hermann jón tómasson: online education in vma – then and now

Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri (VMA)

Online education in VMA – Then and now

The Comprehensive and Vocational Training College in Akureyri

ODE for whom?

Learners not able to attent regular secondary schools because of ...

location social situations or personal reasons work

Learners attending regular secondary schools but using ODE

to earn extra credit to make up for missed credits

The term

The school year divided into fall- and spring termODL material congruent with that of day-schoolDivided into 12 teaching modulesEach module is composed of material,

instructions, tasks, links and suggestions for further reading, and assessments

Each module must be completed and tasks submitted within two weeks

Then e-mail & attachments

Now Learning Management systems (Virtual Learning

Environment) (Moodle) The Internet (for resources) Web 2.0 applications and social networking (e.g., wikis,

blogs).

The Media of Instruction

The textbookInstructional letters (lectures)supporting material (links to text, audio,

video etc.)Assignments and exercisesDiscussions

The Teaching Material

Overall management of the courseFinding and/or preparing instructional and

supporting materialResponding to students’ inquiriesProviding feedback on Students’ workRevision of teaching materialTesting and grading

The role of teacher

To familiarize her/himself with the course requirements

Being responsible for his own learningBeing an active learnerAsking for clarificationTaking part in online discussionsSubmission of assignmentsMeeting the course requirements

The responsibilities of the student

Where do the students live?

Age of the students

Grades and dropout

Statistics for 2011455 students57% females 43% males29% 16-20 years of age31% over 30 years of ageAverage age 28,3 yearsAverage number of credits 4,95About 110 coursesAbout 58 teachers

How to move forward?

Emphasis on quality of ODL in VMAQuality standards

Institutional Instructional design Teaching and learning Support