Showing papers in "Distance Education in 1999"
TL;DR: The paper supports the notion that online courses are best when they arc engineered to take advantage of the learning opportunities afforded by the online technologies, rather than being used as supplements to conventional teaching programs.
Abstract: This paper explores various strategies for creating engaging online learning environments. It describes a framework which identifies and distinguishes between the critical elements needed in the design of online learning: the content of the course, the learning activities and the learning supports. It demonstrates through practical examples how each of these elements can be manipulated in deliberate ways to influence learning processes and outcomes. The paper supports the notion that online courses are best when they arc engineered to take advantage of the learning opportunities afforded by the online technologies, rather than being used as supplements to conventional teaching programs.
264 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the complexities of student attrition in a distance education course were investigated and deep-seated factors involved in the attrition process were disclosed as the particular qualitative research process that was employed mapped student responses through the course of interviews.
Abstract: This paper reports on an investigation into the complexities of student attrition in a distance education course. Deep‐seated factors involved in the attrition process are disclosed as the particular qualitative research process that was employed mapped student responses through the course of interviews. These tabulations reveal interesting patterns of change as students volunteer explanations for their decisions.
185 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared first year undergraduate Chinese students studying on campus in Australia and from Confucian cultural heritage societies with first year Australian undergraduates studying on-campus in Australia, and found that Chinese students were more likely to identify with Confucians than Australian students.
Abstract: First year undergraduate Business and Computing Chinese students studying on‐campus in Australia and from Confucian cultural heritage societies were compared with first year Australian undergraduat...
110 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined which factors make a difference in distance learners' achievements and also their continuous enrolment status over one year in Korea National Open University and found that while learners' job load had no directly significant effect on grade point average (GPA), it had a significant indirect effect on GPA via the study time variable.
Abstract: This study examines which factors make a difference in distance learners’ achievements and also their continuous enrolment status over one year in Korea National Open University. A path analysis revealed that while learners’ job load had no directly significant effect on grade‐point average (GPA), it had a significant indirect effect on GPA via the study time variable. In addition to study time, social integration and extra face‐to‐face activities were found to be significant variables acting on their GPA. In predicting subsequent enrolment, face‐to‐face activities were the most influential up to a year later. The results of this study challenges the prevalent view that GPA has something to do with drop‐out, suggesting that learner progress toward achievement and drop‐out may be understood better when viewed separately, especially in the case of long‐term distance learning.
69 citations
TL;DR: This paper articulate a model for designing learning environments that engage learners in solving problems and can be delivered to learners at a distance via the World Wide Web and applies this model to an environment on aggregate planning in an operations management course.
Abstract: In this paper, we articulate a model for designing learning environments that engage learners in solving problems and can be delivered to learners at a distance via the World Wide Web. These environments include a problem (including representation, context, and manipulation spaces), related cases, information resources, cognitive tools, and collaborative support. We apply this model to an environment on aggregate planning in an operations management course. Students represent the problem, collect resources and experiences, and solve the problem using a spreadsheet, which can be machine scored. Field trials showed that students were challenged, and they liked being able to see the results of their manipulations instantly.
55 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that, at least in the Australian context, it is difficult to justify the shift to online delivery in terms of cost saving alone, and needs to be justified in strategic terms.
Abstract: The costs of shifting from print‐based to online delivery arc examined in relation to the three principal rationales that are commonly advanced to justify such a shift: saving costs, improving quality, and increasing access. The projected costs of converting an existing print‐based subject to online delivery arc analysed. Based on this analysis, it is argued that, at least in the Australian context, it is difficult to justify the shift to online delivery in terms of cost saving alone. Rather, such a shift needs to be justified in strategic terms. A possible strategic rationale for shifting to online delivery is articulated.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of students' study preferences and habits was conducted, where a total of 712 students of the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) were sampled from high achievers and low achievers.
Abstract: A total of 712 students of the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) – sampled from high achievers and low achievers, as defined by their performances in their overall course scores in four consecutive semesters — participated in the study. An instrument, the Survey of Students’ Study Preferences and Habits, developed and validated for the study was also used to collect data from the students who participated. The data collected through this instrument were complemented with in‐depth telephone interviews using a sub‐set of 32 from the main study sample. The analysis of the data, using both qualitative and quantitative methods which included descriptive and inferential statistics, showed very interesting patterns of differences in locus of control and the use of mctacognitivc strategics by low achievers and high achievers. For instance, high achievers rated themselves significantly higher than low achievers (p <. 01) in a number of scales such as confidence with studies, ability to cope well with studying in...
35 citations
TL;DR: Problem‐based learning modified for distance education (PBDiL = Problem‐Based Distance Learning) has been used for teaching energy issues at Uppsala University, Sweden and shows the importance of social contact.
Abstract: Problem‐based learning (PBL) modified for distance education (PBDiL = Problem‐Based Distance Learning) has been used for teaching energy issues at Uppsala University, Sweden Collaborative learning
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey data that measured business educators' attitudes toward distance education at both the baccalaureate and masters levels of instruction was used to investigate the relationship between the respondents' attitudes and other factors relevant to their receptivity and support of distance education.
Abstract: Educators’ attitudes towards distance education are known to be influenced by many factors. This study incorporated survey data that measured business educators’ attitudes toward distance education at both the baccalaureate and masters levels of instruction. Two simultaneous equations models were developed that described the relationship between the respondents’ attitudes and other factors relevant to their receptivity and support of distance education. Key influential factors were found to be the experience of the respondent and their perception of difficulties with and appropriateness of distance education. Key differences between the models were based on the teaching role and age of the respondent.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a case study of the first open and distance learning for non-formal education in Mongolia, a developing country undergoing rapid transition in the 1990s from a command to a market economy and from communism to a multi-party democracy.
Abstract: The use of open and distance learning for non‐formal education is much less canvassed in the literature than for formal education. This paper provides a case study, grounded in practice, of the first open and distance learning for non‐formal education in Mongolia, a developing country undergoing rapid transition in the 1990s from a command to a market economy and from communism to a multi‐party democracy. The paper outlines the project and its context, explains the rationale for it, and analyses its achievements, limitations and lessons. It also identifies the additional problems for Open and Distance Education (ODE) in a context of rapid economic transition.
20 citations
TL;DR: This paper reports on work-in-progress on a European-funded project, SHARP (SHAreable Representations of Practice), which explores ways in which AMC may enable knowledge that is tacit and embedded in working practices to be rendered into shareable forms for collaborative professional learning.
Abstract: Asynchronous multimedia conferencing (AMC) can be seen as a multimedia extension of text-based computer conferencing, which is a form of group-based distance learning technology now in routine use in many places. In contrast, AMC is quite novel and raises new issues concerning usability, appropriate pedagogical methods and potential educational benefit. In this paper we report on some exploratory work whose context is set by the goal of using AMC to support continuing professional development among geographically dispersed groups of practitioners. In particular it explores ways in which AMC may enable knowledge that is tacit and embedded in working practices to be rendered into shareable forms for collaborative professional learning. The paper reports on work-in-progress on a European-funded project, SHARP (SHAreable Representations of Practice). It describes some initial requirements-oriented studies and locates this activity within the broader landscape of AMC environments used for continuing professional development. In particular it discusses issues concerned with capturing representations of practice. Using digitised videoclips to create representations of practice is a relatively unexplored approach for professional learning and this approach has surfaced issues about what is needed in order to render a practitioner's video representation into a communicable form. The paper offers a typology within which different kinds of videoclip, and different kinds of representational purposes, can be located. It sketches an AMC interchange in terms of the building up of a web of multimedia objects. Finally it offers a set of descriptors for such multimedia objects that can be useful in classifying and indexing entries in an educational AMC.
TL;DR: The roles and the process that characterise the design of online education courses are focused on, especially when the online tutors are not real experts in the course content domain and above all when the experts in that content are unable or unwilling to be involved online.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to focus on the roles and the process that characterise the design of online education courses, especially when the online tutors are not real experts in the course content domain and above all when the experts in that content are unable or unwilling to be involved online. In these cases, the tutors have to act as a sort of bridge between the expertise and the single attendee. This problem has been highlighted in an Italian pilot project called Polaris, which studied the use of ICT in in‐service teacher training. On the basis of that experience, this paper seeks to draw some simple guidelines for designers of online courses.
TL;DR: The role of library support for distance learning activities at the University of Surrey is considered, with specific reference to the MA in Linguistics (TESOL) and the MSc in English Language Teaching Management.
Abstract: This paper considers the role of library support for distance learning activities at the University of Surrey, with specific reference to the MA in Linguistics (TESOL) and the MSc in English Language Teaching Management. These courses represent a major challenge to support services for distance learners, as the students have no face-to-facc contact with staff, and most of them live and work overseas. Firstly the courses are described as operating along a number of clines that define a distance learning operation, and the issue of resource support is considered. We then turn to the role of the library in supporting distance learning students, and consider the ways in which the role of the library in distance learning programs is expanding and changing to meet the challenges of the future. The specific example of the Distance Learners' Information Service (DiLIS) of the George Edwards Library (GEL) is presented as an example of good practice.
TL;DR: The principal challenges facing the OLDAA in entering its second quarter century are identified and ways in which these challenges might be addressed are proposed.
Abstract: The Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA) has reached 25 years of age. This article traces the development of the Association over that period. It records the major changes that have taken place in the range and types of activities of the Association and explains the circumstances that led to those changes. It concludes by attempting to identify the principal challenges facing the Association in entering its second quarter century and proposes ways in which these challenges might be addressed.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: There is no ‘average’ student and no single program will satisfy all the needs of the student population, so the committee must choose one or more segments based on the program preferences of the students and the resources required to provide the programs.
Abstract: Distance education planners face two basic, yet difficult decisions: which students should be targeted and which programs should be offered? This paper reports the process and results of the planning committee of a consortium of engineering schools in the United States that was tasked with these very decisions. A market research study measured the program preferences of potential students. Three program characteristics (course type, delivery method, and time availability) were examined. The results show there is no ‘average’ student and no single program will satisfy all the needs of the student population. Rather, the committee must choose one or more segments based on the program preferences of the students and the resources required to provide the programs.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This study aimed to determine whether NSW prison officers who attempt tertiary education are confronted with any unique cultural and contextual impediments during their studies and, if so, the effects of these impediments and three major thematic strands emerged from the data.
Abstract: This study aimed to determine whether NSW prison officers who attempt tertiary education are confronted with any unique cultural and contextual impediments during their studies and, if so, the effects of these impediments. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out, face‐to‐facc with 16 prison officers. The study also contrasts the experiences of commissioned and non‐commissioned correctional officers. Three major thematic strands emerged from the data. The first clear theme involves the general barriers to learning encountered by prison officers engaged in tertiary studies. These barriers include time constraints and time management, family commitments and access to support mechanisms. The second major theme concerns the influence on the education process of the powerful occupational culture that has developed in the prison workplace. The third theme highlights the difficulties the occupation of prison officer presents for those individuals pursuing tertiary studies in the distance education mode. Geogr...