FINAL WAVE REFLECTIONS

Cari Lara
OMDE 601 Section 9040
The (r)evolutionary grid is a good way to display the information as a
quick reference guide for the four waves of DE. By making the grid a group
project, it was a good way to integrate group work into an online course.
This grid worked well as a group project because we were able to break it
down into easy sections, with clearly defined tasks. Everyone was assigned
an area and it was up to them to execute within the constraints of the
assignment and additional guidance given. While the process wasnt as
smooth as it could have been, we were able to complete the assignment with
an above average grade. I do think that this grid is useful and very
informative. What I like the most is the reference list. I can go to a section
and find a quote or important theory, and then use the reference list to find
the source. All of these classes build off of each other and this is a valuable
tool that I now have in my tool box.
In my Wave 2 Reflection, I wrote about several ways I would try to have
an effect on my groups time management plan, which was a good thought
but did not go into execution. We struggled with the same issues as before,
to include over-stepping group members assigned duties and working until
the 11th hour for submission. One focal point for our struggles was
assigning a task to a member who had actually dropped the course, but we
just werent aware. This caused major confusion and required us to get an
extension. Personally, I was traveling back to the states during this time for
a family emergency and wasnt able to be as present in the course as the

FINAL WAVE REFLECTIONS

other students. However, I was able to work with everyone at the same
time, at the 11th hour of course, to submit our work. This is still such a
frustrating aspect for me. While I do think group work is important, I despise
it for online collaboration. In a traditional classroom setting, you see your
group mates during the assigned class time and you all live/work/operate
within close proximity since you are attending the same school. In an online
environment, I experienced first-hand that most students do not take into
account that DE is at its core education at a distance and can be accessed
from most anywhere.
I have written about my original definition of DE in several different
reflections. I think that to revise it, I would actually revise my mind map. I
believe that my original definition about DE as a process is still valid,
because there is no one way to define DE. The entire group grid we
completed is a definition of DE. I really like the mind map because it allows
me to show relationships and thoughts on more than just a linear basis. I
would adjust my mind map to be more like the mind map we submitted with
our final group grid. I recently asked my 13 year old daughter to define a
slang phrase she was writing on her SnapChat picture. This turned into a
very confusing (for me) explanation of how she cant define the phrase
without using more teenage slang and that she cant define that teenage
slang either. I actually knew what the original phrase meant, I mean Im not
80, but I really wanted to see how she would explain it to me. I realize that I
could to my original definition for 400 more pages but no one would

FINAL WAVE REFLECTIONS

understand it because they dont have my knowledge base. That is why I

still agree with the definition that Moore and Kearsley published that stated
Distance education is teaching and planned learning in which teaching
normally occurs in a different place from learning, requiring communication
through technologies as well as special institutional organization (p. 2). My
knowledge base is growing and evolving my personal definition, but it isnt
linear. There is no one way to define DE. I am certain that at the end of the
Masters program, I will be able to look back and have even more to add to
my definition, because learning is a process that is continuous.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of

online learning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning.