How would you describe the historical and theoretical trends in k-12 open and distributed learning? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Roberts et al (2018) article “Open Educational Practices in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments” discusses and reviews open learning practices and blended environments by considering the pedagogical foundations of open learning practices. This article was interesting to read and provided me with a better insight on what exactly open education actually is!

The article explained that open learning “cannot be inclusive only with distance learning”, which I needed clarification on (Roberts et al, 2018). The authors further explain that open learning is not a learning theory, instead it can be seen as a teaching and learning method where “learners identify and locate learning opportunities for themselves as well as create learning opportunities for others (Coffey et al, 2006 as cited in Roberts et al, 2018).  These definitions helped solidify my understanding on the subject.

As I was reading Roberts et al (2018) article, the discussion on how learners should have access to learning choices regarding time, place, medium and content (Lewis, 1994 as cited in Roberts et al, 2018) reminded me of the UDL guidelines and their importance. I also saw an alignment between Dewey’s (1938) theory being that there should be groups of people “learning from and with each other” (Roberts et al, 2018) to what we are taught in this program about the importance of collaboration. I believe that there are many positives to allowing collaboration within education.  Roberts et al (2018) explain the view of scholars who “argue that knowledge should be free and open to use and re-use; collaboration should be easier, not harder; individuals should receive credit for contributing to education and research” and that ideas and concepts should be explained in methods that involve more than “presentation of a printed textbook” (Roberts et al, pg. 530, 2018).

It makes sense to hear that due to the geography of Canada, online and blended learning is present in Canada today, however I did not realize that the first correspondence school in BC opened in 1919 and that Canada “continues to have one of the highest per capita student enrolment in e-learning courses and programs (Barbour and Labonte, 2015 as cited in Barbour and Labonte, 2018). I find it surprising that 101 years later from when distanced learning began, there still has been little research conducted, as we learned from our topic readings.

I hope to learn about the research that is conducted after COVID-19, as this pandemic has caused a scenario where children, teenagers and adults had to resort to learning in online environments (asynchronous and synchronous) and I believe there will be an increased focus on researching online learning environments and its impacts on learning. It will also be interesting to see if a company like CANeLearn will begin to have more of a presence going forward (I hadn’t heard of this company prior to our readings), as Barbour and Labonte (2018) feel that there needs to be an investment in Canadian-based research and that CANeLearn could be used as a tool in providing research, support and communicating with local practitioners, rather than just academic journals.

References:

Roberts, V. , Blomgren, C. Ishmael, K. & Graham, L. (2018) Open Educational Practices in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments. In R. Ferdig & K.Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 527–544). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Barbour, M & Labonte, R. (2018) An Overview of
eLearning Organizations and Practices in Canada. In
R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research
on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 600-616).
Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.