Unit 6: Flexible Learning Environment

Learning Objectives:
1. Expound flexible and online distance learning.
2. Identify flexible learning through online communications.
3. Join online expert and learning communities.
4. Identify educational sites and portals suitable to the subject areas.
5. Use technology tools to collaborate and share resources among communities of
practice.

Flexible learning
Learning can take place anywhere, not just in classrooms. Many schools and
teachers create learning environments that explore the use of time and space in
creative ways. The integration of areas of learning and technology also have opened
the door for teachers and schools to approach the use of time and space in creative
ways – ways that adapt to students’ needs and interests.
According to Shurville et al. (2008) “Flexible Learning is a set of educational
philosophies and systems, concerned with providing learners with increased choice,
convenience, and personalisation to suit the learner. In particular, flexible learning
provides learners with choices about where, when, and how learning occurs”.
Flexible learning approaches are often designed using a full range of teaching
and learning theories, philosophies and methods to provide students with opportunities
to access information and expertise, contribute ideas and opinions, and correspond with
other learners and mentors.
This may occur through the use of internet-based tools such as Virtual Learning
Environments or Learning Management Systems, discussion boards or chat rooms; and
may be designed as a "blended" approach, with content available electronically and
remotely, as well as "face-to-face" classroom tutorials and lectures.

Flexible Classrooms: Providing the Learning Environment That Kids Need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cscJcRKYxA

Lesson 1: Online Distance Learning

Online distance learning is not a new concept. Some schools, higher education
institutions in the country, and educational agencies such as the Southeast Asian
Ministers of Education Innovations in Educational Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH)
provide this mode of learning. It allows flexibility in learning to a certain extent.

Types of Online Distance Learning

Distance learning has evolved greatly since the days of correspondence learning
in which the student would receive course materials including textbooks and other
course materials through the mail. Students would then work completely at their own
pace, finishing the course according to their work and life schedule. Although
correspondence courses still exist, they are quickly being replaced by online courses,
which offer instruction from teachers, interaction with other students, and a forum for
feedback.
There are a number of advantages to the new formats of distance learning, such
as making permanent professional contacts, a greater amount of teacher support and a
multimedia educational experience. With the advent and improvements on computer,
digital and Internet technology, the shift from the traditional classroom experience to
online or distance learning only seems natural. This is especially true for programs that

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traditionally require large amounts of reading and written assignments, such as
business administration and management, human resources management and
services, finance and accounting.

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Distance Learning

The four types of distance learning fall under the categories of either
synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous literally means “at the same time”, while
asynchronous means “not at the same time”. Synchronous distance learning involves
live communication either through sitting in a classroom, chatting online, or
teleconferencing. Asynchronous distance learning usually has a set of weekly
deadlines, but otherwise allows students to work at their own pace. Students have more
interaction with their peers and deliver correspondence through online bulletin boards.
This type of learning might get tedious for some because they are usually only receiving
the information through text medium, however some asynchronous classes involve
video or audio supplements. Synchronous learning is less flexible and disrupts the
student’s life to a greater extent. It is, however, the most popular form of college
distance learning and continuing education programs, as it facilitates a greater amount
of interaction between students and professors.

Synchronous
Synchronous distance learning: Learning by chatting online, teleconferencing
and sitting in a classroom. This type of learning offers less flexibility and affects the
student’s life to an extent. It is, nevertheless, the most popular form of distance learning
and continuing education programmes, as it makes interaction between students and
professors easy. Synchronous learning is best suited for degree programmes that draw
attention to communication, such as nursing, counseling psychology, general
psychology, and general education.

Asynchronous
Asynchronous distance learning typically has set weekly time limit, but otherwise
provides the students with the freedom to work at their own free will. Students have
more communication with other fellow students and communicate through online notice
boards. This might get difficult at times because for the students the only information
received is text medium. However in some classes, video or audio option is also
available. Programmes dominated by assignments and projects work well in
asynchronous format because they provide the students with more time to focus on
their work. Degree programmes that work well in this format include healthcare
administration, marketing, educational/instructional media design, legal assistant or
paralegal and advertising.

Watch the video to understand more about distance learning though the link below:
What is Distance Learning? Synchronous vs Asynchronous Learning | DepEd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PlgCQKj8Q8

Blended Learning is a flexible learning system. It is a combination of learning activities

done online and in the classroom and it has various classifications as follows.

1. Face-to-face Driver: In the face-to-face model, the teacher delivers the curricula
most of the time and utilizes online learning at certain times with the purpose to
augment or provide an alternative experience. Instruction is provided in a computer
laboratory or assigned tasks are uploaded online.

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2. Rotation: In a particular course or subject, students rotate on a fixed schedule
between learning online in a one-to-one, self-paced learning environment and being
inside the classroom with a face-to-face teacher. This is the model that is in between
the traditional face-to-face learning and online learning.

Models of Rotation:
a. Station Rotation – This model allows students to rotate through stations on a
fixed schedule, where at least one of the stations is an online learning station.

b. Lab Rotation - it allows students to rotate through stations on a fixed schedule.

However, in this case, online learning occurs in a dedicated computer lab. This
model allows for flexible scheduling arrangements with teachers and other
paraprofessionals, and enables schools to make use of existing computer labs.

c. Individual Rotation - it allows students to rotate through stations, but on individual

schedules set by a teacher or software algorithm. Unlike other rotation models,
students do not necessarily rotate to every station; they rotate only to the
activities scheduled on their playlists.

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 d. Flipped Classroom - model flips the traditional relationship between class time
and homework. Students learn at home via online coursework and lectures, and
teachers use class time for teacher-guided practice or projects. This model
enables teachers to use class time for more than delivering traditional lectures.

3. Flex: This model uses an online platform that delivers most of the course. Support to
learning is provided as needed through on-site support or by an online tutor who
facilitates the tutorial or small group sessions. Sessions can be arranged into
synchronous or asynchronous. Course participants may work on their tasks at any
convenient time as long as it is within the confines of the course duration.

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4. Online Lab: The online-lab model uses an online platform in delivering the course
but located in a physical classroom or computer laboratory. Since the lessons are in
modular format and available in the online program, teacher assistants supervise these
classes. However, they may not provide the needed expertise if learners seek
assistance. Furthermore, students who are enrolled in an Online Lab model of blended
learning may be enrolled in a traditional classroom course at the same time and
therefore have block schedules.

5. Self-Blend/ A La Carte: The self-blend Model is a system provided by the school

where the students can choose the courses they would like to have in addition to their
typical brick-and-mortar classroom classes. This model is always remote - a major
difference from the Online Lab.

6. Online Driver/Enriched Virtual: It utilizes a platform and a teacher that delivers all
curricula. Students remotely work on their program most of the time. If ever there is a
face-to-face component, it is made optional, or if ever it is required for the student to go
to the physical learning environment such as in a school, then it can be extracurricular
activities augmenting the curriculum.

Lesson 2: Online Distance Education and Communities of Learners

When we consider online networking, internet users immediately refer to
Facebook. Everybody seems to have a Facebook account and uses this to
communicate. If in the teaching and learning situation, you work on and collaborate with
classmates, friends, teachers and other members of society, then social networking can
also be appropriately employed as an educational tool.

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Networking
When productive relationships are cultivated, networking works best. A network
is defined as that group of individuals who communicates and connects on a regular
basis. If an individual has a personal network of people, one can tap on the potential
contacts for social, educational or professional purposes.

Social Networking Platforms

A social networking service (also social networking site or social media) is
an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with
other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or
real-life connections.
Social networking services vary in format and the number of features. They can
incorporate a range of new information and communication tools, operating
on desktops and on laptops, on mobile devices such as tablet
computers and smartphones. They may feature digital photo/video/sharing and diary
entries online (blogging). Online community services are sometimes considered social-
network services by developers and users, though in a broader sense, a social-network
service usually provides an individual-centered service whereas online community
services are group-centered. Defined as "websites that facilitate the building of a
network of contacts in order to exchange various types of content online," social
networking sites provide a space for interaction to continue beyond in person
interactions. These computer mediated interactions link members of various networks
and may help to both maintain and develop new social and professional relationships.
Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, digital photos and videos, posts, and
to inform others about online or real-world activities and events with people in their
network.
The main types of social networking services contain category places (such as
age or occupation or religion), means to connect with friends (usually with self-
description pages), and a recommendation system linked to trust. One can categorize
social-network services into four types:
• socialization social network services are used primarily for socializing with
existing friends (e.g., Facebook)
• online social networks are decentralized and distributed computer networks where
users communicate with each other through internet services.
• networking social network services are used primarily for non-social interpersonal
communication (e.g., LinkedIn, a career- and employment-oriented site)
• social navigation social network services are used primarily for helping users to
find specific information or resources (e.g., Goodreads for books)

A. Social Networking is using websites and applications to communicate informally

with others, find people, and share similar interests
• Allows users to directly connect with one another through groups, networks, and
location
Examples: Facebook and LinkedIn

B. Microblogging is posting of very short entries or updates on a social networking

site. It allows users to subscribe to other users' content, send direct messages, and
reply publicly. It is also used to create and share hashtags to share content about
related subjects

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Examples: Twitter and Tumblr

C. Blogging (Using Publishing Websites) is recording opinions, stories, articles, and

links to other websites on a personal website.
Examples: Wordpress and Blogger

D. Photo Sharing is publishing a user's digital photos, enabling the user to share
photos with others either publicly or privately
Examples: Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat and Pinterest

E. Video Sharing is publishing a user's digital photos, enabling the user to share
photos with others either publicly or privately. It allows users to embed media in a blog
or Facebook post, or link media to a tweet.
Examples: YouTube, Vimeo, and Periscope

F. Crowdsourcing is obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting

contributions from a large group of people, particularly those from the online community
2. Examples: Ushahidi, Inc.

For more information on crowdsourcing, view the Digital Humanitarians TED Talk on the
use of time-critical crowdsourcing to verify social media for disaster response.

G. Tools for Managing Multiple Social Media Platforms is an aggregator is a tool

that can be used to "aggregate social media site feeds in one spot, allowing users to
search by keywords."
2. Examples: Hootsuite

Lesson 3: Online Resources, Educational Sites and Portals

Educational portals are Web portals designed to give users a resource for
locating and navigating to Web-based resources that support educational endeavours.
These resources may include links to Web pages and files with information provided for
a specific educational exercise, links to external Web sites (Web sites that are not part
of the educational portal), illustrations of concepts including animations, means for
accessing software, communication tools, and other electronic resources employed in
teaching and learning.
Considering this basic conception of educational portals, it would appear that
they are all merely vertical portals designed as public gateways to educational
resources. This classification is too narrow. What is important to recognize is that

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educational portals serve both as public gateways to information and as private
gateways to the resources a particular institution or organization wants to make
available only to its members.

A. Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application or a web

technology that is used to plan, implement and assess educational contents/courses.
Some of the examples are the following:
• Google Classroom • LearnWorlds
• Groundwork1 • TalentLMS
• Absorb LMS • SkyPrep
• iSpring Learn • MasterStudy WordPress LMS
• Mindflash • ProProfs LMS
• Rippling • Groundwork1
• Thinkific • Docebo
• Moodle: Teaching Moodle • Blackboard
(plagiarism scanning, proctoring • Joomla LMS
software, and lockdown • Brightspace
browsers) • Schoology
• Litmos • eFront
• Canvas • Adobe Captivate Prime LMS
• Edmodo • Knowmax

B. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

It is a model used to deliver the learning contents of online courses to any
individual interested to take the course. The following are some of the widely used or
popular nowadays.
• edX.org (since 2012)
• Coursera
• Udacity
• Udemy
• Kadenze
• FutureLearn
• Swayam

Activity 13
A. Search the web and explore five (5) (two MOOCs and 3 LMS) of the above listed
educational sites and portals and include a description about its nature and
usage/functions/services. Submit your output through the Google classroom.

Lesson 4: Technology tools for Collaborative Work

Google Drive
A service offered by Google that allows you to store and share files online. The
service was launched on April 24, 2012 and provides 15 GB of free storage. Additional
storage can be purchased for a monthly fee.
The goal of Google Drive is to provide a central place to store your files online so
that you can access them from anywhere. Additionally, you can access your Google
Drive from multiple devices, since the software is available for Windows, Mac OS X,

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Android, and iOS platforms. The service also provides a web-based interface that
allows you to organize your files and search for documents by filename or content.
Besides online file storage, Google Drive provides tools for sharing files and
collaborating on projects with other users over the Web. For example, instead of
emailing large attachments, you can send links to the files from your Google Drive to
one or more users. You can also use the web-based Google Docs applications to create
or edit documents online. When you share a document with other Google Drive users,
everyone can view and edit the document at the same time.
Google Drive allows you to view over 30 file types directly in your web browser.
These include Google's proprietary formats, as well as other popular file types, such as
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator documents.

Google Groups
Like many of Google's applications, is designed with ease of use in mind. For
instance, to search Google Groups for topics that interest you, you simply use a search
box located on the Google Groups homepage. Results will be returned to you as they
would be through any basic Internet search. Google Groups also has an advanced
search capability, where you can search by date range, language, group or author.
Searching by date range can prove particularly interesting, since discussions stretch
back 25 years and cover everything from technology to politics.
Google Groups is hardly the only application of its kind. Yahoo! and Microsoft, for
instance, both offer similar services, and both have additional features not available in
Google Groups. So what sets Google Groups apart? Perhaps the most significant
difference is its Usenet archive, which includes more than 700 million messages
[source: BBC]. Not all of these discussions are in English, which brings up another nice
feature: Using "advanced search," you can look for discussions in more than 40
different languages. Better yet, you can translate the discussions to English with one
click, and while the translations are far from perfect, they give you a good idea of what's
being said.

Google Form
Google Forms is a free online tool from Google which allows users to create
forms, surveys, and quizzes as well as to collaboratively edit and share the forms with
other people. Educators can use Google forms to assess their students at the beginning
of the class and gauge pre-existing knowledge. Furthermore, Google forms can be used
to give feedback to and receive feedback from students and parents. Similarly, students
can use Google forms to assess their own learning and set the learning goals as well as
to collect data for their research projects.
Google Forms is a survey administration software included as part of the free,
web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes
Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Sites, and
Google Keep. Google Forms is only available as a web application. The app allows
users to create and edit surveys online while collaborating with other users in real-time.
The collected information can be automatically entered into a spreadsheet

Bubbl.us
Browser-based mind-mapping tool that is great for project planning,
collaboration, and brainstorming purposes. It cleverly uses Macromedia Flash to provide
users with free-form brainstorming capabilities via their web browsers, eliminating the
need to install a client software. This means fewer costs and more work getting
accomplished. With Bubbl.us, users can create colorful and engaging mind maps and
then save them as an Image or to HTML. All they have to do is simply bookmark the

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page and come back to it at a later time for further mind-mapping tasks. They can add it
to their home screen or mobile device as well.

Wiki spaces
A wiki is a website which allows its users to add, modify, or delete its content via
a web browser. On a wiki students can share work and ideas, pictures and links, videos
and media. A wiki can be made public so anyone can edit the space or limited to just a
class or a few participants. Many different types of projects can be embedded in a wiki
so they work well for showcasing projects made with other tools like: videos,
documents, polls, calendars, maps and specific Web 2.0 tools where you can get the
HTML embed code (example: Google Presentations, VoiceThread). Wikispaces
provides free wikis for teachers and they do not contain ads. Don’t forget the tips for
collaborative projects using Wikispaces. Another wiki option is PBWorks.
Wikispaces can be used many ways in your classroom. Collaboration is the
biggest use. Summarizing the days events, posting podcasts, posting Powerpoint
projects, posting questions for students to respond to, having students create pages,
and posting links for research projects are other ways educators have used a wikispace
in their classroom.

Wiki Examples: High School online collaborative writing wiki

Elementary students in Auckland, New Zealand are using part of their
class wiki as a blog and the other half to showcase student-created projects.

Blogging
A blog (a shortened version of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational
website displaying information in reverse chronological order, with the latest posts
appearing first, at the top. It is a platform where a writer or a group of writers share their
views on an individual subject.
For more information about ICT Tools for Collaboration and Online Teaching,
click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmT7v-gexto

Activity 14
A. Answer the following on your learning log:
a. How does a flexible learning environment relate to personalized learning?
b. Does a flexible learning environment improve learning? Why?
c. How does a flexible learning environment increase teacher effectiveness?

References:
Shurville,S., O'Grady,T., and Mayall,P. (2008). Educational and institutional flexibility of
Australian Educational Software. Campus-Wide Information Systems, Emerald
Group Publishing Limited, 25 (2), 74 – 84. [6].
Slavin, R. (2006). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (8th ed.). 277-279.
Blended Learning Organization (n.d.). Blended Learning Models. Accessed on
November 7, 2022 through shttps://www.blendedlearning.org/models/
Bilbao, P., Dequilla, M.A.C., Rosano, D., and Boholano, H. (2019). Technology for
Teaching and Learning 1. Quezon City, Philippines: LORIMAR Publishing, Inc.
JPWEBSTORE. Make Education Go the Distance Image.
https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiX7Yuc0M
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2Fblog%2Fselect-online-distance-learning-

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 program%2F&psig=AOvVaw1AKH2r1Dn8YaYOUbXdGsG9&ust=157251259108349
1. Accessed on October 30, 2019.
https://myzol.co.zw/articles/2319/golden-age-for-distance-learning-as-tech-changes-
face-of-sector
https://www.google.com.ph/search?biw=1024&bih=489&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=YVG5XaW
ACb3VmAW2rKCoAw&q=online+distance+learning&oq=online+distance+&gs_l=img
.1.0.0l3j0i8i30l2j0i24l5.101785.103943..106611...0.0..1.396.3978.0j3j11j2......0....1..g
ws-wiz-img.......0i67.x37Fos3k-0Y#imgrc=H35x-BWpQjc4GM:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmT7v-gexto
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PlgCQKj8Q8
https://kb.iu.edu/d/atvm#add

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