Open and Distance Education

Dr. Simonson (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b) describes that there are two parts to distance education; the distance teaching and the distance learning. In other words, Dr. Simonson believes that in order for it to be true distance education there needs to exist a symbiotic relationship between the educator and the learner. Therefore, one could reason that, if the communication between teacher/student is that important, then the student/student relationship must be just as important. For this reason I suggest using Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/) to nourish this connection. As a diversity trainer I could accomplish this by creating and sharing a folder through Dropbox. At the beginning of the course the student will be asked to “Drop” two culturally responsive research based article, or tool, or resource along with a written description of why it was chosen and how it is beneficial. Students will be encourage to view this virtual folder as a collaboration that will continue to exist and be further developed as each member of the community continue to share even after the course is over.  I would, in addition, use open education resources to enhance the diversity training. For example, I would ask that each student participate in Harvard’s Project Implicit (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ ) to identify personal feelings regarding diversity. Then I would put them in groups and have them reflect and explore anonymous findings within a group setting. I would also bring in another open education resource, like the assessment tools from the New York Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence (2010). I would then ask the participants to compare and contrast how the business sector, the health industry, and mental health industry are attempting to achieve multiculturalism.

References

Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence. (2010, December) Cultural competence assessment tools. Retrieved from http://www.nyspi.org/culturalcompetence/what/pdf/NYSPI-CECC_CulturalCompetenceAssessment.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Distance education: The next generation. Baltimore, MD: Author. (approximate length: 7 minutes)
In this vodcast, Dr. Michael Simonson discusses the evolution of distance education from its beginnings, as correspondence courses, to the course management system that is most prevalent today. He reflects on the next paradigm of distance education emerging from the web resources that make knowledge generation and collaboration more effective. Focus on his discussion on the next generation of distance education.