Julie Gilbert

OMDE 601 Section 9040

Date Due November 3
E-Portfolio Task Questions for Reflection Wave 3

In your e-portfolio (learning journal), please respond to the questions for reflection for Wave 3:
1. Did you experience any "a-ha!" moments during this wave? Tell us more about them and
what specifically made them "a-ha!" moments.
To be honest, I wasnt aware of the previous waves of DE until we started discussing
them. Wave 3 was the wave that I could connect to the most and probably most
associated with distance education all along. Maybe this is because Ive been a part of
distance education as described in Wave 3 as a learner, so it made it more of a tangible
concept for me.
I dont know if its an a-ha moment, but I think Terry Andersons Interaction
Equivalency Theorem is very interesting, and I think his theory makes sense. Maybe
because Ive seen and experienced this first-hand. The idea that an instructor may present
a concept to a student and the student doesnt get it, but then a student tutors that same
student, and all of sudden the first student now gets it, seems to substantiate the
theorem.
2. Go back to your original definition and consider again how it has changed (and if it has).
What specific readings, interactions, and/or discussions influenced the change?
My original definition of distance education:
I believe distance education can be many different things depending on the student and
the intent of the program/class. I think distance education can incorporate learning
through print materials at one's own pace or at a pace pre-determined by an evaluator. It
can also include online learning through interactive modules, text, videos, or even
infographics. Distance education can involve communication among students, or even
just student to teacher interactions, but I think some form of communication to evaluate
understanding is necessary. I also believe that having a qualified instructor to monitor
progress, understanding, and learning, as well as evaluate assignments is essential in
determining the quality of the program/class.
Based upon Andersons Interaction Equivalency Theorem, I think I would edit this part
of my original definition: having a qualified instructor to monitor progress,
understanding, and learning, as well as evaluate assignments is essential in determining
the quality of the program/class. If his theorem is true, then the instructor component is
not as critical as I once stated. After 8 weeks of partaking in this class, although I value
the instructors feedback, I have found that Ive thought about concepts differently just
after reading other students posts and ideas. The real concern I have with student to
student interactions and learning is when one student posts (or teaches) incorrect
information and then the other student takes that information to be true. I havent seen
anything in Andersons readings about when that situation occurs and the impact it has on
Julie Gilbert
OMDE 601 Section 9040
Date Due November 3
E-Portfolio Task Questions for Reflection Wave 3

learning. I would assume that as long as the students learn from the inaccuracy, then its a
win-win learning environment.
3. Think of a real-world situation, perhaps your current work environment, where you could
apply something that you have learned in this module. Describe this situation in your
journal.
Again, going back to Andersons theorem, I could incorporate different types of
educational opportunities on our website. Right now, most of our content would fall into
the instructor-student method, but getting students feedback and points of view could
add another teaching element to the debt management concepts we are trying to convey
(teach). Maybe one way to do this would be to videotape and post student modules
where the current medical students teach incoming medical students about a debt
management principal.