Activity 1-1

Hi classmates! Im Emmalyn O. Villez. Pardon me for this late introduction. I've read some of the posts, and i can see some of my former classmates from our Computer Ethics class with Mam Suplido..:) . Im an MIS student from UPM and this is already my 4th semester here. I'm presently residing in Quezon City and i also work at Makati as a Senior Web Applications Developer.

I've only been in this vocation for more than a year now. But, i've already been given the opportunity to handle several projects, mostly related to telecommunications.

Before i worked in the field, i was also given the opportunity to teach college students for almost a year and a half. That's why i also got curious of this course. I am sure everyone will enjoy this as much as i do.

On Activity 1.1 Re: Am I Ready for Distance Education, the results i got was generally ok. I glad that i'm blessed that i do have almost everything i need in distance learning. Resources is also not a problem since i have internet access in the office and at home. Therefore, i have enough time to do assignments and or school projects. And also, i have all the time i want to participate and join discussion when needed. Social support is also not a problem, because everyone i know is inspired whenever i tell them that i am learning and studying online.

On Activity 1.2 Re: Is Online Teaching for Me?, i was happy with the result. I got an 84%. Based from the questions used in the analysis, i can say there are several factors that needs to be considered when deciding to teach online.

Some of which are stated below:

• the person should at least have experienced becoming an online student.
• the person should have enough resources to access the internet either at home or at work
• the person should have a good understanding and attitude towards teaching online
• the person should be understanding and open to the concerns of students most specially so because most if not all students choose to study online because they do not have the luxury of time to go to school and have a face-to-face session with the professor and fellow classmates.

Activity 2-1

1. What is my most important reason for teaching online?

If i am given the opportunity to teach online, i would say my most important reason for teaching online would be to be able to teach and share my knowledge to students from different places and diverse culture.

For me, i would find teaching a little more exciting and fulfilling because i know that i would be communicating with people who i know i will never have the chance to meet. But, i know  will definitely learn something from our class.

2. What personal  or societal factors present the greatest barriers to online teaching and learning?

There are a lot of personal or societal factors that are barriers to online teaching and learning. Some of the them are  listed below:

1. Only a small amount of our population have access to the internet. As stated in page 12 of our course module, "Here in the Philippines, only 5% of the population use the Internet."
2. A lot of people still do not know and appreciate the use and benefits of Information Technology in education
3. Since more than half of our country's population are part of the class c family, many therefore are deprived of the opportunity to IT education.

3. How can we overcome the factors that prevent increased use of information and communication technologies in education?

Based from the barriers stated above, below are some suggestions i can give so that we can overcome these barriers, hence, increase the use of information and communications technology in education.

1. For factor a, major reason for this would be rooted to our economic situation. If internet access costs cheaper, say PhP5.00 / hour ( which can only happen if electricity and/or IT costs lessen.), then maybe more filipinos will have access to the internet and therefore more filipinos will be given the chance to know more and appreciate Information Technology.
2. For factor b, this could probably be solved by advertising the use and benefits of ICT through the help of media such as television, radio, or newspaper.
3. For facor c, this is again connected to our economic situation and also to poverty. The only thing i can suggest here is for universities or college institutes to lower their tuition fees for IT-related courses. Or maybe the government or private sectors could give more scholarships to less fortunate but deserving students.

Activity 4-1

1. For the succeeding activities and assignments to come, I'm planning on delivering the course "Introduction to Web Applications Development". I decided to choose the said course as my dummy online subject because i am well versed in web applications since its very much related to my job.
   
   To answer the question "does it matter what the answer to these questions are?". Yes it does matter a lot. The answers to the questions given on the module will help you in the planning stage of your course outline. From the answers, you will be able to identify the degree of knowledge and expertise of your students, thus, help you ensure that the material that you will be creating will suite your students need.



2. The course that i wish to deliver as stated above would be entitled "Introduction to Web Applications Development".
   
   This course will help the learners understand how web applications are created, and how they work. By the end of the semester, learners are expected to created their own web-based system using their preferred programming tools. But for this course, most of the samples and demos will be created using PHP for the front-end modules, Visual Basic 6.0 for the back-end modules, and MySQL for the database. Target learners are therefore expected to have basic knowledge in programming, DBMS or RDBMS, and HTML.

Activity 4-2

For the online course i have chosen, the learning objectives would be:

By the end of the semester, the learner should be able to:

• identify the two main parts of a web-based application.
• explain how these are interrelated with each other.
• create a web-based application for the final project which will earn fifty percent of the learner's final grade.

Disintermediation in the business sense is a popular buzzword used to describe many Internet -based businesses that use the World Wide Web to sell products directly to customers rather than going through traditional retail channels.
Based from the example stated by the author and the definition mentioned above, i understand disintermediation as removing all third parties involved in the process of achieving something. In the e-commerce sense, that means taking away everything involved in buying stuffs from the grocery or the mall.
For example, traditionally you would have to do the following to be able to purchase a perfume from the mall:

1. Take a bath and dress up,
2. Use your car and drive to the mall,
3. Go to the perfumes department,
4. Look for your favorite perfume, if you can't find your favorite scent, do no. 5, if not do 6.
5. Go to another mall and look for your favorite perfume
6. Go to the cashier counter; join the queue of buyers, and pay.
7. Use your car and drive back to your home.

But through the use of e-commerce site, you will only do the following to be able to purchase a perfume from the internet:

1. Search for e-commerce sites that sell your favorite perfume.
2. Click for the item you want.
3. Purchase the item using your credit card.
4. Wait for the delivery.

In e-learning, disintermediation takes place in the sense that the usual process of student learning which comes from the following:

1. Discussion given by the professor through a face-to-face session,
2. References, assignments, activities, and projects being provided,
3. School library, and the like,

are already eliminated by the internet through the use of websites, and web-based application that provide the same and much more information.
As a teacher, i consider disintermediation as a liberating force since i see it more as an advantage to both the teacher and the students than a disadvantage.
Because of the internet, the amount of information that both teachers and students can share with now becomes endless. Now, references used in school will not only rely on the books they have on their libraries but from the world, through the help of the World Wide Web.



"Internet is an embarrassment of riches that's next to worthless without an educator".

I personally do not agree with the statement given above. For me, any kind of information provided on the internet is not worthless even without an educator. If the topic is well discussed and explained, references are given and examples are provided, then surely anyone will not have a hard time understanding or learning what is being taught.

The key to good teaching on the internet therefore lies on how the teacher uses online resources, or applications to help her in the teaching process. These, guidance, open communication with students, and assistance that they are on the right pace based from the schedule given on the course guide will make the teaching process a success.

As for my course, since student�s requirements have already been given, I would say teaching the course online will succeed provided I do what I have stated above.



Discussion Forums for Activity 6

Yes, it is true that in our country students expect a lot from their teachers. Most of the time, students want to be spoon fed with lectures because they feel that they paid their teachers to do that job for them. I've taught in two different schools already, and i've noticed that this is the common attitude of students. I personally hate it when students think that their teachers are walking dictionaries that are paid to share and give all details while, the students are just sitting and waiting for information.

I believe this kind of attitude need to be changed for the improvement of both the students and the teachers. Because by so doing,learning experience between the teacher and students will be better since both of them will be able to get and share their own opinion and ideas with each other. The teacher will also be assured that they're both on the right pace.

In an online session, a 'sage' teacher will never be an effective online teacher because he will not be able to facilitate his students due to poor communication.

Reference:

• support.sbcglobal.net/general/662.shtml
• www.tedhaynes.com/haynes1/atol.html
• www.ifad.org/evaluation/guide/annexa/a.htm