WEEK 6 – OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNOLOGIES

Open and distance education have made it much easier and faster to disseminate educational information and so much more. The world has become a smaller place where learners are no longer separated by time and distance because the internet has helped bridge that gap. Open and distance education have proved to be beneficial for numerous learners, especially adult learners. Each one has certain technologies by which it shares material or information. Google Hangouts supports distance education and Net Texts supports open education.

Google Hangouts - http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/?hl=en

            Google Hangouts is a free internet resource that can be downloaded not only on a computer, but also Android or Apple devices, so no one gets left out. Here are some other features of Google Hangouts which make it appropriate for distance education:

The ability to make a video call with up to 10 people at the same time; users can join communities that focus on their interests and activities, access contacts all across Google, share publicly and build a following as others read your posts, tune in to live video broadcasts of topics that are of interest to you. Another advantage is that you can scroll back through past Hangouts to re-live what you talked about and you only need to sign in to Google Chats with your Google account email password.

            I became aware of the advantages of Google Hangouts in my last class where we were all divided into groups and had to submit group work each week for four weeks. One of my team members was living in Brazil and the other in Illinois. We were all separated by time and space but Google Hangouts made it possible for us to collaborate each week. We emailed each other and came to a consensus regarding the convenient time to meet, and then we held a video conference where we could see each other. We were also able to share documents on our screen during the conference. One team member volunteered to submit the papers and we could see what she was typing and give feedback in real time.

            In my adult learner classroom, I will definitely incorporate Google Hangouts into some classes and also encourage my adult learners to use it. This technology will enhance collaboration and team work among students while at the same time building their critical thinking skills.

Net Texts - http://www.net-texts.com/

Net Texts is a free open education resource (OER) that has a library of over 120,000 items sorted by grade, subject, and multimedia type. Though it focuses on K-12, adult educators may also use it. Educators have the ability to create a customized, multimedia course using OER alongside their curriculum and then students will be able to download and view the course on an Apple or Android device or on the web. Teachers can supplement or replace their textbooks with material from OER. “When a teacher updates a course with new material, students sync the course on their device. Teachers can easily adapt to students as the year goes on and bring current events into the classroom”. Another advantage of Net Texts is that once a course has been downloaded on a student’s device, the student no longer needs Wi-Fi to view the course. This feature will be beneficial not only to students who live in remote areas where there are sometimes connectivity issues, but also to other students who can conveniently view the course anywhere. Net Texts also has numerous out-of-copyright books that students are able to listen to while reading.

As an educator, I will use Net Texts to enhance or supplement my curriculum. Where applicable, courses will be downloaded for my students to view or listen to. This is very convenient because students do not have to carry heavy textbooks around once they have the course on their device.