In their book Distance Education: A Systems View, Moore and Kearsley (1996) discuss some of the ways in which classroom and distance learning environments differ. They go on to suggest some of the ways in which "traditional" teaching practices should be modified or altered to accommodate those differences. In addition, they clarify differences between a teacher and a tutor in the context of a distance education program and assert that in some cases, tutors are more appropriate because of "little or no real-time interaction between the student and an instructor" (1996 p. 146). One of the the questions that emerges out of their inquiry, is one of the effectiveness of teachers over tutors.

This question however, can be approached in a variety of ways and can generate several answers depending on the type of effectiveness that is trying to be determined. If we return to Moore and Kearsley's earlier arguments about "economies of scale" (1996, p. 7) the answer to the question of effectiveness is fairly simple to answer. Given most of the distance education formats discussed thus far by Moore and Kearsley, it is clear that in terms of dollars, tutors are more effective.

Although a generalization, it might be a fair estimate that the salary for a tutor over an instructor is approximately half. This would allow an distance education organization to double not only their manpower for teaching a given course, but their revenue as well since the potential enrollment, or number of students participating, can be doubled as well. While cost effectiveness may be important in distance education programs, the likelihood is that cost is not always the primary determinant in the selection of teacher over tutor.

The type of effectiveness which Moore and Kearsley seem to addressing in their discussion is the effectiveness of a given course; that is, will a student learn as much from an instructor as they will from a tutor. Again, answering the question is problematic because of the shifting realities of what a teacher "is." The authors acknowledge these shifting realities as they quote Hackman and Walker who wrote that:

Instructors who employed strategies for enhancing social presence such as encouraging involvement, offering individual feedback, and promoting interpersonal relationships were viewed more favorably (in Moore & Kearsley, 1996 p.133).

The role of the instructor than, shifts from authority to participant.

Whether the instructor maintains a firm role as authority, or assumes the role of participant or co-learner, Moore and Kearsley identify three types of interaction commonly associated with distance education; learner-content, learner-instructor and learner-learner. Certainly, these three modes of interaction are not limited to distance education classes, in fact one might say that they are standard fare for the traditional classroom. What does differ however, is the mode thorough which they are mediated; while in a traditional classroom a learner-content interaction may be explicitly directed by the instructor, i.e. "read page 16 now," in a distance learning environment, the instructor must rely on the students initiative not only to comply with the directive, but to take the basic step of securing the text and other materials.

Further, in a distance learning environment, the directive which itself is a type of learner-instructor interaction, may not be synchronous and immediate but may manifest itself as a letter, email message or posting on a WWW page. Learner-instructor interaction not only encompasses the directives of content interaction, but should also guide the students application of those learner-content interactions (Moore & Kearsley, P. 130) and can generate suggestions for information sharing or learner-learner interactions between students.

While learner-learner interactions may not be applicable in all distance education contexts, a correspondence course for example, in the situations where they can be used, they hold enormous potential. Learner-learner interactions are perhaps the most important of the three interaction types, and their potential for assisting in the creation of knowledge becomes clearer when the literature dealing with collaborative learning is reviewed. An existent shortcoming in the current literature however, is that the process and effect of collaborative learning in adult distance learning environments. More specifically, the ways in which the interaction process plays out in more effective or "richer" (e.g. VR environments) computer mediated environments has not yet been well researched.

While Moore and Kearsley identify three types of interaction within a distance learning course, they minimize the significance of those interactions by conceptualizing them as discreet functions or behaviors. If these interactions are to realize their true values, one must posit a triadic model of distance learner interaction in which there is a concurrent interplay of these interactions. The EMC 598 Distance Education class, provides an example that would fit well within that triadic model.

While a complete analysis of all these interactions are beyond the scope of this paper a brief summary can be offered. The course typically begins with instructor-learner interaction as a learner-content interaction is directed. The "output" of the learner-content interaction manifests itself as the answer to a focus question and a learner generated discussion question. Learner-learner interactions begin as class members begin to reply to the discussion question. It's at this stage, that the class begins to take on a "life" of it own, and the stage at which the role of the instructor shifts from ultimate authority to co-learner.

As subsequent replies are posted to the discussion question, continuing learner-learner interactions begin to dissolve the informational boundaries that were initially established by the instructor. In other words, as more replies are made, learners are called upon to conduct additional learner-content interactions, now using content that was initially external to the of the course. As more learner-learner interactions take place, additional references, URLs and other materials are continually provided.

As the instructor fulfils their role by evaluating the learners, they review the material and references submitted. In doing this, the instructor may experience learner-learner interactions as they either come across material that they have not seen before, or use another learners comments to recontextualize or expand their understanding of a given topic. An example of this might be Dr. McIsaac's remark that "The link to technorealism convinced me I'm not one"(McIsaac, 1998) in response to a URL provided by a student (Salik, 1998).

This response clearly demonstrates that acting on a external source of content (learner-content), Dr. McIsaac clarified her position regarding certain types of technology and their uses. Unfortunately however, this type of dynamic triad is not always typical or necessary. While one might debate the value of quasi-professional education and its role as/in distance learning, such education does exist and some, such as the Interactive Course series by Waite Press is now recognized by accredited institutions.

Students begin by purchasing a copy of the book at any bookstore and then register for the class through the publishers WWW site. The course work is primarily conducted locally, on the students home computer and the WWW site provides a series of forced choice assessments which are automatically graded. Students do however, have the opportunity to participate in learner-learner interactions through the use of synchronous and asynchronous methods. Instructor-learner interactions do take place at a somewhat minimal level as learners post questions to a WWW page where they are read and answered by "mentors."

Upon satisfactory completion of all assessments, the student can submit an administrative fee and receive continuing education credit certified by Marquette University. While this may not be a comprehensive approach to distance education, it does provide a certain level of training for those seeking to improve their work related computing skills. By comparing the approach of the Waite Press course to that of EMC 598, it becomes clear that the effectiveness of teaching over tutoring in any given course, cannot be judged using a fixed or rigid formula.

Effectiveness is contingent on a variety of variables within any given course and may include instructor skill, student participation, course context and the importance, value or utility of the information being presented. In addition, while it may be possible to quantify effectiveness by utilizing measures such as course evaluations at the end of a class, the qualitative or way in which a student "feels" that effectiveness may differ.

References

Danesh, A. (1997). Javascript: Interactive Course. Corte Madera, CA: Waite Press.

McIssac, M. (1998, July 9). Re(4): Discussion Question, [First Class Message]. Marina McIsaac [1998, July 18].

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance Education: A Systems View. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Salik, S. (1998, July 8, 1998). Re(3): Discussion Question, [First Class Message]. Steve Salik [1998, July 18].

Waite Press. (1998) ezone Interactive Web Courses. Retrieved from the WWW. Http://www.waite.com/ezone.