LT 741
Submitted by Sandy
Nightingale
Question 1: Is Distance Education a Discipline?
In attempting to answer this question, one first must
understand what exactly is meant by a “discipline.” Therefore, I looked up the definition of the word “discipline” in
Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1971). It said that the word “discipline” is
derived from the Latin word disciplina which means teaching,
learning. Definition number one stated
simply, “instruction,” while definitions two and three also mentioned the words
“teaching, learning, molding, and training”.
This leads me to believe that there is indeed a discipline of distance
education. As I read further
definitions, definition 5c: self-control, also caught my attention. Anyone that has taken a distance education
class, must realize that a certain degree of self-control and self-discipline
is necessary to be successful in completing the course. The article
“A Discipline of Distance Education” by Borje Holmberg supports the
previous statement. The article
reported on an interview study by Gdttert (1983) of more than 500
I also agree with the conclusion in the article, “the
investigations that can be foreseen, and the theoretical attempts referred to
evidently bear witness to the tangible substance of the discipline of distance
education.”
Question 2: Describe the historical development of
distance education, both in the
Exactly when distance learning began is very difficult to
pinpoint. In the book Distance
Learning: Making Connections Across Virtual Space and Time by Anthony G.
Picciano, the epistles of Paul were described as a form of religious
correspondence education. Letters
written on papyrus by scribes to explain religious dogma were also mentioned as
a form of correspondence education.
Mail and correspondence courses in the early 1700’s supplemented by
public lectures existed in Colonial
In the 1920’s it was estimated that at least 176 radio
stations were established at educational institutions for the purpose of
delivering distance learning. Most of
these were replaced as television and video technologies became popular. PBS continues to be the major national
educational television broadcasting service involved with several distance
learning projects. Cable, satellite
communications, and fiber optics entered the picture in the 1970’s and
1980’s. The major development in the
1990’s was digital technology via the Internet and other computer
networks. Using the World Wide Web,
text-based e-mail, and group software, ALN’s look to be the future of distance
learning delivery systems.
In the
Today, distance education is available in most countries of
the word and every state in the
Question 3: Describe at least 5 approaches to distance
education that have been or are being used.
The use of the Internet for distance education resulted
in many advantages for both the student and the teacher.
Interactive
Television as a Distance Education delivery system involves two-way
communication between an originating classroom and remote classroom sites. These systems provide immediate feedback and
participation in interactive instructional processes. Video and audio signals are transmitted to and from the
originating and remote sites. Learners
from every site can see and interact with the instructor during classroom
meetings and instructional presentations.
According to Moore and McLaughlin (1992) courses offered by such a
system at the
Interactive Television offers
these advantages to aid in the learning process for the teacher and the
student.
·
Visual imagery
·
Motion
·
Motivation/Interest
·
Persuasion
·
Illustration of major points
·
Summarization of key concepts
·
Presents otherwise unavailable experts or resources
·
Provides a means to bring master teachers, upper
level courses, and graduate level courses to smaller colleges
·
Provides enrichment and advanced offerings to
students
·
Students and teacher can see each other at all sites
Computer applications for distance education fall into
four broad categories:
1. Computer
Assisted Instruction – uses the computer as a self-contained teaching machine
to present lessons;
2. Computer
Managed Instruction – uses the computer’s branching, storage, and retrieval
capabilities to organize instruction and track student records and progress;
3. Computer
Mediated Communication – describes computer applications that facilitate
communication. Examples include e-mail,
computer conferencing, and electronic bulletin boards;
4. Computer-based
Multimedia – the goal is to integrate various voice, video, and computer
technologies into a single, easily accessible delivery system.
The advantages of the above computer uses in distance
education help to meet the needs of both the student and the teacher.
Print is the foundation of distance education and the
basis from which all other delivery systems have evolved. The first distance-delivered courses were
offered by correspondence study, with print materials sent and returned to
students by mail.
The following advantages benefit
both the student and the teacher.
Videocassettes grew in popularity in the
Question 4: Explain Distance Education as a system and
identify general components of most DE systems. Describe how your school or organization could create a DE
system. Remember this goes beyond
selecting technology and should include systems components required to make the
DE system effective in your context.
Complete this by designing the framework for a system for your school or
context.
Distance learning has an extensive history involving many
technologies, and it means different things to different people. Because of this, the systems theory is
established as the basic framework for studying and planning for distance
learning. A systems approach is very
helpful to an understanding of distance education as a field of study and is
necessary for its success. A distance
education system should include the components of content, design,
communications, interaction, learner environment, and management. There is a subsystem in every distance
education system that deals with course design, one that includes many
activities working together so that a course is completed on time, with
quality, and at acceptable cost. The
subsystem links to other subsystems to form the total system. The systems model helps us to distinguish
good distance education from bad.
Following the systems model, each component process may be developed
somewhat independently, but fully integrated with the development and operation
of all other components. The basic
systems concepts of “input, process, output” and their relationships are
essential to program development. All
“inputs” affect in some way the “outputs”.
Some examples of inputs would be
Some outputs include
My school would benefit greatly from a Distance Education
System. Because we are a small school
with a small staff, we already do some Distance Education. There are several high school students that
have benefited from enrichment courses, high-level subject matter courses, and
undergraduate courses through the Vtel system and through Internet based
instruction. We also have several
students that are bused to a nearby school for classes that we don’t
offer. They, in turn, bus students to
our school for a class that they don’t offer.
I believe that it would be more cost effective to develop a system in
which the teacher for a particular class, as in our case, a Spanish class,
would teach at one school in the distance learning lab through the Vtel system
to the students at the other school.
He/she would alternate days at each school in order to spend time with
each student in his/her class for individual help. Rather than spend money on a bus and driver every day, the
teacher could drive the school vehicle every other day. The following components of a Distance
Education System would be involved in this plan.
This same framework could also work for
other classes, such as upper level math classes, but probably would not work
for Science classes requiring labs or for the Cisco training that we presently
offer at our school.
Holmberg, B. (1986). A Discipline of Distance Education. CADE: Journal of Distance Education. http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol1.1/holmberg.html
Moore, Michael G.; Kearlsley,
Greg. Distance Education: A Systems View. Wadsworth Publishing Company 1996.
Picciano, Anthony G. Distance
Learning: Making Connections Across Virtual Space and Time. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
2001.