Current Research in Distance Education
McIsaac and
Gunawardena (1996) define distant education as "structured learning
in which the student and instructor are separated by time and place" (p.
1). Distance education has become a part of most colleges and
universities. This paper discusses the trends of current research
(1994-1999) in the area of distance education. Searches using ERIC, ICDL, Deosnews, The Online Chronicle of
Distance Education and Communication, New Directions in Distance
Learning (NDDL), Standing
Committee on Educational Technology (SEEDS), Distance Learning Resource
Network (DLRN), Asynchronous Learning
Networks (ALN), Distance Education
Clearinghouse, and International Centre
for Distance Learning On-line Information Service revealed that the
current topics for research in distance education are cooperation and
collaboration, interaction, quality and accreditation, new technology,
and copyright issues.
Cooperation and Collaboration
Recently, much of the research in distance education has focussed on cooperative and collaborative teaching and learning. Gatliff and Wendel (1998) discuss collaboration in terms of the teachers working together rather than students working together. The researchers found that if the faculty works together in distance education, the quality of teaching, learning, and research will improve. Harrison and Gimbel (1998) also discuss the benefits of collaboration among teachers. Through collaboration, teachers from Gonzaga University and St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute were able to provide instruction through a software package called to Fast ForWord to students who, mainly because of cost, would not normally have access.
Interaction
Another prevalent topic for research conducted in this field is interaction. Providing opportunities for interaction, primarily between the instructor and students, in a distance education situation is essential for the success of the student. Other topics include the benefits of interaction, the quantity of interactions, and student’s perceptions of interaction.
Irani (1998) found that as interaction increased students’ satisfaction and outcome in the course improved. Improvement in interaction skills can compensate for the social interaction that is lost in the translation from face-to-face to distance instruction. Bull, Kimball, and Stansberry (1998) found that deeper learning would occur if learners interact with each other than if they do not. Jakupcak and Fishbaugh (1998) suggest that one-third to one-half of class time should be set aside for interaction.
How do you foster interaction in a distance education course and what are the most effective forms of interaction? In comparing interpersonal interactions in a distance course to face-to-face interpersonal interactions, McDonald and Gibson (1998) found that the issues are similar. Bull, Kimball, and Stansberry (1998) discuss opportunities to increase interaction and collaboration that are unique to computer mediated learning. These opportunities for fostering interaction include coaching, peer teaching, and alternative materials. For encouraging teacher-student interaction, Hassenplug and Harnish (1998) suggest that teachers call on students at remote sites by name and include students from both remote and local sites when possible.
Quality and Accreditation
With the increasing number of institutions offering online degree programs and the growing enrollment in these programs, much of the current research is focused on accreditation and quality of degrees that are obtained entirely through distance education (Hall, 1998; Lezberg, 1998). Also of concern is other’s perceived quality of an online education (Perdue & Valentine, 1998). The public will be more likely to accept a program that is accredited. The Commission for Higher Education has set a policy and guidelines for degree programs offered through distance education (Commission for Higher Education, 1988). There is even a distance education certificate that is offered online through State University of West Georgia (1998).
The quality and effectiveness of distance education has always been of concern. Research it turning away from comparing distance education to traditional education. More important, is the design and delivery of instruction. Current research suggests that distance education instructors must be trained to teach at a distance. Instructors need to alter their teaching techniques when converting a course taught in a traditional classroom to one taught at a distance. There are many programs designed to provide teachers with direction on how to teach a course at a distance (MacFarland, 1998; State University of West Georgia, 1998). Hammon and Albiston (1998) discuss survival skills for students who are attending graduate school through distance education.
Jakupcak and Fishbaugh (1998) propose that the quality of instruction can be improved simply by teaching at a slower pace when teaching at a distance. Sullivan (1998) analyzed attitudes and perceptions of distant education students to gain an understanding of what would improve the quality of distance education. For example, in many cases preparation time for a distant education course is much more than that for a traditional classroom. The additional reflection and organization necessary for distance teaching, often improves the quality of teaching. Conversely, Guerrero and Miller (1998) suggest that the features of an effective instructor in face-to-face instruction are the same as those for distance education.
New Technology
Because the technology used in distance education is constantly changing, research will always be addressing these changes. The focus of research over the past year has been on using computer mediated communication (CMC) (Ibrahim & Franklin, 1994) and the web (McHenry & Sonwalkar, 1998) as the primary technologies in distance education. FirstClass (Schall, 1998) and videoconferencing (John Mitchell and Associates, 1997) have also generated much discussion :-) among researchers. Schall (1998) identified the advantages of using FirstClass in distance education. FirstClass provides distant students with asynchronous and synchronous learning environments. Students can interact with each other, submit assignments, and obtain feedback from the instructor. Videoconferencing puts the visual communication back into distance learning. Students can participate in real time visual and verbal interaction (John Mitchell and Associates, 1997).
Copyright Issues
There has always been confusion in the area of copyright law, and this confusion has only increased with the development of new technologies and distance education. The educational exceptions in copyright law differ depending on whether the teaching is conducted on a face-to-face basis or is transmitted to another room or site. The 1978 Copyright Act permitted any kind of copyrighted work to be used in conjunction with face-to-face teaching in a single classroom and as part of a non-profit educational institution. Under this law, a lecture that was simultaneously transmitted to another classroom could incorporate only literary and musical works and no other forms of visual or performance based work.
Due to the growth of distance learning, the rules against transmitting copyrighted works during classroom teaching have been somewhat liberalized. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 provide guidelines which allow a lecture containing any form of copyrighted work can be transmitted from Arizona State University to University of Arizona, although this is no longer face-to-face teaching and is not in the same room. The transmission can even include copyrighted works in digital form. The key to this expanded exception is that only enrolled students can view the lecture and they must do so on a concurrent basis with no delayed transmissions. The transmission cannot be a broadcast over the air, via cable, or via the Internet to an audience which might include unenrolled students (Sutton, 1998).
The five topics: cooperation and collaboration, interaction, quality and accreditation, new technology, and copyright issues were developed as the result of a search for the current trends (1994-1999) in research in the area of distance education. Although multiple articles are sited on these topics, they have not been sufficiently explored by the current research. There continues to be a number of unknowns in the broad and quickly changing area of distance education.
References
Bull, K. S., Kimball, S. L. & Stansberry, S. (1998). Developing interaction in computer mediated learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 417 902).
Commission for Higher Education (1998). Policy for delivering degree programs through distance education technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 416 933).
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, 17 U.S.C. §201-§205, §1201-§1204. (S. 2037, 1998).
Gatliff, B. & Wendel, F. C. (1998). Inter-institutional collaboration and team teaching. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(1), 26-37.
Guerrero, L. K. & Miller, T. A. (1998). Associations between nonverbal behaviors and initial impressions of instructor competence and course content in videotaped distance education courses. Communication Education, 47(1), 30-42.
Hall, J. W. (1998). Leadership in accreditation and networked learning. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(2), 5-15.
Hammon, D. L., Albiston, S. K. (1998). Completing graduate school long distance: Graduate survival skills series. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 417 690).
Harrison, S. & Gimbel, J. F. (1998). A collaborative computerized language training project between Gonzaga University and St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 417 910).
Hassenplug, C. A. & Harnish, D. (1998). The nature and importance of interaction in distance education credit classes at technical institutes. Community College Review, 22(6), 591-605.
Ibrahim, B. & Franklin, S. D. (1994). Advanced educational uses of the World-Wide Web, [Online]. Available: http://www.igd.fhg.de/www/www95/papers/89/paper.html [January, 1999].
Irani, T. (1998). Communication potential, information richness and attitude: A study of computer mediated communication in the ALN classroom. ALN Magazine, 2(1). Available: http://www.aln.org/alnweb/magazine/vol2_issue1/irani.htm [January, 1999].
Jakupcak, J. & Fishbaugh, M. S. (1998). A horse of a different color: Distance education; making it effective. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 417 894).
John Mitchell and Associates (1997). Educational videoconferencing: Critical success factors. Paper presented at Delivering Flexible Learning in Training and Education, Sydney. Available: http://www.jma.com.au/videpape.htm [January, 1999].
Lezberg, A. K. (1998). Quality control in distance education: The role of regional accreditation. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(2), 26-35.
MacFarland, T. W. (1998). Assessment of an Internet training program for distance education adjunct faculty. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 418 698).
McDonald, J. & Gibson, S. C. (1998). Interpersonal dynamics and group development in computer conferencing. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(1), 7-25.
McIsaac, M. S. & Gunawardena, C. N. (1996). Distance Education. In D. H. Jonassen, ed. Handbook of research for educational communications and technology: a project of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (pp. 403-437). New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. Available: http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/dechapter [January, 1999].
McHenry, B. A. & Sonwalkar, N. (1998). Tools and Technology, [Online]. Asynchronous Learning Networks. Available: http://www.aln.org/alnweb/magazine/vol2_issue2/tools_techno.htm [January, 1999].
Perdue, K. J. & Valentine, T. (1998). Beliefs of certified public accountants toward distance education: A statewide Georgia survey. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(3), 29-41.
Schall, D. G. (1998). FirstClass distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 12(1), 52-67.
State University of West Georgia (1998). Distance Education Center. Distance Education Certificate Program, [online]. Available: http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/certificate.html [January, 1999].
Sullivan, M. (1998). Analysis of student field dependent status, attitude toward the technology medium, and perception of interaction in a distance education setting: Implications for improving the quality of distance education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Ed 419 532).
Sutton, L. (1998). Technology and Copyright in Education: Entering the Digital Millennium. Unpublished manuscript.