Important discussions - week 2

February 9, 2010

One important point stood out for me in Ally's chapter on Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning. Ally discussed the fact that technology is merely a tool for delivery and does not in itself have an effect on student outcomes (Ally, p.15), and this is something that I will remember throughout my studies in distance education. This fact is important for me to remember as often times I become too concerned with the technology and forget that learning is the main focus in education. Additionally, a small discussion was centered around the differences between Blackboard, WebCT, and WebTycho in the conference area and this discussion forced me to think about technology in relationship to the teaching and learning functions. These course platforms are merely a place for the location of course materials and have little effect on the teachings or learning. The implications that these discussions and readings have on my future is that I will keep in mind that technology is mainly used as a tool for delivering the course content and not a tool to teach or learn.

Reference

Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.) Theory and practice of online learning, 2^nd ed. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University. Available online at: http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/01_Anderson_2008_Ally-Online_Learning.pdf