Module 4: Blog Comments

1.  EDUC-8842-1 Principles of Distance Education
http://bobstreff.blogspot.com/

2. EDUC 7102
http://aimee-educ7102.blogspot.com/

Module 4: Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

In a distance education learning environment, teaching and learning has evolved to a point where both parties involved have a sense of satisfaction as far as what was taught and learned within the course.  Before now, both the teacher and student felt more comfortable with face-to-face learning and felt there was more being gained from this type of environment.  According to Durrington, Berryhill, &Swafford (2006), the importance of providing a learning environment that is supportive, open and respectful though the use of clear and detailed syllabus, responding to student inquiries in a timely manner and communicating explicitly the tone of responses, will help ensure a successful distance education course.  Siemens' (2007), mentioned the importance of social presence, teacher presence and collaborative presence in distance education.  These are equally important in ensuring a successful distance education class for all parties involved. 

With the abundance of technological tools that are available in today's time, there is no reason the online learning community can't have a sense of "belonging" when it comes to distance education.  By referring to the graphic organizer, you will see there are a number of tools available to make the teacher and learner feel like they are part of the learning community.

Durrington, V.A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006).  Strategies For Enhancing Student Interactivity In An Online Environment.  College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193.

Siemens, G. (2007) "George Siemens-Curatorial Teaching." Retrieved October 18, 2010 from http://www.archive.org/details/10MinuteLectures-GeorgeSiemens-CuratorialTeaching.

Module 3 Blog Comments

1.  Principles of Distance Education
http://middletonprinciplesdistanceeducation.blogspot.com/

2.  JShives11
http://jshives11.wordpress.com/

Social Presence Storyboard

Social Presence Storyboard

“Building Instructor and Social Presence”

Building Instructor and Social Presence February 7-9, 2011 Marriot in New Orleans, Louisiana Dr. Curt Bonk	Title, Date, Location and Keynote Speaker of Conference will be displayed on video There will also be pictures flowing in which shows the Marriot Hotel and conference room and a picture of Dr. Bonk.  (I know people are already at the conference where this video will be shown and know the date of the conference and what the place looks like but it is still a good thing to include in case this video is used as a form of distance learning).
Video Snippets of Keynote Speaker, Dr. Bonk	Within the video of me giving some background information about the topic and keynote speaker, I will have little snippets of Dr. Bonk talking about “Building Instructor and Social Presence” (Snippets will be taken from a video of Dr. Bonk at another conference.  This video can be found on http://www.youtube.com/ )
PowerPoint Slides	A limited number of PowerPoint slides will “float” across the screen or will be shown temporarily on the video with key words or graphics to help keep the audience’s attention.  The slide(s) will include information from the research I conducted on Social Presence.  I will also tie the information that I learned about Dr. Bonk and his research into the research I conducted on the topic in general.
Conclusion of Introduction of Speaker	Credits and References will be included at the end of the video

Video Production: Introduction	The video starts with a video snippet of me welcoming the audience.  I will also include conference details as stated in the first cell of this table.
Video Production:  Social Presence in Distance Education	I will define what “social presence” means when it comes to distance education and will include a short video snippet of Dr. Bonk that is retrieved from one of his conferences where he spoke about the importance of social presence in distance education. (approximately 20-30 seconds) By including this snippet, it will keep the audience “hungry” for more of what Dr. Bonk has to say about the topic.
Video Production:  Interview	I will shoot a video of an interview of what an individual thinks about distance education VS face-to-face education.  Does this individual feel as successful in a distance education course, etc?  This video will be short (approximately 30 seconds)
Video Production: How to ensure social presence is part of DE	I will state some facts from research that I have conducted on how to make social presence part of DE and how to make sure it is effectively present in DE.  While I am talking about this information I will have the key words appearing on the screen and will include pictures to show it being implemented.
Video Production: Introduction of Dr. Bonk	I will show a picture of Dr. Bonk as I am officially introducing him and will give the audience information about his credentials.