I write this
experience letter full of gratitude and satisfaction to share with other
colleagues worldwide my fantastic experience in studying for the Post Doctorate
Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree in Computer Science with Atlantic
International University (AIU). I am an experienced open and distance learning
(ODL) practitioner and would like to confirm that the AIU student experience is
one of the best in the world with regards to online learning which is student
centred. I witnessed the wonderful experience of ODL aimed
at bridging the time, geographical, economic, social, and educational and
communication distance between student and institution, student and academics,
student and courseware and student and peers. It focuses on removing barriers
to access learning, flexibility of learning provision and student centeredness.
AIU is a dedicated online University whose mode of delivery is in congruence
with the ODL fraternity.
My experience with AIU is
like a
two-sided coin with one side inward focusing on the parentdisciplineof philosophy and the other wide outward to
educational practice challenged by the increasingly networked environment with rapid
advancements and transformations of information and communication technologies
(ICTs).The philosophy of education interrogates the goals,
forms, methods and meaning of education and addresses all the related
philosophical nature of education. At AIU, I observed a unique rich mix of blended
learning, distance learning, asynchronous / synchronous learning, singleness of
teachers and students with a unity of purpose, computer supported collaborative
learning, community of learning,
interactive learning (between learners, between learners and teachers,
between learners and content), co-creative, collaborative, inclusive spaces,
participatory learning context and spaces, time on task, feedback mechanism
(learner, group, country), learner analytics, and integrated tutoring systems
(Kabanda G., 2015). The degree of interaction between the learner and the
technological tools, through the beautiful Student Section interface on the
portal, presented the technology affordance worthy of exploration and
investment in a learning environment. Affordances are the interactions between
users and tool, i.e., the perceived and actual properties of an object that
determine how it could possibly be used. All the learning I did with AIU was
through this beautiful portal which prompts, guides, or constrains the users
depending on their previous experiences (Salomon, 1990).
The philosophy of education used by AIU, primarily based on
andragogy, is superb with respect to critical thinking, ethics, teaching,
learning and curriculum. The
curriculum from an epistemology perspective greatly
influences what subjects or topics are taught, how they are taught, the
supporting beliefs and values that are taught, both implicitly and explicitly,
within and around the core curriculum.It
is of primordial importance to preserve and strengthen this excellent learning/
education paradigm rich in constructivism, constructionism, collaborative learning,
creativity stimulation, and experiential learning (the learner experiencing
things for themselves and learning from them). I believe that the end goal or
purpose of education, as I experienced it through AIU, is, content mastery, engaged
citizenry, individual fulfillment, critical thinking, discovery and knowledge
generation, teamwork, self-directed learning and experiential learning. In
conclusion, I would like to urge aspiring learners to join me through the
journey of AIU learning experience which I found to be outstanding with respect
to fostering Communities of Learning to discover important curricular concepts
framed by the students’ own ideas and questions, learning by design, an
internet-based adaptive learning environment in which principles of knowledge
integration are put into practice, and direct
instruction which improves and accelerates learning and attains high rates of
student success. Come and join us at AIU!
Best Regards,
Gabriel Kabanda
