Distance education

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Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy and andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically "on site". Rather than attending courses in person, teachers and students may communicate at times of their own choosing by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time. Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason including the taking of examinations is considered to be a hybrid or blended course or program.

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[edit] History

Distance education dates back to at least as early as 1728, when "an advertisement in the Boston Gazette...[named] 'Caleb Phillips, Teacher of the new method of Short Hand" was seeking students for lessons to be sent weekly.[1] Modern distance education has been practiced at least since Isaac Pitman taught shorthand in Great Britain via correspondence in the 1840s.[2] The development of the postal service in the 19th century lead to the growth of Commercial correspondence colleges with nation-wide reach.

The University of London was the first university to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its External Programme in 1858.[3] Another pioneering institution was the University of South Africa, which has been offering Correspondence Education courses since 1946. The largest distance education university in the United Kingdom is the Open University founded 1969. In Germany the FernUniversität in Hagen was founded 1974. There are now many similar institutions around the world, often with the name Open University (in English or in the local language), and these are listed below.

Charles Wedemeyer of the University of Wisconsin at Madison is considered the father of modern distance education in America. From 1964-1968 the Carnegie Foundation funded Wedemeyer's Articulated Instructional Media Project (AIM) which brought in a variety of communications technologies aimed at providing learning to an off-campus population. According to Moore's recounting, AIM impressed the British who imported these ideas and used them to create the first Open University, now called United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) to distinguish it from other open universities which have emerged. UKOU was established in the late 1960s and used television and radio as its primary delivery methodologies, thus placing it in the forefront of applying emerging technologies to learning. It is fair to say that all "open universities" use distance education technologies as delivery methodologies.[4]

There are many private and public, non-profit and for-profit institutions offering courses and degree programs through distance education. Levels of accreditation vary; some institutions offering distance education in the United States have received little outside oversight, and some may be fraudulent diploma mills. In many other jurisdictions, an institution may not use the term "University" without accreditation and authorisation, normally by the national government. Online education is rapidly increasing among mainstream universities in the United States, where online doctoral programs have even developed at prestigious research institutions. [5]

In the twentieth century, radio, television, and the Internet have all been used to further distance education. Computers and the Internet have made distance learning distribution easier and faster. [6]

In 2006 the Sloan Consortium reported that more than 96 percent of the largest colleges and universities in the United States offered online courses and that almost 3.2 million U.S. students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term. [7]

[edit] Technologies Used in Delivery

The types of available technologies used in distance education are divided into two groups: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous technology is used in distance education lessons in which learning is occurring in different places but at the same time. Asynchronous technology is used in lessons in which learning is occurring in different places but also at different times.

[edit] Synchronous technologies

[edit] Asynchronous technologies

[edit] Types of distance education courses

  • Correspondence conducted through regular mail
  • Internet conducted either synchronously or asynchronously
  • Telecourse/Broadcast, in which content is delivered via radio or television
  • CD-ROM, in which the student interacts with computer content stored on a CD-ROM
  • PocketPC/Mobile Learning where the student accesses course content stored on a mobile device or through a wireless server

Distance Education has traversed four to five 'generations' of technology in its history. These are print, audio/video broadcasting, audio/video teleconferencing, computer aided instruction, e-learning/ online-learning, computer broadcasting/webcasting etc. Yet the radio remains a very viable form, especially in the developing nations, because of its reach. In India the FM Channel is very popular and is being used by universities, to broadcast educational programs of variety on areas such as teacher education, rural development, programs in agriculture for farmers, science education, creative writing, mass communication, in addition to traditional courses in liberal arts, science and business administration. The increasing popularity of mp3 players, PDAs and Smart Phone has provided an additional medium for the distribution of distance education content, and some professors now allow students to listen or even watch video of a course as a Podcast [9]. Some colleges have been working with the U.S. military to distribute entire course content on a PDA to deployed personnel. [10]

One of the newest technologies for delivery of distance education is the 3D virtual world of the online community Second Life. Institutions reported to have used Second Life in instruction include Bloomsburg University, Princeton University, Rice University, University of Derby (UK), Vassar College, and the Open University (UK)[11]. In at least one instance, an entire online course was conducted through Second Life [12]. In 2007 Second Life started to be used for foreign language instruction [13]. English (as a foreign language) has gained a presence through several schools, including the British Council[2], which has focused on the Teen Grid. Spain’s language and cultural institute “Instituto Cervantes” has an island on Second Life.

There is also an increased use of WebEx as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers such as Fox School of Business for Templer University, Grades Grow, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and Sachem[14][15][16][17]. Webex is a Cisco Web Meetings and Collaboration Solution. The platform has worked for educational institutions because of real time collaboration using an interactive whiteboard, chat, and VOIP technology that allows audio and video sharing. In distance learning situations, while replacing the classroom with features, institutions have also looked for security features which are inherently strong in a Cisco powered collaboration environment. The downside is that Webex is not a free platform like WiZiQ or Moodle, and fees are paid per 'host' of a classroom or a meeting.

[edit] Testing and evaluation

Distance education has had trouble since its conception with the testing of material. The delivery is fairly straightforward, which makes sure it is available to the student and he or she can read it at their leisure. The problem arises when the student is required to complete assignments and testing. Whether quizzes, tests, or examinations; Online courses have had difficulty controlling cheating because of the lack of teacher control. In a classroom situation a teacher can monitor students and visually uphold a level of integrity consistent with an institution's reputation. With distance education the student can be removed from supervision completely. Some schools address integrity issues concerning testing by requiring students to take examinations in a controlled setting.[18]

Assignments have adapted by becoming larger, longer, and more thorough so as to test for knowledge by forcing the student to research the subject and prove they have done the work. Quizzes are a popular form of testing knowledge and many courses go by the honor system regarding cheating. Even if the student is checking questions in the textbook or online, there may be an enforced time limit or the quiz may be worth so little in the overall mark that it becomes inconsequential. Exams and bigger tests may be harder to regulate. In smaller tests a professor may employ another computer program to keep all other programs from running on the computer reducing the possibility of help from the Internet.

Used in combination with invigilators, a pre-arranged supervisor trusted with over-looking big tests and examinations may be used to increase security. Many Midterms and Final examinations are held at a common location so that professors can supervise directly. Many of these examinations are still on the computer in which case the same program blocking software can be used. When the Internet became a popular medium for distance education many websites were founded offering secure exam software and packages to help professors manage their students more effectively.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Holmberg, B. (2005). The evolution, principles and practices of distance education. Bibliotheks-und Informationssystem der Universitat Oldenburg. p. 13.
  2. ^ Moore, Michael G.; Greg Kearsley (2005). Distance Education: A Systems View, Second, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-50688-7. 
  3. ^ "Key Facts", University of London External Programme Website [1]
  4. ^ Moore, Michael G.; Greg Kearsley (2005). Distance Education: A Systems View, Second, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-50688-7. , pages 33-36
  5. ^ Hebert, D. G. (2007). “Five Challenges and Solutions in Online Music Teacher Education,” Research and Issues in Music Education, Vol. 5
  6. ^ Gold, L & Maitland, C (1999). What's the difference? A review of contemporary research on the effectiveness of distance learning in higher education. [Electronic version.] Washington, DC: NEA.
  7. ^ Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006, The Sloan Consortium (accessed February 28, 2008
  8. ^ Lever-Duffy, Judy and Jean B. McDonald. Teaching and Learning with Technology. Pearson Education, Inc., 2008, 2005, 2003.
  9. ^ iTunes U, Retrieved February 9, 2007
  10. ^ Defense Activity For Non-Traditional Education Support, DANTES Retrieved February 27, 2007
  11. ^ Parker, Quin. "A second look at school life", The Guardian, 2007-04-6. Retrieved on 2007-06-16. 
  12. ^ Education in a Virtual World, Harvard University Extension School, Retrieved February 9, 2007
  13. ^ Dorveaux, Xavier. "Apprendre une langue dans un monde virtuel", Le Monde, 2007-07-15. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
  14. ^ Business School to Use WebEx to Connect Classrooms Around the World
  15. ^ WebEx Education Platform
  16. ^ Kentucky Department of Education
  17. ^ Cisco Expands Collaboration Support
  18. ^ What do you do in a course? The Open University |http://www.open.ac.uk/new/course-activities.shtml |Accessed on 2008-02-18

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikibooks
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An Instructional Media Selection Guide for Distance Learning, an official publication of the United States Distance Learning Association (http://www.usdla.org). Contains definitions of distance learning, distance eduation, distributed learning, and e-learning, as well a Taxonomy of Instructional Media and a section on blended learning. Free download available at: http://www.usdla.org/html/resources/2._USDLA_Instructional_Media_Selection_Guide.pdf