Distance Learning

Many adults struggle to learn a second language, but not for lack of effort — the problem may actually be that they're trying too hard, a new study suggests.

Scientists have long suspected that adults' superior cognitive function might actually be a drawback in picking up a new language, giving kids the upper hand. In the new study, when adults were told to try to learn the proper sentence structure and grammar of a new language, the participants actually learned less than those who were not told they would have to take a quiz.

"The most surprising thing about the study is that trying can actually harm learning outcome," Amy Finn, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, told Live Science. "Superior cognitive function is better for almost everything else." [10 Surprising Facts About the Brain]

Trying makes it harder

“...digital environments can create third cultures where identity can be constructed and negotiated through interaction with other participants. Thus, subscribing to a view of culture as negotiated online, I have adopted the definition of culture as an ‘idioculture’...” Globalization, culture, and online distance learning (Gunawardena, 2014) 

Student success is a critical outcome to consider in the planning and design of any distance education course, and clearly some of the biggest obstacles can include lack of sense of belonging, support and technology barriers.

I absolutely feel as though all high schools and colleges/universities, for example, should have a mandatory prerequisite course for students that consists solely of introducing the students to distance education and the technologies used. This course should be taken prior to the student’s enrollment in any course that will be delivered even partially online.

Ideally, this course would begin upon entrance to the institution, possibly as part of the already established “introduction” course itself. This way, students will have the opportunity to become enmeshed in the institution’s online communities right away, become comfortable and knowledgeable with interacting with other students and facilitators from a distance, as well as the technology necessary to participate and contribute.

This course of course would also introduce the student to other critical issues such as academic dishonesty, plagiarism, netiquette and digital divide.

This week I’ve been thinking about the opportunities to make distance learning more interactive.

For instance, Philip’s video introduction, shot from his travels abroad, literally right out in his environment, was so absolutely fun and engaging.

I could see using this example as an ongoing assignment/challenge for course participants, whether they are in the same city, or across the globe, to not only create a sense of community, but also make the course more interactive and social.

Course participants could create an interactive video of their “place” from their home office, backyard, car, or anywhere in their community, allowing others to visually engage and look forward to finding out where they may be shooting from in their next post.

I’m really enjoying the course text. It seems to be very thought-provoking indeed. One of the topics pointed out was the “The Syllabus”. The text states that “the syllabus is the single most important document the instructor can prepare. This is the primary communication tool with students at a distance.”

Thoughts after reading Research report: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies (U.S. Department of Education, 2010):

The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face to face instruction

Clark has cautioned against interpreting studies of instruction in different media as demonstrating an effect for a given medium inasmuch as conditions may vary with respect to a whole set of instructor and content variables. That caution applies well to the findings of this meta-analysis, which should not be construed as demonstrating that online learning is superior as a medium. Rather, it is the combination of elements in the treatment conditions, which are likely to include additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration that has proven effective.