Reflections
This section contains a summative reflection on my learning journey through the UMUC Master of Distance Education & E-Learning.
Becoming and Staying a Lifelong Learner
Not long before starting this program, I learned the term ‘life-long-learning’. That sounds great, but what exactly does it refer to? Haven’t we always been life-long learners? Particularly in Asian and African countries, people acknowledge this process of continuously gaining wisdom throughout one’s lifetime, by expressing the utmost respect for the elderly and asking them for advice on important matters. In the twenty-first century, however, it can be challenging to evolve into that knowledgeable elder, surrounded by an ever-changing world, influenced by continuous ground-breaking research and revolutionary innovations in an expanding number of disciplines. Indeed, explicitly providing and embracing continuous learning efforts may be a suitable approach to deal with this new reality.
The term life-long-learning was literally institutionalized by UNESCO, with the creation of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong learning (UIL), shortly after WW2 (http://uil.unesco.org/). The European Commission started a seven billion euro Life Long Learning program that ran from 2007 to 2013, which was proceed by Erasmus+ (http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme_en).
The Erasmus+ is how I was personally introduced to lifelong and online learning. In 2012, I needed to keep up with new education developments for the language courses I was managing at the time. Hence, I familiarized myself with EU regulations and programs promoting student’s mobility and life-long-learning, such as Erasmus+. Simultaneously, I was looking for a new academic challenge and a career change. In short, I too, wanted to make my lifelong learning efforts more explicit. With some help of a dear American friend, online master program on distance education and e-learning (OMDE), I found the University of Maryland University College (UMUC).
During the OMDE program, I internalized the multi-faceted meaning of and need for lifelong learning. It became clear to me that the lifelong learning need of an individual is related to his or her educational and social background, age, gender, country of residence, and financial situation. In addition, the OMDE program made me realize how much I had already learnt after college, in the ‘real’ world, while spending time abroad, teaching languages, managing a boutique hotel, running a large construction process, raising two lovely children, to name a few examples. Lifelong learning is about connecting the dots: learning how to apply previously learnt knowledge and skills to new contexts, and learning how and where to find the knowledge that you need.
Developed Countries and Lifelong Learning, Distance and Online Education
The OMDE program deals with various theories and (online) learning approaches that addresses the need for continuous learning throughout one’s professional career in the innovative, globalized twenty-first century we live in.
Developed countries, have the luxury of high speed internet, access to (often not always) affordable higher education, the availability of web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, and digital technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, affording online, collaborative, experiential, and/or personalized learning.
Two theories that stood out most to me in connection to online and life-long-learning in developed countries are connectivism and heutagogy.
1 - Connectivism. This theory explicitly deals with the abundance of information and the high velocity in which new knowledge replaces old knowledge. Siemens, a renowned theorist explains how knowledge now expands and evolves so quickly that learning is no longer about storing knowledge within oneself, but about knowing how and where to obtain this knowledge (Siemens, 2004). Siemens suggested that course instruction should be radically redesigned to facilitate a learner’s ability to network, and find, organize and apply obtained knowledge.
2- Heutatogy This theory is learner-centered and stresses learner autonomy and self-determination that has its origins in andragogy, an adult learning theory that stresses learner self-directedness. It comprises a non-linear, reflective, collaborative learning approach, which focuses on competency and skill development, and learning outcomes. Both curriculum and assessment are flexible and can be negotiated by the learner (Blaschke, 2012).
For a busy adult like myself, juggling a career, family life and study, these two learning theories are fascinating. At the same time, the OMDE program suited my needs as an adult learner. This program did not appear to be informed by either heutatogy or connectivism, but by a third online learning theory: online collaborative learning (OCL).
3- Online collaborative learning. This is constructivist collaborative learning theory that focuses on learner’s creativity and problem-solving skills. Learners build knowledge and skills though discussion, collaborative assignments and webinars (Harasim, 2011).
The online OMDE program was organized in twelve, twelve-week modules preceded by a brief preparatory module on academic skills and online learning. In my case, the latter was pivotal for a successful return to the academic world, in an online environment. It provided a hands-on preparation and the necessary self-confidence. The flexibility of doing one or two modules (part-time), or three modules at once (full time), facilitated combining this graduate program with other obligations, such as work and family. Putting students through each course as a cohort may have limited the flexibility to some extent, yet it promoted collaborative knowledge construction and provided me with the structure I needed to complete each course successfully. Without peers and deadlines, a successful completion would have been very challenging. This does not imply that heutatogy or connectivism could not be successfully inform adult learning approaches. In fact, it is very plausible that my learning process after graduation will be informed by heutatogical and connectivist theory.
Developing Countries and Lifelong Learning, Distance and Online Education
Most peers in the OMDE program were from the US, but quite a few came from different, e.g. South-Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Jamaica. At congresses, such as AACE EdMedia, EduLearn and EDEN, I had the honor to attend presentations by and discussion with distance education and e-learning professionals from countries all over the world, there is so much more to learn.
Terms that were taught in courses of the OMDE program, such as the digital divide, and open education became tangible when listening to the challenges for an open educational resources (OER) project in Gabon, such as limited internet connections and the lack of an existing national curriculum. It is fascinating to learn about open universities in Pakistan, India, China, and Indonesia manage to serve over a million students, and the role they can play a role in promoting gender equality, enabling women to attend school from a distance. To me, these roles and aspects of distance and open education are as meaningful and fascinating as the latest developments in learning analytics, serious games and virtual reality that dominate conversation in developed countries.
Surviving the OMDE Program
A graduate study can be very demanding and rewarding at the same time. Courses covered topics diverse as DE theory, costs and economics, policy and management, learner support, instructional design, library and intellectual property, technology, global strategies, training with multimedia and development in the workplace. The entire program was valuable and contributed to my learning, the courses were complementary and provided a holistic view of the field of distance education and online learning, particularly the pedagogical viewpoint, and policy and management viewpoint were extensively covered.
The first course OMDE 601 of the program was taught by Lisa Blaschke and provided us learners with the necessary foundational knowledge of distance education and online theory. Moreover, it was a textbook example of an online, collaborative learning approach and effectively scaffolded students in becoming independent graduate leaners. Strong course elements were the class discussion visit by famous scholar Otto Peters, recorded minilectures by DE experts Tony Bates and Terry Anderson, and numerous skill building exercises.
The leadership courses: distance education policy and management (DEPM604), and global strategies, perspectives and practices for open and distance education (DEPM625), both taught by Dr. Don Olcott, also stand out in my memory. DE theory defines teaching presence, i.e. course design and instruction and discourse facilitation, and several theorists assert it positively impacts learning (Garrison, 2007). Dr. Olcott must have taken teaching presence theory to heart, particularly discourse facilitation; he was omnipresent, guiding our conversations, and suggesting more supplementary literature than I could possibly fit into twelve weeks (but I tried). Dr. Olcott’s presence and concern with our progress made me push my own limits and convinced me of the importance of teaching presence. Useful were John Kotter’s eight steps for effective change, which were already helpful in a few professional projects. Last by but not least, I much appreciated the opportunity to interview DE leader Sir John Daniel and collaboration with such an inspiring group of peers.
An equally positive collaborative learning experience was the group project in the learner support course (OMDE 608), taught by Christine Walti. These successful group projects convinced me of the importance of collaborative group work for knowledge construction, social engagement and ultimately learner success. When a group consists of engaged and motivated learners form rich professional backgrounds, learners can learn as much from their peers as from their teacher. This course revealed that in online and distance education, learner support is as important as teaching presence and course design; it can address the gap of physical distance as well as differences among learners with regard to strength, weaknesses, social, linguistic and cultural backgrounds and help create a sense of community (LaPadula, 2003).
The Future
I truly enjoyed my journey through the OMDE program, that became even better when Maastricht University library hired me as an e-learning expert, granting me the opportunity to combine a graduate study and a professional career. I attended e-learning and DE congresses, such as EDEN, in Oldenburg, AACE, EdMedia in Amsterdam, Edulearn in Barcelona, and Media & Learning in Leuven, and participate in Dutch higher education events, meetings, and SIGS and workgroups on open & online learning and media in education.
I am sincerely interested in technology in education and where it can take us. Learning analytics, open badges, open and online learning, online competency-based learning, video in education, just to name a few. At the same time, I feel we should remain aware of the challenges and dangers of Web 3.0 technology, as was demonstrated during the congress hearings of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Certain issues are already being addressed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went in effect in the European Union on may 18, 2018 (https://www.eugdpr.org/). Like all innovation, developments and possibilities of technology in education should be handled with care and always start from pedagogy.
My interests are broad: pedagogy, learner support, policy and management, and the possibilities of open, online and distance education for developing countries, social and gender equality, innovation and sustainability. Whatever avenue I will take, I hope that my contribution to education is will be meaningful.
Inspirational
Finally, I would like to share this inspirational 2007 LIFT conference by Sugata Mitra "How kids teach themselves". He provides us with an interesting perspective mixing learning in developing countries, self-directed learning collaborative learning and technology enhanced learning.
References
Blaschke, L.M. (2012). Heutagogy and lifelong learning: A review of heutagogical practice and self-determined learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(1), 56-71.
Garrison, D. (2007). Online Community of Inquiry Review: Social, Cognitive, and Teaching Presence Issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11(1), 61–72. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ842688
Harasim, L. (2011). Learning theory and online technologies. New York, USA and London, UK: Routledge.
LaPadula, M. (2003). A comprehensive look at online student support services. American Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 119-128.
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. elearnspace. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm