Ready, Set, Implement!

DIscussion Rubric




Online discussions are essential for many kinds of learning activities.  The success of the activity is dependent on a solid design of the online discussion activities.  In the book excerpt E-Learning by Design (Horton, W., Designing for the Virtual Classroom, E-Learning by Design). Copyright 2006, Horton provides us with guidelines for online discussion activities. Horton mentions six guidelines specifically related to learner success. 

1. Starting the discussion
2. Preparing the learners to discuss
3. Moderating the discussion
4. Keeping the discussion lively
5. Challenging shallow thoughts
6. Handling inappropriate posts

Begin by re-reading Chapter 9, “Design for the Virtual Classroom” (pp. 463–471).

Focusing on the six guidelines above... 

• Discuss how you plan to apply these guidelines to your next discussion activity.
• What are some of the challenges you may face in applying these guidelines to your discussion activities? 
• How will you overcome these challenges?  

By Wednesday:

Post your thoughts and discussion on this weeks discussion board.  Be sure to cite resources used.

By Sunday:

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. As you read their responses, note those to which you would like to respond with advice, questions, comments, and/or encouragement.

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings to ... 

• Build on something your colleague said.
• Explain why and how you see things differently.
• Ask a probing or clarifying question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
• Expand on your colleague's posting.
• Ask for evidence that supports the postings

Resources:

Book Excerpt: E-Learning by Design

(Horton, W., Designing for the Virtual Classroom, E-Learning by Design). Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons Inc. Used with permission from John Wiley & Sons Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.

• Chapter 9, “Design for the Virtual Classroom” (pp. 463–471)

Plagiarism detection and prevention

This week we will be discussing how to detect and prevent plagiarism. In the video clip with Dr. Palloff and Dr. Prat they discuss "cheating" or plagiarism. They both agree that, for the most part, the "cheating" or plagiarism is unintentional. They acknowledge that it is the role of the instructor to educate their learners with regard to what is and is not considered "cheating". So, if it is unintentional, once we have detected it how do we prevent it?

For this weeks blog we will be focusing on the following issues.

• Available plagiarism detection software
• Assessment design that helps to prevent dishonesty
• Various facilitation strategies that can be implemented to alleviate the challenge
• Other considerations to help detect and prevent cheating in online courses

Detecting plagiarism:

Although the use of the internet has increased online learning, so has it increased the occurrences of plagiarism or cheating. In this weeks article by Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006), they begin by mentioning that the detection of plagiarism used to be done manually. Today there are better, faster,easier, and more accurate ways of detection.

As current or future online learning instructors we will be able to utilize free search engines which will allow us to track sentences and phrases which may have been "borrowed" from elsewhere.

There are also, for purchase, plagiarism software tools such as Turnitin.com, Essay Verification Engine (EVE). Tunritin.com is actually an online search engine subscription vs a software package. It checks for web plagiarism and sources.

Here are a few links to some of the Free plagiarism detection search engines.

http://www.grammarly.com/?q=plagiarism&gclid=CKOFnMTrqakCFRDPKgodvSfeKw

https://www.writecheck.com/static/home.html?gclid=COXFr9DrqakCFcO8Kgods3ptPA

http://www.duplichecker.com/

Design as a plagiarism prevention tool:

If you recall from the Plagiarism and Cheating" video with Drs. Palloff and Pratt, they discussed assessments or exams and cheating. Dr. Prat had a solid observation. He mentioned that in the real world you will be required to utilize resources and others' assistance to complete tasks and projects.

From my personal experience, I came away from graduate school with this takeaway....you do not need to know all the answers, but you better know where to find them!

So, when designing an assessment, assignment etc. design it so it encourages the learners to collaborate with others. The design needs to offer authentic, real world application of skills and knowledge vs. simply answering questions and recall.

Facilitation strategies to discourage plagiarism:

The studies conducted by Braumoeller and Gaines (2001) and Soto, Anand, and McGee (2004) found that educating the learners about plagiarism and clarifying expectations of academic honesty resulted in a nominal reduction in the rate of plagiarism. Despite these findings, I believe that educating the learners and clarify expectations is a viable facilitation strategy for discouraging plagiarism.

In the video clip with Drs. Palloff and Pratt, they discussed an example of a student informing Dr. Prat that a fellow student had plagiarized her work. So, another facilitation strategy to discourage and detect plagiarism would be to ensure you have created a safe and open learning environment. This will encourage open lines of communication and sharing. 

Thinking back to our previous courses and course work, I'm sure we can come up with a comprehensive list of strategies to detect and discourage plagiarism. My final suggestion would be...As the instructor be present. If you are not present than you will not be privy to what is going on. A great example of this is when the course instructor offers "tips", provides links to resources and simply stays active, present and acts as a resource.

Feel free to provide a couple of your own suggestions via a comment.

Additional considerations:

We have discussed implementing some sort of plagiarism tracking tool in conjunction with a strong expectation management system. We have also discussed facilitation and design techniques which may help in the detection of plagiarism and discourage the use of plagiarism.

Other considerations would be...

Who are your learners?
What is the content of the course?
Are the assessments, assignments and discussions set up to be authentic and require critical thinking?
What tools are there to support my learners?
How will I continuously encourage the application of these tools?
As a instructor, what is my knowledge level with regard to plagiarism policy and detection?
If I have a plagiarism issue how will I handle it?

Feel free to provide a couple of your own suggestions via a comment.

Summary:

I do believe that it is very important to ensure correct citations and acknowledgement of resources used. I also believe that with the use of the internet this challenge may become more prevalent.

What I have learned and will take forward with me is that online learning is indeed all about the learner. As an instructor, I will need to touch on my learners' learning styles, be present, design authentic, real life application and provide relevant, timely feedback. These action will not necessarily help me detect or alleviate plagiarism. However, using plagiarism detection tools, having a strong online presence and building a safe online environment will keep me in the loop.

How do you plan to apply this weeks learning?

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you gleaned some knowledge and will apply it. Bye for now. Danielle

Resources:

Media "Plagiarism and Cheating" Dr. Palloff and Pratt

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1–15.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Reflection of Setting up the Online Learning Experience

In this weeks blog we will be reflecting on the experience of setting up an online course.  Let's ponder the following questions.

What impact does technology and multi media have on the online learning environment? 

OK, do you remember the most important best practice of an online course? That's correct...PRESENCE. Now, do you remember the three types of presence? Yes, SOCIAL, COGNITIVE, and TEACHING presence. Take a minute to visualize the technology and multi media utilized and how these may enhance presence.

Technology can enhance the opportunity to obtain all three types of presence by providing a means to make announcements, chat, to share pictures, to share video and audio, to upload pervious work or documents of personal interest and simply to develop appealing audio and video introductions. This will strengthen the online community.

Tools such as a CMS, doc share spaces, collaboration tools, discussion boards and
Q & A spaces provide an opportunity for ongoing discussions, sharing of information and clarifying of expectations. This will strength trust and collaboration.

Ok, I think we can see the positive impact that technology and multi media have on the online learning environment. So, as online instructors, how do we select the technology to use? Remember the very particle tip shared with us by Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010) ... Keep it simple.

We already know that we will need a CMS of some sort in order to conduct online courses. So, plan to do some research to find the right CMS for you and your learners.
What are some of the considerations when making the final decision on technology tools to use?

• The goals & objectives of the course (do not add technology just for the sake of technology).
• The instructor's and learners' experience/comfort levels with technology.
• Accessibility and usability of the technology
• The appropriate time to implement certain technologies (phase the course is in)
• Relevance of multi media used to course objectives (quizzes/games)
• Available technical support

Please share a comment regarding other considerations for choosing technology and multi media for online courses.

One of the considerations for choosing technology and multi media is accessibility and usability. What implications do accessibility and usability of technology tools have for online teaching?

Lets examine what accessibility and usability are. Usability is the extent to which a system can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use (Karat, 1997). Usability and accessibility are intrinsically linked together. So, this means that if accessibility of the technology tool is low then it's usability is also low. For example, you have a learner who lives in a rural area and he/she does not have access to high speed internet. As a result, using streaming audio and video tools will not be usable for this learner.

And what about learners with disabilities? Sloan suggests that usability should play an important role in accessibility testing, since a resource presenting usability difficulties will generally present significant accessibility problems for disabled users (Sloan et al., 2002). Even sites with a high level of accessibility can nevertheless have usability problems that may prevent people with disabilities from using them efficiently. For example: a video with audio but no subtitles for the hearing impaired will not be an effective learning tool for that particular learner.

Obviously, as an online instructor we need to be cognizant of accessibility and usability issues and challenges. If we fail to consider accessibility and usability then we have forgotten the focus of online teaching...online teaching is learner centered. We must provide our learners with the tools, information and resources needed to be successful.

Check out this video: Creating Accessable Lessons

OK, now that we have all that out on the table, what technology tools do you find most appealing as you move forward with your Instructional Design career? Here we will need to consider our comfort level with technology. For me personally, I am on the high side of beginner low side of intermediate when it comes to technology expertise and comfort level. For my next client project I plan to utilize discussion forums, a blog, DIMDIM for synchronous course presentations, and quizzes and surveys. I also plan to begin refining and consistently applying social networking sites for my professional marketing strategies.

Please share a comment regarding what technology tools you plan to utilize as you move forward?

Summary

What is the significants of using technology in online learning? Online learning is delivered using technology, however it is not all about the technology, it is about the learner. Any technology used needs to be aligned to the learning goals and objectives and needs to be accessible and usable for all learners. For me an easy to remember take away to help plan and implement effective online strategies is "Keep it simple, Practical and Effective"

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. I hope you have learned something new and will share that information with others.

Bye for now,
Danielle

Resources

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chapter 4, "Phase One: What's Happening, Themes, and Tools: Starting Off on the Right Foot in Course Beginnings" (Review from Week 3).

Chapter 6, "Phase Two: What's Happening, Themes and Tools: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle"

Cooper, M., Colwell, C., & Jelfs, A. (2007). Embedding accessibility and usability: Considerations for e-learning research and development projects. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 15(3), 231–245.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Article: Roblyer, M. D., & Wiencke, W. R. (2003).Design and use of a rubric to assess and encourage interactive qualities in distance courses. American Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 77–98.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

Media - "Enhancing the Online Experience" (approximate length: 20 minutes).
Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt discuss how technology/multimedia can enhance the online learning experience, as well as the importance of feedback.

Creating accessible lessons for student with disabilities using softChaulk, Jarrrow, J., Phd., Retrived from YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYvkgdAmNTQ

Setting Up An Online Learning Experience

Welcome everyone to week three blog post for Instructional Design and Technology enthusiasts.

This week we will discuss setting up the online learning experience. We will focus on tools, communication of clear expectations and other considerations to ponder.

The entire online learning experience is driven by the learner, however delivered by technology. As online instructors it is our responsibility to ensure that we are adept at the technological tools and provide clear effective communication. We must lead by example.

Let's talk course beginnings. Here we are setting up our presence. There are three types of online presence, these are social, cognitive and teaching.

Social presence is the instructor and learners getting to know one another, a building of rapport and trust and getting the community started.

Cognitive presence is gleaning an understanding of what the learners already know and how they know it. This sets the stage for their future learning experiences.

Teaching presence is the presentation of all course materials and how the course is monitored in order to enhance the learning experience.

Knowing that these three types of presence make up the foundation for effective beginnings, why will it be so essential to provide clear expectations to all learners?

Lets consider these situations....

1. An instructor does not provide clear expectations when incorporating an icebreaker, a welcome message or a request for learner information (such as previous online learning experience).

2. Course materials are unclear and the course syllabus is incomplete.

3. The instructor is a bit lax about replying to posts in Q & A and and did not provide welcome feedback to learners who posted introductions.

What would you see as the result of this poor communication of expectations?

Correct, a very poor beginning. The basic foundation of presence will not be achieved, learners may become frustrated and there may be attrition. It is imperative to set a strong foundation of presence in order to establish a safe, trusting, and collaborative learning experience for all.

Technology

As Instructional Design and Technology enthusiasts we all understand the importance of the technology we choose to utilize. Admit it, it is all very cool. So much out there and so little time to check it all out! A good approach would be KISS and I'm not talking Gene Simmons, I'm talking keep it simple sister/silly. The learning experience is about the learner. As instructors we need to ensure that we are adept and whatever technology we choose you utilize. Being knowledgeable and comfortable with the technology will enable the instructor to focus on the student's needs versus focusing on technological challenges.

Additional considerations

The Online Teaching Survival Guide does a great job in outlining technology resources, and steps for implementation. Specifically table 4.2 on page 59 for technology resources and tips on where in the process this technology may be implemented or utilized.

Other considerations may include...

The delivery setting i.e. corporate training vs education
Budgets
The course design and objectives
The culture of the organization, if corporate
Is the course mandatory... AKA attitudes of participants
Technical support availability
Number of times the facilitator has presented online course...experience

Can you think of other considerations we should be aware of?  If so please do share a comment.

Here is a link to a great site that touches on other considerations when launching an online course. I hope you enjoy.
10-things-to-consider-before-your-e-learning-course-goes-live

Summary

The launch of any online learning course must be successful in order for the course to be successful. It is very difficult to bounce back from a poor first impression! Let's take a look at the ripple effect.

• The launch is riddled with poor communication and technical glitches.
• The learners miss out on the introductions and social presence is not established.
• The learners receive materials after the launch of the course.
• The instructor is busy trying to deal with technical issues and is not present when needed.
• The learners get frustrated.
• Several learners drop the course.
• The instructor's credibility is in question.
• The school/employer is demanding to know why and how the loss of revenue occurred.
• Students decide to take their classes with a different university OR your corporate learners do not enroll in anymore classes.

How can we as new online learning professionals ensure we do not fall victim to this fate? Here are a few suggestions...

• Be adept with the technology you choose to use.
• Be an effective communicator.
• Utilize templates, processes and project management plans to assist with time lines and implementation strategies.
• Establish a comprehensive outline with time frames and action steps for implementation.
• Utilize a checklist of tools, strategies and checks and balances.
• Recognize your experience level and keep is simple at first and work up to new technologies and techniques.
• Review the course before it goes live.
• Review and get feedback from learners.

Thank you for reading my blog. Watch for my week five post, when we will be discussing The Impact of Technology and Multimedia.

Bye for now,
Danielle Vermette, MA PHR

Resources:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Chapter 4, "Phase One: What's Happening, Themes, and Tools: Starting Off on the Right Foot in Course Beginnings" 
• Chapter 5, "Phase One: Tips for Course Beginnings"

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Chapter 4, "Learning to Use Online Tools" 
• Chapter 5, "Online Icebreakers" 

Walden media clips

"Online Learning Communities" Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt

"Launching the Online Learning Experience" Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt

Links

T, Kuhlmann, 10 Things to Consider before your e-learning Course Goes Live, retrieved from
http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/10-things-to-consider-before-your-e-learning-course-goes-live/

Building OnLine Learning Communities

The use of online learning has and continues to grow in popularity.  It does not matter if you are in education, health care, research or corporate, if you plan to utilize any form of online learning you must be prepared to build an online learning community.

In the media clip “Online Learning Communities” Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt attempted to define “Online Learning Communities” and came up with  3 areas which must be considered and implemented in order to build online learning communities....

People: You learners; they must be able to connect and develop a social presence

Purpose: Their must be a purpose or need to connect (course, to find a long lost friend etc)

Process: This is the instructor building the community using specific  tools and techniques

So, how do online learning communities impact the learner experience and learner satisfaction?

Think back to a traditional classroom experience you had...ya way back there...back in the day!  If you had educational experiences like I did it went something like this....

Go to class....listen to a long, boring lecture....do the homework/reading....cram for the exam, being sure to memorize key points from your reading....take the exam (just skimming by)....leave the exam and hope you had memorized well enough to get a passing grade.

Now, what was the outcome for you?  Did it go something like this?

Wow, I passed that exam....I sure hope the next class doesn’t refer back to anything from this class, cause its already been deleted from my hard drive!

Not good,eh?!  Now picture todays reality...an online course Here are a few examples of elements of building online learning communities.

• You receive a welcome e-mail from the instructor before the course even begins!
• The school sends you a welcome and instructions to your course portal.
• You participate in a Success for Online Learners Orientation course.
• The instructor posts several messages regarding policies, grading rubric, resources you may need etc
• You are asked to post an introduction of your self in the Student Lounge
• The course officially begins and the instructor sends an outline of assignment deadlines, which helps with your time management strategies.
• The instructor is engaged and available and collaboration is high throughout the entire course

What do you see as the impact on the learner’s experience and on learner’s satisfaction with the course : 

Here are a few of my perceptions about this....

Peer learning, improved self concept regarding technology, increased leadership skills, improved collaboration skills, enthusiasm, retention in the course etc.

Sustaining Communities:

The readings by Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). and Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010) both provide great resources regarding the phases of online learning engagement.  I believe that engagement is a big factor in sustaining the online learning community!!  As an online instructor you will need to ensure that your role is that of a

“Guide on the side vs. Sage on the Stage” Dr.  Rena Palloff.  The instructor will be an equal member and participant of the community.

There is a strong relationship between building online learning communities and effective online instruction.  As Dr. Palloff stated in the media clip, The outcome of online  learning is to co-create knowledge.  This is not possible without collaboration and engagement.

Check out this video about online learning communities....

What Online Communities Means to Me

Resources:

Media Clip: “Online Learning Communities” Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt 

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Chapter 1, “Teaching Online—the Big Picture” 

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Chapter 1, “Engaged Learning in an Online Environment”

Multimedia Game: “Instructional Strategies Timeline” 

Students determine on a sliding scale whether instructional strategies are learner- or-facilitator centered.

Multimedia: ADDIE Review Electronic Game

Article: Adams, C. (2009). Is teaching online right for you? As more of your peers enter the virtual classroom, we take a look at the prose and cons. Instructor, 118(6), 41–43. 

Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Expanded Academic ASAP database.

Welcome to Online Instructional Strategies.

Hello to all my fellow Instructional Design and Technology information junkies. 

Thus far this blog has covered topics pertaining to Theory of Instructional Design and Distance Learning.  For the next eight weeks our focus will be Online Instructional Strategies

Here is a brief description of the course, from the course syllabus...

Effective instruction in an online setting requires strategies that leverage the unique characteristics of distance learners and online environments. We will apply our knowledge of instructional design and distance learning to analyze, select, and design instructional strategies that are most effective for engaging and teaching online learners. We will learn methods for managing and delivering online instruction, with the goal of integrating effective strategies with course management tools and multimedia technologies in both synchronous and asynchronous environments.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts, experience and discoveries with my course mates and visitors interested in IDT.

Distance Leaning: Should it Stay or Should It go

If we take a look at the history of Distance Learning we see that it has already come a long way. Here is a visual of the history of Distance Learning and some factors which will drive it forward in the future.

  In this blog post I’d like to address ...

What may be the perception of Distance Learning in the future? 

How can Instructional Designers champion the movement for improving societal perceptions of Distance Learning?

How can I as an individual be a positive influence for the continuous improvement of DIstance Learning?

What may be the perception of Distance Learning in the future? I conducted interviews with this very question in mind.  Below are the questions I posed and the table has the responses I received. 

My Approach:

I decided to interview 3 diverse individuals. Each has had some level of online learning experience.

1. My business partner: A 60+ male, took a certification course (4 classes)
2. My  niece: A 22 year old recent graduate, has extensive online learning experience
3. A client: Female, late 30s, HR Director, engineering industry, took one online course for certification points and to research for corporate implementation

Questions:

1. When you were researching online degree/certification programs what was the most important feature to you?

The faculty,  curriculum, the schools distance learning expertise, the classroom setup, convenience/flexibility,  the website layout, or the information provided on the web site, other?

1. What were the challenges you encountered when researching online learning institutions?
2. How may you incorporate online learning in your business/career?
3. What advise for time management or study tips might you offer to new online learners?
4. How would you rate your online learning experience? Did you get the learning value you expected?

Male/Business Consultant 60+	Female/recent grad - 22	Female/HR - late 30s
1. Ease of website use & Cost	1. Esthetics of web site, collaboration tools, Flexibility	1. Reputation of the school, curriculum & cost
2. Took too long and I could not easily find information...too embedded	2. Finding the time and getting information about customizing a program	2. Finding information on technology needed,pre-requisites, corporate programs and discounts
3. I know I should incorporate this into my business practice, however I think I’ll save that for my younger associates	3. You mean how DO I incorporate.  I do everything online...I’d be lost without it.  I can work full time at my first job while still pursuing a true career position and needed skills online	3.I’d like to think that here at ABC company we could utilize some sort of blended learning strategies or offer our fast track employees some education online but I’m not sure the perception here will support an online approach.  I do not believe the leadership sees a value. For me personally,  I keep my professional certification points updated at my professional organization meetings & education sessions. I really do not have much time for other courses right now.
4.  You better be good at managing your time and have strong study skills.  It does take a good amount of time!	You need to schedule your studies into your daily plan and make it a routine.  You will also need a support system, like a roommate who will run an errand for you if needed or make dinner when you have a hot deadline	4. I believe to be truly successful with online programs you better have great time management skills, however the biggest factor I had to deal with was motivation (or lack there of)  I guess I was not very engaged.
I would rate the experience, on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being high...a 3 I do believe I got the value of what I was there to learn, but I do not believe that it is practical to think that learners will apply the learnings without constant follow up	I’d give almost all of my online learning courses a HIGH, with the exception of one, which I just didn’t like the topic. I think the value of online learning is great and I find the collaboration during the courses is so helpful. I still keep in touch with students from previous classes to share ideas, ask questions and just socialize	I’d say my experience was OK.  I’ll admit I was not as focused or driven as I should have been and I’m sure that plays a role. I think the value can be there for some learners.  Online learning to me is a value, but not for everyone

Summary of interviews:

I was not surprised by the answers I received from any of my interviewees.  I had a pretty good idea that I would witness a separation in perspective with regard to generations, level of work experience and online learning experience.

My 60+ is getting ready to retire, has worked his entire career in traditional learning settings and has had limited, though pretty positive, online learning experience.  Hence, he sees a business value and need, but is good with letting others implement and participate.

My 22 lives for technology and a collaborative format...say no more! 

My late 30s is career driven, needs job security to help support the family and save for retirement, has a corporate reputation to uphold, so may not want to take too many risks ( new learning strategy?)

Reflection:  I believe we will continue to see an increased interest and use of distance learning strategies.  I also believe that most of the drive will come from our generation X and Ys.  In the multi media clip Dr. Seimens points out the 3 areas that are and will continue to grow with regard to Distance Learning.  These are; Universities, Government and Corporate.  My observation is that corporate will be the last area to truly embrace and understand the value of Distance Learning.  I attribute this observation to my own experience and with the ever changing business environment.

How can Instructional Designers champion the movement for improving societal perceptions of Distance Learning?  When we discuss perceptions of DIstance Learning I believe we are also discussing VALUE.  If we as Instructional Designers can communicate and demonstrate the value of Distance Learning, then I believe we can improve the societal perceptions of DIstance Learning.  

The article, Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). provides great insight into how DIstance Learning has been marketed to target audiences. I order to improve societal perceptions of Distance Learning we need to consider the demographics of our target audience, market to each according to their motivational needs and ensure that we offer quality and value in all Distance Learning formats.

How can I as an individual be a positive influence for the continuous improvement of Distance Learning?  Here are a few strategies that I currently employ when broaching the subject of Distance Learning with my clients and prospects.

1. Know your audience - age, current learning strategies in place, experience with Distance Learning, potential motivational factors and industry  trends
2. Educate yourself on trends and benefits of DIstance Learning
3. Educate your clients
4. Keep it simple and practical
5. Engage the client in an open discussion about Distance Learning and value to them and there organization
6. Incorporate plenty of multimedia and interactivity into all marketing pieces - be sure to hit all the learning styles
7. Share success stories
8. Offer to conduct an online educational session for leadership teams
9. Give a speech or facilitate a round table discussion at one of your professional organization meetings
10. Lead by Example

Resources

Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). 

Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

Schmidt, E., & Gallegos, A. (2001). Distance learning: Issues and concerns of distance learners. Journal of Industrial Technology, 17(3). 

Retrieved from http://atmae.org/jit/Articles/schmidt041801.pdf

Video Program: “The Future of Distance Education” 

George Siemens provides insight into the reasons for the growing acceptance of distance education and where it might be headed in the future.