Reflections on the MDE (continued)...
Instructors, although separated from me by time and distance, made my learning highly individualized and encouraged me in the pursuit of new ideas, as well as in a new perception of old ones. Not only was I challenged to rethink my ideologies, but my instructors also guided me in finding new ways to apply old theories. As one of my classmates put it, it was "learning something new today and then applying it on the next day." Through shared experiences - both in the classroom and out of it - MDE classmates became my fellow learners, guides, and friends in the learning experience. Interestingly enough, I never felt isolated by the distance education experience; but instead felt as if I was part of a special community of learners bound together by common goals and principles of learning.
As the program progressed, the MDE experience became one where I continually strove for personal and professional achievement. As a result, I began to challenge myself further - driven to explore ideas and theories in depth, and to improve my work over time. The learning experience became an enlightening and enriching one, and I enjoyed a freedom in learning that I hadn't experienced in my undergraduate years.
This portfolio is the summation of my work and experiences within the MDE program. The links on the left portion of the screen can be used to navigate to specific details of my work; my resume and a brief biography can be found in the upper right corner.
YEAR 1: 2000
My first introduction to distance education was with the OMDE601 Foundations course in January 2000. A few weeks into the course, transactional distance increased exponentially as I flew to Russia to adopt Andrey, with Moore and Kearsley's Distance Education: A Systems View in tow. On returning from Russia, I experienced the heart of the foundations course, engaging in discussions with the masters of DE: Boerje Holmberg and Otto Peters. By the end of the course, I was "hooked" on DE and the prospects of learning online.
In the summer of 2000, I became intensively familiar with the wonders of APA. I learned a lot about technologies in DE, but even more about constructivist learning and the power of scaffolding in learning. Although a lot of students grumble about the APA terminator, Judy Roberts, she was by far one of the best instructors I experienced in the MDE program, continually pushing me to surpass the limits of my knowledge. Roberts set a high standard for teaching and learning, one that other instructors did not always reach.
During the fall semester, I almost dropped out of the MDE program, which was still in the throes of development. In retrospect, the course was an unexpected opportunity to learn how not to teach an online course. Not only did I learn about the importance of instructor feedback and participation (my fellow classmates and I jokingly referred to our instructor as "the missing professor"), but I also experienced firsthand the benefits of learner-learner interaction and collaborative learning. In the absence of an instructor, my classmates and I came together in chat rooms and online conferences to find answers to our questions and to develop solutions to problems. The course was a "baptism by fire" for those of us who had never worked on collaborative online projects, and at the time, we were given no guidelines for working collaboratively; I was glad to be able to use some of my project experience to get us through the experience. Bonds of friendship were formed in this classroom, born out of our shared frustration. These friendships carried over into many of the courses to follow, and still exist to this day.
YEAR 2: 2001
Despite my negative online experience in Fall 2000, I pressed forward with the MDE. Many of the courses were still very new, and as students we went through the MDE growing pains together with the faculty. Instructors were still gaining their "online legs," and some instructors had difficulty adjusting to their new role as guide-on-the-side. Rather than focusing entirely on the instructor, however, I found that I was also learning from the discourse with fellow students and their practical experiences with distance education outside of academia. Through the sharing of experiences, we showed how we were able to directly apply many of the DE management theories and principles learned in the online classroom.
A difficult birth and a new baby (daughter Käthe) kept me from continuing on with the MDE in the summer and fall, and I began to feel as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Since then, I've learned that this a common occurrence for distance learners when confronted with balancing personal responsibilities with their studies. Often learners will drop out of programs because they don't receive personal satisfaction from the program, they don't see how a program applies to their goals, or it becomes too difficult to juggle all of the responsibilities of the adult learner. In December 2001, I chose to continue on with my degree.
YEAR 3: 2002
In Spring 2002, I decided that I would never again put myself through the suffrage of taking a first-time offering of an MDE course. All joking aside, the online learning experience was unfortunately dissatisfying, and it was only through the mutual support of fellow classmates that I continued with the program. The interactions with fellow classmates was thought-provoking and inspiring; these interactions provided an enriching learning experience in the absence of the instructor.
Again, family responsibilities and life changes kept me from continuing with the MDE. Organizing and preparing my family for an international move from Germany to the United States consumed nearly all of my time, and my MDE pursuits fell by the wayside until the spring.
YEAR 4: 2003
In January 2003, I recommitted myself firmly to completing the MDE program. I began with OMDE602 Distance Education Systems in the spring, then OMDE607 Instructional Design and Course Development in Distance Education in the summer. While studying, I was also preparing our move back to Germany. As outside demands lessened in the fall, I could concentrate more of my energies on the MDE program, taking two courses each semester rather than one. I also decided to submit a paper for the Volkswagen-AutoUni workshop at the European Distance Education Network's (EDEN) 3rd Research Workshop, which was accepted for publication. Through this experience, I also had the wonderful opportunity to work together with other MDE classmates on developing a blended learning solution for application at Volkswagen's AutoUni.
Taking two courses a semester and preparing for the EDEN conference stretched me to my limits; however, the Fall 2003 semester was one of the most satisfying of my MDE experience. A course that I had dreaded taking (OMDE606 Economics of Distance Education) turned out to be one of the most interesting courses I took in the MDE, highlighted by 1) intense group collaboration, and 2) reflective, intellectual discussions with Greville Rumble and instructor Thomas Hülsmann; OMDE621 Training at a Distance, taught by Greg Kearsley, gave me tremendous insights into new ways of teaching online learners and integrating synchronous technology into the online classroom.
YEAR 5: 2004
Suddenly, the end of the MDE experience began to loom before me. When I attended the EDEN conference at Oldenburg University in March, I felt as if I had reached the summit of the my online learning experience (see: MDE Newsletter, Fall 2004). Meeting so many of my instructors, classmates, and other DE researchers inspired me greatly in the pursuit of my educational goals.
Spurred on by my experience of meeting the masters at EDEN, I threw myself furiously and vigorously into my research projects and began to see my work as a challenge of dissecting and reframing my ideas about distance education. Here again, my instructors Jane Brindley and Christine Walti encouraged me to extend myself further by exploring concepts and ideas about learner support to new levels. I was also fortunate to take classes with other "old-timers" with whom I'd developed close friendhips over the years; the camaraderie in the classroom was evident, and our collaborative project efforts were some of the most gratifying ever.
Now it is the summer of 2004, and I have finally reached the capstone course of the MDE program. I am relieved (with a touch of pride) to have gotten this far, and I am excited (with a dash of anxiety) about what lies ahead. At the same time, I am sad about leaving the MDE and all of the wonderful professors and classmates that I've gotten to know over the years. It has been a truly life-enriching experience.
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