be the one who posts on this reading especially given that I am considered a Non-Traditional Learner who has been attending both traditional and non traditional type classes for eleven years. As a student seeking Teacher Certification within NYS the OER (open educational resource) is not necessarily an option. Some of the courses can be taken online but the true certification is not yet available to a learner seeking online educational resources within NYS...Sure would make my life easier if it were! It often times feels to me as if my time is WASTED sitting through lecture when I could be doing so much more. Is there an element of position justification involved with institutions not being inline with 21st Century Skills?
I submit that from a marketing perspective institutions such as our beloved Cortland would serve an even larger demographic of people if more opportunities for OER were available. There are sometimes less than 30 classes available online during semesters, winter and summer session.To me it seems unproductive to not offer the maximum availability of online course and degree programs especially since "we all learn." Bonk asserts 10 reasons why institutions and organizations freely share online content, included in the 10 reasons are the dissemination of information, student assistance, alumni support, sharing ideas and practices, marketing, global education, goodwill, feedback, economic support and career options, and setting an example regarding the rights of all to be educated. He also notes that institutions of higher learning throughout the world are already doing this; Australia, Canada, Afghanistan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Notre Dame and the United Kingdom. All the more reason for each of us to maximize our talents in the technology sector and be prepared to teach and learn in multiple ways.
As leaders and advocates our responsibility to society will include the Three P's as outlined in Bonk's work; the technological infrastructure, online content and a participatory culture of learning. When awareness is heightened to the vast inequality in education the time is ripe for change. I believe we have been teetering at the cusp of an educational revolution in our country for decades, change is happening in slow yet immense ways. The recognized value of OCW (opencourseware) has not yet peaked in the Upstate area. However it continues to reach around the global world seemingly are we going to let it pass us by? It is our responsibility to check our egos at the door and really walk the walk and talk the talk of educational equality. As stated in Bonk's piece, "convenience and flexibility are the learning watchwords" We all work, have lives, need money, etc and all deserve the opportunity that OCW and OER provide. I can say with honesty that I would leave the traditional courses offered in an instant if Cortland were to become the innovator in the fields of OCW and OER that is is in the field of Teacher Preparation via traditional methods.
Respectfully submitted,
Stellalunalorax
OOooops, I posted on the Week 9 readings that should have been done last week!!
ReplyDeleteGood article anyway!
Stellalunalorax
I will comment on this anyway since you posted...
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand where you are coming from, Darcy (and where the author is coming from). I took my first online course two summers ago and at first it felt confusing and different, and I was unsure if I liked that way of learning. By the end of the course, I was LOVING it, and I took a second online course for the other half of the summer. I signed up for the online courses because I was working 40 hour weeks over the summer, which is my time to make the money that I desperately lost during the semester. Attending classes was not possible for me because of my work schedule.
HOWEVER, I will say that for education majors, online learning seems kind of contradictory. Don't you feel like you need to see Morning Meeting modeled and implemented in order to fully understand how to conduct them in your own classroom to your best ability? And don't you feel like Orvil's class would be less meaningful if we didn't get to experiment with the hand's on activities? I just think online learning goes against some of the things that we are learning, especially considering the rise of virtual learning in high schools and even middle schools that is wiping out teaching jobs and probably trickling down to the elementary setting sometime in the future.
Unfortunately, it is hard to find the balance... I mean, I would love to be able to do the work on my own time for Block one! :) I feel like if one of our block courses were to be taught online it would make most sense for it to be technology.
Yes Brittney I totally agree that in regards to our education courses; especially the Block that we are in the true "essence" in found within the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Cortland will do and should do everything within its power to provide as much diversity to its future students as is possible while maintaining the integrity of the program.
Thank you for your positive reflections.