Traditionally, studies on distance education used to emphasize its differences from the face-to-face classroom setting. These studies aimed to investigate whether distance education is a viable way of providing effective instruction. In their book entitled Distance Education: A Systems View, Michael Moore and Greg Kearsley contend that we no longer need to ask whether distance education courses are as effective as classroom courses. To make their argument, the authors cite numerous studies that compare "the achievement of learners (as measured by grades, test scores, retention, job performance) who are taught at a distance and those taught in face-to-face classes" (1996, p. 61). Pages after pages, they support their contention with the results of comparative studies.

These comparative effectiveness studies could be divided into four different categories in terms of the years in which the studies were conducted, the media through which the distance education courses were delivered, the grade levels at which the students were, and the institutions for which the courses were designed (Moore & Kearsley, 1996, pp. 59-77). The cited studies are by no means comprehensive, yet undoubtedly representative. Some cited studies were as early as 1968 and some, as recent as 1995. The media involved were correspondence, teleconferencing and computer-mediated communication. Students enrolled in different levels of courses that range from high school physiology to graduate school management of technology. The organizations providing these courses included educational, military and corporate institutions. Through careful analyses, Moore and Kearsley assert that "the usual finding in these comparison studies is that there are no significant differences between learning in the two different environments, regardless of the nature of the content, the educational level of the students, or the media involved" (p. 61-62).

Congruent to Moore and Kearsley's argument, more recent research has largely emphasized that distance education methods are as good as traditional education. Taking it one step further, Melody Thompson (1996) argues in her study that the convenience, flexibility, and interactivity of newer communications technologies give rise to the claim that distance education is superior for some purposes and situations, such as increasing access to graduate education for adults (pp. 29-34).

As the above research has shown, there is no longer need to assess whether distance education courses are as effective as classroom courses. New areas for promising research lie in media effectiveness related to student characteristics, effective course design, and teaching strategies. Julia Coutts (1996), in her Master's thesis, explores the use and effects of distance education technology on teaching and learning. This research study was conducted in small rural high schools with focuses on two issues:

    (1) students' approach to learning and their views about learning in the receiving classroom of a distance education project using compressed video technology and
    (2) the teacher's approach to teaching and his/her views about teaching in the sending classroom of such a project.

With these two issues in mind, Coutts collected data through observations and interviews in September and October, 1993 in the Law 30 class of two K-12 schools in the Wheatbelt School Division (Saskatchewan, Canada).

Findings from the study focus on the underlying themes of technology, interpersonal interaction, and the additional demands made by the technology on the teacher and students. The results of this study demonstrate the necessity of careful pre-planning and ongoing support of teachers and students for the duration of distance education classes. This study would make a good addition to research on media effectiveness which Moore and Kearsley address in one chapter of their book; as the authors remark, "what makes any course good or poor is a consequence of how well it is designed, delivered, and conducted, not whether the students are face-to-face or at a distance (1996, p.65).

Thompson, M. M. (1996). Distance delivery of graduate-level teacher education: Beyond parity claims. Journal of continuing education, 44 (3), 29-34.

Online

Coutts, J. (1996). The effects of distance education technology on teaching and learning. ERIC Document_NO- ED406964. http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/fastweb?getdoc+ericdb+ericdb+262484+4+wAAA+%28
effectiveness%29%26%3A%26AND%26%28distance%26education%29%26%3A%26AND
%26%28%29%26%3A(July 10, 1998)