Activity 2.1

Distance classes are a very helpful way to learn to some people, meanwhile for others can be quite stressful, and it has to do a lot with the type of intelligence each person has, and even the other experiences they have had in the past with courses in that modality. If the learner has an idea of his type of intelligence, he will have the chance to at least identify what he can do in order to learn more easily.

Also, according to what I read, anxiety is an important factor with distance learning. Since the learner does not have much face-to-face interaction with the teacher or other students, it can be a little unsettling that he has to do most of the work by himself, relaying only in what he understands of each task, and that for sure is stressful; however, it can be avoided if the teacher knows how to help the learner, mainly by being available to answer questions, and also by giving some workshops throughout the course in order to dissipate doubts.

Now, talking about my own experience with distance learning, I have to say that I actually prefer classroom attendance classes, which might be a bit odd considering my two types of intelligence are Linguistic (35) and Spatial-Visual (32), thus I should not have much trouble with the regular way in which distance classes are given—usually through activities that require reading and the use of online materials like videos—, but still, I would probably choose a class with face-to-face interaction, mainly because it represents for me a more direct way to get information.

Furthermore, I think that good self organizing can make a student’s experience with distance classes a lot easier. If the student organizes his time as if it were a presence class, it might be easier to perform for him in each task because that way he might have time to make the necessary investigation for said activity. Also, the student must know that in case he has doubts with the material or even the way he must do anything, he can get help from the teacher or even another student if he wants to, that even though they do not see each other every day, it does not mean they will not be in touch at all.

Solutions to help the students to complete a distance course:

• 1.       Variety of materials/activities. This one is more for the teacher than for the student, but I think it is a very important factor to consider. By offering different types of activities or materials to the students according to the different types of intelligence, we can assure that the task will be easier to complete and it will be less boring for the learners to do diverse activities at least once in a while.

• 2.       Organization. This applies for both the teacher and the learner. As I mentioned before, organization is very important because, as students we need to be aware of the deadlines for each activity as much as the time we have for them and how to arrange ourselves for it, and as teachers we must be alert to what our students are doing in order to make the necessary feedback. Thus, I would recommend getting an agenda, journal or, for those who can, a smartphone/tablet application (there are many where you can even set alarms to organize time better) in order to keep track of what we do and want to do.

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Here are my results of the multiple intelligences test, just in case you guys wanted to know: