Goal 2.1 Multiple Intelligences and their impact in learning

For students, knowing their learning styles and what intelligence they have more developed is a tool that can aid them in their studies.  Personally, I do know my thing is music. Added to this, I learn better by listening than by watching something. For me to work better, I must listen to music, and I prefer places with lots of white noise (like people talking in a cafeteria, listening to fans, air conditioners, etc.) to work in. Now, taking this into account, I believe distance education can allow us to create our own learning environment, something traditional learning lacks and strictly forbids. On the other hand, like in my case, instructions can be difficult to understand. I prefer to listen to a teacher saying the specifications for an assignment rather than reading them because the second option consumes more of my time than it should (I am no good at retaining written information). With these limitations, yes, sometimes I have felt alone while learning through an online platform because it involves lots of visual interaction. The fact the facilitator is away can result in poor motivation.

Although I am good organizing my deadlines through a calendar, I know not everyone can do this and even prefer to do things at the last moment, which I do not. My emotions also play an important part, whereas if I am not feeling happy or are actually all the way down to depression, I DO leave the assignment for last. I think that to be successful in a distance course the student must be well-organized and interested in the course, so on that is the reason why I like to take my time with each assignment, so I can actually develop it the best way possible.

Solutions

1. I think the online facilitator should provide the student with the most options possible to be in touch during the course. Instructions could be presented in more than one form to fit different students’ needs. If this does not happen, the learner should create his own learning environment to make the tasks more enjoyable or at least less stressful. For example, if musical, listen to music that helps him concentrate and work.
2. Another thing is the student should keep track of his assignments with help of a calendar or agenda he can carry with him all the time or have easy access to it. He should place some alarms as reminders and try to work in the assignment one at least one day before it is due or early during day-time. If the assignment is done a few minutes before or even a few hours, it will result in poor quality and no meaningful learning.

Distance and Open education: Their reality

Distance and open education share similar features. Perhaps the main difference is distance education is a lot alike traditional, where they have a teacher, even if far away, as a guide, however, the students do not attend a classroom to be able to take their lessons. In open education, the learners only have a system to follow.

Just like in about everything, these systems have their good and their bad side. On the pros, it is known that distance and open education are a great option for those who have something else to do besides attending classes. Activities such as working and taking care of a family become priorities, many times making studies aside. However, with these two options, education becomes, once more, available for these people to learn and improve their academic life. This availability also allows the student to organize himself according to his needs and schedule; he can work at his own pace and by his personal learning style. Inclusively, when a student enrolls to these classes, he can develop the skills he needs to be an online learner if he is yet not ready when within the program. Another advantage is that, thanks to the freedom the student has, he can dedicate the time he can to his work.

On the negative aspects, we can see some students are not ready for this kind of learning and do not reach the maturity needed for such programs. Not everyone is autonomous and can go into an open or distance education  system believing a teacher will be on his back telling him how and when to do assignments, which is not so. This could also lead the student to feel lost or lose track of his learning, resulting in poor motivation and even a drop out.  

Systems are not perfect either. Online platforms are best known for not connecting to the server when needed than for doing it. System black outs will always be a great disadvantage for online learners because the student, even when a good planner, is not able to foresee situations of this kind. More than once, people will have to restart their work from scratch, which affects the student’s organization directly.

Added to the before mentioned, the access to a computer is not always for granted even if schools now offer technology and internet. As open and distance education offer more freedom, that is a feature the student looks forward to, and being limited by a physical object is not an option. Many also believe having access to technology can be enough, but a learner in Computer Science and a learner in Communication, to mention two poles, will have different needs. Sometimes learners do not only need a computer, they need a good quality computer which is most likely unaffordable considering monetary issues are the main cause for people to enroll in these courses.

In addition, socially speaking, as every kind of online relationship, open and distance education are underestimated and not considered real. The concept of school being a building filled with classrooms, teachers and students is persistent till this day in people’s head such as the concept of s psychologist in a room with a patient laying down in from of him telling them their problems, which is traditional, yes, but not particularly correct.  Nonetheless, there are schools that have successfully implemented these education systems, such as the Universidad Autónoma de México and the Instituto Tecnológico de Aguas Calientes, proving that open and distance education are now official and produce graduates like traditional education does.

On a personal note, I think that, although the student is the focus of these two systems, the teacher in distance education plays an important role for this experience to be good. As a teacher, I would like my students to feel we are in contact even when we do not see each other in real life. Here, the facilitator does not cease being the guide. Whenever the student has a doubt, there should be a person available to aid him and solve any problems presented throughout the course. After all, they may be enrolling to pay less, but that does not mean they study for free. So on, the system must engage with the student and let him know he is not alone. 

Finally, I think open and distance education do not mean to take traditionalist’s place, they rather complement each other and suffice different needs. These three systems are the first of perhaps many more options to come, allowing each time more people to rise in their academic competences. As future teacher, we must be prepared for these changes. School’s change their ways often, and what we are taught today may not be of much use tomorrow, however, if we carry the basis of education with us, we will be able to overcome the gaps that exist between the traditional teacher and technology.

Live and virtual education

Live education, or in better terms presential, is different from virtual starting by the relationship that exists between the student, the teacher and the contents that well be learned during such course. In live education, we are involving a classroom filled with around 40 students, all with different needs, while in distance education there is a more individual and autonomus way of working. No everyone can be an online student, for it requires a sense of self organization, and when involved in a real-life group, we need to cooperate to achieve the goals required for the learning process to be fulfilled.
Distance education can also have a cold system because sometimes the teacher is far, far away; sometimes the teacher and student never meet each other, making the teacher become more like a tool and feedback giver rather than a full-time supporter, as it should be for live classes.

Overall, this does not mean distance education is bad, it only has a different way of organizing its contents and it can be much better than real-life classes for more than one student, specially for those who have others things to do, like work or take care of a family.
In-life classes are more for full time students who require a person who supports them throughout the course. In this way, both systems are biult to fulfill different needs, but one same objective: for the student to learn.