This paper investigates the questions and considerations that should be discussed by administrators, faculty, and support staff when designing, developing and offering a hybrid (part online, part face-to-face) degree program. Using two Web questionnaires, data were gathered from nine instructors and approximately 450 students to evaluate student and instructor perceptions and opinions of hybrid instruction and activities. In comparison to prior research, the results of this study offer larger...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Technology, Distance Education, Program Development, Curriculum...
This case study explored asynchronous online discussions, assessment processes, and the meaning students derived from their experiences in five online graduate courses at the Colleges of Education of two Midwestern higher education institutions. The findings suggest that asynchronous online discussions facilitate a multidimensional process of assessment demonstrated in the aspects of structure, self-regulatory activities, learner autonomy, learning community and student writing skills. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Writing Skills, Personal Autonomy, Schools of Education, Online Courses, Distance...
This review provides a comprehensive examination of the literature surrounding the current state of K-12 distance education. The growth in K-12 distance education follows in the footsteps of expanded learning opportunities at all levels of public education and training in corporate environments. Implementation has been accomplished with a limited research base, often drawing from studies in adult distance education and policies adapted from traditional learning environments. This review of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Public Education, Distance Education, Literature...
We further evaluated the Virtual Lecture Hall (VLH) (Cramer, Collins, Snider, & Fawcett, in press), an instructional computer-based platform to deliver PowerPoint slides threaded with audio clips for later review. Students from either an in-class or online section (ns = 810 and 74 respectively) of introductory psychology had access to live recorded lectures via the VLH, made available through the course Web site. Approximately 45% of in-class and 78% of online students used the resource...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Psychology, Lecture Method, Online Courses, Introductory Courses, Web Sites, Student...
Founded in 1920, the Hadley School for the Blind is known worldwide for its tuition-free distance-education courses for people who are visually impaired. Hadley's main school in the United States serves more than 9,000 students, and the overseas school in the People's Republic of China provides vital educational services to more than 1,000 Chinese students. Headed by Xia Rongqiang, the Chinese branch of the Hadley School for the Blind, Hadley-China, offers distance-education courses in English,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Internet, English (Second Language), Computer Mediated...
Virtual schooling, in which K-12 courses and activities are offered mostly or completely through digital communication technologies, has become firmly established in K-12 education across the United States. The VS movement continues to expand at a rapid rate, especially at the high school level. The continuing success of VS efforts will require K-12 teachers, administrators, and support staff at host schools to collaborate effectively with VS providers. Virtual schooling requires substantial...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Role, Teacher Attitudes, Online Courses, Web Based Instruction, Computer Uses...
The communication and collaborative interface known as a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), has existed since as early as the late 1970s. MUVEs refer to programs that have an animated character ("avatar") controlled by a user within a wider environment that can be explored--or built--at will. Second Life, a MUVE created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, has generated a great deal of media attention in recent months. This attention has attracted hundreds of thousands of new users...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Middle Schools, Distance Education, Immigrants, Migrants, Middle School Teachers,...
This study examines the literature on learner support with the aim of helping institutions of higher education plan and implement support services for distance learners. The following issues emerged as areas of particular importance to future research in distance learner support: 1) the lack of research on cost-effectiveness; 2) the lack of empirical research; and 3) the need for a learner-centered approach in designing and implementing learner support. These issues are discussed in detail to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Higher Education, Cost Effectiveness, Lee, Ji-Yeon
From an Invitational Education perspective, e-learning will only succeed as an educative environment if educators are able to provide an e-learning environment that preserves dignity and encourages communication. The converse: using an online environment to "throw information" at students has the opposite effect; it is experienced as deeply disinviting. This article identifies some of the more common disinviting practices currently being experienced by learners who are new to an...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Distance Education, Computer Uses in Education, Educational...
Results of a Canada-wide and a Quebec based study of students with a variety of disabilities in Canadian postsecondary education are presented. Study 1 involved 156 professionals. They represent 80% of the population of professionals who provide on-campus disability support services. Results indicate that (1) 8% of postsecondary institutions reported not having any students with disabilities, (2) overall, 2% of students are registered to receive disability related services from their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Disabilities, College Students, Postsecondary Education, Distance Education,...
Student teaching is a challenging period for preservice teachers as they make the transition from preparation to practice. Support from mentor teachers and university personnel can make this time easier, helping preservice teachers successfully integrate educational theory into their practice. Because of logistical, financial, and personnel limitations, many student teachers with rural placements receive inadequate support. The Technology Supported Induction Network (TSIN) was developed to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Teaching, Student Teachers, Rural Schools, Mentors, College School...
Cyber schools, also known as virtual schools, are noteworthy charter school developments that provide viable options for education. Charter schools in general and cyber charter schools in particular are not "revenue neutral" to local school districts. Nationwide, hundreds of millions of dollars allocated for education are being routed into charter schools. As parents opt for cyber schools to augment home-school resources, the funding burden shifts from the family to the taxpayers...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Funding Formulas, Charter Schools, Governance, Virtual Classrooms, Educational...
In recent years, educators have begun to use learning portfolios as a means of evaluating student learning in higher education. Research indicates that learning portfolios can help students understand better the learning process as well as enhancing learning outcomes. They promote reflection on the learning experience and encourage students to think critically and make judgments about their own learning. The aim of this paper is to explore how short-answer portfolios can support the development...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Portfolios (Background Materials), Adult Students, Learning Experience, Skill...
Throughout the world, policy-makers are demonstrating their commitment to widening participation in education by promoting alternative pathways to gaining academic qualifications. This paper reports a study which aimed to investigate the potential of online learning to overcome barriers to participating in education by socially disadvantaged adults, and to identify the factors that influenced such students' participation and successful completion of online learning courses. Seventy-nine adults...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Open Universities, Distance Education, Disadvantaged, Online Courses, Telephone...
Across the world, the distance mode of education is gaining momentum. It is a system in which schools, universities and other educational agencies offer instruction wholly or partly by mail. Eritrea is a newly independent country in Africa and is facing many challenges, particularly in its education sector. It does not have many educational institutions at tertiary level. Thus, distance learning is a valuable option for this country. The distance education program could promote higher education...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Developing Nations, Computer Uses in Education, Higher Education,...
Podcasting is becoming more and more common as a method of delivery at universities and for training purposes. The concept to set up podcasting is simple, and the costs vary. The advantages of podcasting are enormous. Podcasting is especially effective for adult education programs. (Contains 17 online resources.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, Educational Technology, Distance Education, Telecommunications,...
Helen Ladd takes a comparative look at policies that the world's industrialized countries are using to assure a supply of high-quality teachers. Her survey puts U.S. educational policies and practices into international perspective. Ladd begins by examining teacher salaries--an obvious, but costly, policy tool. She finds, perhaps surprisingly, that students in countries with high teacher salaries do not in general perform better on international tests than those in countries with lower...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Salaries, Mentors, Special Programs, Teacher Shortage, Foreign Countries,...
Increasing pressure has been placed on teacher education to prepare teachers to educate bilingual/bicultural students using scientifically-based teaching methods. Socio-cultural theory and pedagogy have emerged as a research-based foundation for diversity teacher preparation. Socio-cultural theory rests on the premise that learning is social, and that it is through social interaction with teachers and peers who are more knowledgeable that students receive assistance as needed in their Zone of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Education, Teacher Education Programs, Distance Education, Program...
This study explores the exegesis of two beginning teachers in a teacher preparation and development, Web-based distance learning course in global/multicultural pedagogy. Before illustrating their experiences prior, during, and after the Web-based distance learning course, the author begins with a brief examination of the literature in distance learning and global/multicultural curriculum, along with a description of the particular course studied. He moves then to examine the experiences of two...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Beginning Teachers, Teaching Experience, Web Based Instruction, Global Education,...
Preparing health educators in today's technology-driven society requires faculty to adopt new teaching strategies which motivate and engage the "Web 2.0 generation." Blogs are popular online forums for both scholarly and non-scholarly communication. Currently, there are no published studies assessing the utility of blogs in health education. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore faculty and students' perceptions of blogging as an effective teaching and learning tool within an...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Health Education, Student Attitudes, Learning Strategies, Virtual Classrooms,...
Around the globe, people with HIV/AIDS are increasingly those who are most marginalized within their societies and with least access to health education and prevention efforts. Rising HIV infection rates within underserved populations demonstrate a vital need to critically reflect upon the nature and practice of HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Online learning is increasingly being used as a way of bridging gaps of space and time between health educators/ providers and training resources....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Education Courses, Health Education, Distance Education, Prevention, Online Courses,...
As the use of instructional technology continues to escalate, it is not surprising that universities are attempting to reach new student markets by using technology. Many of the benefits and barriers to asynchronous distance education (ADE) have been examined over the years; however, few have explored these constructs from the student's perspective. This manuscript points out some benefits of ADE: lower costs, increased flexibility, greater convenience, higher return on investments, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Educational Technology, Intellectual Disciplines, Health...
The seventh recommendation in ACTE's postsecondary reform position statement is to pilot innovative approaches to funding. Public postsecondary providers are expected to fulfill a number of educational missions linked to separate funding streams, such as academic coursework, workforce education and training, distance education and research. These diverse missions host a variety of outcome expectations that can challenge those involved in directing the institution. Thoughtful consideration of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Credentials, Noncredit Courses, Community Colleges, Distance Education, Postsecondary...
Reforms in America's colleges and universities seem to be driven not by quest for quality, but rather, by the need to deal with financial woes. In addition, trends such as the changing shape of the global economy and the unprecedented push for educational accountability are pushing higher education to consider education reforms. In this article, the author offers several strategies that higher education can adopt to deal with the forces of change in the global economy: (1) adopt...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Global Approach, Educational Change, Accountability, Distance...
Web-based lecture technologies (WBLT) have gained popularity amongst universities in Australia as a tool for delivering lecture recordings to students in close to real time. This paper reports on a selection of results from a larger research project investigating the impact of WBLT on teaching and learning. Results show that while staff see the advantages for external students, they question the extent to which these advantages apply to internal students. In contrast both cohorts of students...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Online Courses, Foreign Countries, Internet, Lecture Method, Web...
In order for online course delivery to be efficient, digital material such as scanned text, diagrams and graphics, and audio/video clips must be copied and distributed. The policies and processes for copyright clearance of digital materials are, however, poorly defined and cumbersome. As a result, university instructors often have incomplete knowledge of copyright policy and may scan and upload digital materials without copyright permission, placing institutions at legal risk. In this context...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Copyrights, Online Courses, Web Based Instruction, Policy Analysis, Policy Formation,...
This study describes the characteristics, enrollment, and completion rates of students with disabilities and the support services they received over a three-year period. Between 1998 and 2001 a total of 604 students with disabilities enrolled in undergraduate courses at Athabasca University, which represents 1.5% of the student population. More than half (52%) had a physical disability, 20% had a learning disability, 20% had a psychological disability, 4% had some form of visual impairment, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Student Characteristics, Enrollment Rate, Graduation Rate,...
Recent studies in the literature on online learning highlight a constructivist approach to knowledge-building in Web-based environments. In this case study of an online course, students were introduced to a constructivist orientation toward learning, a requirement to work in a new learning environment, and a challenge to accomplish academic work with groups of colleagues. Students learned successfully how to accommodate these requirements. In particular, this article tells how communication...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Constructivism (Learning), Communication Strategies, Student Attitudes, Self...
This study examined the effects of response time and message content on the growth patterns of discussion threads in computer-supported collaborative argumentation. Event sequence analysis was used to measure response times between threaded messages and responses containing arguments, evidence, critiques, evaluations, and other comments from online debates. The results supported and contradicted the findings of Hewitt and Teplovs (1999). Response rates overall declined at a rate of 17% per day...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reaction Time, Persuasive Discourse, Debate, Response Rates (Questionnaires),...
What role can online communities play in meeting the informal learning needs of a professional association? This article presents the results of an interpretive study of the experiences of coordinators of Alberta Community Adult Learning Councils who participated in an online community of practice designed to support informal workplace learning. Through active participation and peripheral "lurking," newcomers were oriented into the skills and culture of the practice, and experienced...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Informal Education, Professional Associations, Foreign Countries, Discourse...
A distance education system may be viewed in terms of intrapersonal and interpersonal instructional dialogues that mediate the learning and instructional resources that enable such dialogues. Instructional resources include self-instruction texts, tutorial sessions, instructor availability, Web sites, and more. This study investigated the kinds of dialogues engaged in by Open University students and the kinds of resources they used while studying an intermediate-level chemistry course. Research...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Open Universities, Distance Education, Chemistry, Learning Strategies, Cognitive...
Recent developments in digital rights enablement for video, plus inexpensive purpose-built applications such as the Media on Demand system, are now adding video to the montage of rich media objects for learning online. Video libraries and repositories can be customized and stored on local servers for access by place-based or distance learners as was not possible with analog video. It is time for educators to explore the new possibilities of video as a dynamic, interactive resource. The old...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Online Courses, Courseware, Hypermedia, Production Techniques,...
After a period of unbridled enthusiasm about economical prospects, e-learning today is linked with the expectation of increasing expenditures. We implemented an e-learning offering at low cost for the benefit of students and teachers in a course on general pedagogy. This article describes the core ideas in our planning and the empirical findings on the students' use of the course. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cost Effectiveness, Information Technology, Technology Planning, Technology Uses in...
The growth of distance education options at the postsecondary level has led to a need to reassess how student services are provided to distance learners. This study used qualitative thematic analysis to examine the experiences of student service directors in Canadian postsecondary institutions when providing counseling and advising services to distance students. Some of the key considerations and challenges for service planning that emerge from this study are the need for increased...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, School Counseling, Student Personnel Services, Student Personnel...
This study examines the extent to which conceptual change is stimulated and achieved through online discussion in the context of an online graduate course. Transcripts of discussions among 15 graduate students studying assessment issues in mathematics and science education were analyzed using an interaction analysis model developed to assess knowledge construction and conceptual change in the context of an online debate. Although evidence of authentic conceptual change was limited, significant...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Graduate Students, Computer Mediated Communication, Content Analysis, Science...
More than a century of Canadian and international experience and research in open and distance learning indicates that traditional and emerging technologies can be used effectively, alone or in combination, to provide access to services and education for adults and children living in rural and northern communities. However, although there is an emerging literature about children with special needs, technology, and the North, it is at a preliminary stage and is fragmented across many...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Special Needs Students, Disabilities, Rural Areas, Information...
Increased pressure on the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) to become more involved in distance education compelled UAS to commission a study of the perceptions, problems, and opportunities in the area of distance education as seen by three distinct groups in the university community: students, faculty, and staff (including administrators). The researchers used qualitative methods to gather data from which questionnaires were derived. The results suggest that all three groups see lack of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Case Studies, Questionnaires, Employee Attitudes, Student...
Women with multiple roles face many challenges when taking distance education courses in professional programs to achieve credentials or maintain competence. Among these challenges is finding the supports necessary for success as a distance student. As part of a larger study on advantages and stressors identified by such women in distance education professional programs, supports from family, educational institutions (especially teaching staff), and employers emerged as important factors for...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Females, Distance Education, Womens Education, Womens Studies, Professional...
In a multi-year study of a group of learners engaged in online graduate study, I explored the development of learners' sense of community using a variety of data-gathering instruments. An initial questionnaire established learners' pre-program perceptions of online learning and the notion of community; subsequent questionnaires, interviews, and a focus group monitored developments in learners' relationships with each other and in their sense of community. The longitudinal nature of this study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Graduate Study, Student Attitudes, Focus Groups, Online Courses, Higher Education,...
For many reasons the use of computer-assisted assessment (CAA) is increasing. Although computer-based examinations increase in use, research is lacking about students' perceptions of online assessment in general and of categorized fields of online assessment systems. The aim of the study was to investigate students' perceptions of the use of CAA and to investigate the potential for using student feedback in the validation of assessment. To determine the students' perceptions of online...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Attitudes, Computer Assisted Testing, Item Analysis, Foreign Countries,...
An online survey was conducted of students, instructors, and researchers in distance education regarding principles for the ethical treatment of human research subjects. The study used an online questionnaire based on principles drawn from Canada's "Tri-Council Policy Statement, Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans" (TCPS, 2003), which the authors had sometimes found problematic in their own distance education practice (as researchers, in their work with graduate students,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Graduate Students, Distance Education, Position Papers, Foreign Countries, Ethics,...
Education can develop intellectual capability in people, which may in turn lead toward development of a more humane society. Open and distance learning (ODL) has provided one means of achieving social objectives democratically. In India significant success has been achieved through a network of 10 open universities and 104 institutes of open and distance education (IODE). Challenge and competition in the education sector have presented a new situation where institutions are now viewed as...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Open Universities, Distance Education, Marketing, Foreign Countries, Student...
This article describes one of the first developments and deployment of radio for distance learning and education in Canada, beginning in the early 1920s. Anticipating a recent initiative of public-private partnerships, the impetus, infrastructure, and initial programs were provided by a large corporation. Description of the system, its purpose, whom it served, and the problems encountered during its development are described and discussed. The reasons for the demise of this system in the 1930s...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Foreign Countries, Partnerships in Education, Educational Radio,...
In this study, 254 Royal Roads University School of Business learners (graduates and undergraduates) were surveyed on their online course-related reading habits and choices. Based on their responses and anecdotal comments and the data from follow-up interviews with six of the participants, learners preferred print copies of text materials for reasons of portability, dependability, flexibility, and ergonomics. Recommendations include providing an option in all online courses to print electronic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reading Habits, Printed Materials, Online Courses, Computer Assisted Instruction,...
Online learning is here to stay. Many studies have examined factors that facilitate online learning in many disciplines, but few exist on counselor training. This research surveyed online counseling graduate students for factors that they found facilitative. Instructor characteristics such as frequency of participation in discussion forums, constructive and positive feedback to students, and quick return of assignments were found to be most facilitative. Personal characteristics of students...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Graduate Students, Student Attitudes, Online Courses, Counselor Training, Foreign...
The purpose of this study was to investigate what influences employees' acceptance and resistance to a corporate e-learning initiative provided by a large retail chain. The research used a survey design to gather interview and survey data to examine the factors affecting learner interest in, and resistance to, training and e-learning. The results provided insight into the attitudes and perceptions of employees in a large retail chain about the training and identified areas for further attention...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Performance Factors, Distance Education, Web Based Instruction, Industrial...
This investigation examines school-family partnership relationships in rural and remote settings. The study highlights the teaching-learning relationships of classroom teachers, parents as instructors/supervisors, and students as they make sense of numeracy and literacy outcomes in distance education contexts. The case study data provide insights into how the distance education provider (the school) interacts with families to facilitate young students' learning experiences. At present, the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Investigations, Distance Education, Teaching Methods, Rural Areas, Learning...
This qualitative, explanatory study examined Post-RN baccalaureate nursing students' experiences of empowerment with distance education and computer conferencing (CC) for fit with the constructs of Kanter's (1977, 1993) Theory of Structural Power in Organizations. Seven post-RNs from Canadian distance education nursing programs were interviewed. Interview transcripts were examined using content analysis. Kanter's theory was useful in describing empowerment structures in distance education...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Nursing Students, Nursing Education, Distance Education, Interviews, Participant...
Computer mediated conferencing (CMC) has been widely viewed as a valuable forum for providing opportunities for interaction among learners in a distance education setting. Interaction in distance contexts; however, is not well understood, and it has been argued that social markers are cued in online communications and that gender influences interaction processes and participation. Earlier research has identified two discourse types, epistolary and expository, that have been associated with...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Teleconferencing, Gender Issues, Computer Mediated Communication,...
This article elaborates a model for understanding pedagogy in online educational forums. The model identifies four key components. Intellectual engagement describes the foreground cognitive processes of collaborative learning. Communication processes operating in the background accumulate an ever richer store of shared understandings that enable the forward movement of the conversation. The collaborative process requires a moderator to coordinate communication and learning in a group. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Mediated Communication, Cognitive Processes, Connected Discourse, Discourse...