DISTANCE EDUCATION: What is the future of online learning?

Presenter: John Morrison

Online learning is a complex activity which would benefit from some frameworks for thinking about where it has got to and where it could be going. Join technologist Joh Morrison as he introduces two frameworks which will help frame the current state of development of online learning and point to some possible future directions. The first framework is a developmental model of e-learning which shows the stages both students and programs pass through. The second model condenses the myriad ways of learning into a simple model and highlights the role of online learning in supporting the model. A few examples of research will be used to bring these models alive and highlight the challenges in progressing through these models. This is a short 30 minute presentation designed to provide a few tools for thinking about your online learning program and online learning in general.

John Morrison is a trained teacher and educational psychologist and has taught in K-12, college and university settings across Canada as well as holding various faculty support roles, primarily in educational technology. He has also worked in the elearning industry which gave him an opportunity to view e-learning implmentations around the globe. Originally a Brit, he has lived all over the UK and North America and is currently finishing an Ed.D. dissertation looking at students' experiences of networked learning.

OPEN LEARNING: MIT OCW's storehouse of free educational materials continues to grow in breadth,

OCW's storehouse of free educational materials continues to grow in breadth,
richness, and depth. We now offer more than 2,000 courses that span all of MIT's 33 academic departments, and we have published nearly 30 supplemental resources that enrich the learning experience in a number of subject areas.

Enhancing our content
Recently we've been working on a project to make selected courses more useful for independent learners. These courses will include more complete sets of content, problem-solving activities, and additional self-assessment opportunities. We're putting the finishing touches on the first of these courses and will be launching them in the coming months.

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