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Students that cannot participate in "formal studies" attend open and distance education institutions

(Berge, 1995, p. 23)

When developing and delivering instruction, whether online or not, the use of technology is
secondary to well-designed learning goals and objectives (Berge, 1995, p.22). According to
Berge, (1995) the role of the instructor is to be effective and it is his or her responsibility to
track discussions, contribute special knowledge and insights and to create a harmonious
learning environment (p.23).
Reference:
Berge, Z. (1995). The role of the online instructor/facilitator. Educational Technology, 35(1),
2230.

In this module I learnt about the different ways social media can be used in the classroom.
According to Moran, Seaman, Tinti-Kane and Babson Survey research (2011) in their article they
noted that the use of social media is very popular in todays educational arena and 90% of
teachers use social media when teaching their classes. The social media sites were rated in such a
way that Facebook was number one and YouTube was second place; however online videos were
used the most, both in and out of the classroom.
There were barriers discussed in this article, in addition to those discussed in our OMDE 603
class. Students were concerned with their privacy when using Facebook on both a professional
and personal level. The instructors in our class did agree with the findings and assertions in the
article, How Todays Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media, concluding that social
media does enhance learning and adds value to their teaching. I can agree with this statement
since social media sites do encourage student interaction even if its forced interaction and can be
counted as part of students assessment or grade.
In our OMDE 603 class we had the opportunity to use a wiki site and construct our own blog. As
part of the blog assignment, the goal was to encourage students to think critically. Other tools
such as videos and podcasts were found to be very popular as well (Moran et al., 2011).
Reference:
Moran, M., Seaman, J., Tinti-Kane, H., & Babson Survey research, G. (2011). Teaching,
Learning, and Sharing: How Todays Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media. Babson
Survey Research Group

I wanted to learn a bit more about the existence of distance education in another country, so I
decided to conduct a quick research. Distance education (DE) has become very important in the
world, even in developing countries. I was very surprised to see how technology has made so
many changes even in my country of birth Trinidad and Tobago, in their educational and school
system. A popular university there, known as the University of the West Indies (UWI) has
incorporated distance learning and students who attend UWI today must successfully complete
an online orientation program (UWI, 2014). Students from other countries and those from
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) counties experience online learning.
UWIs Open Campus online environment consists of a student portal, where students can explore
Moodle (UWI, 2014). This is the Learning Management System they use for both learning and
teaching purposes (UWI, 2014).
I came across another article that talked about the emergence of National Open University of
Nigeria (NOUN) (Ambe-Uya, 2007). The author Ambe-Uya, states DE in Nigeria developed in
hope of providing its people with an education because there is a need due to a growth in
population. Like any institution, providing a cost effective program with high quality is a
challenge NOUN faces but since there is this great need, it is imperative that the demand is met
to help with the countries growth, expansion and economic welfare (Ambe-Uya, 2007). It can be
concluded by both NOUN and UWI education is vital in todays market.
References:
Ambe-Uva, T. (2007). National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN): A Historical Perspective
and Challenges. Online Submission.
University of the West Indies. (2014). Prepared to Study Online. Retrieved from
http://www.open.uwi.edu/graduate/preparing-study-online

Fluegge, G. (2010). A Historical and Socio- Cultural Analysis of Distance Education in the
United States with Implications for Distance Theological Education in Africa. Journal Of Adult
Theological Education, 7(1), 26-43.doi:10.1558/jate.v7i1.26

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