Learning Design
by Jessica Grant
Supports in Online Learning for Individuals with Disabilities
In MDDE 621 (Online Teaching in Distance Education and Training – Winter 2023) this semester my first term assignment was to write a paper on describing how online learning might be used to address some “special needs” learners’ requirements. However we were given flexibility in presentation and I chose to create en eBook instead of a traditional paper.
Briefing Note
In this project of writing a Briefing Note the assignment was to wrap up the project we began when we described a course that can be improved through the use of technology. In this assignment, we were asked to write a short proposal to modify that course to include one or more of the technologies covered throughout the course Survey of Current Educational Technology Applications (Fall 2022) . The proposal should include a rationale, adoption attributes of the technology, context, and process for development.
Here I am proposing the integration of elgg (The Landing) into another course I am taking at Athabasca University. My briefing note covers:
- a statement of the problem,
- a proposed solution to the project,
- adoption attributes of the technology (or technologies)
- implementing, including activities and deadlines,
- resources needed to implement solution, and
- evaluation plan for solution.
Open Education Resource
An Open Education Resource (OER) is
Open educational resources (OER)[1] are teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify.[2] The term “OER” describes publicly accessible materials and resources for any user to use, re-mix, improve, and redistribute under some licenses.[3] These are designed to reduce accessibility barriers by implementing best practices in teaching and to be adapted for local unique contexts.[4][5]
The development and promotion of open educational resources is often motivated by a desire to provide an alternative or enhanced educational paradigm.[6] (Open educational, 2022)
Bee Mini-Module
In my MDDE 622 course: Openness in Distance Education, one of my assignments was to select an area of interest and produce a learning module (mini-unit) comprised entirely of OER’s. I’ve included a PDF version below for download or there is a link to the OER Commons site here.
This mini-unit is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 13). Open educational resources. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources
Scholarship and Open Access
This is a briefing report I did on Scholarship and Open Access.
The purpose of scientific inquiry at a university is the fundamental search for knowledge. Teaching, the open exchange of ideas, and the process of publishing original research are all methods by which academic faculty,
learners, staff, and others contribute to advancing scholarship.
(Creative Commons, 2020).
The lack of access to scholarly publishing has an impact on our education system and the advancement of research and science. Without access to published research professors are unable to transfer findings on to students. Furthermore, less affluent countries are prevented from accessing scholarly
publishing because of financial barriers and hitting paywalls.
This, in turn, puts them at a disadvantage in their education and research contributions. (Open Access Explained, 2012)
The current funding system is a substandard dispersement of public funding and recognition of authorship.