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Distance Education (distance + education)
Selected AbstractsDistance Education and AccreditationNEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Issue 113 2001Watson Scott Swail Distance learning and technology have taken on a life of their own in higher education. We need to find a way of assessing distance-education programs that breaks away from traditional accreditation standards. [source] Investigating science learning for rural elementary school teachers in a professional-development project through three distance-education strategiesJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2006Leonard A. Annetta Distance education is a significant topic of discussion within institutions at all levels of education. It is not only significant in terms of finances and student enrollment but also in terms of meaningful learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of three distance-education strategies for enhancing the science learning of 94 Midwestern elementary-school teachers participating in a 5-year professional-development project. The three distance-education strategies studied were interactive television with all presenters live in real time (live), interactive television with live discussions wrapped around videotaped presentations (video), and asynchronous, Web-based sessions with streamed videotaped presentations supported by interaction through discussion boards (Web). A repeated measures design was used to analyze the science learning and attitudes of the study participants. Analysis of variance of participants' postsession science scores yielded differences (p,<,0.05) on multiple-choice and constructed-response science subscales. Participants in the live mode outperformed participants in the Web and video modes on all three assessment types (multiple choice, constructed response, and vignettes). Participants in the Web mode outperformed participants in the video mode on multiple choice and constructed response. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 1019,1039, 2006 [source] The nature of technology-mediated interaction in globalized distance educationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2003Charalambos Vrasidas The purpose of this paper is to discuss technology-mediated communication and interaction in globalized distance education. We will briefly present the context, methods, findings, and implications of a research and development program we have been running for the last five years at Western Illinois University in collaboration with other institutions in the US, Mexico, and Cyprus (Intercollege). The emphasis will be on discussing the differences between face-to-face (F2F) and technology-mediated interaction. Online interaction may be slower and ,lacking' in continuity, richness, and immediacy, when compared to F2F interaction; however, in some ways online interaction may be as good as or even superior to F2F interaction. We will use selected findings from our work to theorize the nature of interaction in online distance education in a globalized world. Our argument is that despite differences between F2F and online distance education, the latter should not be considered as second best, because there are significant qualities of online education that are often ignored. [source] Evaluating the Effectiveness of Distance Learning: A Comparison Using Meta-AnalysisJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2004Mike Allen This article uses meta-analysis to summarize the quantitative literature comparing the performance of students in distance education versus traditional classes. The average effect (average r= .048, k= 39, N= 71,731) demonstrates that distance education course students slightly outperformed traditional students on exams and course grades. The average effect was heterogeneous, and the examination of several moderating features (presence or absence of simultaneous interaction, type of channel used in distance education, and course substance) failed to produce a homogeneous solution. The results demonstrate, however, no clear decline in educational effectiveness when using distance education technology. [source] Learners' evaluation of a navigation support tool in distance educationJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 5 2007C. Bolman Abstract This article investigates the usability of a navigation support tool, which guides learners by generating advice on the next best step to take in a self-study e-learning course. The article draws on log data and responses from online questionnaires to provide insights into learners' evaluation of the tool, their adherence to the advice and their expectations of self-efficacy. The theoretical underpinnings of the work are described together with the experimental set-up. Results show that more than half of the learners in the experimental group adhered to the advice and held the opinion that the advice stimulated them to proceed with the course. Learners expressed a need to know what the advice was based on which can be seen as an essential element in future development of the tool. [source] The European Union and e-learning: an examination of rhetoric, theory and practiceJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 3 2002V.E. Hodgson Abstract The paper examines the impact that new technology has had upon the rhetoric, theory and practice of trans-national educational collaboration within Europe. The paper first looks very generally at the way e-learning has become a strong part of the educational rhetoric of the EU. Some of the different models found in the literature for describing online courses and teaching and learning approaches used within distance education are then described. These models, however, for the most part apply to courses that are offered by single generally specialist distance education providers. In contrast, the ODL/Minerva projects supported by the European Commission's Socrates programme are relatively unusual in that they have as a starting point a consortium of trans-national partners engaged in a common educational venture. Consequently, the second part of the looks at some of the models generated within the ODL action. This is followed by descriptions of the work of three ODL projects, each of which differ in orientation and approach. It is argued that the dimensions on which the three projects most significantly differ are not so much according to the models already described in the first part of the paper but is more related to their assumptions about how comparative knowledge is viewed and the kind of discourse from which knowledge and learning is generated and the dialogical practices used to support this. [source] Updating the Foreign Language AgendaMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2001Richard D. Lambert At the founding of the National Foreign Language Center in 1987, several major structural problems facing the field of foreign language (FL) instruction were identified in an editorial in The Modern Language Journal. These broad architectural issues are part of a national agenda for change, both here and abroad, and have been the focus of the NFLC's activities since its establishment. The agenda issues identified in the article are: evaluating language competency; articulating instruction across educational levels and the different contexts in which FLs are taught; increasing the range of languages taught and studied; achieving higher levels of language skills; promoting language competency and use among adults; expanding research and maximizing its impact on FL teaching and learning; and assessing and diffusing new technologies in instructional practice, with particular attention to Internet communication, machine translation, and distance education. The article briefly indicates the nature of these challenges and notes the progress that has been made. [source] Assessing the needs of distance learners: A student affairs perspectiveNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 112 2005Leslie A. Dare In order to understand and meet the needs of the distance learning population, student affairs administrators must partner with our colleagues in the fields of technology and distance education. A study of distance learners at North Carolina State University provides information and opportunities for strengthening those partnerships. [source] Empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of telepsychiatry via videoconferencing: Implications for forensic and correctional psychiatryBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 3 2008Diana J. Antonacci M.D. A growing body of literature now suggests that use of telepsychiatry to provide mental health services has the potential to solve the workforce shortage problem that directly affects access to care, especially in remote and underserved areas. Live interactive two-way audio,video communication,videoconferencing,is the modality most applicable to psychiatry and has become synonymous with telepsychiatry involving patient care, distance education, and administration. This article reviews empirical evidence on the use and effectiveness of videoconferencing in providing diagnostic and treatment services in mental health settings that serve child, adolescent, and adult populations. Descriptive reports, case studies, research articles, and randomized controlled trials related to clinical outcomes were identified and reviewed independently by two authors. Articles related to cost-effectiveness, technological issues, or legal or ethical aspects of telepsychiatry were excluded. The review of the evidence broadly covers mental health service provision in all settings, including forensic settings. Given the sparse literature on telepsychiatry in forensic settings, we discuss implications for mental health care across settings and populations and comment on future directions and potential uses in forensic or correctional psychiatry. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pedagogic strategies supporting the use of Synchronous Audiographic Conferencing: A review of the literatureBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Sara De Freitas Synchronous audiographic conferencing (SAC) refers to a combination of technologies for real-time communication and interaction using multiple media and modes. With an increasing institutional uptake of SAC, users require an understanding of the complex interrelations of multiple media in learning scenarios in order to support pedagogic-driven planning and effective use of the tool. This paper provides a review of recent literature that explores the pedagogic strategies used to underpin practical uses of SAC for the benefit of learners especially in non-standard contexts such as distance education. The paper reports on approaches from practitioner-oriented perspectives as well as approaches based on educational theory, notably the community of inquiry model, task design and multimodal models of cognition, meaning and interaction. The main features of these models were extracted to provide both a synthesis for future work on dedicated pedagogic models for SAC and a resource for practitioners wanting to link SAC with educational theory. [source] Motivators and Inhibitors for University Faculty in Distance and e-learningBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Ruth Gannon Cook This article reports on four United States studies of how rewards systems, extrinsic and intrinsic, could play an important role in providing incentives for university faculty to teach (or remain teaching) electronic and distance education courses. The first three studies conducted prior to 2003 reported faculty were inherently motivated to teach e-learning and distance education. The fourth study in 2003 reported key findings that differed from the earlier studies. Using a principal components analysis, the researchers found nine indicators of motivation to participate or not participate in electronic or distance education. The implications from the fourth study indicated that, while faculty members were inherently committed to helping students, faculty members wanted their basic physiological needs met by university administration through extrinsic motivators, such as salary increases and course releases. [source] Building a theoretical framework of web-based instruction in the context of distance educationBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2001Insung Jung This study attempts to analyze teaching and learning processes of web-based instruction (WBI) as shown in recent literature, and to develop a theoretical framework of WBI using a prominent existing distance education theory called Transactional Distance Theory in order to provide better understanding of the essential pedagogical components of WBI. Recent studies have shown that the key elements of the structure of WBI are (1) content expandability, (2) content adaptability, and (3) visual layout. And also three emerging types of interaction, or three aspects of dialogue, in WBI have been identified through the studies. Those types were: (1) academic interaction, (2) collaborative interaction, and (3) interpersonal interaction. Finally, both learner collaboration (or learner collaboravity, if we create a new term) and learner autonomy seem to have emerged in Web-based learning environments. [source] TEACHER EDUCATION: Reflections upon teacher education in severe difficulties in the USA: shared concerns about quantity and qualityBRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009Phyllis Jones In this article, Phyllis Jones of the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida and Elizabeth West from the University of Washington explore key issues in respect to teacher education for teachers who teach pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties in the USA. Issues relating to quantity and quality of teachers are discussed in the context of policy and practice in the USA. Reflections related to teacher education delivery in the USA, in terms of case-based learning and distance education, for example, and the content of teacher education courses, for example, in terms of helping teachers to understand the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and the promotion of evidence-based practices, are discussed. Phyllis Jones and Elizabeth West suggest that their reflections can contribute to continuing discussions about teacher education in the UK for teachers who work with pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties. [source] | |||||||||||||