Dr. Ruth Reynard

Gerardo, Research and exploration are really successful strategies in developing self-direction and learner autonomy. Good points! Dr. Ruth Reynard

Jacquilin, Yes, when we see things in print, we tend to believe them :) The challenge is great for instructors to guide students and to train them to recognize legitimate sources over bogus sources. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Jacquilin, Great points! Yes, the Internet provides many new opportunities for student engagement but it also requires those possibilities to be included in the instructional design and valued with a percentage of the grade. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Fiorella, Good points! Yes, instruction should be aligned to objectives/outcomes and should also follow rubrics that have been created based on those outcomes and also tied into the overall program goals. Also, transferrable soft skills should always be valued in learning, in my opinion (team /group work/ collaboration etc.). Dr. Ruth Reynard

Josh, Great example! Math is a wonderful subject area in which the process can be evaluated and rewarded even if the final answer is incorrect. In other subject areas, we as instructors, have to be more observant and intentional to really see the process followed by the student, so that can be rewarded as well. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Josh, Yes, these tools provide a great opportunity for students to customize their own learning - from experience, though, test out the tool before you ask students to use it. I have been caught out on that. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Josh, Very true - nomadic in the sense that there may be geographical distance but also that the learning comes from a variety of sources and inputs. We used to call that "distance in time and space" but now it means even more, given the diversity of inputs and interactions. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Josh, Good points! Yes, so while the technology provides direct access to so much more information than could ever be covered in a conventional lecture, the instructor should still guide and support the process with additional resources and learning activities. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Michael, So, the main challenge for instructors is to not be linear in design or delivery of instructional engagement, so that students can interact and apply more freely. Dr. Ruth Reynard

Michael, Yes, that sounds similar - actually there are digital versions now of course used within real time meeting environments that are often used for online courses etc. There are still hardware versions, though, that can now be remotely controlled and can be totally mobile. All of these flexible options mean that the learning engagement can be expanded and shared regardless of time or space. Dr. Ruth Reynard