E-Portfolio Task - Questions for Reflection Wave 2

1. Review your group's (r)evolutionary grid. What aspects of Wave 2 did you find to be
the most interesting?
I like the section about Course teams: academic, graphic & instructional designer (Shale,
2010) The idea of teams working together to create quality online educational content
appeals to me as I think that teachers should not be forced to create online curriculum if
they dont have any formal training to do so. Also our guest Dr. Alan Tait pointed out that
the instructional design was the most important part of a distance education program.
2.

What was the least interesting?

Information about telecourses - 1st via TV then via low-cost videos cassettes (Miller,
2010) while this information was important to explain the different generations of
distance education it did not have any major appeal. The era of tv, am video cassettes
seemed so antiquated, and brought back old emotions of tangled and mangled tape
ribbons.

3. What were your "a-ha!" moments during this wave? What incited these moments
and how did they influence your understanding of DE?
Probably the idea of Brje Holmberg empathy, guided pedagogic conversation. The idea
that there was something deeply inherited about the DE and the communication process
that was special was always a mystery to me. At first I likened it to the form of written
communication that usually brings with it a more personal touch. But the learning of
empathy guided pedagogic conversation put the icing on the cake for me.
4. After what you have read, learned, or experienced in studying this second wave,
how might you revise your original definition of DE?
I would probably include more about the fifth generation of pedagogic style. The arrival
of the World Wide Web was a major paradigm shift for education.
4A. What specific readings/experiences have influenced your understanding of DE?
Moore and Kearsleys (2012) breakdown of the historical context of DE was quite
impressive. I liked the logical arrangement of the details that were based on the
technology that was used for each generation.

5. Consider the expert video from Tony Bates. What left a lasting impression on you?
The fact that 40% of the teachers did not have a degree was interesting to me. The idea of
and the development of DE always seems to develop from a real need no matter where
the location is.
5A. Tell us about your impression and how it affected your views about DE.
This shared fact just made me appreciate De more as it seems to always meet the needs of
some disadvantaged population.

6. Go back to the course objectives listed in the Syllabus. Do you feel the objectives are
being fulfilled and if so, how and to what degree? Are there objectives that are not
being met? If so, which ones?
The objectives are being fulfilled in a number of ways. The skill builders strengthen
actual skills by providing hands on experiences. Also the e-portfolio gives an opportunity
to review knowledge learned repeatedly at your own leisure.
I do not feel that the objectives are not being met.