First reading and reflections on being an online learner

You are likely to all have different experiences of distance learning, online learning or what we call blended learning using technology. Before moving into Unit 1's content, we'd like to begin to get you to reflect both on those experiences and on some of the issues that impact on successful learning.

Two texts to prompt your reflections, both available via the e-journals service. If you make use of the Manchester vpn, it will take you directly to these articles. Otherwise you will have to login to each journal separately:

Schrum, L. and Hong, S. (2002) From the field: characteristics of successful tertiary online students and strategies of experienced online educators. Education and Information Technologies 7/1, 5-16.

White, C. (2005). The contribution of distance education to the development of individual learners. Distance Education, 26(2), 165-181.

Task 3

I will be opening a thread in the Discussion Board (Starting Points) where I invite you to contribute some early thoughts that we will no doubt deliberate as we proceed.

We'd like you to approach this initial reading task in a 'reactive' mode:-) This means as you read, note any factors that seem particularly significant to you, interest you, intrigue you! However, to provide some guide for you, you might like to use the following:

• Describe briefly your personal experience of online, distance, distributed, independent learning, whether on this programme or on other learning events.
• Shrum and Hong identify specific aspects relating to student characteristics. Relate these to your experiences or feelings about online/distance learning or your awareness of yourself as a student:-)
• White talks about an 'ecological approach' to distance learning. Think about what this means to you personally. What do you think are the specific feature of your local ecology that impact/will impact on you as an online/distance learner?

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