Comments on: Keynote at Athabasca’s Learning Services conference http://terrya.edublogs.org/2009/10/06/keynote-at-athabascas-learning-services-conference/ Teaching and Learning in a Net-Centric World Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:20:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Tony Ratcliffe http://terrya.edublogs.org/2009/10/06/keynote-at-athabascas-learning-services-conference/comment-page-1/#comment-1647 Tony Ratcliffe Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:04:02 +0000 http://terrya.edublogs.org/?p=208#comment-1647 I completed an undergrad with the unpaced model at Athabasca University, as well as the paced Master of Distance Education (MDE). From personal experience, I have to say that while a self-paced approach has distinct advantages, a paced model helps promote engagement and completion. At least part of the success in the MDE program is the engagement that tends to follow the connectivist and constructivist approaches mentioned by Terry. Some of us truly believed we were developing a community of learners. While I had great experiences with the support of the assigned tutors in the undergrad courses, that is not the same as the community that develops amongst academic peers. So, we are left with the question of whether connectivism and constructivism will be found in undergrad communities in an unpaced program using Web 2.0 technology! For the AU business model, what effect will this have on course enrollments and completions? I completed an undergrad with the unpaced model at Athabasca University, as well as the paced Master of Distance Education (MDE). From personal experience, I have to say that while a self-paced approach has distinct advantages, a paced model helps promote engagement and completion.

At least part of the success in the MDE program is the engagement that tends to follow the connectivist and constructivist approaches mentioned by Terry. Some of us truly believed we were developing a community of learners. While I had great experiences with the support of the assigned tutors in the undergrad courses, that is not the same as the community that develops amongst academic peers. So, we are left with the question of whether connectivism and constructivism will be found in undergrad communities in an unpaced program using Web 2.0 technology! For the AU business model, what effect will this have on course enrollments and completions?

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