This chapter emphasizes that we no longer need to ask whether distance
education courses are as effective as classroom courses.
Distance Education faces a challenge of magnitude throughout the world. It is the challenge of demonstrating that its quality and availability of delivery is not to be questioned. In order to show the effectiveness of Distance Education it is necessary to provide empirical evidence of the research carried out on this field. The areas covered by investigation include several factors that directly influence the effectiveness of Distance Education and which associate to procure learning. According to Moore and Kearsley, such factors relate to the effectiveness of technologies, media, course design, teaching strategies, as well as cost. Most of the he research that takes into consideration these factors show as a result, that it is no longer necessary to ask whether distance education courses are as effective as classroom courses; its identity is evident in productiveness and in learners achievements.
In order to prove the effectiveness of Distance Education as regards the attitudes and characteristics of students towards technologies, several studies have been accomplished that show that the success in students achievements is closely related to the positive attitude towards the different technologies involved according to a variety of students' characteristics. In a study conducted by John A. Baath, Distance students' learning empirical findings and theoretical deliberations, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v3n182/baath.htm, the author identifies the distance education learner, examines the approaches of various educational theorists to the satisfaction of learners' needs and relates these approaches particularly to the field of distance education.
Similarly, students' attitudes toward Distance Education is the focus of research by Frank M. Bernt and Alan C. Bugbee, Jr, Study practices and attitudes related to academic success in a distance learning programme, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v14n193/bernt.htm. Brent and Bugbee directed a survey of study practices and attitudes that was mailed to 300 adult students enrolled in distance-learning programmes at the American College. The sample consisted of three groups: high passers; low passers; and failers. A 50-item questionnaire focused on study practices and attitudes in six areas: active information processing, diligence, test-taking strategies, time management, concentration, and positive attitudes. A series of discriminant analyses (employing the six scales as the predictor set) indicated that high and low passers scored significantly higher than failers on Test Strategies, Time Management, Concentration, and Positive Attitude scales, with test Strategies being the single most powerful predictor. In addition, low passers were differentiated from the other two groups on a second discriminant function, suggesting that factors underlying academic achievement in distance learning settings may not be unidimensional.
Another important factor affecting the effectiveness of Distance Education deals with the success of course design as regards the selection of media to deliver the instruction when integrated into the design of appropriate teaching strategies. Furthermore, a relevant assessment of the cost effectiveness associated to these factors would provide a encompassing framework of analysis to determine the success of instruction in this field. A vast area of research support the validity of course design. In the study by Stephen Brown and Michael Nathenson, Designing instructional materials: guesswork or facts?, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v2n181/brown.htm, the authors report a systematic study of the mathematical skills and learning capabilities of new students immediately prior to entry into T100 and D101, the Open University Foundation Courses in Technology and Social Sciences respectively. The aim of the study was to provide predictive information about potential student entry skills for the course team preparing T101, the new Technology Foundation Course. The report describes the method used in the study and explains how it forms part of an overall strategy for ensuring that the design of the instructional material to be used in T101 is based on the known learning capabilities and requirements of its likely students. Research on media selection have yielded results on the different approaches undertaken when implementing a distance learning program. Greville Rumble, author of the paper: Evaluating autonomous multi-media distance learning systems; a practical approach, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v2n181/rumble.htm, defines an approach towards the design of an evaluation program for autonomous multi-media distance learning systems. A distinction is made between the macro-evaluation of an institution's overall performance, which entails the evaluation of the output of the system in relation to its major policy objectives, and the evaluation of specific operations with a view to identifying weaknesses and improving performance. The approach taken in the paper opens up an area of interest to decision-makers, planners, administrators and evaluators working in distance learning systems.
According to Joan Robson, The effectiveness of teleconferencing in fostering interaction in distance education, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v17n296/robson.htm, choosing the appropriate technology for distance learning, highlights the need to address pedagogical issues to maximize interaction within this environment. Based on recent investigation, Robson indicates that using teleconferencing in teaching mathematics by distance education, gives the students access to a flexible educational medium. Results confirm that this technology can support interaction between teacher and students similar to that in a conventional school. The investigation concludes that using teleconferencing in teaching mathematics by distance education gives the students access to education that, although different from that available in a traditional classroom, forms part of an effective teaching and learning environment.
The claim in organizing human and capital resources in ways that would bring about good results at a lower cost is, according to Moore and Kearsley, an issue in question by administrators in Distance Education. Empirical evidence supporting this view is presented by Greville Rumble in the study: The cost analysis of learning at a distance: Venezuela's Universidad Nacional Abierta, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v3n182/rumble.htm. This paper examines the cost structure and future system costs of the distance teaching Universidad Nacional Abierta, Venezuela, and, through comparisons with other distance teaching universities, seeks to draw some initial and general conclusions concerning the cost implications of media choice, the size of an institution's academic program, and the number of students in the system. It also seeks to illustrate the general utility of cost analysis and projection as a service to those who are required to take decisions as to the future development of an institution.
Although costs and benefits of distance education have been evaluated, there are few examples where a cost-benefit analysis has been applied to a variety of different educational technologies. The research carried out by Judith Cukier: Cost-benefit analysis of telelearning: Developing a methodology framework, http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v18n197/cukier.htm, summarizes some of the cost-benefit methodologies expressed in the academic literature. The examples presented here have been categorized into four main groups, representing the different approaches to cost-benefit analysis for technology and distance education: values, mathematical models, comparative studies, and return of investment. Finally, an integrated methodology useful in the evaluation of educational technologies is presented.
In conclusion, new technology can help cut costs and improve quality, equity and participation in distance education, but the choice of technology, medium and carrier is application specific (Lange, 1986: http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/DECJourn/v7n186/lange.htm). Different goals, methods and philosophies dictate different systems and different cost-benefit ratios. If Distance Education is to take advantage of the new technologies, and pursue the success of students achievements at the same level of a regular classroom, it should look at their social, economic and pedagogic implications, and suggests some specific actions.