Hi everyone, this is Christine.
I thought I'd introduce the 2nd Module on the History and Principles of Distance Education, which will be open from February 8th, 2005 through March 6th, 2005, with a short audio file as well.
The highlight in this module will be to have our guest faculty member, Börje Holmberg from Sweden, with us. Börje is a pioneer and a pillar of the distance education community. Please read more about him in my introduction in thread 3 in the conference area. He will be with us from February 16th to February 23rd and during that time is your main instructor. Having Börje with us gives you the unique opportunity to be in direct contact with one of the authors of a substantial part of the required readings. Please watch the video of Börje's lecture at UMUC in September 2004.
Before you plunge into the second module it might be a good idea to review the threads in PreWeek and Module 1. It has been my experience that distance education does not mean less paper and many students have found that printing out the written introductions and instructions by the visiting experts and myself help them stay focused and organized. You may want to start a binder with the most important files - at least for the duration of the class.
In this module you will be discussing the principles of DE - to do so, you will have to get acquainted with its history and the developments DE has gone through with respect to methods, media, organization, general potential and attractiveness. Over a century of thinking and practice are evident and are useful to know of when looking at our 'modern' capabilities. I would like to stress that DE has always been discussed in conjunction with university distance education as well as the high school level and professional development and training.
A thread is devoted to planning, course development and interaction. If you find the array of topics overwhelming decide what is most relevant to you - based on the objectives of the course or your personal goals and perspectives. As Börje suggests, bring up some theoretical considerations and apply critical thinking and try to synthesize what you have read in the discussions among yourselves and with Börje.
I will be at Börje's side and follow your discussions, questions, and contributions. I look forward to everyone joining in the what I hope will be lively discussions.
Well, that's it from me for now - see you in class!
(A transcript is attached).