Application: Blog _ The Impact of Open Soruce

Application: Blog – The Impact of Open Source

My Open Source Example: http://oyc.yale.edu/english/milton

English 220 - Milton with Professor John Rogers

My example course had the following course content: Milton. (Minimal information about Milton is presented) Syllabus, (The following information is contained: (Professor’s name, description, texts, requirements, and grading) Class Session, (Milton poetry pieces = 24) Downloads, (Course pages and media) and Survey

Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?

No, this course is not carefully planned, it is appears to be thrown together. For instance, the course did not abide by the following in relation to pre-planning, “plan activities that encourages interactivity at all sites.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 130) All that I see are downloads of the lecture in weekly modules, in which you can see an actual transcript, hear it, or view it. There are also reading assignments and a handout. I see no activities, discussions, or group work in any of the modules. “Plan activities that allow for student group work.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 127) There is, “no alternative means of communication (e.g. fax, phone, e-mail)” (Simonson, 2009, p. 127)

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook?

No, the course follows its own content. Here are just a few:

No goals or objections: The essential content must include the following components according to our book, “starting with the general goals, followed by more specific goals and objectives…” (Simonson, 2009, p. 131)

No guidelines: “instructors should provide clear guidelines for interaction with students.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 153)

No discussions, “…discussion assignments facilitate meaningful cooperation among students.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 153)

No course projects, “students should present course projects.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 153)

No feedback, “instructors need to provide two types of feedback: information feedback and acknowledgement feedback.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 153)

No deadlines are not imposed, “online courses need deadlines.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 153)

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?

No, no activities are note, just a simple and plain course. As noted above, no discussion boards, no course projects, and no assignments have been created or imposed. I would not even categorize this, as a correspondence course at best, there is no written work at all.

In summary to a well-designed online course, “the student should be engaged, and the instructor should be satisfied.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 158) To be perfectly honest with you, I would not feel comfortable in designing a class of Open Source’s caliber.


References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.