“Today, nontraditional bachelor and master’s distance learning programs are offered by more than 150 accredited academic institutions in this country. According to the United States Distance Learning Association, an organization committed to promoting and developing distance learning, there were no significant differences in the effectiveness between distance learning and the traditional learning techniques” (p.i). This book provides general background for educators who are interested in distance education or are considering involvement in it. Each of the 16 chapters is a self-contained paper on some aspect of distance learning by a different author or group of authors.
The first four papers discuss theoretical foundations of distance learning. Chapter 1 introduces the educational theory of constructivism and asks educators to acknowledge it as the appropriate paradigm for distance learning. Chapter 2 explains how the University of Phoenix and others enhance communication when carrying out distance education programs. Chapter 3 attempts to assess the advantages and disadvantages of Internet-based teaching. Chapter 4 discusses the importance of strategic planning, change management, and project management when setting up corporate distance training.
The next seven papers discuss conceptual aspects of distance learning. Chapter 5 looks at alternative strategies for using distance learning technology at the college level. Chapter 6 discusses distance learning alliances and their effects on the missions of individual schools. Chapter 7 describes the strengths of the distributed learning program provided by the Department of Defense Education Activity to schools serving families of military personnel. Chapter 8 presents considerations for potential course developers and potential students. Chapter 9 discusses applying Total Quality Management concepts to distance learning. Chapter 10 correlates the use of digital video in education with established learning models. Chapter 11 proposes critical dimensions to consider when creating distance education classes.
The last five chapters discuss practical implementations of distance learning. Chapter 12 discusses the Pepperdine University educational technology doctoral program. Chapter 13 discusses the establishment of technology-empowered children’s clubs and a Web site for children in Egypt. Chapter 14 presents Web-based instruction systems from a systems perspective; it includes a table of ten institutions offering online courses and degrees, the systems they use, and brief descriptions of their programs. Chapter 15 describes the efforts of St. Joseph’s University to offer “Case Studies in Information Resource Management” using video conferencing. Chapter 16 discusses the planned introduction of Web-based training for the network marketing industry.
This book will be most useful for newcomers to distance education. Because each chapter is a short, self-contained paper with its own introduction, some historical information and general information about distance learning is repeated. Much will be familiar to people already deeply involved in distance education. However, the extensive list of references at the end of each paper will encourage everyone seriously interested in distance education to dig deeper.
Introductory and concluding chapters that summarized the papers and tied them together would have strengthened this book. The inclusion of a few papers that were less favorably inclined toward distance learning would also have strengthened it. Such summarizing and expanding are implicitly left as exercises for the reader.
