Posts
I choose to review Yale’s open course on Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics. An analysis of the course revealed the following findings. Keeping in mind that these classes are older and it appears that no one is taking these classes in the same manner as distance learning. The content of the class originated from a face to face lecture by Professor Charles Bailyn.
The design of a distance learning environment should be developed with the student’s perception in mind. In other words will the message being produced provided the learner with the information to transfer the required knowledge to the learner? When planning the course this should be taken into consideration. Will the learner have access to the materials need to enhance the learning process? Will the learner comprehend information being provided within the media?
The learning environment of this course was set for the face to face class room. There was no textual information provide to the students except for the information gathered provided by the professor. The professor did provide some text by way of the internet. However the most important information was being provided by Professor Bailyn. The classes were presented through recorded lecture. The lecture was truly a recording of the classroom presentation. This would be like taking a PowerPoint presentation placing it online and calling it e-learning. There was no transformation into the distance learning environment. This course didn’t make the grade in pre-planning. Although the information provided would enhance the knowledge of a beginner. The course didn’t provide the learner with an environment to ask questions and receive feedback. There was no true visual information for the learner. An overhead with transparences was used to aid in the delivery of the lecture. This did not provide adequate visual presentation for an online learning environment. Therefore there was no way for the learner to ensure they understood the transfer of information.
The design of the course site was limited as far as information provided to the learner. Nor were there any resources referenced on the site for the learner. The classes within the course were on video, mp3 audio and transcript. This was the only access to the course material within the website. Our text recommended a 3 to 5 month preparation time for planning for teaching on the World Wide Web. It is easy to see that these classes didn’t go through the planning process for online environment.
Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students? There were no active learning activities noted with the courses contain on this site. The learners that use this site must be self-motivated. There needs to be a deep desire to learn truly independently within this site.
Open Yale Courses: http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/frontiers-and-controversies-in-astrophysics
