Distance Learning I & II

   For GEN105 Week 1 I needed for Part I - Post a 100- to 150-word response to the following: What were your initial thoughts on distance learning before you started your program? Why did you choose distance learning over a traditional face-to-face learning environment? In what ways has your view of distance learning changed since you started your classes? 

    And for Part II - a) Recall a time when you gave constructive criticism to another student, a friend, or a family member. How would giving feedback to a classmate in a distance learning environment be different from giving face-to-face feedback? Compare and contrast the two processes in a 100- to 150-word response.  b) Submit a second 100- to 150-word response describing how, in your opinion, the “distance” element of learning either makes it easier or more difficult to communicate, and why.

    Here is what I turned in without alternation after the teacher comments.

Part I

I am familiar with correspondence schools and suppose I really expected to find that when signing up.  I was hoping for a move at your own pace classes as I am a quick learner and prefer to get my assignments done as quickly as I can while still taking the time to understand my assignments.  I decided to use an online school because it allows me the freedom of attending classes at the hour I actually have available to me in a day.  I can sit in my jammies on the couch and attend classes instead of devoting many hours in a traditional classroom to learn the same thing.  When the start date came closer and the more I learned of how the University of Phoenix operated the more nervous I got about whether I could add another responsibility into my daily life.  After reviewing my course schedule for both of my first classes and seeing how assignments were distributed I have definitely relaxed about whether I can fit school into my schedule also.  I am also amazed at the emotional support I am receiving from my friends and family for going back to school.  I am now very excited about attending my classes and participating in the discussions.  The next twenty some months should prove to be very interesting.  I am looking forward to learning a lot.  

 Part IIa - 

      I feel there are a few differences in giving feedback to a classmate in a distance learning environment versus a traditional classroom venue.  For one, shy people have more of a buffer between them and the rest of the students in a distance learning environment and may allow them to be more open and confident in participating in class discussions.  The classroom forum used in the distance learning environment also allows for students to participate in class even though they may not have been present when the discussion started.  In a traditional classroom only the students present when the discussion starts are capable of participating.  The online classroom environment also allows a time distance between students as well as a space distance which may help elevate heated discussions between students to become out of control as both parties have time to cool down in between replies.  One advantage to the traditional classroom environment maybe the ability to interact more on a more personal and social level than can be achieved at a distance learning environment.  Overall, I believe there are more advantages to attending a distance learning environment, than a traditional classroom.

   

     Part IIb - 

    The distance element of learning definitely has its advantages and drawbacks.  On one hand it does allow the student to post whenever is convenient for them no matter what time of day it may be.  Due to responses being typed instead of spoken, the student has more time to craft an intelligent response and really take time to think about their answers before speaking.  A traditional classroom environment does not always allow for time to craft an appropriate response or for cooler heads to prevail.  One drawback to distance learning is that you do have to wait sometimes up to 24hrs for a response from either student or teacher.  Sometimes trains of thought could become forgotten.  The student can even forget to look for the response to their opinions after maybe a particularly hard day dealing with family and/or their full time job.  I believe that distance learning can either be a help or hindrance depending on how the student decides to see it and how they use the tools available to them. For me in particular, the distance learning has made it easier for me not only to participate in classroom discussions, but also in my overall communication to my teacher and to my classmates.

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