Distance Education Systems: Structures and Concepts

An online animated book (work in progress)
Modern developments in science have raised major questions with regard to our understanding of all kinds of systems and how they function. The purpose of this book is to explore those questions and to examine the structures and concepts of systems that are the means by which education and training are provided to today's distance learners. This examination will cover systems theories, old and new, and look at how they relate to the different kinds of systems encountered in learning programs.
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Introduction to Online Collaborative Learning

A prototype course
Introduction to Online Collaborative Learning (IOCL) introduces distance education students to the concepts and principles of online collaborative learning. Students begin with a self-assessment of personality traits, learning preferences, and assets relevant to collaborative activities. The course focus is the development of skills necessary for successful work in study groups by describing features of group formation and distribution of work, project planning and task analysis, organization of study group space, communication techniques, and guidelines for participation.
Syllabus
Study Guide
MYSTERY! Group Exercise

Introduction to Chaos Theory for Distance Education Managers

A prototype course 
Chaos theory has been found useful in many disciplines in recent years. It provides important insights in the ways systems behave. Social scientists, instructional designers, psychologists and others have applied chaos theory in their work. The course provides distance education managers with an introduction to chaos theory and its application to their field. The prototype presents preliminary modules for a 15 week full semester course which is outlined in the syllabus.
Syllabus

Study Guide for UMUC course OMDE 602 Distance Education Systems

Online study guide
The OMDE 602 Study Guide was created as a voluntary contribution to the MDE program. It has been used in the course each semester since it was comleted. The online guide organizes course materials for more convenient access in conjunction with: a) study aids; b) a group of learning tools (e.g., sections on self-assessment, study and assignment planning, and collaboration guidelines); c) study questions; and d) helpful links.
Study Guide

Tutorials for OMDE Courses

OMDE 603: Assignment Planning Guide
This guide was created in response to observations of questions students posted when Ms. Smith took the course. OMDE 603 is often taken by students early in the OMDE program and still have difficulties with interpreting assignment requirements. The guide is a tutorial for assignment planning and analysis. It has been used in the course since its creation.
Guide

OMDE 622: Financial Analysis
This tutorial provides a short overview of numerical analysis and methodologies for comparision in accordance with the basic financial analysis required in the Business of Distance Education course OMDE 622. It has been used the course in the two terms since it was created.
Guide