Distance Education [1 ed.] 9781617610431, 9781617288586

Citation preview

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

DISTANCE EDUCATION

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD Additional books in this series can be found on Nova‘s website under the Series tab.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Additional E-books in this series can be found on Nova‘s website under the E-book tab.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

DISTANCE EDUCATION

CLAUDIA F. MACTEER

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EDITOR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2011 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com

NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers‘ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. Additional color graphics may be available in the e-book version of this book. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Distance education / editor, Claudia F. MacTeer. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61761-043-1 (eBook) 1. Distance education. 2. Distance education--Cross-cultural studies. I. MacTeer, Claudia F. LC5800.D558 2009 371.35--dc22

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. † New York

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

2010022729

CONTENTS Preface Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Chapter 3

i Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences in an Asynchronous Text-Based Environment Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun,Kah Wai Lee and Albert, T. M. Yeo WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform for Higher Education in Science and Technology for Low Speed Internet Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk and Arjulie John Berena Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures: Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology – Ecotec Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva FigueiraSampaio, Gilberto Arantes Carrijoand Elise Mendes

Chapter 4

Business Simulation in Business Education Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernández, Javier García, Isidro de Pablo, Ismael Sagredo and Begoña Santos

Chapter 5

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning Kuan-Chung Chen and Syh-Jong Jang

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation of the Multimodal Delivery of a Secondary Preservice Teacher Education Program- Perceptions of Preservice Teachers, Teachers and University Lecturers Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan, Peter Morris, Mary Nuttall and Caroline Smith Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary Education John Daniel

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

1

33

67

101

127

149

167

vi Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Contents A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning Şirin Karadeniz

185

Students' Metacognitive Knowledge about Distance Education in Virtual Communities and Multimedia Environments: A CrossCultural Study Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello and Yavuz Inal

199

Chapter 10

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

Chapter 11

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students Toward the Service Quality Offered by the Continuing Education Programme: A Case Study at Higher Education Institution in Malaysia Zainuddin Zakaria, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin,Moktar Awang and Norzaidi Mohd Daud

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives of People with Disabilities N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein, Shelley Kaplan, María Verónica Reina and Peter Blanck A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education in a Developing Country Princely Ifinedo and Nwachukwu Prince Ololube

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

213

229

241

281 293

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

PREFACE Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy, technology, and instructional system designs that aim to deliver education to students who are not physically "on site" in a traditional classroom or campus. This book presents current research in the field of distance learning including such topics as virtual classrooms in collaborative distance learning; metacognitive knowledge and distance education; using a Web-based e-Learning system (WebELS) to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in science and technology; and distance education initiatives for people with disabilities. Chapter 1 - Information on student online learning experiences from a student perspective is considered by many educational researchers as invaluable indicators of the effectiveness of online modules or programmes. Methods to gather the information are commonly based on either a phenomenological or an ethnographic approach. For research studies which focus on the healthcare professionals‘ interprofessional online learning experiences in an asynchronous text-based learning environment, Fairclough‘s version of critical discourse analysis (CDA) may offer researchers a more insightful account of the student online learning experiences. The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate how some pertinent information about students‘ interprofessional online learning experiences which are likely to be missed in existing approaches can be recovered via CDA. The main aim of this chapter is to exemplify the importance of research work which sets out to determine the effectiveness of interprofessional online learning from a student‘s perspective to start focusing on culture and social relations. While this chapter aims at providing researchers an alternative research approach which can establish the student learning experiences of interprofessional online learning from a student perspective, more crucially, it does so within an authentic learning environment. By using some data of an ongoing research project, the messages created by a group of healthcare professionals in their course of online interprofessional learning are picked apart to demonstrate how CDA can offer researchers further insights to the student online learning experiences than those offered by existing qualitative approaches. Chapter 2 - This paper proposes a general purpose content-centered e-Learning platform WebELS (Web-based e-Learning System) to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in science and technology especially for PhD education by means of advanced information and communication technology (ICT). According to our analysis on PhD education, e-Learning system features should be different from those of undergraduate education. Unlike in the undergraduate programs where automated examinations and test for

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ii

Claudia F. MacTeer

evaluating the quality of knowledge acquired by learners are typical features of e-Learning system, the activities in the PhD programs are characterized as self-learning, group meetings, teacher-student discussion, research presentation, etc. In addition, globalization of higher education in science and technology has become strongly important. It should be noted that eLearning platform should be available not only in advanced countries where high quality Internet is widely used but also should be available in developing countries such as in Asia and Africa where low-speed Internet is normally used. WebELS is therefore designed to provide high quality e-Learning environment for higher education in science and technology to meet these demands. Since WebELS is designed as a general purpose e-Learning platform, it is useful not only in education but also for business meeting in institutions and industry. WebELS consists of three major modules, i.e., WebELS Learning for on-demand selflearning, WebELS Meeting for Internet-based on-line meeting, and WebELS Lecture for Internet-based distance lecture, as an ―all-in-one‖ system. Using an easy-to-use powerful authoring function, non-IT users can create their own e-Learning contents on their personal computer as a series of slides from such as PPT, pdf, image and video data and is uploaded to the WebELS server for e-Learning. Audio and cursor movements can be recorded onto each slide and be played back in a synchronized manner to help easier understanding in on-demand self learning. Using WebELS Meeting, a multiple-location virtual meeting can be easily achieved by a combination of video meeting function and slide-based presentation function without any special devices ―anywhere and anytime‖. Because WebELS is a Java and Flashbased program, it is a multiple OS system that can be used on a variety of client computers such as Windows, Mac OS and Linux. WebELS software is available as an open source system and currently used in universities and industries in Japan and other Asian countries. Chapter 3 - There are a variety of computational tools for educationand many have been designed using the constructivist paradigm. In constructivist principles, learning is a process in which individuals construct knowledge. This knowledge construction comes from exploration and experience with the learner‘s environment. For Piaget, these experiences are physical, logical-mathematical and social. In using computational tools for distance and classroom education, experiences that develop logical-mathematical knowledge are the most difficult of the three to detect because this experience is an internal event for the learner. Furthermore, teachers lack an instrument to help them choose appropriate computational tools for education. This chapter will introduce the idea of knowledge construction based on the experiences proposed by Piaget. It will describe a pedagogically sound frame of reference to identify computational tools that meet the requirements for the construction of logicalmathematical knowledge. To this end, we propose a methodology called Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology – ECoTEC which characterizes computational tools for education based on the types of logical-mathematical thought structures that can be constructed with its use. The methodology is based on aspects of Piaget‘s theory. These aspects are interconnected to analyze the mechanisms of construction and coordination of logical-mathematical thought while the tool is in use. A checklist, consisting of a set of questions and metrics, is used for measurement. Tools are characterized by indicating the presence or absence of anticipatory schemes, groups, operative schemes with formal structure and resources for interaction and cooperation among peers. Accordingly, this chapter will provide a methodology developed for teachers and researchers who evaluate computational tools and their applications for distance and classroom education. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such a methodology has been proposed.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Preface

iii

Chapter 4 - This paper introduces SIMBA, a new simulator for business education and research. SIMBA has two main goals. The first one is to serve as a web-based platform for business education. It allows students to connect the simulator from any point on the Web, permitting both classroom education as well as distance education. This circumstance, per se, provides an interesting research field in distance education. Furthermore, SIMBA architecture permits not only the connection of human business managers, but also software agents. So, the second goal of SIMBA is to serve as a Multi-Agent platform for the creation, development and evaluation of Intelligent Agents, which can manage companies in the same way as humans, thus creating a challenging competition environment both for students and for researchers in business modeling and Artificial Intelligence.Decision-making in SIMBA is a challenge, since it requires handling large and continuous state and action spaces. In this chapter, we propose to tackle this problem using Reinforcement Learning (RL) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) approaches. We demonstrate that learning agents are very competitive, and they can outperform human expert decision strategies from business literature. Chapter 5 - Despite that many motivation theories have been applied to online learning research, self-determination theory (SDT) is generally overlooked. This paper discusses SDT's implications for online instruction. A cross-sectional study is also presented. Drawing on SDT‘s typology of motivation, we examined online students‘ motivational profiles and their motivational changes. Results showed that identified regulationwas the primary locus of online learners‘ motivation. Also, online learners‘ identified motivation and intrinsic motivation to know decreased over a month period of time. The results were discussed, and implications for online instruction were provided. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate further research on applying SDTto online learning, as well as developing SDT-based instructional strategies that facilitate online learner motivation. Chapter 6 - Providing effective programs for students living at a distance from program sites is a difficult policy issue for colleges and universities. As a matter of equity it is important that communities removed from the major centers are given access to the benefits of higher education without having to travel long distances; and yet for educational institutions the costs involved in offering programs in geographically dispersed, sparsely populated areas are often prohibitive. In the field of teacher preparation it is particularly desirable that courses are offered in rural and remote areas because of its potential to address teacher shortages often experienced by these schools. The Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) Rural and Regional model (GDEDRR) was a program designed to provide effective preservice teacher education to students based in dispersed geographical locations. Moving away from an on-campus model of teacher education, the GDEDRR course was a multimodal program combining placement in rural and regional schools with brief, ‗intensive‘ on-campus instruction and online learning. In this design teacher mentors and lecturers worked in a partnership to nurture the professional growth of the preservice teachers. This chapter describes the findings of a qualitative study of the first year of the GDEDRR program in 2008 from the point of its various participants, preservice teachers, lecturing staff and mentoring teachers. This chapter will highlight for an international audience what can be learned from the Australian experience of teacher education ‗at a distance‘. In particular the study found that while online learning is valued for the flexibility it offers learners and teachers, both groups continue to see a place for face to face teaching. Moreover, if online communication is to be part of the solution to education in rural areas, preservice teachers and lecturers must receive appropriate support. Finally teacher education partnerships between

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

iv

Claudia F. MacTeer

rural teachers and universities are valued by both groups but their success depends on commitment to effective communication between the partners. Chapter 7 - The report card of the global campaign to achieve universal primary education (UPE), which began at the Jomtien Conference in 1990 and was reinforced by the Dakar Forum in 2000, is a blend of success and failure. Both present new challenges. Getting 40 million additional children into primary school between 1999 and 2007 was a considerable success. It has created a growing surge of children now looking for secondary schooling. In many developing countries they will not find it. However, on current projections the 20-year campaign for UPE will still leave 50 million children out of primary school by the target date of 2015. The paper proposes responses to each challenge. 400 million children aged 12 to 17 are not in secondary school. All feasible methods must be used to expand secondary systems. Open schooling, the application of distance learning at the secondary level, is a cost-effective way of increasing access. A primary requisite for completing the UPE campaign is to recruit and train 2 million teachers. To expand secondary education and replace retiring teachers will require an additional 8 million teachers. Scaling up teacher education requires much wider use of distance learning, which also provides a mechanism for the desirable reform of moving the focus from pre-service to in-service training. Chapter 8 - The adaptation of emerging technology to distance education has led to the usage of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as e-mail, video conferencing and virtual class to support collaborative distance learning. This chapter focuses on using virtual classrooms in collaborative distance learning. A case studywas conducted to investigate the performance and views of the students in collaborative distance learning using a virtual class. Ten computer engineering students who enrolled in an internet-based distance course participated in the study. Six of the students were male and four were female. The students collaborated in developing real-life software projects by performing the following stages: planning a project proposal, analyzing, designing, developing and testing the software. The students also presented their project proposal and plan, analysis and design reports, and their software products in the virtual class. In addition; the students had discussions on the projects, gave each other their opinions, and the instructor monitored and gave feedback during the virtual class sessions. The performance assessment included both the process and products of the collaborative distance learning. The results of the study showed that the students‘ performance was high in developing software projects. However, some groups had problems on collaborative work and time management. All the students emphasized the positive acquisitions of collaborative distance learning such as gaining knowledge and skills for developing software projects by scaffolding of the instructor, and getting feedback from their peers and the instructor during discussions in the virtual class sessions. Chapter 9 - Distance education involves metacognitive knowledge, namely, a set of assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward what it implies in terms of goals to be achieved, the relevant behaviour to be held, the effective strategies to be applied, and the outcomes to be expected. Students are able to differentiate their metacognitive knowledge according to the kind the educational devices belong to. The first aim of the study was to describe high school students‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of distance education by focusing attention on multimedia presentations and virtual communities. The second aim was to investigate whether students‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological features of distance education is related to naïve conceptions of learning. The third aim was to test

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Preface

v

possible differences between Italian and Turkish students regards both metacognitive knowledge and conceptions of learning. In order to assess metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of distance education, a questionnaire previously devised (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2006) was employed. In order to assess conceptions of learning, the Questionnaire About the Personal Conception Of Learning (QAPCOL: Perez-Tello, Antonietti, Liverta Sempio & Marchetti, 2005) was used. A Turkish and an Italian sample of high school students took part in the study. Results pointed out that specific conceptions of learning are related in consistent ways to particular views of distance education. Moreover, specific relationships between conceptions of learning and metacognitive knowledge about distance education vary according to the different cultural contexts where the students live. Chapter 10 - Distance education programs are becoming more popular in Turkey. The continuing capacity issue in higher education, opportunities provided with technological developments, changes in learning needs and understanding of learning are some reasons. However, faculty, staff and administration in distance education systems may not have sufficient background in the distance education field. There is a need for professionals who have theoretical knowledge and/or practical skills in the field and also foresight into the future and make necessary changes in current systems. It is necessary to gain effective and high quality results. Certificate and/or graduate programs in the distance education field can provide opportunities to train experts. The participants in these programs can be candidates who are planning to work or the faculty/staff already working in this kind of system. Structuring such a program is then an important issue to be considered. Stakeholders‘ perspectives and expectations should be examined and evaluated. Academic staff who have been working in this field and learners are two of the groups that can be consulted. The aim of this chapter, therefore, is to discuss and analyze the scope, management, characteristics and implementation dimensions of distance education from the point of the people involved in distance education activities. This chapter addresses a qualitative study in which interviews were done with the two groups respectively. Suggestions were presented based on the findings. Chapter 11 - Service quality in Malaysia is not a new issue but where the higher education institution is concerned, service quality is a pressing subject. With many players in the higher education institutions, ranging from public universities to private colleges to branches of foreign universities, the competition among them is great. Therefore, quality plays a major role for a higher learning institution to gain competitive advantage from its competitors. In light of this development, the researchers decided to engage in a study of evaluating the perceptions of the distance learning (E-PJJ) students towards the service quality offered by the Continuing Education Programme (CDP) at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Dungun campus, Terengganu. The researchers conducted the research based on the SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman et al (1988). They suggested that the Service Quality of an industry consists of five dimensions, namely Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. Based on this model, the researchers evaluated the gap between the expectations and the perceptions of the students towards the five service quality dimensions. A sample of 60 students was chosen from a total population of 77 students. However, only 57 respondents participated in the survey. The researcher discovered that even though there were significant gaps between the expectations of the students with their actual experience of receiving the service (perceptions), the majority shows a high degree of satisfaction towards the service provided by the CDP at UiTM Dungun.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

vi

Claudia F. MacTeer

Chapter 12 - Technological advancement has broadened educational, employment and training opportunities for students and adults with disabilities via distance education. Distance education is a prized tool of K-12 and higher education, and for vocational training and research. Advancing knowledge of accessible technology and universal design concepts have coincided with the distance education movement, and with a federal mandate for accessible technology under Section 508 of the amended Rehabilitation Act. However, studies of website accessibility and universal applications designed to deliver online learning question whether these tools permit equal and effective participation by people with varying disabilities. Other studies of accessible virtual knowledge communities suggest needed improvements to advance the inclusion of people with disabilities in online collaborative research and training initiatives. This chapter explores the implications of the growing distance education movement for people with disabilities. First, we review the breadth of distance learning initiatives and their benefits and challenges for learners with disabilities. Second, we discuss applicable learning theory and practice, and the relevant mandates of U.S. disability laws. Third, we evaluate likely compliance on distance learning activities with disability law and propose best practices to support distance education programs for equal access and opportunity in employment, education, and other areas by the widest number and variety of people. Chapter 13 - Distance education can be described as the application of teaching and learning methods to overcome spatial and temporal constraints. Information communication technologies (ICT) are becoming an important enabler of distance education. ICT-enabled education, which is synonymous with distance education, is growing rapidly in many parts of the world, including developing countries in Africa. In this chapter, the researchers discuss distance education problems and progressives initiatives in Africa using Nigeria as an exemplar. A brief discussion of the socio-economic context of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular is presented. This is followed by a discussion of some of the generic problems facing the spread or diffusion of distance education in Nigeria. Next, we highlight key challenges confronting distance education in Nigeria and offer recommendations to the policy makers in that regard. Finally, we conclude the chapter and offer future research directions.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

ANALYSING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS‘ INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN AN ASYNCHRONOUS TEXT-BASED ENVIRONMENT JenniferC. F.Loke1, Derek Colquhoun,2 Kah Wai Lee3 and Albert, T. M. Yeo4 1

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Lecturer, Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of Hull, England, 2 Professor of Urban Learning, Centre for Educational Studies, University of Hull, England 3 Senior Clinical Tutor, The Hull York Medical School; GeneralPractitioner, Park View Surgery, England 4 Solictor, Messrs Lim & Lim Advocates & Solicitors, Singapore; Board Director, Malaysian Social Reseacrh Insititute, Malaysia

ABSTRACT Information on student online learning experiences from a student perspective is considered by many educational researchers as invaluable indicators of the effectiveness of online modules or programmes. Methods to gather the information are commonly based on either a phenomenological or an ethnographic approach. For research studies which focus on the healthcare professionals‘ interprofessional online learning experiences in an asynchronous text-based learning environment, Fairclough‘s version of critical discourse analysis (CDA) may offer researchers a more insightful account of the student online learning experiences. The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate how some pertinent information about students‘ interprofessional online learning experiences which are likely to be missed in existing approaches can be recovered via CDA. The main aim of this chapter is to exemplify the importance of research work which sets out to determine the effectiveness of interprofessional online learning from a student‘s perspective to start focusing on culture and social relations. While this chapter aims at providing researchers an alternative research approach which can establish the student learning experiences of

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

2

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al. interprofessional online learning from a student perspective, more crucially, it does so within an authentic learning environment. By using some data of an ongoing research project, the messages created by a group of healthcare professionals in their course of online interprofessional learning are picked apart to demonstrate how CDA can offer researchers further insights to the student online learning experiences than those offered by existing qualitative approaches.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION The increasing use of asynchronous text-based learning tools to facilitate interprofessional healthcare education suggested that healthcare educators might have gone past the stage of deciding if an e-learning tool for asynchronous learning should replace traditional classroom teaching. However, many users remain sceptical and still need to be convinced about its ability to fulfil the healthcare agenda of interprofessional learning (IPL) This might be more so at post qualifying level, simply because of the established stereotyping of professional identities and specialised disciplinary knowledge among the healthcare professionals (HCPs), such that IPL might be adversely affected (Hojat, et. al., 1997; Pollard, 2008). Therefore, whilst there are many reasons for the relentless push for research efforts, the use of the technology as a pedagogic tool continues to remain an area of concern and research interestformany healthcare educators. Amongst the many concerns and research interests were students‘ learning experiences in relation to the use of the technology as a pedagogic tool. To understand students‘ online learning experiences, some educators had begun to rely on an ‗emic‘ perspective based on an ethnographic approach whilst many others had continued to elicit learner response based on a phenomenological approach. The overall aim of this chapter is to propose another qualitative approach that competes with other methods within the arena of discourse analysis; critical discourse analysis (CDA). In the sections that follow, we will be looking at the value of CDA as an analytic tool for analysing student learning experiences in interprofessional online learning, which involved nurses. In the discussion, we will be encountering some of the contentious issues of the implicit nursing power relations with allied healthcare professionals. However, rather than dealing with the debates over CDA being of value in the investigation, we are discussing these debates in relation to an ongoing research project, which looks at the students‘ learning experiences in an interprofessional online module at post qualifying level. In the first part of this chapter, we want to discuss some of the theoretical assumptions which characterise Fairclough‘s (2003) version of CDA, paying particular attention to the ways in which this approach adopts and departs from its original theoretical assumptions. The second part of the chapter deals with the theoretical tensions in CDA. It discusses how Fairclough‘s ideas and concepts of CDA were applied in ways which not only potentially provided a powerful and distinctive way to the understanding of student online learning experiences, but when used to analyse the body of interactive online data, it would address the criticism CDA analysts have received so far. In order to do that, we will first work through the issue of the power relations implicit in nursing practice in terms of Fairclough‘s CDA framework. This is needed because discourse as an element of social practices dialectically linked to other elements, such that the starting point of CDA is social issues and

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

3

problems. Following this, we will work through an example taken from a study. Via a sample of the discourse data, we will be looking at how we can go about understanding students‘ interprofessional online learning experiences based on the three-dimensional interactional analysis, which is central to Fairclough‘s CDA framework. The chapter closes with the presentation of a reflection of that analysis.

1. FAIRCLOUGH‘S VERSION OF CDA

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1.1. Theoretical Concepts Fairclough‘s approach to CDA was drawn from many different and overlapping versions of theories and techniques from a wide range of disciplines. In Fairclough‘s development of CDA, a linguistic theory known as systemic functional linguistics (SFL) developed by Halliday (Halliday & Hasan, 1976) was employed to challenge a conventional linguistic position which assumed the neutrality and reflectiveness of language. Based on SFL, language use is explained in terms of the form and function of interactions. Hence, interactions could be understood textually and interpersonally and therefore, could also be clarified at the level they were situated in a wider societal context. Systemic functional linguistics theorists posit that language users were capable of choosing from the meaningmaking potentials which were available to them to represent and construct dialogue. Based on the view in SFL, language use required efforts from participants and was therefore, a creative process. Similarly, in Fairclough‘s approach to CDA (Fairclough, 1995), language use was also viewed as a social construction, and that language was dialectic. In other words, language was viewed as one which influenced the context in which language occurs and the context, in turn, had influence on language production (Fairclough, 1995). In addition, the cultural and historical act of meaning making, which was emphasized in SFL, was also emphasized in Fairclough‘s approach to CDA. However, SFL was seen to be relatively limited to the extent in which it could manage the dialectical aspects of language practice in which it was situated (Chouliarki & Fairclough, 1999). Hence, besides sharing characteristics of SFL, the social theory evolved in Foucault‘s work (Foucault, 1979; 1981), particularly Foucaultian ideas about power/knowledge, was used in the development of CDA. In Foucault‘s intellectual work on post structuralism, Foucault rejected the tenets of structuralism (that there exist binary distinctions between constructs and that we could remove ourselves from the structure of language). Foucault then sought to understand history and evolution of construct which were considered natural, and how these constructs were produced as a result of power/knowledge. Although influenced by Foucault‘s work, Fairclough‘s approach to discourse was distinguished from that of Foucault‘s, such that when Fairclough (1995) conceptualised power in its different forms of oppression, domination and liberation, he did so in its linguistic form. Indeed, Fairclough (1995) had referred his approach of discourse as a textually orientated approach to discourse analysis (TODA).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

4

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

1.2. Textually Orientated Approach to Discourse Analysis

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Fairclough (1995: 2) had developed a ‗three-dimensional‘ analytical framework for studying language in relation to power and ideology with the aim of mapping three separate forms of analysis onto one another: i. Analysis of text (spoken or written) language text ii. Analysis of discourse practice (processes of text production, distribution& consumption) iii. Analysis of discursive events as social practices Bakhtian theory of genre and intertexuality (Bakhtin 1986) and Gramscian theory of hegemony (Forgacs, 1988) were both used in combination with this framework. The reason for using this framework was for the analysis of text not to be isolated from the analysis of institutional and discursive practices within which the text was embedded. Based on Bakhtian theory of genre, Fairclough (1995) purports that texts were not only constituted from text already produced but also from potentially diverse text types. This was because Fairclough (1995) agreed with Bakhtin (1986) that productivity and creativity of discourse practice and its realisation in texts were heterogeneous in their forms and meanings. In this regard, Fairclough (1995) concluded that text was part repetitive and part creative.Fairclough (1995) also shared Bakhtian‘s (1986) view about texts, as sites of tension between centrifugal and centripetal forces. According to Fairclough (1995) these two forces differed in that centripetal pressures followed from the need to draw upon two given conventions or socially available resources; namely a language and an order of discourse, to produce text, whereas, centrifugal pressures were from the specificity of particular situations of text production which were endlessly novel and problematic. With regards to text, Fairclough (1995) believes that it varies in the relative weight of these two pressures depending on their social conditions. This was explained by Fairclough (1995) based on his beliefs in how text was constructed. First, Fairclough (1995) believed that people as producers and interpreters of text were able to use socially available resources in an innovative way to generate new configurations and discourses. This was despite the fact that people could only draw upon those that constituted texts, and therefore had only conventions and order of discourse to deal with centrifugal pressures. Second, Fairclough (1995) believed that text negotiated the sociocultural contradictions to an effect that text constituted a form in which the social struggle was acted out. This explains why Fairclough (1995) believed that text is part repetition and part creation. Based on Gramscian theory of hegemony (Forgacs, 1988), Fairclough (1995; 2001) explained that the creativity and productivity of discourse were constrained and controlled in power relations; the social relations of domination within a social system and their functioning within the social system. This, in turn, had control over the way a particular and relatively stabilized configuration of discursive practice had over the ‗order of discourse‘ which constituted one domain of hegemony. When based around a combination of Gramscian theory of power as hegemony (Forgacs, 1988) and Bakhtinian (1986) theory of intertexuality, Fairclough (1995) argued that power relations were partially discursively produced. This was also based on Fairclough‘s conceptualisation of power as asymmetries between participants in discursive events, and also, as an unequal capacity to control how texts were produced, distributed and consumed. Fairclough (1995) therefore saw discourse as part representations

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

5

and part constructions of the world being instrumental, and hence its importance in reproducing domination. Viewing language in its relationship to ideology, Fairclough (2001) purports that language is involved in the working of contemporary capitalist society and to him, a range of text properties was therefore potentially ideological.This included its features of vocabulary and methaphor, grammar, presupposition, implication, politeness convention, speech exchange systems, generic structure and style. To Fairclough (1995) the power to control discourse and determine the shapes of text was the power to sustain a particular discursive practice with particular ideological investments in dominance over alternative practices. Therefore, insights about what was ‗in‘ the text was important, but what was absent in the text (including presupposition and implicature), particularly from a sociocultural perspective, was just as significant. This was more so when ideologies which could be taken as common sense, were generally implicit assumptions in discourse (Fairclough, 1995; 2001). Fairclough (1995) had therefore insisted on the analysis of any implicit contents. His insistence was stemming from the idea of ‗critical‘ social science and analysis from

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

―the German social theorist Jurgen Habermas who developed a communication-based version of critical theory, which saw the potential for emancipation in communication, and provided as a normative basis for the critique of ‗systematically distorted‘ communication‖ (Fairclough, 2001: 233).

Hence, Fairclough‘s approach to CDA was critical in the sense that it helped to provide valuable insight into what had been taken as given, as common sense. However, just as importantly, Fairclough‘s approach included an assessment of the possibilities and strategies for strengthening and broadening struggles against the detrimental effects of the social changes from a language perspective (Fairclough, 2001). Therefore, Fairclough‘s approach to CDA involved analysis of text and interactions as well as any other semiotic materials (written texts, conversations, television programmes, advertisements on billboards). Whilst many critical discourse analysts focused on language, Fairclough focuses on meaning making through language, body language, visual images or any other way of signifying. In this light, Fairclough (2001) claimed that his approach to CDAis inherently interdisciplinary for it opens a dialogue between ―disciplines concerned with linguistic and semiotic analysis and disciplines concerned with theorising and researching social processes and social change‖. Fairclough (2001: 203)

1.3. Fairclough‘s View of CDA So far, Fairclough had claimed that his approach to CDA was interdisciplinary, but that in his perspective, this was not adequate enough (Fairclough 1995; 2001) and he pleaded for a transdisciplinary approach. In his view, a transdisciplinary approach would be fruitful for it required an open dialogue between disciplines concerning linguistic and semiotic analysis and those concerned with theorizing and researching social process and change. Hence, Fairclough (2001) advocated for a transdisciplinary approach based on his belief that the open

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

6

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

dialogue between disciplines would be committed to producing new theories and new methods of analysis to cut across existing disciplines (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999; Fairclough, 2001). Stage 4: Identify possible ways past obstacles Stage 2: Identify possible obstacles to problem

Stage 1: Focus on social issue or problems in its semiotic aspect

Stage 3: identify possible function of the problem situation in the network of social practices/social order

Through analysis of a. the network of practices it is located within b. the relationship of semiosis to other elements within particular practice(s) concerned

c. the discourse using i) structural analysis: order of discourse, ii) interactional analysis iii) interdiscursive analysis iv) linguistic and semiotic analysis

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 1. Fairclough‘s (2003:236) analytical framework for CDA

Additionally, Fairclough (2001) believed that the only way for CDA to achieve its objectives in addressing the larger changes in the way language and semiosis figured in social life was when the analysis went beyond text. Fairclough (2001; 2003), therefore, developed a 4 stage analytical framework for CDA in which an analysis could be framed (Figure 1). The analytical framework was modelled upon the critical theorist, Roy Bhaskar‘s (1986),concept of explanatory critique, but it was also based on Fairclough‘s critical social view of discourse as an element of social practices dialectically linked to other social elements. Hence the process of analysis should not be followed in the series of steps as they were numbered in the framework.

1.4. The Relevance of CDA to Examine Social Relations in Interprofessional Online Learning Critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a methodology, which was largely developed through the work of Fairclough (1989; 1992) was also a sociolinguistic research tool to simultaneously analyse the texts and social structures and practices underlying the texts. The use of CDA was to facilitate social analyses which were grounded in texts and at the same time to facilitate linguistic analyses which addressed critical social issues. This was done with a focus of analysis at micro and macro level of texts via an intermediate level; that of social practices and structures, in terms of genres, discourses and styles accessed. Ontologically, CDA was consistent with critical realism in that it allowed for the objective existence of structures (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999). Critical discourse analysis

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

7

highlights a modest and yet non-relativistic understanding of scientific truth as epistemic gain, but this was only through the dialogic process in the public sphere (ibid). In Fairclough‘s view, CDA was necessarily hermeneutic but dialogical, incorporating linguistic and social logical analyses in dialogue with each other. These aspects of SFL which were shared by CDA in its approach to language could allow CDA to make visible through the less explicit facets of discourse in asynchronous text-based computer conferencing. Other than the theoretical influences from Halliday (1978) and Bahktin (1986), Foucault‘s (1972) concept of power and knowledge and Habermas‘ (1973) critical social theory were also used by Fairclough in his development of CDA. Thus, CDA could not only help to reveal discursive sources of power, dominance, inequality, and bias but also could show how these sources were initiated, maintained reproduced and transformed within specific social, economic, political, and historical contexts (Fairclough, 1995; Van Dijk, 1993). Besides, stemming from Habermas‘ (1973) critical theory, CDA aimed to help critical discourse analysts understand social problems mediated from mainstream ideology and power relationships, which were perpetuated by written texts in everyday occurrences via our daily and professional lives. In this regard, CDA was able to critique texts in terms of the ideologies it promoted. Given the power of text, CDA as an analytical tool was in fact, necessary to describe, interpret, analyze and critique social life, from the type-written texts being generated by students contributing to the forum in asynchronous computer conferencing. Based on the epistemological perspective of CDA, the individual agent and social factors were operating in the production of language during a particular event, within a particular type of practice. This dual recognition of social and psychological influence in human activities in CDA is useful as a resource for those trying to cope with the alienating and disabling effects of change imposed upon them (Fairclough, 1995). This was particularly so for discourse in communities, schools, the media and the political arena, whereby CDA had been used to focus on how social relations, identities, knowledge and power were constructed through written and spoken texts to challenge oppression, repression and marginalization (Luke, 1997). However, unlike others, the aim of employing CDA for examining students‘ online learning experiences is not identical with the original aim of CDA, in that it is not to support victims of oppression and encourage them to resist and transform their lives (Foucault, 2000). Rather, CDA is to illuminate the ways in which dominant forces in a society construct versions of reality which might have favoured the interest of a few. The analysis was therefore aimed at revealing the power relations and dominance implicit in nursing language. (The need for this analysis is discussed in the application of CDA in section 2.3) Therefore, whilst this study is concerned with inequalities and power, the use of CDA was to unmask the discursive practices in order to gain a better understanding of the experiences of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in their online learning via asynchronous computer mediated conferencing from a wide social cultural context.

2.THEORETICAL TENSIONS IN CDA 2.1. Criticisms of CDA The data which CDA often used are normally, though not inevitably, printed texts of government documents or news papers (Taylor, 2001). These texts might carry with them an

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

8

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

obvious social or institutional significance concerned with power and inequalities within society to allow consideration of their significance within the context in which they occurred. However, understanding of the potential social implications of the language being used in the context was based on the extent of the social order to which the analytic work was done. In other words, the analysis and its interpretation were likely to be based solely on the analysts‘ knowledge of the social context. Inevitably, this resulted in many criticisms for using CDA. Criticisms were mostly from discourse analysts who follow closely the emphasis in conversation analysis on the speakers‘ own orientations in analysis. Critical analysts were often criticised for having little respect for the data and its creators based on the factthat the analysis and interpretation were likely to be based on the researcher‘s own political stance (Taylor 2001). Yet critical discourse analysts are warned to maintain a critical stance in order to contest ideological ideas (Fairclough, 2003). Nevertheless, discourse analysts who are politically engaged are advised to make sure that they do not slip into an unconscious act in reproducing the ruling political climate (Fairclough, 2003). Indeed, maintaining a critical stance is unavoidable in any critical research, and Fairclough‘s version of CDA is continuously characterised by theoretical tensions. The only way to achieve a ‗good‘ discourse analytic work is to put in place some specific mechanisms to ease the theoretical tensions, such that the study would not end up reproducing or reinforcing the implicit power relations it uncovered. Therefore, reflexivity needed to be addressed right from the start of the study as well as in all stages throughout the entire study.As to how reflexivity is addressed at the start of the current study is beyond the scope of this discussion. Nevertheless, the next section explains how reflexivity can be addressed in the use of CDA for studying student learning experiences in an online text-based environment such that the criticisms of CDA are simultaneously addressed.

2.2. Easing the Theoretical Tensions of CDA Made Possible According to Taylor (2001), ‗good‘ discourse analytic research will conform to the broad requirements for all other research. This included its own justification referring to the essential criteria for evaluation. Bear in mind that the data taken from an authentic learning environment for studying the student experiences of interprofessional online learning were interactive. For this reason, it was possible for the analysis not to stop at the point where an understanding was gained from the patterns found within the elements of the language as a conventional linguistic system in the original texts. In this light, discourse analytic work which used CDA, would not just draw social implications from the derived patterns of a written text which was used for unidirectional communication. The analysis could in fact continue to include analysis of the social implications found in the local production of the discourse that were created as responses to the original texts. In this way, the analysis would not only be based on the researchers‘ view, but it could be validated by the views of the participants, that were produced in an authentic learning environment. When the interpretations of the researchers‘ were continuously evaluated with the data that had been produced in a natural authentic learning environment the evaluation criterion is selfgenerated in the sense that the evaluation becomes intrinsically the analysis. In this way, not only had these data not in any way been tarnished by the influences of the researchers, the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

9

interpretation by the researchers were evaluated by the analysis of the participants‘ view, produced in the context when students were experiencing interprofessional online learning. Every risk of proscribing the analysis was avoided. Most importantly, credibility and trustworthiness to the descriptions of the phenomenon found in this study can be achieved. However, in order for CDA to be fruitful in any study, the analysis needs to be framed using the analytical framework of CDA. The next section demonstrates how this was done for a study which was conducted to analyse the interprofessional online learning experiences of students.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

3. APPLICATION OF A CDAANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK TO EXAMINE STUDENT INTERPROFESSIONAL ONLINE LEARNING EXPERIENCES As mentioned earlier, the processes of analysis in the framework were dialectically interrelated and the analysis should not be conducted in the series of steps of the framework. Nevertheless, Fairclough (2001; 2003) recommended a starting point for CDA as stage 1 of the analysis. Fairclough‘s (2001) description of an appropriate research problem for CDA was a social problem manifested in either its linguistic or semiotic aspect, thus the starting point of CDA was social issues and problems. To apply stage 1 of the analytic framework, the current study focused on a topic which was about securing equitable access to higher education by healthcare professionals in interprofessional learning with nurses in asynchronous computer mediated conferencing (ACMC). There wasassumption that the techonology would facilitatecollaborative learning, and hence successfulinterprofessional online learning(IPOL), despite the fact that there is unresolved power relations in nursing (Baumann, et. al., 2001; O‘Connell, et. al., 2000; Shields & Wilkins, 2006), that some of which are even found to be implicit in nurses‘ language (Hamilton & Manias, 2006; St-Pierre & Holmes, 2008; Hyde, et. al., 2006). We now look at the features of ACMC to further justify the ‗problematisation‘ of the assumption of ACMC as an effective pedagogic tool for IPOL). One of the features of ACMC which led it to become a popular pedagogic tool was its asynchronous text-based nature. When using ACMC, messages in the discussion forum were able to be threaded for asynchronous discussion for learners to simultaneously continue on several subjects or discussion threads (Green, 1998). It was assumed that the asynchronous and text-based nature of ACMC not only allowed flexible learning in terms of the location and time but it also allowed learning to take place in an environment which was less confrontational than an intimidating face-to-face classroom (McConnell, 2000). What makes ACMC less confrontational and intimidating for learning was its lack of visual (bodily expressions) and aural (tone of voice) cues that were believed to be the sources of tensions in interactions (Burge, 1994). However, the claimof ACMC as being less confrontational and intimidating can be challenged by the very reason which supported this claim, particularly when it was used in interprofessional learning which involved nurses, simply because embedded in nursing practice and language use were the implicit power relationsin nursing (Hamilton & Manias, 2006; St-Pierre & Holmes, 2008; Hyde, et. al., 2006). Clearly, communication in ACMC is based solely on type-written texts that are translations of language use. The power relations implicit in nurses‘ language (Hamilton & Manias, 2006; St-Pierre & Holmes, 2008; Hyde, et. al., 2006) are likely to be embedded in the conference discourse to either complicate and/or be complicated by the problems

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

10

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

associated with the online interactions which were conducted in the absence of visual and aural cues for clarification. The power relations in nursing and how it is implicit in nursing language use is explained in stage 2 of the analysis below. Stage 2 of CDA comprised the main analysis. Nevertheless, it began with an analysis of the conjuncture, the sociocultural practices surrounding the event from which the text was taken (Fairclough, 2001). This was

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

―to give a broad sense of the overall frame of social practice which the discourse in focus is located within‖ (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999: 61).

This stage included an analysis of the relationship between the discourse and other aspects of social practice.As such, the role a problematic situation played in current structures which helped to maintain the status quo, and the obstacles to be tackled to solve the problem would be explicated.In this case, how and why there is power implicit in nurses‘ language use and why nurses had maintained the unique language in nursing was explored and exposed. Through this stage of analysis, it was found that the ideology of a higher status was associated with the unique standardized nursing language use (Hamilton & Manias, 2006). The standardized nursing language was developed as a result of the evolving role in nursing into advanced nursing practice, which in turn might have been a hegemonic struggle of nurses‘ to remove their traditional identity as ‗handmaidens‘ to doctors (Brenchley & Robinson, 2001; Thompson & Stewart, 2007; Radcliffe, 2000). Indeed, language which belonged to any particular group identified and defined its membership and communication provided the means to promote power and authority (Fisher, 1995; O‘Connor, 2005). Thus the integration of a standardised nursing language adopted from the medical profession had the capability to ‗select‘ nurses and reward them with successful registration with the nursing professional body, so much so that the language nurses adopted from the medical profession has now become unique to nursing (Orem 1995) that it was likely to continue and become a second nature to nurses. Having raised the issue about the potential persistence of standardised nurses‘ language use, it was not suggested that interactive problems from the power relations amongst nurses would most definitely emerge in ACMC. However, in the absence of the required cues for clarification, any existing problematic interactions from power relations could be magnified in ACMC. If that happened, a learner-focused approach to encourage open-ended processes and flexible social interactions for collaborative and deep learning to develop critical problem solving skills for lifelong learning (Koschmann, 1996) in ACMC was likely to be impeded, rather than enhanced. It was therefore important to carry out the final stage of analysis; interactional analysis. The interactional analysis is the central part of CDA (Fairclough 2001). It involved taking a sample of the discourse as it was found in a particular event. The sample was then used as data and analysed using textual analysis and intertextual analysis (Fairclough, 2001). In the case of investigating student interprofessional online learning experiences, a sample of discourse from an IPL in ACMC served as data for which the texts being analyzed were the language used by healthcare students in their contribution to their interprofessional online learning discussion.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

11

Before discussing the application of this stage of the framework, it was important that we returned to look at the three central tenets of CDA; discourse, social structure and culture. Fairclough (2001) purports that discourse is shaped and constrained by social structure and culture, yet it isdiscourse thathelpsshape and constrain our identities, social relationships, knowledge and belief systems. All of these, in turn were shaped and constrained by the language and words espoused by the individuals. Since healthcare students using ACMC comprised members from across the social structure (but mainly middle working class women who were either, nurses, midwives and/or AHPs), who had a professional culture (more specifically the healthcare culture) to shape and constrain its discourse. Presumably, what these healthcare students ‗say‘ in the form of contribution to ACMC, was shaped and constrained by the social order as defined by their professional culture, socialization, and member profile. However, whilst it was important to appreciate that the healthcare students‘ discursive conduct was determined by the social order and practices in a larger context outside the textbased learning environment, it was also important to ask the question ―did the social order need the type of interactions between the HCPs?‖This question was specifically important to be raised if the discourse or discursive practices in the text-based learning environment was demonstrated to have potentially limited the capacity of the dominated, such that they were not able to either meet their learning needs or to set their own learning agendas. By keeping this query in mind whilst engaging in the third stage of the analytic framework, consideration could then be given to an acknowledgement of whether the forms of interaction were to serve some wider social interest. As pointed out by Fairclough (2001), stage 3 of the analytic framework will point the analyst in the direction to ask if such interaction was to sustain authority of the elites or the experts and the rest of the society. In this case, the focus would be raising the query, ―Is there a need for maintaining power relations between nurses and the AHPs, which facilitated the strategies of domination?‖ Hence, by engaging in the analysis in stage 3, the question of ideology would be raised (Fairclough, 2001). The whole process of CDA as represented in Figure 1 included an interpretation of where there were gaps or sites of potential ambiguity or contradiction. This was what stage 4 of the analytic framework would help to do. By engaging in stage 4 analysis, it would help to reveal the possibilities for a range of alternative practices which offered ―unrealised possibilities for change in the way that social life was currently organised‖ (Fairclough, 2001: 236).

Although stage 4 is presented separately in the CDA framework, it could be and should be conducted through the interactional analysis in stage 2c (Fairclough, 2001); its application is discussed in the paragraph below. Critical discourse analysis deals with text at all micro, intermediate and macro levels with text being interpreted broadly to include almost any social situation or product that can be analysed. This text included ‗talk‘ in ACMC. What CDA could do was to unite, and determine the relationship between three levels of analysis: (a) the actual text; (b) the discursive practices (the process involved in creating, writing, speaking, reading and hearing) and (c) the larger social context that bore upon the text and discursive practices (Fairclough, 1995; 2000; 2001). Although texts could include language, visual images and body language (Fairclough, 1995; Fairclough, 2001), in this study, the actual text was the type-written

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

12

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

messages posted to the discussion forum during online learning. All discussions involved the presentation of facts and beliefs, the construction of individuals‘ identities, and the use of different types of strategies to frame the contents of the messages which were recorded permanently in the form of student messages. All these formed the texts for analysis. For discursive practices, they were referred to the rules, norms and mental modes of socially acceptable behaviour in specific roles and relationships used to produce, receive and interpret the messages. In other words, discursive practices involved ways of being in the world which signified specific and recognizable social identities (Gee, 1990). In the case of a study about online learning experiences of the healthcare professionals (HCPs), they were the spoken and unspoken rules and conventions of how each student as a qualified HCP learnt to think, act and speak in the social position they occupied in life (within the healthcare discipline). Lastly, the social context - this comprised distinct settings where the discourse occurred, and each was with a set of conventions that determined rights and obligations. Hence, what each healthcare student was expected and allowed to do whilst participating in the online learning was determined by the social context of higher learning via ACMC. Based on the theory of CDA, this study assumed that what took place in the discussion forum, being recorded in the text, was within a larger social context replete with a complex set of power relations. The texts in turn, were records of the social events, which were interpreted and acted upon by the online conference participants according to the rules and norms, and mental modes of socially acceptable behaviour of any HCPs as post qualifying students in higher learning. In other words, the texts produced were more than just words on the page, but a rich source for disclosure of how those words were used in a particular social context (Huckin, 1997). The use ofCDA for data analysis was to seek links between the text (micro level) and the underlying power structures in society (macro sociocultural practice level) through discursive practices upon which the text (meso level) was drawn (Thompson, 2002). Nevertheless, the patterns found within the elements of language as a conventional linguistic system were considered for their significance within the text. For this reason, the aim of the study was not to generalise on what the language was about but to understand and make explicit the social implications which follow from the way the language had been used in the context; ACMC for higher learning. Figure 2 is provided to illustrate the analysis.

4. THE STUDY The selected study involved mainly the central part of CDA and the data for analysis were taken from a sample of the discourse from an interprofessional online learning (IPOL) module in a higher educational institution (HEI) in England. The module was entitled ‗Teaching and evaluating e-learning in health and social care‘. It was a 20 credit post qualifying health professional module delivered in the year 2004. The module was offered as a standalone or an elective module towards a Master of Science Degree in Health Professional Studies. Thirteen healthcare professionals (HCPs) participated in the module. Detailed information on the professional background and the technological know-how of the student population is provided in Figure 3.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences… Stages of the framework for CDA 1. A focus on a particular social problem or issue in its semiotic aspect 2. Identification of possible obstacles to the problem being solved (its network of practices, non discourse elements, orders of discourse); achieved through analysis of: a. the network of practices it is located within b. the relationship of semiosis to other elements within particular practice(s) concerned c. the discourse 3. Identification of the possible function of the problem situation in the network of social practices/social order

4. Identification of possible ways past the obstacles

13

Relating to healthcare professionals Barriers to equitable access to health education via ACMC due to culture and language norms of nurses 1. Discourses of health and social care and health educationfavour nurses 2. Nurses belief about using distinctive language (in healthcare practice) 3. Wider culture of society (particularly in healthcare discipline) and its artefacts

1. Maintenance of ideology of economic rationalism, including culture of expertise 2. Selection of nursing students for qualifying as registered nurses Preservation of high status of nursing Hybridisation of the discourse of nursing to make interprofessional learning in healthcare education accessible to nonnursing students

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 2. Application of a CDA analytical framework (Adapted from Fairclough, 2001: 236).

This module was structured according to Salmon‘s 5 staged-‗scaffolding‘ model for elearning (Salmon, 2003) to teach post qualified healthcare students the principles of teaching and evaluating e-learning in health and social care studies. It was based on Salmon‘s (2003) model in the hope that these students were guided to use the technology for communication and learning quickly but progressively through the five stages offered in this ‗scaffolding‘ model. Hence, learning was spread across a 12-week study block, whereby students were guided by the topics for discussions so that each student would have an opportunity to experience e-learning through the 5 stages of Salmon‘s e-learning model namely, ‗Access and motivation‘, ‗Socialization‘, ‗Information Exchange‘, ‗Knowledge construction‘ and ‗Development‘. The module was 100% online using a virtual learning environment (VLE) offered in ‗Blackboard6‘ (Bb). It was a requirement in this online module that all students have computer and internet access which allowed students to log on to the university licensed site of Bb. ‗Blackboard6‘ is a software tool which supports asynchronous and synchronous computer conferencing, emailing, and posting of uniform resource locators (URL) and announcements. However, other than using the software tool to support asynchronous discussion, and posting of URLs, the rest of the software tools were not required in the participation of the module and hence were not required and were not used by the students (Figure 4). Messages posted to the forum for asynchronous discussions were recorded permanently and the tracking of the number of times any posted messages have been read or re-read by others, was not possible for the students, but for the e-moderator.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 3. Summary of the student participants.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences… Components Discussion forum

Notice board Web pages Mail Room

Nature  Public  open to peers& e-moderator  e-moderator can track number of viewings  Public  open to peers& e-moderator  Public  open to peers& e-moderator  open to peers& e-moderator

15

Description  E-moderator posed one discussion thread at the start of each week  Students were expected to participate at least once a week  Only e-moderator could pose announcements  Students and e-moderator can upload files and web links for sharing  Students and e-moderator could email each other

Figure 4. Main components of the VLE used by students

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Topic areas in each week wk 1 Topic 1: ‗What is e-learning‘ wk 2 Topic 2: ‗The Role of the e-moderator‘ wk 3 Topic 3: ‗A future of elearning in the NHS‘ wk 4 Topic 4: ‗Resourcing elearning‘ wk 5 Topic 5: ‗E-learning as an emerging pedagogy wk 6 Topic 6: ‗Student led activities‘ wk7 Topic 7: ‗Communities of Practice‘ wk 8 Topic 8: ‗Blended learning‘ wk 9 Topic 9: ‗Assessment in online learning‘ wk10 Topic 10: ‗Facilitating and managing the change to e-learning in health and social care‘ wk11 Topic 11: ‗Case Studies‘ wk 12 Topic 12: i) ‗Evaluating virtual learning environment‘ ii) ‗Evaluating e-learning‘ Figure 5. Discussion threads designed by e-moderator in the forum.

Underpinning the online module was Vygotsky‘s (1978) social constructivist approach to learning theory. Students were expected to be active and self-directed in constructing knowledge via interactions with peers based on the weekly topics initiated by the e-moderator with the help of the reading materials and related websites posted by the e-moderator in Bb. This module was delivered with an aim to encourage learning which involved metacognition (Derry & Murphy, 1986). Hence, besides being engaged in student-centred learning, students were also expected to have awareness of their own learning processes and to be in a position to control and manage their them (Derry & Murphy, 1986). In other words, students were expected to do self-paced learning from the course materials posted in Bb and from other sources, which were supplied by students themselves to support their discussion in the forum. Although students were expected to participate actively in the forum, students‘ discussions in the forum were neither assessed nor graded. However, a 1500 to 2000 word report reflecting students‘ online behaviours in their contribution which facilitated learning for self and peers accounted for 40% of students‘ final grades. At the start of the module, all students were made aware that the online discussions in this compulsory forum made up 40% of the summative assessment. Hence students were informed right from the start of the module the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

16

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

importance of contributing actively in the discussion. Students were expected to participate at least once weekly in the forum. One week prior to the commencement of the module, a face-to-face meeting was held in order to introduce students the module and to acquaint students with the technology. Students were given a full day opportunity to have hands-on experiences with the various software tools in Bb particularly with those specifically required for asynchronous online discussion. This face-to-face session was attended by five students who had created 40 messages in a discussion thread: ‗introducing yourself‘. For students who were not able to attend the session, they were expected to seek individual tutorials from the e-moderator to familiarize themselves with the software tools in Bb. Other than the first 40 messages in the topic area ‗Introducing yourselves‘, all messages in the VLE were a result of asynchronous online communication.

4.1. Interactional Analysis Based on the CDA Framework We shall now work through an example of a discussion thread to illustrate the analytical procedure and to demonstrate how student learning online learning experiences can be drawn from the analysis. This discussion thread was created by an original message contributed by a nurse in response to the week 3 topic, ‗A future of e-learning in the NHS (National Health Service?)‘ and its three responses (Figure 6 provides details of the interaction patterns between the 4 participants.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Student 5 (Mid-wife/Nurse)

Student 12 (Nurse)

Student 6 (Nurse)

Student 7 (Nurse)

Figure 6. Interaction pattern generated from extract 1.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

17

We will first analyse the original message from student 5 in the following extract (Figure 7). This text is one of the many typical postings created by nurses in the forum at the start of a discussion thread. Apparently, this text was posted as the first message with the intention of starting a threaded discussion. Despite its intention, this text has attracted only three participants to response [100% nurses; 0% allied healthcare professionals (AHPs)]. The local context in which this message was posted, was one in which student 5 had contributed her opinions about the state of readiness of the NHS and other governmental organizations for elearning. The analytic point of interest here was the way in which student 5 produced her view about how prepared the NHS was for e-learning. It is also on how the social actions in which the description were oriented with reference to a social context in healthcare, or perhaps more accurately said, to a social context in nursing practice. Otherwise, the responses would not have been obtained from so few nurses, and apparently, no allied healthcare professionals had participated in the discussion. We will now proceed with the analysis to see why this was the case. Extract 1/Data Set 1/Student 5 Current Forum: Week 3 Activity 1 ‗A future of elearning in the NHS?‘ Date: Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:52 am Author: Student 5 Subject: Re: Elearning and the NHS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Line 1:Hi e-M Line 2:Judging from the state of the computer's [sic]in our placeand the limitedaccess to them,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Line 3:NO.I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this, Line 4:as it seems to me that the Government, and largeorganisations are very quick to employ all sorts of committees, research groups etc Line 5:to produce all of these wonderful plans and then implementthempiecemeal, Line 6:often without sufficient resources, then wonder why they're not working! Line 7:If we attended traditional study days we would expect a reasonably comfortable working environment& equipment to aid the presentation. Line 8:For e.learning to take place withinthe workplace we needaccess to computer's that work, computers that are not required on apermanent basis for clerical work, a quietenvironment within which to work andaccess towell-designed educational software. Line 9:As we're becoming to be aware, e.learning is not simplyamatter of putting Existing educational material intocyberspace an environment that isconducive to Learning needs to be created. I think it may be a good idea for the NHS to get the infrastructure in place before implementing the strategy across the whole workforce. Line10:I think also that there may be a tendancy for Health Authorities to see e.learning as a 'cheap' option'. Figure 7. Extract 1 Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

18

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

4.1.1. Linguistic analysis

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Whole-text language organization Overall, the text has a promotional genre: Its aim was to suggest the type of attitude that the NHS and the government should have and the things they needed to put in place in order for e-learning to occur. The promotional genre was evidenced in the assumptions contained in Line 1 ―judging from the state of the computer's [sic] in our place…‖, which was used to assume a singular perspective that applied to all situations in which the NHS and the government were not ready for e-learning. Additional promotional efforts were seen in the way the pronoun ‗we‘ was used in Lines 7 and 8 which assumed that everyone who was affected by the current situation would agree with student 5. Particularly in Line 9, when ‗we‘ had referred to those who had knowledge of e-learning and its effect and in Lines 7 and 8 where ‗we‘ was used to refer to nurses working in the wards; It was obvious that the unquestioning compliance to her proposal plan was not only assumed to be obtained from peers, but also particularly from those who were nurses who had the same amount of knowledge as student 5 about the effects of governmental strategies at clinical ward level. Clauses combination There is evidence to suggest that this text was a one way communication as in the nursing documentation of patient care - There was an absence of any set of argument in the text, by the fact that there was no adverbial sentence or conjunction to connect any assertions being made. Indeed at one point (in Line 4), what appeared to be an argument which suggested that the government was quick to instill an e-learning culture within healthcare, was done with an effect to assert the point being made about the NHS not being ready for e-learning. This became obvious when the declarative sentence in Line 4 continued into Line 5, where elaboration of the views of student 5 was asserted. It was obvious from the text that the debate about the readiness of the NHS or the government for e-learning had ended even before it started. Grammatical and semantic feature This text has a word count of 209 organised into one paragraph, reflecting more a written text rather than a conversational type of interaction. The latter are usually short due to the need of conversation interactions to follow the ‗next turn proof procedure‘ (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 1998), and was what one would expect to find in asynchronous computer conferencing (Fernback, 2003; Yates 2001). In addition to the length, another characteristic feature of this text which rendered it to resemble a written text was the heavy use of lexical items as content words compared to their lesser use of grammatical items as functioning words (Halliday, 1985). Halliday (1985) once compared conversational texts and written texts, and concluded that the two differed by their lexical density, the latter being measured by the ratio of lexical contents and grammatical items. The ratio of lexical contents to grammatical items was believed to be high in written texts and low in conversational texts (Halliday, 1985). Take line 8 as an example (Figure 8). In this line there are 40 words, and within it, there was a high usage of lexical contents in the message. Of a total of 40 running words, only

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

19

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

‗For‘, ‗to‘ ‗the‘, ‗that‘ ‗are‘, ‗not‘, ‗on‘, ‗a‘, ‗which‘, ‗and‘ were grammatical items. The remaining 23 words were lexical items.The composition of this text gave rise to a lexical density of 23 out of 40, which was 57.5 per cent. This percentage is considered a high value which indicates a high lexical density. The latter is a characteristic feature of written text (Halliday, 1985).Any form of written text is said to be non-dialogical as it is meant for one way communication (Fairclough, 2003). Another feature which characterises this message more as a written text were the linguistic features of the text. It can be seen that, other than some short phrases in Lines 3, 4, 5 and 10 (Figure 8), any linguistic features commonly present in social conversational interactions which comprised informal spoken English were not present in the text. This has also rendered the text to resemble more a written text.

Figure 8. Interactional Analysis of extract 1

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

20

Jennifer C.F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Lee et al.

Figure 9. Text in alignment with the sequential stages of the nursing process

In terms of modality, throughout the entire text, there was no use of any modalization term to imply that peers might have other opinions. In addition, the topic in question was represented as being the domain of the experts, and knowing means knowing what student 5, a clinical nurse knew. It was obvious that in the text, there was no space opened up for any dialogue. This made any challenge of the views of student 5 improbable, if not impossible. This was especially so for any ‗outsiders‘ who might be any nurses and/or any non-nursing HCPs who simply did not have any clinical ward experiences, especially those which belonged to student 5.

Words Any technical vocabulary that was specific to nursing was not found in the text, except for ‗study days‘ in Line 7. ‗Study days‘ was a term commonly used by nurses to refer to protected time for participating in formal classroom learning. Other healthcare professionals might have understood it better as study leave. Hence even if the term ‗study days‘ might not have been a term specifically ‗owned‘ by nurses, it was a term commonly used by nurses and not by the AHPs.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

21

4.1.2. Interdiscursive analysis In this stage of analysis, we focus on the genre of the text. Based on our analysis, the text included elements which might be expected in a written form of nursing documentation of patient care. The message tends to follow the structure of a four-staged problem solving approach in nursing (Figure 9). The four-staged approach to care which guided nurses in the delivery of patient care had been recognized and acknowledged as a useful working tool for nurses since its introduction to nursing practice in the 1970s. The concept of this approach was first borrowed from the discipline of business (Heath, 1995) and introduced by Yura and Walsh (1973) as an alternative to the medical model of patient care for nurses. The approach was advocated to be used in conjunction with nursing theories and/or nursing models, for it was believed that their combined use would achieve holistic patient-centered care. Since then, the problem solving approach to care was referred to as the nursing process. It is unique to nursing, for it uses standardized nursing language (Hamilton & Manias, 2006). Coming back to the genre of the text; the form of standardized nursing language in which there was consistent use of set terms for symptoms, problems and nursing activities (Hamilton & Manias, 2006) in the four stages of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the nursing process were all found in the text (Figure 9). The four stages of the nursing process were even found to be presented in their sequential order. An assessment was first made in Line 2 about the current situation of e-learning in the students‘ work place. The ‗problem‘ was then identified in Line 4 in which the government was ‗diagnosed‘ to have been too quick in jumping on the band wagon of implementing things, when they were not even ready for it. In the case of diagnosing a patient‘s problem which was very often complicated due to it being multifaceted, nurses were encouraged to assess the problem by considering any other influencing factors, so that the actual patient problems couldbe pinned down accurately such that effective treatment could be made possible. As in the case of discussion in the forum, this same approach seemed to have been adopted in the constructing of this text. This was evidenced in Line 5, where a reason for the problem was first provided and followed by more complicated issues such as secondary problems being identified in Line 6. Based on these identified problems, a recommendation in Line 9 was then made to resolve the problem. This reflected the stage of implementation in the four-staged approach to care, which in turn was based on the identified goals being set at the stage of planning. The latter was evidenced in Lines 7 and 8, where the ideals of what it would be like in the absence of the problems, were listed.All stages of the nursing process were explicitly reflected in the text except the last stage of evaluation, at which a proposed plan was supposed to be in place to determine how well the proposed plan had worked. This was not a surprise as, based on personal experiences, nurses in clinical practice often struggled with the completion of this final stage for various reasons, and would often leave this stage out. Hence more often than not, the nursing process is seen to finish at the implementation stage. Nevertheless, there were still many others who would mistakenly complete this stage with detailed information on a patient‘s outcome as affected by the plan of care. The same ‗mistake‘ was committed here. It was evidenced that a declaration of a potential reason for the ‗proposed plan‘ to fail was provided in just the same way as evaluation would have been carried out in care planning.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

22

Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Leeet al.

4.1.3.Social analysis In view of the great resemblance between the text and nursing care plans, it was important for us to digress to look at nursing care plans in practice. This was because knowledge of how these care plans worked in clinical practice will help one to understand the observations we are about to make on this text. In all patients‘ nursing records, any patient problems managed by the nursing team and the AHPs were called the nursing problems. They were determined by the nursing diagnoses, which were derived from the unique nursing knowledge and based on nursing expertise. Nursing problems were only legitimised by the primary nurses, for they were the primary carers who had gone through a holistic approach in the nursing process to work out the patient-centered problem and to have developed the nursing care plans. Although these resultant nursing care plans were meant to support a multidisciplinary approach to care (Crisp, et. al., 2005), the purpose of care planning was decided by the nurses. Moreover, the implementation plan drawn up by the primary nurses was a blueprint on which patient care delivered by all other nurses and AHPs was based. In other words, all care implemented by any other nurses or AHPs would be stipulated by the plan of care as designed by the primary nurses. It was therefore apparent that care plans are where nurses become a dominant source of governmentality and social regulation of patients‘ activities of daily living as implicated by medicine (Hyde, et. al., 2006). However, as discussed earlier, nursing care plans are not only nurses‘ judgment of what normal activities are or are not for the patients (Hyde, et. al., 2006), they are also meant for one way communication rather than a two-way dialogical communication of nurses‘ judgment with other nurses as well as the AHPs. When the construction of the text has resulted in it sharing identical genres as a nursing care plan, student 5 was constructed as someone who was in a position to assess and judge the current e-learning situation within the NHS. As in the case of care planning, primary nurses were positioned as the experts, who would work out the nursing problems, and ultimately diagnose the patient condition. The plan of care which primary nurses drew up would unlikely to be corrected by anyone, for it had been assumed that no one would have a more holistic view of the patient than the primary nurses.In the same way, the assumptions made in the genre of this text was that the judgment being made, the issues being identified as problems, and the list of proposals for which the NHS or the government could adopt for elearning to be successful within healthcare were all not to be contested.

4.2. Student Online Learning Experiences – From the Analysis Any form of written text, whether it has the genres of any nursing documentation, or not, had very few dialogical elements, simply because written texts were meant for one way communication (Fairclough, 2001). There are two important aspects of written text; written text acquired a degree of independence both from the writing (in this case type writing) and reading process and they were constructed with a particular readership in mind. Written texts were therefore orientated to particular receptions (Fairclough, 2001).In this regard, responses to any texts were highly dependent on the interpretation peers made from reading the messages. The interpretation by readers of written texts would in turn be largely based upon the common-sense assumptions and expectations which were the common-sense knowledge

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

23

of that interpreter. Indeed, Fairclough (1989) who identified this common-sense knowledge as ‗members‘ resources‘ had claimed that they were required for interpreters to have in order to make sense of the written texts. This message which is typical in this discussion forum had not employed any use of coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. It was not dialogical and was the least engaging with its readers. There was no evidence to suggest that the text was trying to convince the readers. There was only evidence in the text which suggested the setting up of a non-dialogical divide between student 5 as the expert who was making the assertions and her peers, to whom the texts were addressed. In this text, it appeared that it was not only decided in the discussion that both the NHS and the government were not ready for e-learning, but also, the issue about the readiness of the NHS or the government was not opened for discussion, just as in the case of any nursing diagnoses and the plan of care in the nursing records of patient care. This was obvious in an assumption contained in Line 9 ―As we're becoming to be aware, e.learning is…‖ ; this line assumed that those who had the knowledge, would agree with student 5 instead of challenging her. In this light, its potential respondents - the nurses and the AHPs were more likely to read and digest the examples listed as evidence in the same way they were expected to response upon receiving any nursing documentation of care created by the primary nurses.Since, the evidence in the text only suggested that the NHS and the government were not ready for e-learning, those who were likely to make sense of the texts were those who shared similar negative ideas about the readiness of the NHS in e-learning. Apparently this was the case, access to learning indeed resided with those who were able to contribute further to the existing negative ideas in the text (Evidence of this is discussed in section 3.5). Thus, even if this text was access enhancing it was limited to only those who were as ‗knowledgeable‘ as its creator. This text was in fact, access limiting to those who shared an alternative view. As a result, the context of learning became confined and could not go beyond issues which had already been raised by student 5 (Evidence of this is discussed in section 4.3). From the earlier analysis, it was obvious that the attempt to adapt a discourse in nursing, whereby an alternative approach to the medical model of care, which was well adopted in clinical practice since the 1970s, was in the construction of this text. Through this analysis, it was clear that the effects of such an attempt in nursing discourse on learning situations, is not only detrimental to the context of learning, but also detrimental to its access to learning. Notice from the interaction, there were only 3 responses generated in this discussion thread, all of which were contributed by nursing students. In addition, the interactions within this discussion thread were not intensive, it was obvious that responses were directed at student 5 alone, and there was no communication established between the 3 respondents. Another unique feature of this discussion thread was the absence of communication established afterwards. Apparently, student 5 did not return response to any of her respondents. This indicated that the issues being discussed were not persisted. When this happened, it was unlikely for any deep learning to take place.

4.3. Student Online Learning Experiences—Evaluated by Participant‘s Own Interpretation of Text To demonstrate how the analysis helped to validate the earlier findings and conclusions derived from CDA of the original message from student 5, responses to the message were

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

24

Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Leeet al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

analysed. For illustrative purposes, the message contributed by student 12, a typical response of the other 2 in the discussion thread was selected for analysis. In order to explain the student interprofessional online learning experiences, the findings of the three main analytical steps of linguistic, interdiscursive and social analysis of interactional analysis are discussed, focusing on the effects of the message of student 5.

4.3.1. Positioning of nurses as experts being reinforced in the participants’ responses Please refer to figure 10 for discussion in this section. The opening statement in Line 2 ―I totally agree with you…‖ had declared the purpose of this posting, which was fulfilled in the rest of the text. There was a large volume of evidence provided in this text to illustrate the problem that had been identified in extract 1. In this text, many examples were given to support the evidence provided by student 5. Examples were personal and included references either to one self or to others. The latter implicitly indicated other nurses. This rhetoric move strengthened its support of the initial problems identified in the text contributed by student 5. This was evidenced when student 12, as well as all other nurses including those who had not been working in clinical settings (this also implied all nurses in this conference), were constructed as being able to testify to the identified problems produced in extract 1. In this way, the views put forward by student 5 not only remained unchallenged, on the contrary, they were being strongly supported. This is because for now, the problem student 5 had raised in her original text could presumably be identified by even a larger pool of nurses. By doing so, the text had also confirmed the position of student 5 as an expert, who was knowledgeable enough to judge the state of the NHS. Not only were her views which were put forward in her original text not contested, they were reinforced in this text as the truth, without any modalisation. Any invitation for negotiation on the views was not present. Just as in the case of care planning, other nurses who came along at a later stage would only build on the existing care plan with additional patient information that had been gathered. They were not likely to make any alterations to the original nursing problems which had been diagnosed by the primary nurse, who presumably had the expert knowledge, based on the holistic view of patients she held. This explains why the two other responses were in fact posted directly to student 5 and not to student12.This reflected a very similar picture of the social order in practice that those who participated in the care of a patient are accountable to only one primary nurse who was the expert in the care plan; in this case, it was the nurse who started the discussion thread. This further reinforced the identity of student 5 as the expert in this discussion thread. Apparently in the text created by student 12, the views of student 5 were not challenged, rather they were uncritically accepted. This was because by sharing the genres of nursing care plans, knowledge of the subject in question tended to reside with the sender and not the addressee and/or receiver of the text. Hence, the ‗hidden‘ ground rules in messages which took the form of nursing discourse was that; when online discussion involved only unidirectional communication, knowledge transfer was from the knower (the nurse as the original contributor of messages) to those who presumably lacked the required knowledge (other nurses and AHPs who were on the receiving end). This had then rendered the current text contributed by student 12 to also become non-dialogical to those who did not share similar views with student 5.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

25

4.3.2. Selective access to learning reinforced in the participants’ responses Aggravating this was another aspect of the text which made it non-dialogical. The nondialogical element was within its assumptions contained in the technical codes and vocabularies in Lines 6 and 8 (‗NHSU‘, ‗WDC‘, ‗white papers‘ ‗LLL‘). These were vocabularies and codes specifically used by nurses who held roles and responsibilities at strategic management level. Hence, it was likely that these technical codes were not only unknown to nurses at operational level, but they were also strange to many AHPs. Yet these lines assumed that all participants knew what these codes were. This was obviously a feature which indicated the failing of student 12 to acknowledge the presence of those who might not be aware of these codes, particularly nurses and AHPs who were not working at management level. The lack of response from student 5 for clarification of these technical terms seems to suggest that these word problems could be matched with prior knowledge of the two nurses (student 5 and 12) in a context outside of this conference. As such, the dialogical divide created in the original text was reinforced in this text; in this discussion, it had separated those who know from those who don‘t. Inevitably, membership was sought in the constructing of the text. In this regard, the text was only able to activate learning amongst students with pre-existing assumptions, beliefs and attitudes which were of course, nursing in nature but coveringonlya limited aspect of nursing. On the receiving end, students as respondents could only draw upon what they already knew (Rosenblatt, 1994). Moreover, this text was also lengthy with a word count of 262. Although written forms of language are inevitably longer usually covering many concepts (Bhatia 2004), this may not be the case in this text. This text was simply lengthy, and by having this feature of a written text which was meant for one-way communication (Fairclough, 2003), would certainly remove the dialogical element of the text. What more, there was extensive use of declarative sentences in the text, which were constructed without the use of any conjunctions. This had resulted in the text failing further to present itself as being dialogical. Without a proper match of the nursing text within the knowledge of AHPs which was non-nursing in perspective, the ease of reading and acquiescing to the authority of the text was likely to reside exclusively with the nurses. Texts in the form of a nursing discourse would automatically discourage participation from the AHPs, such that the discussion thread even if it was well established by nurses, could not be co-participated by the AHPs. This phenomenon reflected the notion of membership in discourse; the process of colonization occurs when people commit themselves to a discourse community in the presence of an audience (Goffman, 1959). In this example, it was evidenced that the discourse community was not all of the participants, but a few nurses and clearly, all the allied healthcare professionals were the audience. 4.3.3. Didactic and restrictive learning reinforced in the participants’ responses In the absence of extensive collaborative learning, other aspects of a topic area, which were equally important for learning could easily be ignored and subsequently, marginalised in the conference. In this case when messages from the nursing professionals had made up the entire discussion thread, students‘ allegiance and orientation to the messages was to a nursing discipline, and might even be to a specific nursing discipline such that learning was restricted and went no further than a limited and confined boundary of a specific nursing perspective.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

26

Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Leeet al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

This explained why the text itself did not generate any responses other than the three from nurses. In this text, apparently there were many linguistic features to suggest that the communication was exclusively between student 5 and student 12. This was confirmed by the social analysis that also made apparent that all other participants were not invited and therefore, had no access to participating in discussion. As a result, the interprofessional online learning took the form of didactic learning from the ‗experts‘. In this case, the expert was a nurse whose knowledge was unchallenged. Learning in the conferencewas in the form of the uncritical acceptance of the knowledge given in a restricted context set by the ‗expert‘, an identity of which was constructed by the expert (student 5) and subsequently co-constructed by all other participants, who either participated to support the view orwho simply did not participateto challenge the view.

Figure 10. Interactional analysis of Extract 2

5. REFLECTION OF THE ANALYSIS Based on the illustrations, it was demonstrated that CDA is not only a useful but also an important analytic tool for establishing the student interprofessional online learning experiences particularly when social relations are the focus. In essence, CDA is important for identifying the online discursive practices in interprofessional learning which involved nurses. The use of CDA was able to help identify the features of ‗talk‘ and made explicit how they impacted upon relationships, responses and identities which had either facilitated or

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

27

impeded collaborative and deep learning. In addition its use had also illuminated the practices within the text-based learning environment which had encouraged hybridisation of conference discourse to result in learning to become restrictive and consequently, accessible to a selected few HCPs, such that only nurses seemed to have a sense of legitimate belonging to an interprofessional online community. Having been able to obtain a more insightful understanding of the healthcare professionals‘ interprofessional online learning experiences, the need for analysts to remain politically engaged might raise concerns about the findings. This is particularly so when the latter wereindeed heavily influenced by how analysts interpret the data. However, as explained in section 2.2, the rigor of the study was ensured, and this was due to the interactive nature of the data in this study. For this reason, the analysis was able to be continued from the point where an understanding was gained from the discursive patterns in the original texts to evaluating this understanding with the responses to the original texts. As such, the social implications found in the local production of the discourse were able to be established. In this regard, the analysis was never based solely on the researchers‘ view, but rather, it was constantly validated by the views of studentswho participated in the module, and more importantly, it was validated by their endogenous interpretations of the discussions at the very moment whenthey were participating in the module. However, as highlighted earlier, maintaining a critical stance in this critical research is unavoidable. The analysis, though constantly validated by the participants‘ endogenous interpretations was indeed, based on the researcher‘s view of the discursive order. Hence, study which use CDA as in the case of the current one has every potential to end up reproducing or reinforcing the implicit power relations it uncovered. With that in mind, the analysis of interprofessional online learning experiences with nurses may be best made available for scrutiny by readers who may have either a nursing or a non-nursing background. Therefore, there should be efforts made to ensure transparency in the analysis, and if possible the research report should be accompanied with some illustrative examples of the analytic procedure; similar to what we have done here. As such, readers can judge for themselves the credibility and trustworthiness to the interpretations of the phenomenon offered by the researchers.

CONCLUSION By employing CDA, the understanding of the interprofessional online learning experiences was able to move beyond describing the experiences to explaining the causes of the experiences and also, the impact of learning from these experiences. This knowledge in turn, provided a good indication of the implications of the findings in other contexts of interprofessional online learning. For the reason that the data involved in this type of research were interactive, analysis of text production was possible with reference to text distribution as well as text consumption. In this way, instead of being basedon the researchers‘ interpretation, the meanings held for those involved in the online interprofessional learning and their experiences were able to be obtained through the analysis. More than this, by using CDA to analyse data that was generated in an authentic learning environment, an insightful perspective on social interaction between nurses and their

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

28

Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Leeet al.

counterparts and an approach to knowledge construction across history, societies and cultures in the healthcare discipline as well as that in higher learning were gained. It is for this reason that future strategies to ensure effective online interprofessional learning can potentially be more focused, and they therefore may be more appropriately designed to target the specific problematic issues in interprofessional online learning, which involves nurses. It was clear that our proposal for using CDA was based on our knowledge of the fact that the theoretical tensions in CDA are potentially released when CDA is employed in research which used data that would allow endogenous interpretation of the data by those who participated in generating the data. Nevertheless, it is important to appreciate that our approach to the analysis was based on the postmodernist view that truths were relative to the discourse and to the language game at the moment they were produced and consumed. It is for this very reason we do not dispute the fact that the use of CDA for any investigation is still very much based on the world view of the researchers in general or the researchers‘ view at the time when the data are analysed and interpreted. Influencing the analysis is more likely to be the researchers‘ political stance. Therefore, evaluating criteria which are broadly used in any research that is qualitative in nature will have to be meticulously employed to give account of the researchers‘ reflexivity when CDA is used in uncovering the students‘ interprofessional online learning experiences.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Bakhtin, M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays. Austin, Texas: Texas University Press. Baumann, A., O'Brien-Pallas, L., Armstrong-Stassen, M., Blythe, J., Bourbonnais, R., Cameron, S., Doran, D. I., Kerr, M., McGillis, L., Zina, M. V., Butt, M.& Ryan, L. (2001). Commitment and Care: The Benefits of a Healthy Workplace for Nurses, their Patients and the System. Canadian Health Research Foundation. Available online, http://28784.vws.magma.ca/funding_opportunities/commissioned_research/polisyn/pdf/p scomcare_e.pdf. (Accessed on 10.02.2009). Bhaskar, R. (1986). Scientific Realism and Human Emancipation. London: Verso. Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Words of written discourse. London: Continuum International publishinggroup. Brenchley, T.& Robinson, S. (2001). Outpatient nurses: from handmaiden to autonomous practitioner. British Journal of Nursing, 10(16), 1067-1072. Burge, E. (1994). Learning in computer conference contexts: The learners‘ perspective. Journal of Distance Education, 9(1), 19-43. Chouliaraki, L.& Fairclough, N. (1999). Discourse in late modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Scotland: Edinburgh University Press. Crisp, J., Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G.& Taylor, C. (2005). Potter and Perry's fundamentals of nursing. 2nd ed. Australia; Elsevier. Derry, S. J.& Murphy, D. A. (1986).Designing systems that train learning ability: From theory to practice. Review of Educational Research, 56(1), 1-39. Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. London: Longman. Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

29

Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: the critical study of language. England: Longman. Fairclough, N. (2001). The discourse of new labour: Critical discourse Analysis. In; M., Wetherell., S., Taylor.& S. J. Yates. (Ed) Discourse as Data. A guide for analysis. London, Sage/Open University: 229-266. Fairclough, N. (2003). Analyzing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. New York: Routledge. Fernback, J. (2003). Legends on the net: an examination of computer-mediated communication as a locus of oral culture. New Media and Society, 5(1), 29-45. Fisher, S. (1995). Nursing wounds: Nurse practitioners, Doctors, Women patients and the negotiation of meaning. Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Forgacs, D. (1988). A Gramsci Reader. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Foucault, M. (1972). The Archaeology of knowledge and discourse on language. Harmondsworth, UK, Penguin Books. Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books. Foucault, M. (1981). History of sexuality. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books. Foucault, M. (2000). The essential works of Foucault (Volume 3, Power). New York: The New Press. Gee, J. P. (1990). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideologies in discourse. London: Falmer. Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday. Green, L. (1998). Playing croquet with Flamingos: a guide to moderating online conferences. Human Resources Development. Canada [Online]; Available: http://www.emoderators. com/moderators/flamingoe.pdf (accessed on 05. 01.2005). Habermas, J. (1973). Theory and Practice. Boston: Beacon Press. Halliday, M. A. K.& Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman. Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London, Edward Arnold Press. Halliday, M. A. K. (1985). Spoken and written language. Victoria; Deakin University Press. Hamilton, B.& Manias, E. (2006). She‘s manipulative and he‘s right off: A critical analysis of psychiatric nurses‘ oral and written language in the acute inpatient setting. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 15(2), 84-92. Harasim, L. (2006). A History of e-learning: shift happened. In;J., Weiss, J. Nolan,& J. Hunsinger, (Ed).The International handbook of virtual learning environment.The Netherlands, Springer, 59-94. Heath, H. B. M. (1995). Potter and Perry's Foundations in Nursing: Theory and Practice. UK: Mosby. Hojat, M., Fields, S., Rattner, S., Griffiths, M., Cohen, M.& Plumb. J. (1997). Attitudes toward Physician–Nurse Alliance: Comparisons of Medical and Nursing Students. Academic Medicine, 72(10), S1-S3. Huckin, T. N. (1997). Critical Discourse Analysis. In T. Miller (Ed). Functional Approaches to Written Text: Classroom Applications. Washington D.C, United States, Information Agency, 78-92. Hutchby, I.& Woofit, R. (1998). Conversational Analysis. Malden MA: Blackwell Pub. Hyde, A., Treacy, M. M. Scott, A. P., Neela, P. M., Butler, M., Drennan, J., Irving, K.& Byrne, A. (2006). Social regulation, medicalisation and the nurse‘s role: Insights from an

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

30

Jennifer C. F. Loke, Derek Colquhoun, Kah Wai Leeet al.

analysis of nursing documentation. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43(6), 735744. Koschmann, T. D. (1996). CSCL, theory and practice of an emerging paradigm. New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Luke, A. (1997). Theory and Practice in Critical Discourse Analysis. InL. Saha (Ed)International Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Education. Oxford: Elsevier Science: 50-56. McConnell, D. (2000). Implementing Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. London: Kogan Page. O'Connell, B., Young, J., Brooks, J., Hutchings, J.& Lofthouse, J. (2000). Nurses' perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggression in general ward settings and high dependency areas. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 9(4), 602-610. O‘Connor, M. (2005).Mission statements: an example of exclusive language in palliative care? International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 11(4), 190-195. Orem, D. E. (1995). Nursing: Concepts of Practice (5th Ed). St Louis: Mosby-Year Book. Pollard, K. C. (2008). Non-formal learning and interprofessional collaboration in health and social care: the influence of the quality of staff interaction on student learning about collaborative behaviour in practice placements. Learning in Health and Social Care, 7(1),12-26. Radcliffe, M. (2000). Doctors and nurses: new game, same result. British Medical Journal, 320(7241), 1085. Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: the transactional theory of the literary work. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. Salmon, G. (2003). E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page. Shields, M.& Wilkins, K. (2006). Findings from the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses. Statistics Canada, Health Canada, and Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2006. Available online, http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/83003-X/83-003-XIE.html, (accessed on 10.02.2009). St-Pierre, I.& Holmes, D. (2008). Managing nurses through disciplinary power: a Foucauldian analysis of workplace violence. Journal of Nursing Management, 16(2),352359. Taylor, S. (2001). Locating and Conducting Discourse Analytic Research. In M. T. Wetherell, S. Yates (Ed) Discourse as Data: A Guide for Analysis., London, Sage, 5-48. Thompson, D. R.&Stewart,S. (2007). Handmaiden or right-hand man: Is the relationship between doctors and nurses still therapeutic? International Journal of Cardiology, 118(2),139-140. Thompson, M. (2002). ICT, power, and development discourse: A critical analysis. Research Seminar. Available online, http://www.jims.cam.ac.uk/research/seminar/slides/2003/ 030529_thompson_ab.pdf. (accessed on 10.02.2009). Van Dijk, T. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse and Society, 4(2), 249-283. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wetherell, M. (2001). Themes in Discourse Research: The Case of Diana. In M. T. Wetherell, S. Yates (Ed). Discourse Therapy and Practice., London: Sage, 14-28.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Analysing Healthcare Professionals‘ Interprofessional Learning Experiences…

31

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Yates, S. J. (2001). Researching Internet Interaction: Sociolinguistics and Corpus Analysis. In: M. T. Wetherell,& S. Yates, (Ed) Discourse as Data: A Guide for Analysis. London, Sage, 93-146. Yura, H.& Walsh, M. B. (1973). The Nursing Process: Assessing, Planning, Implementing, Evaluating. 2nd ed. New York; Appleton-Century-Crofts.\

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 2

WEBELS: CONTENT-CENTERED GENERAL PURPOSE E-LEARNING PLATFORM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR LOW SPEED INTERNET Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk and Arjulie John Berena National Institute of Informatics, Japan, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a general purpose content-centered e-Learning platform WebELS (Web-based e-Learning System) to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in science and technology especially for PhD education by means of advanced information and communication technology (ICT). According to our analysis on PhD education, e-Learning system features should be different from those of undergraduate education. Unlike in the undergraduate programs where automated examinations and test for evaluating the quality of knowledge acquired by learners are typical features of e-Learning system, the activities in the PhD programs are characterized as self-learning, group meetings, teacher-student discussion, research presentation, etc. In addition, globalization of higher education in science and technology has become strongly important. It should be noted that e-Learning platform should be available not only in advanced countries where high quality Internet is widely used but also should be available in developing countries such as in Asia and Africa where lowspeed Internet is normally used. WebELS is therefore designed to provide high quality eLearning environment for higher education in science and technology to meet these demands. Since WebELS is designed as a general purpose e-Learning platform, it is useful not only in education but also for business meeting in institutions and industry. WebELS consists of three major modules, i.e., WebELS Learning for on-demand selflearning, WebELS Meeting for Internet-based on-line meeting, and WebELS Lecture for Internet-based distance lecture, as an ―all-in-one‖ system. Using an easy-to-use powerful

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

34

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al. authoring function, non-IT users can create their own e-Learning contents on their personal computer as a series of slides from such as PPT, pdf, image and video data and is uploaded to the WebELS server for e-Learning. Audio and cursor movements can be recorded onto each slide and be played back in a synchronized manner to help easier understanding in on-demand self learning. Using WebELS Meeting, a multiple-location virtual meeting can be easily achieved by a combination of video meeting function and slide-based presentation function without any special devices ―anywhere and anytime‖. Because WebELS is a Java and Flash-based program, it is a multiple OS system that can be used on a variety of client computers such as Windows, Mac OS and Linux. WebELS software is available as an open source system and currently used in universities and industries in Japan and other Asian countries.

Keywords: WebELS, Distance Learning, e-Learning, Video Conference, Online Presentation, Whiteboard.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION Recent progress in science and technology has been accelerated by high technology, such as ICT and the Internet. The acceleration is expected to increase in the 21st century, since the informatization of society has been progressing. Rapid progress of technology is influencing in reconstructing the education systems as well, such that knowledge learned at universities become out-of-date in shorter years, and scientists and engineers are required to obtain new knowledge continuously after graduation. Lifelong education is therefore definitely required from the points of views of both individual, and the nation [1]. In order to improve the quality and productivity in technology and engineering fostering high-quality of engineers as well as engineering scientists is strongly requested by the society. However, employees who are working in industries have limited opportunities for learning advanced knowledge, because of time-limitation, and location-limitation. Traditional classroom-based education cannot answer to this kind of social demands. Internet-based e-Learning has great possibility to solve this problem, since this growing education system has a variety of benefits based on the recent progresses in the areas of advanced internetworking technologies, multimedia information processing technologies, and sophisticated software technologies, at lower cost and higher quality at global scale [2]. The role of universities is requested to change the learning environment into that direction. The traditional model of higher education in science and technology in universities is a combination of undergraduate and graduate education based on a classroom-oriented lecture. Most of higher education in Japan is still in this way. Only few universities are trying to introduce Internet-based e-Learning for correspondence courses for working students. This is because most professors are conservative on introducing an e-Learning system. While, social demand for graduate education especially in a PhD program in international scale is increasing, that strongly requires the use of Internet-based e-Learning system. In this paper we propose a general purpose e-Learning platform WebELS (Web-based eLearning System) to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in science and technology especially for PhD education by means of advanced information and communication technology. According to our analysis on PhD education, e-Learning system features should be different from those of undergraduate education. Unlike in the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

35

undergraduate programs where automated examination functions for evaluating the quality of primitive knowledge acquired by learners at high-school are typical features of e-Learning system, the activities in the PhD programs are characterized as self-learning, group meetings, teacher-student discussion, presentation in a conference, etc. In addition, globalization of higher education in science and technology has become strongly important. It should be noted that e-Learning platform should be available not only in advanced countries where high quality Internet is widely used but also should be available in developing countries such as in Asia and Africa where low-speed Internet is normally used. WebELS is therefore designed to provide high quality e-Learning environment for higher education in science and technology to meet these demands. Since WebELS is designed as a general purpose e-Learning platform, it is useful not only in education but also for business meeting in institutions and industry. The combined use of WebELS which is Content Management System (CMS) with Learning Management System (LMS) such as Moodle [3] is also a suitable idea such that functions of both systems would be featuring together in undergraduate education. WebELS consists of three major modules, i.e., WebELS Learning for self-learning, WebELS Meeting for Internet-based on-line meeting, and WebELS Lecture for Internetbased distance lecture, as an ―all-in-one‖ system. Using an easy-to-use authoring interface non-IT users can create their own e-Learning contents very easily as a series of slides converted from PPT, PDF, image and video data on their personal computer and is uploaded to the WebELS server for dissemination. Audio and cursor can be recorded onto each slide and be played back in a synchronized manner to help facilitate easier understanding. It should be noted that the feature of a slide-based content structure give teachers a benefit such that it is easy to replace some contents with new ones and modify specific slide to meet a continuous progress in science and technology. WebELS is a Java-based Linux server system and functioning even in a low-speed Internet environment. Every functional module such as Content Editor, Presentation Manager, Video Meeting Manager is downloaded from the server onto the user‘s computer automatically as a Java Applet through various web browsers. On the other hand, WebELS Video Meeting module is based on flash programming and communicates with the flash streaming server. The WebELS software is available as an open source system and is used in universities and industries in Japan and other Asian countries. WebELS demonstrated usefulness in actual post graduate education in science and technology in Japan and also in international distance lectures and seminars in Asia. It is also used in business meetings in Japanese industries using a powerful multi-point on-line meeting features that provide a combination of video meeting and document presentation in a low speed Internet environment. Firewall-freeness gives a benefit in this kind of use.. The rest of chapter consists of following sections: Design Concepts of WebELS, Outline of the System, Key Features and Implementation, Evaluation, Discussions and Future Works and Conclusion.

BACKGROUND CONCEPT OF WEBELS WebELS is designed to provide an advanced e-Learning platform for globalizing graduate education in science and technology focusing on authoring and dissemination of multimedia contents, aiming to assist instructors to archive their learning materials on the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

36

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

webfor on-demand learning, online meeting and online lecture. We have analyzed the characteristics of PhD education from the points of view of e-Learning [4-9]. Some key characteristics are in the following: 





Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.



PhD students are research partners as well as students whose activities as individual scientists are involved in higher education. Joining research meetings and giving research presentations at international conferences are typical examples. Slide-based presentation followed by discussions is a typical style. Slide-based lecture is a typical style of classroom lecture, and slide-based playback with voice and synchronized cursors on a learner‘s computer seems to be reasonable for on-demand self learning. High quality slides with voice and cursor are requested to be played back in a narrow-band Internet. Powerful authoring features for non-IT users are strongly requested so that professors can create and edit their own educational materials on their personal computers and upload them onto the WebELS server. E-Learning system must be used on multiple operating systems which include Windows, Mac OS and Linux in a global situation over the Internet.

WebELS was therefore designed to meet these requirements mainly for supporting global PhD education as a contents management e-Learning system (CMS). Java programming language was chosen for achieving a multiple OS system to be used in Windows, Mac OS and Linux. WebELS is an all-in-one e-Learning system consisting of three modules, i.e., WebELS Learning for self-learning, WebELS Meeting for Internet-based on-line meeting, and WebELS Lecture for Internet-based on-line distance lecture. PPT presentation slides are converted into a series of image slides in an authoring session using the easy-to-use content editor. Voice and synchronized cursor movements can be attached to each slide by means of a voice recording function of the editor. PDF and image files are also converted to images, i.e., slides as well. Video clip can be inserted into the list of slides by means of specially designed function of the editor. So, it is easy to combine PPT, PDF, image, and video on a user‘s computer using the editor. The editor is automatically downloaded from the WebELS server when the user selects create or edit function on the contents list as discussed in the following chapters. Image-based contents are easy to maintain and safe for copyright protection. Export and Import functions are available so that the author of specific contents can move their contents from one server to another server. This function is useful to maintain WebELS contents in a distributed WebELS server systems environment. The same multimedia contents can be used for three styles of usage in a similar manner. That is, a content created and uploaded to the WebELS Learning database can also be used for WebELS Meeting by copying it within the server by means of the Export-Import function. By means of an embedded voice meeting function it is easy to achieve WebELS Meeting and WebELS Lecture in a narrow-band Internet environment with high quality image slides. The quality is accomplished by means of a pre-downloading feature of the system. Online zooming, cursor pointing and annotation functions support easy-to-understand slide-based online meeting and lecture. It should be stressed that the design concepts as well as key features have been carefully considered from the analysis of user demands. We are going to keep this policy in the future. An offline-viewing feature, named OFV, was added according

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

37

to the request of most users. By means of OFV a user can download a specific content from the server onto his computer and bring it without Internet connection for viewing later in offline mode. OFV content is a package of viewer and content. In addition for using OFV in offline mode self-learning, it is possible to send it by an e-mail attachment and can be inserted to another contents management system maintained by another platform such as Moodle for distribution. Another policy in developing the system is that the WebELS software should be distributed as an open source. Because of this universities in developing countries will be able to install the WebELS system onto their web server free of charge. We believe that this policy would be one type of international contributions in globalization of higher education in science and technology.

OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 1 shows an overview of the WebELS system. As shown in the figure, WebELS is a server-based system functioning on a Linux server. Every user can use the system over the Internet using a browser, such as IE. The editor is downloaded onto user‘s computer by accessing to the server for authoring contents, and viewer is downloaded to user‘s computer when he accesses to the server for self-learning, Internet meeting and distance lecture. The editor and viewer are implemented in Java and thus downloaded as Java Applets. Windows users are requested to pre-install JRE (Java Runtime Environment) through the Internet. Java programming language was chosen because it is powerful in developing a variety of functions and a multi-OS system was realized, i.e., the system provides every function for Windows, Mac and Linux users equally.

Figure 1. Overview of the WebELS System

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

38

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Multi-language feature is another important character of the system to support a global use of e-Learning in science and engineering. The user interface is automatically switched to English or Japanese language by detecting the browser language. It is possible to append other languages in this way. It should be noted that the editor as well as the viewer, i.e., player, is working on a client computer in offline processing. The processing in the Learning session is monitored by the server for managing the user‘s operations that include Login, Logout, Downloading, Uploading, and so on. For online meeting and lecturing, the server‘s role is numerous. It includes online slide changing, online cursor positioning, online annotation, online zooming, voice meeting, and so on. Since slide-based images are pre-downloaded onto every members of a meeting as well as a distance lecture, high quality slide sharing by multiple locations are available in a low-speed Internet environment. Downloading time is varying according to the speed of data transmission over the Internet from several seconds to several minutes. Figure 2 shows an example of viewing windows for on-demand self learning of WebELS Learning. Synchronization of sound and cursor makes easy to understand slide-based lectures on user‘s computer in a narrow-band Internet environment [10]. A content with viewer is downloaded from the server onto the user‘s computer in advance, then playback is executed on it offline. The zooming function is available so that a learner can zoom-in at any position of the slide. A voice and cursor synchronization helps him/her in understanding a lecture. A user-friendly editing interface to create the content is installed within the editor as discussed later.

Figure 2. An Example of Playback for Self-learning (Shimamoto)

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

39

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 3. An Image of Internet Meeting (from Bourgeois/UNESCO)

Figure 3 shows an example of two slides in online multi-point Internet meeting by using WebELS Meeting module. Several groups are able to organize Internet meetings independently by using the embedded functions such as ad-hoc presenter management, online cursor positioning, online annotation, online zooming and video conferencing. A virtual meeting room is automatically created when several users access to a specific content with specific password. One of the members can obtain the presenter‘s right to control presentation just by clicking a presenter bottom on the viewing window. Presenter can be switched to another member by clicking this bottom any time during the session. The server has the monitoring function to manage this kind of multi-point meeting. Since WebELS is a content download-based system, every user is requested to download the content onto his computer before starting the meeting. During the meeting session only control signals for changing slides, pointing cursor and annotation data, in addition to video information, are transmitted over the Internet, and then high quality slides can be shared even in a narrow-band Internet environment. Figure 4 shows an example of Video Meeting combined with Presentation One of the most important functions of WebELS is that easy-to-use authoring interface is available for non-IT users. Users can create their own contents on their own computer from existing PPT, PDF, image and video data by means of a specially designed editing interface. Figure 5 shows the editing interface of the WebELS system. In creating a new multimedia content a user is requested to click the ―Create a New Course‖ bottom on the contents list window assigned to him/her first. Then the authoring system is downloaded from the server onto the client computer as a Java Applet, followed by initialization process for starting the applet, and the editing interface appears as in the figure.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

40

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 4.Video Meeting combined with Presentation Function

Figure 5. Editing Interface

Editing procedure is quite simple even for non-IT users. For creating a new content, enter the title of a course into the first column, choose a category and subcategory, and set a

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

41

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

password to protect from unauthorized viewing if needed. Creation of content is done as in the following procedure. Choose one of four types of data from office documents, pdf, image, and video by selecting a button and press the ―Add‖ button as shown in the figure. Then, choose a file on the computer by browsing the folders. After selecting a file, it is converted to a standardized WebELS slide format and recorded onto the working file for further editing procedure. The slide list appears in the window as in the figure. It is possible to combine four types of files into one content using this interface by means of Add, Remove, Up and Down functions. Figure 6 shows the user interface for recording voice and cursor onto a specific slide that is identified in the editing interface shown in Figure 5. Select one of the slides in the slide list window, click the ―Preview Record‖ button, then a user interface appears as in Figure 6. Recording voice and cursor can be done in a quite simple procedure. Just click the ―Record Audio & Cursor‖ button and recording process begins. Voice recording is achieved just by talking toward a microphone. If a cursor is used during talking, then synchronized record of cursor is done. By clicking the ―x‖ button (erasing-window button) of the window the recorded slide is moved to the working file and a ―recorded mark‖ appears in the front of each slide in the window.

Figure 6. Voice and Cursor Recording Interface (from Angelino)

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

42

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

KEY FUNCTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION WebELS Learning The WebELS Learning system is designed to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in engineering and science in asynchronous mode. Lecturers can use the system to create and maintain contents to be distributed online. Learners can browse the content list and start to learn using the content by themselves. As an all-in-one system, the WebELS learning system provides all necessary tools during e-Learning process. Tools like content authoring, content management, user management, learning progress tracing, and ondemand viewer are included in the system. Among the tools, content authoring and ondemand viewer are unique and worth to be described for the rest of this section.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Content authoring To transfer multimedia-based contents on internet in tolerable time, the size of contents and the quality of the internet connection are key factors [11]. To decrease the size of the contents while keeping the quality of contents, a complete tool is provided in WebELS system. Before describing the content authoring tool, a discussion on the special data structure of WebELS-based content is necessary. a. Data structure of webels-based content In WebELS Learning module, a series of slides as content is used instead of using video directly in order to decrease the size of the content. So a typical WebELS-based content includes content descriptions and multiple slides as shown in Figure 7. In the content description field, some basic information of content like title, author, category, total length of content etc. are stored. In the slides field, each slide would be an independent unit which is the combination of image data, audio data, cursor actions, video clips and a description file. Web WebELSELS - based bas ed Content Cont ent

Cont ent Content Des cr i pt i on Description

Cont ent Content Des cr i pt i on Description

SlSlide i de 11

SlSlide i de 22

SlSlide i de 33

TiTitle/Author t l e/ aut hor

IImages mages

Category/Subcategory Cat egor y/ s ubcat egor y

Audi o fFiles i l es Audio

Total Tot al s Size/Length/Slides i ze/ l engt h/ s l i des StStart/End ar t / end Point poi ntofof each l i des EachsSlide

SlSlide i de33

Chapt er Name name of Chapter ever y Slide s l i de Every

Clips ViVideo deo cl i ps Cursor Cur s or Actions act i ons Descr i pt i on f i l e

Description File

Figure 7. Data Structure of WebELS-based Content

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

……

SlSlide i de nn

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

43

According to the data structure described above, an author has to give content descriptions and slides data to create a WebELS-based content. Normally, content authoring in WebELS Learning includes five parts. They are (1) content information inputting, (2) image converting and attaching, (3) audio recording or attaching, (4) video attaching, and (5) cursor actions recording. All these parts will be implemented in two main interfaces.

Part 1. Content information inputting The main interface to edit the basic information of WebELS-based content is shown in Figure 4 in the earlier section. Content title, category, subcategory, chapter name of each slide can be inputted in the interface. The process of converting images, recording audio and cursor actions, attaching video clips are also provided. Part 2. Image converting The images used in system can simulate the words and curves in blackboard of classroom or color pages in screen of presentation. The images used in WebELS Learning can be converted from one (or combination) of the following primitive types:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

     

Formatted text with different typefaces, colors, languages; Still image in the following formats: JPG, PNG, TIF; Animation such as GIF Animation; PDF hardcopy; Microsoft Office documents: DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, RTF; Open Office documents: ODP, ODT, ODS.

To support images converting from different format, WebELS learning system uses a unique technique. Like shown in Figure 8, all the necessary documents will be firstly compressed in a package; and then the package will be uploaded to the server of WebELS Learning system through internet. In the server, the package will be restored to original documents; the program in server will choose proper convert tools (for example, choose ghostscript for PDF document) and convert different types of documents into images. All new created images will be compressed to a package and sent back to client. After receive the package, the client will uncompress the package and get the images which can be used as one part of content. The converting process can be repeated many times.

Part 3. Video inserting In some traditional class, lectures do some demonstrations to give students intuitionistic impression. If some demonstration video clips are helpful for learners to understand the content easier, they can be inserted into the slides of the content. The layout of videos in slides can be managed by predefined templates or manually. Currently, only popular video formats like AVI, MOV, MPG etc are supported to use in the system. An option can be chosen to insert a video clips into a slide, where the placement of images can be adjusted in the slide using the predefined templates or manually.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

44

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Figure 8. Main Processes of Converting Documents to Images

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Part 4. Audio recording or attaching Audio is the key factor in a class or presentation. Through the audio, lectures‘ idea can be passed to the learners. After slides are created, lecturer can attached some audio streams into any slides. The system also provides the graphic user interface to record audio online. Attached audio file or recorded audio stream will be merged into the content file after the editing work is finished. Part 5. Cursor action recording The cursor actions in each slide are used to simulate lecturers‘ actions in presentations or classes. After slides are created, lecturers can use mouse key to move or click on each slide to record cursor actions. Cursor actions will be shown as red-cross icon in slides when learners view the contents. Lecturers can use cursor actions to give tip on the topic where they are talking to, or show the points they want to stress out. Lecturers can record cursor actions according to recorded audio and they can also record the cursor actions and audio simultaneously in the voice and cursor recording interface. b. Synchronization between audio and cursor actions Although a combination of audio files with image-based contents is an effective solution for the non-broadband users who cannot afford multimedia contents with large size and requiring long buffering time, lecturers are difficult to perform the process of the lecture or show certain important points in the lecture by using such kind of contents. In order to simulate lectures‘ action, a cursor file is also embedded into each slide of the contents. Users can point the cursor onto the corresponding slide to tip the topic they are talking to, or show the points they want to stress out and so on by using the editor applet. In WebELS system, each slide file in an e-learning course has its own timeline, which is used to: i) Chronologically record the cursor action (mainly for positions (x, y)); ii) Simultaneously store the information of the embedded audio stream (s, f), which represents the current state (play or stop) and frame numbers.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform… Synchr oni zat i on i nf or mat i on

Cur sor Act i ons (x1,y1) t0

(s0,f0)

(x3,y3)

t1

t2

(s1,f1)

f1=f4

t3

Audi o f i l e (x6,y6)

t4

(s4,f4)

45

t5

(s5,f5)

t6

(xi,yi) t7

tI

tn

(s7,f7)

f5=f7

Figure 9. Synchronization of Cursor Actions with Audio.

As Figure 9 shows, the cursor actions are synchronized with audio file in each slide file by the time shaft. For examples: i)

When t=t0, (s, f)=(play, 0) and (x, y)=(0, 0), the audio stream is started, and there is no cursor action; ii) When t=t1, (s, f)=(stop, f1) and (x, y)=(x1, y1), the audio stream is paused and the cursor is pointed to the location (x1, y1) on this slide; iii) When t=ti, (s, f)=(play, fi) and (x, y)=(xi, yi), the audio stream has processed fi frames and the cursor is pointed to the location (xi, yi) on this slide.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Also in Figure 9, a continuous audio file can be dispersed at different cursor positions according to the frame numbers recorded by the synchronization information. Therefore the duration of audio stream is normally shorter than cursor action although both of the actions are simultaneously recorded. Compared with real-time recording system, the file size of the audio stream which was edited based on synchronization information was decreased, namely, the size of WebELS-based content would also be decreased to some extent.

On-Demand viewer The On-Demand Viewer provides users a friendly platform to learn multimedia contents online or offline. The viewer was designed as a standard media player and users can easily control their contents. Zoom-in function is available so that details on slide can be displayed clearly. Figure 10 shows the on-demand viewer using in WebELS Learning system. Normally, the on-demand viewer includes six parts. They are: (1) The field of ―Content information‖ shows the title, author, and category of the content; (2) The field of ―Slides list‖ shows the num and name of all the slides inside the content; (3) The field of ―image‖ shows the images of current viewed slides; (4) The field of ―cursor action‖ is placed on the field of ―image‖ to show the lecturer‘s topic; (5) The field of ―control panel‖ provides some useful functions like stop ,pause, forward, reverse, fast-forward, fast-reverse, page ,zoom. (6) The field of ―Replay Progress‖ provides the information of the replay progress of the audio file.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

46

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Figure 10. On-Demand Viewer

The WebELS offline player is designed for students without settled network connection. It has the following features: 

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

 

The offline player was embedded into WebELS contents so all contents are like portable textbook. The interface style is same as online viewer so that the offline learning mode can ensure the maximum feasibility for users without network. The contents bundled with the offline player were encrypted in order to protect their copyright.

WebELS-based Content

Slide 1

Slide 2

Slide i

Slide N

Slide i Images

Synchronization information Cursor clip

Cursor clip

Cursor clip

Cursor clip

Audio clip

Audio clip

Audio clip

Audio clip

Figure 11. Data structure of WebELS-based Content

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

47

After users decide to download the e-learning contents, the WebELS server will automatically create a container which includes three main parts: encrypted WebELS player, necessary libraries and WebELS contents. Then such container is converted to a .JAR package by the WebELS server. When the download is finished, the .JAR package is unpacked and saved on the client-side computer.

Characteristics of WebELS Learning

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

a. Replacing video by the combination of image, audio and cursor action An e-learning course based on multimedia contents may be highly bandwidth intensive and students using non-broadband network may have difficulty in playing and retrieving such contents. The WebELS-based content is presented by a sequence of image frames instead of video stream. Not only the contents originally prepared in PDF, PPT or DOC formats but also those pictures used to describe lecture scenes (such as GIF, JPG and PNG) will be automatically converted into a kind of image format by the WebELS editor before they are uploaded to the WebELS server. Audio is kept in WebELS-based content and cursor actions are used to simulate some important actions of lecturer. If it is necessary, video clips can also be inserted to the content to exhibit the key scene. b. Streaming-like download and playback Streaming multimedia system can not only ensure that teachers create appealing multimedia contents but also allow students to access multimedia contents without wideband network. WebELS server supports streaming-like [12] download. Basically, the WebELS contents consist of image-based slide series and each slide includes the following information as shown in Figure 11: image, timeline, audio and cursor. The data of contents are stored into each slide file as separate data packages instead of one complete file. Therefore, a streaming-like download process is available based on such data packages. And the audio data as well as correspondent cursor data are divided into some clips, and those clips are also considered as buffering packages. Basically, after one data package was downloaded, the client side‘s player would begin to display the slides one seamless stream. Simultaneously, download of the data package for the next slide is continued. Moreover, within the data package of one typical slide, the size of audio data usually takes a higher percentage than image, timeline and cursor data. So we also adopt streaming technology to audio data included in one slide. Namely, an audio clip cursor data should be downloaded at first, then the slide is displayed and the users can start to study. While the first audio clip is playing, the next audio clip is being downloaded.

WebELS Meeting The overview of the WebELS Meeting system is shown in Figure 12. According to this figure, there are three servers in server side system, which are database server, contents server

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

48

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

and streaming server. Database and contents server are used for contents and users data management while streaming server is used for real-time audio-video communication [13]. In Figure 12, lecturer accesses to the WebELS Meeting server to download content editor applet. After content authoring, lecturer uploads the presentation content and will be stored in the server. When students access the same content, presentation viewer applet will be downloaded onto the students‘ computer, and at the same time, a virtual room will be automatically generated. All user information (such as user name and login time) in the virtual rooms will be managed as ad-hoc information. After a lecture or meeting is finished, all information will be automatically deleted. In video conference, a virtual room is automatically generated when content is uploaded to the server, which means that for one content, there is only one virtual room for video conference.

Online presentation As discussed in previous subsection, content authoring is made easy using the content editor. When all media are combined just like a bundle of slides, it is made into a WebELSbased content and is uploaded to the server. Assuming that content has already been made and stored in the server, starting an online presentation requires both user operation and system operation as shown in Figure 13. The user logs in at WebELS Meeting, selects the presentation content, and the client system downloads the viewer applet and selected content. The system stores the downloaded content onto the temporary folder, unzip the content package, and then load the viewer including the slide contents. The system prompts the user for username, and when done, displays the presentation board. Shown in the process flow chart, online presentation has two user modes, namely (1) Presenter Mode, and (2) Listener Mode. By default, the user is in Listener Mode, and selecting the Presenter Mode enables several functions for the Presenter. Content A

Database Server Content Server Streaming Server

r ito Ed n l o a d w Do nts nte Co plaod U

er d ew oa Vi w n l o D

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

WebELS Meeting System

Lecturer Learning Material (presentation slide,image, video)

Video Conference Room A

Content B

Video Conference Room B

Content C

Video Conference Room C

C o Vi d e o nf Co eren ntr ce ol

Student Slide Viewer & Video Conference Panel

Figure 12. Overview of WebELS Meeting System

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

49

Login at WeBELS Meeting Select Presentation Content Download Viewer Applet and Presentation Content and Store on Temp Folder Unzip and Load Presentation Content

Enter Username User Mode is Listener (Disabled Presenter Functions by default)

Select as Presenter

Legend: User Operation System Operation

User Mode is Presenter (Enable Presenter Function)

The presenter of the meeting should select the Presenter Mode. Only one of the users should act as Presenter. In this mode, the over-all control of the slide, cursor position and annotation function are limited only to the Presenter. Other users should remain in the Listener Mode. Users in Listener Mode can only monitor who have joined the presentation, but cannot have the capability to control the slide, cursor position and use the annotation function. The Listener‘s presentation board serves as a passive listener where it displays what is on the Presenter‘s presentation board. For an interactive form of presentation, a Listener can become Presenter and performs the functions allowed for the Presenter. Switching of presenter can be done when the current Presenter changes to Listener Mode, thus allowing one of the users to become a Presenter. WebELS Server Viewer Applet Presentation Content VPB Data

Da ta

Presenter

B VP ol Po

Vi ew C er on A te p p nt le D ta ow nd nl oa d Up lo ad VP B Da ta

Internet

nd ta ple ad Ap nlo er ow ew D Vi tent n Co

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 13. Online Presentation Start-up Process Flow

Listener

Figure 14. Online Presentation implements Virtual Presentation Board (VPB ) Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

50

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Presentation Display Panel

Content Information Panel

Annotation Tool Bar

Control Panel

Figure 15. Online Presentation Board (from Inamura)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

As shown in Figure 14, the online presentation system implements the concept of a Virtual Presentation Board (VPB). This board is a data file stored at the server and updated by the Presenter by sending all information in the Presenter‘s actual presentation display panel. Listener of the same content retrieves the VPB data by polling the server, and thus be able to reproduce in their display panel similar to what is in the Presenter.

a. Features of online presentation WebELS Online Presentation Board shown in Figure 15 is divided into four panels, namely (1) Presentation Display Panel, (2) Content Information Panel, (3) Control Panel, and (4) Collapsible Annotation Toolbarl. Presentation Display Panel serves as the graphical screen of the slide presentation. Content Information Panel shows the content title, the presenter‘s username and the slide navigator for quick slide browsing. Control Panel contains the slide control, zoom function, and presentation mode selection buttons. Annotation Toolbar is hidden by default, but is displayed when annotation function is activated. WebELS Online Presentation features the following important characteristics in implementing an effective e-learning or meeting for higher-education: (1) Slide synchronization The most important and basic requirement for online presentation is the slide synchronization. Slide synchronization coupled with voice-over of the Presenter creates a virtual room for distance learning or meeting. The presentation control panel is equipped with slide control buttons (forward, reverse, fast-forward and fast-reverse) that enables shifting of slides back and forth by the Presenter, which is synchronized on the Listeners‘ presentation display panel. In essence, it is like sharing the Presenter‘s screen to the Listeners at a lower expense of network bandwidth because only VPB data, i.e., the slide number for slide synchronization, is transmitted over the network and not the data stream of slide images.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

51

Listener’s Presentation Board

Presenter’s Presentation Board

Synchronized Annotation

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 16. Presenter and Listener‘s Presentation Board with Synchronized Annotation

(2) Cursor synchronization An effective lecture or presentation guides the listener on which part of the slide is being discussed or presented. Conventionally, a laser pointer is used for this purpose. In WebELS Online Presentation, a heavy red crosshair cursor is used as a pointer. To achieve its purpose, when the Presenter moves the default cursor and click at a certain position on the presentation display panel, a heavy red crosshair will appear, and will also be displayed on the listeners‘ display panel. The x and y position of the cursor on the Presenter‘s display panel when clicked is sent to the server as part of the VPB data, where Listeners retrieved periodically at a short time. Synchronization delay matters only depending on the network bandwidth. But on the Listeners‘ end, delay is not perceived because voice and cursor data are sent in parallel stream creating a synchronized impression. (3) Online annotation function The synchronized cursor movement provided in the online slide presentation board is not at all a sufficient tool during lecture or meeting. Aside from pointing to a particular point on the slide as the cursor provides, there would be a necessity to overwrite figures, draw objects or write mathematical equations to further elaborate what is being discussed or presented [9]. To address this need, the system is equipped with an online annotation function. The presentation board by default does not show the annotation toolbar. Clicking the annotation button on the control panel displays the annotation toolbar, and subsequently changes the default cursor to thin crosshair, and activates the pen function with default pen color and pen size. The annotation toolbar contains buttons for visual graphic selection panel for pen color and pen size. There is also an eraser button that lets the user clear the slide from the annotated object. A move button is provided allow the Presenter to drag or move the slide when it is zoomed-in.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

52

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Writing annotation on the presentation display panel is simply done like using a pen for freehand drawing. It is done by pressing the left-hand mouse, and holding it steadily while dragging the thin crosshair cursor to form the desired object. As mouse drag is performed, the x and y value of the cursor position on the display panel are stored on a dynamic array called vector. Also stored in the vector are the pen color and pen size, which the user had selected from the graphic pen size selection and color palette prior to mouse drag. Vector data is part of the VPB data that is sent to the server by the Presenter and retrieve by the Listeners. Figure 16 shows the Presenter and Listener‘s presentation board with synchronized annotation.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

(4) Slide zoom function Text or objects on the slide are, in some cases, not readable or visible during an online presentation when it has been done in smaller sizes. Slide zooming function would then be necessary in order to enlarge part of the slide that is of interest. Zoom in and zoom out buttons are found on the control panel. In zooming in and out, the ratio of width and height of the screen is maintained. When the slide is zoomed-in, it can be moved freely by pressing the left-hand mouse, holding it while dragging the cursor. While dragging, the default cursor changes to standard move cursor. Slide can also be moved by using the horizontal and vertical scrollbar. It is also worth mentioning that cursor and annotation function is also possible even in zoomed-in presentation display panel. The annotated object after zooming out is scaled down equally the same as the width and height of the slide. Zoom function information, as well as the scrollbar x and y values, are part of VPB data. (5) Video playback function Video content added to a slide presentation enhances the motivation of the listener to show interest on the presentation. In WebELS system, various video content formats (MOV, AVI, MPG) can be embedded to the slides. Video playback functions such as start, stop and pause are also made to synchronize between the Presenter and the Listener. The playback information that includes video mode (start, pause, stop) and video time (for pause and start time) from the Presenter are sent to the server as part of VPB data. To achieve video playback synchronization, Listener periodically retrieves the VPD data.

Figure 17. Meeting Monitor Panel Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

53

(6) User Management Participants in online presentation can be monitored by each one while the presentation is on-going. A button on the control panel is provided to display the Meeting Monitor Panel. In this panel, participants‘ username are displayed, including their login time and IP address. The Presenter can be distinguished from the list of participants by its highlighted username. The title of the content is also displayed on top of this panel. The information provided in this panel is useful for monitoring the users during online presentation. An example of Meeting Monitor Panel is shown in Figure 17.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

b. System Implementation and Architecture (1) Online presentation system architecture WebELS Online Presentation system is implemented using Java-based Client-Server Technology. As shown in the Figure 18, WebELS server hosts the Java servlets. Servlets are server-side Java classes that receives request and generates response based on that request from the client. The server database hosts the viewer applet, presentation contents, and the Virtual Presentation Board (VPB) data file. Viewer applet and presentation content are downloaded by the users at the start of online presentation via HTTP, and stored onto the temporary folder. Viewer applet contains necessary Java classes for establishing a virtual room among users. Viewer applet starts to load by unzipping the presentation content and prompting the user to input a username. Username is needed to identify the participants for user management. Once the applet is started on the user‘s PC, the client system start polling the server for existing VPB data file and checks it whether there exist a Presenter or not. When there is no current Presenter, the user can become a Presenter by selecting the Presenter Mode. However, when a user joins and there exist a Presenter among the participants, that user will remain at Listener Mode and cannot become a Presenter. A Listener can only become a Presenter when the current Presenter changes to Listener Mode. Online presentation system allows only one Presenter at a time, while the rest of the users are Listeners. Each presentation content uploaded to the server do not have VPB data file at the beginning. Once used for the first time, Java servlet creates the VPB data file and is made available to all users. Each content has its own VPB data file stored on the server. The concept of Virtual Presentation Board is to make copy of what is displayed on the Presenter‘s display panel, send this copy to the server, where every user can download this copy and reproduce on their display panel. As shown in Figure 19 the presenter is the source of VPB data, wherein any slide events in its display panel a new update of VPB data is sent to the server. Slide events include shifting of slide, cursor position, slide zoom information, video playback information, and annotation function objects are information recorded on the VPB data. For the Listeners to reproduce the copy of the Presenter‘s display panel in a synchronized fashion, the system pools the server and retrieves the VPB data file every one second. A polling period of one second does not create a delay perception at the Listeners‘ end. This is because audio streaming for voice meeting over the network also acquires delay in the order of 100 milliseconds. Thus slide events and audio synchronization at the Listener‘s end would have a synchronized impression based on human perception.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

54

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

Figure 18. WebELS System as a Java-Based Client-Server Technology

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

(2) Virtual Presentation Board Data Structure Figure 19 shows the Virtual Presentation Board (VPB) data structure that consists of static and dynamic data. Static data structure is used for slide presentation data that includes presenter status, presentation mode, cursor position, zoom data, and video function. The part of the VPB data structure that has dynamic memory is used for the annotation data. It uses a vector type memory that is appropriate for growing array of objects.

Figure 19. Virtual Presentation Board (VPB) Data Structure Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

55

The fields for the VPB static data structure are detailed here: 











Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.







has_presenter – an integer data type that tells whether there is a Presenter in the virtual room or not. If the value is 1, the virtual room has Presenter. If 0, there is no Presenter. The default value is 0. presentation_mode – an integer data type that tells the mode of presentation where cursor-based or annotation-based. If the value is 1, the mode of presentation is annotation-based. If 0, the mode of presentation is cursor-based. The default value is 0. slide_number – an integer data type that tells the current slide being used by the presenter. If the value is 0, it represents the first slide of the content. The value is 1 for the second slide, 2 for the third slide and so on. This maximum value depends on the total number of slides in a particular content. The default value is 0. cursor_xy – both an integer data type for the x value and y value of the cursor position. The x value is the horizontal x position of the cursor relative to the display panel. While y value is the vertical y position of the cursor relative to the display panel. The default values for x and y are 0. current_zoom – both a double data type for current zoom-in scale and current zoomout scale of the display panel. The default zoom-in scale and zoom-out value of the display panel is (590, 480). The zoom-in value is scaled up by 50% every zoom-in event. Similarly, the zoom-out value is scaled down by 50% every zoom-out event. new_screen_zoom – both an integer data type that tells whether the display panel need to be fixed or not after a zoom function. The default value is -1, which means that there is no need of display panel fixing. If the value is equal or greater than 0, the display panel will be fixed. scrollbar_xy – both an integer data type for x and y scrollbar value that control horizontal and vertical view positions, respectively. The default values for x and y are 0, which means that the default presentation board size, i.e., (850, 580), is loaded. video_mode – an integer data type that represents the mode for video functions. If the value is 99991, it means start video, 99992 for restart, 99993 for stop, 99994 for pause and 99995 for set time. Only for values 99993 and 99995 that time is available for video_time field. The default value is 0 for video_mode, which means there is no video embedded onto the slide. video_time – an integer data type that specifies the time in milliseconds when video mode is either stop (9993) or set time (99995). The default value is 0.

The VPB dynamic data are stored onto the vector memory that implements a growing array of objects. The dynamic data structure fields are detailed in the following:  

pen_color – three integer data types for RGB components of a color object. The default value for pen color is Color.RED or (R=255, G=0, B=0). pen_size – float data type used for defining line width with default cap and join styles rendered with Java Graphics2D object. The default value for pen size is 4f which makes 4-pixel line width.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

56

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al. 



start_mouseDragged_xy – both an integer data type for x and y values of cursor position relative to the display panel after the mouse is clicked, kept holding the leftbutton and dragged. end_mouseDragged_xy – both an integer data type for x and y values of cursor position relative to the display panel after the mouse is released from mouse dragged event.

It should be noted that in cursor-based presentation mode, only the slide presentation data fields contain values, while the annotation data fields are empty. The client system, when set as Presenter, sends the VPB data as a data stream to the server. The data stream is shown in Figure 20, where the slide presentation data comes first, and then the annotation data in a repeating pattern.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Video Meeting a. Related works on video conference systems The study from [14] adapts the distance learning system by using of multicast technology and QoS (Quality of Service) preservation to implement adaptability by middleware tutoring on end-system's distributed multimedia applications. In the first step of this system, the data of system performance is collected from the client's system such as the available bandwidth, the round-trip time between the client and the remote server, the client‘s current CPU load and free memory. Subsequently, they calculate those data and optimize the parameters of contents for the client host. The optimized parameters are consisted of the adjustment of the video frame rate, bandwidth usage, image and audio quality. Although the quality of communication can be improved on their system, nevertheless the drawback of this method is the system can be only used on Mbone network (Multicast backbone network). This makes the big limitation of using the system because not so many locations in the world can use the Mbone network.

Figure 20. Virtual Presentation Board (VPB) Data Stream

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

57

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Moreover, TV conference system such as the Polycom [15] is also a popular system to use for real-time distant learning in universities and companies. Some researches [16] also focus on developing the quality of the system. However, the limitation of those systems is it requires high bandwidth network, and users have to go a place where the systems are equipped. Before using the system, proxy and firewall setting are also required. The research study from [17] design multimedia e-learning platform with video conference function based on the green design (ecology design) concept. In their concept, the system will provide the following advantages: ―User Unlimited‖, ―Software Unlimited‖, ―Location Unlimited‖, ―Not Waste of Resource‖ and ―Near Real Environment‖. The system uses streaming technology for data communication. Nevertheless, we consider that there are some disadvantages in the system in which the system can run only on Windows OS, there is no concept of localization. There are also some open sources of web-based conference system which can be used for real-time distant lecture such as [18] and [19]. There is the problem of using the system for normal users, because configurations setup and privacy information are required before create a meeting or class room. This is a big barrier for non-IT users. Furthermore, in e-learning environments, lecturers can share their resources or educational materials, however this concept can be applied on such systems. According to the consideration of above issues and requirements, WebELS Video Meeting has been developed and the system architecture is described in the next subsection.

b. System architecture of webels video meeting WebELS Meeting use HTTP protocol for the synchronization of presentation slide in each virtual room and RTMP/RTMPT protocol (Real Time Messaging Protocol / Real Time Messaging Protocol Tunneled) for audio-visual communication. The system diagram of the WebELS Meeting can be shown in Figure 21. In the system, RTMPT will automatically be used when the communication of video conference cannot be transverse through firewall due to some security issues of the locations. For example, the firewall security in some universities is high level and it allows only HTTP with port 80 for communication. Hence, we use RTMPT which is encapsulated within HTTP requests to traverse firewalls when normal RTMP cannot be used. In other words, in RTMPT, RTMP data is encapsulated and exchanged via HTTP, and messages from the client are addressed to port 80 (the default for HTTP) on the server. The reason that we don‘t use RTMPT from the beginning of the network connection is because the speed of communication via RTMPT is slower than RTMP. Hence, we want to keep the quality of real-time communication as high as possible. The synchronization of presentation slide is done via HTTP by sending and receiving data signal. Lecturers or presenters will send such data to the server and students or listeners will access the server to retrieve the data every 1 second. The signal data consists of ―course ID‖, ―slide numbers‖, ―cursor information‖, ―data type (image, video and etc.)‖, ―slide information (width, height and etc.)‖ and ―video information (play, pause, stop and etc.)‖. In other words, every action on slide presentation from lecturers or presenters will be shared to all students in order to synchronize the presentation slides in the same virtual room.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

58

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al. Client (Presenter) Slide

Video Conference

HTTP

RTMP, RTMPT

WebELS Meeting System Java Classes

Contents Management

Database

WEB APPLICATION SERVER

Java Classes

Communication Control

FLASH STREAMING SERVER RTMP, RTMPT

HTTP

Slide

Video Conference

Client

Slide

Video Conference

Client

Slide

Video Conference

Client

Figure 21. System Diagram of the WebELS Meeting

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Content B

Content A

Video Conference Room A

Figure 22. An Example of Using One Video Conference Room with Multiple Presentation Slides

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform… Video Conference Room Table

59

Contents Table

Id

VideoConference_ID

Contents_id

Contents_id

author

title

1

102733 (Video Conference Room A)

121

120

meeting

Course B

2

23345677

122

121

meeting

Course A

3

34223232

123

122

meeting

Course C

Figure 23. An Example of Tables in the Database.

Inside a virtual room there are video conference panel and presentation material (slide) which are managed by integer number (id) in the database. Both numbers are generated when the contents are uploaded to the server. Furthermore, the video conference and slide presentation panels in system are designed to be independent each other, because it makes one video conference panel can be used with multiple presentation materials as shown in Figure 22. Hence, the tables in the database are designed in order to effectively manage the virtual rooms and an example of the tables is shown in Figure 23. As seen in this figure, the system can correctly allocate video conference room and presentation contents, for instances, video conference id 102733 which is the id of video conference room A is corresponding to course id 120 which is the id for contents A. According the above concepts, the system can provide real-time distant learning in anytime and almost anywhere with high quality.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

c. Functionalities of webels video meeting systems In the video conference of WebELS Meeting, flash streaming technology is applied, and the system is also developed in order to be able to use even in narrow-band network with high quality. The main features are summarized as the following: (1) Codec H.263 and Speex are used for video and audio codec, respectively. The simple reasons to use those codecs are because they are designed for low-bit rate communication and license free. In other words, any one can feel free use the system. (2) Camera recognition Camera will be automatically detected when user login to the system. Users who don‘t have a camera, their camera status will be automatically changed to microphone status. In addition, the numbers of participant are not limited, but only 4 camera users can be displayed on the system in order to save network bandwidth. In other words, if 4 camera displayed are already used, the status of other clients who have camera will be changed to microphone automatically. (3) Selection of communication quality Clients can select communication quality (Low, Medium, High) according to their network environments. Moreover, when network traffic is high, the system will automatically

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

60

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

give the priority of communication to audio not video in order to conduct and perform stable real-time learning environments.

(4) Automatic Audio Mute Function In order to use network bandwidth effectively, microphone will automatically become mute if there is no any input in a period of time. Subsequently, the mute status will be removed when the system detect input signal. According to this method, noise can be suppressed even there are many participants in a virtual room. (5) HTTP Tunneling As mentioned in subsection 4.2.2, the system has HTTP tunneling function for transverse through firewall. This makes the system can be used almost anywhere even in locations where the firewall security is high. (6) Auto-Reconnection Undeniably, there is always temporary network disconnection situation during the communication in low bandwidth network environments. Therefore, the system includes auto reconnection function in order to keep the communication be stable as much as it is possible. (7) Wide Video Display In the practical learning or meeting situation, some presentation can be done without using any presentation material. Therefore, we also provide the wide video display to support this requirement.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Online Whiteboard Almost distant real-time function of the existing e-learning systems use only slide-based presentation materials, however, there are many professors or lecturers use only black board or white board for their classes such as mathematic classes. Although we can use annotation functions in those systems as whiteboard systems, there are not effective due to the limitation of display space. Hence, we have considered the characteristics of analog whiteboard, and the requirements of real-time distant whiteboard for practical use. Those requirements can be summarized as following: 

  

The space and size of whiteboard can be automatically expanded. In other words, there is detecting area in the system, then when users write information on the area, the whiteboard size will be automatically expanded. The position of scrollbar must be traceable by the system. In other words, the scrollbar can automatically move to appropriate location of writing point. The whiteboard must be able to zoom-in and zoom-out in order to adjust the scale of information. The page of whiteboard can be added, and written information can be saved.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

61

Client (Lecturer) Pen, Eraser

Width, Height

Zoom

Page Creation

Space

Scale

Page

Annotation

Scrollbar, Mouse-Wheel

Movement

Synchronization on RTMP/RTMPT objects

objects

objects

objects The objects received from lecturer will be sent to other clients, and also be saved in the server as files.

Java Class

FLASH STREAMING SERVER

The information in the objects are “page information”. “zoom parameters”, “whiteboard space” and etc.

Synchronization on RTMP/RTMPT

Client

Client

Client

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 24. System Diagram of the Real-Time Online Whiteboard

Automatic expansion Automatic expansion Figure 25. An Example of Using the Online Whiteboard System

With the regard to those requirements, we have developed the real-time whiteboard system for the WebELS Meeting and the system diagram is shown in Figure 24. As be seen in this figure, The ―Annotation‖ objects are pen colors, thick ness and eraser information. The ―Space‖ objects are white board width and height information. The width and height of the whiteboard will be increased when lecturers write information in the detecting area which is defined by the system. The ―Scale‖ objects are zoom-in and zoom-out parameters, and the ―Page‖ objects are number of present page and the total numbers of existing page. Finally, the ―Movement‖ objects are scrollbar position and mouse wheel information. All objects will be sent to the server via RTMP or RTMPT protocol same as the video conference function as discussed in Section 4.2.2. Subsequently, the server will store all information as files, and the objects will be sent to other clients for the synchronization among the whiteboards in the same virtual room. An example of using this whiteboard with Wacom Pen tablet [19] is shown in Figure 56. In this figure, the left and right hand side whiteboards are lecturer and student whiteboard, respectively. In this experiment, lecturer and student whiteboard are

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

62

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

different terminal, and all activity objects from lecturer whiteboard such as automatic whiteboard space expansion are correctly synchronized with client whiteboard.

EVALUATION To evaluate WebELS system, we took some tests between WebELS-based content and Video-based content. Video-based content used in evolution was a 42-minute video file with AVI format which was real-time recorded in classroom. WebELS-based content was edited by WebELS editor and converted into the image-based content with audio and cursor files attached. Firstly, we checked some basic information two contents. Comparison result is listed in Table 1. From the table, the content size was much decreased while the image resolution was improved. Moreover, both of the two contents were tried out by using 56K modem under the same condition, and only the WebELS-based contents can play smoothly. Secondly, we tried to check the time delay of viewing two kinds of contents in different network environment. To do the test, we installed a video stream server named GNUMP3d [20] for video-based content and WebELS server on the same server machine. Then we installed the Bandwidth Controller [21] (tool for bandwidth controlling) in the client-side computer to simulate various network bandwidths. Figure 26 shows the time delay which was necessary to open the two kinds of contents under different network bandwidths. When the bandwidth is less than 256Kbps, it was hardly to open the video-based content; WebELS content could be opened with some delay during playing. And if the bandwidth is under 10Mbps, WebELS-based contents were easier to open compared with video-based contents.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 1. Comparison between video-based and WebELS-based contents

Image resolution Size Streaming quality

Video-based 512x343 154MB Time lag and delay

WebELS-based 800x600 3.9MB Smooth and stable

Figure 26. An Example of Using the Online Whiteboard System Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform…

63

PRACTICAL APPLICATION WebELS System has been used in many organizations and universities such as UNESCO Jakarta and National Institute of Genetics (NIG) to mention a few. Moreover, a distant exchange lecture between National Institute of Informatics (NII, Japan) and TsinghuaUniversity (China) was done by using the WebELS Meeting in 15th October 2009. In this lecture, one PC notebook for the wide video display and another PC notebook for slide presentation were used. In other words, the WebELS Meeting can provide as TV conferencing system without sophisticated equipment like Polycom [15]. This exchange lecture was successful and the quality of audio-visual communication was high without any disconnection during the entire lecture. This lecture setup using the WebELS System is shown in Figure 27. Furthermore, in 3rd December 2009, there was an official meeting between the Engineering Academy of Japan (EAJ) and the GermanAcademy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH) by using the WebELS Meeting. This official meeting was successful with highquality audio and video. Compared with traditional video conferencing systems, WebELS Meeting can be considered to have the following advantages.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

(1) Multi-Point Access and Interactivity In traditional video conferencing systems, interactivity is limited. In addition, users have to go a place where the systems are located every time of using it. In the WebELS Meeting, many users can participate from anywhere in the world as long as there is Internet connectivity using their personal computer or a laptop. (2) Unnecessary Firewall and Proxy Setting When using a conventional video conferencing system, firewall and proxy settings are necessary. On the contrary, those settings are not required in the WebELS Meeting. In other words, the system can be easily used in anytime and anywhere. This is considered to be the big advantages for higher education in international cooperation and academic institutes.

Video Monitor

Presentation Board

Lecturer

Figure 27. Exchange Distant Lecture between NII and Tsinghua University

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

64

Haruki Ueno, Zheng He, Pao Sriprasetsuk et al.

CONCLUSION This chapter presented the content-centered general purpose e-Learning platform known as WebELS to support flexibility and globalization of higher education in science and technology particularly for low-speed Internet users. The analysis of PhD education has been presented that serves as the basis in the design concept of the system. The key functions and implementation of WebELS modules were likewise discussed focusing on the points of view of users as well as system technical developers. The key features of WebELS were specifically designed to meet the needs of higher education for a flexible e-learning system that will enable users to easily create content and disseminate to other users for self-learning. Since WebELS is designed as CMS an integrated use with LMS such as Moodleshould be useful for under-graduate education. As the system was designed for low-speed Internet, particularly in the regions where narrow-band network is normally used, WebELS-based contents are downloaded and played back using a streaming-like approach, where its efficiency has been proven to provide highquality images and audio compared to a video-based streaming used in screen sharing technology. Furthermore, WebELS provides a platform for virtual room for online lecture or meeting without the necessity of sophisticated equipment, where the only requirement is the Internet connectivity and personal computer or a laptop. The usefulness and performance of the system have been proven by practical uses of various domestic and international organizations and universities.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to express sincere thanks to all persons who supported the WebELS project of NII Japan, especially to Dr. Vuthichai Ampornarambeth for his contributions in designing and implementing the WebELS system, and to Prof. Nobuo Shimamoto for his contributions in concept formation and design of user interface from a point of view of non-IT users. The project is funded by Science Research Foundation of Japan, Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS), The Graduate University of Advanced Study (SOKENDAI), The Telecommunications Advancement Foundation and Amada Foundation for Metal Work Technology. We express sincere thanks to Ohmsha for a collaborative development, and to the e-Learning project of UNESCO Jakarta office for further collaborations using WebELS.

REFERENCES [1]

[2]

Ueno, H. (2002). ―Internet-Based Distance Learning for Lifelong Engineering Education - A Personal View and Issues‖, Journal of Information and Systems inEducation, Vol.1, No.1, 45-52. Blinco, K., Mason, J., McLean, J. N. & Wilson, N. S. (2004). ―Trends and Issues in ELearning Infrastructure Development‖, DEST(Australia) and JISC-CETIS(UK).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

WebELS: Content-Centered General Purpose E-Learning Platform… [3] [4]

[5]

[6] [7]

[8]

[9]

[10] [11] [12]

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

65

Dougiamas, M.& Taylor, P.C. (2003).―Moodle: Using Learning Communities to Create an Open Source Course Management System‖, Proc. Edmedia2003, 171-178,. Ampornarambeth, V., Zhang, T., Hadiana, A., Shimamoto, N. & Ueno, H. (2006). ―A Web-Based e-Learning Platform for Postgraduate Education‖, Proc. Fifth IASTED International Conference on Web-Based Education, 388-393. Rahman, M., He, Z., Sato, H., Ampornarambeth, V., Shimamoto, N. & Ueno, H. (2007). ―WebELS E-Learning System: Online and Offline Viewing or Audio and Cursor Synchronized Slides‖, Proc., ICCIT2007, 106-110. Ueno, H. (2008). ―Role of e-Learning in Engineering Education - Background and Outline of WebELS‖, Proc. International Workshop on Engineering Education. Ueno, H., He, Z., Yue, J. (2009). ―WebELS: A Content-Centered E-Learning Platform for Postgraduate Education in Engineering, Lecture Notes in Computer Science‖, Volume 5613/2009, 246-255. Rahman, M. M., He, Z., Sato, H., Ampornaramveth, V., Shimamoto, N. & Ueno, H. (2007). ―WebELS e-learning system: Online and offline viewing of audio and cursor syncronised slides‖, Proceedings of Inspec, 1-6. Berena, A. J., Sriprasertsuk, P., He, Z. & Ueno, H. (2009). ―An Open Source Integrated e-Learning/e-Communication Platform for Postgraduate Education and Corporate Cyber Meeting‖, IEICE Technical Report, ET 109(193), 33-37. He, Z., Yue, J. & Ueno, H. (2009). ―WebELS: A Multimedia E-Learning Platform for Non-broadband Users‖, Proc. ICCET. Cuddihy, E. (2005). et al. ―Methods for Assessing Web Design through the Internet‖, Proc in CHI '05 on Human Factors in Computing Systems., ACM: Portland, OR, USA. Nicolaou, C. (1990). ―Architecture for Real-time Multimedia Communication Systems‖, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas inCommunications, v8, n3, 391-400. Sriprasertsuk, P., Berena, A. J., Chunwijitra, S. & Ueno, H. (2009). ―A Study on an Open Source for Distance Real-Time Learning Environment‖, IEICE Technical Report KBSE2009-57, 53-58. Deusdado, S. & Carvalho, P. (2002). ―An Adaptive e-Learning Platform based on IP Multicast Technology‖, International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies in Education (ICTE 2002). http://www.polycom.co.jp/. Nishimura, K., Kondo, T., Tashima, K., Kishiba, S. & Aibara, R. (2003). ―A High Quality Video Transmission System for Inter-Univeristy Communications‖, Journal for Academic Computing and Networking, No.7, 43-52. Liao, Y. H. & Liu, C. H. (2009). et al. ―Multi-media e-Learning Platform Using Green Design with Near-Real Approach‖, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 5670, 544550. http://code.google.com/p/openmeetings/http://bigbluebutton.org/gnump3d, http:// www.gnu.org/software/gnump3d/. Bandwidthcontroller-Internet Sharing Guide; http://bandwidthcontroller.com/intemetsharing.htmlM. P. Brown and K. Austin, The New Physique, Publisher City: Publisher Name, 2005, 25-30.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 3

EVALUATION METHODOLOGY FOR LOGICALMATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES: COGNITIVE STRUCTURE FOR CONSTRUCTIVIST EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY – ECOTEC Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos1, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio1, Gilberto Arantes Carrijo1 and Elise Mendes2

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1

Electrical Engineering Faculty, Postgraduate Course, 2 Education Faculty, Postgraduate Course)

ABSTRACT There are a variety of computational tools for educationand many have been designed using the constructivist paradigm. In constructivist principles, learning is a process in which individuals construct knowledge. This knowledge construction comes from exploration and experience with the learner‘s environment. For Piaget, these experiences are physical, logical-mathematical and social. In using computational tools for distance and classroom education, experiences that develop logical-mathematical knowledge are the most difficult of the three to detect because this experience is an internal event for the learner. Furthermore, teachers lack an instrument to help them choose appropriate computational tools for education. This chapter will introduce the idea of knowledge construction based on the experiences proposed by Piaget. It will describe a pedagogically sound frame of reference to identify computational tools that meet the requirements for the construction of logical-mathematical knowledge. To this end, we propose a methodology called Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology – ECoTEC which characterizes computational tools for education based on the types of logical-mathematical thought structures that can be constructed with its use. The methodology is based on aspects of Piaget‘s theory. These aspects are interconnected to analyze the mechanisms of construction and coordination of logical-mathematical thought while the tool is in use. A checklist, consisting of a set of questions and metrics, is used for measurement. Tools are characterized by indicating the presence or absence of

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

68

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al. anticipatory schemes, groups, operative schemes with formal structure and resources for interaction and cooperation among peers. Accordingly, this chapter will provide a methodology developed for teachers and researchers who evaluate computational tools and their applications for distance and classroom education. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such a methodology has been proposed.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION There has been rapid growth in the global market for educational software since the 1970s.Since then, many countries have developed projects using computers in education. Currently, most computational tools are developed through a combination of computer and telecommunication technologies with an emphasis on the internet. There is an expectation that these tools can add pedagogical potential to teaching and learning processes for both classroom and distance education. Convergence of these two education forms is a worldwide trend (Tait, 1999) which is focused on technology and includes the use of computational tools in classroom courses. Hybrid education models are the result of this combination (Young, 2002). These models are characterized by a harmonious mix of activities in the virtual and physical space. Computational tool usage lags development. Reasons for this reality range from financial to didactic-pedagogic. Many authors have commented on the lack of tool quality and have pointed out innumerable difficulties that contribute to this situation (Coburn et al., 1982; Ennals, Gwyn & Zdrachev, 1986; Crozat, Hû & Trigano, 1999; Elissavet & Economides, 2000). In practice, educators have many questions regarding the choice and use of these materials. Many tools have been developed based on constructivist principles (Elissavet & Economides, 2000). This paradigm supports pedagogic practices related to interaction, collaborative learning, learner autonomy and working with errors. Doolittle (1999) uses the term online constructivism to represent adaptations to constructivist theory that support development of computational tools to compose the hybrid model of education. According to constructivist principles, learning is a process in which an individual constructs knowledge from exploratory actions and experience with the environment. For Piaget, experiences are physical, logical-mathematical and social. Of these experiences, those that develop logical-mathematical knowledge are the most difficult to detect because this knowledge is internal to the individual. In addition, teachers lack an instrument to help them choose appropriate tools. This chapter will introduce the concept of knowledge construction through the experiences proposed by Piaget. It will describe a framework to identify computational tools that aid logical-mathematical knowledge construction.To this end, a methodology will be proposed called Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology – ECoTEC which characterizes a computational tool for classroom and online education based on the types of logical-mathematical thought structures that can be constructed with its use.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

69

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Piaget‘s Constructivist Theory The constructivist theory is rooted in the field of cognitive science, particularly in the work of Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Howard Gardner e Nelson Goodman. Jean Piaget‘s genetic epistemology approach is the highlight of this chapter, specifically in relation to the intelligence model of logical-mathematical structures. Piaget (1968) characterizes his theory as structuralist constructivism in a way that precludes the existence of innate structures. Every structure presupposes construction and every construction is built on earlier structures. For the author, knowledge is a process (Piaget, 1972; Inhelder, Garcia & Voneche, 1977). Students build and rebuild action and thought structures by means of successive internal and external actions and equilibrations. These structures allow them to organize and understand the world. Knowledge construction (Figure 1) comes from exploratory actions and experiences with the environment. Students capture raw data (content) to be assimilated about unknown objects. Piaget‘s theory considers three types of experience: (a) physical: manipulating objects; (b) logical-mathematical: thinking and coordinating propositions; (c) social: interacting with others (Piaget 1971, 1972; Mallon, 1976). Respectively, these experiences result in physical, logical-mathematical and social knowledge construction. Empirical abstraction is responsible for physical knowledge construction. Students discover an object‘s properties through manipulation and exploration. From this, students construct notions of size, height, thickness, density, color and flexibility, focusing on only one property at a time. In this process, students adapt their schemes to the various ways that they can capture a property. Logical-mathematical knowledge, on the other hand, is the result of reflective abstraction and is constructed from the relationships established between objects. The most important component is the student‘s mental activity, not the object itself (Piaget, 1981). Physical, logical-mathematical and social knowledge are structured in parallel and interdependently. Feelings express the interest and value attributed to actions and interactions with others are based on these values (Piaget, 1962). Knowledge is the result of the adaptation of unknown object characteristics to a student‘s schemes. These schemes occur through assimilation or accommodations which are functional invariants of intellectual activity.Invariants are stable and continuous throughout cognitive development. Schemes are structures that adapt and change with mental development. Physical and mental actions on objects create equilibrium between assimilation and accommodation. During assimilation, students abstract new objects and new relations and incorporate them with preexisting schemes. The mind either gives up or changes when action schemes are not sufficient for assimilation to occur. The need to develop new patterns of assimilation is called accommodation. Each unassimilated experience generates a new accommodation process until a new adaptation is reached. This process is called equilibration (Flavell, 1963). Physical and social knowledge are associated with concrete operations. These operations are external to students. According to Flavell (1963), the formation of concrete operations is the richest chapter in the evolutionary history of Piaget. The chapter contains an abundance of extremely interesting empirical data. The same is not so for logical-mathematical knowledge. This type of knowledge is not observable because it resides in the mind of the student and not in the object.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

70

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.

Figure 1. Knowledge construction.

Logical-Mathematical Thought Structures Cognitive development is characterized complementarily by internal organization and adaptation to the environment (Piaget, 1952). The basic components (Flavell, 1963) relate to: (a) content: raw, un-interpreted behavioral data; (b) function: the way an individual progresses cognitively; (c) structure: patterns of physical and mental activity triggered by interactions with the environment. Cognitive structures are constructed on the path individuals take to accomplish real or virtual operations to achieve a state of equilibrium in an action system (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). Cognitive structures are modeled by logical-mathematical systems that support construction of images in the way that an individual is organized (Flavell, 1963; Castorina & Palau, 1982). Logical-mathematical set structures like grouping, lattice and group explain the cognition progress (Piaget, 1985) in the operational stages. A grouping is an abstract structure (Flavell, 1963) that has lattice and algebraic properties. This combination provides an appropriate structure to represent the logical operations of class and relationship. A lattice is composed of a set of elements and by the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

71

relationship that can occur between two or more of those elements. Finally, a group is an algebraic structure which is also composed of a set of elements and by an operation that is applied to these elements. This operation satisfies the properties of composition, associativity, identity and reversibility (Piaget, 1985). Piaget‘s theory(Piaget, 1952; Mallon, 1976; Castorina & Palau, 1982; Piaget, 1997) shows a continuity of cognitive structure formation from the first/simplest schemes to those that are responsible for formal abstract thinking: (a) sensory-motor: 0 to 2 years; (b) preoperational: 2 to 7 years; (c) concrete operational: 7 to11 years; (d) formal operational: 11 to 15 years. Individuals rely on sensory-motor action on material objects to construct their first logical-mathematical schemes. Spontaneous repetition leads to control and generalization of an action (pre-operational stage). In the concrete operational stage, logical-mathematical structures arise from operations. Actions in thinking still depend on concrete objects for concept formation. Finally, logical-mathematical structures reach completeness during the formal operational stage. Pure abstract thought is formed through operations on abstract objects which are not dependent on concrete actions or objects. When constructing structures responsible for logical-mathematical knowledge, students organize objects, coordinate actions and build relationships between objects by means of their mental representation. In this process, form disconnects from content, action does not depend on object. It is through these actions and the relationships between them that concepts (e.g. number, length, area, volume and mass) are constructed. Logical-mathematical knowledge is structured through reflective abstraction where the student organizes objects, coordinates actions and builds relationships between them. An abstraction is a mental construction associated with some existing characteristic of an object (Kamii & DeClark, 1985). Reflective abstraction is based on forms constructed by empirical abstraction, and on a student‘s coordination of mental exploration. Reflective abstraction favors internal reflection called reflective thinking. Thinking uses existing knowledge to build new knowledge. The act of reflective thinking allows the scientific formation of logical-mathematical systems and complex thought models. Interaction between a student and the environment guarantees intellectual development. This interaction can be between (a) student and the physical environment through concrete or mental actions, and (b) student and social environment via a system of values. Socialization of actions unifies social and logical aspects into an inseparable system. In this system, coordination of individual actions and interactions between individuals have properties of grouping and constitute conditions for cooperation (Piaget, 1995). Cooperation is a process of correlating joint operations, reciprocity and complementarity with objects or propositions. Carrying out operations jointly necessarily implies a social exchange of actions and thoughts. Adjustments are made until parties reach agreement or become intellectually satisfied; something Piaget (1995) called a state of equilibrium. This state is based on common intellectual values that can be expressed through language, reciprocity and equality of the values at stake. These characteristics allow students to return to previously established validities and to update their values. Because the conditions of equilibrium are based on logic, social exchange is also characterized as logic. Therefore, social exchange ensures the coordination of points of view.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 2. Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology – ECoTEC.

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

73

Some Models for Assessing Computational Tools Assessing computational tools for education has been a concern since the 1980s. With the emergence of checklists, the evaluation process was systemized with various aspects of preestablished quality to guide evaluators. In the educational field, Squires & McDougall (1994) analyzed the main checklists produced between 1981 and 1992. At that time, checklists addressed only technical aspects like (a) the hardware needed to run the program, (b) presence or quality of software documentation, (c) support for printing materials (d) ease of use and reliability of operation, (e) interface color, graphics and sound. In the mid-‗90s, the design and evaluation of computational tools for education were reconfigured to focused more on the intersections between software ergonomics, pedagogy, educational psychology and software engineering.In this context, proposals for computational tool evaluation started to examine teaching and learning in various aspects: technical, pedagogical, ergonomic and communicative. For new models, the evaluation framework considers the integration between these aspects, not just one isolated aspect. This can be seen in the following models: 

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.









The evaluation model of Reeves & Harmon (1996) consists of 24 criteria of which 14 relate to teaching assessment and 10 to user interface assessment. The criteria investigated include, epistemology, pedagogical philosophy, underlying psychology, objectivity, instructional sequencing, experimental validity, instructor role, error valorization, motivation, activity structure and accommodation of individual differences, student control, user activity and cooperative learning. In the Jigsaw model (Squires & Preece, 1996), the focus is on educational themes and usability. The authors propose cognition evaluation that must be distributed among users, environment and educational artifacts. Emphasis is on mastery of activities used for the learning task. Effective learning requires correlation between the specific and more general concepts of a given area, regardless of the material used. Usability is evaluated for its educational application and not for its operating system, hardware or peripherals. MEDA - Methodologie d'Evaluation des Didacticiels pour Adultes, evaluates characteristics like product conception, use and diffusion. Cores of interest were defined for each of these characteristics.Evaluation stages exist for each core: preliminary study, product design and development, product characteristics, product distribution, product use and effects of the product (MEDA, 1997). The Cronje model (1998) involves design criteria and evaluation of the computational tool‘s project development stage. The author created a summary matrix that defines the basic procedures for each stage of the evaluation process: objectives (what), professionals (who), the main questions to be answered at each stage (questions) and instruments and actions for data collection (tools). The criteria analyzed by the TICESE (Technical Inspection of Educational Software Ergonomic Compliance) model include cognitive, ergonomic, psychology of learning and pedagogical aspects. These aspects are divided into three modules: classification, evaluation and contextualization. In classification, cognitive aspects must (a) classify

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

74

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.







Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.



the software in a particular modality: tutorial, exercise and practice, simulator, hypertext or other; (b) identify the underlying pedagogical approach: constructivist, behaviorist, or constructionist or other and (c) identify the cognitive skills required: application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The evaluation module is associated with the ergonomic quality standards of the tool. Finally, the contextualization model aids in the decision whether to purchase the product or not. To help in decision making, the model indicates product suitability for the education program, specific contexts and characteristics, distinct political-pedagogical projects and financial resources (Gamez, 1998). E.M.P.I – l‘Evaluation du Multimédia Pédagogique Interactif (Hû, Trigano & Crozat, 1998; Crozat, Hû, & Trigano, 1999) is an evaluation model that integrates criteria like technical quality, usability, multimedia resources, setting and the didactic design of the computational tool. MAEP – Ergopedagogic Evaluation Method for Computerized Education Products (Silva & Vargas, 1999; Silva, 2002) integrates the contributions of various evaluation models and tools to articulate a set of criteria related to the ergonomic, pedagogic and communication interfaces. The TUP – Technology, Usability, e Pedagogy (Gerdt, Miraftabi, & Tukiainen, 2002; Bednarik, Gerdt, Miraftabi, & Tukiainen, 2004) evaluation model considers technological, usability and pedagogic aspects. In regard to technology, the model looks at the interaction between environment and software, hardware characteristics, security and privacy and material sharing and reuse. Usability aspects refer to traditional usability issues as in software engineering. For teaching aspects, the model is concerned with learning context, participant roles, motivation, learning progress and the evaluation process. MECSE – Metric Set for Educational Software Evaluation (Figueroa, 2005) metrics were derived from ISO / IEC 9126. Here, basic characteristics of teaching and learning are evaluated for educational aspects of the software like content, skill type developed by students, content structure, cognitive complexity of tasks and error processing.

Even though configurations of the computational tool evaluation models have changed, none of the models evaluates pedagogic criteria that allow identification of features necessary for the construction of logical-mathematical structures. This feature set ensures the cognitive development of students. It is important to consider these features when evaluating computational tools for use as didactic-pedagogic materials.

Evaluation Methodology of Logical-Mathematical Structures: ECoTEC The evaluation methodology ECoTEC – Cognitive Structure for Constructivist Educational Technology evaluates the structures of logical-mathematical thought in computational tools for education. The methodology is built from the differentiation of key concepts and from the deconstruction of Piaget‘s operative theory which looks at three features: operative activity, interaction and cooperation. These features were interlinked for

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

75

the analysis of the construction and coordination mechanisms of logical-mathematical thought during the concrete operational and formal operational stages (Figure 2). Cognitive gains at the formal level are a continuation of the concepts built during the concrete level. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the operational mechanisms of concrete reasoning in order to understand those of formal reasoning (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). Formal thought is important because it provides general orientation, either explicit or implicit, for problem solving. This orientation helps organize data, isolate and control variables, formulate hypotheses and justifications based on the logic of facts (Flavell, 1963). The Operative Activity feature detects contributions to the construction of logicalmathematical cognitive structures. The Interaction feature examines the resources that leverage the experience gained by the student's relationship with objects. Finally, the Cooperation feature analyzes the resources for the completion of joint operations and for the social logical exchange of actions and thinking.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Operative Activity in the Concrete Operational Stage Students between 7 and 11 years old have cognitive structures that are isomorphs of logical-mathematical grouping structures. According to Piaget, these students have a natural tendency to classify, serialize, equate or correlate the aspects that make it possible to solve a problem (Flavell, 1963). The formation of class and relationship sets gives rise to elementary class and relationship groupings (Figure 3). Class associations are made in class groupings and correspondence between relationships is achieved in relationship groupings. Both association and correspondence satisfy the four operations that characterize groupings: direct, inverse, identical and special identical. To assist in the construction of logical-mathematical structures of elementary groups, the nature of computational tool activities should require that objects or object attributes be organized into classes and series in addition to the execution of logical operations. Reversibility is the primary logical activity carried out on classes and relations (Flavell, 1963). In the concrete operational stage, reversibility occurs by negation in class groupings and by reciprocity in relationship groupings. The exclusionary forms of reversibility confer incomplete group properties on elementary groupings. Successive associations and correspondences allow students to dissociate a certain number of factors without needing to discover all the factors.Although students dissociate some factors, they are unable to demonstrate their actions in this process (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). The dissociation of some factors allows the formation, through multiplicative association, of four basic classes. Computational tool activities should involve more than one factor (e.g., color ―a‖ and shape ―b‖). To analyze ―a‖ and ―b‖, the student must dissociate and consider the absence of the factors (―a‖ and ―b‖ for example). Through multiplicative association, students can obtain the four basic classes: ab, ab‘, a‘b and a‘b‘.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

76

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 3. Operative activity in the concrete stage.

Figure 4. Interaction in the concrete stage.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

77

Interaction in the Concrete Operational Stage Students between 7 and 11 years old are able to solve most of the cognitive problems that involve concrete, real and observable objects and facts. Students structure the real world through concrete actions which characterizes this step as concrete operational. Students organize and sort what is present at a specific time. Computational tools, as didactic materials, must provide resources to carry out experiments and simulations. In activities, students search for the attributes of objects through observation of facts. They perform logical operations of classification and seriation with the attributes and also establish relationships between classes and series (Figure 4). In addition, problems must be presented in a concrete way. Students are able to apply logical operations and solve only concrete problems. Verbal or abstract presentation of problems does not produce the same result (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Cooperation in the Concrete Operational Stage Another characteristic of students between 7 and 11 years old is cooperation in action.Students exchange social logical actions through shared operations with real-world objects. Action exchanges consist of reciprocal adjustments to movement and work, with process transfers through effective cooperation or actions (Piaget, 1995) (Figure 5). To obtain common objectives, synchronization of actions occurs which represents a state of equilibrium. In this process, students begin with actions that are irreversible and egocentric (i.e. focused on themselves and their results).The passage of an action to an operation consists of an adjustment to the actions of the partners (student-student or student-teacher). The composition of operations in general systems corresponds to the action schemes needed to solve various problems.These systems allow the combination of one student‘s operations with those of others. As a result, students become more social, less egocentric and no longer think only in terms of themselves. Computational tool activities must presuppose social interaction among students. The tools must provide resources to allow communication between them. Language and social interaction make students understand that people have different points of view. Although students do not coordinate these differing points of view, they do examine the ideas.

Operative Activity in the Formal Operational Stage Transitioning from concrete operations to formal ones does not mean abandoning cognitive achievements from the previous stage. Students maintain the sense of order that characterizes the concrete operational individual. Initially, their mental structures are modeled by the abstract structure of the grouping. Students combine possible basic class associations (first-order operations) to form lattices (Figure 6). A lattice is a cognitive tool that characterizes combinatory thinking, a means of achieving a goal. Combinatory thinking ensures that all possibilities will be examined (second-order thinking).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

78

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 5. Cooperation in the concrete stage.

Figure 6. Operative activity in the formal stage.

The group is the abstract logical-mathematical structure that models cognition at the formal operational stage. In this structure, reversibility is characterized by coordinating negation and reciprocity actions in elementary groupings to form a single system. The properties of this system explain the operational mechanisms of combinatorial thinking. The combination of negation and reciprocity turns every operation into the inverse of another and

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

79

the reciprocal of a third (Piaget, 1969) which yields four transformations: identical (I), inverse (N), reciprocal (R) and the inverse of the reciprocal or correlate(C). These transformations correspond to propositional operations and explain the operative logic of human behavior, speech and reasoning. From student behavior, it is possible to conclude that their cognitive structures have similar properties to those of a group. In the formal stage, students are able to combine propositions and objects (Piaget, 1969). Initially, students extract data from the real world using techniques from the concrete stage. Multiplicative associations are done to form the four basic classes. These basic classes, which are molded in propositions, are combined in various ways to form a set of the parts. Faced with the resulting multiplicity of possible connections, students assume that only some are true (Flavel,1963). Searching for true combinations consists of varying one factor while maintaining ―all others equal‖ (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). In this process, called factor dissociation, students eliminate some factors and create new possibilities and combinations called hypotheses. These hypotheses will be tested by students. Computational tool activities must assume that students make combinations with objects, parts or attributes of objects to form propositions or hypotheses.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Interaction in the Formal Operational Stage In the formal stage, interaction between the student and physical environment is characterized by mental actions while still employing concrete actions. Computational tools must provide resources for students to perform experiments and simulations in order for them to test their hypotheses.Mental actions are expressed by propositions with which students perform logical operations and make deductions and inferences. Piaget calls this propositional thought. Propositional thought is the result of operations performed with real data (obtained with concrete stage techniques and formed into propositions) and with hypothetical data (also in the form of propositions). In the concrete stage, students lack an understanding of the realm of the possible and as a result are unable to fully carry out factor dissociation (Piaget, 1985) and consequently solve problems of more than one variable. Students organize heterogeneous factors (variables) through dissociation. Students combine procedures, perform systematic experiments and logically analyze various combinations. This procedure allows students to make deductions and inferences. Among the possible combinations, students find out which are true(Figure 7). All classes of problems can be solved with reasoning that simultaneously combines logic and imagination, theory and hypothesis. This reasoning includes present, past and future hypothetical problems and verbal propositions with many variables (Piaget, 1985). This way of dealing with problems makes the structural characteristics of formal thought become hypothetical-deductive, scientific-inductive and reflective-abstract (Piaget, 1981). In hypothetical-deductive reasoning, students make inferences based on assumptions rather than truly verified facts. Reality becomes part of the aggregate of what is possible and reasoning becomes independent of content or what is concrete.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

80

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.

Figure 7. Interaction in the formal stage.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In scientific-inductive reasoning students reach general conclusions based on specific facts. This is a scientific process that permits generalization. Here, reasoning is characterized by the coordinated capacity to think about multiple variables simultaneously. The ability to determine the effect of one, some or all combinations of a set of variables, is called combinatory reasoning (Flavell, 1963, Piaget, 1969, 1981). In reflective-abstract reasoning, students reflect on the actions and mental representations of objects. This is the ability to build new knowledge from internal reflection which means thinking about thinking.

Cooperation in the Formal Operational Stage Formal stage students perform social-logical thought exchanges in the form of propositions. Propositions are actions that communicate operations performed through language (Piaget, 1995). Computational tools need to provide sufficient resources for communication among students. Ideas in verbal form, whether oral or textual, take the form of propositions. In verbal communication, thought exchange occurs through message exchange.As previously established truths are exchanged, ideas are reciprocally adjusted. Cooperation in thought belongs to the formal stage which strives for a state of equilibrium through an abstract system of evaluations and norms (Figure 8). For Piaget (1995) thought cooperation exists if the agreement between partners (studentstudent or student-teacher) takes on one of the following aspects: (a) the propositions of one party may simply match those of the other, (b) the propositions of one party may be symmetric or reciprocal to the other‘s which justifies their differing points of view, or (c) the propositions of one partner may simply compliment the other‘s by addition of complementary sets. Therefore, propositions exchanged to reach equilibrium permit coordination of ideas and feelings and the creation, validation and refinement of theories. This exchange is only

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

81

possible when the partners are capable of balanced thinking which signifies that the student has incorporated the adult world.

Question Set for the Mediation Process

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A set of questions in the form of a checklist is presented. Possible answers for each question are ―Yes‖, ―No‖ and ―Doesn‘t Apply‖ with values of ten, zero or negative one respectively. In Piaget‘s theory, an isomorph is established between set structures and cognitive structures of operational thought (Piaget, 1985).In studying cognitive structures, the author considered that grouping, lattice and group are precise and economical structures of ―ideal‖ cognition in logical operations.These structures function as a reference for interpreting some of the global qualities of formal operational thought but not concrete operational thought. They function as useful research or diagnostic references for specific intellectual achievements in this area (Flavell, 1963). Therefore, in the computational tool, features of anticipatory scheme, grouping, group and operative scheme are identified in the ―Operative Activities‖ module. Subject-physical environment and subject-social environment interaction characteristics are included in the ―Interaction‖ module. Finally, set operations with objects and propositions are characteristics of the ―Cooperation‖ module.

Figure 8. Cooperation in the formal stage.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

82

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al. Table 1. Anticipatory scheme proposal.

Anticipatory Scheme Activity Proposal

Questions 1. Does the activity suggest an answer to the question ―WHAT IS IT?‖ 2. Does the activity allow students to identify the similarities and differences between objects (big, heavy, far, etc.)? 3. In the activity, is it necessary to put in order in terms of space and time by considering ―WHERE‖ and/or ―WHEN‖? 4. Does the activity require students to give an explanation - e.g. ―WHY / FOR WHAT REASON‖? 5. Does the activity call for an evaluation of goals and means – e.g. ―WHAT IS THE GOAL‖? 6. Does the activity involve counting – e.g. ―HOW MANY‖?

Table 2. Logical operations of class and grouping relationships. Groupings Grouping I

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Grouping II Grouping III

Grouping V

Grouping VI Grouping VII

Groupings

Questions 7. Does the activity involve combining successive elementary classes (adding classes) to form superior classes? 8. Does the activity involve the dissolution of higher-level classes into component classes (subtracting classes)? 9. Does the activity involve relating the subclasses (A and A‘) with a higher-level class that contains (B) so that A+A‘=B and B=A+A‘ have the same meaning? 10. Does the activity involve relating a part (subclass A) with the whole (higher-level class B) so that AA? 11. Does the activity involve fragmenting the whole (B) into parts (A and A‘) so that A+A‘=B? 12. Does the activity involve classifying object sets by different characteristics? 13. Does the activity involve the formation of a double entry matrix based on the correlation of elements between two series (or sets)? 14. Does the activity involve classifying objects by various characteristics at the same time? 15. Does the activity allow the intersection of two classes by different characteristics? 16. Does the activity involve placing three or more objects (or classes) in increasing or decreasing order (size, weight, volume, etc.)? 17. Does the activity involve inserting a new object (or class) in an ordered (increasing or decreasing) sequence? 18. Does the activity involve using direct and/or inverse operations on symmetric relationships? 19. Does the activity involve the term by term correlation between the objects of two asymmetric series? 20. Does the activity involve the formation of a double entry matrix by ordering the elements of two asymmetric sets? Questions

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

83

Table 2. (continued) Grouping I

Grouping II Grouping III

Grouping V

Grouping VI

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Grouping VII

7. Does the activity involve combining successive elementary classes (adding classes) to form superior classes? 8. Does the activity involve the dissolution of higher-level classes into component classes (subtracting classes)? 9. Does the activity involve relating the subclasses (A and A‘) with a higher-level class that contains (B) so that A+A‘=B and B=A+A‘ have the same meaning? 10. Does the activity involve relating a part (subclass A) with the whole (higher-level class B) so that AA? 11. Does the activity involve fragmenting the whole (B) into parts (A and A‘) so that A+A‘=B? 12. Does the activity involve classifying object sets by different characteristics? 13. Does the activity involve the formation of a double entry matrix based on the correlation of elements between two series (or sets)? 14. Does the activity involve classifying objects by various characteristics at the same time? 15. Does the activity allow the intersection of two classes by different characteristics? 16. Does the activity involve placing three or more objects (or classes) in increasing or decreasing order (size, weight, volume, etc.)? 17. Does the activity involve inserting a new object (or class) in an ordered (increasing or decreasing) sequence? 18. Does the activity involve using direct and/or inverse operations on symmetric relationships? 19. Does the activity involve the term by term correlation between the objects of two asymmetric series? 20. Does the activity involve the formation of a double entry matrix by ordering the elements of two asymmetric sets?

A set of questions was created for each characteristic. Each question corresponds to a sub-characteristic needed for a desired intellectual construction and indicates the presence or absence of Piaget‘s operative theory in the computational tool. Altogether, there are 56 questions in the ―Operative Activities‖, ―Interaction‖ and ―Cooperation‖ modules.

Questions in the ―Operative Activities‖ Module The ―Operative Activities‖ module has 40 questions grouped in categories (Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4). Cognitive structures function as a "force field" that operates efficiently when faced with a problem. This field is dynamic, mobile and consists of systems of operations where students incorporate concrete data related to a problem (Flavell, 1963). When faced with a problem, students must analyze in which cognitive structure ("force field") they will allocate the problem‘s data and plan a solution. Piaget referred to this as an anticipatory scheme which refers to a set of inter-coordinated actions that allow solution planning. This scheme corresponds to forethought (conscious or not) about operations needed for task completion. An activity proposal represents a quasi-schematic design of actions or operations. In the computational tool, questions 1 - 6 identify the anticipatory scheme present in the activity proposal (Table 1). For Piaget (1960), each of these questions originates from a grouping or prior group. A proposal for an activity may present an anticipatory scheme with a very comprehensive and schematic plan of operations to be performed. As a result, it is unknown how to accomplish the details of the planned operation.A comprehensive anticipatory scheme

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

84

Eliane Elias Ferreira dos Santos, Aleandra da Silva Figueira-Sampaio et al.

is differentiated and structured into a new operation through action on objects (Aebli, 1951). In these cases, no question can identify the scheme needed for a proposed activity. Capacities in the concrete stage (elementary groupings) were extracted from the experimental evidence produced by Piaget and applied to questions 7 to 20 (Table 2). This set of questions investigates the presence of logical operations performed on classes (Groupings I, II and III) and relationships (Groupings V, VI and VII) in computational tool activities. For Grouping I, the capacity of certain elements as class members was not analyzed in isolation. This operation is impossible without general classification guidance.To propose a class and recognize it as a logical class, and not as a momentary configuration or collection of elements, it is necessary to have the general ability to (a) propose other classes, (b) add classes to form higher-level classes; (c) subtract one class from another, and (d) include one class in another (Flavell, 1963). Questions 7-11 investigate the possibility for a student to add, subtract and include classes during an activity. While question 12 of Grouping II investigates the possibility of mentally undoing a proposed classification and proposing another based on different attributes. Besides addition and subtraction, classes can also be multiplied and divided (Flavell, 1963). Logical multiplication of classes belongs to Grouping III and is based on term by term correlation. The presence of a double entry matrix is assumed in the problem domain. Students place objects or classes in each one of the input areas. Matrix elements correspond to the logical product or intersection of two classes. Questions 13 to 15 investigate if students are able to place elements of two sets into a double entry matrix. This matrix configuration allows students to sort an object based on various attributes at the same time. To represent each attribute, classes overlap the intersections between matrix rows and columns.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 3. Logical operations: group propositions. Group Dissociation andreversibility (compensatory reasoning)

Combinations and hypotheses (combinatorial thought - lattice)

Questions 21. Does the activity permit the exclusion of the effects of one variable (property or event) by elimination only? 22. Does the activity permit the neutralization of the effects of a variable (property or event) only by the association of another variable which neutralizes the effects of the first variable? 23. Does the activity permit either exclusion or neutralization of the effects of a variable (property or event)? 24. Does the activity involve combining objects (parts or characteristics) in real situations by the comparison 2 to 2 and/or 3 to 3? 25. Does the activity involve combining objects (parts or characteristics) by means of deductions/abstractions to form propositions or hypotheses? 26. Does the activity have explicit instructions for carrying out combinations with objects (parts or features)? 27. Does the activity involve the spontaneous combination of objects (parts or features)? 28. Does the activity presuppose that the combination of objects (parts or features) is done by trial and error? 29. Does the activity presuppose that the combination of objects (parts or features) is done by a systematic method? 30. Does the activity involve combining objects (parts or features) into single units? 31. Does the activity involve combining objects (parts or features) based on the quality of those objects?

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Evaluation Methodology for Logical-Mathematical Knowledge Structures…

85

Table 4. Logical operations: operative schemes. Group Operative Schemes (INRC group)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Group Operative Schemes (INRC group)

Questions 32. Does the activity presuppose interdependence of the modifications by inversion and reciprocity? 33. Does the activity involve assigning values of "True" or "False"? 34. Does the activity involve building fractions or numerical relationships and forming proportions? 35. Does the activity involve combining two or more actions to produce another action in a different reference system (relative movements)? 36. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of ideas involving the principle of equality between action and reaction? 37. Does the activity involve establishing qualitative relationships (without calculations) between favorable and possible cases? 38. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of correlation between two or more variables? 39. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of multiplicative compensation? 40. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of conservation of uniform and rectilinear motion? Questions 32. Does the activity presuppose interdependence of the modifications by inversion and reciprocity? 33. Does the activity involve assigning values of "True" or "False"? 34. Does the activity involve building fractions or numerical relationships and forming proportions? 35. Does the activity involve combining two or more actions to produce another action in a different reference system (relative movements)? 36. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of ideas involving the principle of equality between action and reaction? 37. Does the activity involve establishing qualitative relationships (without calculations) between favorable and possible cases? 38. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of correlation between two or more variables? 39. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of multiplicative compensation? 40. Does the activity involve the construction or qualitative use (without calculations) of the concept of conservation of uniform and rectilinear motion?

Grouping V deals with asymmetrical relationships. These relationships are established between objects, people, facts, ideas (or classes) and series and ordered by differences in size, color, volume, weight, etc.For example, an asymmetric relationship (greater than >, or less than , where s is a state, a is an action, s' is the state achieved when executing a from s, and r is the immediate reinforcement received, it updates the Q function following equation. (1) This equation uses the discount parameterg, following a discounted infinite horizon criteria of optimality. Also, it introduces a learning parameter ϒ . The complete Q-Learning algorithm is defined in Table 4.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

116

Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernándezet al. Table 4. Q-Learning algorithm

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Q-Learning (ϒ ,α). Initialize Q(s,a), ∀s∈S,a∈A Repeat (foreachepisode) • Set randomly the initial state,s. • Repeat (for each step of the episode) • Select an action a and execute it • Receive the current state s', and the reward, r • Update Q(s,a) with the Q-Learning update equation shown in equation (1) • Set s←s‘ • ReturnQ(s,a)

Q-Learning updates the value of Q for a defined action and state, so the update only affects them, and no other states and/or actions. The optimal Q function is progressively approximated while updates are performed. One problem of this approach is that if we have very large or continuous state and/or action spaces, performing enough updates for every state and action so that the Q function is correctly approximated requires a large amount of experience. Given that this approach is unpractical in some cases (because typically, the amount of experience is limited), it is preferable that the updates performed for an action and a state modify the value of Q, not only for them, but also for similar states and actions. Implementing this approach consists on finding a function approximator, Qθ(s,a), whose output depends on a reduced set of parametersq. The idea is that a modification in one of these parameters produces a different output of the approximator for different states and actions. So, small modifications in q which are due to a new approximation value of Qθ(s,a) for a defined action and state may produce changes in the Qθ(s,a) approximation for a large set of actions and states. The first recommended reading on Reinforcement Learning is the Reinforcement Learning Survey (Kaelbling et al., 1996). It provides a fast reading in the main Reinforcement Learning topics, from the theory on Markov Decision Processes to different applications. To study in depth any aspect of reinforcement learning, Sutton and Barto book (Sutton and Barto, 1998) can be used and in order to focus on Markov Decision Processes theory, Puterman‘s book (Puterman, 1994). Reinforcement Learning is also studied from a neural point of view, and the basic reading for this approach is Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis‘ book (Bertsekas and Tsitsiklis, 1996).

6. DECISION MAKING IN SIMBA This section describes howdecision making is performed in SIMBA. First, the architecture of the simulator is shown. This architecture permits both human and virtual agents to ―play―with it. Then, some classical business strategies followed by human managers are described. Then, some variables used by the virtual agents to perform their decisions are defined, as well as how some of these virtual agents are built. Last, some empirical results are reported.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Business Simulation in Business Education

117

6.1. SIMBA‘s Architecture Figure 1 shows the architecture of the business simulator from a Multi-Agent perspective. The architecture designed enables multiple players to interact with the simulator, including both software agents and human players. The main components of the system are:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 1. SIMBA‘sArquitecture



Simulation Server: Once all decisions are taken for the current round, it computes the values of the variables in the marketplace for every player. Finally, it sends the results computed to each player. The player (software of human) uses these results to choose the best decisions in the next round of the simulation.



Simulation Control: It manages the software agents and their decisions. It receives the decision taken by the software agents and sends them to the Simulation Server. The simulation server the results computed to the simulation control. The simulation control sends the results to the corresponding software agent.



Software Agents: They represent an alternative to human players. In every step, the software agents receive the results computed for the Simulation Server. The software agents use this information to take the decisions for the next round of the simulation.

6.2. Classical Business Strategies Different business strategies appear in the business literature, and they all could be followed to manage the companies in SIMBA. Some of them are: 1. Incremental decisions. This type of business strategy is based on incremental decisions for all decision variables, which typically ranges from a 10% to a 20%. This business strategy is considered as a conservative behaviour. 2. Risk decisions. It is based on strong changes in business decisions. It has strong impacts in market reactions, and is useful to detect gaps and market opportunities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

118

Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernándezet al. 3. Reactive. An organization with this type of strategy attempts to locate and maintain a secure niche in a relatively stable product or service area 4. Low cost strategy. With this strategy, managers try to gain a competitive advantage by focusing the energy of all the departments on driving the organization‘s costs down below the costs of its rivals. 5. Differentiation and specialization. A differentiation strategy is seen when a company offers a service or product that is perceived as unique or distinctive from its competitors.

Which strategy management is chosen in every moment depends on the organization‘s strengths and its competitor‘s weaknesses.

6.3. Autonomous Decision Making in SIMBA The goal of this section is to describe how a SIMBA software agent can be implemented. To do this, some important elements are described: the state and action spaces, the transition function to transit between states and the variable to maximize.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 5. A subset of features of the state and action spaces FEATURES of the State Space Account value Human resources Material cost Operating margin Financial expenses Pre-tax income Tax Training expenses Bank overdraft Economic productivity Advertising prediction Effort sales network

FEATURES of the Action Space Selling price Advertising expenses Network sales budget Commercial information Training budget Production scheduled Material order Research and Development budget Loan Term loan

State Space (S). The state computed in every round or simulation step is composed of 174 continuous variables. Table 5 shows some of the features that compose the state space. Action Space (A). The players (software or humans) must approach the decisions on the different functional areas of their companies. Each market in the competition requires the use of 25 variables. This is an indicator of SIMBAS‘s capacity to approach the complexity of managerial decision-making. In the experiments, only a subspace of the total action space is

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Business Simulation in Business Education

119

considered and only the ten variables shown in Table 5 are shown. This reduction was suggested by the experts, because the discarded variables are not very significant. All the actions that the agents can perform are constrained by the semantic of the business model. For instance, a company cannot sell its product if it does not have stock. Transition function. The different players participate in a simulation in a step by step round mode. Each simulation step is called a period, which is equivalent to three real months. When a round ends, the time machine is run. By doing this, the simulator integrates the previous periods situation, the teams‘ decisions, and the parameters of the general economic environment together with those of each geographic market, and orders the Simulators Server to generate output information for the new period. Variable to maximize. The agents try to maximize the result of the exercise (profit). From a Reinforcement Learning point of view, the objective is to maximize the total reward received. In this case, we define the immediate reward as the result of the exercise in a period or step. Therefore, there is no delayed reward and, like in other classical domains like Keepaway (Stone et al., 2005), immediate rewards received in every simulation step are relevant.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

6.4. Proposed Algorithms for Learning Virtual Agents In this section, the results of applying Machine Learning techniques to create virtual agents in SIMBA are described. These virtual agents can compete against human players. A first approach to build virtual agents for business administration is a variant of KNearest Neighbor (KNN) called Adaptive KNN. In this variant, two phases are distinguished. In the first one, a data setC is obtained during an interaction between the agent and the environment. This data set C is composed by tuples in the form where sS, aA and r is the immediate reward or obtained profit. In the second one, the set C obtained in the previous phase is improved during a new interaction between the agent and the environment. In each step, the simulator returns the current state s where the agent is. The algorithm selects the K nearest neighbors to the state s in C. Among these Kneighbors, it selects the tuple with the best reward. Then modify slightly the actions of this tuple and execute it. If the reward obtained is better than the worst reward in K, it replaces the worst tuple in K with the new experience generated. A second approach to learn virtual agents in SIMBA is following the Q-Learning algorithm described before. Next subsection describes the results obtained by these algorithms.

6.5. Results of Virtual Agents in SIMBA In the following evaluation performed, six companies are controlled by agents of different types. These agents are: Hand-Coded Agents, that modify their decision variables by increasing their values using the Consumer Price Index (CPI); Reinforcement learning agents,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

120

Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernándezet al.

based on a specific RL algorithm called Exteded-VQQL that uses Vector Quantization techniques (Fernández and Borrajo, 2008);and Adaptive KNN Agents, using the algorithm described in the previous subsection.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 2. Mean value and Standard deviation for the result of the exercise

Figure 3. RL Agents vs. Adaptive KNN Agents

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Business Simulation in Business Education

121

Each experiment consists of 10 simulations with 20 rounds and we obtain the mean value and the standard deviation for the result of the exercise during the 20 periods. The results shown in Figure 2 demonstrate that the Extended VQQL agent (the reinforcement learningagent) and AdaptiveKNN agent obtain similar results, and both obtain better results than the hand-coded agent. Now, the behaviour of the best RL agent with the behaviour of the best AdaptiveKNN agent obtained in previous experimentsare compared. In this experiment, all the companies have the same initial state and historical data, so the result is independent of the company managed. This experiment consists of 10 simulations with 20 rounds and the mean value and the standard deviation for the result of the exercise during the 20 periods are reported. Figure 3 shows the mean value and the standard deviation for each kind of agent. For the Adaptive KNN agent, the average value grows from the first period, and raises up to 16 millions of euros. However, the standard deviation is very high, so the behaviours of the agents managing different companies are very different. The result for the Extended VQQL agent has two behaviours well differentiated: before period 8, and after period 8. In the first part, the result of the exercise always grows up, and dominates the result of the Adaptive KNN agent. However, from period 8, the result of the exercise for the Extended VQQL agent stabilizes to a value of around 10 millions, and it is dominated by the other agent from period 10. Interestingly, we have revised all the simulations performed, and this behaviour always appears. The reason is that the RL agent is affected by the CPI and the evolution of the market and, with time, the actions obtained by the VQ algorithm becomes old-fashioned (note that 8 periods are equivalent to two years). Therefore, if the focus is in the early periods, typically the RL agents behave better than the KNN ones. In the following experiment, software agents play against a human expert during 8 periods. The human expert actually is an associate full time professor in Strategic and Business Organization at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), where he is Director of the Master in Business Administration (Executive) and Director of Doctorate Program of Financial Economics. In all the experiments, the best RL and Adaptive KNN agents obtained in the previous section are used. In the first experiment, the human expert uses the incremental decision strategy, described earlier. The results are shown in table 6. In this case, the Extended VQQL agent obtains the best results. Furthermore, given that only 8 episodes are run, the RL agent performs much better than the Adaptive KNN agent. The human expert obtains the worst results (independently of the increment used). In the second experiment, two different simulations with 8 rounds each are performed. The human expert combines the use of the different business strategies mentioned earlier in the chapter. The results are shown in tables 7. Table 6. Results for incremental decision strategy (in millions of euros) Simulation Agent Extended VQQL 64-32 Adaptive KNN K=15 Human Expert

10% 7,27 1,58 0,56

20% 7,28 1,58 -0,18

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

122

Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernándezet al. Table 7. Agents vs. Human Expert (in millions of euros) Simulation Agent Extended VQQL 64-32 Adaptive KNN K=15 Human Expert

1 5,36 3,47 -0,32

2 6,09 2,53 -1,30

In all the experiments, the software agents obtain better results than the human expert. From a qualitative point of view, the virtual agents usually compete in the same market scope. They are very effective and efficient, been almost impossible to beat them under the parameter setting used in these simulations. The best strategies usually make decisions in different market scopes, using high or low strategies (for instance, low cost or differentiation and specialization). It means that using more competitive strategies, the gap between the performance of the virtual agents and the human experts could be reduced.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

7. CONCLUSIONS Business simulators have proven to be a powerful tool for providing ―hands-on‖ training in business administration. They are also very versatile to respond to different teaching situations, from in-classroom to distance learning or self-study. However, the presence of the Internet and the new demands of innovative teaching methodologies provide a broader field of application beyond the traditional classroom environment. Besides, their basic characteristic of emulating business situations provides a unique environment to train both students and managers and develop the professional competencies they need to perform in a business environment. In this context a new business simulator, SIMBA, is introduced. Its technical and pedagogical features make it a powerful tool, both for teaching and research. The field study described in this chapter conducted both with professors and students confirms the outstanding educational outcomes reached when using these tools, particularly SIMBA. In this chapter we also have shown that software agents can manage companies in SIMBA. The use of Artificial Intelligence algorithms to develop virtual agents able to manage a company in the SIMBA simulator is possible thanks to several factors. The first one is SIMBA architecture, which is able to accept connections from human managers through the Web, but also connections from virtual or software agents. The second one is the specification of the main company, environment, and decision variables that the agents handle, as well as a correct formalization of the manager's goals. And the third one is the use of recently developed approaches of Artificial Intelligence, specifically of Machine Learning algorithms, that permit to acquire very accurate decision strategies. All previous characteristics make of SIMBA a very interesting benchmark application, not only from the business education point of view, but also for Artificial Intelligence researchers. The advantage of using these software agents for business education is that they increase the capability to create different pedagogical environments, where business students may afford different learning scenarios just by modifying the competitor agents.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Business Simulation in Business Education

123

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

8. REFERENCES Alonso, E., Inverno, M. D., Kudenko, D., Luck, M. & Noble, J. (2001). ―Learning in multiagent systems‖, Knowledge Engineering Review, 16(3), 277-284. Andlinger, G. R. (1958). ―Business Games - Play One!‖. Harvard Business Review, 36(11), 277-284. Becker, G. S. (1994). ―Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education‖, University of Chicago Press. Bertsekas, D. P. & Tsitsiklis, J. N. (1996)―Neuro-Dynamic Programming‖. Athena Scientific, Bellmon, Massachusetts. Bobek, S. & Perko, I. (2006). ―Intelligent Agent based Business Intelligence‖, Current Developments in Technology-Assisted Education 2. Cody, W. F., Kreulen, J. T., Krishna, V. & Spangler, W. S. (2002)―The integration of business intelligence and knowledge management‖, IBM Systems Journal, 41(4). Dale, G. & Klasson, C. R. (1962). ―Business Gaming: A Survey of American Collegiate Schools of Business‖, Austin, TX: Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas. De Pablo, I., Santos, B., Bueno, Y. & Borrajo, F. (2009). ―Innovación en metodologíasdocentes conSimuladores de GestiónEmpresarial: Aplicaciónpráctica en lasenseñanzas de Grado‖. Research Project on the Development of Teaching Methodologies sponsored by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2009). http://www.uam.es/europea/proyectosymemoriaslinea22009.html. Dominguez MachucaJ. A. (1998). ―Improving POM learning: Systems thinking and transparent-box Business simulators‖, Production an Operations Management, 7(2). Döner, D. (1980). ―On the Difficulties People Have in Dealing with Complex System‖. Simulation Gaming, 11(1), 87-106. Dubois, D. (2004). Competency-based human resource management, Davies-Black. Faria, J. & Wellington, W. J. (2004). A survey of simulation game users, former-users, and never-users‖, Simulation & Gaming, 35(2), 178-207. Fernández, F. & Borrajo, D. (2008). ―Two steps reinforcement learning‖. International Journal of Intelligent Systems, 23(2), 213-245. Forrester, J. W. (1961). Industrial Dynamics, MIT press. Cambridge. Forrester, J. W. (1989). ―The beginning of System Dynamics‖, System Dynamics. Größler, E. & Rouwette,Vennix, J. (2004)―Exploring Influencing Factors on Rationality: A Literature Review of Dynamic Decision-Making Studies in System Dynamics‖, System Research and Behavioral Science, 21. Hogarth, R. M. (1980). Judgment and Choice: The Psychology of Decision, Wiley: Chichester. Horn, R. E. & Cleaves, A. (1980) The Guide to Simulation/Games for Education and Training, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Isaacs, W. N. & Senge, P.(1992)―Overcoming Learning Limits In CBLE´S‖, European Journal Of Operational Research, 59(1). Kaelbling, L. P., Littman, M. L. & Moore, A. W. (1996). ―Reinforcement learning: A survey‖. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 4, 237-285. Kemeny, J. M. & Kreutzer, (1992). ―An Archetype Based Management Flight Simulator‖. In Procedings International System Dynamics Conference.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

124

Fernando Borrajo, Yolanda Bueno, Fernando Fernándezet al.

Kibbee, J. M., Craft, C. J. & Nanus, B. (1961). Management Games, New York: Reinhold Publishing Company. Kobayashi, M. & Terano, T. (2003). ―Exploring business gaming strategies by learning agents‖, Proc. 34th Conf. Int. Simulation and Gaming Assoc. (ISAGA) Social Contributions and Responsibilities of Simulation and Gaming, 557-566. Kumar, K. & Ravulapati, Rao, J. (2004). A reinforcement learning approach to stochastic business games, IIE Transactions, 36. Laguna, M. & Marklund, J. (2005). Business ProcessModeling, Simulation and Design, Prentice-Hall. Langley, P. (1996). Elements of Machine Learning. Morgan Kauffmann Publishers, Inc. LuhnH.P. (2008),‖ A Business Intelligence System‖, IBM Journal. MarriottN. (2004). ―Using computerized business simulations and spreadsheet models in accounting education: a case study‖, Accounting Education. McDonald, K., Wilmsmeier, A., Dixon, D. C. & Inmon, W. H. (2004). ―Mastering the SAP Business Information Warehouse‖, Wiley Publishing, Chapter 1: The Origins of BusinessIntelligence. McGuinness, M. J. (2004). ―A Simulation Game for an Introductory Course in International Business‖, Journal of Teaching in International Business. Meier, C., Newell, W.T. & Pazer, H. L. (1969)Simulation in Business Economics. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall Publishing Company. Michalewicz, Z., Schmidt, M., Michalewicz, M. & Chiriac, C. (2005). Adaptive Business Intelligence, Springer. Mitchell, T. M. (1997). Machine Learning. McGraw Hill. Morikawa, A. & Terano, T. (2005). ―Business Simulator Development Cycle with Both Human and Computer Players, Agent-Based Modeling Meets‖ Gaming Simulation, Springer Japan, 59-67. Musselwhite, C. (2006). University Executive Education Gets Real, T + D 6, 57-59. Peterson, S. (1992). ―Software For Model-Building And Simulation: An Illustration Of Design Philosophy‖, European Journal Of Operational Research,59. Puterman, M. L. (1994). Markov Decision Processes - Discrete Stochastic Dynamic Programming. John Wiley &Sons, Inc., New York, NY. Richardson, G. & Pugh, L. (1981). ―Introduction to System Dynamics Modelling With Dynamo‖, Mit Press Cambridge. Ma. Santos, M., Cortez, P., Quintela, H. & Pinto, F. (2005). A clustering approach for knowledge discovery in database marketing, Transactions of Information and CommunicationTechnologies. Scheper, C. A. T. Takkenberg (Eds). (1992). System Dynamics Society. Scherpereel, M. (2005).―Changing mental models: Business simulation exercises‖, Simulation & Gaming, 36(3), 388-403. Simon, H. A. (1995). ―A behavioral model of rational Choice‖, Quarterly Journal of Economics,9. Sterman, D. (2000). Business Dynamics, Irwin Mac Grawhill, Boston Ma. Stone, P., Sutton, R.S. & Kuhlmann, G. (2005). Reinforcement Learning for RoboCup-Soccer Keepaway. Adaptive Behavior, 13(3), 165-188.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Business Simulation in Business Education

125

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Sueyoshi, T. & Tadiparthi, G. R. (2007), ―An Agent-based Approach to Handle Business Complexity in US Wholesale Power Trading‖, IEEE Transactions on Power SystemsVol. 22, No. 3, 532-5. Sueyoshi, T. & Tadiparthi, G. R. (2008a). ―Why did California Electricity Crisis Occur?: A Numerical Analysis Using Multiagent Intelligent Simulator‖. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics Part C: Applications and Reviews, Vol. 38, No. 6, 779790. Sueyoshi, T. &Tadiparthi, G. R. (2008b). ―An agent-based decision support system for wholesale electricity market‖, Decision Support Systems, 42, 425-446. Summers, G. J. (2004). ―Today's business simulation industry‖, Simulation & Gaming, 208241. Sutton, R. S. & Barto, A.(1998). Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction. MIT Press. Thuraisingham, (2003). Web Data Mining and Applications in Business Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. Routledge, USA. Wynder, M. (2004). ―Facilitating creativity in management accounting: a computerized business simulation‖, Accounting Education. Watkins, C. (1989). Learning from Delayed Rewards. PhD thesis, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England. Wolfe, A. (1993). ―History of Business Teaching Games in English-speaking and PostSocialist Countries‖. Simulation & Gaming, 24, 446-467.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 5

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY: IMPLICATIONS FOR MOTIVATION IN ONLINE LEARNING Kuan-Chung Chen and Syh-Jong Jang* Chung-YuanChristianUniversity, Chung Li, Taiwan

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT Despite that many motivation theories have been applied to online learning research, self-determination theory (SDT) is generally overlooked. This paper discusses SDT's implications for online instruction. A cross-sectional study is also presented. Drawing on SDT‘s typology of motivation, we examined online students‘ motivational profiles and their motivational changes. Results showed that identified regulationwas the primary locus of online learners‘ motivation. Also, online learners‘ identified motivation and intrinsic motivation to know decreased over a month period of time. The results were discussed, and implications for online instruction were provided. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate further research on applying SDTto online learning, as well as developing SDT-based instructional strategies that facilitate online learner motivation.

INTRODUCTION Online learning has been growing exponentially since the 1990‘s. According to the Sloan Consortium‘s (Allen & Seaman, 2008) latest report, in the fall of 2007 there were more than 3.9 million students taking at least one online course in the U.S. colleges and universities. Moreover, the growth rate of online enrollment (12.9%) far exceeds the 1.2% growth of the overall higher education student population. Accompanying this trend, there has been an escalating interest in exploring factors that contribute to the effectiveness of online learning,

*

Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

128

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

among which student motivation was found to be one of the most critical factors that affect various learning outcomes (Lim & Kim, 2002; Xie, Debacker, & Ferguson, 2006). In the literature, many motivational theories and models have been applied to investigateonline learner motivation, as well as to design instructional strategies that facilitate online learning. For example, self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997)and task value (Eccles, 1983) have been investigated by Lee (2002) to predict online students‘ performance and satisfaction. Additionally, Keller‘s (1987) ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) modelhas been applied by Gabrielle (2003)to design technology-based instructional strategies for online students. Gabrielle found that the ARCS-based learning support was effective in promoting students‘ motivation, achievement, and self-directed learning. These theory-based studies have provided valuable insights for designing and facilitating online learning. Nevertheless, self-determination theory (SDT), being ―one of the most comprehensive and empirically supported theories of motivation available today‖ (Pintrich and Schunk, 2002, p.257), is overlooked in online learning research (Chen, 2007). With few exceptions such as Xie et al.‘s (2006) investigation of online discussion, studies that apply SDT in online learning are hardly retrievable. As will be detailed later, one of the distinguishing features of SDT is that it theorizes six types of motivation. The six-type categorization helps portray a detailed profile of online learners‘ motivation, and allows researchers to detect changes across motivation types. It would be a worthwhile endeavor to explore SDT‘s applications in online learning, including examining online students‘ motivational profiles through the lens of selfdetermination theory. This paper aims to apply self-determination theory in online learning. This paper includes two main parts: in the first part weprovide an overview of self-determination theory, followed by a discussion of characteristics of online learning that influence online learner motivation. Several practical suggestions are provided for online instructors in orderto help them create an autonomy-supportive (Reeve & Jang, 2006) learning environment. An exploratory, cross-sectional study is presented in the second part of this paper. Drawing on SDT‘s typology of motivation, we examined online students‘ motivational profiles, as well as changes of student motivation over time. The impact of demographic variables on motivation was also explored in this cross-sectional study.

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY- AN OVERVIEW Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2000) is an "organismic-dialectical metatheory‖ that purports to systematically explicate the dynamics of human needs, motivation, and well-being within the immediate social context. The term selfdetermination, as defined by Deci & Ryan (1985a), is ―a quality of human functioning that involves the experience of choice. [It is] the capacity to choose and have those choices…be the determinants of one‘s actions‖ (p.38). Self-determination is the central construct throughout the metatheory. SDT assumes that humans are active, constructive, growth-oriented organisms seeking a sense of wholeness, vitality, and integrity (Ryan & Deci, 2000). This psychological growth and integration, however, does not occur in a vacuum. It relies on or is facilitated through the satisfaction of three universal human needs: the need for autonomy (a sense of control and

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

129

agency), the need for competence (to feel oneself competent with tasks and activities), and the need for relatedness (feeling included, or affiliated; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Through the satisfaction of these basic needs, individuals are able to experience an elaborated and unified sense of self, embrace self-oriented motivation, and achieve a better sense of well-being. The lack or deprivation of needs satisfaction will likely produce a highly fragmented, and sometimes passive, reactive, or alienated self (Ryan & Deci, 2002). The social context of the individual‘s environment plays a crucial role in the overall organismic-dialectical process. Individuals absorb ―nutrients‖ from interactions with the social environment, which provide support of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Individuals feel discontented when basic needs go unmet through these interactions. It is through the social experience that individuals perceive the social context as either supportive or non-supportive (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Four mini-theories constitute SDT as a metatheory. Each mini-theory delineates a different aspect of the interrelations among human needs, motivation, well-being and the social context. They are: cognitive evaluation theory (CET), organismic integration theory (OIT), causality orientations theory, and basic needs theory. Cognitive evaluation theory (CET) aims at specifying factors that explain variation in intrinsic motivation, understood as ―doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable‖ (Deci & Ryan, 1985a, p.55). Based on extensive research, CET argues that social-contextual events may promote individual‘s perceived competence; however, to enhance intrinsic motivation, these feelings of competence must be accompanied by a sense of autonomy, or perceived internal locus of causality. In addition to competence and autonomy, Deci & Ryan also found that relatedness has a distal influence on intrinsic motivation. In contrast to CET, organismic integration theory (OIT) concerns different types and levels of extrinsic motivation, which refers to ―doing something because it leads to a separable outcome‖ (Deci & Ryan, 1985a, p.55). Recognizing the commensurate importance of extrinsic motivation in relation to intrinsic motivation in reality, CET further conceptualized extrinsic motivation into four stages in terms of an individual‘s behavioral regulation: 1) External regulation, whereby individuals behave in order to obtain rewards or avoid punishments; 2) Introjected regulation, whereby individuals introject the tasks into internal ―ought‖ or ―should‖ motives; 3) Identified regulation, whereby individuals recognize the tasks as personally important, but they are still motivated from outside of themselves; 4) Integrated regulation, whereby individuals integrate various internal and external sources of information into their self-schema and engage in behavior because of its importance to their sense of self (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Throughout the stages, internalization serves as the key concept. Internalization is the process whereby an individual integrates extrinsic goals and values into the self. During internalization, individuals become more self-determined, and are more likely to move to higher levels of extrinsic regulation or even intrinsic motivation. There are two more points to address. To begin, a third type of motivation, amotivation, was proposed by SDT. It refers to ―the state of lacking the intention to act‖ (Ryan & Deci,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

130

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

2002, p. 17). This may be due to a lack of contingency, perceived competence, or value of individuals. This type of motivation is not self-determined and is without any evidence of regulation. Second, self-determination theory theorizes that intrinsic motivation (IM), extrinsic motivation (EM), and amotivation (AM) lie on a continuum of self-determination, in which IM signifies the most self-determined motivation and AM represents the least selfdetermined motivation.Figure 1 illustrates the self-determination continuum showing the six types of motivation with their regulatory styles and corresponding processes (Ryan& Deci, 2000). In contrast to CET and OIT, which depicts factors in the social contexts, causality orientation theorywas developed to explain individual differences about people‘s tendencies toward self-determined behavior (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Individuals are assumed to have each of the following three orientations to some degree: autonomous orientation (regulating behavior on the basis of self-endorsed values); controlled orientation (behaviors are orientated towards controls or directives); impersonal orientation (representing ineffectance and unintentionality of tasks). The General Causality Orientations Scale (GCOS) was developed by Deci & Ryan (1985b) to measure these properties within an individual.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Basic needs theory is the last, relatively recent mini-theory of SDT. It elaborates the concept of needs and its relation to life goals and daily behaviors (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Wellbeing, as defined as a state of being fully functioning, is promoted through the achievement of intrinsic aspirations or life goals that directly satisfy basic needs. However, if such satisfaction is unavailable, individuals develop and pursue extrinsic life goals such as wealth, fame, and social status. This substitute of basic needs, in fact, may actually detract people from need satisfaction by keeping them focused on goals that are not directly need-related. In summary, the central tenets (mainly from CET and OIT) of self-determination theory are: 1. Humans have three universal and basic needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Satisfaction of these needs promotes intrinsic motivation and internalization, which in turn enhances well-being. 2. Amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation lie on a continuum of self-determination. Extrinsic motivation is presented in four stages: extrinsic, introjected, identified, and integrated regulations. When individuals internalize extrinsic goals and values, they become more self-determined. They then move forward to a higher stage of extrinsic motivation, or even intrinsic motivation. 3. Social context enhances individuals' intrinsic motivation and facilitates internalization by supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness. On the other hand, social context undermines individuals' motivation when it fails to support these three basic needs.

ONLINE LEARNING AND STUDENT MOTIVATION Online learning environment is any settings that ―uses the Internet to deliver some form of instruction to a learners separated by time, distance or both‖ (Dempsey & Van Eck, 2002,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

131

.

p.283). Here we focus on the school environment and Internet-based courses. Online learning‘s most distinguishing feature is its ability to liberate education from the constraints of time and distance (Collins & Berge, 1995). In traditional classrooms, teachers and students meet in a physical location at a fixed period of time, while online learning happens in a virtual, cyberspace in which students can access learning materials anytime and anywhere. Furthermore, people interact directly in the traditional face-to-face classroom settings, while online learning relies on computer programs to mediate course materials and interactions. The distinctions of time, space, and ways of communication have, indeed, generated more nuanced distinctions between traditional face-to-face and online learning environments. For example, online environments further allow for distributed forms of learning (Locates & Weisberg, 1997). Course events that happen centrally in traditional classrooms are now distributed across instructors and learners online. Therefore, "learning can occur at the same time in different places (e.g., through scheduled video conferencing events…or at different times in different places (e.g., using email to communicate with the instructor and with one another)" (Dabbagh & BannanRitland, 2005, p.11). Indeed, distributed learning reflects the diverse ways of learning in the online environments. Since online learning environments have their distinct features, how do they influence students‘ motivation? From the perspective of self-determination theory, online learning environments may support, hinder, challenge, or bring motivational conflict to online learners. Here we explain them in more detail.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Online Learning May Support Learners‘ Motivation As stated above, online learning environments render flexibility of time and space. This allows for people who are distant, busy, or physically disabled, to participate in class. Online learning also advertises its capacity to expand learning opportunities. Course materials and conversations can become permanently accessible to others at a later time, allowing for continued discussions and deeper reflections on given topics (Reed, 2000). Furthermore, online learning exceeds the boundaries of the classroom. Students may retrieve virtually limitless resources online, utilize computer-based learning tools such as simulations and games, or collaborate with experts and students worldwide (Riel & Harasim, 1994). Through the lens of SDT, the flexibility of online learning may enhance learner‘s motivation because it provides autonomy, thereby aligning learning pace with learning styles. From earlier discussions about CET and OIT we learned that autonomy is the key to enhancing intrinsic motivation, simultaneously helping internalize extrinsic goals and values. In addition, expanded learning possibilities can further promote students‘ motivation. For example, the acquired capacity to retrieve course materials at a later time enhances learner autonomy; consulting online resources expands learner‘s competency, while collaboration with people beyond the classrooms may promote students‘ perception of relatedness.

Online Learning May Hinder Learners‘ Motivation Just as there are two sides to every coin, online learning environments have both their advantages as well as their drawbacks. Online environments have been charged with being

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

132

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

cold and impersonal, due to their limitations in social interactions (Galusha, 1997). Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005) said: Although several telecommunications technologies such as audio- and videoconferencing have enabled a simulated human interaction learning context, the absence of face-to-face interaction in classic distance education settings has been identified as one of the main causes of loss of student motivation in such learning contexts. (p.6)

Social presence theory (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976) has been applied to explain the above-mentioned phenomenon (Gunawardena, 1995;Walther, 1992). Short et al. defined social presence as the "degree of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationships" (p. 65). Social presence is perceived through verbal and nonverbal cues. The former includes speech and text, whereas the latter refers to facial expression, direction of gaze, posture, dress, and physical presence (Gunawardena, 1995; Walther, 1992). Non-verbal cues are lackingin online communications due to the absence of direct human interaction. Moreover, the majority of online communications are text-based (Jang, 2008; Lapadat, 2002; Tu, 2002). When the primary communication medium is written text, resolving ambiguities in communications becomes more difficult than in face-to-face encounters (Hara & Kling, 2000). The lack of social presence and miscommunications has been reported to result in student isolation and frustration, which may eventually lead to student dropout (Gunawardena, 1995).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Online Learning May Post Challenges to Learners‘ Motivation Compared to traditional face-to-face classrooms, online learning imposes greater challengesto students in termsof technology skills, online collaboration, and metacognition(Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland, 2005). Regarding technology, online students need to familiarize themselves with computer operation, Web browsing, data searching, and file management. Sometimes students need to develop higher computer skills in order to troubleshoot technical problems or use software for design work. Howland and Moore (2002) found that online learning technologies, such as the discussion board, were challenging for novice students.Song, Singleton, Hill, and Koh (2004) also found technical problems to be the biggest barrier for online learners, as was expressed by 58% of their participants. Furthermore, for synchronous and asynchronous communications, collaborative learning skills are indispensable. Online students need such skills to establish trust with peers, share ideas and develop multiple perspectives, and leverage efforts on group projects. Last, joined withflexible learning is self-regulation. This requires a variety of metacognitve strategies such as organizational strategies, self-awareness, and reflection (Olgren, 1998). If students do not have enough competencies for using technology, learning collaboratively, and performing self-directed learning, they may feel anxious, overwhelmed, or disoriented, which in turn negatively affects their motivation.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Figure 1. The self-determination continuum

134

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

Online Learning May Bring Motivational Conflictsto Learners Judging from the above discussions we can conclude that online learning environments tend to support autonomy. However, it may also be said that to some extent they hinder relatedness and challenge competency. In sum, the evidence suggests that online learning may foster inner conflicts in students. For example, a student may enjoy the convenience of online learning. Yet, they may also experience dissatisfaction from ―half-baked‖ social interactions or from technical shortcomings. Just as Reeve (2002) said: "How a teacher teaches and motivates has a substantial and direct impact on how free and self-determining each student perceives himself or herself to be,"online instructors can play a crucial role in leveraging benefits, reversing drawbacks, transcending challenges and smoothing conflicts. Next, we provide some practical suggestions to online instructors for enhancing motivation and avoiding frustration.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR ONLINE INSTRUCTORS Among various pedagogies, the constructivist, student-centered approach corresponds most closely with the tenets of SDT. Ryan and Deci (2000) said: "Within SDT, learning is an active process that functions optimally when students‘ motivation is autonomous (vs. controlled) for engaging in learning activities and assimilating new information" (p.247). Correspondingly, Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005) mentioned: "[in student-centered learning environments] students are actively engaged in the learning process and assume primary responsibility for their learning" (p. 3). Following these guidelines, it is important to first create a student-centered learning environment, a warm, non-controlling atmosphere that enhances students‘ perceptions of autonomy, relatedness, and competency. The following suggestions may help achieve these conditions:

Avoiding Controlling Behaviors/Promoting Autonomy To prevent undermining students' motivation, it is suggest that controlling factors, such as tangible rewards, threats and punishments, competition, surveillance, or pressured evaluations must be avoided (Ryan & Deci, 2002). These controlling factors should be replaced with choices of tasks, flexibility of time, clear rationales, and intrinsic goal setting. In this way, online instructors can prepare a syllabus with clear rationales, negotiable learning contracts, and flexible learning schedules (Oliver & Herrington, 2001). These measures may enhance students' sense of autonomy. In turn, students will become more accountable for their learning. Providing clear rationales to facilitate intrinsic goal setting may also help reduce students' inner conflicts.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

135

Providing Learning Support for Students' Knowledge Construction Students may lose motivation, become frustrated, and feel a sense of failure when complex tasks are not supported in some way (Oliver & Herrington, 2001). Social constructivism maintains that students are able to achieve more when they are provided with proper support, or scaffolding, than when they study alone. (Vygotsky, 1978). There are many ways that online teachers can help scaffold their students, such as encouraging students to discuss their learning processes, stimulating and encouraging students' thinking, and prompting students to support each other's learning (Grabinger, 1996). For online instruction, teachers can also explore a variety of cognitive tools, evaluate their possible applications, and introduce them in class. When properly used, these tools can help reduce students' cognitive load and enhance their cognitive and metacognitve skills (Jonassen & Reeves, 1996).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Promote Social Interactions Positive social interactions enhance feelings of relatedness, promoting motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985a). To become relatedness-supportive, "teachers need to understand students' goals, interests and needs, and then to link to school tasks to those goals, interests and needs" (Assor, Kaplan & Roth, 2002, p.265). Because of the lack of face-to-face interactions in online settings, it is harder for instructors to detect students' individual differences and needs. To address this challenge, online teachers are advised to develop enhanced personal skills. In online instruction there are a variety of tools for communication. In course management systems (CMS), for example, there are text-based tools such as emails, bulletin boards, discussion forums and chat. There are also real-time audio and videoconferencing tools such as Horizon Wimba. It is recommended that instructors evaluate learning tasks, tool specifications, and student needs, and choose proper tools for interactions. In recent years collaborative learning has gained popularity in higher education (Oliver& Herrington, 2001). In online settings, instructors utilize synchronous and asynchronous communication tools to facilitate collaboration. The power of Internet enables students to collect immense sources of data, and to collaborate with people from around the world. The latter enables collaborators to exchange ideas, negotiate perspectives, and build relationships. Though research has shown a variety of positive learning results, collaborative learning requires students to be self-directed (Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland, 2005). Therefore, instructors' autonomous support is indispensable.

Providing Technical Support and Improving Message Design To support student's technical competencies, online instructors can serve as consultants or coordinators. Instructors can collect resources for students‘ troubleshooting and selflearning. They may also refer students to technical support staff. (Oliver& Herrington, 2001). Assuming that some students may be more comfortable reading hard-copy documents, instructors may prepare printer-friendly versions for students to download and print. If

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

136

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

instructors are designing their course interface, issues such as location on the screen, color, graphics, font size, and pacing are important topics to consider (Ally, 2004).

STUDY ON ONLINE STUDENTS‘ MOTIVATION PROFILES This section presents our preliminary study that applies self-determination theory to examine online learners‘ motivation. We aimed to answer the following research question: What is the primary locus of motivation for students enrolled in an online course? This study employs a cross-sectional (pre-test/post-test) design which enables us to compare participants‘ motivation profiles at the two data points, and to examine participants‘ motivational changes. Notably, in order to maintain optimal participation rate and to ensure candid responses, we did not collect participants‘ personal information. Participants‘ pre-test and post-test answers have been matched by comparing/filtering across pre-test and post-test demographic responses, including gender, age, employment status, prior online learning experience, courses currently taking, and the target course to complete the online survey.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Context and Participants The context for this study are two Special Education online certificate programs designed for individuals who do not hold a renewable teaching certificate to become a General Curriculum Consultative P-12 teacher. In order to obtain their teaching certificate, students must attend the on-campus program-advising and technology orientation, and finish required fully-online courses in approximately two years. The online courses are hosted on the WebCT course management system at a large research university in the southeastern United States, and utilize a live chat system and a variety of software (e.g., Adobe Reader, Real Player, and WinZip) to facilitate teaching and learning. The participants were recruited from the summer 2008 cohort. Five courses were offered in summer 2008, and each course had several instructors teaching a specific section. Two hundred and eighty (280) students participated in the pre-test, and 267 participated in the post-test. After removing outliers (cases with variable z scores greater than |3.5|), 270 cases for the pre-test, and 262 cases for the post-test were included in the datasets. As mentioned earlier, participants‘ pre-test and post-test answers have been matched by comparing/filtering across pre-test and post-test demographic responses. Two hundred and one cases (72% of the pre-test participants) have been matched to include both pre-test and post-test data. The majority of participants were female (77.7% for the pre-test and 78.1% for the posttest), making the male/female ratio approximately 1: 3.5. Participants‘ age ranged from 19 to 65, with the average of 37.39 (SD = 9.94) for the pre-test and 37.80 for the post-test (SD = 10.23). Notably, ―30-39 years old‖ stood out as the biggest age group that included more than one third (34.6% for the pre-test and 33.6% for the post-test) of the total participants. Approximately 82% of participants were working full-time while they were enrolled in the online programs. Regarding participants‘ prior experience with online courses, around 60% of the participants had not taken any online courses before entering the online programs. Additionally, around 50% of participants did not take any Special Education online courses

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

137

before summer 2008. Table 1 presents participants‘ demographic characteristics in more detail.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Measure To assess online learners‘ different types of motivation, we used Vallerand et al.‘s (1992) Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). Developed based on self-determination theory, the AMS measures amotivation, intrinsic motivation, and different types of extrinsic motivation.Participants were asked to respond to twenty-eight items using the stem, ―I enrolled in ‗this‘ online course...‖ when they completed the online survey. The AMS is made up of seven subscales each contains 4 items, for which intrinsic motivation has been further categorized into intrinsic motivation to know, to accomplish, and to experience stimulation, totaling three subscales with twelve items. However, for the purpose of this study, the twelve items were treated as presenting a single construct: intrinsic motivation. It is noteworthy that the Academic Motivation Scale assesses three types of extrinsic motivation – external, introjected, and identifiedregulations; however, integrated regulation was not included in the latest version of AMS. In fact, across SDT-based studies, scales that measure all six types of motivation are barely found.The only available scale that measures all six types of motivation is the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A, available on SDT‘s official website). However, the SRQ-A is used for schoolchildren and thus unsuitable for this study. The Academic Motivation Scale seems to be the ―second best‖ because it was designed based on self-determination theory, and it was developed to measure college and adult students‘ motivation to learn in various school contexts. A reliability test based on the data of this study indicated that AMS has satisfactory internal consistency across subscales, ranging from .77 to .96 (Vallerand et al., 1992). Vallerand et al. (1992) further demonstrated that the AMS has an appropriate test-retest reliability over a month period (r = .79). A summary of the Academic Motivation Scale, including sample items for each type of motivation are presented in Table 2.

Procedure Preceding the collection of data, approval for conducting the study was issued from the Human Subjects Office of the university where participants were recruited. We also sought and obtained support from the program administrators and course instructors to encourage student participation. Because studentswere geographically dispersed, the pre-test and posttest surveys (along with the consent form) were delivered online through SurveyMonkey, a commercial website for surveys. Links to the surveys were provided on the WebCT course menu for students‘ easy access. The pre-test online survey was administered at the beginning of the summer term and lasted for ten days. The pre-test gathered data concerning students‘ demographic information, as well as their five types of motivation. A month after the closure of the pre-test, the post-test online survey was administered. The post-test re-measured all the variables to the interest of this study. Concerning that students may have enrolled in more than one online courses in

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

138

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

summer 2008, participants were asked to target one course and use it to answer throughout the pre-test and the post-test surveys. A descriptive analysis (using SPSS 15.0) and subsequent paired-sample t-tests were used to demonstrate participants‘ scores on the five types of motivation (amotivation, external, introjected, and identified regulations, and intrinsic motivation), informing the answer to our research question: What is the primary locus of motivation for students enrolled in an online course? Two additional analyses were performed to portray online learners‘ motivation in more detail. First, participants‘ changes in motivation (from the pre-test to the post-test) were examined through paired-sample t-tests. Secondly, the effect of demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, employment status, and prior online learning experience) on participants‘ motivation was evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Participants Variable

Subcategory

Gender Age

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Employment Status

Number of online courses taken before entering the online programs Number of online courses taken after entering the online programs

Male Female 29 and below 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 and above Full-time Part-time No job Other None 1-2 More than 3 None 1-2 More than 3

Pre-test (n = 270) Valid n Valid % 60 22.3 209 77.7 70 26.0 93 34.6 71 26.4 29 10.8 6 2.2 223 82.6 26 9.6 20 7.4 1 0.4 167 61.9 38 14.1 65 24.1 135 50.6 50 18.7 82 30.7

Post-test (n = 262) Valid n Valid % 57 21.9 203 78.1 68 26.3 86 33.2 68 26.3 31 12.0 6 2.3 216 82.4 22 8.4 19 7.3 5 1.9 159 60.7 39 14.9 64 24.4 126 48.1 51 19.5 85 32.4

Table 2. Summary of the Academic Motivation Scale Construct Measured

# of Items

Amotivation

4

External Regulation Introjected Regulation

4 4

Identified Regulation

4

Intrinsic Motivation

12

Sample Item Honestly, I don‘t know; I really feel that I am wasting my time in this class. In order to obtain a more prestigious job later on. To prove to myself that I am capable of completing thisonlinecourse. Because eventually, it will enable me to enter the job market in a field I like. Because I experience pleasure and satisfaction while learning new things.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

α .83 .81 .90 .77 .96

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

139

RESULTS Online Students‘ Motivation Profiles A descriptive analysis (N = 270, 60 male, 209 female, 1 gender not specified) on the pretest responses showed that at the outset of a particularonline course, participants scored highest on identified regulation (M = 5.98, SD = 1.00) and lowest on amotivation (M = 1.21, SD = .45). Follow-up paired sample t-tests were applied to detect mean differences between the five motivation types. Results indicated that, except for the comparison between introjected and external regulations (t = 1.55, n.s.), all of the motivation mean scores were significantly different from each other. Judging from the motivation mean scores and the ttest results, participants‘ pre-test motivation, from highest to lowest are: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Identified regulation Intrinsic motivation Introjected regulation and external regulation Amotivation

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A very similar motivation profile was found from participants‘ post-test data (N = 262, 57 male, 203 female, 2 gender not specified). Participants scored highest on identified regulation (M = 5.74, SD = 1.12) and lowest on amotivation (M = 1.28, SD = .63). Paired-sample t-tests indicated that all of the motivation mean scores were significantly different from each other. Therefore, students‘ motivation scores, from highest to lowest, are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Identified regulation Intrinsic motivation External regulation Introjected regulation Amotivation

Results from the pre-test andthe post-test both indicated that identified regulation was the primary locus of motivation for online learners. Table 3illustrates the motivation profiles of participants; Table 4presents the t-test results. Table 3. Participants‘ mean scores on the five types of motivation Amotivation Pre-test (n = 270) Post-test (n = 262)

Mean SD Mean SD

1.21 0.45 1.28 0.63

External Regulation 4.13 1.57 4.09 1.63

Introjected Regulation 3.98 1.68 3.81 1.72

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Identified Regulation 5.98 1.00 5.74 1.12

Intrinsic Motivation 4.56 1.39 4.33 1.47

140

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

Table 4. Paired Sample T-tests on the Mean Scores of the Five Types of Motivation Paired Variable 1. AM – EXT 2. AM – INTRO 3. AM – IDEN 4. AM – IM 5. EXT – INTRO 6. EXT – IDEN 7. EXT – IM 8. INTRO – IDEN 9. INTRO – IM

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

10. IDEN – IM

Point of Measurement Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test

Mean difference -2.93 -2.82 -2.77 -2.54 -4.77 -4.47 -3.35 -3.06 .15 .28 -1.84 -1.65 -.43 -.24 -2.00 -1.93 -.58 -.52 1.42 1.41

df 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261 269 261

t -30.13*** -26.94*** -26.32*** -21.89*** -68.89*** -52.60*** -37.05*** -29.02*** 1.55*** 2.93*** -20.70*** -18.26*** -4.35*** -2.45*** -22.47*** -20.89*** -9.08*** -6.96*** 19.08*** 19.31***

p .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .123 .004 .000 .000 .000 .015 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

Note: 1. * Coefficient is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed); ** Coefficient is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *** Coefficient is significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed) 2. AM = amotivation; EXT = external regulation; INTRO = introjected regulation; IDEN = identified regulation; IM = intrinsic motivation

Table 5. Paired Sample T-tests on Participants‘ Motivational Changes

Variable Amotivation External Regulation Introjected Regulation Identified Regulation IM-To Know IM-To Accomplish IM-Stimulation IM-Total Score

Pre-test Motivation (n = 200) M1 SD 1.18 .41 3.97 1.53 3.84 1.65 5.95 1.02 5.03 1.35 4.42 1.49 3.95 1.41 4.47 1.32

Post-test Motivation (n = 200) M2 SD 1.21 .51 4.08 1.58 3.85 1.72 5.79 1.06 4.84 1.39 4.37 1.60 3.91 1.50 4.37 1.42

Motivational Change M2-M1 .03 .11 .02 -.16 -.19 -.05 -.04 -.10

Note:* Coefficient is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

t .88* 1.35* .22* -2.56* -2.49* -.65* -.58* -1.45*

p .380* .178* .823* .011* .014* .515* .564* .149*

df 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

Table 6. One-way analyses of the five types of motivation with demographic variables Amotivation

Gender Age Job Course Before Course After

Pre-test (df = 1, 267) Post-test (df = 1, 258) Pre-test (df = 4, 264) Post-test (df = 4, 254) Pre-test (df = 3, 266) Post-test (df = 3, 258) Pre-test (df = 2, 267) Post-test (df = 2, 259) Pre-test (df = 2, 264) Post-test (df = 2, 259)

F .12* .09* 1.25* 3.34* 2.09* 1.74* .07* .25* 1.80* 2.13*

p .72 .77 .29 .01 .10 .16 .93 .78 .17 .12

External Motivation F .94* .35* .50* 1.68* 1.15* .57* .78* .63* .93* .54*

p .33 .55 .74 .15 .33 .64 .46 .54 .40 .58

Introjected Regulation F 1.24* .08* 1.64* .37* 1.48* .26* .32* .84* .38* 1.71*

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Note: 1. * Coefficient is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) 2. Course Before = Number of online courses taken before entering the online programs; Course After = Number of online courses taken after entering the online programs

p .27 .78 .16 .83 .22 .86 .72 .43 .68 .18

Identified Regulation F p 1.47* .23 1.46* .23 2.37* .05 1.48* .21 1.61* .19 1.71* .17 .64* .53 .14* .87 .43* .65 .77* .46

Intrinsic Motivation F 4.29* .00* 1.63* .60* 1.61* .64* .46* 1.79* .05* 1.02*

p .04 .98 .17 .66 .19 .59 .63 .17 .95 .36

142

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

Changes in Online Students‘ Motivation Paired-sample t-tests (N= 201) were performed to detect participants‘ motivational changes as an expansion of the data analysis for our research question. Results showed that identified regulation significantly decreased over time (t = -2.56, p< .05), while amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, and intrinsic motivation remained statistically unchanged (see Table 5). Considering that the original Academic Motivation Scale suggests three types of intrinsic motivation (intrinsic motivation to know, to accomplish, and to experience stimulation), wedecided to individually test the motivational changes of the three types of intrinsic motivation. We found that intrinsic motivation to know, which is more relevant to learning contexts, also decreased significantly (t = - 2.49, p< .05).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Demographics and Online Students‘ Motivation Five demographic variables, gender, age, employmentstatus, and prior online learningexperience (including the number of online courses taken before and after entering the online programs), were tested with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to detect any group difference on motivation. The connections between gender and intrinsic motivation in the pre-test, F (1, 267) = 4.29, p< .05, and age and amotivation in the post-test, F (4, 254) = 3.34, p< .05 yielded significant results (see Table 6). Post hoc comparisons indicated that during the pre-test, males (M = 4.88) were more intrinsically motivated than females (M = 4.46). Additionally, during the post-test, participants aging less than 30 years old (M = 1.47) were more amotivated than those in the 40-49 age group (M = 1.14). In summary, this study found that identified regulationwas the primary locus of online learners‘ motivation. Follow-up analyses revealed that online learners‘ identified motivation and intrinsic motivation to know decreased over time. Except for gender in the pre-test and age in the post-test, demographic variables in general do not have significant impacts on online learners‘ motivation.

DISCUSSION OF STUDY RESULTS In this study, identified regulation repeatedly appeared as online learners‘ primary locus of motivation. This means that online students identify the importance ofparticular coursesin relation to their perception that those courses will make them better teachers in the future. Deci and Ryan (1985) argued that identified regulation is a highly desired type of motivation in education because not every learning activity is inherently interesting or enjoyable. With a high level of identified regulation, students internalize the goals and values of their online courses, and they become more self-determined to participate in course activities. Learner characteristics, along with the nature of the studied online programs may explain participants' high scores on identified regulation. Participants are adult learners, with an average age of 37 years old. Compton, Cox, and Laanan (2006) argued that adult learners have multiple responsibilities in life, and they have focused goals for their education,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

143

typically to obtain or promote their work skills. While the studied online programs provide a clear goal for students to pursue, a renewable teaching certificate, the participants may be even more cognizant of the importance of the online courses to help them obtain their teaching certificates, as well as promoting their future careers. Intrinsic motivation, the most self-determined and highly endorsed form of motivation, scored second highest among participants. This result shows that, in addition to identifying the importance of the online courses for their future careers (identified regulation), participants also experienced pleasure and satisfaction while learning course materials, and felt a sense of accomplishment when they participated in course activities. Amotivation, on the other hand, scored lowest among participants. Together, online students‘ motivation profiles indicate an inclination toward self-determined motivation which, as has been reported in many past studies (e.g., Grolnick & Ryan,1987; Ryan & Connell, 1989), is associated with positive learning outcomes. Despite that the data showed participants scored highest on identified regulation and followed by intrinsic motivation, this study also found that online students‘ identified regulation, as well as their intrinsic motivation to know, decreased over a month period of time. This result is consistent with other cross-sectional or longitudinal studies such as Xie at al. (2006), and Otis, Grouzet, and Pelletier (2005). Xie et al. conducted a follow-up study on the decrease of student motivation. In that study, students reported insufficient time to complete course requirements, and mandatory online discussions with noother alternatives, were the primary factors that decreasedstudent motivation. The ―decreasers‖ reported in Xie et al.‘s (2006) study may be applicable to explain the decrease of student motivation in this study, because these decreasers are also evident in the studied online context. The participants are especially busy in summer due to the shortened (1.5 months) duration of the summer term. Furthermore, from another dataset of this study, students reported a relatively low score ofperceived autonomy (M = 3.42on a 7-point scale), indicating that students do not perceive abundant freedom of action in their online courses. An implication gained from students‘ motivational changes is that online instructors should be attentive to online students‘ motivation status throughout the semester, and provide ongoing support to keep students motivated. Rendering flexible and alternative options (as suggested earlier) while maintaining manageable coursework for online students are suggested pathways. Demographic variables in general did not have significant relationships with online learners‘ motivation, except for two statistical results. First, at the beginning of the online course, males were more intrinsically motivated than females; this result contradicts general research findings that females are more intrinsically motivated, or more self-determined than males (Vallerand & Bissonnette, 1992; Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997). Secondly, at the end of the course, participants in the 40-49 age group were less amotivated than those under 30 years old. It is difficult to compare findings across similar studies because little research has been done to examine gender and age difference under the SDT framework and in the online learning environment. What caused males to be more intrinsically motivated than females at the beginning of the course, and why were there no gender differences at the end of the course? What factors made online students aging 40-49 less amotivated than those under 30 when the students proceeded toward the end of the course? These unsolved and interesting questions warrant future studies.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

144

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

An unexpected result was that prior online learningexperience (including the number of courses taken before and after entering the online programs) did not have significant impact on online learners‘ motivation. These findings contradictedConrad‘s (2002) and Armatas, Holt, and Rice‘s (2003) findings that online learners‘ affect and attitudes differed based on prior experience. An explanation to the insignificance of prior experience is that the technology orientations have provided students with sufficient help, mitigating the effect of prior online learning experience. We further examined student responses on the Competency Support Scale(from another dataset of this study) and found that the two orientation-related items, ―The technology orientation was helpful for my study‖ and ―The technology orientation provided me with sufficient information‖ obtained high scores (M = 5.47 and 5.37 respectively on a 7-point scale). Furthermore, the two items both negatively correlated with amotivation, and positively correlated with the other four types of motivation. The results provided evidence of the positive effect of technology orientations, and their potential to mitigate the effect of prior experience on student motivation.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Due to practical concerns, this study was conducted in two Special Education online certificate programs hosted by a large university in the southeastern United States. Therefore, the generalizability of the study results is somewhat limited. Future studies may extend this research by surveying across programs, regions, subject matters, or even culture. Also due to practical concerns, we did not measure participants‘ causality orientations in this study. While individuals are assumed by SDT to possess autonomous orientation,controlled orientation,and impersonal orientation to some degree, it would be interesting and informational to further explore how online learners‘ different causality orientations interact with their motivational profiles. Self-determination theory is a meta-theory. Here our initial step is to examine online learners‘ motivational profiles through the lens of self-determination theory. Future studies may further test the tenets of self-determination theory (as listed earlier) in online learning, or examine the interrelationship among contextual support, online students‘ satisfaction of basic needs, motivation, and various learning consequences. We believe that such SDT-based studies will generate more insights for designing meaningful and stimulating online learning environments.

CONCLUSION Despite that many motivation theories have been applied to online learning research, selfdetermination theory was generally overlooked. Self-determination theory stresses the effects of autonomy, competence and relatedness on motivation. Furthermore, the theory differentiates six types of motivation and their mechanisms. For education, SDT‘s notions of contextual support and internalization are especially insightful.Overall, SDT should render great explanatory potential in relation to many other motivational theories. We contend that SDT can be an ideal framework for addressing motivation in the online learning environment.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

145

In this paper, we introduced self-determination theory and discussed its implications for online instruction. We also examined online learner motivation through the lens of selfdetermination theory. We hope that this paper will stimulate morestudiesthat apply SDTto online learning, as well as developing instructional strategies that promote online learner motivation, enhance their well-being,and insure fruitful and satisfactory online learning experience.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Allen, E. & Seaman, J. (2008). Staying the course: Online education in the United States, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/ pdf/staying_the_course.pdf. Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning (3-29). Athabasca, Canada: Athabasca University. Armatas, C., Holt, D. & Rice, M. (2003). Impacts of an online-supported, resource-based learning environment: Does one size fit all? Distance Education, 24(2), 141-158. Assor, A., Kaplan, H. & Roth, G. (2002). Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviors in predicting student's engagement in school work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 261-278. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Chen, K. C. (2007, October). Self-determination theory: Implications for motivation in online learning. Proceedings of the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare and Higher Education. Norfolk , VA: AACE. Collins, M. P. & Berge, Z. L. (1995). Introduction: Computer-mediated communications and the online classroom in higher education. In Mauri Collins and Zane Berge (Eds.) Computer mediated communication and the online classroom: Volume II (1-10). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Compton, J. I., Cox, E. & Laanan, F. S. (2006). Adult learners in transition. New Directions for Student Services, 114, 73-80. Conrad, D. L. (2002). Engagement, excitement, anxiety, and fear: Learners‘ experiences of starting an online course. American Journal of Distance Education, 16(4), 205-226. Dabbagh, N. & Bannan-Ritland, B. (2005). Online learning: Concepts, strategies, and application. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1985a). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Publishing Co. Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1985b). The general causality orientations scale: Selfdetermination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109-134. Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Dempsey, J.V. & Van Eck, R. N. (2002). Instructional design on-line: Evolving expectations. In: R. A. Reiser, & J. V. Dempsey, (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (281-294). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

146

Kuan-Chung Chenand Syh-Jong Jang

Eccles, J. (1983). Expectance, values, and academic behaviors. In J. T. Spence (Ed.), Achievement and achievement motives: Psychological and social approaches (75-146). San Francisco: Freeman. Galusha, J. M. (1997). Barriers to learning in distance education. Interpersonal Computing and Technology Journal, 5(3-4), 6-14. Gabrielle, D. M. (2003). The effects of technology-mediated instructional strategies on motivation, performance, and self-directed learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. Grabinger, S. (1996). Rich environments for active learning. In D. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational telecommunications and technology (665-692). New York: MacMillan. Grolnick, W. S. & Ryan, R. M. (1987). Autonomy in children‘s learning: An experimental and individual difference investigation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 890-898. Gunawardena, C. N. (1995). Social presence theory and implications for interaction and collaborative learning in computer conferences. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1(2), 147-166. Hara, N. & Kling, R. (2000). Students‘ frustrations with a Web-based distance education course: An ethnographic study of participants‘ experiences. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_12/hara/index.html. Howland, J. L. & Moore, J. L. (2002). Student perceptions as distance learners in Internetbased courses. Distance Education, 23(2), 183-195. Jang, S. J. (2008). The effects of integrating technology, observation and writing into a teacher education method course. Computers & Education, 50(3), 853-865. Jonassen, D. H. & Reeves, T. C. (1996). Learning with technology: Using computers as cognitive tools. In: D. H. Jonassen, (Eds.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (693-719). New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. Keller, J. M. (1987). Strategies for stimulating the motivation to learn. Performance and Instruction, 26(9), 1-8. Lapadat, J. (2002). Written interaction: A key component in online learning. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 7(4). Retrieved January 27, 2008, from http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol7/issue4/lapadat.html. Lee, C. Y. (2002). The impact of self-efficacy and task value on satisfaction and performance in a Web-based course. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. Lim, D. H. & Kim, H. (2002). Motivation and learner characteristics affecting online learning and learning application. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 31(4), 423-439. Locates, C. & Weisberg, M. (1997). Distributed learning and the Internet. Contemporary Education, 68(2), 100-103. Olgren, C. H. (1998). Improving learning outcomes: The effects of learning strategies and motivation. In: C. C. Gibson, (Eds.), Distance learners in higher education (79-96). Medison, WI: Atwood. Oliver, R. & Herrington, J. (2001). Teaching and learning online : A beginner's guide to elearning and e-teaching in higher education. Edith Cowan University, Lawley: Western Australia.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Self-Determination Theory: Implications for Motivation in Online Learning

147

Otis, N., Grouzet, F. M. E. & Pelletier, L. G. (2005). Latent motivational change in an academic setting: A 3-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology 97(2), 170-183. Pintrich, P. R. & Schunk, D. H. (2002). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Reed, A. (2000). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the traditional classroom. Teaching with Technology Today, 5(6). Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/reed.htm. Reeve, J. (2002). Self-determination theory applied to educational settings. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (183-203). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Reeve, J. & Jang, H. (2006). What teachers say and do to support students‘ autonomy during a learning activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 209-218. Riel, M. & Harasim, L. (1994). Research perspectives on network learning. Journal of Machine-Mediated Learning, 4(2-3), 91-114. Ryan, R. M. & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749-761. Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67. Short, J., Williams, E. & Christie, B. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons. Song, L., Singleton, E. S., Hill, J. R. & Koh, M. H. (2004). Improving online learning: Student perceptions of useful and challenging characteristics. Internet& Higher Education, 7(1), 59-70. Tu, C. H. (2002). The impacts of text-based CMC on online social presence. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 1(2), 1-24. Vallerand, R. J. & Bissonnette, R. (1992). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational styles as predictors of behavior: A prospective study. Journal of Personally, 60, 599-620. Vallerand, R. J., Fortier, M. S. & Guay, F. (1997). Self-determination and persistence in a real-life setting: Toward a motivational model of high school dropout. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(5), 1161-1176. Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Brie`re, N. M., Sene´cal, C. B. & Vallie`res, E. F. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52(4), 10031019. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction, Communication Research, 19(1), 52-90. Williams, G. C., Freedman, Z. R. & Deci, E. L. (1998). Supporting autonomy to motivate glucose control in patients with diabetes. Diabetes Care, 21, 1644-1651. Xie, K., Debacker, T. K. & Ferguson, C. (2006). Extending the Traditional Classroom through Online Discussion: The Role of Student Motivation. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34(1), 67-89.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 6

EFFECTIVE PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION ‗AT A DISTANCE‘: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE MULTIMODAL DELIVERY OF A SECONDARY PRESERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMPERCEPTIONS OF PRESERVICE TEACHERS, TEACHERS AND UNIVERSITY LECTURERS Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan, Peter Morris, Mary Nuttall and Caroline Smith

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

School of Education, Australian Catholic University, Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT Providing effective programs for students living at a distance from program sites is a difficult policy issue for colleges and universities. As a matter of equity it is important that communities removed from the major centers are given access to the benefits of higher education without having to travel long distances; and yet for educational institutions the costs involved in offering programs in geographically dispersed, sparsely populated areas are often prohibitive. In the field of teacher preparation it is particularly desirable that courses are offered in rural and remote areas because of its potential to address teacher shortages often experienced by these schools. The Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) Rural and Regional model (GDEDRR) was a program designed to provide effective preservice teacher education to students based in dispersed geographical locations. Moving away from an on-campus model of teacher education, the GDEDRR course was a multimodal program combining placement in rural and regional1 schools with brief, ‗intensive‘ on-campus instruction and online learning. In this design teacher

1

‗Regional‘ in the Australian context refers to provincial locations. In these areas access to a full range of higher education programs is not always available.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

150

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al. mentors and lecturers worked in a partnership to nurture the professional growth of the preservice teachers. This chapter describes the findings of a qualitative study of the first year of the GDEDRR program in 2008 from the point of its various participants, preservice teachers, lecturing staff and mentoring teachers. This chapter will highlight for an international audience what can be learned from the Australian experience of teacher education ‗at a distance‘. In particular the study found that while online learning is valued for the flexibility it offers learners and teachers, both groups continue to see a place for face to face teaching. Moreover, if online communication is to be part of the solution to education in rural areas, preservice teachers and lecturers must receive appropriate support. Finally teacher education partnerships between rural teachers and universities are valued by both groups but their success depends on commitment to effective communication between the partners.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY At a 2009 international forum on Innovation for equity in rural education a key note speaker (Hardré, 2009), reflecting on the US experience of rural education, argued that government reports can hide the serious inequities suffered by students and teachers in rural areas. Measures such as class sizes and teacher-student relationships can suggest that rural teachers are well off compared to their urban counterparts. However, Hardré argues that these indicators do not reveal significant areas of disadvantage for education in rural areas. Issues such as difficulty in attracting and retaining well qualified staff, inadequate attention to preparing teachers for working in rural areas and difficulties for teachers in accessing professional development are some of these (Hardré, 2009). The forum was testament to the pervasiveness of these rural education challenges in countries places as diverse as Canada, Korea and Europe (Lyons, Choi & McPhan, 2009). In Australia too, access to high quality education is a significant challenge in rural areas (Alston & Kent, 2006). While as a matter of principle rural students have the same rights to educational opportunities as do urban students, yet in practice providing these in sparsely populated, widely dispersed areas is expensive and difficult (DEEWR, 2008). As was noted in relation to the US, teacher education is a case in point; in that teacher education programs have been seen as excessively metro-centric, failing to adequately address rural needs (Green & Reid, 2004). The program described here was designed with a specific focus on rural teacher education needs. Moving away from an oncampus model of secondary preservice teacher education, the Graduate Diploma in Education (Rural and Regional Model) (GDEDRR) was based around placement in rural schools combined with intensive on-campus instruction and online learning. The multimodal model was seen as having the potential to address both the financial needs of rural and regional preservice teachers, who find it difficult to relocate to study, and the problem of teacher shortages in rural and regional schools. In having online study as a component, the approach raised the broad issue of how technology can address the education needs of contemporary students, in this case those of rural preservice teachers. The following chapter outlines the findings of an investigation into the effectiveness of this multimodal approach to teacher education in rural contexts. In doing so it contributes to our knowledge about teacher education ‗at a distance‘.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

151

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Research Context Governments and universities around the world debate about the optimum model for teacher education. Recent discussion (Darling-Hammond, 2006) has been particularly polarized in that programs like Teach for America have questioned the need for any preservice teacher education. At the centre of the debate is the issue of how programs can develop an optimal relationship between the theoretical and practical knowledge that a preservice teacher needs. While there is consensus that the school-based aspects of teacher education are essential, some commentators have critiqued the idea of teacher education as an entirely practical business with preservice teachers as apprentice learners under teacher supervisors (Hargreaves, 2006; Young 2006). In the United States there has been considerable attention given to the Professional Development School model where universities and schools create cooperative programs based in schools so that the theory/practice separation is lessened for preservice teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2005; Robinson & Darling-Hammond, 2005). However, in 2005 contributors to the report commissioned by American Education Research Association Panel (AERA) (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005) claimed that teacher education research, including research into the effectiveness of various models of teacher education, was in its infancy. Within this report Clift and Brady (2005) suggested that most studies narrowly focussed on perceptions of the university instructors and there was also a paucity of studies which went beyond participants‘ perceptions to ‗objective‘ measures of effectiveness such the teaching performance of preservice teachers under various arrangements. It is revealing to find that similar points have been made about Australian teacher education research. While there have been multiple government-commissioned reports designed to guide policy (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training, 2007; Parliament of Victoria, Education and Training Committee, 2005; Ramsey, 2000), Nuttall, Murray, Seddon and Mitchell (2006) have argued that the teacher education profession has not produced sufficient high quality research into its practices. Like the AERA panel, they suggest the need for systematically planned, comparative studies of various models of teacher education. If teacher education is under-researched, teacher education for rural areas has been even less investigated (Green & Reid, 2004; White, 2008). Green and Reid suggest that without a focus on rural needs, the well documented educational disadvantages, including shortages of qualified teachers (Alston & Kent, 2006; White, 2008), experienced by rural students will not be addressed. It has been argued that universities must refocus on rural education by finding ways to encourage more preservice teachers see a rural placement as a positive experience (White, 2008) thereby increasing the likelihood of taking up employment in a rural school (Lyons et al., 2006). Top of the class (House of Representatives, 2007) noted that in Australia rural and regional teacher education has been negatively affected by funding limitations which mean that the crucial communication between university lecturers and school-based supervisors has been undermined. Frequently, local staff, with little involvement in the course overall, are used to supervise rural and regional preservice teachers during their practicum. This practice not only weakens links between preservice teachers and the university but it also reduces the contact rural schools have with new educational ideas for which universities are clearing houses. As Hardré (2009) argues about the United States, isolation from professional development is a key aspect of rural disadvantage. In Australia rural and regional teachers share the more general teacher perception that their work as supervisors of preservice teachers

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

152

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

is insufficiently valued and acknowledged (House of Representatives, 2007). The current study was designed to investigate these issues. During the last decades discussion of education ‗at a distance‘ has increasingly been a discussion about the use of online or digital technology to facilitate learning (Saba, 2005). However, as was also argued by Saba, it is important to recognise that the concept of distance education is a rapidly changing phenomenon and is about more than using technology to reach students at physical distance from instructors. Students are embracing technological solutions because of their potential to allow them to study without requiring them to fit into the traditional on-campus structure (Gosper et al., 2008; Saba, 2005). Saba‘s analysis notes the tension in the history of contemporary education systems between the ―post-modern‖ student desire to have ―variability in structure and autonomy at each moment as an instructional period unfolds‖ (p. 268), and the tendency of industrial era institutions to set up common structures for all students to conform to. However, flexible education practices which appeal to students have gained ground because universities are attracted by the financial benefits of mass education through technology. Therefore, the use of contemporary information communication technologies (ICTs) is rapidly permeating university programs; although lecturer enthusiasm has not been as pervasive as that of students (Gosper et al., 2008; Saba, 2005). Along with their rapid uptake, debates about the optimum use of online communication as a mode of instruction in contemporary higher education have been prolific (Bangert, 2005; Gosper et al., 2008; Greener, 2008; Otero et al., 2005). Technological innovation soon finds its way into the higher education teaching and learning, with the latest wave of interest being in the use of social software to facilitate learning (Fitzgerald & Steele, 2008). It has been argued, however, that while technology has potential benefits, without commitment to what is known about effective teaching pedagogy, ICT will not reap benefits in terms of student learning (Bangert, 2005). Nowhere is the use of technology to facilitate learning more attractive than in situations where physical distance is critical. In Australia with its small population dispersed over a large continent there has been much attention to online learning (Tynan, Dunne & Smyth, 2007; Willis & Reid, 2006). The present study adds to research about appropriate use of ICTs in higher education.

Context of the Study As noted, the course which is the focus of this inquiry was designed with the specific needs of rural and regional preservice teachers and schools in mind. The mixed mode delivery of a preservice program where students were able to remain in their community while studying was a response to issues faced by prospective teachers in many rural areas who find themselves faced with ―two often undesirable options‖: relocating to an urban centre or studying by wholly by distance education (Parliament of Victoria, 2005, p. 26). The GDEDRR course brought preservice teachers from various rural and regional areas to the university campus twice a year for a one week ―intensive‖ program but for the remainder of each semester they were engaged in activities in their local school under the direction of a teacher mentor and connected to their lecturers through online study. The school placement consisted of two days per week for a full time student (one day for part time). As well as this

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

153

placement preservice teachers completed two blocks of ‗teaching rounds‘ or student teaching; four and five weeks respectively. The preservice teachers were in schools in six different rural towns of various sizes spread across the state of Victoria, the most distant of which was nearly 600 km from the campus. The course differed from the traditional on-campus approach in that the on campus delivery of content had been largely replaced with school based activities linked to online units of study. In this design preservice teachers‘ development of professional attributes was encouraged though mentoring by experienced teachers in the school setting and through the instruction by their lecturers, largely mediated through online communication on the Blackboard online learning platform (Blackboard, 2010). The model could be described as a distance education approach in that the course was a flexible arrangement designed to allow for communication and instruction when face to face contact was limited. The question the researchers asked themselves was: how effective, from the point of view of the various participants in the course: the preservice teachers; the supervising teachers; and the lecturers; was the multimodal approach to preservice teacher education. The study was undertaken after the first year of the course‘s operation in 2008.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

METHODOLOGY In focusing on understanding the perceptions of the various groups of participants in the rural and regional course the research took a social constructivist point of view. Within this framework the social world is created by individuals and groups as they interact with institutions and experience the world so that peoples‘ perceptions are critical (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Such investigations offer data which are useful for social policy (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Phenomenology (Creswell, 2007) offers a useful approach to looking at an aspect of social life such as a course or a job in that it sees experience as being given meaning through individual consciousness of it. Through exploring the perceptions of individuals a picture of a phenomenon is built. In line with the phenomenological approach the investigation was based on interviews with participants conducted by the investigators. The interviews were semi-structured with participants being provided with an outline of questions before the interviews and encouraged to bring up other matters of concern to them. The questions were centered on participants‘ experiences of the various aspects of the course and whether they combined to create the outcomes which they expected from the course. The study was qualitative in that a number of participants were asked to discuss their experience in some detail, (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) and these experiences were analysed for recurring themes. To develop the validity of the data analysis two researchers were assigned to the material relating to one of the three categories of participants (preservice teachers, teachers and lecturers). Each of the pair of researchers conducted an independent analysis of the data before working with their partner to discuss allocated categories and themes. In the study six preservice teachers, six lecturers and twelve teachers were interviewed about the course in which they all participated. As stated the preservice teachers were placed in schools at various distances from the campus. They were appointed a teacher mentor whose role it was to assist them in their professional growth. The lecturers interviewed included those who taught Education Studies units and others who worked in

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

154

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

curriculummethod units. Some of the twelve interviewed teachers were mentors to individual preservice teachers, some were Student Teacher Coordinators (STCs) with organisation roles in this area across the school, and some fulfilled both mentor and STC roles concurrently. Following the project‘s interest in understanding how a course structured in this way worked for various groups of participants, findings in this chapter are organised in terms of participants‘ responses to the three components of the course. This approach built an understanding of the key issues in developing a teacher education program which aimed to meet the needs of participants whose learning was not based on traditional on-campus classes. The teachers only experienced the school-based component so their views are limited to this aspect. In reporting the findings initials substitute for the names of the various participants.

FINDINGS The findings are presented in three areas corresponding to the three components through which the course was offered. These are:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1. the intensive program: a four day on-campus experience held at the beginning of each semester; 2. the online component: academic coursework completed through the online Blackboard platform; and 3. the school-based component: where preservice teachers were placed in schools for two days per week to complement their online, academic studies.

1. The Intensive Component For preservice teachers and lecturers, the intensive sessions, in which lecturers met with their students for some hours as part of a one week program held twice a year, established what each saw as highly desirable lines of communication. Preservice teachers recognised the benefit of the intensive to meet lecturers and fellow students and to establish important relationships with these key people in their study experience: I feel I would have struggled had I not had a personal introduction to the lecturers and other students(NOR. It was certainly helpful to me to meet lecturers, other students (some of which I kept in touch with) and some of the admin staff. Even moving around the campus made me feel more connected to the course I was undertaking (CHE).

Every one of the preservice teachers in the course offered a comment similar to these; acknowledging the benefit of having some personal contact with their lecturers, fellow students and the administration staff they would have to be in contact with throughout the course. Preservice teachers also saw the intensive as useful for facilitating other aspects of the course, especially the online component. ―It was also good to be able to go through

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

155

assessments and the booklets for each unit I was undertaking so I had a better understanding of what was required of me when at home‖ (NOR). ―I was able to ask questions and clarify what was being asked by the tasks and through the unit outline‖ (MAT). ―The library introductions were very good to ease my way back into study‖ (TOB). The university lecturers also felt that the intensives provided a good opportunity for both staff and students to get to know each other, giving a foundation for in-depth learning and also a time to identify resources, university expectations and unit requirements. The students are also able to put a face to the lecturer and fellow students with whom they will be interacting during the semester (PH). Essential for establishing relationships and initial introductions. Never underestimate the power of face-to-face contact to establish a sense of security. Also in my method area it is essential to be able to demonstrate some of the theoretical models discussed in the unit, otherwise it is too difficult to know whether students‘ interpretations are on track and you can‘t guarantee what modelling they will have in school(MJ).

However, the intensives were not long enough for some lecturers. ‗Possibly more time could be devoted to the intensive --- maybe two rather than one week‘ (PH). The idea for extending the time or even adding additional intensive periods was also picked up by the preservice teachers:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Take a full week and allow more time for each unit. Don‘t be frightened to use evenings as well. This is our only opportunity to get this information and it is really important (COC). The intensives have been very good, it may be a consideration to have them also mid-way through the term as well. It may assist with questions and also support for each other (MAT).

These comments highlight the importance of the intensive for both preservice teachers and lecturing staff. For preservice teachers, satisfaction expressed with the intensives was sometimes tempered by a feeling that they were overwhelmed with too much information in a limited time. ―There was so much information in a short space of time. We often ran out of time and didn‘t cover important information well enough in my opinion (COC)‖. Their suggestion for improving this by offering additional time or an additional days during the semester could help overcome this issue. Overall the intensive was considered to be a highly effective and important component of the course. It provided opportunities to establish relationships, introduce and clarify important aspects of course work – including modeling of teaching approaches and clarifying assessment requirements, enabled a familiarization with resources available to students and how to access them once the off-campus component of the course began. The only criticism of the intensives were that they were not long enough, and both lecturers and preservice teachers wanted more time in this face-to-face format. This further highlights how important the intensive component was viewed by those involved.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

156

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

2. The Online Component The data revealed mixed results in regard to the effectiveness of the online component. A range of abilities in using the ICT appeared to be the main factor contributing to this mix. For example, preservice teachers indicated frustration with the initial learning of the Blackboard platform and some of the technical requirements it had: Lots of problems using Blackboard. Some difficulties accessing Blackboard. Sometimes information that should have been on Blackboard was not there. However I must admit I am not very good on computers (CHE). Blackboard did not allow you to attach assignments, sometimes would not send emails through (MAT).

This range in preservice teachers‘ skills was also recognized by lecturing staff. One lecturer noted that it should not be assumed that all preservice teachers have well developed computer skills. Some preservice teachers did not have computers at home or were not clear about where to find help if required. I think the variety in students‘ competency in using Blackboard is challenging. Even though they have a training session, it doesn‘t appear to provide great support. Their internet connections and browser settings and supporting software (Java, etc) also appear to be a challenge (MS).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Criticism of lecturers‘ skills was also evident: ―Several lecturers are not well versed in the use of Blackboard, so the unit ends up quite chaotic and difficult to navigate‖ (COC). Staff recognized that initially they took time to learn to work effectively with Blackboard, but this became easier. I needed to know more about how to teach an online unit- was not very sure of this before I started. I now see the need to know this. While the units in the … [course] are mixed mode units the majority is online (JE).

As time progressed and lecturers and preservice teachers became more familiar with Blackboard, these issues seemed to dissipate: At the start of the course I found Blackboard hard to use because I had no previous experience and also there were some technical problems which made it even harder to grasp. I don‘t find it a problem any more (TON). [Blackboard] is reasonably user friendly when you get used to it. The IT people were good and encouraged me to try new things‖ (JE).

Despite these issues preservice teachers appreciated the opportunities for online discussion and interaction with peers about their professional learning. It has been really beneficial to talk with other students via Blackboard – sharing experiences from the teaching experience is a great way to assess your own experience, and consider alternatives for coming teaching experiences (IOP).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

157

The topics discussed on Blackboard were another tool to help get your thinking in line with both real teaching requirements and your reflections on the topics under investigation (NOR).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Some preservice teachers highlighted how the organisational structure assisted them in feeling confident that they were ‗on track‘. ―Dealing with staff and students was also very good; it helped to confirm that we were all on the same page‖ (CHE). Others appreciated how the structure of the course enabled them to accommodate study with other aspects of their lives stating that it was ―good to be able to continue to work normally and be able to study at the same time‖ (MAT). At times preservice teachers felt that the online platform was not always an effective learning tool. ―It is often hard to follow discussions especially when a lot of people have posted responses‖ (JOS). ―On-line is good as it can be completed in own time. Frustrating as often other students do not respond to the class discussions on time …. Lack of personal contact can be frustrating, for questions etc‖ (TOB). For those who took an active role in the school-based component, it was also a heavy workload at times and it was suggested that there should be ―not so many assignments, tasks and online chats overlapping one another. With four subjects in semester 1 and five in semester 2, I struggled at times to stay on top of it all as well as preparing for classes and doing English corrections for most of the year (NOR)‖. Overall both preservice teachers and lecturers were measured in their responses to online learning and teaching: they acknowledged its value but pointed out significant instances where it was not effective. As lecturers‘ experience in designing and managing online learning grows, some of these issues are likely to be addressed. More time for preservice teachers‘ Blackboard training and greater collaboration between lecturers as they design units should also address issues of using the Blackboard platform and ensure that set tasks are not over-lapping and are distributed reasonably throughout the semester.

3. The School-Based Component Along with the intensive, the school-based component was one of the most positively reported on aspect of the course. This was evident in responses from lecturing staff, preservice teachers and the teacher mentors in the schools. Unsurprisingly, for the preservice teachers, being assigned to a school on an ongoing basis provided essential insights into a range of teacher roles both within the classroom and beyond. Being involved in the curriculum and being treated as a junior member of staff was great; everyone was very welcoming and accommodating (IOP). Another said it was useful ―getting to know staff, the school and putting myself out there for future employment. Watching different teachers and their teaching styles/techniques/tools‖ (CHE). Weekly school placement also provided an excellent opportunity for preservice teachers to become closely involved with the whole school community - staff, parents, students and the wider community. Preservice teachers reported being involved in ―yard duty, library supervision, staff briefings, meetings, parent-teacher interviews‖ (IOP) along with ―sports days, exam preparation, marking students‘ work, library and computer classes‖ (NOR) and ―staff social events, report-writing and excursions‖ (MAT). Practising teachers highlighted

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

158

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

how preservice teachers became ―part of the staff‖ (DH), that they were ―immersed in the school‖ (GD). The teachers‘ responses to this model of preservice teacher education in which the school rather than the university campus was the significant site of learning included many positive comments. The greatest benefit of the model from the teachers‘ point of view was the insight into the profession that the structure provided. ―You learn the rhythm of the school, the stresses of the school and to see that real stuff, changing plans to whatever is happening on that day, the cycles, interviews, reporting.‖(BL) I think what it does is allow her to see all the different responsibilities that a teacher has and [it] allows her to see a snippet of the college in a limited way but kind of how things happen in schools; this time of year when there is [sic] all kinds of loads being discussed. It must then allow her to weigh up whether this is where I want to be... Depending on when you do your round depends what you see. If you are there 1 day a week you‘re seeing a cycle (KS).

Teachers mentioned a number of other strengths of the approach including how the school experience enabled preservice teachers to ―become established in the schools‖ (KS); to ―become familiar with administrative procedures in the school‖ (PB); and to ―become comfortable with the school environment‖ (MS). A particular strength of the approach noted by teachers included that of preparing preservice teachers for formal teaching rounds which were also a part of the course.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

This model makes sense in respect to their teaching block. Your model is far superior and what you would expect student teachers to be doing. That to me works better than [that of] other universities where they come out for three weeks and that‘s their teaching round. Having this model I think that it‘s a proactive way of trying to address some of the issues that I have seen and observed. (ET)

They highlighted how the two days per week leading up to teaching rounds meant that preservice teachers were able to ― learn the students‘ and staff members‘ names‖ (BL); ―practise basic classroom routines and use of equipment‖ (MS); and ―become aware of possible behaviour problems among the students‖ (BL). These insights gained prior to the teaching round were seen to support the teaching round experience as it would help preservice teachers ―be more relaxed in approaching classes and … do a better job‖ (KS). That is it ―can get that school knowledge stuff out of the way‖ (PB) and ensure preservice teachers ―have some familiarity before they start teaching and to start to feel comfortable within the environment before they are challenged to teach‖ (MS). Extreme praise for the model was expressed by one of the STCs who described it as ―near as perfect a teacher training model as possible‖ (BH). This unusually unqualified support seemed to stem from the fact at this school the preservice teacher was able to become a valued person in the school‘s teaching program, performing a regular team teaching role. The preservice teacher himself agreed the team teaching arrangement was beneficial for his professional learning although he was somewhat stressed by how busy he was as he was completing university assignments as well as undertaking considerable teaching responsibilities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

159

Lecturers saw the school-based experience in most instances as providing an excellent context for preservice teachers to gain confidence in themselves as novice teachers and make links between theory and practice through seeing the connections between the academic units and activities undertaken in schools. They valued the fact that preservice teachers had access to a range of different classes, teaching and learning styles, discipline strategies and curriculum approaches. These experiences had the potential to be woven into the units and developed further.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

I think it helps students bridge the gap between theory and practice – particularly if we build a lot of read, look, reflect, discuss into the online components to ensure strong links between theory and practice are established (MJ).

However, school participation was not unproblematic. It was a commonly held perception that the two day per week school experience was dominated by an over-emphasis on classroom observation. ―Getting to know the students has been worthwhile and the different teaching styles. However [I] often found the time very boring as I am often sitting listening to basic chalk and talk sessions‖(TOB). This was frustrating for preservice teachers especially as they gained more experience and wanted an active classroom role. ―It is not very hands on, and after the teaching rounds it is like a backwards step‖ (CHE). They attributed this to classroom teachers not really knowing how to work with them as associate teachers; for example, to engage them in team-teaching type experiences. ―Some days where I only had to take one class I felt I was sitting around not doing much- tried to observe as many classes as possible but at times felt a little in the way‖ (NOR). A potentially valuable recommendation made by the preservice participants was that a ‗charter‘ for teacher mentors be developed. There was also a concern among some lecturers that a more effective system for keeping in touch with preservice teachers while they were in schools needed to be developed. Preservice teachers sometimes seemed to ‗disappear‘ and lecturers had little idea of progress being made. There were questions about whether preservice teachers and mentors understood the purposes of the school-based component. ―Some students seemed to see being in the school as just a context to finish their assignments- did not see they could assist teachers (JE).‖ And lecturers found it difficult to communicate unit content to preservice teachers. I did find it challenging at times when I wanted to demonstrate or model a particular approach and I had to rely on students‘ ability to interpret readings/Power Points and identify it for themselves in schools (MJ).

Despite the general support for the approach teachers did express some areas of concern. These included concern that the school found it difficult to provide a rich preservice teaching experience because teachers had other priorities. Initially she was doing a lot of aid style work and joining in different groups and activities and that style of thing. Then after doing a teaching round here it was very difficult to keep her within the role that she should have been in which was teaching. We found it difficult because the teachers themselves needed to get back into their classes, get back on top of the kids and do assessments etc and everyday things (DH).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

160

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al. Some concern with school arrangement was expressed: I actually don't like the day here and there, I prefer the blocks, I don't think 1 or 2 days is consistent enough to get to know the students and get to know the unit of work and understand the work. … For the student I think they take the student teacher more seriously when they are there day in and day out (MS).

And there was one issue associated with placement in a small rural community: COC has different roles in the community as a small business owner (who employs students at the school) then as the teacher professional in the school. The roles need to be maintained separately and there is a risk that they can interfere with one another as was the case with COC and small town gossip can then be a problem (DH).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

There were concerns from two schools about the lack of monetary support for teachers involved. ―What I found really difficult was the arrival at 8.30 and having to allocate them because it was unpaid for teacher – not overburdening same teachers each week. We might wear out welcome with teachers when it‘s not paid‖(NL). Another persistent theme of teachers‘ comments about the model was the quality of communication between the university and the school. These comments reflected both good and poor examples of communication. For example, one teacher commented on the clarity of the information provided: Your contact and explanations to me gave me a very clear idea of what the program is about. I think the University has obviously put some expectations on you to make sure that schools understand what the program is all about and I think they have done a good job at doing that… your contact was actually more than I have had from other universities (PB). There was a meeting at one point that was useful and I think that is fine as a one off (MS). It was good how quickly the university responded to the situation with COC (DH).

Others felt there had been too little communication. One said ―I needed to know what was going on – not receiving the material or the expectations of the days in schools‖ (GD). Another complained that ―At the beginning I had no idea, she turned up on the doorstep and I had no idea, whether that [documentation] had gone to the Principal, which they often do and not get to the next step‖ (KS). Teachers made a number of recommendations which featured ideas for improving communication with the university. Teachers encouraged more regular phone contact and visits to the school with comments like. ―Maybe a bit more contact between the schools and the university, whether it‘s a meeting once a term or something like that just so we make sure everyone is clear on where we are it‖ (DH). They also recommended clearer outlines of what was expected in the two day per week placement in a form that was easily accessible and readable ―something simple like a one page checklist would help‖ (MS). Although teachers made many criticisms of the approach they all indicated that they would be involved in something like this again. Most did not provide reasons, giving statements like ―Absolutely‖ (ET) and ―Yes, definitely‖ (BL) while others alluded to how it could help them with the recruitment of staff: ―Yes because we need the staff‖ (DH). Interestingly, on this note, of the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

161

three fulltime students in the course who graduated at the end of the pilot year, all three were offered positions in the schools in which they had completed the school placement. Looking at the model more from their own point of view rather than that of the preservice teachers, most teachers welcomed the experience. I find it energising. I love having them. They have new ideas and are enthusiastic and not weighted down with responsibility. It re-energises you as a teacher and you get to know your kids in a different way and gets you to reflect as you observe and make comment. (MS) I think the benefit is I‘ve had to keep it in mind of what she‘s up to and where she‘s at. It certainly means that in some ways I‘m more accountable. (DH)

Overall the school based experience provided a number of opportunities to enhance learning, offered preparation for teaching and bridged the theory-practice gap. It enabled preservice teachers to become a stronger part of the school community where a sense of belonging was often established. Communication was effective at times, but remained an area for greater improvement. This extends to communication between lecturers and preservice teachers about expectations and progress; and lecturers and teachers to ensure expectations are clear and schools are supported during the extended period of time preservice teachers are working in them.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

CONCLUSION It is revealing to examine the differing perceptions of the various participants to see what they suggest about teaching and learning at a distance in a teacher preparation course. First of all it is clear that both lecturers and preservice teachers were emphatic that the intensive component, the brief face to face instruction time, was an important and even essential part of the course. While, as noted by other researchers, contemporary students may value the flexibility that online learning brings they frequently see it as complementary to face to face instruction rather than a replacementof for it (Gosper et al., 2008; Greener, 2008). The study affirmed Saba‘s (2005) argument that it is not useful to see discussion about distance education as simply that of maximising technological solutions to bridge physical distance. But rather it needs to be about how to build an education process which suits individual learners in their context. In this case both lecturers and preservice teachers agreed that despite the challenges involved for some in meeting on campus, a desirable blend included some face to face instruction. In a second finding which perhaps goes against the stereotype of the contemporary student conversant with the latest technology, a number of the preservice teachers needed ICT support to work effectively in an online environment (Fitzgerald & Steele, 2008). Lecturers also saw themselves (and sometimes were seen by their students) as needing to improve their work in this environment. While studies of rural and regional education may see online learning as a significant way of managing the challenges of learning ‗at a distance‘ (Willis & Reid, 2006), the research on the GDEDRR showed that the ‗solution‘ is not always a simple one for participants. Institutions must dedicate resources to IT support for these students and staff. Without this support the use of online instruction will perpetuate rather than address rural disadvantage.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

162

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

As has been argued in many reports on teacher education in Australia(House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training, 2007; Parliament of Victoria, Education and Training Committee, 2005; Ramsey, 2000), the schoolbased component of the course was seen by research participants as pivotal to preservice teachers‘ professional learning. But as these reports also argue, it is not enough to send preservice teachers out to the school and expect them to learn. Lecturers were concerned that preservice teachers were not making the desired links between the academic program and their school experience; preservice teachers felt that their time in schools was not always productive and teachers expressed frustration that the university was not sufficiently in touch with them. Overall, while supporting the multimodal model overall, participants expressed the need for greater clarity about roles and responsibilities within the partnership. As noted above, lecturers and preservice teachers were not always operating effectively in an online learning environment so that opportunities for dialogue about school experiences were not always taken up. The research found that the achievement of an effective ‗partnership‘ with rural schools in preservice teacher education is not a simple matter of setting up a rural placement but rather universities must work to ensure the experience for the preservice teacher is not one which reinforces the idea of rural means isolation (White, 2008). In terms of whether the course addressed the need of rural schools for better access to qualified teachers, as noted earlier, three of the fulltime students in the course received offers of employment at their placement school. While this is limited data it is possible to say that the course successfully enabled rural preservice teachers to complete their program while based ‗at home‘ and others experienced an extended placement in these areas. Robinson and Darling-Hammond (2005) argue that university-school partnerships will not succeed without significant commitment of resources (money, time, communication systems) into the collaboration. In the current case, as argued, participants agreed that the multimodal enterprise was one that they supported in principle but felt needed better management in practice. For the lecturers/course managers at the university this is a clear message that they must take a proactive role in creating the professional communication with teachers to support the learning of preservice teachers (Hargreaves, 2006; Young, 2006). One unplanned aspect of undertaking the current research study was that it meant that researchers visited rural schools in order to interview teachers. It was clear that teachers appreciated the opportunity to talk face to face with university staff and used it to express perceptions which otherwise may have remained hidden. The experience suggests that such attention to teachers‘ views is essential to any future partnership. The response of participants in a multimodal course designed to better meet the needs of rural preservice teachers and schools offers clear but qualified support for its design. In the two years since the first year of operation in 2008 there has been affirmation of the design in the form of increased preservice teacher numbers, with current enrolments being four times that of the first year. For prospective students, at least, the course looks attractive. However, the research shows that the experiment in teacher education at a distance cannot be said to be altogether successful without attention to some of the issues discussed in this chapter; in particular improved ICT pedagogy and greater technical support for it; and better collaboration with rural schools to support preservice teacher learning. Despite these qualifications, participants have welcomed the shift in the site of learning away from the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

163

university to rural schools because it better prepares preservice teachers for work in these schools giving them more opportunities to see educational theory in practice.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Alston, M. & Kent, J. (2006). The impact of drought on secondary education access in Australia‘s rural and remote areas. A report to DEST and the Rural Education Program of FRRR (Wagga Wagga, Centre for Rural Social Research, CSU). Electronic version retrieved October 7, 2008 from http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/4415AD4A-F3AF40DF-9F10-00F5DE08E855/12764/Impact_Droughtreport23Jan2006.pdf. Blackboard (2010). Backboard website accessed February 23, 2010. http://www.blackboard. com/. Bangert, A. (2004). The seven principles of good practice: a framework for evaluating on-line teaching, The Internet and Higher Education, 7(3), 217-232. Clift, R. & Brady, P. (2005). Research on methods courses and field experiences. In CochranSmith, M. & Zeichner, K. (Eds.) Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. (309-337). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erbaum Associates. Cochran-Smith, M. & Fries, K. (2005). Researching teacher education in changing times: Politics and paradigms. In: M. Cochran-Smith, & K. Zeichner, Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. American Educational Research Association publication. Mahwah: NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. (2nd Ed.). Thousands Oaks: Sage. Darling-Hammond, L. (Ed.). (2005). Professional development schools. Schools for developing a profession. New York: Teachers College Press. Darling Hammond (2006). Reforming teacher preparation and licensing: debating the evidence. In D. Hartley & M. Whitehead Teacher Education. Major themes in Education. Vol. 5 Globalisation, Standards and teacher education, (95-124). London: Routledge. Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (1998). Strategies of qualitative inquiry. London: Sage. Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2005). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks : Sage. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (DEEWR). (2008). Review of Australian higher education. [Electronic version] accessedJanuary 16,2009. http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Review/Pages/ReviewofAustralianHigherEdu cationReport.aspx Fitzgerald, R. & Steele, J. (2008).Digital Learning Communities (DLC): Investigating the Application of Social Software to Support Networked Learning. ALTC project. [Electronic version http://www.mashedlc.edu.au/] Gosper, M., Green, D., McNeill, M., Phillips, R., Preston, G. & Woo, K. (2008). The Impact of Web-based Lecture Technologies on Current and Future Practice in Learning and Teaching. [Electronic version] Accessed January 20, 2009. http://www.cpd.mq. edu.au/teaching/wblt/overview.http.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

164

Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones, Michael Buchanan et al.

Green, B. & Reid, J. (2004). Teacher education for rural–regional sustainability: changing agendas, challenging futures, chasing chimeras? Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 32(3), 255-273. Greener, S. (2008). Self-aware and self-directed: Student conceptions of blended learning. Journal of online learning and teaching, 2(4). [Electronic version] http://jolt.merlot.org/ vol4no2/greener0608.htm. Hardré, P. (2009). Nurturing the rural teaching experience. Lessons from the United States. In: T. Lyons, J. Choi, & G. McPhan, (Eds.) (2009). Innovation for Equity in Rural Education, Symposium Proceedings International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education, 11-14 February, UNE: Armidale, 137-145. Electronic version retrieved January, 2010 from http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE/pages/ISFIRE_ proceedings. pdf. Hargreaves, A. (2006). Towards a social geography of teacher education. In D. Hartley & M. Whitehead Teacher Education. Major themes in Education. Vol. 5 Globalisation, Standards and teacher education, (227-254). London: Routledge. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training (2007).Top of the class. Report on the inquiry into teacher education. [Electronic version]. Accessed June 7, 2007: http:/www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/evt/ teachereduc/report/front.pdf. Lyons, T., Cooksey, R., Panizzon, D., Parnell, A. & Pegg, J. (2006). Science, ICT and Mathematics Education in Rural and Regional Australia. The SiMERR National Survey. National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia. University of New England. Retrieved March 5, 2010 from www.dest.gov.au and www.simerr.une.edu.au. Lyons, T., Choi, J. & McPhan, G. (Eds.). (2009). Innovation for Equity in Rural Education, Symposium Proceedings International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education, 1114 February, UNE: Armidale, 137-145. Electronic version retrieved January, 2010 from www.une.edu.au/simerr. Nuttall, J., Murray, S., Seddon, T. & Mitchell, J. (2006). Teacher Education in Australia: Charting new directions. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(3), 321-332. Otero, V., Peressini, D., Anderson Meymaris, K., Ford, P., Garvin, T. & Harlow, D. et al. (2005). Integrating technology into teacher education. A Critical framework for implementing reform. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(1), 8-23. Parliament of Victoria, Education and Training Committee, (2005). Step up, step in, step out. Report on the suitability of preservice teacher training in Victoria. (Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer). Ramsey, G. (2000). Quality matters. Revitalising teaching: critical times, critical choices. Report of the review of teacher education, New South Wales. [Electronic version] Accessed October 26, 2009. https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/teachrev/reports/. Robinson, S. & Darling-Hammond, L. (2005). Change for collaboration and collaboration for change: transforming teaching through school-university partnerships. In DarlingHammond, L. (Ed.). Professional development schools. Schools for developing a profession (203-221). New York: Teachers College Press. Saba, F. (2005). Critical Issues in Distance Education: A report from the United States. Distance Education, 26(2), 255-272.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Effective Preservice Teacher Education ‗At a Distance‘: An Investigation…

165

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Tynan, B., Dunne, K. & Smyth, R. (2007). Collaboration to support small courses/subjects. Final Report on Carrick Forum May 17-8 http://www.altc.edu.au/carrick/webdav/site/ carricksite/users/siteadmin/public/grants_report_smallcourses_feb08.pdf. Victorian Council of Deans of Education (2009). Practicum Partnerships: ALTC/Carrick Funded Project REF PP7-323. Unpublished draft Executive Summary presented at the Practicum Partnership Project Summit 15th June, 2009 University of Melbourne. Young, M. (2006). Rethinking teacher education for a global future: Lessons from the English. In D. Hartley & M. Whitehead Teacher Education. Major themes in Education. Vol. 5 Globalisation, Standards and teacher education, (213-227). London: Routledge. White, S. (2008). Placing teachers? Sustaining rural schooling through place-consciousness in teacher education. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 23(7). Retrieved 29th January, 2010 from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/23-7.pdf. Willis, S. & Reid, I. (2006). Supporting learning at a distance. The challenge of bringing it altogether. Presentation at the Supporting Learning and Teaching at a Distance Forum, University of Southern Queensland, Nov. 9-10. http://www.altc.edu.au/carrick/webdav/ site/carricksite/users/siteadmin/public/grants_competitive_eidosforum_willsandreid_pres entation_nov06.pdf.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 7

ADDRESSING THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION Sir John Daniel Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT The report card of the global campaign to achieve universal primary education (UPE), which began at the Jomtien Conference in 1990 and was reinforced by the Dakar Forum in 2000, is a blend of success and failure. Both present new challenges. Getting 40 million additional children into primary school between 1999 and 2007 was a considerable success. It has created a growing surge of children now looking for secondary schooling. In many developing countries they will not find it. However, on current projections the 20-year campaign for UPE will still leave 50 million children out of primary school by the target date of 2015. The paper proposes responses to each challenge. 400 million children aged 12 to 17 are not in secondary school. All feasible methods must be used to expand secondary systems. Open schooling, the application of distance learning at the secondary level, is a cost-effective way of increasing access. A primary requisite for completing the UPE campaign is to recruit and train 2 million teachers. To expand secondary education and replace retiring teachers will require an additional 8 million teachers. Scaling up teacher education requires much wider use of distance learning, which also provides a mechanism for the desirable reform of moving the focus from pre-service to in-service training.

WHY EDUCATION FOR ALL? Why is it important to educate everyone? This is a relatively new ambition for human societies. It was not until the 18th and 19th centuries that countries began to take seriously the idea of educating the whole population.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

168

John Daniel

This ideal did not feature in the international agenda until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated in 1948. At article 26 that declaration included the statement: (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

There is another proviso in that article that is often forgotten by governments: (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Why is education for all important? Various arguments have been used. In his classic, The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote: The more (ordinary people) are instructed the less liable they are to the delusions of enthusiasm and superstition, which, among ignorant nations, frequently occasion the most dreadful disorders. An instructed and intelligent people, besides, are always more decent and orderly than an ignorant and stupid one… They are more disposed to examine, and more capable of seeing through, the interested complaints of faction and sedition, and they are, upon that account, less apt to be misled into any wanton or unnecessary opposition to the measures of government. In free countries, where the safety of government depends very much upon the favourable judgment which the people may form of its conduct, it must surely be of the highest importance that they should not be disposed to judge rashly or capriciously concerning it.‘

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Note also that Adam Smith strongly supported public investment in education: For a very small expense the public can facilitate, can encourage and can even impose upon almost the whole body of the people, the necessity of acquiring those most essential parts of education‘. (Smith, 1776)

For Adam Smith educating everyone was important to underpin of peace, order and good government. Two centuries later education became a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Then, in the latter part of the 20th century, education was justified on economic grounds. The World Bank promoted what it called ‗human capital development‘ and much research was devoted to trying to prove cause and effect between education and economic growth. Bill Easterly, a former World Bank employee, reviewed all the evidence and concluded that education is not, in and of itself, a motor of economic growth (Easterly, 2001). This is consistent with experience. Jurisdictions as different as Cuba and the Indian state of Kerala have long had excellent education but continue to have weak economies. But this does not mean education is a waste of time. The most reasonable conclusion from the evidence is that education helps countries to develop faster once they put in place economic policies that are favourable to growth. An example is China, which grew faster than India once it adopted market economics because it had a better education system.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

169

The most convincing justification for education has been given by Amartya Sen (1999). Sen understands development as freedom. Freedom is both the measure of development and the means of development since free people do more to develop their families, communities and nations than those that are not free. For Sen, the aim of development is to increase the freedoms that people can enjoy and education is important because it promotes freedom in many ways.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR EDUCATION FOR ALL The global campaign to achieve education began in 1990 with the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand. It was convened because in 1985 some 105 million children aged between six and eleven were not in primary school, the majority of them girls. Forecasts suggested that the number of out-of-school children might double to 200 million by 2000. At Jomtien 155 governments and a bevy of international organisations and NGOs committed themselves to a set of targets covering education at various levels. However, on the primary indicator of children in school Jomtien was a failure because a decade later the number of children out of school had grown to 125 million. The international community determined to hit the nail harder by convening another World Forum on Education for All in Dakar in 2000. The Forum again came up with a set of targets, but this time put more effective mechanisms in place to support countries that wanted to make progress. These mechanisms concentrated mainly on just one of the six Dakar targets: Universal Primary Education. One mechanism was the Fast-Track Initiative. Its purpose is to provide concentrated support to complete the task of achieving the quantifiable EFA goals in countries where conditions are judged to be propitious (Packer, 2008). As a result of this and other mechanisms much faster progress was made toward Universal Primary Education in the first decade of this century. The goal has not been achieved but large countries like India and Bangladesh are making big strides although Nigeria and Pakistan still face great challenges. What are the consequences of the success and the failure of the campaign for Universal Primary Education? The success is that enrolment rates have increased significantly. The average net enrolment rate rose from 54% to 70% between 1999 and 2006 in Sub-Saharan Africa and from 75% to 86% in South and West Asia. The result was that numbers in school increased by 40 million between 1999 and 2007, representing a tremendous input of resources and effort by developing countries. The flip side is the failure. Many children are still not in school. The current figure is about 70 million. Earlier this was projected to drop to 30 million by the target date of 2015 but recent UNESCO figures are more pessimistic, suggesting that 50 million children will still be out of school by then. The difference reflects a concern that the global economic downturn will reduce the funds dedicated to education (UNESCO, 2010). The challenge of success is the tidal surge of children toward secondary schooling whereas the challenge of failure is the need to train millions more teachers.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

170

John Daniel

EXPANDING SECONDARY EDUCATION The numbers of children needing secondary schooling are considerable. Up to 400 million children from 12 to 17 are not in school (Binder, 2006).

Secondary Education and Climate Change There are many arguments for the importance of secondary education but we simply note that it is the best medium-term weapon against climate change. The most powerful driver of climate change is increasing population. Since the industrial revolution the world‘s population has grown by a factor of seven and the demands that each human makes on the earth‘s resources have also increased by a factor of seven. That represents a fifty-fold increase in the impact of humankind on the planet in two centuries. Slowing population growth is one way of limiting that impact. Women with secondary education have, on average, 1.5 fewer children than those without. A difference of one child per woman means 3 billion more or fewer people on the planet by 2050. Secondary education for girls must be a priority (Cohen, 2008). Expanding secondary education is now – or soon will be – the key priority for many developing countries. Yet in many of these countries secondary education is very inefficient and cannot be expanded far with the resources available.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Alternative Approaches Needed It will not be possible to accommodate the secondary surge through the conventional provision of secondary schooling, skills training and adult education in classrooms in public institutions. Governments must encourage alternative approaches, particularly providers that can deliver quality learning at scale with low costs. As well as extending conventional public school systems, governments should encourage the expansion of private schooling for the poor (Tooley, 2009; Umar, 2008), draw lessons from projects involving information and communications technologies (ICT), and give special priority to expanding open schooling, which is the adaptation of open and distance learning at pre-university level. However, we do not simply propose the creation and expansion of open schools as separate and distinct elements within national school systems aimed solely at coping with excess demand. Open schools should be seen as catalysts for integrating all elements of schooling into an educational ecosystem fit for the 21st century. Developing open schooling is a particularly promising alternative that can also be integrated with other approaches to make them more cost-effective and cost-efficient. An integrated approach also holds the promise of providing education that is better adapted to the needs of the 21st century. It can blur the unhelpful distinction between formal and non-formal education; build a bridge between knowledge acquisition and skills development; and has the potential to reduce the inequalities of access that blight conventional provision in most countries.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

171

The Cost Factor Most importantly, open schooling is less expensive than conventional schooling and that differential is increasing. The expansion of conventional public schooling at the secondary level faces major challenges of both cost and effectiveness in developing countries. Research shows that if unit costs at secondary level are more than twice those at primary level, a country will never achieve universal secondary education (Lewin, 2008). In most developing countries the difference is far greater than that, ranging from factors of 3 to 6 and beyond in most African countries. Moreover, despite this expenditure in some countries public sector schooling is losing credibility – and often pupils – as parents choose alternatives to schools plagued by decrepit facilities, uncommitted or absent teachers and a general lack of accountability.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Can ICTs Help? Many assume that information and communications technologies can help to expand quality education cost-effectively. We report later on three major ICT initiatives in the developing world: One Laptop per Child; the Hole in the Wall; and the NEPAD eSchools demonstration project. Computers do enrich and enhance learning, but this review shows that they need to be embedded within a wider framework if they are to make a systemic contribution to achieving EFA. Open schools could help to provide that framework. The essential challenge is to develop learning systems that: a) can be conducted at scale; b) are inexpensive; c) deliver acceptable quality consistently; and d) can be adapted to diverse needs. In large scale distance learning systems specialisation and the division of labour are usually identified with three sub-systems: administration and logistics; course materials development and student support. Open schooling carries these principles over into secondary schooling.

OPENSCHOOLS AND MEGA-SCHOOLS The term ‗mega-university‘ is used to designate distance-teaching universities with over 100,000 active students (Daniel, 1996. p. 29) and these institutions have multiplied in number and grown in size since the term was coined. Because secondary schools are usually much smaller than universities Daniel (2010, p. xxi) has defined a mega-school as an open school with more than 10,000 active pupils. In the school sector this is an indication of useful scale, even though some open schools in high population countries have much larger enrolments, exceeding a million in the cases of India, Mexico and Indonesia. However, even small countries can have mega-schools. The total population of Namibia is only 2 million, yet the 28,000 students in the NamibianCollege of Open Learning (NAMCOL) account for 40% of the country‘s secondary enrolment. Daniel (2010, p. 107140) provides profiles of eight open schools and mega-schools in various countries. Abrioux & Ferreira (2009) give further examples.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

172

John Daniel

Open Schools: Means and Ends

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Most open schools deploy distance learning methods with the sub-systems just mentioned. They carry out the three functions of administration and logistics, course materials development, and student support in much the same manner, even where they use different technologies. Differences between open schools become apparent, however, when we examine the ends that they pursue through these means. Open schools can achieve various purposes. Any country seeking to establish an open school must decide on the priorities that it wishes to pursue. The term ‗open‘ may designate different types of openness when used in the term ‗open university‘ and the same applies to open schools. The degree and type of openness is a decision for those designing a particular open school. Admission may be decided on exactly the same criteria as the conventional schools or it may be more liberal. The curriculum may be exactly the same as in the conventional system – as it must be if both open and conventional schools prepare pupils for the same examinations – or more specifically adapted to the clientele. However, given the considerable dissatisfaction with conventional secondary school curricula in many countries, open schools present the opportunity to do something different. Too often the regular curriculum is geared to preparing a small proportion of pupils for access to tertiary education, rather than giving the majority a basis for lives and livelihoods in the 21st century. Because open schools usually reach out to those who do not have ready access to a conventional school they may serve them better by offering something different from the conventional curriculum. Extending the analysis of Rumble and Koul (2007) we distinguish three models of open schooling: complementary, alternative and integrative.

Complementary Open Schools Complementary open schools offer the same curriculum as the conventional schools to children who never had a chance to attend a regular school or had to drop out because their grades were too poor. The open schools in France, Botswana, Indonesia (to some extent), Mexico and Namibia are complementary open schools. Each reaches a significant proportion of the national secondary-age population and enables its pupils to study for the same certification as those in the conventional schools. Because they operate at scale, these open schools can invest in the production of better learning materials than the conventional schools could hope to develop. It is clearly desirable to share these materials across the whole education system because lack of good learning materials often undermines the quality of conventional schooling. What are the challenges facing complementary open schools? How can they improve their performance and contribute more fully to their national education systems? The answer is a seemingly paradoxical combination of closer integration with the wider educational system accompanied by greater autonomy in governance and management.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

173

Closer integration – or at least better communication with ministries of education – is particularly desirable in the area of curriculum. By definition, complementary open schools teach to the national curriculum. But since good distance learning courses require significant lead times and investment to develop and produce, governments should involve their open schools in all curriculum revision processes from the earliest stages. Governments should regard open schools as helpful allies in national curriculum development in the era of ICTs. The Commonwealth of Learning has facilitated a programme in which open schools from six countries worked together to create secondary curricular materials in the form of open educational resources. They can be readily versioned for each country and for individual schools. Complementary open schools must do everything possible to improve the performance of their pupils. Since they teach to the same examinations as the conventional schools, the performance of the two systems can be compared directly. Open schools must continue to gain credibility by showing good results even though – or especially because – their pupils often have a background of educational disadvantage.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Alternative Open Schools Alternative open schools may cater to some of the same children as complementary open schools but they also aim to engage older youths and adults by offering programmes that are more vocationally oriented and have a greater focus on life skills. India‘s National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), the Papua New Guinea Open College and, to some extent, Indonesia‘s Open School can be considered as alternative open schools although they have very different national contexts, mandates and governance structures. Alternative systems that break new curricular ground are steadily becoming more attractive in comparison to complementary systems that simply extend the conventional programme at a distance. Clearly, however, adapting the school curriculum and the school year to meet the needs of youth who could not access the conventional school system – and who may be employed – poses a dilemma. How far should the system aim to produce the same results as the conventional secondary schools? It used to be thought that parents and students would not wish to contemplate studies that do not hold the promise of certification identical to that of the conventional system. But today this sounds too pessimistic. Both India‘s NIOS and the PNGOpenCollege have shown that programmes that focus on life skills and work-oriented content are attractive to students and their parents. In these two cases, of course, the institutions provide their own certification, which is accepted at par with certification from the conventional system by employers and tertiary institutions. The alternative open schools can claim considerable success. NIOS is not only drawing many school-age youth into its alternative route (74% of its secondary students are aged 15 to 20) but also has achieved parity of enrolment between male and female students in its vocational courses. To the extent that the young women see a greater sense and purpose in education that promises economic independence and a better life, NIOS is acting as an important agent of social change (Pant, 2009).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

174

John Daniel

Integrative Open Schools Finally, there is the concept of an integrative open school that is placed at the heart of the whole school system in order to improve and strengthen the quality and reach of that system, to be a source of innovation, and to act as a catalyst for reform. For most educational authorities the pressing issue is to make the conventional system more effective and improve its quality. How can open schooling help? UNESCO conducted a thorough review of what makes for effectiveness and quality in schooling and developed the following list of factors (UNESCO, 2004).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

        

good learning materials focus on the curriculum regular, reliable, and timely assessment of learning pedagogical materials for teachers relevant content teaching of reading and writing structured teaching: direct instruction, guided practice and independent learning appropriate language of instruction and, larger classesif accompanied by better inputs (assistants, materials, etc.).

In this list of quality criteria we can identify various items could be achieved more readily with an open school acting as a resource for the whole school system. Having a source of good learning and assessment materials is a particularly important foundation of effectiveness that supports other elements of quality, such as focus on the curriculum and pedagogical materials for teachers. Today learning and teaching materials can be produced and shared in a very modern way as open educational resources, allowing open schools act as leaven for entire school systems.

The Collaborative Creation of Learning Materials Open schools have to produce learning materials, usually in a variety of formats. These materials have always been useful to the conventional schools. Two developments have made the learning materials produced by open schools potentially even more useful to the wider school system. First, most learning materials are now developed in digital formats, even though they may eventually reach students in the form of printed materials. Holding materials electronically has three advantages: they are easy to move around; they can readily be adapted and revised; and they can be converted to eLearning formats when online learning becomes a possibility. Second, there is growing movement, inspired by the ideal that knowledge is the common wealth of humankind, to create a global intellectual commons in which learning materials are shared. This movement involves many thousands of teachers, at all levels, creating open educational resources (OERs).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

175

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which has supported various OER projects in higher education, is now supporting similar work in open schools through a programme that combines the professional development of teachers with the development of OERs. For example, 20 sets of self-instructional learning materials on the secondary curriculum have been produced in six developing countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Seychelles, Trinidad & Tobago and Zambia. This material is suitable for use in both open and conventional schools and permits open schools to offer current and new subjects through both print and online teaching. The programme also created a pool of one hundred trained and experienced master teachers, who now train other teachers in their countries and support online materials development. These master teachers have been trained in the use of the Commonwealth of Learning‘s instructional design template and have the skills to develop learning materials collaboratively online through a common Learning Management System, thus creating a new network of expertise in developing countries.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Computers for Children: Can Open Schools Help? Open schools could also act as organising elements for the expansion of ICTs in secondary schools generally. Daniel (2010, p. 32) reviewed three projects that put computers in the hands of children in developing countries. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and the NEPAD eSchools demonstration project placed computers in schools, whereas India‘s Hole in the Wall (HITW) experiment put them in playgrounds and public spaces. Although the two projects involving schools gave disappointing results, especially to those who expected a revolution in teachers‘ pedagogy and students‘ performance, there continues to be a strong drive in most countries to get more computers into the schools. Open schools could help whole school systems implement computing more effectively. Collaborative projects in OER curriculum development can help to create locally adapted eLearning materials of quality that are always in short supply. Moreover, since open schools have to be technologically savvy to take advantage of new developments for their own students they are a natural source of expertise for wider use. Student assessment is an area of special relevance in this context. Regular, timely and reliable assessment is an important tool in securing students‘ attention to content and the curriculum. Bernard and his colleagues at ConcordiaUniversity have shown that reinforcing interaction with content – rather than with tutors or fellow students – is the most important way of promoting learning (Bernard et al., 2009). Although reliable and regular assessment encourages students to focus on content, student assessment is the element of their role that many teachers like least. Because of their scale and flexible entry requirements open schools have to operate with large banks of assessment instruments (quizzes, examinations, etc.) for both formative and summative assessment. These are held as databases on computers so that they can be made available on demand. By strengthening this function of open schools, governments could create an extremely valuable resource for their entire school systems.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

176

John Daniel

In summary, we are seeing the beginnings of a process that will lead to much closer integration between open schooling and conventional schooling. Materials that are aimed, in the first instance, at the pupils of open school will very quickly find their way into conventional classrooms.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EXPANDING TEACHER NUMBERS We turn now to the consequences of the failures of the campaign for Universal Primary Education. The major challenge is the need to expand teacher recruitment and education in order to complete the drive to UPE and to expand secondary. While the expansion of schooling is primarily a challenge for developing countries, recruiting and educating large numbers of teachers is a necessity for rich and poor countries alike. In the last decade, for example, California was employing 30,000 untrained teachers in its schools. The worldwide shortage of teachers has several causes. First, completing the drive to Universal Primary Education and beginning to expand secondary education will require large numbers of new teachers. Second, many countries – both developing and industrialised – will see a significant proportion of their teaching force retire between 2010 and 2020. Finally, the ravages of AIDS have been particularly severe for teachers in Africa. At times in the early years of this century, in both Kenya and Zambia, the annual deaths of teacher from AIDS were greater than the output of the teacher training colleges. In aggregate UNESCO estimates that at least 10 million additional teachers will be needed worldwide by 2015 if Universal Primary Education is to be achieved and a serious start made on expanding secondary education (UNESCO, 2008, p. 22). This is a substantial proportion of the current global teaching force of around 75 million (UIS, 2009). Fortunately, progress is being made and the number of teachers worldwide has increased by some 1.5 million annually since 2000. However, many of these teachers have little or no training before they join their schools. Two related aspects of teacher education must be addressed. First, how can we recruit and train more teachers more rapidly? Second, what kind of training is best suited to the needs of the second decade of the 21st century?

Teacher Recruitment In teacher recruitment there is a three-way correlation between the status of the teaching profession in a country, the performance of its schools and children, and the ease of recruiting able people as teachers. In countries like Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany and Ireland teacher recruitment and retention is not a major issue. Teaching is a high status profession and most of these countries score highly on international surveys of pupil performance such as the OECD‘s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Sadly, however, the status of teaching is declining in most countries and the blame for this lies with both teachers and governments. Where teacher absenteeism is a constant problem the public cannot be expected to admire teachers. Where governments have eroded

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

177

teachers‘ salaries and the deployment of teachers is infested with corruption good people will not be attracted to the profession. A century ago the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1903) made the oft-repeated remark that ‗those who can do; those who can‘t teach‘ to which Laurence Peter (1977) later added ‗and those who can‘t teach, teach the teachers‘. But today‘s knowledge economy has stood at least the first of these catty comments on its head. The training and skills that teachers acquire are highly valued in the contemporary labour market. Indeed, the UK‘s Secret Intelligence Service, MI5, advertised for teachers in 2009, seeking their ‗relationship-building skills‘ (The Week, 2009, p. 13). The combination of the low status of the profession and the attractiveness of teachers‘ skills in the wider labour market no doubt explains why 50% of teachers in the US leave the profession within five years of completing their training (UNESCO, 2007, p. 130). Faced with the problem of teacher shortage and the necessity of putting an adult in front of each class of children, at least in primary school, many governments have had to resort to employing untrained teachers, as in the example of the 30,000 untrained teachers in California. This approach can be a cynical ploy as well as a hard necessity. The Global Campaign for Education railed against:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

(Large expansion) para-teacher schemes where pre-service training is compressed or abandoned completely, wages are lowered, working conditions are poorer and career paths are limited. They are being used by many governments to cut the costs associated with expanding educational access to all children. The price such governments are forced to pay is the quality of training (Nock, 2006, p. 27).

Such a strategy is not going to lead a country towards a viable and sustainable education system. However, sending people into the classroom with minimal initial training can be a very good strategy for our times if they are then provided with appropriate on-the-job training. Two interesting examples of this from developed countries are the Teach for America programme in the US and the Teach First programme in the UK. There are differences of detail between the programmes but essentially they recruit the best graduates they can find, ask them to make a two-year commitment to teaching, and send them into the classroom, often in the toughest schools, with just a minimal orientation beforehand. In the UK they are given the opportunity to acquire Qualified Teacher Status during their first year and to engage in training for management jobs once they leave teaching. In fact almost three-fifths of the Teach First graduates elect to stay in teaching once their two year commitment is over (Hutchings et al., 2006). It is revealing that these highly qualified graduates are positively attracted by the description of teaching, in the Teach First advertisements, as ‗tough and demanding‘. Conversely, they are put off by the standard one-year postgraduate route into teaching as ‗too slow‘, ‗too theoretical‘ and ‗too boring‘ (The Economist, 2009, p. 49), although they value such training more after they had gained experience in the classroom.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

178

John Daniel

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Teacher Education: Pre-Service or In-Service? Combining these strategies of putting unqualified teachers straight into the classroom in developing countries and doing the same with good graduates in developed countries suggests that the concept of teacher education needs radical revision. Moon claims that ‗more policy attention was given to teacher education in the 1990s than in all the hundreds of years of history that preceded it. And most of the activity has focused around quality‘ (Moon, 2008). Unfortunately this 1990s policy-making has little relevance to today‘s world because it failed to address the crisis of teacher recruitment, it was poorly coordinated with school systems, and it did not take account of the potential of technology to do things differently. 1990s policy focused on long programmes of pre-service training whereas today‘s emphasis must be on shorter and recurring programmes of continuous professional learning. Lewin (2002) argued that because the continuing professional development or upgrading of primary teachers is carried out without reference to school needs – often without the knowledge of the school head – it encourages them to move to other jobs rather than improving their effectiveness in their schools. Furthemore, policy usually ignored the gathering momentum of distance learning and its enhancement by ICT and open educational resources. Today distance learning cannot be ignored because it provides the only way of addressing the two central requirements of teacher education just identified: the emphasis on continuing professional development and the focus on the teacher in the classroom. These requirements complement each other. Any form of continuous professional development that involves bringing teachers regularly to institutions in the towns is inherently expensive and inconvenient. More importantly, to judge by a report on continuous professional development in teacher resource centres in Africa (DFID, 1999), it seems to have little impact on their performance as teachers. The locus of continuous professional learning must be the school and its focus must be the classroom. This has always been the strength of distance learning systems for teacher education.

Distance Learning in Teacher Education Information and communications technologies – and the possibility of open educational resources that they have created – have significantly increased the power of distance learning in teacher education. However it is not new. Daniel (2010, pp. 141-170) gives profiles of eight successful applications of distance learning to teacher education, going back to PERMAMA, an early 1970s in-service programme for Quebec mathematics teachers. The impact of that programme is still being felt in the very high performance of Quebec pupils in the PISA mathematical literacy surveys. However, PERMAMA, like its more recent California equivalent, CalStateTEACH – and to some extent the teacher education programmes of the UK Open University – had to face the hostility of traditional teacher educators who were so heavily invested in long, theoretical pre-service programmes that they felt threatened by programmes that reached teachers on the job and taught them there. Yet these programmes are rated as positively by employers as

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

179

other university programmes and more positively than most. External independent evaluation is giving the programmes very high ratings (Moon, 2007, p. 14). One of the great contributions of information and communications technologies to inservice programmes has been to make it possible to gather the teacher learners into a community of practice through computer conferencing (Leach, 2002). This virtual environment provides a secure setting in which novices can gain experience through contact with veteran practitioners.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The TESSA Programme Open educational resources are already making a powerful contribution to teacher education in Africa, most particularly in the programme Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, abbreviated as TESSA. TESSA is a consortium of 13 African universities, the UK Open University and five international organisations. It works across nine African countries – with more participating informally – by creating teacher education materials in Arabic, English, French and Kiswahili. In 2008 nearly half a million African teachers worked with materials and resources produced through the TESSA community. Since these are classroom-based in-service materials they have a direct impact on millions of children through their use in the classroom. Because they are open educational resources, institutions and schools can adapt them to their needs. For example, Nigeria‘s National Teachers‘ Institute, one of the world‘s largest programmes of teacher education at a distance, uses the materials differently from the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, which has developed a distance learning programme for teacher education alongside its campus offerings because it could see that the campus programmes were not reaching most of the teachers who needed continuous professional development. Devereux and Amos (2005) have written a moving account of the Fort Hare programme and the enthusiastic response that it has evoked from female teachers in a poor rural region of South Africa.

CONCLUSION We have examined the successes and failures of the campaign to achieve Universal Primary Education. The success of that campaign has generated the imperative of a massive expansion of secondary education. All effective approaches must be used. Open schools are a particularly promising option because they can operate at scale with low cost. The expansion of secondary education, and the needs of the 50 million children that projections indicate will still not have access to primary school by 2015, will generate a requirement for many more teachers, which UNESCO estimates conservatively at 10 million. We have proposed that teacher education needs radical rethinking to meet these challenges – and not just in developing countries. Henceforward the most effective policy will be to put teachers into schools with the minimum training necessary for them to function, and then to concentrate most of the resources of teacher education on recurrent in-service

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

180

John Daniel

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

programmes of professional learning that are resolutely based on school practice and the classroom experience. Once that paradigm shift is made, all teacher education institutions will have to give themselves the capability to offer distance learning programmes in order to reach teachers in their schools. Today information and communications technology can make distance learning a richer experience than learning in a university classroom. Furthermore, drawing on the growing body of open educational resources allows institutions to take materials of worldclass quality and adapt them to local conditions in a thoroughly authentic manner. Evidence suggests that this approach of classroom-based in-service education is successful where it most counts: that is to say in the learning and performance of the children. We end by suggesting that combining the development of open schooling with a shift to educating teachers in-service through distance learning would provide opportunities for much greater synergy among ministries of education, schools, communities, open schools and teacher education institutions, suggesting a set of interacting systems that we propose as an educational ecosystem for the 21st century. This is an interlocking set of systems rather than a single entity. Figure 1 captures some elements of the interactions, interrelationships and interdependencies of these systems without implying that the whole is driven or controlled from any central point. The most effective systems have a high degree of self-organisation.

Figure 1. An educational ecosystem for the 21st century

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

181

In the wider educational system competition is another process of self-organisation. While taking advantage of common resources, such as learning materials and OER, public and private schools will work to maintain their distinctiveness and promote their comparative advantage to parents. Similarly donors and vendors will want to encourage projects and experimentation in particular schools. Other parts of the system will review the results and may change their own practices based on their observations. The figure shows that there is a national school system, including public and private schools and a network of learning hubs, under the authority of the ministry of education. The ministry is also linked to the open schooling sub-system, particularly through its curriculum and examinations function, and this sub-system also relates to the schools, notably as a source of learning materials, and to the learning hubs where it locates its study centres. Also linked to the ministry, through its teacher education unit in particular, is the teacher education institution (TEI) sub-system. All TEIs have links with the schools and these are particularly strong for school-based teacher education. They will also relate to a national higher education system and to international groupings such as TESSA. The learning hubs act as resource centres for teachers, giving them access to a richer ICT infrastructure than they have in their schools. Finally, intersecting with all these systems and subsystems is the community system, which has a highly complex set of sub-systems of its own.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Abrioux, Dominique&Ferreira, Frances (eds) (2009) Open Schooling in the 21st Century, Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning.Retrieved from www.col.org/PSOpenSchooling. Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R., Surkes, M. A. & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education, Review of Educational ResearchOnlineFirst, published on July 6, 2009 as doi: 10.3102/0034654309333844. Binder, Melissa (2006). The Cost of Providing Universal Secondary Education in Developing Countries, In: E., Cohen, Joel, Bloom, E. David, & Malin, B. Martin, (Eds) Educating All Children: A Global Agenda, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 455-491. Cohen, Joel (2008). Make secondary education universal, Nature, 456, 572-573. Devereux, J. & Amos, S. (2005). The University of Fort Hare‘s learner-centred Distance Education Programme. Open Learning, 20(3), 277-284. Daniel, J. S. (1996). Mega-Universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher Education, Kogan Page. Daniel, J. S. (2010). Mega-Schools, Technology and Teachers: Achieving Education for All, Routledge. DFID (1999). The Effectiveness of Teacher Resource Centre Strategy, Knamiller, G (ed.) London: Department for International Development. Retrieved from http://www .greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl?a=d&c=dfid&d=HASH7b26d8e95ed5d575e3978d.6&s ib=1&p.a=b&p.sa=&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.c=dfid. Easterly, William (2001). The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists‘ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics, Cambridge: MIT Press.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

182

John Daniel

The Economist (2009b, August 19). The quality of teachers: Those who can. Hutchings, M., Maylor, U., Mendick, H., Menter, I. & Smart, S. (2006). An evaluation of innovative approaches to teacher education on the Teach First programme: Final report to the Training and Development Agency for Schools. London: London Metropolitan University, Institute for Policy Studies in Education. Retrieved from http://www.tda.gov. uk/upload/resources/teach%20first%20evaluation%20report%2005-06.doc. Leach, J. (2002). The e curriculum knowledge of teachers: a review of the potential of largescale electronic conference environments for professional development. The Curriculum Journal,13(1), 87-120. Lewin, K. M. (2002). The costs of supply and demand for teacher education: Dilemmas for development. International Journal of Educational Development, 22(3-4), 221-242. Lewin, K. M. (2008). Strategies for Sustainable Financing of Secondary Education in SubSaharan Africa, World Bank Working Paper No. 136. Washington, DC: World Bank. Moon, R. (2007). Research analysis: Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers: A global overview of current policies and practices, Working Paper ED/HED/TED/2007/ME/20. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0015/001516/151685e.pdf. Moon, R. (2008). The role of new communication technologies and distance education in responding to the global crisis in teacher supply and training: an analysis of the research and development experience. Educação & Sociedade, 29(104). Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0101-73302008000300008&script= sci_arttext&tlng=en. Nock, S. (2006). Teachers for All: What governments and donors should do. Global Campaign for Education. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.eldis.org/go/ topics/resource-guides/education/key-issues/human-resources-in-education/humanresources-for-education-servicedelivery&id=22481&type=Document. Packer, Steve (2008). International EFA Architecture Lessons and Prospects: A Preliminary Assessment,Background Paper prepared for the 2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Education for All, will we make it? Paris: UNESCO. Pant, Mahesh Chandra, (2009). National Institute of Open Schooling, India: A Case Study, in Abrioux, Dominique & Ferreira, Frances (eds) Open Schooling in the 21st Century, Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning, 111-128. Retrieved from www.colorg/PSOpen Schooling. Peter, L. J. (1977). Peter‘s Quotations: Ideas for our time. New York: Morrow. Rumble, Greville & Koul, Badri N (2007). Open Schooling for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education: Costs and Effectiveness in India and Namibia, Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning. Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/ consultancies/Pages/2007-07-openSchl.aspx. Sen, Amartya (1999). Development as Freedom, Oxford. Shaw, G. B. (1903). Man and Superman – Maxims for Revolutionists. New York: Penguin Classics. Smith, Adam (1776). The Wealth of Nations, Book V Chapter 1 para. V.1.189. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html. Tooley, James (2009). A Beautiful Tree, Cato Institute/Penguin.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Addressing the Successes and Failures of the Campaign for Universal Primary…

183

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

UIS (UNESCO Institute of Statistics) (2009). Table 20C Regional Sum of Teaching Staff by ISCED Level. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/ TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=193. Umar, Abdurrahman (2008). Nigeria, in Phillipson, Bob (ed) Low-cost Private Education: Impacts on Achieving Universal Primary Education, London: Commonwealth Secretariat, 91-129. Unesco (2004). Education for All: The Quality Imperative. EFA Global Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO. Unesco (2007). Education for All by 2015: Will we make it? EFA Global Monitoring Report. Paris: UNESCO and Oxford University Press. Unesco (2008). Overcoming inequality: why governance matters. EFA Global Monitoring Report Summary. Paris: UNESCO. Unesco (2010). Reaching the Marginalized. EFA Global Monitoring Report, Paris: Unesco. The Week (2009, July 25). Have you ever thought about working for your country?

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 8

A VIRTUAL CLASS EXAMPLE IN SUPPORT OF COLLABORATIVE DISTANCE LEARNING Şirin Karadeniz* Bahçesehir University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Computer Education& Instructional Technologies, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The adaptation of emerging technology to distance education has led to the usage of synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as e-mail, video conferencing and virtual class to support collaborative distance learning. This chapter focuses on using virtual classrooms in collaborative distance learning. A case studywas conducted to investigate the performance and views of the students in collaborative distance learning using a virtual class. Ten computer engineering students who enrolled in an internetbased distance course participated in the study. Six of the students were male and four were female. The students collaborated in developing real-life software projects by performing the following stages: planning a project proposal, analyzing, designing, developing and testing the software. The students also presented their project proposal and plan, analysis and design reports, and their software products in the virtual class. In addition; the students had discussions on the projects, gave each other their opinions, and the instructor monitored and gave feedback during the virtual class sessions. The performance assessment included both the process and products of the collaborative distance learning. The results of the study showed that the students‘ performance was high in developing software projects. However, some groups had problems on collaborative work and time management. All the students emphasized the positive acquisitions of collaborative distance learning such as gaining knowledge and skills for developing software projects by scaffolding of the instructor, and getting feedback from their peers and the instructor during discussions in the virtual class sessions.

*

Email: [email protected]

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

186

Şirin Karadeniz

Keywords: Collaborative learning, distance learning, collaborative distance learning, virtual class, case study, information technology project development.

INTRODUCTION

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Collaborative learning has long been used in face-to-face education effectively and efficiently. The rapid development of information and communication technology has allowed instructors to design different learning activities based on computer supported or online collaborative learning. Various studies have shown that the educational value of collaborative learning has led to meaningful learning, decision making and critical thinking through developing projects or solving problems by the collaborative work of the group members (Bernard, Rubalcava & St-Pierre, 2000; Collis & Smith, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Phielix, Prins & Kirschner, 2010; Slavin, 1995). This approach is a challenge for distance learning in terms of how an efficient cognitive and social process of learning should be established to verify the collaboration among geographically dispersed learners and the instructor. Virtual classrooms can be a useful platform to enhance communication among the instructor and learners. A virtual class can help instructors in giving appropriate and immediate feedback to learners and support discussions on team projects. Besides, a collaborative virtual class can help students in giving and getting peer feedback and developing interpersonal, cognitive and social skills throughdiscussion. The purpose of this chapter is to provide information in regards to the effective collaborative distance learning design (CDL) in terms of pedagogy, technology, evaluation and social interaction. A case study was conducted on a virtual class which investigated the performance and views of the students in collaborative distance learning.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS IN DISTANCE LEARNING The spread and distribution of distance learning was considerably affected by rapidly evolving technology. Mail, radio, television and CD-ROM had delivered the distance course contents to learners. The wide spread of internet has allowed more learners to benefit fromdistance learning. Meanwhile, the development of broadband enabled distance learning contents to be designed using different media such as text, graphics, images, audio, animation and simulations. Also, communication between learners-learners and learners-instructor started torealize initially as text-based followed by video-based virtual classrooms (Anderson & Jackson, 2000; Gunawardena & McIsaac, 2004; Harper, Chen & Yen, 2004; Lever-Duffy, McDonald & Mizell, 2003, pp. 346; Mehrotra, Hollister & McGahey, 2001, pp.1-3; Moore & Kearsley, pp. 24-45; Saba, 2003). The Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Blackboard, Web CT and Moodle, provide an easy distribution of course contents, assignments or announcements. They further contain tools such as discussion boards and mail which facilities asynchronous communication between learners and the instructor. In the recent years, the integration of

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

187

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

text-based or video-based systems to the LMSs has lead to enrichment of synchronous communications among learners-learners and learners-instructor through live virtual classes. The virtual class has formed a platform for isolated learners from different geographical regions where they can meet the instructor and their friends. This platform enable them to review the course materials developed using different digital media tools such as text, PowerPoint slides and animation, make presentations on shared screens, send their questions instantly to their instructor using the instant messaging system and receive feedback immediately. Since virtual classes have recording features, the learners can watch former lessons any time they wish. The learners in virtual classes can develop joint projects and put forward their own ideas and opinions by discussions. Hence they can emerge from the distant isolated state and feel as a member of a learning community. The limitations of the virtual class include technical problems, lack of skills and experiences of the learners and instructors in using virtual class tools, the need for all the learners to progress at the same pace due to the instructor‘s ―talking head‖ form of one-way information presentations. In virtual classes, since the instructor-oriented pedagogy has been used as a basis, the cooperative and interactive features which are the main advantages of virtual classes remain in the background. However, the collaborative distance learning environment can enable a social environment to scaffold different experiences for the learners‘ knowledge construction process (Clark, 2005; Harper et al, 2004; Naidu 2003). With simulation applications being developed, such as Second Life, the new virtual classrooms utilizing three dimensional (3D) graphic features representing learners as avatars can enablerealization of the learning activities. This virtual world can utilize varied learning strategies such as asynchronous or synchronous lectures, discussions and collaboration projects (Calongne, 2008). Like any other new media, the necessity of providing the required infrastructure for the widespread use of simulated virtual classes is a leading issue with regards to distance learning.

COLLABORATIVE DISTANCE LEARNING (CDL) Collaborative learning is a learning process whereby students collaborate as a group in an attempt to realize a common learning task. This learning process focuses on the active participation of the students and instructors and also providing social interaction in the most efficient way. The students overcome the obstacles they encounter during knowledge construction and in producing their new learning product via collaboration. Every member of the group is responsible for the success of the entire group. So the collaborative groups should have positive interdependence. Group members do not compete with each other and they do not seek individual success. Therefore, the students‘ cooperation with the group leads to a contribution in the development of collaboration, empathic listening and negotiation skills (Bernard et al, 2000; Collis & Smith, 1997; Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Collaborative learning supports and empowers students‘ meta-cognitive strategies such as planning the whole process, fulfilling their tasks according to the plan, and monitoring and evaluating their and other group members‘ learning process. The evaluation of collaborative learning should be focused on both the learning process and the products. The instructor is not

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

188

Şirin Karadeniz

the person evaluating the end product and is not distant from the working group. The instructor‘s tasks in a CDL environment are as follows:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

a) Prepare the students for collaboration at the initial phase of the learning process. b) Orient the students to form small learning groups. c) Provide a positive and democratic social environment for all students to encourage the exchange of ideas, tips and thoughts in virtual classes where text or video based conferences are used. d) Support the studentsto feel that they are part of a learning community where their contributions are taking into account. e) Provide information in regards to the learning process during the lesson, teach the necessary information, prepare and send the required documents and set deadlines. f) Scaffold the learning process of the students, establish positive interdependence between the group members and guide the group works for effective and on time performance. Hence, the instructor has to be active from beginning to end of the collaborative learning process (Balazs, 2002; Bernard et al, 2000; Collis & Smith, 1997; Hughes, Wickersham, Rjan-Jones & Smith, 2002; Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Collaborative learning has begun to be widely used in distance learning with the use of the worldwide web and the internet to support the learning process of distance learning groups in different timeframes and locations. Since distance students are separated by different timeframes and location while performing their common learning assignments they can use both synchronous and asynchronous tools to gather and analyze information, design and publish their projects. The students can communicate using synchronous tools, like chat, video conferencing or asynchronous tools such as mail and discussion boards during their collaborative activities. Students can also collect information from the internet asynchronously then bring and evaluate that information together on the particular website which is used as a collaborative work platform. Activities in the virtual classes include discussions, brainstorming, group presentations can be useful for students in obtaining feedback and help via interaction with their friends and the instructor (Collis & Smith, 1997; Curtis, 2001; Khan, 1997). In addition to these technologies, the development of groupware technology has led to "any time and any place" collaboration by enabling the instructor and students who are geographically dispersed to meet and share information and ideas (Marjanovic & CecezKecmanovic, 1996). Also groupware software can be a joint platform where students can collaborate on a task and develop the shared applications on a server. The instructor is able to monitor the students more effectively with the widespread use of these technologies in distance learning and pinpoint problems faced by learners during the collaborative learning process. Soller (2004) developed a computational model for recognizing problems and the reasons for the problems faced by the students while learning and sharing new concepts during the collaborative learning process via using qualitative analysis and artificial intelligence methods. Integrating these types of intelligent software into groupware software can provide instructors with possibilities to guide students in the group work process more effectively.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

189

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In the research conducted by Neo (2004) on students in a working group during a project development process in a web based multimedia environment, the following 6 steps were revealed: (1) presenting the goal; (2) presenting the information; (3) forming student teams; (4) executing the course; (5) presentation and reflection, and (6) assessment and evaluation. The results of the study showed that this collaborative model of learning has helped students work in groups, learn to manage their time, enhance their communication skills, raise their level of motivation, and increase their success. However, there were problems such as group management, meeting according to the project schedule, and conflicts among group members. Some of the problems faced with collaborative distance learningthat have been stated in the literature are as follows; a) Cognitive, social, procedural, time and technical problems faced during a successful group interaction. b) Management and effective supervision problems faced by the students while fulfilling their collaborative learning activities. c) Inability of integration of collaborative learning activities into the distance course in an effective manner. d) Useful technological support. e) Lack of skills in working with a group, low motivation levels and lack of self-control of the students. f) Lack of experience of students in collaborating with their own group friends or members of other groups trained within a competitive education system. g) Degree of instructor‘s involvement in the learning process. h) Lack of knowledge and skills of the instructor, or inability to obtain the necessary support in preparing the students for collaboration, formation of social climate and learning community and in establishing comfort and trust among the students so as to encourage a true collaboration. (Balazs, 2002; Bernard et al, 2000; Collis & Smith, 1997; Phielix et al, 2010; Zhang, Peng & Hung, 2009)

METHOD This case study involved 4th grade computer engineering students enrolled in "Practice-I" internet-based distance course in the Autumn semester of 2009. Six students were male and four students were female with an average age of 28.60 years. All students worked either in public or private information technology sectors. The purpose of this distance course is to develop the students‘ skillsof defining and solving an engineering problem; to provide them with experience in systematically developing and presenting a small-scale software project as a group. The course was conducted during one semester, at least one hour per week, in a virtual class, using Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional Meeting Program. The recording of the courses by the software enabled the students to review these courses whenever they wanted. The students and instructor used email and phones for their out-course communications. In the first week of the study, the students were provided with information such as the purpose of the study, tasks to achieve, timing and evaluation method. Although the students

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

190

Şirin Karadeniz

were senior and were experienced in distance learning, since they were about to experience project development for the first time, flexibility was provided to them in forming groups. Students were asked to choose their group members themselves. Information regarding steps of an IT project development was taught to the students, a project proposal and a plan template were presented and instructions were provided with information on how to plan a project. During the first phase of the study, the students together with their group members prepared the project proposal and plans of which they determined the project subject, the time schedule, and the responsibilities of group members. Then they presented their project plans in the virtual class. They received feedback from their friends and the instructor via postpresentation discussions. They submitted the final copy of the project plans to the instructor via e-mail. During the second phase of the study, the instructor provided information regarding the project analysis process. The students with their group members filled the project analysis template and presented it in the virtual class. They finalized their project analysis after postpresentation discussions and e-mailedtheir documents to the instructor. During the third phase of the study, the instructor provided information regarding the project design process. The students prepared the design template together with their group members and presented it in the virtual class. After finalizing the design reports with postpresentation discussions, they evolved to the IT project realization phase. At the IT project realization phase, the students developed their projects‘ interface and database, they coded using the programming languages, and they corrected the project errors by software testing. They also created software manuals. The students presented their projects‘ operating form in the virtual class and received recommendations from their friends and instructor as a result of brainstorming on better development and marketing of their products in the actual IT sector. The following criteria were used for evaluation of the course success: project plan (5%), analysis report (15%), design report (15%), development (35%), active attendance, participation and adaptation to the virtual class (30%). The students sent all their project files in a CD to the instructor via courier. Also they uploaded their software to internet. The views of students regarding the process were collected via e-mail with a survey developed by the instructor. In the survey, the students were asked about the benefits of the virtual class to the project development process, task interdependence and coherence among group members, problems they faced and how they solved them and the efficiency of the instructor. One student did not answer the survey; the answers of nine students were examined via content analysis.

RESULTS Collaborative Distance Learning Performance Overall, the students did very well in the virtual class with a high mean average (94.6) for the final grades. The students achieved their tasks on time in the study‘s relevant phases and reviewed their works on the basis of ideas resulting from post-presentation discussions. Since

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

191

the product, the group work and virtual class processes are taken into consideration inperformance evaluation, this high performance can be seen as evidence that the virtual class was beneficial to students in developing collaborative projects.

Student Views on Collaborative Distance Learning Process In order to receive the students‘ views on collaborative distance learning, a survey of 6 questions was developed and applied via e-mail. The views of nine students of each question are presented below with the quotations.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Benefits of the Virtual Class: In the first question, students were asked to indicate with reasons, whether the virtual class was fruitful in project development in the light of all activities realized in the virtual class. The students indicated that the virtual class was beneficial with regards to presentations, receiving feedback from friends and instructor via post-presentation discussions and answers. The students‘ views are quoted below in their words: Since the project application was done for the first time, we faced several questions and it is very positive that there is an advisor to whom we can ask these questions. I would like to say that our advisor answered all kinds of questions as quickly as possible. To be in an online communication with other students, better describing the problem and presenting mutual ideas in process development gave us the opportunity to correct many deficiencies in the project. (Student C) I think that it was beneficial because we had the opportunity to learn things from everybody since everyone gave presentations separately and step by step. Besides, sincere post-presentation feedbacks from our friends and the instructor were very fruitful. (Student Z) Just as we can instantly share a problem or subject that we don‘t understand in formal education, we can share it in the virtual class too. If there wasn‘t such an atmosphere, I don‘t think that we would have been this efficient. (Student Y) Through our presentations, the virtual class has played a big role in the realization of our project on the basis of active participation and mutual communication and interaction. (Student B) Besides its educational feature I personally experienced a lot of professionalism and skills… I am very grateful to our instructor‘s contributions, opinions, orientation and the fact that I have learned by personally applying the preparation of a real and qualified project, far from stereotype course notes, and having been able to gain this qualification for myself. (Student W) We can say that our instructor‘s and friends‘ support and help brought us to a good point; because we may make mistakes in such big projects, we enhanced this projectwith the help of feedback both from our instructor and friends and we had the chance to understand better and question our mistakes. If we did not have those feedbacks, perhaps we would have made many mistakes. I believe that those feedbacks increased our performance in this project… (Student E)

Task interdependence and coherence among group members: In the second question, students were asked to indicate whether they share the tasks during the project and whether they worked in coherence. Five students indicated that they shared the tasks and worked in Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

192

Şirin Karadeniz

coherence. One of these five students expressed that he/she believes that they would have been more successful if they had had the opportunity to work face-to-face. Another student stated that he/she believed that they worked in coherence because they formed their group with an existing friend. The students‘ views are quoted below in their words: We set minor targets during the project development phase. For example, in the database phase, we undertook active work with regard to task assignments to ourselves. (Student B) Throughout the project, together with my group member, we performed perfectly the task sharing that we envisioned in the project. We performed our pre-planned and shared tasks well; meaning that we worked in coherence with each other. On the other hand, we could have done a more detailed and successful project if we could have worked face-to-face. (Student E) I think that we understood better each other because we already knew each other (Student A)

One student had a negative experience in the collaborative distance learning process. He/she had a problem in working in coherence with his/her group member but he/she did not express it until the end of the semester. At the end of semester, he/she expressed via e-mail and survey that his/her group member was only present in the project presentations and he/she was left alone in other phases: I did all the work. My project member was never with me neither in the reporting phase, nor in the realization phase. We never even sent messages to each other. He/she only called on the presentation day. After insisting that he/she should present the analysis report after reading the written presentation he/she did so. (Student Y)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The other group member of this student expressed his/her opinions on their group, coherence and meeting environment as below: We worked in coherence because I shared my project with a friend living in the same city... I had no difficulty because we were in the same city. We pursued our project generally on the phone and face-to-face. (Student X)

As mentioned in the literature, problems may occur in an efficient provision of true collaboration among students‘ group works in collaborative distance learning. In this study a similar problem also occurred in a group‘s collaboration activities. Although Student Y expressed that Student X was not active in group study, Student X actively attended all virtual class courses, made a presentation, expressed that they will prepare the project according to the feedbacks received from friends and instructor. Despite the fact that the instructor asked whether there was anybody facing any problem during the project process, Student Y mentioned that there was no problem. This situation was not noticed by the instructor during students‘ group work, virtual class or interaction with the students after class. It was only noticed with Student Y‘s statement after grades were delivered. The instructor indicated in an e-mail to Student Y that instructor could change the grading by receiving a defense argument from Student X, but Student Y said that he/she expressed this situation only for information purposes, that he/she wants to keep this between themselves and he/she was now relieved. Respecting this Student‘s request, the instructor did not change any grade, but was told that

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

193

he/she should inform the instructor immediately if such a situation occurs again. Student Y expressed his/her experiences from this process via e-mail and survey as stated below: My other problem was my group member. I was left alone since he/she did not take the burden off me on any issue. I prepared as if I was working individually. In this sense I was a little bit bored but succeeding with learning and applying is important for me. When I think this way, I conclude that I won in every sense… I thank you for your sensibility… I have now learned what I have to do in such a case…

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The groups were formed of two students each taking into consideration the requests and wishes of the students. One of these groups was dispersed during the project topic determining phase. These students stated the reasons as follows; they were at different levels in different programming languages and computer proficiency, and it was impossible to form a common platform to develop an IT project. Upon the students‘ request to separate due to the inability to find a common platform, the instructor asked them if they wanted to join the other groups. However the students stated that due to the ongoing progress of projects in the other groups, they would rather realize their own ideas. The students determined their project topics and continued individually during the project process. This situation is thought to include and arise from the following reasons: One of the student was 40 years old while the other was 23 years old, they had no previous experience with distant working groups, and being at different skill levels in IT, they considered this situation as a problem and not as an advantage; their wish to develop different IT projects for different applications and different platforms. Student Z (age 40) stated his opinions regarding this situation in the second question of the survey as follows: I did my project alone and I believe this is more beneficial for me. If the members are not at the same level in a group, problems may arise during the group work. In our group one of our friends is quite experienced on these subjects and our group dispersed the moment it was formed. (Student Z)

Group meetings: In the third question, the students were asked at what frequency they met or communicated with their friends. Five students indicated that they met several times a week on Msn, Skype, phone and sometimes came face-to-face. One student said that not meeting face-to-face caused time loss for them. The excerpts below reveal the way how students communicate with each other. We exchanged views, especially on weekends and whenever we found the opportunity 1 or 2 days during week days. (Student C) After determining our stages almost everyday we used the msn and phone. Then we came together face-to-face for the implementation and execution stages. (Student B) We generally used the instant messaging service msn. Generally every Sunday and 1 or 2 times a week (within the week) we exchanged views on the project on a mutual basis… (Student D) As we were in different locations and positions from my friends and due to the intensity of our work, we could not meet face-to-face, we tried to communicate via msn and skype, mobilephones and of course this cost us a serious time loss. We spent as much effort as we could so as not to deviate from the project program. (Student E)

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

194

Şirin Karadeniz

Learned experiences and the support and assistance received from the group friend: In the fourth question the students were asked to give an example of the difficulties or problems that they faced on their own but learned from their group friends or solved with the assistance of group friends. While two students reported that they did not undergo such an experience while five students provided the following reflections; My friend assisted me when I could not get data in query processing (Student D) I received support and assistance on how to make reservations. (Student C) The idea of showing the activity pictures and the technology used for this… (Student A) We experienced plug-in problems during the setup of Netbeans. We perceived the solution via our friends‘ guidance and orientation. (Student B)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The effectiveness of the instructor: In the fifth question the students were asked to provide their views on the instructorship, instructor‘s feedback and answers given to their questions and his/her effect on the project development. All the students stated that the instructors affected the project development process positively. Some of the students‘ opinions are as follows: While guiding our project with her feedbacks, she changed and developed our point of view and encouraged us with her positive attitude. (Student B) Our group instructor was a very positive person. We were very delighted to work with her. She supported us at every stage of our project... Every week we made presentations regarding the project for an hour on a regular basis.... and we profited a lot from this. (Student Z) ...Our instructing advisor showed excellent compatibility with us...and on my behalf, I must say that our instructing advisor provided the feedbacks without any delays, we never experienced any problems with chatting and sending messages to our instructor and she responded instantly. We were able to communicate by telephone as well. (Student E) As we had never carried out this kind of activities and studies before, we did not know how a project is proposed, analyzed, how a design should be and how we should do it. With your guidance, continuous support correcting our mistakes and with your kind-hearted nature that never broke our enthusiasm we were able to continue carrying on with our activities willingly and joyfully... (Student Y) I think an instructor is a guide map (road map) for a student. I think that the assistance you provided us played an important role in the completion of the project… (Student D)

Problems and solution methods: The students were asked to explain the problems they encountered during the project process and describe how they solved them. Five students stated time problems; three students stated technical problems and two students mentioned problems faced with their group friends. The most common problem faced by the students while developing their projects was time. The time problems and constraints experienced by the students are reflected as follows: ...We experienced time problems. So we had to speed up some of our activities and procedures. (Student C) Yeees, the biggest problem I faced was time problem. Being both a working woman and a mother, time was very precious for me. I wasn‘t going out at lunch hour, so as not to sacrifice the time I spend with my son in the evenings. (Student Y)

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

195

Time was a big problem for both me and my friend. However we solved this by spending most of our weekend (which was the most convenient time) on the project (Student D) Work, assignments and examinations together were very challenging... Time was very short…we remained sleepless trying to develop and finalize our project (Student A) ... Of course the biggest problem was time and I tried to overcome it by working my own dedicated efforts. Meanwhile I can say that I neglected my work, wife and home for a short while. But this was necessary. I think the end result was much better than I expected. (Student Z)

Some of the expressions used by the students regarding their solutions in overcoming the technical problems they faced are as follows: ...For example, we experienced operating system software problems as the software was not compatible with the installed programs; we found the solution by changing computers... (Student E) Being innovative, I do use the latest technology hence some problems arose... (Student W) We solved the technical problems along with our instructor... (Student X)

A student explained how they solved the problems with group friends as follows: Generally, the problems were solved together with my group friend; hence due to the feedback we provided each other we did not face any problem in general. (Student B)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

CONCLUSION Collaborative learning includes sharing the learning task, combining expertise, knowledge and skills to improve the quality of the learning process and building or consolidating a learning community (Slavin, 1995). The emerging technologies have supported the integration of this effective pedagogy in distance education. Although collaboration needs more time and effort from students and instructors than one-way distance deducting lecturing, collaborative learning can reduce the feeling of isolation in distance education (Balazs, 2002; Hughes et al, 2002). In this case study, the performance and views of the students in collaborative distance learning using a virtual class was investigated. Taking into consideration the wishes of the students and the advice of the instructor, groups of twos were formed during the first week‘s lessons. As Bernard et al (2000) indicated that, while there is no magic size for forming the groups in collaborative distance learning, small groups instead of large groups is more effective in decreasing the message traffic and providing healthier communication between the group members. In this study it was indicated that during the collaborative distance learning process, the performances of small groups was quite high. However, two of the students, each from different levels of IT competency and software development platforms, decided that it was not possible for them to develop a joint single product and hence they wanted to complete the process on an individual basis. This situation reflects that as distance instructors take into consideration the group size and students‘ wishes while forming the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

196

Şirin Karadeniz

collaborative distance groups, also they should pay attention to the different levels of knowledge, experiences and skills of the students especially in technical courses. Positive social interdependence includes giving and receiving feedback and help, exchange resources and information, challenging and encouraging each other and feeling as a member of the learning community, all of which are very important for collaborative distance learning (Bernard et al, 2000; Curtis, 2001; Hughes et al, 2002). In this study, the virtual class was found to be very useful in the development of interaction between the student groups. The students presented their project plan, analysis and design reports, and gave their own ideas on each others‘ projects, and hence they were able to receive both peer and instructor feedback. In addition, the students presented their final software products in the virtual class and they discussed further development and marketing of these products. The students‘ views reflected that the virtual class was very useful in developing collaborative projects, empowering interactions among their friends from other groups and feeling as members of the learning community. As Neo (2004) stated, in collaborative distance learning there could be problems such as group management, meeting according to the project schedule and conflicts among group members. In this study, it was observed that the students experienced time management and technology oriented problems while collaborating within the group. A student experiencing problem with the group reported that the collaborative distance learning process had been useful in regard to the experience gained. Students that experienced technical problems, solved these problems themselves or with their group friends or with instructor‘s assistance. The distance students of this study were employees from the private and public sector and they also had to endeavor or make efforts in order to be successful in their other distance courses. The students overcame time problems by making sacrifices from their private lives. However, they thought the products developed for the first time in their distance learning lives via collaboration were worth it all. It is recommended that integrating groupware or artificial intelligence software into collaborative distance learning would be useful for the instructorsin order to easily identify the problems mentioned above, observe and evaluate group activities more efficiently.

REFERENCES Anderson M. & Jackson, D. (2000). Computer systems for distributed and distance learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 16, 213-228 Balazs, I. (2002). Possibilities for collaborative Learning in distance learning - An empirical approach. 32nd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 6-9 November, Boston. Bernard, R. M., Rojo de Rubalcava, B. & St-Pierre, D. (2000). Collaborative online distance learning: Issues for future practice and research. Distance Education, 21(2), 260-277. Calongne, C. (2008). Educational frontiers: Learning in a virtual world. Educause Review, 43(5). Clark, R. (2005). Four steps for effective virtual classroom training, The E-learning Developers‘ Journal, May 16. http://www.clarktraining.com/content/articles/eGuildMay .pdf.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A Virtual Class Example in Support of Collaborative Distance Learning

197

Collis, B. & Smith, C. (1997). Desktop multimedia environments to support collaborative distance learning. InstructionalScience, 25, 433-462. Curtis, D. D. (2001). Exploring collaborative online learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(1), 21-32. Gunawardena, C. N. & McIsaac, M. S. (2004). Distance education. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology (2nd ed., 355395). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Harper, K. C., Chen, K. & Yen, D. C. (2004) Distance learning, virtual classrooms, and teaching pedagogy in the Internet environment. Technology in Society, 26, 585-598. Hughes, S. C., Wickersham, L., Rjan-Jones, D. & Smith, S. A. (2002). Overcoming social and psychological barriers to effective on-line collaboration. Educational Technology & Society, 5(1), 86-91. Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, Roger T. (1999). Learning together and learning alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Khan, B. H. (1997). Web-based instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. Lever-Duffy, J., McDonald, J. & Mizell, A. (2003). Teaching and learning with technology. Boston: Allyn ve Bacon. Marjanovic, O. & Cecez-Kecmanovic, D. (1996). Collaborative distance learning, IEEE 2nd International Conference on Multimedia in Education, 1st January 1996-31st December 1996, Melbourne VIC, Australia. Mehrotra, C. M., Hollister, C. D. ve McGahey, L. (2001). Distance learning: Principles for effective design, delivery, and evaluation. London: Sage Publications. Moore, M. G. & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance education: A system view. USA: Thomson Learning. Naidu, S. (2003). Designing instruction for e-learning environments. In M. Moore & W. Anderson (Eds.) Handbook of Distance Education (p. 349-365). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Publishers. Neo, M. (2004). Cooperative learning on the web: A group based, student centered learning experience in the Malaysian classroom. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2), 171-190. Saba, F. (2003). Distance education theory, methodology and epistemology: A pragmatic paradigm. In M. Moore & W. Anderson (Eds.) Handbook of Distance Education (p. 320). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Publishers. Phielix, C., Prins, F. J. & Kirschner, P. A. (2010). Awareness of group performance in a CSCL-environment: Effects of peer feedback and reflection. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 151-161 Slavin, R. E. (1995) Cooperative learning (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Soller, A. (2004). Understanding knowledge sharing breakdowns: A meeting of the quantitative and qualitative minds. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 20(3), 212223. Zhang, K. Peng, S. W. &Hung, J. (2009). Online collaborative learning in a project-based learning environment in Taiwan: a case study on undergraduate students' perspectives, Educational Media International, 46(2), 123-135.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 9

STUDENTS' METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT DISTANCE EDUCATION IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES AND MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENTS: A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY Alessandro Antonietti1, Barbara Colombo1, Paola Iannello1 and Yavuz Inal2

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1

Department of Psychology, CatholicUniversity of the Sacred Hearth, Milano (Italy) 2 Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, Middle EastTechnicalUniversity, Ankara (Turkey)

ABSTRACT Distance education involves metacognitive knowledge, namely, a set of assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward what it implies in terms of goals to be achieved, the relevant behaviour to be held, the effective strategies to be applied, and the outcomes to be expected. Students are able to differentiate their metacognitive knowledge according to the kind the educational devices belong to. The first aim of the study was to describe high school students‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of distance education by focusing attention on multimedia presentations and virtual communities. The second aim was to investigate whether students‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological features of distance education is related to naïve conceptions of learning. The third aim was to test possible differences between Italian and Turkish students regards both metacognitive knowledge and conceptions of learning. In order to assess metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of distance education, a questionnaire previously devised (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2006) was employed. In order to assess conceptions of learning, the Questionnaire About the Personal Conception Of Learning (QAPCOL: Perez-Tello, Antonietti, Liverta Sempio & Marchetti, 2005) was used. A Turkish and an Italian sample of high school students took part in the study. Results pointed out that specific conceptions of learning are related in consistent ways to particular views of distance education. Moreover, specific relationships between

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

200

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello et al. conceptions of learning and metacognitive knowledge about distance education vary according to the different cultural contexts where the students live.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION Distance education is not only a matter of introducing new technological tools in pedagogical settings and changing the way to carry out instructional activities. Distance education, like any framework in which learning occurs, involves also – or even, above all – a mental perspective, that is, a set of assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward what it implies in terms of goals to be achieved, the relevant behaviour to be held, the effective strategies to be applied, the outcomes to be expected (Antonietti & Colombo, 2008). Actually, both trainers and trainees develop personal ideas about what means, respectively, teaching and learning by using devices and materials which differ from the traditional ones. These ideas are developed by interacting without face-to-face contact and by performing tasks which are not usually given when they operate in presence. More precisely, teachers (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2006) and students (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2004; Antonietti, Rasi, Imperio & Sacco, 2000; Colombo & Antonietti, 2006) share opinions concerning the demands and the opportunities which are associated to such a new way of constructing knowledge and fostering skills. Thinking about the demands and the opportunities of distance education involves reflecting about the mental functions which are activated. Such a reflection leads people to generate in their mind a form of metacognitive knowledge about distance education. Metacognitive knowledge refers to the part of personal knowledge about how the mind works when engaged in perceiving, comprehending, memorizing, and re-elaborating notions. According to Flavell (1981), metacognitive knowledge is a part of metacognition (Chambers, Izaute & Marescaux, 2002; Perfect & Schwartz, 2002;Yzerbit, Lories & Dardenne, 1998) and consists of a complex of beliefs about personal attributes, task features, and strategies. All these aspects are relevant to the specific forms of learning which are mediated by technological devices (Veenman, Elshout & Busato, 1994; Veenman, Prins & Elshout, 2002). In fact, a student who is asked, for instance, to join a Web 2.0 environment to be involved in distance learning experience, should consider if his/her individual skills and thinking styles (personal attributes) will allow him/her to benefit from the specific medium characteristics (e.g., collaborative work modalities, shared cognition, multimedia representation of information, and so on). Moreover, the task itself might be an issue of metacognitive knowledge. For instance, people should be aware that browsing a blog to look for information from other users about personal experiences is different from browsing it to find topics on which to write an essay, since the process of knowledge construction in a narrative blog is rather different than in an informative one. Finally, beliefs about the relevant strategiesto be applied can play an important role in using an instructional instrument. For example, specific scripts and collaborative working patterns should be known by a person whose goal is to participate in a Wiki space about cultural topics. Metacognitive knowledge can influence learning outcomes: beliefs about mental processes involved in learning induce students to allocate cognitive resources and to choose thinking strategies which are consistent with those beliefs themselves (Schraw & Moshman, 1995). If beliefs are correct, a cognitive functioning relevant to the task to be carried out will

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning

201

be activated, conversely the individual might be induced to implement mental operations which are not optimal (Huffaker & Calvert, 2003-2004). These considerations highlight the need to investigate the metacognitive knowledge that students develop regarding what happens in their mind when engaged in distance education. Metacognitive knowledge about the aspects involved in distance education includes heterogeneous issues, making it difficult to draw a systematic view. Thus, investigation should focus on specific aspects of metacognitive knowledge. A first interesting focus could be students‘ beliefs about the psychological effects of distance education. An effect has to be considered as psychological if it matched two criteria: (i) It referred to a mental state, process, strategy, function, or skill; (ii) It referred to individual, but not social, abilities, preferences or outcomes. Such a topic, scarcely considered so far, concerns what distance education introduces specifically, in terms of what happens in the learner‘s mind during the learning process and thus it seemed worth investigating both as a phenomenon in itself (that is, as a piece of metacognitive knowledge which accompanies computer use) and as a factor which can influences distance education. However, distance education encompasses a variety of instructional tools and procedures. Since students are able to differentiate their metacognitive knowledge according to the kind the educational devices belong to (Antonietti, Colombo & Lozotsev, 2008), it seemed reasonable to try to identify learners‘ beliefs about the psychological aspects of distance education by addressing their attention to two main components, namely, the use of multimedia presentations and the involvement in virtual communities. Multimedia presentations integrate verbal language with iconic symbols (pictures, movies, and so on), sometimes also supported by sounds and music. A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. One of the most pervasive types of virtual community includes social networking services, which consist of various online communities. Hence, the first aim of the present study was to describe high school students‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of learning through multimedia presentations and virtual communities and to assess possible analogies and differences between the beliefs developed about them. Going back to metacognitive knowledge, another interesting focus is meta-learning, namely, the set of opinions people share concerning mental functions involved in learning (Perez-Tello, Antonietti, Marchetti & Liverta Sempio, 2005). Recent studies showed that students develop consistent patterns of beliefs about what learning is, how it occurs, and what it involves. Naïve conceptions about learning concern what people think regarding the goals to be achieved, the abilities involved, the strategies to be applied, the criteria used to assess the outcomes, and so on. Different terms have been proposed to denote these beliefs: naive theories of learning, social representation of learning, mental models of learning, conceptions of learning, tacit knowledge about learning. Metalearning has to be taken into account in instructional settings, above all if the aim is to encourage autonomous learning. In fact, students should possess relevant beliefs about learning in order to self-regulate their own learning. Distance education enhances the possibility that students become self-regulated learners since it allows students, for instance, to choose the format in which they prefer notions are provided and to devise by themselves how to manage school tasks by organising collaboratively the activities to be carried out. This

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

202

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello et al.

occurs, however, only if learners perceive the opportunities offered by the new instructional technologies. Hence, the second aim of this study is to investigate whether students‘ metalearning and metacognitive knowledge about the psychological features of distance learning are related each other in consistent ways. Since metacognitive knowledge about distance education has never been investigated in a cross-cultural perspective, the third aim was to test possible differences between Turkish and Italian students. The culture of Turkey combines a largely diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that are derived from the Ottoman, European, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian traditions. Because of the different historical factors defining the Turkish identity, the culture of Turkey combines clear efforts to be "modern" and Western, with a desire to maintain traditional religious and historical values. Turkey may be the only country that contains every extreme of Eastern and Western culture (along with many compromises and fusions between the two). On its side, Italy did not exist as a country until the country's unification in 1861. Due to this comparatively late unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs that are now recognized as distinctly Italian can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe remain notable. A comparison between such peculiar and complex cultures has been considered as promising for our research study.

METHODS

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Materials In order to assess metacognitive knowledge about the psychological aspects of distance education, a questionnaire previously devised (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2006) was employed. Such a questionnaire includes statements focused on the psychological effects of using computer-supported tools in instruction. Statements concerned these issues: the motivational and emotional aspects of learning (e.g., attraction, involvement, reactivity, boredom, tiredness), the behavior during the learning process (active participation, effort), the skills involved (attention, language, logical reasoning, creativity, quick reflexes, manual ability), the cognitive strategies (comparing, simultaneous consideration, schematizing, reflection, reelaborating, assuming other people's point of view, planning), the preferred style of thinking (intuition, visualization, reflection), the cognitive benefits and learning outcomes (better understanding, immediate feedback, memorization, application, overall view, confusion), and self-efficacy (awareness of personal limits). The questionnaire was modified in order to tap personal beliefs about multimedia (MM) tools and dialogical tools supporting virtual communities (VC). The list of the items of the questionnaire is reported in the Appendix. Such a list was presented twice, first as referred to MM and then to VC. In the first case the list was preceded by the following instructions: ―Some computersupported devices that can be used in instruction are called "multimedia" since they integrate verbal language with iconic symbols (pictures, movies, and so on), sometimes also supported

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning

203

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

by sounds and music. Many devices employed in distance education are multimedia since they provide users both with written texts and photos, diagrams, and so on. In your opinion, multimedia tools, when used in instructional settings (schools, courses, and so on) to induce people to learning something (notions, concepts, procedures, abilities, and so forth) …‖ In the second case the instructions were as follows: ―Some computer-supported devices that can be used in distance education allow learners to be part of a virtual community. For instance, they allow learners to carry out joint activities without being physically present in the same place. Learners can send messages, asking questions discussing, sharing documents, executing tasks, and so on, by communicating one another and with their instructor(s)/tutor(s) by means of email systems, forums, chats, and so forth. In your opinion, virtual communities, when used in instructional settings (schools, courses, and so on) to induce people to learning something (notions, concepts, procedures, abilities, and so forth) …‖. In both cases respondents were asked to rate on a 5-point scale (1 = minimum; 5 = maximum) their opinion about what was expressed in each of the 37 statements. In order to assess metalearning, the Questionnaire About the Personal Conception Of Learning (QAPCOL: Perez-Tello, Antonietti, Liverta Sempio & Marchetti, 2005) was used. QAPCOL includes 49 statements grouped in three sections. The first section regards the meaning attributed to learning and the conditions that facilitate it (cognitive dimension). The second section refers both to emotional reactions (pleasure, anxiety, irritation, depression, and so on) and to personal commitment (challenge, duty, and so on) associated with learning (affective dimension). The third section concerns the attribution of both the experiences of failure and success in instructional activities (attributive dimension). Such a dimension is connected to the locus of control (l.o.c). In each part of the questionnaire a series of statements were reported; respondents were asked to rate on a 5-point scale (1 = minimum; 5 = maximum) each statement according to the degree of their agreement.

Participants Two samples of high school students took part in the study. The Turkish sample was composed by 209 students (95 girls and 114 boys). The Italian sample was composed by 163 students (131 girls and 32 boys). In both samples ages ranged between 15 and 18 years.

Procedure Participants were asked to fill in the questionnaires during school lessons. Researchers explained the main aims of the study and specified that the questionnaires were anonymous and that there were no right or wrong answers.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

204

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello et al.

RESULTS Metacognitive Knowledge about Distance Education Previous studies (Antonietti & Giorgetti, 2004, 2006) employing the questionnaire used to assess beliefs about MM and VC showed factorial structures in which the same four dimensions were identified. Thus, these factors could be used as categories in which to fit the 37 statements listed in the questionnaire. Starting from the items saturating these dimensions, four synthetic measures were calculated: 1. 2. 3. 4.

believing that distance education supports learning; believing that distance education is associated with creativity; believing that distance education is associated with analytic thinking; believing that distance learning produces negative effects.

Independent sample t-tests were performed to compare such synthetic measures of the questionnaires obtained by Turkish and Italian students (Table 1). In all cases significant differences emerged. Specifically, the same trend emerged for each factor, that is, Turkish students‘ ratings were significantly higher than Italian students‘ ones. Compared to the Italian students, the Turkish respondents expressed a stronger belief about the importance of distance education in supporting learning, the association of distance education with both creativity and analytical thinking, and the role of distance education in producing negative effects.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 1. Comparisons between Turkish and Italian students‘ metacognitive knowledge about distance learning

Multimedia

Factors Learning support Creativity Analytical thinking Negative effects

Virtual communities

Learning support Creativity Analytical thinking Negative effects

Country Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy

Mean 3.553 3.197 3.519 2.906 3.481 2.896 3.137 2.287 3.475 3.118 3.466 2.859 3.407 2.874 3.254 2.476

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

SD .580 .649 .476 .636 .529 .619 .725 .793 .523 .672 .474 .670 .517 .666 .755 .876

t 5.502

p < .001

10.540

< .001

9.716

< .001

10.670

< .001

5.730

< .001

10.130

< .001

8.623

< .001

9.101

< .001

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning

205

Metalearning Factor analyses, using principal component extraction and Varimax rotation, were performed on the data derived from the first section of QAPCOL (concerning the opinions about the whole structure of the learning process). Four factors were extracted. Factor 1: Learning as transmission Factor 2: Learning as concretely acting Factor 3: Learning as an individual constructive process Factor 4: Learning as discussion In the second section of the QAPCOL (emotional reactions and personal meaning) four factors were extracted: Factor 1: Negative feelings about learningFactor 2: Learning as a chance and selfefficacy Factor 3: Learning as expectation of a result Factor 4: Learning as an individual willing act In the third section two factors were extracted: Factor 1: External locus of control for success and failure Factor 2: Internal locus of control for success and failure

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 2. Comparisons between factorial scores of QAPCOL obtained by Turkish and Italian students Factors Transmission Concretely acting Individual constructive process Discussion Negative feelings Chance Expectation of result Individual willing act External locus of control Internal locus of control

Nation Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy Turkey Italy

Mean 0.027 -0.036 0.009 -0.012 -0.196 0.254 -0.384 0.499 -0.071 0.091 0.016 -0.021 -0.255 0.328 -0.252 0.323 0.203 -0.267 -0.371 0.488

SD 1.0191 0.977 0.992 1.014 1.103 0.781 0.923 0.869 0.975 1.027 0.967 1.043 0.982 0.927 0.924 1.003 1.127 0.725 0.935 0.866

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

t 0.599

p .547

0.206

.837

-4.578

< .001

-9.398

< .001

-1.557

.120

0.351

.726

-5.849

< .001

-5.718

< .001

4.847

< .001

-9.110

< .001

Table 3. Correlations between metacognitive knowledge about distance education and metalearning in the Turkish sample

QAPCOL

Transmission Concretely acting Individual constructive process Discussion Negative feelings Chance Expectation of result Individual willing act External l.o.c. Internal l.o.c.

Learning aid .129 .262** -.070 .103 .020 .084 -.041 -.089 .072 .108

Multimedia Creativity Analytic thinking .172* .152* .193** .208** -.018 -.065 .156* .104 .128 .029 .122 .172* -.167* .012 -.197** -.130 .077 .015 .144* .064

Negative effects .138* .075 -.114 .140* .002 .168* -.030 -.046 .109 .092

Learning aid .145* .238** .006 .093 .034 .149* -.078 -.205** -.011 .133

Virtual communities Creativity Analytic thinking .075 .133 .242** .155* -.027 -.081 .060 .090 .076 .020 .185** .135 -.046 -.038 -.162* -.146* -.007 .035 .079 .069

Negative effects .076 .119 .001 .133 .054 .056 -.081 -.088 .050 -.028

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 4. Correlations between metacognitive knowledge about distance education and metalearning in the Italian sample

QAPCOL

Transmission Concretely acting Individual constructive process Discussion Negative feelings Chance Expectation of result Individual willing act External l.o.c. Internal l.o.c.

Learning aid .217** .195* .014 .235** .170* .189* -.235** -.235** .006 .198*

Multimedia Creativity Analytic thinking .149 .125 .235** .250** -.013 .047 .103 .096 .203* .122 .045 .192* -.055 -.103 -.112 -.255** -.006 -.022 -.019 .119

Negative effects .096 -.083 .102 -.045 .214** .040 .060 -.056 .081 -.133

Learning aid .232** .133 .065 .246** .146 .199* -.122 -.137 .012 .114

Virtual communities Creativity Analytic thinking .187* .204* .152 .203* .101 .167* .119 .107 .301** .174* .145 .166* -.014 -.043 -.099 -.236** .114 .006 .051 .057

Negative effects -.046 -.017 .086 .028 .160* .030 .052 .006 .006 .064

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning

207

Independent sample t-tests were performed to compare factorial scores of QAPCOL obtained by Turkish and Italian students (Table 2). As for the first part of QAPCOL, significant differences emerged in the items specifically referring to the meaning attributed to learning. Italian students rated higher than Turkish sample the belief that learning is an individual constructive process and it could be facilitated by discussion. As for the second section of QAPCOL regarding the personal commitment associated with learning, it turned out that Italian students considered learning both as an expectation of results and an individual willing act more than Turkish students. Finally, concerning the third part of QAPCOL which regards the attributive dimension of learning, Turkish students tended to make external causal attribution whereas Italian students were inclined to make internal causal attribution.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Relationships between Metacognitive Knowledge about Distance Education and Metalearning Bivariate correlations were calculated between the synthetic measures of the two questionnaires regarding distance learning and factorial scores of QAPCOL in the Turkish sample (Table 3). The belief of learning as a process implying a transmission of knowledge was correlated with the idea that virtual communities support learning and with the conviction that multimedia tools can produce negative effects and are associated with both creativity and analytical thinking. The idea of learning as concretely acting was related to the belief that distance education supports learning and is associated with either creativity or analytical thinking. Learning as a dialogic process was correlated with the idea that multimedia tools can produce negative effects and are associated with creativity. Learning as a chance was correlated with the belief that multimedia tools can produce negative effects and are associated with analytical thinking, and, moreover, such a belief about learning was related to the idea that virtual communities support learning and are associated with creativity. Learning as expectation of result and learning as an individual willing act were both negatively correlated with the idea that multimedia tools are associated with creativity. The belief that learning consists of an individual willing act was also negatively connected with the idea that virtual communities support learning and are associated with creativity and analytical thinking. Finally, an internal causal attribution in learning was correlated with multimedia tools being associated with creativity. Bivariate correlations between the synthetic measures of the two questionnaires regarding distance learning and factorial scores of QAPCOL were also computed in the Italian sample (Table 4). In particular, the idea of learning as a transmission of knowledge was correlated with the belief that multimedia tools support learning. The conviction that learning could be defined as concretely acting was associated with the idea that virtual communities support learning and are connected with creativity and analytical thinking. Learning as an individual constructing process was correlated with the belief that virtual communities are associated with analytical thinking. Learning as a dialogic process was correlated with the idea that both multimedia tools and virtual communities facilitate learning. Negative feelings about learning were correlated with the idea that both multimedia tools and virtual communities produce negative effects, whereas the idea of learning as a chance was related to the belief that

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

208

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello et al.

distance education supports learning. The conviction that learning could be described as either expectation of result or individual willing act was negatively correlated with the idea that distance education support learning and is associated with analytical thinking. Lastly, the internal causal attribution in learning was associated with the idea that multimedia tools could play a facilitating role in learning.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The comparison of the synthetic measures of metacognitive knowledge about distance educationobtained by Italian and Turkish students showed relevant differences in the way the two samples conceive multimedia and virtual communities. In comparison with the Italian students, the Turkish sample considered multimedia tools and virtual communities as more effective in facilitating learning and stimulating the development of creativity and analytic thinking. T-tests comparing factorial scores of QAPCOL obtained by Italian and Turkish students pointed out relevant differences also about conceptions of learning. In comparison with the Turkish students, the Italian ones regarded learning as a mainly individualistic process and as a personal willing act; the process of learning was considered either as a challenge or as a duty. Internal causal attributions emerging from the Italian sample confirmed the idea of learning as something that is private and personal and concerns the single student. The Turkish sample appears to consider multimedia tools and virtual communities as external tools, which students can refer to when in need to empower a specific skill (such as creative or analytic thinking). This view is probably empowered by a less individualistic conception of learning which is helpful to guide students to see virtual communities as a relevant environment to promote learning (which has to be collaborative) (Garza, 2002). The Italian sample, demonstrating a more individualistic vision of learning, is less able to look at virtual communities as an ―easy way‖ to enhance learning, but is more prepared to develop an adequate metacognitive competence regarding their own learning strategies. From the correlation analysis between the questionnaires about metacognitive knowledge and QAPCOL in the Italian sample emerged that the idea of distance education as supporting learning processes is associated with different conceptions of learning. In particular, the efficacy of multimedia tools and virtual communities mostly came out in the following views: 

   

learning as a process implying ―transmission of knowledge‖ (a ―passive‖ way of learning in which the student receives knowledge from the others and, probably, also from distance education); learning as ―doing, concretely acting‖ (in this case distance education represents a way of learning-by-doing); learning as an individualistic; learning as a process connected with the challenge and duty (this conception of learning is associated with the idea of the efficacy of multimedia tools); learning as a collective and dialogic process mainly based on discussion (this conception of learning is associated with the idea of the efficacy of virtual communities).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning

209

From the correlation analysis in the Turkish sample emerged that the idea of distance education as supporting learning processes was related particularly with the conception of learning as concretely acting and, to a lesser extent, with the conception of learning as a chance and as a willing act. Unlike in the Italian sample, in the Turkish one any relationship between negative aspects of learning and negative effects of multimedia tools and virtual communities failed to emerge, a finding which is consistent with data emerged by t-test comparisons: The Italian sample confirmed the higher metacognitive competence regarding learning conceived as an internal and strategic process. The Turkish sample considered virtual learning as an external process, which relays on specific tools. If we focus on tools (but not on persons which stay beyond) it is easier for us to see positive aspects. In conclusion the study pointed out that specific conceptions of learning are related in consistent ways to particular views of distance education. Moreover, these specific relationships between learning and conceptions about distance education vary according to the different cultural contexts where the students live.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Antonietti, A. & Colombo, B. (2008). Computer-supported learning tools: A bi-circular bidirectional framework. New Ideas in Psychology, 26, 120-142. Antonietti, A., Colombo, B. & Lozotsev Y. (2008). Undergraduates‘ metacognitive knowledge about the psychological effects of different kinds of computer-supported instructional tools. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 2172-2198. Antonietti, A. & Giorgetti, M. (2004). Students‘ conceptions about learning from multimedia. In H. Niegemann, R. Brünken & D. Leutner (Eds.), Instructional design for multimedia learning (pp. 249-265). Münster-New York: Waxmann. Antonietti, A. & Giorgetti, M. (2006). Teachers‘ beliefs about psychological aspects of learning through multimedia. Computers in Human Behavior, 22, 267-282. Antonietti, A., Rasi, C., Imperio, E. & Sacco, M. (2000). The representation of virtual reality in education. Education and Information Technologies, 5, 317-327. Chambers, P., Izaute, M. & Marescaux, J. P. (2002). Metacognition: Process, function, and use. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Colombo, B. & Antonietti, A. (2006). Are the cognitive principles underlying multimedia learning counterintuitive? A study of undergraduates' folk conceptions. In G. Clarebout & J. Elen (Eds.), Avoiding simplicity, confronting complexity. Advances in studying and designing powerful (computer-based) learning environments (67-76). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Flavell, J. H. (1981). Cognitive monitoring. In W. P. Dickson (Ed.), Children‘s oral communication skills (35-60). New York: Academic Press. Garza, G. (2002). The Internet, narrative, and subjectivity. Journal of Constructivist Psychology. Special Issue on ―Narrative coherence‖,15(3), 185-203. Huffaker, D. A. & Calvert, S. L. (2003-2004). The new science of learning: Active learning, metacognition, and transfer of knowledge in E-learning applications.Journal of Educational Computing Research, 29, 325-334.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

210

Alessandro Antonietti, Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello et al.

Perez-Tello, S., Antonietti, A., Liverta Sempio, O. & Marchetti, A. (2005). Che cos'è l'apprendimento? Le concezioni degli studenti. Roma: Carocci. Perez-Tello, S., Antonietti, A., Marchetti, A. & Liverta Sempio, O. (2005). Conceptions of learning and use of cultural media. European Journal of School Psychology, 2(1-2), 127148. Perfect, T. J. & Schwartz, B. L. (2002). Applied metacogntion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Schraw, G. & Moshman, D. (1995). Metacognitive theories. Educational Psychology Review, 7, 351-371. Veenman, M. V. J., Elshout, J. J. & Busato, V. V. (1994). Metacognitive mediation in learning with computer based simulations. Computers in Human Behavior, 10, 93-106. Veenman, M. V. J., Prins, F. J. & Elshout, J. J. (2002). Initial learning in a complex computer simulated environment: The role of metacognitive skills and intellectual ability. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 327-342. Yzerbit, V. Y., Lories, G. & Dardenne, B. (1998). Metacognition: Cognitive and social dimensions. London: Sage.

APPENDIX

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

List of the items included in the questionnaires concerning the metacognitive knowledge about multimedia and virtual communities in distance education. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Make comprehension easier Facilitate persons who have a visual style of thinking Make notion memorization easier Induce and/or facilitate people to make comparisons and links Make notion application easier Are useful to schematize concepts Are suitable for persons who get bored very quickly Allow people to learn fast Allow persons to learn with no effort and/or in an implicit way Help persons to have a global overview Help people to re-elaborate notions and to reason about them Facilitate persons who have an intuitive style of thinking Support or enhance motivation Require concentration Make notions convincing Facilitate people who have much imagination Induce persons to be active Help people to recognise the limits of their own ideas and perspectives Facilitate persons who tend to think schematically Facilitate people who lacking linguistic skills Stimulate people to give feedback and/or to express personal reactions Are suitable for logical people

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Metaknowledge about Distance Learning Stimulate people to be creative Allow people to check immediately what have learned Facilitate persons who have quick reflexes Require manual abilities Require to retain the overall picture Require to plan actions May be too involving Require to think simultaneously about various things Are tiring Are suitable for thoughtful persons May be confusing Are appreciated by people who like adventures Require imagination Are not suitable for precise persons Help people to assume other people‘s points of view

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

211

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 10

TOWARD STRUCTURING A GRADUATE PROGRAM IN DISTANCE EDUCATION E. Pinar Uca-Gunes* Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey

ABSTRACT

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance education programs are becoming more popular in Turkey. The continuing capacity issue in higher education, opportunities provided with technological developments, changes in learning needs and understanding of learning are some reasons. However, faculty, staff and administration in distance education systems may not have sufficient background in the distance education field. There is a need for professionals who have theoretical knowledge and/or practical skills in the field and also foresight into the future and make necessary changes in current systems. It is necessary to gain effective and high quality results. Certificate and/or graduate programs in the distance education field can provide opportunities to train experts. The participants in these programs can be candidates who are planning to work or the faculty/staff already working in this kind of system. Structuring such a program is then an important issue to be considered. Stakeholders‘ perspectives and expectations should be examined and evaluated. Academic staff who have been working in this field and learners are two of the groups that can be consulted. The aim of this chapter, therefore, is to discuss and analyze the scope, management, characteristics and implementation dimensions of distance education from the point of the people involved in distance education activities. This chapter addresses a qualitative study in which interviews were done with the two groups respectively. Suggestions were presented based on the findings.

*

Email: [email protected]

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

214

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

1. INTRODUCTION Today, the importance of distance education is indisputable. Besides increasing access and flexibility and so equity for education, it has a potential for providing high quality learning experiences. Distance education experts are—or at least must be—the ones who can set this potential into action. Competency in technology or pedagogy or communication or management alone is not enough since ‗distance education‘ is different from ‗education‘. It can‘t be seen as a subsystem of education directly, but rather an interdisciplinary field instead. There are theories and practical applications specific to the distance education field. Therefore, individuals working or planning to work in the distance education field should receive training. There are some fields such as instructional/educational technology, information technology, and communication that can contribute to the field, but if we accept distance education as an academic discipline itself then there should be special training for the field. There are some training opportunities in the distance education field in the world. They can be listed as support programs, in-service programs, certificate programs, and graduate programs. Some of the certificate and graduate programs in the world are represented in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 1. Some Certificate Programs in Distance Education (University of WisconsinExtension, Distance Education Clearinghouse, Certificate Programs, 2010) Name of the Certificate Program Distance Education Certificate Program Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching Distance Education Certificate Program Distance Education Certified Trainer Program Advanced Technologies for Distance Education Certificate Program Advanced Online Teaching Certificate Program Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning (Distance Education) Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning Master Online Teacher Certificate Certificate in Distance Education Certified Online Instructor (COI) Graduate Certificate in Applied eLearning L7 Distance Learning Certificate Programs Certificates in Telecommunications Certificate in Distance Education E-learning Systems Certificate of Completion Online Teacher Certificate Program

Delivering Organization University of Wisconsin -Madison University of Wisconsin Stout University of West Georgia University of West Georgia University of West Georgia University of West Georgia Appalachian State University California State University, Hayward Illinois Online Network Indiana University Learning Resources Network (LERN) Manukau Institute of Technology USDLA/Nova Southeastern University Pace University/NACTEL Penn State Portland State University St. Lawrence College, Ontario

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

215

Table 1. (Continued) Name of the Certificate Program Delivering Organization Certificate in Web-Based Instruction Simon Fraser University and TELEStraining in British Columbia Distance Education Certification Program Texas A&M Graduate Certificate in Technology and Touro University International Learning MET: Master of Educational Technology: jointly with University of British Columbia Certificate Options (Canada) and Tec de Monterrey (Mexico) Certificate in e-Learning: Design and University of Calgary Facilitate Learning Online Designing eLearning Environments, An University of Colorado at Denver Innovative, Online Certificate Program Certificates in Distance Education University of Maryland University College Distance Learning Design and Development University of Washington

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 2. Some Graduate Programs in Distance Education (Lindsay, NK, & Howell, SL, 2004) Name of the Graduate Program Master of Distance Education Program Master of Distance Education Doctor of Education in Distance Education Master of Arts in Distance Education Master of Distance Education Postgraduate Diploma in Online and Distance Education Distance Education Master of Arts Degree Distance Education Doctorate Degree

Delivering Institution University of Maryland University College Athabasca University Athabasca University Indira Ghandi Open University Indiana University Open University Anadolu University Anadolu University

2. PURPOSE The main purpose of this study is to discuss how to structure a graduate program in distance education regarding the scope, management, characteristics and implementation dimensions. The discussion is based on the experts‘ and learners‘ perspectives that can be considered as the primary stakeholders.

3. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Distance education is simply the teaching-learning process that comes about through some technologies when the learning side and teaching side are separate from each other. Distance education has many advantages: increases access to education, allows updatingof skills, is cost-effective, enhances the capacity of education system, provides

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

216

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

equality of opportunity in education, makes education international and so on (Moore & Kearsley, 2005). The history of distance education reaches back to the 1800s. Beginning with correspondence, it developed parallel to the information and communication technologies. Today, it‘s beyond meeting some needs. Later, but similar in the development stages, Turkey also used distance education. The next part summarizes the development of distance education in Turkey.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Development of Distance Education in Turkey From 1927 to 1955, distance education was only discussed as a possible solution to education issues in Turkey, but no application was implemented. In the period 1956–1981, correspondence education was applied with the aim of training bank personnel and preparingstudentsfor school completion exams. In addition to distance education applications, there were radio programs for primary school students in this period. Also, as a structuring in the institutional level, the Correspondence (Course) Center was established under the Ministry of National Education; later it was organized in the General Directorate level. Another important development for this period was the establishment of Trial Higher School for Teachers. At the end of 1975, YAYKUR (Informal Higher Education Institution) was established after which television, radio, voice records and limited face-to-face counseling services were added to print-based distance education applications. Through the end of this period, YAYKUR was closed down. Literacy programs were developed through television programs. An important progress in Turkey in 1981 was transferring the right of ‗implementing distance education in Turkish higher education‘ to universities under a law. In 1982, considering the appropriateness of infrastructure, Anadolu University was assigned to this task. Open Education Faculty was established during the university reorganization (Ruzgar, 2004; Kaya & Odabaşı, 1996; Alkan, 1987). Printed materials, radio-television programs and face-to-face counseling services were used in learning process. Instructors in different cities of Turkey implemented face-to-face classes in their cities for students living there for contribution. In 1995, computer-based education applications had also begun. Anadolu University established Computer-based education laboratories in cities because of the low rate of PC ownership in those years. Open Education High School and Open Education Primary School were also established in these years(Anadolu University, Open Education at a Glance - Open Education System, 2010). While there was an institutional and administrative restructuring in Anadolu University in 1997–1998, other universities in Turkey had started distance education applications. In 2001, Anadolu University launched the Information Management program which was the first Internet-based associate degree program in Turkey. In the following years, the other universities began to launch similar programs and Open Education Faculty added the Internetbased services to the existing ones due to the increase in prevalence of Internet use. Therefore the number of universities serving distance education and also the number of the programs had increased. Recently, in addition to universities‘ higher education programs, Internetbased certificate programs in various fields have become quite popular.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

217

Need for Training in Distance Education Field Against the increase at the number of universities serving distance education and increase at the types and numbers of programs, it can‘t be said there is proportional parallelism with the number or competency of faculty provided intentionally. Lindsay & Howell (2004), also expressed that there are millions of distance education students across the world so it is essential to receive training for the personnel involved in these systems. They foresaw graduate programs in which students can explicitly study distance education will help meet this critical need and advance distance education theory and research. Howell et al. (2004), indicated that many challenges in distance education field lead to analyse faculty issues. After analyzing these, they presented seven strategies for university administrators and faculty to take place in their own strategic plan. Improving training and instructional support for distance education faculty was one of them.

Graduate Programs in Distance Education In Turkey, training programs that are directly focused on distance education field is limited with graduate programs. These are in master and doctorate levels and developed by Anadolu University. In 1999-2000 academic year, first students began the master program. The doctorate program accepts 5 students a year since 2006-2007 academic year. The courses offered in these programs are given in the Table 3 and Table 4, respectively.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 3. Courses for Distance Education Master‘s Degree (Anadolu University Distance Education Master of Arts (MA) Degree, Course Structure Diagram, 2010) 1. Semester Theoretical Foundations of Distance Education Distance Education Technologies Introduction to Research Methods Elective Courses Program Developments Learning-Teaching Approach Designing and Developing Distance Courses Scenario In Multimedia Learning Environments Staff Development in Distance Education Designing Print Materials in Distance Education Media Design Globalization and International Distance Education

2. Semester The Management of Distance Education Seminar Research in Distance Education Elective Courses Life-long Education Evaluation of Distance Education Design of Online Learning Television in Distance Education Graphics and Animation in Distance Education Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Distance Education Economy Thesis

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

218

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes Table 4. Courses for Distance Education Doctorate Degree (Anadolu University Distance Education Doctorate (Ph.D) Degree, Course Structure Diagram, 2010)

1. Semester Foundations of Open and Distance Learning Social Transformation and Technology Qualitative Research in Open and Distance Learning Elective Courses Learning With Technology

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Asynchronous Open and Distance Learning Technologies

2. Semester Trend and Issues in Open and Distance Learning Design Processes in Open and Distance Learning Quantitative Research in Open and Distance Learning Elective Courses Individual Differences in Open and Distance Learning Visual Technologies in Open and Distance Learning Synchronous Open and Distance Learning Technologies Statistical Analyses (Eng) Advance Studies in Distance Education Qualifying Exam Thesis

These programs are mainly face-to-face, but according to the instructor of the course some courses can be implemented online-supported. Both the programs require students make thesis. Students either must have a master‘s degree in distance education or complete the courses in distance education master‘s program before beginning doctorate program. There must be sufficient number of students in elective courses in order to implement. Therefore, all of them can‘t be continued in the same term because of the total number of students don‘t allow that. Current programs should be improved and the new ones may be necessary. In this study, the researcher tried to determine how to structure this kind of programs. In this phase, she applied to the program stakeholders‘ opinions. The experts and learners were chosen as participants for this study. Considered dimensions were scope (the courses and the contents of courses), management (activities such as adding or removing courses, changing or updating the content of the courses, organizing, providing coordination, planning for future), characteristics (the properties and quality of the education) and implementation (the approaches, learnerinstructor interaction, learning environments, assessment methods).

4. METHOD 4.1. Research Design This is a qualitative case study. The individual interview technique was used to obtain the participants‘ perspectives, expectations and experiences in an optimum way toward

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

219

structuring a graduate program in distance education. The current study is the synthesis of twoprevious studies in which the participants were the experts and learners respectively. The first study was completed in October 2007, while the other one was in November 2008.

4.2. Research Questions The following were the research questions: To structure a graduate program in distance education, (scope dimension) 1. how should the courses and the contents of courses be designed? (management dimension) 2. how should the changing decisions related to courses be made? 3. how should the coordination be among the stakeholders? 4. what should be the future plans? (characteristics dimension) 5. how should the properties and quality of the education be?

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

(implementation dimension) 6. should there be applications which are different from traditional face-to-face education? What kind of?

4.3. Participants The purposeful sampling technique was used to find the participants. Participants consisted of two groups; experts and learners. The first group consisted of 7 experts (1 women and 6 men) who had an experience of giving courses in a distance education graduate program and voluntarily participated the study. There were 10 volunteer participants (6 women and 4 men) in the second group which is formed of graduate students also involved in a distance education graduate program. Both experts and the learners were involved in the same distance education graduate program in Turkey. The program has been served by a leading university in distance education field in Turkey.

4.4. Data Collection Interview technique was selected for data collection. Since the distance education field is a one that is still emerging and covers multi-disciplines as well as the participants and their backgrounds, a broad range of information can be acquired using interview technique. Therefore, the researcher made semi-structured and open-ended individual interviews with the participants. Each participant was interviewed once. For the expert group, the researcher

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

220

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

interviewed with each participant face-to-face. 4 of them were audio-recorded with the permission of the participants. The researcher took notes for the rest 3 interviews according to experts‘ preferences (Uca-Gunes, 2007). For the learner group, the researcher interviewed with 8 of them face-to-face, due to the time and place restrictions she interviewed the rest 2 of them by utilizing MSN messenger software. The face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded whereas the MSN conversations were logged by the computer again with the permission of the participants (Uca-Gunes, 2009).

4.5. Data Analysis The first step was the transcription of the interviews. Then the researcher used both the content analysis method in the considered studies. Selected method provides interpreting the information within a framework of themes derived from the concepts and the relationships among them. The researcher used similar analysis plans in two studies including the coding, thematic coding and arranging data steps (Uca-Gunes, 2007; Uca-Gunes, 2009). When making synthesis for the current study, the themes of the two were evaluated together and codes and data were also reviewed time to time in this stage, therefore the researcher made the necessary recategorizations.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

4.6. Credibility of the Study The researcher tried to present a broader viewpoint to the subject by interpreting the different type of participants‘ opinions about the same subject. In this study, both of the two studies‘ raw data were accessible. Consequently, interpretations were not limited to studies‘ findings; data could be reviewed again and again when needed. Involving in the same system can cause participants having similar opinions, thereby getting similar findings for the study. However, it may render more meaningful making the synthesis of the two studies in its context.

5. FINDINGS Courses and Contents When the scope of the program is considered, participants delivered opinions within the framework of three main themes: determining factors, subjects, and implementation.

Determining factors Requirements, opinions and dynamism according to developments were the determining factors. Both learners and experts expressed requirements of the sector and the society should effect the courses and contents in such a program. Also while experts stated the graduating

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

221

competencies as a determining requirement, learners found the institutions‘ expectations important parallel with this. In addition learners expressed interests should be determining. Experts‘ opinions should be evaluated according to the experts whereas learners‘ were also mentioned by the learners. The participants all agreed that courses and contents should be dynamic according to developments. These developments were in the field of information and communication technology, distance education, new learning environments, new understandings of learning.

Subjects Theoretical, practical and branching-elective courses should be taken place according to the findings. Some courses were mentioned among or in addition to fundamental courses. The prominent ones were research methods and distance education theories for theoretical. One of the learners also underlined there should be a course consisting national field studies and applications and a field terminology course. ―Most of the learners agreed that beside the theoretical courses, there should be practical courses, or even maybe one single project-based practice course that learners use technology and develop learning environments‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Design of online learning and a project-based course were referred for practical. Elective and correspond to branching courses were evaluated necessary by the participants. Examples were theories from other disciplines, a quality-based course by learners and one expert addressed the culture dimension of technology. Also, courses including dimensions of distance education were seen necessary.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Implementation Implementation was the point that one of the learners was more concerned. His main point was learners with different backgrounds could have problems understanding contents or expectations from them so the arrangement should be made considering this kind of issues.

Changing Decisions Related to Courses There were five factors about changing decisions: opinions, requirements, changes and developments, evaluation results and interactions.

Opinions Learners, instructors, experts and private sector were the groups for consulting their opinions for both participant groups. The learners added society, delivery institution and other colleges also. Requirements According to learners‘ opinions, requirements of management, learners, private sector and other colleges should shape the changing decisions, where the experts mentioned the update requirements in contents. Update requirements may lead to abolishing the expiring courses, redesigning or reorganizing the courses or contents, launching the new necessary ones.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

222

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

Changes and developments The experts stated the changes and developments in academic literature should be followed. There should be courses relating to developing technologies and also intended for applying new technologies in learning process. The learners emphasized considering research methods and employment trends in addition to technology. Evaluation results Experts express that technologies and methods should be evaluated before making decisions and then the program can be improved. Similarly, the learners focused on the problems met in learning process and actual end-of-period learning outcomes to be evaluated. Interactions Distinctively from the experts, the learners also pointed out that there should be interactions in deciding process. Suggestions for interaction were face-to-face meetings, learner-management collaboration, instructor-management collaboration and a committee consisting of management and instructors related to this field- giving or not giving courseswere alternatives.

Coordination among Stakeholders

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

For a distance education graduate program learners, instructors, field experts, institutional management and private sector are the stakeholders. Sort of coordination and subjects to coordinate on were the two angles for this subject.

Sort of coordination There can be listed various combinations of coordination among stakeholders. The experts was more focused at the coordination among experts, the learners‘ opinions were varying. ―Although some of them mentioned only particular coordination among learnermanagement or instructor-instructor or learner-instructor about particular subjects, most of them expressed an overall coordination among instructors, learners, management and even maybe experts from private sectors periodically. While most of the learners emphasized the meetings done face-to-face, one of them stated an online platform can be used‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Subjects to coordinate on The subthemes for subjects to coordinate on can be defined as program design and implementation, relating to learners, and improvement of distance education field. The subjects expressed in the program design and implementation category were as follows: Determining the courses and contents through exchanging opinions of experts, course implementation especially reflecting the interdisciplinary studies and providing the contribution of experts from other fields, exam preparation through , changing decisions about anything related to the program, making plans for next learning periods, program evaluation and determining the criteria for evaluation, discussing and solving the problems, examining new technologies, new applications and other colleges‘ applications, making

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

223

collaborative projects with private sector, making suggestions related to applications, sharing experiences. Coordination subjects relating to learners were especially among experts in the process of tracing the development of learners, among experts and also learners in investigating the alternatives for thesis subjects and deciding for the one. While most of the participants‘ answers to this question were again related to the program itself, some of them were rather related to the improvement of distance education field mentioned by a learner. They were about how distance education could be applied and establishing a committee for meeting the distance education expert demand of all sectors from one organization.

Future Plans Participants‘ opinions about future plans can be classified into four categories: program design and implementation, support services, improvement of distance education field, needs of individuals and society.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Program design and implementation Using various methods and learning environments in the program was seen as a future plan. Suggestions were as follows: at least one distance course is necessary in the program; the program should be open and online; can be online and also in English; can be blended; interactive learning environments should be used such as Web 2.0 technologies. ―Virtual 3-D environments, games and applications of artificial intelligence were seen as issues to be surely considered‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Support services Support services were only mentioned by one of the learners. ―There should be support services to help learners using different learning environments and instructors play an important role in this situation‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Improvement of distance education field According to the findings, most of the future plans were about the improvement of distance education field. Increasing the competencies and diversity of learners and instructors as well as their numbers, and increasing also the diversity and number of the courses were seen important. Distance education applications in different areas should be supported. ―Structuring the program according to the developments in information and communication technologies should be the vision of the program. Gaining instant feedback about the problems that learners meet in learning process and evaluating them would contribute to future plans‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Branching should be provided and there should be a master program without thesis. A learner-centered approach could help for future plans. Research and development activities should be continuously done. International cooperation and introducing the program were the issues that should be planned.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

224

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

Needs of individuals and society Considering needs of individuals and society were expressed by the learners. Learners‘ requirements according to the geography they stay, working conditions and times, interests and goals should be taken into consideration. ―One of the learners expressed new generations should be examined in terms of their behavior styles, learning styles, interests, motivation styles, and trends and then decide what to do, because they would be the learners of tomorrow‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009).

Properties and Quality of Education Six categories were generated about the properties and quality of education through synthesis of findings. They were resources, accreditation, preparatory for work, technologysupported, learning design, support-services.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Resources Information and knowledge resources, technical infrastructure resources and staff resources were stated as important for this subject. Accreditation Number and variety of learners, learner satisfaction, learners‘ motivation levels and competencies were the factors that affect the quality. Also the graduate competencies of learners were seen as an indicator of quality by the experts. Increase of distance education resources in national language was another necessity. Quality should be in universal level as for making international collaborations according to the learners‘ opinions. It was seen flexibility, and supportive and effective communication of learners and instructors provide the quality of the program according to one of the learners. Preparatory for work There was a suggestion for education on-the-job from an expert and up-to-dateness was important. Learners also agreed the education should provide practicing and the institution should be equipped well in terms of software and hardware for this. Learners should be competent with the technology, critical thinking skills and integration of the dimensions of distance education. Technology-supported Technology-supported education should be provided in order to increase the quality level according to the learners‘ perspectives. Learning design They were the learners who mentioned how the learning design should be. Learners‘ education backgrounds, profiles and goals about their career future can be considered in design phase. The program should direct the learners being active, questioning and researching. Blended or distance format should be used.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

225

Support-services Again from the learners‘ perspective, academic, technical and learner support-services should be taken place in the program.

Applications in Implementation of the Program The participants‘ opinions lead to there should be different applications from traditional face-to-face education. The findings can be summarized under network-based learning applications title.

Network-based learning Network-based learning applications can be digital or not. The learners had many suggestions in this context. ―There were suggestions for online or blended, interactive, flexible, learner-centered, constructivist, interdisciplinary, project-based, supporting individual learning, productive, practical, multimedia-supported environments. Web 2.0 technologies, e-learning and mobile learning, IPTV, IP phone, podcasting and screencasting applications, virtual reality, games, simulations… etc. were mentioned to be evaluated to use‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009). Collaborative and cooperative learning were suggested by experts. Also, experts should reflect their expertise fields to courses.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

6. CONCLUSION Distance education is a field which is continuously emerging and expanding. Technologies, learners‘ profiles, needs and expectations change, approaches to education, roles of the stakeholders in education systems change. Training is necessary; because it‘s a specific field, and because the changes and developments in technologic, pedagogical and other dimensions mustn‘t be missed, and because there must be a balance between the number of qualified personnel with distance education programs and learners. In structuring graduate programs in distance education, stakeholders‘ opinions are valuable. Two groups of stakeholders‘ opinions were evaluated through a synthesis in this study. Based on the findings, the conclusion can be summarized as follows: Technological and theoretical developments should be considered in structuring the courses and contents. Requirements and opinions also should be taken into consideration. In addition to fundamental courses, various ones should take place to provide branching. Practical courses should absolutely take place in the program. The relationship of distance education with other disciplines should be reflected. The differences of learners should be taken into account. Opinions, requirements, developments and evaluation results should be discussed collaboratively with the stakeholders in the decision process on changing courses or contents. Coordination should be provided in all stages related to the program. ―Periodic meetings concerning anything about the program will be useful as well as meetings for specific purposes. Participants can be determined according to order of the day. Face-to-face or online meetings can be designed due to conditions‖ (Uca-Gunes, 2009).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

226

E. Pinar Uca-Gunes

For future plans, various technologies, methods and environments should be implemented considering the developments, and support services should be developed in parallel. Considering the requirements of individuals and society, and improving the distance education field should lead the vision and mission of the program. International collaborations, introducing the program, education on-the-job, and gaining the knowledge and skills that are prerequisites for work are the factors for increasing the quality. Network-based learning applications should be used for implementation. Evaluating generally, it was seen that especially according to the learners‘ opinions, learner-centeredness comes into prominence toward structuring such a program. There should be more focus on interaction and support issues. The learners want applications that are more technology-based. However, the experts mentioned more general opinions pedagogically and methodologically, and evaluated the probable situations in their limitations. In future studies, proposing models for a distance education graduate program can be the focus.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Alkan, Cevat (1987). Açıköğretim ―Uzaktan Eğitim Sistemlerinin Karşılaştırmalı Olarak İncelenmesi‖, Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Yayınları, No:157. Anadolu University Distance Education Doctorate Degree (Ph.D), Course Structure Diagram. (2010). Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Anadolu University Web Site: http://www.anadolu.edu.tr/akademik/ens_sosbil/uzaktanegtabdd/eprogram.htm. Anadolu University Distance Education Master of Arts (MA) Degree, Course Structure Diagram. (2010). Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Anadolu University Web Site: http://www.anadolu.edu.tr/akademik/ens_sosbil/uzaktanegtabdt/eprogram.htm. Anadolu University, Open Education at a Glance - Open Education System. (2010). Retrieved February 20, 2010, from Anadolu University Web Site: http://www.anadolu.edu. tr/aos/aos_tanitim/aos.aspx. Howell, S. L., Saba, F., Lindsay, N. K. & Williams, P. B. (2004). Seven strategies for enabling faculty success in distance education. Internet and Higher Education, 7, 33-49. Kaya, Z. & ve Odabaşı, F. (1996). Türkiye‘de Uzaktan Eğitimin Gelişimi. Anadolu University, Eskisehir: Journal of Education Faculty, No, 1. Lindsay, N. K. & Howell, S. L. (2004). The study of distance education by distance education. International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Education, 1(9). Moore, M. G. & Kearsely, G. (2005). Distance education: A systems view, 2nd edition.Thomson/Wadsworth. Ruzgar, N. S. (2004). Distance Education in Turkey. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education - TOJDE April, 5(2), 22-32. Uca-Gunes, E. P. (2007). Uzaktan Eğitim Alanında Lisansüstü Programların Yapılandırılmasına Yönelik Uzman Görüşleri. 3. Lisansüstü Eğitim Sempozyumu. Eskişehir.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Toward Structuring a Graduate Program in Distance Education

227

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Uca-Gunes, E. P. (2009) Learners‘ opinions toward structuring a graduate program in distance education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 1017-1022, 06/02/2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Distance Education Clearinghouse, Certificate Programs. (2010). Retrieved February 26, 2010, from University of Wisconsin- Extension Web Site: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/certificates.cfm.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 ©2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 11

PERCEPTION OF DISTANCE LEARNING (E-PJJ) STUDENTS TOWARD THE SERVICE QUALITY OFFERED BY THE CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMME: A CASE STUDY AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONIN MALAYSIA Zainuddin Zakaria≠1, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin‡1, Moktar Awang£2and Norzaidi Mohd Daud*3

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1

Faizatul Akmam Binti Amirrudin, Faculty of Business Management, Dungun Campus, Terengganu, Malaysia 2 Faculty of Accountancy,Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu, Dungun CampusTerengganu, Malaysia 3 Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT Service quality in Malaysia is not a new issue but where the higher education institution is concerned, service quality is a pressing subject. With many players in the higher education institutions, ranging from public universities to private colleges to branches of foreign universities, the competition among them is great. Therefore, quality plays a major role for a higher learning institution to gain competitive advantage from its competitors. In light of this development, the researchers decided to engage in a study of ≠ e-mail: [email protected] ‡ e-mail: [email protected] £ e-mail: [email protected] * corresponding author: Norzaidi Mohd Daud Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, e-mail: [email protected]

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

230

Zainuddin Zakari, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin and Moktar Awang evaluating the perceptions of the distance learning (E-PJJ) students towards the service quality offered by the Continuing Education Programme (CDP) at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Dungun campus, Terengganu. The researchers conducted the research based on the SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman et al (1988). They suggested that the Service Quality of an industry consists of five dimensions, namely Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. Based on this model, the researchers evaluated the gap between the expectations and the perceptions of the students towards the five service quality dimensions. A sample of 60 students was chosen from a total population of 77 students. However, only 57 respondents participated in the survey. The researcher discovered that even though there were significant gaps between the expectations of the students with their actual experience of receiving the service (perceptions), the majority shows a high degree of satisfaction towards the service provided by the CDP at UiTM Dungun.

Keywords: Service quality, higher learning institution, education, distance learning, Malaysia

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION In the competitive economic climate, managers and administrator of university departments must seriously reflect on the issue of service quality (Cuthbert (1996)). This has come about because of two reasons. The first reason is that the expansion phase in higher education has now ended and there is real competition among students. Where there is high competition, the quality of the service experience becomes an important factor in buyers‘ decision making (Bateson (1995)). In addition, students report that word-of-mouth recommendation plays a big role in their choice of institution, and course managers are in a key position to influence customers‘ perceptions. The second reason is that the university quality assurance systems place emphasis on the students‘ experience as one of the assessment criteria (Higher Education Quality Committee, 1995). This is a reason for the researcher to evaluate and measure the level of service quality of UiTM Dungun to its parttime students. Thus, this paper aims at looking into the difference between the expectations of the EPJJ students at UiTM Dungun campus and their perceptions on their actual service experienced.

DISTANCE LEARNING IN UITM The history of distance learning programme at Universiti Teknologi MARA (known as Institut Teknologi MARA then) dated back as early as 1973 when it was established under the Kajian Luar Kampus, or the Off-Campus School. In 1990, the school was renamed the Centre for External Education and in 1996, the centre was later known as the Centre for Continuing Education. With strenuous efforts by the government to promote learning via the Internet, the centre started offering programmes via e-learning. As of September 2001, the centre was addressed as the Education Development Centre (EDC), where the Affiliated Programmes, the Distance Learning Programme and the Short Term Programmes were put under its wing. (Mohd Rashidee, (2003)).At present, the Distance Learning Programme is known as the Continuing Education Programme (CDP) and starting from January 2004, the Education

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students…

231

Development Centre has become the Institute of Education Development (InEd). Since its establishment, InEd has successfully produced more than 3000 alumni.

QUALITY AND SERVICE

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In general, quality is an objective measurement in manufacturing and a subjective one in the service sector (Pariseau and McDaniel (1997)). The term ―quality‖ gives different meanings to different people. Ghobadian et al. (1994) classified the definition of quality into five broad categories as transcendent; product led; process or supply led; customer led, and value led. Ghobadian et al. (1994) provide a specific definition on quality on a service, which is a measure of the extent to which the service delivered meets the customer‘s expectations. The perception of quality is influenced not only by the service outcome but also by the service process. The perceived quality lies along a continuum. Unacceptable quality lies at one end of this continuum while the ideal quality lies at the other end. The points in-between represent different gradations of quality. In addition, numerous researchers and scholars agreed that in today‘s world of fierce competition, focusing on quality service is a key for survival and success (Parasuraman et al (1985); Reichheld and Sasser, (1990); Zeithmal et al (1990)). Service quality has proven to be apparently related to costs (Crosby, (1980)), profitability (Rust and Zahorik (1993)), customer satisfaction (Bolton and Drew (1991)), customer retention (Reichheld and Sasser (1990)) and positive word of mouth. The later work on SERVQUAL by Parasuraman et al (1988) sought to develop a general instrument for measuring service quality. They identified five dimensions of service quality (three original and two combined dimensions).They suggested the following labels and concise definitions for the dimensions. a) b) c) d)

Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence e) Empathy: Caring individualised attention the firm provides its customers

MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) and Zeithaml et al. (1990) developed a measure of service quality derived from data on a number of services. The earlier work on this area yielded 10 dimensions of service quality that included tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, credibility, security, access, communication and understanding the customer. Later, this measure was refined and resulted in the emergence of the 22-item scale, called ‗SERVQUAL‘. It measures service quality based on five dimensions namely, tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The authors proposed that service quality can be measured by looking at the degree of discrepancy between customers‘ normative expectations for the service and their perceptions of the service performance. Since

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

232

Zainuddin Zakari, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin and Moktar Awang

its development, SERVQUAL has been widely used in a variety of industrial, commercial and non-profit settings. The SERVQUAL model is best known for its definitions of gaps between customers‘ expectations and perceptions. Out of the five gaps identified in the model, only Gap 5 or the understanding gap is the researcher‘s concentration since both parties; the management and the customers must work hand in hand with each other in ensuring the quality of the service rendered. The management must truly understand the customers‘ expectations before devising any strategy or policy. The satisfaction gap, as defined by Parasuraman et al., (1988) is the discrepancy between customer‘s expected service and perceived service delivered. They further add that customers‘ expectations are influenced by past experience, personal needs and word of mouth communications.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SERVICE QUALITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION A quality online learning experience is one that provides flexibility and reliable technology. The heart of high-quality, online learning is flexibility. Flexibility not only includes the choice of time and place, but it should include options for face-to-face interaction. There is also the added flexibility of pace choosing to go fast or slow, tackling a lot or just a small segment at any one time. Some students were very aware of what they needed to learn, and for some, the online mode provided an environment in which they could undertake the learning they wished (Cashion and Palmieri, 2000).They also pointed out that a reliable technology that works at an acceptable speed is essential to ensure satisfactory and effective online learning experiences. In addition, encouragements, good responses, clear instruction and answering queries promptly and constructively from the educators are crucial in delivering a quality online learning. Educators‘ interaction with students is also a key ingredient. When students received individual, speedy feedback they were delighted with the experience. When the educators did not provide feedback or took too long to respond, then they may feel that the quality is lacking. Quality is achieved when there is a match between the learning experience and the learner‘s expectations. While the online medium provides the potential for high-quality learning experiences, standards are necessary to ensure this, including those relating to assessment and timely feedback. Cashion and Palmieri (2000), conclude that online education provides an enormously flexible medium to provide studentcentred and appropriate learning structures and supports for many students Thus, this chapter is a) To identify the gap between the services expected by the students of the Distance Education Programme and the actual services experienced by them. b) To evaluate the level of satisfaction towards the services offered by the Distance Learning Programme at UiTM Dungun. c) To assist the management of UiTM and the relevant authority to enhance the Quality Services of the Distance Learning Programme in UiTM Dungun.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students…

233

METHODOLOGY In this chapter, it is important to focus on several aspects concerning service quality that can be measured. The study is concerned with the perceptions of students in the Distance Learing Programme (E-PJJ) on service quality at UiTM Dungun and the expectations of service quality that should be provided by the Continuing Education Programme at Universiti Teknologi MARA Dungun Campus. In line with the research objectives, perceptions and expectations of EPJJ and PJJ students towards the service quality provided by the InED at UiTM Dungun are determined. The theoretical framework of service quality conceptualised by Parasuraman et al. (1988) are used in this chapter. There are five dimensions of service quality, which include assurance, responsiveness, empathy, reliability and tangibles that can be applied in online distance learning. Likewise, the levels of students‘ satisfaction are also determined in this chapter.

INSTRUMENTS

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The theoretical framework of service quality conceptualised by Parasuraman et.al (1988) is used in this chapter. There five dimensions stated in the framework are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. A sample of 66 students was chosen from a total population of 70 students. Questionnaires were distributed during their class breaks. However, only 57 questionnaires were returned.Questionnaires were constructed with the objective of determining whether there are any gaps between the ―expectations‖ and ―perceptions‖ of the E-PJJ students. The gaps are expected to be in three scenarios. They can either be positive or negative and of no gaps. Questions were further asked regarding their overall satisfaction towards the service quality at UiTM Dungun. The data are analysed using paired sample t-test and independent t- test.

DATA ANALYSIS Two main analyses are used to examine the gaps analysis. Descriptive analysis is used to look at differences of the mean value of all the components of the service quality dimensions. Since the variables (components in the service quality dimensions) exhibit a normal distribution, the Paired Sample t-test is chosen for the second analysis. The test helps to identify whether there is any difference in the distribution of the expectations and perceptions of students for each component in the service quality dimensions. A 7-point Likert scale is used in the questionnaires and from the score; the mean values of both expectations and perceptions for each component in the service dimension are computed. The difference in mean values shows the overall gap (Perceptions minus Expectations) of each component and the gap reveals that the perceptions of students are lower than their expectations for all components of the service quality dimensions. Results are shown in Table 1. The paired sample test in Table 1 also reveals that some dimensions exhibits a significant difference between the expectations of students and their perceptions. This is shown by the significant values of less than 0.05 and the dimensions that reveal significant gaps are ―Appealing Materials Associated with the Service,‖ ―Providing Services at Time Promised,‖ ―Students Know When Service Will be Performed,‖ ―Never Busy to Respond to Students‘

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

234

Zainuddin Zakari, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin and Moktar Awang

Requests,‖ Instil Confidence in Students,‖ Consistently Courteous with Students,‖ and ―Having Students‘ Best Interests at Heart.‖

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 1. Gap and Mean Analysis of the Service Quality Dimensions Service Quality Components Dimensions

Perceptions (P)

Expectations (E)

Tangibility

5.054

5.010

Appealing physical 4.889 Facilities Neat Appearing Employees 5.089 Appealing Materials (Such 4.393 as Study Manuals) Associated with the Service Reliability Providing Service as 4.704 Promised Sincere Interests in Solving 4.942 Students‘ Problems Perform Services Right the 4.610 First Time Provide Services at Time 4.623 Promised Error-Free Records 4.519 Responsiveness Students Know When 4.764 Service Will be Performed Providing Prompt Service 4.746 Always Willing to Help 4.818 Students Never Busy to Responds to 4.611 Students Requests Assurance Instil Confidence in 4.765 Students Students Feel Safe in Their 5.222 Transactions Consistently Courteous 4.944 with Students Knowledge to Answer 5.058 Students‘ Questions Empathy Providing Individual 4.500 Attention Convenient Operating 4.434 Hours Providing Personal 4.519 Attentions Having Students‘ Best 4.648 Interests at Heart Understanding Specific 4.648 Needs of Students

4.926

Modern-looking equipments

Gap (P-E)

Sig. (2-tail)*

-0.036

0.853

-.0370

0.851

-0.321

0.140

-0.661

0.011*

-0.444

0.080

-0.442

0.073

5.010

-0.400

0.115

5.151

-0.528

0.046*

4.827

-0.308

0.239

5.200

-0.436

0.035*

5.073

-0.327

0.189

4.982

-0.164

0.491

5.148

-0.537

0.018*

5.235

-0.471

0.038*

5.519

-0.296

0.121

5.389

-0.444

0.024*

5.308

-0.250

0.180

-0.315

0.199

-0.264

0.208

-0.130

0.543

-0.389

0.105

-0.611

0.008*

5.411 5.054

5.148 5.385

4.815 4.698 4.648 5.037 5.259

* Significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students…

235

SATISFACTION LEVEL The general satisfaction level of the students in the programme is also analysed. From a Likert scale between 1 and 7, where 1 indicates that the students and extremely dissatisfied and 7 indicates extreme satisfaction, the majority of students or 17 of them are satisfied with the services provided by UiTM Dungun. This is followed by those that are very satisfied that equals to 14 students. Five students are extremely satisfied with the services they received and eight students are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The remaining 12 students are not satisfied with the services received from UiTM Dungun. This ranges from ―dissatisfied‖ to ―extremely dissatisfied‖. The general satisfaction level also indicates that on average the students are satisfied with the services that they received from the Continuing Education Programme at UiTM Dungun. This is shown by the mean value of 4.70. All results are shown in Table 2 and 3. Table 2. The General Satisfaction Level of Students towards the Services Received from UiTM Dungun

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Student‘s Perception Frequency Extremely Dissatisfied 3 Very Dissatisfied 3 Dissatisfied 6 Neutral 8 Satisfied 17 Very Satisfied 14 Extremely Satisfied 5 Total 56 Missing 1 Total 57

Percent 5.3 5.3 10.5 14.0 29.8 24.6 8.8 98.2 1.8 100.0

Valid Percent 5.4 5.4 10.7 14.3 30.4 25.0 8.9 100.0

Cumulative Percent 5.4 10.7 21.4 35.7 66.1 91.1 100.0

Table 3. Statistics of Students’ General Satisfaction Level Number of Students Missing Mean Mode

56 1 4.70 5.00

CORRELATION ANALYSIS A correlation analysis is also performed between the general satisfactions and the mean gaps (perceptions minus expectations) for all five-service quality dimensions, i.e. tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Results of the test indicates that there is a positive and linear relationship between the gaps and the overall satisfaction level of studentsin the Distance Learning programme at UiTM Dungun. This is shown by the significant value of less than 0.05. This indicates that as the gaps become more positive (Perception higher than Expectation), the satisfaction level would also increase.However, the Pearson Correlation also indicates that the mean gaps (perception minus expectations) in

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

236

Zainuddin Zakari, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin and Moktar Awang

Tangibility and Responsiveness have a low correlation with the overall satisfaction level as shown by the correlation value of 0.355 and 0.486 respectively. The correlation value of 0.521, 0.533, and 0.548 for Reliability, Empathy, and Assurance indicates that the variable have a moderate correlation with the students‘ overall satisfaction level. These results can be observed in Table 4. Table 4. Correlations Analysis between General satisfaction Level and the Mean Gap of the Five Service Quality Dimensions P-E (MEAN TANG) GENERAL SATISFACTION

Pearson 0.355** Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) 0.008 Number of 55 Respondent

P-E (MEAN RELIAB)

P-E P-E (MEAN (MEAN RESPON) ASSUR)

P-E (MEAN EMPATHY

0.521**

0.486**

0.533**

0.548**

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

55

55

54

54

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS It is clear from the analysis that there is significant difference between the expectations and the perceptions of students towards the actual services delivered by the Distance Learning Programme at UiTM Dungun. The Paired Sample T-Test revealed that a substantial number of students experienced negative gaps; which indicates that the workforce at UiTM Dungun has failed to meet or exceed the students‘ expectations for a number of variables in the components of the service quality dimensions. As such the employees have much to do in improving their services to at least match the expectations of students that are unique, complex and unpredictable. No doubt, it is a daunting task but it has to be done to ensure a high satisfaction level. In this light, the authors would like to offer some recommendations that may assist the management in enhancing the services. First and foremost, a service quality audit should be conducted on an annual basis. The main purpose of conducting this audit is to assess the quality of the students‘ experiences focusing on issues such as physical facilities, care and attention given by service providers, safety and security, after-hour on-line interaction, speed of delivery, courtesy and politeness of staff (lecturers) and so on. The results from the auditing process can be communicated to the management of UiTM Dungun. Another effective approach to enhance the service quality at UiTM Dungun is to provide comprehensive training to employees, especially for those who interact directly with the students. Training should focus on areas such as communication and interpersonal skills, ethics and motivation. The training should be conducted on a regular basis and reviewed from time to time. In this training, important feedback from employees can be used to improve future training. Those attending the training should also be evaluated in a consistent manner using measurable specifications.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students…

237

In addition, face-to-face interaction alongside the online medium is very important. Cashion and Palmieri (2000) mention that one student identified that an on-line education should contain elements such as a highly interactive course that has a good balance between online and face to-face, teachers that are resourceful and responsive and are easily accessible online and offline and clearly laid out program and assessment. Comments from students reveal that physical facilities are the number one priority of the students. Hence, physical facilities such as toilet, rest area, eating premises and a place for prayer must be improved, enhanced and up-graded. A more important issue is the maintenance of these facilities. Issues such as cleanliness, tidiness, durability, reliable supply of water and electricity should be a priority to the management. Another pressing issue is the lack of updated study manuals. The Institute of Education Development (InEd) in Shah Alam which is the authority that control the production of manuals should overcome this problem by loosening their bureaucracy in publishing the manuals. Lecturers from branch campuses should be given the opportunity to write manuals and publish them at the branch campuses. Finally, the ―Perceived Quality‖ such as images, advertising, brand names and inferences about quality are critical (O‘Neill and Black, 1996). Reputation and precise communication are very important. Students attending UiTM Dungun should have accurate information on the type, volume and quality of services available. Coupled with flexibility, this will hopefully ensures that the right services are delivered at the right time and place, with affordable fees. Thus no false expectations are created in the minds of students. While the quest for quality is obviously a continuous and difficult process, it is vital that the continuity of the Distance Learning Programme at UiTM Dungun is not hindered by failure to deliver the highest quality services.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Zainuddin Zakaria was born in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu and raised in Perak. He received his primary and secondary school education in Teluk Intan and Ipoh, Perak. In 1988, after completing his secondary school education, he continued his study in accountancy at UiTM Arau, Perlis. He graduated with a Diploma in Accountancy in 1991 and continued his education at Western Michigan University, USA in 1992.The author completed his education at Western Michigan University in 1996 with a Bachelor‘s degree in Finance and an MBA in Marketing. At present, he is a lecturer at UiTM Terengganu, Dungun campus, teachingPrinciples of Management and Channels Management. His main research area is Service Quality and Service Delivery in education, hotel and tourism industry. Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin was born in Perak and raised in Kuala Lumpur. She obtained her Diploma in Statistics (1996) and BBA (Hons.) in Operations Management (1998) from Universiti Teknologi MARA. She received her MBA from the Multimedia University in 2003. She is an Operations Management lecturer at UiTM Terengganu since 1999. She teaches operations management courses which include safety management, project management and quality management. Her research interest is quality related subjects namely service quality, quality of life and cost of quality. Currently she is completing her research on service quality at public universities in Malaysia.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

238

Zainuddin Zakari, Faizatul Akmam Amirrudin and Moktar Awang

Moktar Awang is a graduate of ACCA (Chartered Association of Certified Accountants) UK and also holds a Masters Degree in Accountancy (MACC) from UiTM (Universiti Teknologi Mara). He is presently a permanent lecturer in the Accounting Faculty at UiTM Terengganu. He has taught financial accounting, auditing, internal auditing and strategic management at the diploma and bachelor programmes at UiTM. Currently he is one of the Executive Committee Members in the secretariat of the Centre of Responsibility and Islamic Accounting (CeRIA) where he is taking the responsibility of organising consultancy services and short- course programmes. He is also actively involved in academic research and has so far has completed a number of researches which have been presented at seminars within the country. Associate Professor Dr Mohd Daud Norzaidi is a lecturer at Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. His research interests include the service quality, education management, management information systems, human resource management and strategic management which won him more than 60 invention and research awards. His research works have been published in Industrial Management & Data Systems, International Journal of Management in Education, Aslib Proceedings, International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Journal of Computer Information Systems, International Journal of Research in Education, Business & Management Quarterly Review, Humanomics, Kybernetes, International Journal of Business Systems Research, Campus Wide Information Systems, Industrial Management & Computer Security, International Journal of Services and Standards, Business Strategy Series, Global Business and Management Research, and Journal of International Business & Entrepreneurship.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Bateson, J.E.G. (1995) Managing Service Marketing, 3rd ed., Dryden Press, Fort Worth, TX. Bolton, R.N. and Drew, J.H. (1991). A Multistage Model of Customers' Assessments of Service Quality and Value. Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 17(March), pp. 375-384. Cashion, J. and Palmieri, P. (2004). The Secret is the Teacher. Available at http://www.ncver.edu.au/proj/nr0F03a.pdf Crosby, P.B. (1980). Quality is free, Mentor, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Cuthbert, P. F. (1996). Managing Service Quality in Higher Education: Is SERVQUAL theAnswer? Part One. Managing Service Quality, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 11 – 16. Ghobadian, A., Speller, S. and Jones, M. (1994). Service Quality: Concepts and Models.International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 11 No. 9, pp. 43 – 66. Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) Report (1995). How Academic Audit Works. HEQC Update. No. 6, April. Low, B. and Wilkinson, I. (2000). Taking a Position in an Industrial of Service Network: The Case of Distance Learning in Malaysia. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp 260 – 276 Mohd Rashidee Alwi (2003). Message from the Head of Education Development Centre (EDC), Prospectus of EDC, Institute of Education Development (InED), UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Perception of Distance Learning (E-PJJ) Students…

239

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Mohd Trudin Yasin. (1991). Effective Strategies in Distance Education: A Case Study of PJJ at ITM. Paper presented at Konferensi Akademik, Kajian Perniagaan dan Pengurusan, ITM Dungun, Terengganu. O‘Neill, M. and Black M. (1996), Current Quality Issues in the Northern Ireland Tourism Sector. The TQM Magazine, 8(1):15-19. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. and Berry, L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. and Berry, L. (1988). SERVQUAL:A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Customer Perceptions of Service Quality.Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 12-40. Pariseau, S.E. and McDaniel, J.R. (1997). Assessing Service Quality in School of Business. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 204 – 218. Reichheld, F.F. and Sasser Jr, W.E. (1990). Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services. Harvard Business Review, September-October, pp. 105-111. Rust, R. and Zahorik, A. (1993). Customer Satisfaction, Customer Retention and Market Share. Journal of Retailing, Vol. 69 (Summer), pp. 145-156. Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L.L. (1990). Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, Free Press, New York, NY.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 12

DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES AND THEIR EARLY 21ST CENTURY ROLE IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 

N. William Myhill1, Deepti Samant,1, David Klein,, 2, Shelley Kaplan3, María Verónica Reina3 and Peter Blanck3,  1

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Burton Blatt Institute: Centers of Innovation on Disability, at Syracuse University (BBI), USA 2 Law, Health Policy and DisabilityCenter, University of Iowa, USA 3 BBA

ABSTRACT Technological advancement has broadened educational, employment and training opportunities for students and adults with disabilities via distance education. Distance education is a prized tool of K-12 and higher education, and for vocational training and research. Advancing knowledge of accessible technology and universal design concepts 

A version of this chapter was also published in Focus on Distance Education Developments, edited by Edward P. Bailey published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research.  William N. Myhill, Senior Research Associate, BBI, Adjunct Professor of Law, Syracuse University; Deepti Samant, Research Associate, BBI; Shelley Kaplan, Director, BBI Southeast DBTAC; María Verónica Reina, Senior Research Associate, BBI; Peter Blanck, Chair, BBI, University Professor, Syracuse University. http://bbi.syr.edu/  David Klein, Director of Technology, Law, Health Policy & Disability Center  This research was funded, in part, by grants to Dr. Blanck from the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for i) ―Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Workforce Investment and Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities,‖ Grant No. H133B980042-99; ii) ―IT Works,‖ Grant No. H133A011803; iii) ―Demand Side Employment Placement Models,‖ Grant No. H133A060033; iv) ―Technology for Independence: A Community-Based Resource Center,‖ Grant No. H133A021801; and v) ―Southeast Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center,‖ Grant No. H133A060094.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

242

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al. have coincided with the distance education movement, and with a federal mandate for accessible technology under Section 508 of the amended Rehabilitation Act. However, studies of website accessibility and universal applications designed to deliver online learning question whether these tools permit equal and effective participation by people with varying disabilities. Other studies of accessible virtual knowledge communities suggest needed improvements to advance the inclusion of people with disabilities in online collaborative research and training initiatives. This chapter explores the implications of the growing distance education movement for people with disabilities. First, we review the breadth of distance learning initiatives and their benefits and challenges for learners with disabilities. Second, we discuss applicable learning theory and practice, and the relevant mandates of U.S. disability laws. Third, we evaluate likely compliance on distance learning activities with disability law and propose best practices to support distance education programs for equal access and opportunity in employment, education, and other areas by the widest number and variety of people.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION This chapter explores the implications of the growing distance education movement for people with disabilities. Technological advancement has broadened educational, employment and training opportunities for students and adults with disabilities and nontraditional students via distance education (Ex-Coach, 2006; Keller, 2006; Southeast DBTAC, 2005; Watson & Ryan, 2006). Distance education rapidly is becoming a prized tool of K-12 and higher education (Austin, 2007; Murray, 2006; Ryman, 2005; TSC&U, 2007a), and for vocational training (Keller, 2006; TSC&U, 2007b). There is growing popularity in strictly distance learning degree and certification programs in large part for their convenience (Mehta, 2007; TSC&U, 2007c). Enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) spurred K-12 educators to find innovative and alternative means of improving student learning and opportunities for the least successful children and those in rural or under-resourced areas (Boseman Public Schools, n.d.; Cognos, 2004; GAO, 2004; Hasten, 2004; Myhill, 2004). Distance education has become a popular approach (Watson & Ryan, 2006). Moreover, distance education is proving to be a money maker for many educational programs and the information and communications technology firms that serve them (Mintz, 2004). Advancing knowledge of accessible technology and universal design concepts has coincided with the distance education movement, and with a federal mandate for accessible technology under Section 508 of the amended Rehabilitation Act (Blanck, Hill, Siegel, & Waterstone, 2004). However, studies of website accessibility and applications designed to deliver online learning question whether these tools permit equal and effective participation by people with varying disabilities (NCD, 2006). A 2006-2007 study by Myhill, Cogburn, Samant, Addom, and Blanck (in press) of accessible cyberinfrastructure-enabled knowledge communities suggests needed improvements to advance the inclusion of people with disabilities in online collaborative research and training initiatives. In this chapter, first, the authors review the varieties and uses of distance education programs and their implications for learners with disabilities. Second, we explore emerging learning theory and practice for delivering distance education, best practices for instructing learners with disabilities, and their civil rights to K-12 and higher education. Third, we evaluate current distance education compliance with disability law and propose policy

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

243

initiatives and best practices for distance education programs that ensure equal access and opportunity for learners with and without disabilities.

I. DISTANCE EDUCATIONAND LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES The unique selling point of distance learning programs is the flexibility they provide to potential students in terms of schedules and physical location (Ubell, 2000; Watson & Ryan, 2006). Distance education programs provided via mail, telephone, television, and fax services have been in existence for decades (Matthews, 1999). The mainstream proliferation of computer networks supported by high data transmission speeds in the 1980s made Computer Mediated Communication among dispersed groups possible (Kock & Nosek, 2005). Advances in information and communicationstechnology, as well as hardware and software systems greatly facilitate the use of the Internet to provide distance learning programs. Today, distance learning courses utilize a range of technologies and varying degrees of access to course materials, interaction with instructors and peers, and tools to complete course requirements. K-12 and higher education recognize the inherent benefits of online learning for ―promoting 21st century skills and global citizenship.‖ (Matthews, 1999; Watson & Ryan, p. 10). In Part I we review the varieties and uses of distance education programs and their likely implications for learners with disabilities. First we review the purposes, types, and sources of distance education programs. Second, we consider the role of distance learning in the lives of people with disabilities.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A. The Breadth of Distance Education Initiatives Distance education has entered into nearly every imaginable realm of formal and informal education, training, and certification. Traditional (i.e., brick and mortar) and virtual (i.e., online only) colleges and universities offer both matriculated courses and classes for professional development (Jung, Galyon-Keramidas, Collins, &Ludlow, 2006; NCES, 2003). Public and private companies and non-profits that specialize in a particular field, such as law, teacher education, business and research skills, offer workshops and courses to meet professional development (e.g., continuing legal education, Java enterprise development certification, human subjects training), advancement, and other criteria (Lawline.com, 2006; SkillSoft, 2007; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). For instance, software application skill sets required for jobs in administrative support, publishing, accounting, payroll, software design, web design, human resources, and innumerable other positions frequently require certification in the use of specific applications (SkillSoft, 2007). State and local education agencies, including private and charter schools offering K-12 programs, provide standard curriculum and advanced placement credit via distance learning (Watson & Ryan, 2006). While most K-12 distance programs arise from brick and mortar schools, new programs are beginning to offer only a virtual experience. Trade and technical schools that prepare students to be a dental assistant, paralegal, medical transcriptionist, home inspector, or real estate salesperson among numerous other careers, offer online study and examination leading to professional certification and licensure (TSC&U, 2007b). These

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

244

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

programs, occasionally free, serve nearly any educational or training purpose that a student, school, employer, or public agency may have. In this section we review the technologies involved in distance learning, possible instructional arrangements, and the purposes or goals of varying distance learning initiatives. We find these three factors are intertwined significantly, with important implications for students with disabilities.

1. Types of technologies and instructional arrangements Moore (1989) categorized three types of interactions in traditional educational programs, which are ―learner-content,‖ ―learner-instructor,‖ and ―learner-learner‖ interaction. The degree to which each of these needs to be facilitated in a particular distance learning program, along with the desired level of interaction, are important factors in the choice of technologies and methods used to provide the learning opportunity (Parker, 1999). These programs operate on a continuum from fully synchronous (in real-time) to fully asynchronous (e.g., self-paced). Similarly, geographically distributed collaboration has three core components: people-topeople (e.g., learner-learner and learner-instructor), people-to-resources (e.g., access to datasets, shared documents, articles and meeting artifacts), and people to facilities (e.g., access to physical spaces where meetings are held) (Cogburn, 2005). The desired instructional arrangement further may dictate the necessary technologies. Choices of technology typically are made by the instructors and their employers (i.e., what technologies the school / training provider is willing and able to use) (Sherry, 1996). In some instances, the learner may have a choice. Currently the primary technologies and emerging practices used for distance education fall into one of three activities: web-based learning, synchronous learning, and virtual reality. These categories are neither mutually exclusive, nor do they operate in isolation from one another. Many distance learning programs in the United States use a mixture of technologies to conduct distance education programs and virtual classrooms. For example, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas offered a class to train personnel in Assistive Technology using a range of applications to deliver content and host interactions through email, discussion boards, streaming videos, and live web chats (Babbitt, Thoma, & Adamson, 2002). a. Web-based learning Web-based learning tools can be distinguished, in part, on the basis of their time of occurrence, that is, synchronously or asynchronously (Bafoutsou & Mentzas, 2002). Asynchronous learning opportunities are those where the human facilitator of learning does not interact with the learner in real time, and commonly include websites and email (Codone, 2004). Designing web pages that host course content is a simpler means of providing asynchronous learning opportunities on the World Wide Web (―Web‖). Such ―static webbased educational‖ methodology may include linked HTML pages, presentations, and documents, among others, in a variety of formats (Codone, 2004; Poindexter & Heck, 1999). Web-based courses offer a range of asynchronous services such as email, electronic bulletin boards, discussion forums, content management systems, mailing groups and Listservs (Hiltz & Wellman, 1997; Maher, 1999; Watson & Ryan, 2006; Zhang, Zhao, Zhou & Nunamaker, 2004). Several commercially available web-based course management tools,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

245

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

such as the Blackboard suite of products, WebCT,1 and Lotus Notes, facilitate the delivery of course content and student submissions in multiple formats (Lewis, MacEntee & YounsMaher, 2002; Storey, Phillips, Maczewski & Wang, 2002). These tools include a range of features allowing instructors to make content materials available, such as posting linked HTML documents, and uploading documents and presentations in multiple formats (e.g., Word, PDF, PowerPoint) (Lewis, et al.). In addition, they facilitate student assessment activities through the capability of developing online quizzes and tests, conducting student surveys, supporting assignment and paper submissions, and providing comprehensive gradebook tools (Blackboard, Inc., 2004; Storey, et al.). Most course management tools, such as Blackboard, allow instructors to set up online and face-to-face class discussions promoting interaction between students, and include multi-media capabilities that offer an instructor broad flexibility in the organization of a virtual classroom (Babbitt, 2003). Open source applications increasingly provide content management systems where students can collaborate asynchronously. For instance, two IT Works2 research projects at the Burton Blatt Institute—which address the i) design of accessible open source business applications and ii) effective accommodations for employees with disabilities in media industries—use Google Docs & Spreadsheets (2007) to share and edit common evolving documents (e.g., methods, findings) among the eight graduate student researchers and the Project Director. This enhances regular faculty supervision, feedback, and direction of student work.

b. Synchronous online education using multimedia Synchronous learning permits geographically distributed real time interaction, discussion, instruction, and demonstration among students and between students and the instructor. The tools of synchronous programs may include Web casts, Web conferencing, text messaging, application sharing, and others (Watson & Ryan, 2006). Web casts involve broadcasting audio and video files over the Internet using data streaming, allowing viewers to hear, view, and read data as it is being downloaded (Locatis, 2003). An advantage of Web casts is the ability to broadcast in real time with simultaneous archiving for downloads on demand (Locatis; Rowe, Harley, Pletcher & Lawrence, 2001; Xu, Fountain, MacArthur, Braunstein & Sooriamurthi, 2004). This provides a medium to record live in-class sessions for immediate broadcast or asynchronous access (i.e., replaying) to virtual classroom sessions (Xu, et al.; Rowe, et al.). Web casting systems such as BIBS, the Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System, also are able to stream videoconferences (Locatis). While Web casts traditionally were viewed as one-way technology, developments in infrastructure and network systems have led to increasingly interactive Web casts with integrated messaging capabilities, means to submit questions to presenters, and facilitation of simultaneous audio transmissions (Baecker, 2002; Schick, Kilgore, & Baecker, 2004). Similarly, Web conferencing technologies have grown vastly more user-friendly and robust, and less expensive (Osborn, 2005; Whitehead, 2005). These applications may integrate instant (i.e., text) messaging, Voice and Video over Internet Protocol, application 1

2

Blackboard and WebCT, previously supplied by independent companies, have merged under the Blackboard (2005) banner. IT Works is funded by theNational Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (U.S. Department of Education), Grant No. H133A011803.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

246

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

sharing, an interactive whiteboard, uninterrupted streaming regardless of bandwidth, and digital recording. Stand alone instant messaging applications such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ commonly offer address books and filtering tools, allow users to share files and data, and support Voice and Video over Internet Protocol conversations. Similarly, instant messaging programs are embedded into course management tools such as Blackboard (2004) and web conferencing tools such as Elluminate Live! (Elluminate, 2006). Recently academic libraries have started offering instant messaging reference services in addition to email and web-based assistance (Foley, 2002).

c. Virtual reality Virtual reality simulations, traditionally delivered through desktop applications with the help of special devices such as goggles and gloves, immerse the user in a 3-d virtual world (Samant, Myhill, & Blanck, 2006). Virtual reality simulations also can be delivered remotely to students who cannot be in the physical location of the equipment (Park, et al., 2001). Teleimmersion applications seek to merge audio and video conferencing with virtual reality environments (Leigh, 1999), to provide a collaborative space for individuals in remote locations to interact and work with each other in virtual worlds (Mortensen, et al., 2002). Motion capture avatars and annotations are capable of recording each user‘s head and hand gestures, full body motion and voice, and other users can view these avatars using their own immersive technology (Lee, Ghyme, Park, & Wohn, 1998; Mortensen et al. 2002). This allows multiple users, in remote locations, to interact and work with each other through their avatars. These tools are being used in several distance learning programs. For instance, the University of Illinois at Chicago and CentralMissouriState University held a collaborative class in which students were introduced to the culture and people of Harlem through a virtual reality application called ―Virtual Harlem‖ (Park, et al., 2001). Students recorded their opinions and actions in virtual reality through annotations that were saved and could be retrieved later. Different exercises such as allowing a group of students to explore Virtual Harlem together and allowing others to observe their actions through their avatars, permitted students at different locations to explore this recreation of Harlem in a collaborative manner. 2. Providers of distance education Providers of distance learning opportunities arise in a number of ways, such as driven by an institutional mission, mandated by a legislative body, or selected to serve a financial incentive (NCES, 2003; Watson & Ryan, 2006). These servicesfrequently are provided to reach and meet the needs of a broader, more diverse audience. This audience may have challenges accessing the services because of physical location, absence of transportation, expense, or special learning needs, among other factors, or simply may prefer the convenience of not having to leave home (NCES, 2003; Watson & Ryan, 2006). Large providers of distance education include traditional colleges and universities (both public and private), state and local K-12 education agencies, trade and technical schools, and software or business skill certification programs (NCES, 2003; SkillSoft, 2007; TSC&U, 2007b; Watson & Ryan, 2006). Federal and state agencies, their contractors, and the research groups they fund increasingly use distance education tools for training, certification, or enhanced research

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

247

collaboration. The Institute for Food Laws and Regulations (2006) at Michigan State University provides online training to earn the ‗International Food Law Internet Certificate.‘ The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.) offers online training using asynchronous streaming audio and video media including closed captioning, for healthcare providers to acquire essential knowledge for the protection of human subjects. The Southeast Disability and TechnicalAssistanceCenter (2007) funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (U.S. Department of Education) offers a variety of online educational tools largely targeting employers and business owners and providing continuing education credits in matters regarding rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Notably, in 2004 the U.S. Department of Education published its policy recommendations for use of the Internet and advancing technologies to improve public education. Among the recommendations was ―Support E-Learning and VirtualSchools,‖ wherein the Department acknowledged:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

In the past five years there has been significant growth in organized online instruction (elearning) and ―virtual‖ schools, making it possible for students at all levels to receive high quality supplemental or full courses of instruction personalized to their needs. Traditional schools are turning to these services to expand opportunities and choices for students and professional development for teachers. Recommendations for states, districts and schools include:  Provide every student access to e-learning.  Enable every teacher to participate in e-learning training.  Encourage the use of e-learning options to meet No ChildLeft Behindrequirements for highly qualified teachers, supplemental services and parental choice.  Explore creative ways to fund e-learning opportunities.  Develop quality measures and accreditation standards for e-learning that mirror those required for course credit. (U.S. Department of Education, 2004, pp. 41-42).

Watson and Ryan‘s (2006) comprehensive review of K-12 distance education initiatives found 38 states have adopted ―state-led online learning programs, significant policies regulating online education, or both.‖ (p. 6). These programs take many forms, including 1) a unit of the state education agency or board of education (e.g., Idaho Digital Learning Academy, Illinois Virtual High School), 2) an independent entity created by the state (e.g., Colorado Online Learning), 3) a separate school district (e.g., Florida Virtual School), 4) a unit of a state university (e.g., University of California College Prep, 5) cooperatives that operate in multiple states (and countries) with membership in the hundreds of schools,3 6) state led yet privately funded schools (e.g., Louisiana Virtual School), 7) and multiple charter schools (such as in Minnesota, Kansas, and Pennsylvania), among others (Watson & Ryan, 2006). They also range significantly in size, such as from 600 students (Hawaii E-School) to 68,000 students (FloridaVirtualSchool) (Watson & Ryan). Business skills training courses, such as the more than 2,000 offered by SkillSoft (2007), range comprehensively across the IT, business, desktop, legal compliance, environmental and 3

Virtual High School, Inc. (2007) has a membership of 457 schools, including one-third of Massachusetts‘ high schools, and serves over 9,000 students worldwide (Watson & Ryan, 2006).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

248

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

occupational safety, and financial skill areas, and are among the more well-established and lucrative distance education initiatives. Rapidly growing is the number of providers offering college degree programs solely via the web (TSC&U, 2007a), however, on occasion raising questions of quality. The University of Phoenix, a network of small brick and mortar campuses in 39 states, though doing the majority of its teaching online, is in federal court responding to allegations ―of fraudulently obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid,‖ and has come under fire for a16% graduation rate, racing students through course work, ―and instructional shortcuts, unqualified professors and recruiting abuses.‖ (Dillon, 2007).

B. Benefits and Concerns for People with Disabilities A 2006 United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility, in part, concluded:

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The Internet is the most vital tool to emerge in the last 50 years for enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. It offers unprecedented access to information and services, overcoming many of the obstacles that people with disabilities previously experienced. It should be easier to shop online than choose clothes from a retail outlet that you can‘t see. It ought to be easier to bank online than manoeuvre a wheelchair up the steps to the bank building. It must be possible for people with disabilities to get online, because otherwise society will suffer (United Nations, 2006a, pp. 19-20).

For the more than 20 million working age adults with disabilities, 15 million children with disabilities, and the millions of students attending any one of the 10,793 public schools (11.9% of all public schools) failing to make ―adequate yearly progress‖ for two consecutive years,4 distance education may offer hope that an affordable choice or alternative is available to facilitate their academic, technical, or professional achievement necessary to live independent and self-determined lives (Blanck & Myhill, in press; NEA, 2006; RRTC, 2005). In 2001, 48% of U.S. two- and four-year colleges and universities (both public and private) received requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities seeking to take their distance education courses. Larger and public institutions received more requests than medium/smaller and private institutions, respectively (NCES, 2003). Individuals with disabilities may have the most to gain from effective distance learning opportunities. Research consistently finds fewer successful outcomes for children with disabilities as they age through K-12 education and transition into the adult world. For instance, just 50% of all students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) graduate from high school (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Transition planning, mandated by the IDEA for students ages 16 and older who receive special education services (20 U.S.C.A. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII), 2005), frequently 4

Adequate Yearly Progress is determined by applying state-defined ―high standards of academic achievement‖ that are ―statistically valid and reliable‖ to evaluate whether all students and specific sub-groups of students (e.g., economically disadvantaged students, major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and English language learners) are making ―continuous and substantial improvement.‖ (20 U.S.C.A § 6311(b)(2)(C), 2005).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

249

lacks relevance, is poorly implemented or is ineffective (NCD, 2000a; 2000b). During the two years following high school graduation, 5.7% of students with disabilities attend a four-year college compared to 28.3% of their peers without disabilities (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, & Levine, 2005). Educational achievement and rates of employment for people with disabilities remain low compared to people without disabilities. For instance, in 2004 people with disabilities were less than half as likely to earn a bachelors degree (12.7% vs. 29.8%) and to be employed (38.3% vs. 78.6%) (RRTC, 2005). Moreover, following secondary education, services for people with disabilities become fragmented, significantly diminish in scope and availability, overly target low paying jobs, and pose social and physical barriers (Gill, 2005; NCD, 2003; Paul, 2000; Rao, 2004; Zaslow, 2005). Much like school choice and voucher programs (i.e., other alternative edicational tools with rising popularity), distance education is susceptible to significant criticisms and drawbacks (Myhill, 2004).Both present concern with 1) inconsistent or unproven effectiveness and accountability, 2) intentional or inadvertent ―creaming‖ (i.e., selection of students), 3) the absence of teacher preparation and professional development standards for the unique environments of distance education, and 4) the national shortage of highly trained special education teachers (Myhill; Watson & Ryan, 2006). Barriers to the accessibility of technologies are caused largely by three categories of problems: technical, design, and intrapersonal barriers (Wimberly, Reed, & Morris, 2004). Technical barriers occur because of either limitations in hardware (e.g., lack of computer memory) or because of a user‘s lack of knowledge about a technology's usage (e.g., no alternative strategies when an application does not work as expected). Design barriers occur when applications lack design characteristics that will make information accessible.For example, the most common barrier to university web pages is the lack of alternative text for images (Schmetzke, 2001). Intrapersonal barriers occur when the learning environment does not meet the needs of individual learner characteristics. For example, a two-hour web conference may tax the stamina of a person with chronic fatigue syndrome. Barriers inherent in the design of distance learning technologies specifically may exclude individuals with varying impairments from success in these programs. We have found that ―persons with vision, hearing, fine motor, or cognitive impairments, and learning or attention difficulties … experience the greatest barriers to effective communication when technologies demand multi-sensory interaction (e.g., unimpaired hearing, vision, attention, and fine motor skills), or permit limited forms of input/interaction (e.g., speech without closed captioning, or mouse without keyboard access) (Myhill, et al., in press). Similarly, a 2006 report sponsored by the United Nations(2006a) concluded there is global failure to provide the most basic level of web accessibility to people with disabilities. Of the 100 websites used in the study, selected from travel, finance, media, politics, and retail websites in 20 countries, most did not meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) ―Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0‖ (United Nations; W3C, 1999), widely regarded as the premier international standard (W3C, 2006). Another study by investigators with the Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (2006) identified four factors impacting the distance learning experiences of college students with disabilities: instructor characteristics, learner characteristics, design barriers, and factors affecting systems change (e.g., key stakeholder buy-in). One project found that many students with disabilities, specifically students with learning disabilities, had limited computer skills (Southeast DBTAC). Similarly, instructors differ significantly in their level of computer literacy. Investigators at four universities discovered that many faculty

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

250

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

members had limited experience using a computer, let alone with designing accessible web pages or online courses (Southeast DBTAC; University of Florida, 2007). Faculty and staff instructors may have little or no familiarity with the access needs of students with disabilities. At Blue RidgeCommunity College, a majority of instructors attending a workshop on web accessibility did not grasp even the most basic concepts of web accessibility (Southeast DBTAC, 2006). Similarly, when 98 individuals representing higher education institutions in eight Southeast states attended two one-day conferences on web accessibility, the conferencesprovided90% of them with their first exposure to the information access and technology needs of students with disabilities—despite the fact that almost 90% of participants were disability services coordinators, specialists, or directors (Southeast DBTAC). Another project discovered that many instructors had no knowledge or experience with students who had disabilities, nor did they have any idea how to provide reasonable accommodations within the classroom, in online courses, or in testing (Blue Ridge Community College, 2004). Direct one-for-one transfer of course materials into online content may create significant access barriersor fail to use the Internet in ways to enhance access to resources otherwise unavailableto students with disabilities (Southeast DBTAC, 2006). Investigators at EastTennesseeTechnologyAccessCenterfound online textbooks difficult to locate or different from course content, and observed that students with physical disabilities encountered online communication barriers with instructors. Obtaining buy-in from key educational administrators and other key stakeholders is a significant challenge to the successful adoption and implementation of policies and practices to ensure the accessibility of distance learning opportunities (Southeast DBTAC).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

II. THEORY, LAW AND PRACTICE Since the early 1990s the Internet has evolved into a major medium for communication, enabling learners to communicate at great distance in real time, or nearly real time. This evolution has corresponded with a concurrent evolution in research about learning and a rethinking of learning theory, which affects how accessibility of online learning can be perceived and approached in online learning environments. As new theories and learning practices emerge, we must test and apply them to the learning needs of all people, including those with atypical learning needs, and especially to those with disabilities. In this part, we discuss applicable social learning theory and practice emerging in the field of distance education, the relevant federal laws addressing the rights of persons with disabilities to effective distance learning opportunities, and appropriate educational services and programs for learners with disabilities.

A. Social Learning Theory and Practice in the Distance Education Age Social learning theories have had a profound effect on online learning.In these theoretical frameworks, learning is not perceived as the acquisition of a static repository of a domain of information. Instead, it is perceived as the product of individual experience as constructed

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

251

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

from immersion in a culture (Schenker & Scadden, 2002). The ability to create a knowledge structure, to define problems, and to locate needed information to address those problems are more valuable skills for students than learning a static database of information. The teacher is no longer the repository and source of information. A teacher's responsibility, then, is less as a lecturer and more as a coach, who supports and encourages students throughout their learning process (Bruner, 1996). As Brown & Gray (1995) state, ―Learning is less about absorbing information than it is about becoming a part of a community.‖ (p. 78).

1. Online learning environments Online learning environments are communication platforms that allow students to contribute to discussions and reach common understandings and shared meanings in the context of the environment (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989). As students come to understand the culture of the domain through interactivity in class discussions and activities that support multiple perspectives, and as they practice using the tools of the domain, continuing their collaboration with other learners, they reflect on the concepts they have encountered and how these concepts apply to practice. Eventually they arrive at a situated understanding of how to function in the domain (Woodfine, Nunes, & Wright, in press). For example, when learning about the concepts and theory of research methods, students may discuss the issues using a collaborative discussion board and practice combining and reframing their ideas through projects and papers, and then receive feedback from faculty and peers. Eventually they arrive at a deep, practical understanding, a constructed knowledge of particular research methods, and a theoretical schema for research methodologies in general. Online communities where learners share knowledge that they care about are sometimes referred to as communities of practice. Communities of practice have three components: 1) domain, 2) community, and 3) practice (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). The domain is the content that brings people together in a community, motivates them, and defines the boundaries and values of the community. The community sets the tone for its members by creating respect, trust, and a sense of belonging and by providing an atmosphere in which individuals can share ideas and question assumptions. The practice is the ―set of frameworks, ideas, tools, information, styles, language, stories, and documents that the community members share. … [and] the specific knowledge the community develops, shares, and maintains.‖ (Wenger, et al., p. 29). When these elements function well together, the community becomes a knowledge structure, ―a social structure that can assume responsibility for developing and sharing knowledge.‖ (Wenger, et al., p. 29). For a community of practice to function, it must embrace a diverse membership (Wenger, et al., 2002). Such communities often cross cultural boundaries. Membership may come from different nations, regions, socioeconomic classes, corporate entities, and other cultural divisions, including differing levels of ability. Although this diversity can cause misunderstanding and conflict, a community of practice that supports a diverse membership allows fertile ground for differing ideas, innovative ways of thinking about the issues people care about, and a higher level of member commitment and participation (Wenger, et al.). To enhance their value to members, communities should provide opportunities for differing levels of participation, so that members have the option to shape their participation according to their needs, abilities, and interests (Wenger, et al.).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

252

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

2. Computer-mediated communication According to Tu (2005), computer-mediated communication (CMC) provides a platform upon which a community‘s knowledge structure can exist. To achieve successful communities of practice, three critical areas of collaborative technologies should be considered: personalization, digitization, and interactivity. Personalization describes how individuals selectively present themselves in an online environment. CMC technologies allow varying levels of participation and types of technologies. Learners can connect briefly and frequently using mobile technologies or for long durations using a standard wired Internet connection. Unique CMC factors that affect personalization include 1) synchronicity versus asynchronicity, where learners can communicate in real time or according to their own schedules, and 2) communication channels, which include text, audio, and video (Tu). Personalization allows people with disabilities to present themselves in ways in which they feel comfortable (Tu, 2005). For instance, people with sensory impairments, who may take longer than others to access, process, and respond to information, can use asynchronous communication to allow themselves time to collaborate with others comfortably. Learners with visual impairments can use a screen reader to access asynchronous, text-based information from a bulletin board. Learners with learning disabilities who may not be able to respond quickly in writing to others in a learning community can take the time to edit their writing, use a spell checker, and submit their response asynchronously, or they may choose the use of a live video stream synchronously to speak their ideas, rather than rely on the written word. Digitization of content allows higher quality information to be available at increasingly faster transmission speeds. Digitization continually increases access to information in new ways (Tu, 2005). Higher quality audio and video are becoming more available in their creation and distribution, and access to this information is now possible via wireless and handheld devices, making quality information ubiquitously available to more individuals. For people with disabilities, improvements in digital technologies help the conversion of quality information to different sensory modalities and provide easy ways to create and access this information (Tu). Voice recognition systems increasingly are more robust, allowing people to convert their words to digital text accurately and with less effort. Realtime captioning is more easily provided to users of video chat or conference rooms to enable individuals with hearing impairments to participate actively in synchronous classrooms. Interactivity provides learners the ability to engage in real collaboration in learning environments through two-way communication. A learning environment affords four types of interaction: learner-instructor, learner-content, learner-learner, and learner-interface (Tu, 2005). This interactivity allows learners to provide input into the knowledge base of the learning environment, which is stored and made available to others for further interactivity and for reference. The interactive processes of sharing, retrieving, validating, and managing both new and archived knowledge (Tu) create an environment where the community synergistically helps its members acquire useful and meaningful information and skills. 3. Adaptable, accessible and universal design For CMC to create successful communities of practice, the technology must permit use by a diverse learner population, which includes people with disabilities. To understand how technologies can be made accessible, designers, developers, and content providers of the

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

253

technologies should understand the distinction between adaptable design, accessible design, and universal design. Technologies that are adapted to meet the needs of specific populations, or even individuals, are less desirable than other designs because they can be expensive, timeconsuming, and idiosyncratic. Technologies designed to be accessible provide content that can be accessed using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, and are more generally available to a wide audience.However, universally designed technologies are designed to be always accessible and can be used universally without the use of assistive technologies (Mace, 2007; Seale, 2007). Thus, universally designed technologies provide a much higher likelihood that they can be used efficiently and effectively by a diverse population. For building a community, where all individuals feel included and are full participants, adapted and accessible designs are based on the assumption that at least two different populations are present, those with disabilities (the abnormal) and those without (the normal), which can create a stigmatizing effect. On the other hand, a universally designed technology assumes a single, continuous, but diverse community, representing different characteristics and abilities (Iwarsson & Stahl, 2003).The equalizing effect of this assumption promotes equal participation among participants in a community of practice.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

B. Disability Law and Policy Landmark disability civil rights laws in the United States ushered in new eras of rights for people with disabilities, and the recognition that ―[d]isability is a natural part of the human experience [that] in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society.‖ (20 U.S.C.A. §1400(c)(1), 2005). Moreover, people with disabilities have the right to enjoy independent and self-determined lives, ―pursue meaningful careers, [and] enjoy full inclusion and integration in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream of American society ….‖ (29 U.S.C. § 701(3), 2000). Nearly three decades after the earliest of these laws (i.e., the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Congress found that individuals with disabilities are a discrete and insular minority who have been faced with restrictions and limitations, subjected to a history of purposeful unequal treatment, and relegated to a position of political powerlessness in our society, based on characteristics that are beyond [their] control … and resulting from stereotypic assumptions not truly indicative of the individual ability … to participate in, and contribute to, society. (42 U.S.C. § 12101(a)(7), 2000).

These laws, however, did not foresee the technological advances of the Internet, or the dramatic increase in distance education initiatives via the Internet. Not until the 1998 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act did laws seriously contemplate Internet accessibility. In this section, we review applicable U.S. federal and state laws, and the United Nations 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

254

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

1. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 A key goal of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was to tear down the physical and social barriers to equal opportunity for, and the full integration of, individuals with disabilities throughout society (Blanck, et al., 2004). Titles II and III, which apply to public and private post-secondary education and training schools, respectively, have obligations to remove these barriers. Barriers take many forms and impede not merely physical access (e.g., a hotel room or public restroom), but access to meaningful communication (e.g., telephone, television, email, or lecture), participation (e.g., in a classroom, board room, or parent-teacher or community association meeting), and benefit of programs and services (e.g., enrolling for social security benefits, healthcare coverage, or university courses) (Myhill, et al., in press; 42 U.S.C. § 12101, 2000).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ADA Title II requires state and local governments to ensure they do not exclude qualified persons with disabilities from their programs, services, and benefits by reason of disability (42 U.S.C. § 12132, 2000). For instance, to ensure effective communication, Title II was found to require the accessibility of state and local government web sites. In Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (2002), a federal district court in Georgia concluded that bus and transit service scheduling information on the MARTA website must be accessible to persons who are blind. When a student with a disability ―meets the essential eligibility requirements‖ for participation in or receipt of the services of state- or locallyoperated universities, colleges and trade schools, the school cannot turn the student away (§§ 12131(2)-12132). Moreover, in a letter from Adriana Cardenas in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), to the President of California State University at Los Angeles,Cardenas indicated that Title II: requiresa public college to take appropriate steps to ensure thatcommunications with persons with disabilities ‗are as effective as communications with others‘ ….OCR has repeatedly held that the term ‗communication‘ in this context meansthe transfer of information, including (but not limited to) theverbal presentation of a lecture, the printed text of a book, andthe resources of the Internet. (U.S. Department of Education, 1997; see also 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(a), 2006).

Public colleges and universities have an ―affirmative duty‖ to 1) ―make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures,‖ 2) administer services in the ―most integrated setting appropriate,‖ 3) remove architectural, communication, and transportation barriers, and 4) provide necessary auxiliary aids and services to ensure students with disabilities have opportunities equal to that of their peers without disabilities to receive services and participate in programs and activities (Blanck, Hill, Siegel & Waterstone, 2005, p. 345; Delano-Pyle v. Victoria County, 2002; 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(b)(1), 2006). For instance, a state college needs to provide alternative (e.g., text to speech, Braille) formats of course syllabi, applications, school rules, course directories, and signage to ensure that a student who is blind can enjoy, comply with, and contribute to the college‘s programs and services. The Title II entity, however, does not have to make ―modifications [that] fundamentally alter the nature of its service, program, or activity ….‖ (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d., § II-3.6100).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

255

One notable difficulty for ADA plaintiffs under Title II is the right of the states to claim sovereign immunity to suit by its citizens. The courts have agreed with states that the ADA does not constitutionally abrogate their sovereign immunity, except when an agent of the state has violated a constitutional right of the plaintiff (Tennessee v. Lane, 2004; U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIV, §§ 1 & 5; U.S. Constitution, Amendment XI). Some states have passed laws codifying the ADA and implying their own abrogation of sovereign immunity. Arizona and Virginia, for instance, have incorporated the Title II standards of the ADA into their statutes, and imply the state may consent to be sued if it engages in practices prohibited by the ADA (Arizona Revised Statutes, § 41-1492.06, 2006; Virginia Code Annotated, § 51.5-46, 2006). The majority of states have not incorporated the ADA within their statutes. The mandate of § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits the same discriminatory conduct by ―any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,‖ (29 U.S.C. § 794, 2000) also may be invoked as Title II institutions of higher education commonly receive federal funds for student aid, and in support of Pell and research grants (Miller v. Abilene Christian University of Dallas, 1981; see also Tyndall v. National Education Center of California, 1993). Likewise, Title II and § 504 are applicable to the programs and services of public schools (K-12), that is, Title II as a local government agency and § 504 as a recipient of Federal IDEA funds (Sandison v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, Inc., 1994). Qualified students with disabilities may not be denied equal access to and the benefit of these programs and services. Private colleges, universities, trade schools, and businesses may not deny a student with a disability the full and equal enjoyment of their services and facilities on the basis of disability (42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i), 2000). ADATitle III requires that ―public accommodations‖ (e.g., cinemas, department stores, restaurants, and other entities with operations that affect commerce) ensure that students with disabilities have ―full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.‖ (§ 12182(a)). Title III entities specifically include private nursery schools, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and ―other place[s] of education.‖ (§ 12181(7)(J); Guckenberger v. BostonUniversity, 1997). Title III discrimination includes the ―failure to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures‖ to accommodate a student with a disability, unless the school demonstrates that modifications would ―fundamentally alter‖ the nature of their services (§ 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii)). Although it is not settled U.S. law whether public accommodations offering services via theWeb are subject to ADA requirements, the evolving majority position indicates persons with disabilities cannot be excluded from their web-based services if the Title III entity has a nexus to a permanent physical location (Blanck, et al., 2004). The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, for instance, found that Congress intended ADATitle III to apply to public accommodations with a ―physical concrete‖ presence and not solely a virtual presence (Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines, 2002, p. 1319).

2. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Section 508, enacted through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, requires electronic and information technologies (E&IT) used by employees of the federal government who have disabilities, and utilized to provide federal services to persons with disabilities, are accessible (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)(1)(A), 2000). These products and services include federal websites, telecommunications, software, information kiosks, transaction machines, multimedia, office

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

256

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

equipment, and others (36 C.F.R. §§ 1194.4, 1194.21-.26, 2005). Additionally, federal agencies may not ―develop, procure, maintain, or use‖ E&IT that is not comparably accessible to persons with and without disabilities, unless accessibility would pose an undue burden upon the agency (§ 1194.1). Though § 508 does not apply to Title II or Title III entities, several states have adopted similar standards, in part to comply with Title II, impacting the accessibility of state and local government agency products, programs, and services for employees and members of the public with disabilities (ITTATC, 2003; 2006). The State of Indiana, for instance, passed legislation directing the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) to develop standards that comply with § 508, and which apply to all branches of state and local government (Indiana Code, § 413.1-3(1)(a), (d), 2006). The standards developed require the accessibility of ―IT equipment, software and services‖ including ―all web pages hosted by or for the state.‖ (IOT, 2005, p.1). Similarly, the State of North Carolina enacted the Persons with Disabilities Protection Act, which prohibits state and local government from denying ―the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations … on the basis of a disabling condition.‖ (North Carolina General Statutes, § 168A-6, 2006). Statute further directs the Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OSCIO) to develop and implement standards for web portals that ―allow persons to access State government services on a 24-hour basis.‖ (North Carolina General Statutes, § 66-58.20(a)). The OSCIO (2005), in turn, produced Standard 2.2.1 requiring state government full compliance with Priority 1 of the World Wide Web Consortium‘s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and Practice 2.1.9 recommending that E&IT is accessible ―to the broadest possible range of users and compatible with a wide range of assistive technologies.‖

3. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Before the 1970s, half of all U.S. children with disabilities were warehoused in state institutions, commonly offering squalid conditions and no educational opportunity (Blanck & Myhill, in press). Since 1975, the IDEA5 has entitled children with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), provided in the least restrictive environment, including the necessary individualized educational and related services, and specialized instruction to provide educational benefit (Blanck & Myhill; Myhill, 2004). Students eligible for and receiving special education services comprise 14% (or 6.6 million) of all children in U.S. schools (NCES, 2006). Children are eligible for IDEA services if identified as requiring special education or related services due to a specific learning disability, autism, a hearing or visual impairment, traumatic brain injury, an orthopedic impairment, a speech or language impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance, or a health impairment6 (20 U.S.C.A. § 1401(3)(A)(i)-(ii), 2005). Like children without disabilities, those with special needs largely are capable of academic and social achievement, high school graduation, and post-secondary educationor training, and employment (Browder & Cooper-Duffy, 2003; Cook & Gladhart, 2002; Kohler 5

6

Formerly the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), the Act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 (Katsiyannis, Yell, & Bradley, 2001). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 is the latest reauthorization of the IDEA. Health impairments are ―chronic or acute health problems‖ causing ―limited strength, vitality or alertness‖ and which ―adversely affect … educational performance.‖ (34 C.F.R § 300.8(c)(9), 2006).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

257

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

& Field, 2003). In passing the ADA, Congress found that ―the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assureequality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.‖ (42 U.S.C § 12101(a)(8), 2000). Facilitating these achievements for children with disabilities, however, requires specialized instructional methods, strategies, and materials, highly qualified special education teachers, and effective transition planning. In section C below, we discuss best practices for educating children and adults with disabilities in light of these legal mandates. Central to these services is the annual development of an individualized education plan (IEP) (Myhill, 2004). Specifically, the IEP 1) identifies the child‘s present competencies and needs; 2) articulates measurable goals and short-term objectives to remediate the needs; 3) designates specialized services, modifications, supports, and supplementary aids to implement the goals and objectives; and 4) determines the least restrictive environment(s) (LRE) in which services will be provided (Myhill). Online distance learning services provided by state or local education agencies to students receiving special education services must conform to the individual child‘s IEP. Yet distance learning may pose significant accessibility barriers. Moreover, such services run afoul of the FAPE mandate if inaccessibility impedes educational benefit or imposes costs on the familysuch as having to purchase assistive technologies, or if the services remove the student from the least restrictive or impose a more restrictive environment.

4. The 2006 Convention on the rights of people with disabilities On December 13, 2006, the United Nations(2006b) adopted a new treaty aimed to protect and promote the human rights of people with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007) (hereinafter ―Convention‖) does not create new rights but specifically prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of life. It opened for signature and ratification by Member States on March 30, 2007 (United Nations, 2007). Once twenty countries ratify the Convention, it will enter force, leading to new obligations for State Parties (Convention, Art. 4, § 1).7 The adoption of the Convention highlights a focus on ensuring access, a precept that has evolved into a fundamental principle for human rights and development. Among other provisions, the Convention contains measures making goods, services, and facilities accessible to persons with disabilities (Convention, 2007, Art. 4, § 1(f)). Particularly, it requires that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) be accessible to people with disabilities (Art. 4, § 1(g)). Prior to the Convention, human rights treaties did not include an explicit reference to new technologies. By mandating ICT accessibility, the Convention affirms that disability rights and ICT are inextricably linked and, at the same time, acknowledging ICT accessibility as a human rights issue. Under the Convention, States Parties are obligated to establish structures to support its principles. Moreover, for each State Party to the Convention the failure to ensure ICT accessibility will be considered a violation of the principle of non-discrimination. Convention sections specifically addressing ICT are presented in the Table below.

7

One hundred nations have signed the Convention, however, only Jamaica has ratified the Convention. United Nations (2007).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

258

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Non-specific provisions also contain implications for ICT development. General provisions such as the Preamble indirectly recognize the importance of accessibility to ICT in the context of enabling persons with disabilities full enjoyment of their rights (Convention, 2007, Preamble, § m, v). Although the Preamble does not establish binding obligations, it has a fundamental role in determining the object and purpose of the treaty. Similarly Article 3 establishes the foundation for the interpretation and implementation of the CRPD, indicating that accessibility is one of the Convention‘s ―General principles.‖ (Art. 3, § (f)).

Table 1. Convention Provisions Addressing ICT Article 2

Article 4

Article 9

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Article 9

Article 21

Definition of ―Communication‖ – ―includes languages, display of text, Braille, tactile communication, large print, accessible multimedia as well as written, audio, plain-language, human-reader and augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, including accessible information and communication technology.‖ ―General obligations‖ Article establishes that States Parties shall promote research and development, and the availability and use of new technologies, including ICT (Art. 4, § 1(g)). Specifies measures to ensure access to people with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to ICT, including the Internet, and to eliminate obstacles and barriers to information, communications and other services provided to the public, including electronic services (Art. 9, § 2 (g)). Promote ICT design, development, production and distribution at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost (Art. 9, §2 (h)). All provisions in the ―Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information‖ Article are relevant to ICT in virtue of Article 2. In this respect, State Parties have to ensure the right to freedom of expression and opinion and access to information on an equal basis with others and through all forms of communication. In particular, they shall urge ―private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities‖ and encourage ―the mass media,including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities.‖ (Art. 21, §§ (c)-(d)).

Articles dealing with other substantive issues invariably reference the use of ICT. Article 29‘s promotion of participation in political and public life delineates measures to guarantee the right to vote, with voting procedures facilitated by new technologies where appropriate (Convention, 2007, Art. 29, § (a)). Article 30, which addresses participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sports, outlines the obligation to ensure intellectual property laws do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier for people with disabilities when accessing cultural materials (Art. 30, § 1(c)). Removing such barriers often involves the use of ICT devices. For instance, digitalizing printed materials is an effective way to provide

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

259

access to copyrighted texts for people with visual disabilities (Art. 21(b)). Finally, Article 32, § 1(d), which focuses on international cooperation, advocates the provision of technical and economic assistance where appropriate, such as encouraging the sharing of technologies to connect persons with disabilities with accessible and assistive technologies. The implementation of the Convention in the realm of ICT will face numerous challenges, as indicated by a large gap between today‘s accessibility difficulties and the goals established by the Convention. The majority of the potential State Parties to the Convention have developed programs addressing a variety of disability issues contained in itsprovisions with relative success, but only a few have adopted and enforced accessible design standards for ICT (UNESCO, 2005).

C. Instructing Learners with Disabilities

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Students with disabilities are a diverse population with varying abilities, interests, impairments and skills such as information and computer literacy. As such, students with disabilities have significantly differing needs and require individualized methods for equal and accessible distance learning opportunities. Investigators at the Southeast DBTAC (2005) concluded that effective distance learning opportunities for students with disabilitiesis less about their abilities, however, and more about the accessibility of the course itself. Facilitating successful academic achievements for children with disabilities, and transition, post-secondary education, training, and employment for adults with disabilities requires specialized instructional methods, strategies, materials, modifications and accommodations, highly qualified special education teachers for K-12, effective transition planning, and instructors/faculty with the will and way to meet individual learner needs. We review the range of needs, and best practices for meeting the needs, in general terms, beginning with children, followed by transition, and adults with disabilities.

1. Children The IEP, and the goals, strategies, arrangements, and modifications necessary to implement the IEP, are essential for meeting the unique individual needs of each child with a disability. Here is a glimpse at a fragment of the considerations necessary in preparing the IEP, in light of the diversity of children served under the IDEA: 



  

Participating in a small group discussion for the child who is deaf; hearing instructions from the physical education teacher above the din of the gymnasium for a child using a hearing aid; Comprehending grade level reading assignments for the child with a learning disability in reading; preparing written reports for the child with a learning disability in written expression; Calculating large numbers or measuring angles for the child who is blind; following the band conductor‘s directing for a child with low vision; Managing impulsive outbursts for the child with traumatic brain injury or a serious emotional disturbance; Measuring distances and volumes for the child with dramatic Tourette‘s based tics;

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

260

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.   

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.



Maintaining focus for instructions, reading, test taking, and other tasks, amid typical classroom distractions, for the childwith Attention Deficit Disorder; Making a class presentation for a child with a speech impairment; Going on a class fieldtrip to a unique and remote geological area for a child with an orthopedic impairment caused by Cerebral Palsy; Partnering on projects with other students for a child with Asperger‘s Syndrome.8

Research demonstrates that the least restrictive environment (LRE) and applicable best practice for the vast majority of children with disabilities is to provide their educational services in inclusive classrooms (Frattura & Capper, 2006; Jenkins, Antil, Wayne, & Vadasy, 2003; McLeskey & Waldron, 2007; Mortweet, Utley, Walker, Dawson, Delquadri, Reddy, et al., 1999; NCD, 1994; Rea, McLaughlin, & Walther-Thomas, 2002; Waldron & McLeskey, 1998). Inclusion refers to the provision of specialized educational services to a child with a disability in the general education classroom (Waldron & McLeskey; Rea, et al.). Some children require a more individualized service for a part of the school day, such as physical therapy, counseling, or direct intensive reading instruction in a one-to-one (more restrictive) setting (NCD, 1996; Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2003). Additional evidence-based practices include 1) instructional strategies, such as small group instruction, modeling and strategy training, teaching metacognitive strategies, peer tutoring, cooperative learning, direct instruction, and functional instruction; 2) progress monitoring and curriculum-based measurement; and 3) behavioral techniques, such as precision requests, response costs, behavior momentum, self monitoring, and applied behavior analysis (Browder & Cooper-Duffy, 2003; Cook & Schirmer, 2003; Deno, 2003; Jenkins, et al., 2003; Landrum, Tankersley & Kauffman, 2003; Mortweet, et al., 1999; Vaughn & Linan-Thompson, 2003). We discuss a few of these practices as applicable in Part III (infra). The highly qualified special education teacher is an essential member of the team that develops the IEP, oversees its implementation, documents the child‘s progress, and reports back to the team (Browder & Cooper-Duffy, 2003;Myhill, 2004; Vaughn & LinanThompson, 2003). Since passage of the NCLB, this is one who 1) has full state certification or licensure as a special education teacher; 2) has at minimum a bachelor‘s degree (20 U.S.C.A. § 1401(10)(B)(iii), 2005); and 3) meets applicable state requirements or demonstrates competence in the core subject matters s/he teaches to children with special needs (§ 1401(10)(B),(D)). Teachers new to the profession further must demonstrate subject matter and teaching skill competence via passing a ―rigorous‖ state assessment, typically leading to certification or licensure (20 U.S.C.A. § 7801(23)(B), 2005).

2. Transition Transition services are ―a coordinated set of activities for a [student] with a disability‖ that are ―focused on improving [her/his] academic and functional achievement … to facilitate … movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment … , continuing and adult education, adult 8

The lead author, formerly a special education teacher (1989–2001), regularly addressed these considerations by facilitating the development and implementation of IEPs for hundreds of children with diverse disabilities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

261

services, independent living, or community participation.‖ (20 U.S.C.A. § 1401(34)(A), 2005). The services must be based on the student‘s needs, ―taking into account … strengths, preferences, and interests; and includ[ing] instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.‖ (§ 1401(34)(B)-(C)). Transition services must begin no later than age 16 and are developed as part of the IEP (§ 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII)). Effective transition services are essential for developing the skill base and confidence necessary to live a productive, successful, and independent life (Center for Workers with Disabilities, 2006). Student-centered planning, vocational assessment, parental involvement, knowledge of legal rights, responsibilities and community resources, developing social and self-advocacy skills, and a personal understanding of strengths, weaknesses and needs are important components of effective services (Center for Workers with Disabilities; Connecticut Transition Task Force, 2001; Kohler & Field, 2003). Among evidence-based and highly promising practices for effective transition are

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

        



comprehensive transition planning beginning at age 14 educational decisions based on the student‘s interests, goals, and visions benefits planning and education paid work experiences interagency collaboration job search skills self-awareness and reflection ensuring jobs and training are in place upon high school graduation utilizing the Social Security Administration ―cash and counseling‖ waiver, which permits consumer control over public funds to directly select and purchase individualized support services maintaining transition services for one year beyond high school and into employment or post-secondary education or training (Center for Workers with Disabilities; Kohler & Field).

3. Adults The primary aim of education and training for adults has become learning how to learn. Research on adult education in the last two decades indicates career and vocational educators place a over-emphasis on discrete job skills needed in the prevailing job market, which are likely to be obsolete in a decade (Allsopp, Minskoff, & Bolt, 2005; Sizoo, Agrusa, & Iskat, 2005). More importantly, adults must develop the skills to learn new skill sets, and be lifelong learners, as employers and the job market will demand their willingness and ability to adapt (Sizoo, et al.). The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) is one successful tool for measuring strategic learning skills, described as 1) learning skills (i.e., information processing, test-taking, identifying main ideas), 2) willingness to learn (i.e., motivation, attitude, anxiety), and 3) self-regulation of learning (i.e., time management, self-testing, concentration, study aids) (Sizoo, et al.). Learning how to learn requires the willingness and self-regulation to identify weaknesses and focus attention on improving those skills. Learning how to manage anxiety improves

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

262

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

performance significantly (Sizoo, et al., 2005). Adults with learning disabilities attending college benefit from appropriate accommodations of materials and instruction, but may not be prepared to learn new skills in the absence of essential learning strategies (Allsopp, et al., 2005). Colleges and universities today cater to a broader range of student abilities, including students with varying disabilities, and are involved in instructing learning strategies to assist struggling students (Allsopp, et al.). Internships, or experiential education, akin to paid work experiences for students with disabilities transitioning out of high school, may be another important strategy. College students with disabilities typically have less work experience and are less likely to complete college than their peers without disabilities (Wagner, et al., 2005; Zafft, Sezun, & Jordan, 2004). Faculty and administrators in higher education, enhance academic and employment outcomes for students with disabilities through developing experiential learning opportunities in their community, and by offering course credit for these experiences (Zafft, et al.).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

III. THE STATE OF ACCESSIBLE DISTANCE EDUCATION Students with disabilities have engaged in distance education throughout the development of these activities. Likely, distance education, whether via mail, fax, phone, another former common method, or most recently the Internet, have experienced accessibility challenges that may preclude their success. Prior to the Internet, distance learning was such a comparatively small practice that it fell largely under the radar of most educators and students. Only since distance learning transitioned and grew exponentially via the Internet into today‘s wide range of such opportunities, has the question arisen whether these methods violate federal disability laws. In these early days of the 21st century, great numbers of formal education programs operate profitable businesses, provide public services as agents of the state or local government, or function under governmental mandates. In these capacities, educatorsare responsible to ensure equal opportunities and appropriate educational services to persons with disabilities. In this part, we review the experiences of learners with disabilities in light of these mandates, analyze whether these programs comply with federal law, and provide research-based best practices for proceeding with distance learning opportunities that offer meaningful benefit to both persons with and without disabilities.

A. Experiences of Learners with Disabilities Students with disabilities are gaining opportunities via online distance learning and Internet resources to have individualized learning experiences (e.g., assignments and feedback), extra practice, automated progress tracking and reporting to invested partners (e.g., teachers, parents), active participation in cooperative learning activities, and to review simulations and skill modeling (Arrigo, 2005; Smith & Meyen, 2003). As a tool the Internet is more cost effective to school systems compared with assistive technologies, because of its multiple applications for multiple learners rather than singular use for specific users (Smith & Meyen). The Web provides vast, inexpensive or free resources for the instructors of students

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

263

with disabilities, including electronic journals and databases, synchronous and asynchronous communication tools (e.g., email, chat, public assignment or event calendaring), tools for organizing information, multimedia literacy instruction, and multimedia portfolio assessment (Smith & Meyen). Persons with vision, hearing, fine motor, or speech impairments, attention or seizure disorders, learning and other disabilities nonetheless find that many ICTs pose barriers to their full participation in online activities. Persons with visual impairments do not get a structural overview of a web page when first encountering it as do persons without visual impairments (Arrigo, 2005). Graphic images that convey imbedded information are not accessible to persons with significant visual impairments (Burgstahler, Corrigan, & McCarter, 2006). Audio conferencing may exclude persons with speech impairments, or persons with hearing impairments in the absence of closed captioning (Burgstahler, Corrigan, & McCarter, 2004; Klein, et al., 2003). Video presentations without closed captioning or a live sign language interpretor (onsite or remotely) pose these same barriers to persons with hearing impairments (Burgstahler, et al., 2006). Instant messaging poses barriers to persons with fine motor impairments in their hands and persons with specific learning disabilities in reading or writing (Arrigo, 2005). The cost of voice recognition software, alternative input devices, screen readers, and other assistive technologies, which provide access for persons with varying impairments, may be prohibitive (Arrigo, 2005). Many online courses provided by postsecondary institutions are not accessible (Arrigo, 2005). Multiple studies have shown that university web pages, including institutions in the UK and Ireland, generally are not accessible, using baseline metrics such as Bobby, an automatic accessibility checker (Rowland, 2000; Jackson-Sanborn, Odess-Harnish & Warren, 2002; Kelly, 2002; Schmetzke, 2001; Thompson, Burgstahler, Comden, 2003). Though most postsecondary institutions in a 2003 study indicated they provide online distance education, ―only 18% indicated that they followed established accessibility guidelines to a major extent; 28% followed guidelines to a moderate extent, 18% followed guidelines to a minor extent, 3% did not follow guidelines at all, and 33% did not know if the Web sites adhered to accessibility guidelines.‖ (Burgstahler, et al., 2004, p. 237). One of the difficulties in producing accessibility for online instruction comes about because faculty members often are responsible for getting their content on the Web. Although these faculty are experts in their fields, they usually do not have time or motivation to learn evolving methods for creating accessible online content (Cook, & Gladhart, 2002; Edmonds, 2004). Further, instructional technology leaders on college campuses regard user support and budget as higher priorities (Cook, & Gladhart, 2002). Currently, faculty are able to upload their content to content management systems (CMSs), such as WebCT/Blackboard. Since these web applications are created and maintained by third parties, some web-access decisions are removed from university personnel. Although generally these CMSs are becoming more accessible, some barriers remain (e.g., WebCT) (IllinoisCenter for Instructional Technology Accessibility, 2006). Many accessibility barriers can be avoided by careful planning of course design. Ideal for this purpose are use of universal design principles. For instance, universally-designed learning opportunities may employ ―materials in varying and redundant media,‖ offer ―alternative means to demonstrate knowledge/skill acquisition (e.g., written, spoken, work product, demonstration, … PowerPoint or SMART board),‖ or include geographicallydistributed learning via ―distance learning modules, web-conferencing, instant messaging,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

264

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

chat classrooms, VoIP (Voice and Video over IP), Listservs, and email distribution/submission of materials).‖ (Myhill, 2006, p. 4). Additionally, accessible Web casts can be created through the ability to stream different forms of media simultaneously. The Independent Living Research Utilization program (ILRU) holds regular Web casts and provides live captioning with each Web cast to make the session accessible to participants with hearing impairments. Archived Web casts are supported by documents containing complete transcriptions of the real time sessions (ILRU, 2006). The Law, Health Policy & Disability Center (2005; 2006) at the University of Iowa similarly conducts numerous Web casts and interactive trainings with real time captioning and free archived transcripts, such as for the Disability Program Navigator Leadership Audio Conference Series, and the Center‘s many other online trainings and discussions. Using cascading style sheets as the basis for accessible Web page templates, ―standardizes and simplifies the formatting of each page,‖ reduces time to build a new accessible page, and simplifies navigation for a person using a screen reader or a keyboard without a mouse (Burgstahler, et al., 2006). Alternative text tags provide screen readers access to information imbedded in graphics (Klein, et al., 2003). Accessibility features increasingly are integrated into online course management tools. Blackboard (2004) software solutions are designed to comply with Section 508 regulations as well as the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Standards. Inbuilt features allow users to make their course content and presentations more accessible using alternative text tags, multiple presentation formats, client-side server maps, and accurate markup features such as header elements. Moreover, the tools are compatible with assistive technologies, including screen readers. Researchers are developing adaptive course management tools tailored to individual learners (Cirillo, Cozzolino, De Santo, Marsella, &Salerno, 2000), such as the Agent Based Intelligent Tutoring System (ABITS), which acts as a remote private tutor (Capuano, Marsella, &Salerno, 2000). These intelligent tutoring systems are configured to deliver appropriate content using virtual training assistants that provide ad-hoc modifications based on learner preferences (Cirillo, et al, 2000).

B. Distance Education Compliance with Disability Law The enormous variety of purposes, uses, and applications for distance learning that reach students with and without disabilities of all ages provides more opportunities to evaluate legal compliance than this chapter can address. We narrow our focus to address three scenarios with present or emerging high incidence distance education programs, in light of common disabilities and applicable law.

1. State Supported online high school curriculum courses Scenario: Melanie, a high school student with grade level cognitive abilities, has limited use of hands caused by muscular lock-up and slurred speech due to cerebral palsy. Melanie receives special education and related services under the IDEA including speech-language services, occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, and use of assistive technologies to facilitate written and spoken communication. She intends to enroll in an advanced civics

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

265

elective available through the state‘s virtual high school for credit toward high school graduation. The IEP team agrees the course is appropriate to meet her personal academic goals toward applying for admission into a competitive liberal arts college. The course is designed to be self-paced and reached from any computer with Internet access. It entails extensive reading and writing assignments using specified online and/or library resources. The course includes mini multimedia lectures, online progress quizzes, and major assignments submitted via email. Melanie will be one of 30 students taking the course around her state. The instructor provides general information to the students via a Listserv, and is reachable during set office hours via phone or email. Distance education services provided to K-12 students with disabilities are not likely to meet their special needs if constructed and delivered outside of the IEP. One size fits all instruction was the staple pedagogy that consistently failed children with disabilities prior to the IDEA, and continues to do so when appropriate individualized services are not provided (Cook & Schirmer, 2003; 20 U.S.C.A. § 1400(c)(2) & (5), 2005). The cornerstone of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) is the IEP, prepared annually by a multidisciplinary team of experts,9 and which must be ―reasonably calculated‖ to meet the student‘s specific educational needs (Myhill, 2004, p. 1057; Board of Education v. Rowley, 1982, pp. 206-207). Violations of the FAPE occur when services a) are not free, b) are not appropriate, c) do not meet state educational standards; d) do not comport with the student‘s IEP, e) are not provided under public supervision, f) do not comply with IDEA procedural safeguards, g) do not occur in the LRE, or h) do not provide educational content commensurate with that provided to grade level peers without disabilities (Myhill, 2004). Common violations occur when significant evidence indicates the design or implementation of the IEP was insufficient (Myhill, 2004). The online civics course is an excellent way for Melanie to experience advanced curriculum appropriate to her individualized educational needs. Enrollment and participation may not require fees from Melanie, though an exchange of funds may occur between her local high school and the virtual (state) high school. If the online course typically is attended by students away from school, and Melanie will need speech recognition technology to produce and edit her writing along with an alternative input device to access and move through the course materials, the IEP team must designate these needs in her IEP and provide them without cost. The IDEA procedural safeguards are due process rights provided to the student with a disability and her family ensuring they have notice, the right to participate in all educational decisions, access to applicable records, and meaningful opportunities to question and challenge the appropriateness of the IEP and accuracy of records (20 U.S.C.A. § 1415, 2005). They are intended to keep the family in the loop and the school accountable. A well designed and implemented IEP prepared in collaboration among the members of the multidisciplinary team is the best evidence that procedural safeguards have been followed. Given the civics course follows and provides state approved curriculum and assessment, and is facilitated and monitored by the state such as through a highly qualified teacher, the course likely will comply with the IDEA. Though the course is provided to Melanie in 9

The team commonly includes the student‘s parent or guardian, school administrator, special and general education teachers, and providers of any anticipated or currently provided related services (such as occupational or physical therapy, speech language services, counseling, and assistive technology) (Myhill, 2004).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

266

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

isolation from her peers without disabilities, if the IEP team agrees, this would not deny her services in the least restrictive environment because it offers a highly normalizing learning opportunity that is self-paced by preference and not segregated without choice.

2. Municipal college degree programs for working adults Scenario: Raymond, a local book store clerk, is deaf. He reads lips with average accuracy and uses American Sign Language (ASL) for the majority of his daily face-to-face communications. Raymond‘s speech is significantly lacking in articulation as is typical of a person who has been deaf since birth. Raymond was accepted into the CityCollege library sciences program as a qualified individual with a disability meeting the essential eligibility requirements. The public college receives federal funding through grants and student loans. As he works a regular 8 to 5, Monday to Friday shift, he will participate in the College‘s working adults degree program, which provides many of the courses Raymond will need after regular business hours or via online distance learning. In the first year of Raymond‘s studies he will take general credit courses required of all CityCollege students, such as English and History, as well as introductory courses in the School of Library Science. The courses largely are self-paced and reached from any computer with Internet access. They entail extensive reading and writing assignments using specified print materials. Compared to the often large sections of most first year courses, the evening and distance courses average 20 to 40 students. All of Raymond‘s first semester courses require a class meeting once per week, either in person or via web conference, where the instructor and students engage in discussion of course subject matter. This also is an opportunity for students to meet, form study groups, and raise questions to the instructor. Title II of the ADA and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act require CityCollege to ensure their communications with Raymond ―are as effective as communications with other[]‖ students (28 C.F.R. § 35.160(a), 2006). The College must 1) ―make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures,‖ 2) provide services in the ―most integrated setting appropriate,‖ 3) remove communication barriers, including those posed by the design of the web resources, and 4) provide necessary auxiliary aids and services to ensure Raymond has ―an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of‖ City College (Blanck, et al., 2005, p. 345; U.S. Department of Education, 1997; 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(b)(1)). The College, however, does not have to make modifications that ―fundamentally alter the nature‖ of their programs and services (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d., § II-3.6100). The online college courses are a beneficial public service to students with and without disabilities in the community. As a student who is deaf, class discussions (in-person or online), communications with the instructor, media presentations (e.g., class video), and audio web course materials, for instance, must be provided to Raymond in an alternate format, that is as equally effective for him as the audible components of these activities for his peers. Whether attending the weekly class in person or via web conference, the College must provide real time closed captioning or ASL translation for all such communications. Notably, both closed captioning and ASL translation are reasonable accommodations and/or necessary auxiliary services with costs to be borne by the College, not Raymond. Web conferencing applications must have the capacity to display live captioning provided by a third party, or real time videoASL translation. Web based course materials, such as audio/video media clips, must provide concurrent captioning or a complete transcript of the audio content. The College cannot require that Raymond attend weekly classes in a separate

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

267

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

location, such as where the ASL Translator is located. He must have a meaningful opportunity to join his peers in an integrated setting. Additionally, CityCollege must accommodate Raymond‘s need to communicate with his class peers (again whether in person or via web conference), in a manner ensuring equality of communication. This may take the form of his signing to a translator who then speaks or writes/types out his communication in real time. It may be reasonable to permit Raymond extra time to speak in person or in class more slowly. Similarly, it may be more effective for Raymond to type out his own messages via instant messaging or for a speech synthesizer to enunciate. Importantly, the instructor must not dissuade Raymond from meaningful participation by virtue of his requiring extra time for communication, but may consider all available possibilities for the mutually optimal method. Given the range of reasonable accommodations, it is unlikely the College could be held accountable to purchase a speech synthesizer. These accommodations are not likely to ―fundamentally alter the nature‖ of Raymond‘s courses, such as to preclude their availability to him, as they largely are technological extensions of the College‘s already existing course web conferencing system. The availability of ASL translators has become a common and widely accepted practice under ADA.

3. Business providing skill training and certifications Scenario: Eleanor is two years out of high school, providing administrative support for a local insurance agency. She transitioned into the full-time position after working part-time with the company during high school. Eleanor has minimal vision, whereby she can identify shadows and some patterns, but is not able to discriminate faces, pictures, or words. Eleanor is a skilled typist. She uses a standard keyboard for word processing along with a screen reader and headset for reading back what she has written to check its accuracy. She also uses the screen reader to browse the Internet and read email. Eleanor is proficient at reading and typing Braille. The office has a new claims adjuster position opening in the near future and Eleanor has expressed strong interest in the position to her employer. The essential job functions will require that she develop a few new skill sets, including client interviewing, auditing, and business writing. She was referred to a private company, Stellar, that offers trainings specifically for these skills, among many others, online via distance learning. Stellar is a business engaged in substantial interstate commerce providing several hundred classroom and distance learning courses. Stellar has its headquarters in another state, but a significant online presence. The online option is convenient for her and many others with and without disabilities, who do not live near the headquarters. Eleanor intends to register for the three courses she requires and take the classes via distance learning. She will pay the complete costs of the courses herself. Stellar‘s web based distance courses are completely self-paced and accessed from the Internet. They entail extensive reading of online textual material, preparing some written reports, taking online quizzes and tests. The materials frequently are enhanced with multimedia examples. The courses do not have assigned instructors; however, staff are available via phone, email, and instant messaging to provide technical assistance. As a Title III public accommodation, Stellar cannot deny Eleanor the full and equal enjoyment of their services on the basis her disability (42 U.S.C. § 12182(a)-(b), 2000). Stellar is obligated to make reasonable modifications to their procedures, practices, and

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

268

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

policies necessary to accommodate Eleanor‘s unique needs as a person with a significant visual impairment. Eleanor, attending these courses in the evenings while at home, will use her own computer and Internet access, and will supply her own screen reader and headset. Stellar must ensure that its distance learning materials are compatible with screen readers so that Eleanor effectively can navigate the course content. This includes providing alternative text for all essential content that the screen reader otherwise cannot access, namely graphics. Additionally, essential content provided only via video media require full text-based descriptions. None of these modifications are likely to ―fundamentally alter‖ the nature of Stellar‘s services as they are common variations on the already web-based course materials. Moreover, compared with the two prior scenarios, the costs of assistive technologies and services under Title III falls largely on the consumer.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

C. Emerging Best Practices and Policy Recommendations With increasing integration of the Internet and Web in education, several best practices have emerged to ensure and facilitate accessibility in online courses. ―[U]niversally designed technologies provide for input and interaction in multiple alternative and equally effective ways (e.g., keyboard, mouse, or voice input; visual graphic or text output).‖ (Myhill, et al., in press). The IDEA supports universally designed technology, ―as a vehicle for maximizing curricular accessibility for all students, including those with disabilities‖ (Downing, 2006, p.71). The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST, 2006) suggests the following Universal Design for Learning guidelines: a) multiple means of representation (i.e., both technical and content presentation), b) multiple means of expression (i.e., ways for student to represent knowledge), and c) multiple means of engagement (i.e., addressing affect and motivation). Developing a course to be accessible from the onset is less expensive and easier to design than trying to modify or redesign existing inaccessible course materials (Burgstahler, et al., 2006). Creating accessible web page templates and cascading style sheets, to be used as the framework to create all distance learning courses by an institution, can facilitate compliance with accessibility standards (Burgstahler, et al.). People with disabilities often know what does and does not work for them. Meaningful involvement of students with disabilities is essential for identifying specific barriers to their full participation in distance learning activities (Blue RidgeCommunity College, 2004). Administrators and faculty can demonstrate their respect for student expertise and time by providing course credit, tuition reduction, or stipends commensurate with the time required to evaluate distance education materials and to make recommendations for overcoming barriers (Blue Ridge Community College, 2004; Southeast DBTAC, 2006). Hands-on training and lab demonstrations are effective methods for developing staff awareness of the access needs of students and faculty with disabilities, and developing skills in creating accessible distance learning opportunities (Southeast DBTAC, 2006; University of Florida, 2007). Blue RidgeCommunity College (2004) developed The Faculty Resource Guide to Removing Information and Education Barriers to Students with Disabilities (2004), to increase awareness about accessible ICT and the impact of different disabilities on a student‘s ability to function successfully in an academic setting. When faculty and web

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

269

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

designers are trained to focus on the needs of the user, the accessibility of the end product is much higher (University of Florida, 2007). Designers must understand the range of barriers (e.g., fine motor, visual, stamina, hearing, attention, memory, and others) for students with disabilities that arise with online learning opportunities, and how these affect course content, presentation, and web page formatting (Klein, et al., 2003; Samant, et al., 2006). For example, people with visual disabilities need descriptions for graphics; adequate space around links might be necessary for people who have fine motor difficulties using a mouse, and high rates of flickering or motion on a web site may induce a seizure for persons with seizure disorders, or prove highly distracting for persons with Attention Deficit Disorder (Klein, et al.; Wall & Sarver, 2003). Placing questions at the end of a course segment, rather than at the end of a module (i.e., comprised of multiple segments), eases the strain on students with cognitive disabilities, such as traumatic brain injury, to focus on and retrieve relevant information (Southeast DBTAC, 2006). Providing proactive technical assistance to instructors for making websites and online learning opportunities accessible, such as specific onsite or telephone consultation, the creation of templates and online tutorials, archiving workshops, training materials, and curricula online is strongly recommended (Southeast DBTAC, 2006; University of Florida, 2007). Obtaining buy-in from educational administrators and other key stakeholders is vital to the successful adoption and implementation of policies and practices to assure ICT accessibility. Active involvement and support from key faculty and administrators can provide a high level of necessary visibility (Southeast DBTAC, 2006;University of Florida, 2007). It is also important to identify and focus on ―Agents of Change.‖ Priority should be given to reaching those stakeholders whose positions (e.g., information technology specialists, dean/director of information technology, department chair) allow them to have an immediate impact on the accessibility of websites and online courses (Southeast DBTAC, 2006).

CONCLUSION Vast technological advancement rapidly is broadening the reach and diversity of distance learning opportunities for students of all ages, needs, and abilities. Federal and state initiatives are redefining educational policy and practice, and provide generous support to these programs with significant funds. Private distance education enterprises are among the most sophisticated and profitable providers of the job skill trainings in greatest demand. U.S. disability law and policy mandate people with disabilities have the same rights to independent and self-determined lives, to pursue meaningful careers, and to enjoy full participation and integration in the political, economic, educational, and social mainstream as persons without disabilities. Universal design principles offer a framework for the design of distance learning technologies and services that provide effective access and meaningful benefit to the most diverse range of learners. Public and private educators and businesses must ensure their programs and services provide equal benefit to diverse learners with disabilities. In so doing, society on the path to tearing down the last of the physical and

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

270

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

attitudinal barriers that historically have isolated and discriminated against people with disabilities.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Access Board (Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board). (2005). Electronic and information technology accessibility standards. 36 C.F.R. part 1194, http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines, Co., 227 F.Supp.2d 1312 (S.D. Ga. 2002). Allsopp, D.H., Minskoff, E.H. & Bolt, L. (2005). Individualized course-specific Strategy instruction for college students with learning disabilities and ADHD: Lessons learned from a model demonstration project. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 20(2), 103-118. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (―ADA‖). 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq. (2000). Arizona Revised Statutes. (West 2006). Title 41. State government. Arrigo, M. (2005). E-learning accessibility for blind students.In Recent Research Developments in Learning Technologies. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Multimedia and Information & Communications Technologies In Education (A. Méndez-Vilas editor). Formatex. Assistive Technology Act of (2004). 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 3001-3007 (2005). Austin, K. (2007, February 28). Classes to go digital with new podcast service. Daily Orange. Babbitt, B.C. (2003). Features of effective graduate degree training in assistive technology at a distance. Proceedings of the Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2003/proceedings/142.htm. Babbitt, B., Thoma, C. & Adamson, G. (2002). University training programs in assistive technology via distance education. Proceedings of the Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www. csun.edu/cod/conf/2002/proceedings/116.htm. Baecker, R. (2002). Highly interactive webcasting with structured archives. Poster presented at the ACM 2002 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, New Orleans, LA, at http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/papers/rbaecker_CSCW2002.pdf. Bafoutsou, G. & Mentzas, G. (2002). Review and functional classification of collaborative systems. International Journal of Information Management, 22(4), 281-305. Boseman Public Schools. (n.d.) PLATO general information. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from http://www.bozeman.k12.mt.us/curriculum/Plato.html. Blackboard, Inc. (2005, February 28). Blackboard and WebCT complete merger. Retrieved July 21, 2007, from http://www.blackboard.com/webct. Blackboard, Inc. (2004). Blackboard academic suite, at http://library.blackboard.com/ docs/as/bb_academic_suite_brochure_single.pdf. Blanck, P., Hill, E., Siegel, C.D. & Waterstone, M. (2004). Disability civil rights law and policy. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West Publishers. Blanck, P., Hill, E., Siegel, C.D. & Waterstone, M. (2005). Disability civil rights law and policy:Cases and materials. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West Publishers.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

271

Blanck, P. & Myhill, W.N.(in press).The Care of children with disabilities: Legal and publicpolicy perspectives. In Chicago Companion to the Child. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Blue Ridge Community College. (2004). Disability services faculty handbook. Retrieved March 1, 2007 from: http://www.sedbtac.org/ed/abouted/blueridge/index.html. Board of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982). Browder, D.M. & Cooper-Duffy, K. (2003).Evidence-based practices for students with severe disabilities and the requirement for accountability in ―No Child Left Behind.‖ Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 157-163. Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 32-42. Brown, J. S. & Gray, E. S. (1995). The people are the company. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from http://www.fastcompany.com/online/01/people.html. Bruner, J. S. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Burgstahler, S., Corrigan, B. & McCarter, J. (2006). Steps toward making distance learning accessible to students and instructors with disabilities. Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, 11(1). Available at http://www.rit.edu/%7Eeasi/itd/itdv11n1/ brgstler.htm. Burgstahler, S., Corrigan, B. & McCarter, J. (2004). Making distance learning courses accessible to students and instructors with disabilities: A case study. Internet and Higher Education, 7, 233-246. Capuano, N., Marsella, M. & Salerno, S. (2000). ABITS: An Agent Based Intelligent Tutoring System for distance learning. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Adaptive and Intelligent Web-Based Education Systems, Montreal, Canada, June, 17-28. Center for Applied Special Technology (―CAST‖). (2006). What is Universal Design for Learning? Retrieved March 13, 2007 from: http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html Center for Workers with Disabilities. (2006, July). Transition for youth with disabilities: A look at state programs, progress, and promising practices. Washington, DC: APHSA. http://cwd.aphsa.org/publications/docs/Transition_for_Youth_with_Disabilities_FINAL. pdf. Cirillo, F., Cozzolino, A., De Santo, M., Marsella, M. & Salerno, S. (2000). A metadata based distance learning platform. Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 1, 44-48. Codone, S. (2004). Reducing the distance: A study of course websites as a means to create a total learning space in traditional courses. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 47(3), 190-199. Cogburn, D.L. (2005). Diversity matters, even at a distance: Evaluating the impact of computer-mediated communication on civil society participation in the World Summit on the Information Society. Information Technologies and International Development, 1(34), 15-40. Cognos. (2004, June 9). Cognos and TIES deliver performance management solutions to K12–K-12 application to support information requirements of No Child Left Behind Act. Canada Newswire Ltd. Connecticut Transition Task Force. (2001). Building a bridge from school to adult life for young adults with disabilities in Connecticut: A transition manual for students. Available at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/DEPS/special/BuildingABridge.pdf.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

272

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (―Convention‖). (2007, March 30 opened for signature). Available at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/documents/ tccconve.pdf. Cook, B.G. & Schirmer, B.R. (2003).What is special about special education? Overview and analysis. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 200-205. Cook, R.A. & Gladhart, M.A. (2002). A survey of online instructional issues and strategies for postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, 8(1). Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.rit.edu/ ~easi/itd/itdv08n1/gladhart.htm. Delano-Pyle v. Victoria County, 302 F.3d 567, 575 (5th Cir. 2002). Deno, S.L. (2003). Developments in curriculum-based measurement. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 184-192. Dillon, S. (2007, February 11). Troubles grow for a university built on profits. New York Times, at A1. Downing, J.A. (2006). Media centers and special education: Introduction to the special issue. Intervention in School & Clinic, 42(2), 67-78. Edmonds, C.D. (2004). Providing access to students with disabilities in online distance education: Legal and technical concerns for higher education. American Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 51-62. Education for All Handicapped Children Act. (1975). Pubic Law 94-142, Nov. 29, 1975, 89 Stat. 773. Elluminate, Inc. (2006). Elluminate live! – lite edition. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://elluminate.com/sales/datasheets/LiteEdition.pdf. Ex-coach-Tech a win for student athletes. (2006, December 7). eSchool News. Foley, M. (2002). Instant messaging reference in an academic library: A case study. College and Research Libraries, 63(1), 36-45. Frattura, E. & Capper, C.A. (2006). Segregated programs versus integrated comprehensive service delivery for all learners. Remedial and Special Education, 27(6), 355-364. Gill, M. (2005). The myth of transition: Contractualizing disability in the sheltered workshop. Disability & Society, 20(6), 613-623. Google. (2007). Google docs & spreadsheets tour. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en/tour1.html. Government Accountability Office (―GAO‖). (2004, September 23). No Child Left Behind Act: Additional assistance and research on effective strategies would help small rural districts. GAO-04-909. Washington, D.C., at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04909.pdf Guckenberger v. Boston University, 974 F. Supp. 106 (D. Mass. 1997). Hasten, M. (2004, September 20). Filling rural teacher posts no easy task: Small tax base means smaller salaries. Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Hiltz, S. R. & Wellman, B. (1997). Asynchronous learning networks as a virtual classroom. Communications of the ACM, 40(9), 44-49. Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility. (2006). WebCT Accessibility Interest Group – List of accessibility issues. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.disability.uiuc.edu/cita/collaborate/webct/problems.php. Independent Living Research Utilization Program. (2006). Webcasts—frequently asked questions. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.ilru.org/html/training/webcasts /FAQ.html.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

273

Indiana Code. (West 2006). Accessibility standards, §§ 4-13.1-3 et seq. Indiana Office of Technology (―IOT‖). (2005, July 1). Information technology policy (ITP) 02-1. Available at http://www.in.gov/iot/pdfs/policies/ITP_02-1_Assistive_Technology_ Standards.pdf. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (―IDEA‖). 20 U.S.C.A. §§ 1401 et seq.(2005). Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Public Law 108-446, Dec. 3, 2004, 118 Stat. 2647(2004). Institute for Food Laws and Regulations. (2006). Certificate program. Retrieved March 14, 2007, from: http://www.iflr.msu.edu/Certificate-program.htm. Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (―ITTATC‖). (2003, April). National assessment of state E&IT accessibility initiatives. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.ittatc.org/laws/report_2.php. ITTATC. (2006, January). Overview of state accessibility laws, policies, standards and other resources available on-line. Retrieved March 15, 2007 from http://accessibility. gtri.gatech.edu/sitid/stateLawAtGlance.php. Iwarsson, S.& Stahl, A. (2003). Accessibility, usability, and universal design—Positioning and definition of concepts describing person-environment relationships. Disability and Rehabilitation, 25(2), 57-66. Jackson-Sanborn, E., Odess-Harnish, K. & Warren, N. (2002). Web site accessibility: A study of six genres. Library Hi Tech, 20(3), 308-317. Jenkins, J.R., Antil, L.R., Wayne, S.K. & Vadasy, P.F. (2003). How cooperative learning works for special education and remedial students. Exceptional Children, 69(3), 279-292. Jung, L.A., Galyon-Keramidas, C., Collins, B. & Ludlow, B. (2006). Distance education strategies to support practica in rural settings. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 25(2), 18-24. Katsiyannis, A., Yell, M.L. &Bradley, R. (2001). Reflections on the 25th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Remedial and Special Education, 22(6), 324334. Keller, B. (2006). NCATE accredits its first online teacher-training program. Education Week, 26(11), at 12. Kelly, B. (2002, September-October). Webwatch: An accessibility analysis of UK University entry points. Ariadne, 33. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.ariadne. ac.uk/issue33/web-watch/. Klein, D., Myhill, W.N., Hansen, L., Asby, G., Michaelson, S. & Blanck, P. (2003). Electronic doors to education: Study of high school web accessibility in Iowa. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 21(1), 27-49. Kock, N. & Nosek, J. (2005). Expanding the boundaries of E-Collaboration. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 48(1), 1-9. Kohler, P.D. & Field, S. (2003).Transition-focused education: Foundation for the future.Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 174-183. Landrum, T.J., Tankersley, M. & Kauffman, J.M. (2003).What is special about special education for students with emotional or behavioral disorders? Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 148-156. Law, Health Policy & Disability Center. (2006). 2006 disability program navigator leadership audio conference series. Retrieved March 19, 2007, fromhttp://disability .law.uiowa.edu/dpn/audio/2006_dpn_leadership_ac.html.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

274

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Law, Health Policy & Disability Center. (2005). Archives. Retrieved March 19, 2007, from http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/lhpdc/archives/index.html. Lawline.com. (2006). Online continuing legal education. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.lawline.com/index.html. Lee, C., Ghyme, S., Park, C. & Wohn, K. (1998). The control of avatar motion using hand gesture. Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Virtual reality software and technology, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2-5, 59-65. Leigh, J. (1999). A review of tele-immersive applications in the CAVE research network. Proceeding of Virtual Reality. Lewis, B., MacEntee, V. & Youngs-Maher, P. (2002). Software compare and contrast: Blackboard, WebCT and Lotus Notes, a Panel discussion. IS2002 Information Science + IT Education Conference, Cork, Ireland. Locatis, C., Fontelo, P., Sneiderman, C., Ackerman, M., Uijtdehaage, S., Candler, C. (2003). Webcasting videoconferences over IP: A synchronous communication experiment. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 10(2), 150-153. Mace, R. (2007). About UD: Universal design principles. Raleigh. NC: Center for Universal Design. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from http://www. design.ncsu.edu/cud/aboutud/ principles.htm. Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, 225 F.Supp.2d 1362 (N.D. Ga. 2002). Matthews, D. (1999, September). The origins of distance education and its use in the United States. The Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.thejournal.com/ articles/14278. McLeskey, J. & Waldron, N.L. (2007). Making differences ordinary in inclusive classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, 42(3), 162-168. Mehta, S. (2007, February 4). New K-12 elective: Class online. Los Angeles Times, at A1. Miller, S.M. & Miller, K.L. (1999). Using instructional theory to facilitate communication in Web-based courses. Educational Technology & Society, 2(3). Retrieved February 5, 2007, from http://ifets.massey.ac.nz/periodical/vol_3_99/miller.html. Miller v. Abilene Christian University of Dallas, 517 F. Supp. 437 (N.D. Tex. 1981). Mintz, J. (2004, August 17). Enterprise: Law school profits from classroom-web mix – bricks-and-mortar studies blend with Internet use for California bar exam. Wall Street Journal, at B3. Moore, M.G. (1989). Three types of interaction. American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2). Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol3_2.htm# editorial. Mortensen, J., Vinayagamoorthy, V., Slater, M., Steed, A., Lok, B. & Whitton, M.C. (2002). Collaboration in tele-immersive environments. Eighth Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environments. Mortweet, S.L., Utley, C.A., Walker, D., Dawson, H.L., Delquadri, J.C., Reddy, S.S., et al. (1999). Classwide peer tutoring: Teaching students with mild mental retardation in inclusive classrooms. Exceptional Children, 65(4), 524-536. Murray, C. (2006, November 29). FLVS debuts forum for virtual teachers: Monthly forum encourages educators to share best practices, knowledge. eSchool News.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

275

Myhill, W.N. (2004). No FAPE for children with disabilities in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: Time to redefine a free appropriate public education. Iowa Law Review, 89(3), 1051-1091. Myhill, W.N. (2006). The future for universal design in improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Unpublished Issue Brief (National Council on Disability Solicitation No. 05-01) (on file with author). Myhill, W.N., Cogburn, D.L., Samant, D., Addom, B. & Blanck, P. (in press).Accessible cyberinfrastructure-enabled knowledge communities in the disability community. Assistive Technology Journal, 18. National Center for Education Statistics (―NCES‖). (2003). Distance education at degreegranting postsecondary institutions: 2000-2001 (NCES 2003-017). Available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003017.pdf. NCES. (2006). The condition of education: Participation in education: Indicator 8 – children with disabilities in public schools. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2006/section1/indicator08.asp. National Council on Disability (―NCD‖). (2006, December 19). Over the horizon: Potential impact of emerging trends in information and communication technology on disability policy and practice. Washington, D.C., at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/ 2006/pdf/emerging_trends.pdf. NCD. (2003). People with disabilities and post-secondary education: Position paper. Washington, D.C., at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2003/education.htm NCD. (2000a). Transition and post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities: Closing the gaps to post-secondary education and employment. Washington, D.C., at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2000/pdf/transition_11-1-00.pdf. NCD. (2000b). Back to school on civil rights. Washington, D.C., at http://www.ncd.gov/ newsroom/publications/2000/pdf/backtoschool.pdf. NCD. (1994, December 30). Inclusionary education for students with disabilities: Keeping the promise. Washington, DC. Available at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/ 1994/pdf/inclusion.pdf. National Education Association (―NEA‖). (2006). Data on school districts not making adequate yearly progress (AYP). Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.nea.org/esea/images/AYP-State-Lists-2005-Jan4A.pdf. No Child Left Behind Act. (2001). Public Law 107-110, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1425. North Carolina General Statutes. (West 2006). Electronic access to state services, Ch. 66, Art. 11B. North Carolina General Statutes. (West 2006). Persons with Disabilities Protection Act, Ch. 168A. Office of the State Chief Information Officer (―OSCIO‖) (2005). North Carolina statewide technical architecture: Application domain. Available at http://www.ncsta.gov/docs/ Principles%20Practices%20Standards/Application.pdf. Osborn, A. (2005, September 29). What is web conferencing and why has it become integral in today‘s business world. WebConferencingZone. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.web-conferencing-zone.com/what-is-web-conferencing.htm Park, K.S., Leigh, J., Johnson, A.E., Carter, B., Brody, J. & Sosnoski, J. (2001). Distance learning classroom using Virtual Harlem. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

276

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Parker, A. (1999). Interaction in distance education: The critical conversation. Educational Technology Review, 1(12), 13-17. Paul, S. (2000). Students with disabilities in higher education: A review of the literature. College Student Journal, 34(2), 200-211. Poindexter, S.E. & Heck, B.S. (1999). Using the Web in your courses: What can you do? What should you do? IEEE Control Systems Magazine, 19(1), 83-92. Rao, S. (2004). Faculty attitudes and students with disabilities in higher education: A literature review. College Student Journal, 38(2), 191-198. Rea, P.J., McLaughlin, V.L. & Walther-Thomas, C. (2002). Outcomes for students with learning disabilities in inclusive and pullout programs. Exceptional Children, 68(2), 203222. Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq.(2000). Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics (―RRTC‖). (2005). 2004 disability status reports. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, at http://adaptiveenvironments.org/documents/2004_Disability_Status_Report.pdf Rowe, L.A., Harley, D., Pletcher, P. & Lawrence, S. (2001). BIBS: A lecture webcasting system. BMRC Technical Report. Rowland, C. (2000). Accessibility of the Internet in postsecondary education: Meeting the challenge. Paper presented at the Universal Web Accessibility Symposium 2000, October 31, WebNet World Conference in the WWW and Internet, San Antonio, TX. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.webaim.org/articles/meetchallenge/ Ryman, A. (2005, November 14). More ‗attend‘ virtual schools. Arizona Republic, at 1A. Samant, D., Myhill, W.N. & Blanck, P. (2006). Workplace accommodations: Improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Unpublished Issue Brief (National Council on Disability Solicitation No. 05-01) (on file with authors). Sandison v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, Inc., 863 F. Supp. 483 (E.D. Mich. 1994). Schick, R., Kilgore, R. & Baecker, R. (2004). Talking in class: Using spatial audio collaboration to enhance interactive webcasts. Retrieved February 11, 2007, from http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~rschick/docs/epaudio.pdf Schmetzke, A. (2001, April). Online distance education – ―Anytime, anywhere‖ but not for everyone. Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, 7(2). Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv07n2/axel.htm Seale, J. (2007). The development of accessibility practices in e-learning: An exploration of communities of practice. ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology, 12(1), 51-63. Sherry, L. (1996). Issues in distance learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunication, 1(4), 337-365. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://carbon. cudenver.edu/~lsherry/pubs/issues.html Sizoo, S. L., Agrusa, J.F. & Iskat, W. (2005). Measuring and developing the learning strategies of adult career and vocational education students. Education (Chula Vista, Calif.), 125(4), 527-538. SkillSoft. (2007, March). Course directory. Available at http://www.skillsoft.com/catalog/ Catalogs/SkillSoft_Catalog_March_2007.pdf Smith, S.J. & Meyen, E.L. (2003). Applications of online instruction: An overview for teachers, students with mild disabilities, and their parents. Focus on Exceptional Children, 35(6), 1-15.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

277

Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (―Southeast DBTAC‖). (2005). Promising practices in information technology accessibility in K-12 education in the southeast region, at www.sedbtac.org/ed/edaction/promising_practices_K12.doc Southeast DBTAC. (2006). Promoting the use of accessible information technology in higher education settings, at http://www.sedbtac.org/ed/edaction/pp_postsecondaryabbreviated. doc Southeast DBTAC. (2007). Training. Retrieved March 14, 2007, from http://www. sedbtac.org/webcourses.php?idpg=12 Storey, M.A., Phillips, B., Maczewski, M. & Wang, M. (2002). Evaluating the usability of web-based learning tools. Educational Technology & Society, 5(3). Retrieved February 6, 2007, from http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_3_2002/storey.html. Thompson, T., Burgstahler, S. & Comden, D. (2003). Research on web accessibility in higher education. Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, 9(2). Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv09n2/contents.htm Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509 (2004). Trade Schools, Colleges & Universities (―TSC&U‖). (2007a). Distance learning schools directory. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from http://www.distance-learning.ca/. TSC&U. (2007b). Trade schools directory. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from http://www.tradeschools.net/. TSC&U. (2007c). Online degree Q & A. Retrieved March 8, 2007, from http://www.tradeschools.net/articles/online-degree-article.asp. Tu, C.H. (2005). From presentation to interaction: New goals for online learning technologies. Educational Media International, 42(3), 189-206. Tyndall v. National Education Center of California, 31 F.3d 209 (4th Cir. 1993). Ubell, R. (2000). Engineers turn to e-learning. IEEE Spectrum, 37(10), 59-63. U N E S C O. (2005, December). Workshop on ICT and persons with disabilities: Summary report. Organized on the occasion of the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Tunis, Tunisia 16 November 2005). Available at http://portal.unesco.org/ci/fr/files/21052/11382869031report_ict_pwd_en.pdf/report_ict_ pwd_en.pdf United Nations. (2006a, November).United Nations global audit of Web accessibility. London: Nomensa. United Nations. (2006b, December 16). Depositary notification (C.N.1236.2006.TREATIES1, at http://untreaty.un.org/English/CNs/2006/1201_1300/1236E.pdf. United Nations. (2007). The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Opening for signature. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/signature.shtml. U.S. Constitution, Amendment XI. Suits Against States. U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIV. Citizenship; Privileges and Immunities; Due Process; Equal Protection; Apportionment of Representation; Disqualification of Officers; Public Debt; Enforcement. U.S. Department of Education. (1997, April 7). Letter to Dr. James Rosser, President of California State University at Los Angeles, from Adriana Cardenas, Team Leader, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, http://www.rit.edu/~easi/law/csula.htm U.S. Department of Education. (2004). Toward a new golden age in American Education— how the Internet, the law and today‘s students are revolutionizing expectations: National

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

278

N. William Myhill, Deepti Samant, David Klein et al.

Education Technology Plan 2004. Washington, D.C.http://www.ed.gov/ about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/theplan/NETP_Final.pdf. U.S. Department of Education. (2006, April). 26th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004, Vol. 2. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Protecting human subjects training. Retrieved March 14, 2007, from http://www.hrsa.gov/humansubjects/. U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.). The Americans with Disabilities Acttitle II technical assistance manual. Retrieved March 15, 2007, from http://www.ada.gov/taman2.html University of Florida. (n.d.). Accessibility. Retrieved March 7, 2007, from www.at.ufl.edu/accessibility/accessibility_cd/index.html Vaughn, S. & Linan-Thompson, S. (2003). What is special about special education for students with learning disabilities? Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 140-147. Virginia Code Annotated. (West 2006). Title 51.5. Persons with disabilities. Virtual High School, Inc. (2007). VHS member profile. Retrieved March 11, 2007, from http://www.govhs.org/Pages/AboutUs-Home W3C. (1999, May 5). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. Retrieved March 7, 2007, from http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/ W3C. (2006). WAI mission and organization. Retrieved October 14, 2006, from http://www.w3.org/WAI/about.html Wagner, M., Newman, L., Cameto, R., Garza, N. & Levine, P. (2005, April). After high school: A first look at the postschool experiences of youth with disabilities (NLTS2). Available at http://www.nlts2.org/pdfs/afterhighschool_report.pdf Waldron, N.L. & McLeskey, J. (1998). The effects of an inclusive school program on students with mild and severe learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 64(3), 395-405. Wall, P.S. & Sarver, L. (2003). Disabled student access in an era of technology. Internet and Higher Education, 6, 277-284. Watson, J. & Ryan, J. (2006). Keeping pace with K-12 online learning. Evergreen Consulting Associates. Available at http://www.nacol.org/docs/Keeping%20Pace%20with%20K12%20Online%20Learning%202006.pdf Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Whitehead, B. (2005, November 12). What is web conferencing and the benefits it provides? WebConferencingZone. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.web-conferencingzone.com/4049-web-based-conferencing.htm Wimberly, L., Reed, R. & Morris, M. (2004). Postsecondary students with learning disabilities: Barriers to accessing education-based information technology. Information Technology and Disabilities, 9(1), 1-18. Retrieved March 6, 2007, from http://www.rit.edu/~easi/itd/itdv10n1/wimberly.htm Woodfine, B. P., Nunes, M. B. & Wright, D. J. (in press). Text-based synchronous e-learning and dyslexia: Not necessarily the perfect match! Computers & Education. Xu, M., Fountain, M., MacArthur, S., Braunstein, M. & Sooriamurthi, R. (2004, November). Experience in developing a mobile course portal. Proceedings of the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education. Washington, D.C.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Distance Education Initiatives and Their Early 21st Century Role in the Lives…

279

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Zafft, C., Sezun, S. & Jordan, M. (2004). Making experiential education accessible for students with disabilities. Institute Brief, 19. Available at http://www. communityinclusion.org/publications/pdf/ib19.pdf Zaslow, J. (2005, June 30). When disabled children get too old for public education. Wall Street Journal, at D1. Zhang, D., Zhao, J.L., Zhou, L. & Nunamaker, Jr., J.F. (2004). Can e-learning replace classroom learning? Communications of the ACM, 47(5), 75-79. 34 C.F.R. Part 300. (2006). Assistance to states for the education of children with disabilities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

In: Distance Education Editor: Claudia F. MacTeer

ISBN: 978-1-61728-858-6 © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 13

A DISCOURSE ON THE PROBLEMS, PROSPECTS, AND PROGRESS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY 

Princely Ifinedo1,*and Nwachukwu Prince Ololube2,† 1

Department of Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä, Building – Agora 5, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland 2 Department of Applied Sciences of Education, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT Distance education can be described as the application of teaching and learning methods to overcome spatial and temporal constraints. Information communication technologies (ICT) are becoming an important enabler of distance education. ICTenabled education, which is synonymous with distance education, is growing rapidly in many parts of the world, including developing countries in Africa. In this chapter, the researchers discuss distance education problems and progressives initiatives in Africa using Nigeria as an exemplar. A brief discussion of the socio-economic context of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular is presented. This is followed by a discussion of some of the generic problems facing the spread or diffusion of distance education in Nigeria. Next, we highlight key challenges confronting distance education in Nigeria and offer recommendations to the policy makers in that regard. Finally, we conclude the chapter and offer future research directions.



* ý

A version of this chapter was also published in Focus on Distance Education Developments, edited by Edward P. Bailey published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. It was submitted for appropriate modifications in an effort to encourage wider dissemination of research.

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

282

Princely Ifinedo

INTRODUCTION Distance education is the use of a variety of media, including information communication and technologies (ICT) ―to provide and/or improve access to good quality education to large numbers of people either because they missed the opportunity earlier in life or because their present socio-economic and family circumstances would not permit them to acquire education through the formal school system‖ (Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001, p.108). For the purposes of this chapter, we limit ourselves to distance education in the context of ICT. A number of studies discussing distance education using ICT have appeared in the literature (Leidner, and Jarvenpaa, 1993; Barker, 2002; Tavangarian et al., 2004; Ifinedo, 2006), but very few researchers (e.g., Mutula, 2003; Pityana, 2004; Mac-Ikemenjima, 2005; Ololube et al., 2006) have focused attention on the issue from the perspectives of developing countries. This chapter fills this gap in the literature as it attempts to contribute to the distance education literature from the perspective of a developing country in Africa, i.e., Nigeria. The discussions in the chapter will be beneficial to policy makers in the country and comparable countries in the region. Importantly, the chapter uses a framework to delineate the general problems facing the diffusion of distance education in Nigeria, and it is hoped the taxonomy will be relevant to future theories in this area of research. In particular, this discourse complements others (Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001; Mutula, 2003; MacIkemenjima, 2005; Yusuf, 2006) in the literature.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CONTEXTUAL ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA A recent World Bank Report asserts that countries in Africa remain ―the world‘s biggest development challenge. More than 314 million Africans nearly twice as many as in 1981 live on less than $1 a day. Thirty-four of the world‘s 48 poorest countries, and 24 of the 32 countries ranked lowest on the United Nations Development Programme‘s Human Development Index, are in Africa. More than 3 million Africans are killed each year by HIV/AIDS and malaria, diseases that, combined, are estimated to cost more than 1 percentage point of Africa‘s per capita growth each year‖ (World Bank Report, 2006). The report also notes that most African countries are heavily indebted. The focus of this discourse will not be on the whole of Africa; rather we will limit its scope to one country on the continent, i.e., Nigeria, which is the most populous country on the African continent (CIA: World Factbook, 2006). Nigeria is a developing country; as such, it shares the same characteristics as those underscored in the World Bank Report above. Table 1 illustrates a few socio-economic indicators for two countries each from Africa and Western Europe. The location of Nigeria on the map of Africa (BBC World, 2007) is shown in Figure 1. Nigeria, like most African countries, has fared poorly on the various indices used in assessing a country‘s readiness to participate in information age (UNPAN 2005, Ifinedo, 2005b, Ifinedo and Uwadia, 2005). For example, Ifinedo (2005b) estimates Nigeria‘s and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa‘s e-readiness to be around 0.255 and 0.0266, respectively. Other ―information age readiness‖ indices have yielded analogous results (UNPAN 2005). Further, commentators, including Ojo (1996) and Ifinedo and Uwadia (2005) among others, have suggested that unfavorable socio-cultural factors in developing countries may negatively

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education…

283

impact the diffusion of ICT-enabled initiatives and projects. Ojo (1996) asserts that ICT and other technology-based activities will thrive better in societies that have a mechanistic view of the world, unlike in African societies where informality thrives. Cultural factors have been found to negatively impact the adoption, implementation, use, and diffusion of ICT in developing countries around the world (see, e.g., Rose and Straub, 1998; Ifinedo, 2005a; 2006).

THE PROSPECTS AND ROLE OF ICT USE ON DISTANCE EDUCATION Most nations across the globe invest heavily in education because it produces unquantifiable benefits for individuals and the society as a whole (Nwachukwu, 1994; Tavangarian et al., 2004; Ololube, 2006a, b). Education can be offered through two main means: a) face-to-face, b) open and distance education. In the face-to-face format, there is no separation between the instructor and the learner. In contrast, the open and distance learning framework does not require a physical presence between the instructor and the learner (Barker, 2002). Essentially, distance education is described as the application of teaching and learning methods to overcome spatial and temporal constraints. Furthermore, distance education can be carried on using information and communication technologies (ICTs) or by correspondence – in this case, course materials are delivered to the learners in textual formats. For the purposes of this article, we synonymously use ―distance education‖ with ―distance education through ICT‖.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Table 1. Socio-economic indicators for selected countries from Africa and Western Europe Country

Region

Life Expectancy (years) 46.7 58.9 78.4

GDP per capita

Internet Users

Africa Africa Europe

Literacy % of population 68% 40.2% 99%

Nigeria Senegal The UK

US$1000 US$1700 US$29,600

750,000 (2003) 225, 000 (2003) 25million (2002)

France

Europe

99%

79.6

US$28,700

22million (2003)

Source: CIA: World Factbook (2006).

Figure 1. Map of Nigeria Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Electric Production billion (kW) 19.85 (2002) 1.74 (2002) 395.9 billion (2003) 528.6 billion (2002)

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

284

Princely Ifinedo

Open and distance education is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria (Nwachukwu, 1994; Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001). Nigerians have engaged in distance education - the correspondence format - as a means of accessing basic information and tertiary education (Commonwealth of Learning International (2001). In the past, a lot of Nigerians have benefited from education obtained by correspondence from such providers as The Rapid Result CollegeandExamSuccessCorrespondenceCollege (Yusuf, 2006). Recently, the various arms of government in Nigeria, including the federal and state governments have begun to realize the importance of ICT in the provision of education in the country (Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001; Ololube, 2006a; Ololube et al., 2006; Ifinedo, 2005a). To that end, a shift of attention to distance education through ICT is beginning to gain prominence (Mac-Ikemenjima, 2005). [We refer to ICTs as systems that allow data to be processed, stored, shared, and transmitted over networks. Examples of ICT include computers, telecommunications systems, and the Internet]. In fact, ICTs are indispensable and have been accepted as an important ingredient for delivering quality education in industrialized societies (Barker, 2002; Ifinedo, 2006). As some commentators have noted, the pervasiveness in the use of ICT products, especially in the educational sector in knowledgeable nations, is correlated with the socio-economical developments of nations (Nwachukwu, 1994; Yusuf, 2005; Ololube, 2006a, b). In Nigeria, distance education through ICT can help increase the reach of educational facilities to all nooks and corners of the country. The Nigerian educational sector is regulated and less amenable to innovation (Ololube, 2006a; Ololube et al., 2006). Through distance education hinged upon ICT, both instructors and learners in the country could gain new insights and thinking. ICT can facilitate open and flexible learning opportunities for Nigerians (Salawudeen, 2006; Ololube, 2006a). Educational institutions across the world have been adopting ICT for teaching and learning in an effort to encourage a collaborative learning environment (Ifinedo, 2006), andNigeria stands to gain fromadoptionin this area as well (Mac-Ikemenjima, 2005; Ololube et al, 2006). ICT use has leveraged performance and innovation in the educational sector of developed countries (Barker, 2002); without a doubt, poorer societies can avail themselves of this resource as they seek to integrate their countries into an increasingly globalized world where knowledge (and its utilization) is becoming an increasingly vital component for economic growth and survival. Mutula (2003, p.7) comments, ―E-learning [ICT-enabled distance learning] provides a cost-effective way of providing education and preparing [the population] to participate in global information society.‖ The report by Commonwealth of Learning International (2001, p.109-110) underscored the benefits of distance education for Nigerians to include the following:    

Alleviation of capacity constraints Provision life-long and life-wide education Development of social (civic) literacy Education of the citizenry to remove illiteracy and poverty

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education…

285

Human capital problems - Poverty - Low literacy levels - Poor IT skills & technical ability

Institutional problems - Organizational problems - Cultural problems - Attitudinal (social) problems

Diffusion of distance education using ICT

Infrastructural problems - Poor Internet access & low bandwidth - High cost of ICT services - Lack of investments in ICT - Poor power generation

Source: (G8 DOT Force, 2001; UNPAN, 2005). Figure 2. The problems facing distance education using the Internet in Nigeria

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

THE PROBLEMS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION DIFFUSION IN NIGERIA In this section, we discuss the generic problems facing the diffusion of distance education in Nigeria. The framework illustrated in Figure 2 is used to guide our discourse. It draws upon developmental reports of notable bodies, including the G8 DOT Force (2001), UN ICT Task Force (2004), and UNPAN (2005). These bodies have used a similar model or framework to describe the problems faced by developing societies in spreading ICT-based initiatives. In brief, the broad categories of factors believed to be hindering efforts of developing societies in using ICT products for development include the following: 1) infrastructural problems, i.e. poor information and telecommunication technologies facilities; 2) institutional problems; and 3) human capital problems. Specifically, UNPAN (2005) highlighted poverty, low levels of literacy, lack of adequate infrastructure, the high cost of ICT services, lack of investments, poor institutional structures, absence of international cooperation, and lack of security (in that order)as the major barriers to achieving the information society for developing countries.

Human Capital Problems As previously noted, Nigeria is poor and indebted (World Bank Report, 2006). The dire economic situation for both the country and its population exacerbates their inability to make use of ICT products especially those related to educationally related initiatives (Ololube, 2006b). The cost of a PC in Nigeria is six times the monthly wage of an average worker. The cost of subscribing to a telephone line or owning one is beyond the reach of an average citizen. The same is true for the procurement of Internet access in Nigeria; ordinary citizens find it difficult to own such services (Ifinedo and Uwadia, 2005; Ifinedo, 2006). In the same vein, the Nigerian educational sector is constrained by a lack of funding (Ololube, 2006a, b; Yusuf, 2006). Thus, it is not uncommon to read how limited financial resources have stalled some notable ICT-enabled initiatives in the Nigerian educational sector (Bolaniran and Ademola, 2004; Ifinedo and Uwadia, 2005). The issue of scarce resources in Nigeria harks

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

286

Princely Ifinedo

back to the unfavorable contextual socio-economic prevailing in the country. Notably, huge sums are spent serving foreign debts (Ogwumike, 2002). Further, Nigeria lacks qualified information technology (IT) professionals (Ojo, 1996; Oyebisi and Agboola, 2003) because Nigerian universities do not graduate enough skilled IT professionals to match its current ICT needs (Oyebisi and Agboola, 2003; Ifinedo, 2005a). Oyebisi and Agboola (2003) notes that the highest enrollment in the University for Science and Technology in Nigeria between 1991 and 1998 was 0.31 per 1000 and only 0.05 per 1000 students earned a postgraduate degree in the field. Additionally, the human capital problems in Nigeria are compounded by illiteracy, which incidentally is rife in the country, i.e., about 30% of the population is unable to read and write (Oyebisi and Agboola, 2003; CIA: World Factbook, 2006; Ifinedo, 2005b).

Institutional Problems

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Effective organizational skills are needed to maintain the vision of delivering education using ICT (Commonwealth of Learning International, 200; Bolaniran and Ademola, 2004; Ololube, 2006b). One might be tempted to call the role of policy makers and administrators in the educational sector in Nigeria into question. Do they understand want it takes to initiate and deliver education using ICT facilities? The reality is that functionaries in developing countries lack the necessary expertise to manage new innovation, including the implementation and delivery of ICT-enabled education (Mac-Ikemenjima, 2005). In general, culture and attitude are also major constraints; Nigerians like other Africans do not have a mechanistic view of the world (Ojo, 1996; Ifinedo, 2005a, b). Commenting on the barriers to distance education using ICT in Nigeria, Mac-Ikemenjima (2005) notes ―resistance to change from [the Nigerian] traditional pedagogical methods to more innovative, technology based teaching and learning methods, by both students and academics‖ as a major problem facing such initiatives in the country (see also Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001)

Infrastructural Problems As is the case with the rest of Africa, Nigeria‘s internet access is poor (Ifinedo, 2005b; ITU, 2006). As of 2005, there were about 3 million internet users in a country of 140 million inhabitants – this is less than 1% of the population! Only recently did a few countries in Africa procure bandwidths greater than 10 million bps (Anonymous, 2002). Previously, many countries in Africa, including Nigeria,had bandwidths between 64,000 bps and 256,000 bps due to high international tariffs and lack of circuit capacity in the region (Anonymous, 2002; Internet World Stats, 2004). Investments in the telecommunications sector used to be very low on the African continent, but it is now changing for the better (Anonymous, 2002; ITU, 2006; Ifinedo, 2005b). Computers and affordable Internet access are two vital facilities required for distance education, but with such dire statistics, it remains to be seen how progress can be made. Another major infrastructural constraint in Nigeria is the issue of inadequate power generation and supply (please see Table 1).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education…

287

PROGRESSIVE INITIATIVES ON THE DISTANCE EDUCATION FRONT IN NIGERIA Despite the various problems facing the diffusion of distance education (or ICT-enabled education) in Nigeria, the country has made some remarkable progress. We highlight a few examples below.

The National Open University of Nigeria The National Open University (NOU) is the most prominent distance education initiative in the country (Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001). This scheme dates back to the early 1980s, though it was resuscitated in 2001. Basically, NOU is designed to increase the access of all Nigerians to formal and informal education. Various diplomas and degrees are awarded by NOU. Writing about NOU‘s mode of operations, Mac-Ikemenjima (2005) notes that ―The course delivery [is] through a combination of web-based modules, textual materials, audio and video tapes as well as CD ROMs.‖ NOU currently has 18 study centers and plans to add other study centers across the country. A number of teacher-learner support facilities, including the Internet and other communication channels, are available in the study centers (Commonwealth of Learning International, 2001; Ololube et al., 2006).

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Virtual Library Initiatives The national virtual library was established to improve the quality of teaching and research institutions in the country. The project aims at providing access to books, journals, and other library resources, enhancing access to global library and information resourcesand therebyenhancing scholarship and lifelong learning. The virtual library initiative in Nigeria is administered through sub-schemes such as the following:

The Teachers Network (TeachNet) Project This scheme was initiated in the country to provide access only to educators in Nigeria. Educators in the context of the scheme include those from the universities and polytechnics. Primarily, the TeachNet project aims at enriching the quality of the teachers by providing them with access to relevant and current materials. Educators access the available databases using ICT products such as the Internet. Secondarily, the educators are encouraged to network and share resources using ICT facilities.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

288

Princely Ifinedo

National Universities Network (NUNet) The Nigerian University Network (NUNet) is a more elaborate scheme than the foregoing. It focuses on the development of human capacity within academia (university) in Nigeria. More than 50 Nigerian universities are currently participating in this project. The various universities in the project may pursue relevant programs of their own under the objectives (see below) of the scheme. For example, one university, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in partnership with a foreign school - International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy - developed a PhD program for Mathematics. This was delivered to students through ICT facilities. That said, Commonwealth of Learning International, (2001) and MacIkemenjima (2005) highlighted some of the objectives of NUNET as follows: a) Ameliorating staff shortages arising from the brain-drain, by providing the ICT facility required by our academic staff-in-Diaspora to make their contributions regardless of where they live or work; b) Encouraging the sharing of resources, foster academic and research collaborations among Nigerian Universities, and with their counterparts throughout the world; c) Providing universities with access to electronic databases, journals and books many of which are increasingly available only in digital formats; d) Bringing education to population at reduced costs

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Digital Villages Nigeria supports the establishments of ICT skills-for-education centers known as digital villages. For example, the OwerriDigitalVillage was launched in 2001 by the Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) - an international non-profit organization based in the United States and Nigeria. These villages offer IT skills and training for Nigerian youths. It is a part of the plan for the future to use these digital villages as hubs for distance education delivery to young people in the country.

CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION IN NIGERIA We highlight the major challenges facing the diffusion and growth of distance education using ICT in Nigeria, and we offer tentative recommendations to that end for Nigerian policy makers. 

The Nigerian telecommunications sector needs more investments. Ongoing activities and efforts in this area have helped to improve the teledensity rates for Nigeria (Ifinedo, 2005a, 2006). Some commentators have stressed the need to further liberalize this sector in order to increase the prospects of distance education (Mutula, 2003).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education… 



  



  

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.





289

Governments must ensure that all parts of the country receive telecommunication services – the rural parts ought not to be neglected. In short, universal access should be encouraged - certain sections and parts of the society should not be sidelined. There is an urgent need to increase the number of computers available to the population; access to the Internet needs to be improved for distance education to spread in the country. The Nigerian government may have to waive certain import duties and tariffs for goods and equipment imported for delivering distance education. Shortages in other infrastructural facilities, e.g. electric power generation need to be addressed. The national policy for distance education and e-learning initiatives in the Nigerian national IT policy need to be reinvigorated. Government‘s commitment in this area should be unequivocal. The government should set-up enabling regulatory and legal policies for distance education using ICT. Mutula (2003) notes that such ―policy would help address the emerging issues such as intellectual property, freedom of press, freedom of expression, and privacy rights. Those with limited skills and knowledge may require training to enable them to reap the benefitsof using ICT for and in education. More relevant technical and computing education in the country is needed. External sources of technical expertise and skills should be sought in areas where such are lagging. Nigeria should consider commissioning a high power body similar to the one that oversees the Nigerian e-government Project (Ifinedo, 2005a). An initiative of this nature would go a long way in tackling the various limitations arising from inadequate organizational and technical competencies in delivering distance education in the country. The providers and users of distance educational facilities in the country may require financial resources. Government may consider granting soft loans and subsidies to universities that use and support distance education. Similarly, students and learners could get loans to help them get the most out the initiative.

CONCLUSIONS In this chapter, we have focused on the topic of distance education in developing countries using Nigeria as a case study. We attempted to highlight the sorts of problems facing the spread of distance education in Nigeria. Indeed, we drew from prior frameworks in discussing this issue. Admittedly, our discourse on the problems confronting distance education using ICT in Nigeria is not exhaustive. Further, we highlighted some of the ongoing distance education and related schemes in the country. This chapter underscores the major challenges for the diffusion and spread of distance education including human capital, infrastructural, and institutional constraints. Recommendations to the policy makers as to what might help in ameliorating such shortcomings are offered. However, a note of caution is given to policy makers in Nigeria (and others in comparable nations in the developing world).

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

290

Princely Ifinedo

Based on the discussions, we believe that distance education can diffuse and spread in developing countries such as Nigeria only when policy makers are able to align strategies for implementing distance education with contextual socio-economic factors. In other words, for distance education delivered through ICT to gain prominence in such societies, serious efforts need to be marshaled to attenuate the impacts of various constraints, i.e., human capital, institutional, and infrastructural discussed in this chapter. To be able to use distance education to provide benefits for Nigerians with respect to providing lifelong and life-wide education, alleviating capacity constraints, developing social (civic) literacy, and eliminating illiteracy and poverty, more rigorous commitment from policy makers is needed. Lastly, our understanding in this area can benefit immensely if other research efforts are directed at investigating what peculiar benefits are sought by participants in distance education programs or projects in developing societies. Additionally, future inquiry could examine the sorts problems associated with implementing the various distance education projects in Nigeria.

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

REFERENCES Anonymous (2002). The African Internet-A Status Report. Http://www3.sn.apc.org/ africa/afstat.htm. Barker, P. (2002). On being an online tutor. Innovations in Education and Teaching International Journal, 39, 1, 3-13. Bolaniran, A. & Ademola, O. (2004). E-Learning in Africa: related issues and matter arising. Proceedings of the 9th World Conference on Continuing Engineering Education, Tokyo, Japan. BBC World (2007). Map of Nigeriahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/. Commonwealth of Learning International (2001). Building Capacity to Deliver Distance Education in Nigeria‘s Federal University System. Http://siteresources.worldbank. org/NIGERIAEXTN/Resources/capacity_de.pdf. CIA: World Factbook (2006). Country Report – Nigeria. Http://www.cia.gov/. G8 DOT Force (2001). Issue objectives for the Genoa summit meeting 2001: DOT force. Http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/. Ifinedo, P. (2005a). E-government initiative in a developing country: Strategies and implementation in Nigeria. Proceedings of the 26th McMaster World Congress on Electronic Business, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ifinedo, P. (2005b). Measuring Africa‘s e-readiness in the global Networked economy: A nine-country data analysis, International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 1, 1, 53-71. Ifinedo, P. & Uwadia, C. (2005). Towards e-government in Nigeria: Shortcomings, successes, swish or sink. Proceedings of the International Federation of InformationProcessing (IFIP) WG 9.4 Conference, Abuja, Nigeria. Ifinedo, P. (2006). Acceptance and continuance intention of Web-Based learning technologies (WLT) among university students in a Baltic country. The Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 23, 6, 1-20. International Telecommunications Union [ITU] (2006). ITU Publications and Reports. Http://www.itu.int.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A Discourse on the Problems, Prospects, and Progress of Distance Education…

291

Internet World Stats (2004). African countries reports. Http://www.internetworldstats. com/africa.htm. Leidner, D. E. & Jarvenpaa, S. L (1993). The information age confronts education: Case studies on electronic classrooms. Information Systems Research, 4, 1, 24-54. Mac-Ikemenjima, D. (2005). e-Education in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects a presentation. Paper presented at the 8th UN ICT Task Force Meeting, Dublin, Ireland. Mutula, S. M. (2003). Assessment of Africa‘s telematics, policy and regulatory infrastructure: Potential for e-learning. Paper presented at the NTESU International Conference, Durban, South Africa. Nwachukwu, M. A. (1994). Development of information technology in Nigeria. In: E. P. Drew, & F. G. Foster, (Eds.) Information Technology in Selected Countries. Tokyo: The United Nations University. Ogwumike, O. F. (2002). An appraisal of poverty reduction strategies in Nigeria. CBNEconomic and FinancialReview, 39, 4, 1-17. Ojo, S. O. (1996). Socio-cultural and organizational issues in IT application in Nigeria. In Odedra-Straub, M. (Ed.). Global Information Technology and Socio-Economic Development, Ivy League Publishing, New Hampshire, 99-109. Ololube N. P. (2006a). The Impact of Professional and Non-professional Teachers‘ ICT Competencies in Secondary Schools in Nigeria. Journal of Information TechnologyImpact, 6, 2, 101-118. Ololube N. P. (2006b). Appraising the Relationship between ICT Usage and Integration and the Standard of Teacher Education Programs in a Developing Economy. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT. 2, 3, 70- 85. Ololube, N. P., Ubogu, A. E. & Ossai, A. G. (2006). ICT and Distance Education in Nigeria: A Review of Literature and Accounts. Proceedings of 2nd International Open and Distance learning (IODL) Symposium, Eskisehir, Turkey. Oyebisi, T. O. & Agboola, A. A. (2003). The impact of the environment on the growth of the Nigerian IT industry. International Journal of Information Management, 23, 313-321. Pityana, B. N. (2004). Distance Education in Africa: Some Challenges and Perspectives. Paper Presented at the Annual Conference of NADEOSA, St John‘s College, Johannesburg, South Africa. Rose, G. & Straub, D. (1998). Predicting general IT use: Applying TAM to the Arabic world. Journal of Global Information Management, 6, 3, 39-46. Salawudeen, O. S. (2006). E-Learning technology: The Nigeria experience. Proceedings of 23rd. FIG Congress, Munich Germany. Tavangarian, D., Leypold, M. E., Nölting, K., Röser, K. M. & Voigt, D. (2004). Is ELearning the Solution for Individual Learning? Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 2, 2, 273-280. UN ICT TASK Force (2004). United Nations ICT TASK Force Http://www.unicttaskforce. org/index.html. UNPAN (2005). UN Global E-government Readiness Report 2004. http://www.unpan. org/egovernment4.asp. World Bank Report (2006). African Development Indicators Report – 2006. http:// siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSTATINAFR/Resources/ADI_2006_text.pdf.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

292

Princely Ifinedo

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Yusuf, M. O. (2005). Information and communication technologies and education: Analyzing the Nigerian national policy for information technology. International Education Journal, 6, 3, 316-321. Yusuf, M. O. (2006). Problems and prospects of open and distance education in Nigeria. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 7, 1, 22-29.

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

INDEX

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

A abstraction, 69, 71 academics, 286 access, ix, x, xii, 9, 13, 17, 23, 25, 26, 39, 47, 48, 57, 131, 137, 149, 150, 155, 159, 162, 163, 167, 170, 172, 173, 177, 179, 181, 214, 215, 231, 242, 243, 244, 245, 247, 248, 249, 250, 252, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 263, 264, 265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 272, 275, 278, 282, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289 accessibility, xii, 242, 249, 250, 253, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259, 262, 263, 268, 269, 270, 272, 273, 276, 277, 278 accommodation, 69, 73, 267 accountability, 171, 249, 271 accounting, 124, 125, 238, 243 accreditation, 224, 247 accuracy, 105, 265, 266, 267 achievement, 128, 130, 146, 162, 248, 249, 256, 260 acquisitions, x, 185 adaptability, 56 adaptation, x, 69, 70, 108, 109, 170, 185, 190 adaptations, 68 ADHD, 270 adjustment, 56, 77 administrators, 137, 217, 250, 262, 269, 286 adolescence, 99 adult education, 170, 260, 261 adults, xii, 241, 242, 248, 257, 259, 261, 266 advertisements, 5, 177 advertising, 237 advocacy, 261 affective dimension, 203 Africa, viii, xii, 33, 35, 169, 176, 178, 179, 182, 281, 282, 283, 286, 290, 291 African continent, 282, 286 age, 136, 138, 142, 143, 172, 173, 189, 193, 248, 261, 263, 268, 269, 277, 282, 291

agencies, 243, 246, 256, 257 agent, 255 aggression, 30 AIDS, 176, 282 alertness, 256 algorithm, 102, 114, 115, 116, 119, 120, 121 ALT, 276 alternative, 242, 248, 249, 254, 258, 263, 264, 265, 268 alternatives, 114, 143, 156, 171, 222, 223 ambiguity, 11 amendments, 253 American Educational Research Association, 163 American Sign Language, 266 Americans with Disabilities Act, 247, 253, 254, 270, 278 analytical framework, 4, 6, 9, 13 annotation, 36, 38, 39, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60 anxiety, 145, 203, 261 applications, viii, xii, 56, 68, 103, 104, 116, 128, 135, 147, 178, 187, 188, 193, 209, 214, 216, 219, 221, 222, 223, 225, 226, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 249, 254, 262, 263, 264, 266, 274 architecture design, 117 articulation, 266 artificial intelligence, 188, 196, 223 Asia, viii, 33, 35, 164, 169 Asian countries, viii, 34, 35 assessment, x, 5, 15, 21, 73, 104, 111, 155, 174, 175, 185, 189, 218, 230, 232, 237, 245, 260, 261, 263, 265, 273 assets, 106 assignment, 245, 262 assimilation, 69, 104 assistive technology, 265, 270 Assistive Technology Act, 270 assumptions, x, 2, 5, 18, 22, 25, 79, 199, 200, 251, 253

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

294

Index

asynchronous communication, x, 132, 135, 185, 186, 252, 262 athletes, 272 attachment, 37 attention, 249, 261, 263, 269, 282, 284 attitudes, x, 25, 92, 144, 199, 200, 276 attractiveness, 113, 177 attribution, 203, 207 auditing, 236, 238, 267 Australia, 28, 64, 146, 149, 150, 151, 152, 162, 163, 164, 197 Austria, 176 authorities, 174 authority, 10, 11, 25, 181, 232, 237 authors, 64, 68, 73, 91, 98, 102, 105, 114, 231, 236, 242, 276 autism, 256 automata, 102 autonomy, 68, 128, 129, 130, 131, 134, 143, 144, 147, 152, 172, 202 availability, 249, 258, 267 awareness, 15, 202, 261, 268

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

B background, xi, 12, 27, 103, 173, 187, 213 bandwidth, 47, 50, 51, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 246 Bangladesh, 169 banking, 106 banks, 175 barriers, 197, 249, 250, 254, 257, 258, 263, 266, 268, 269, 270, 285, 286 basic needs, 129, 130, 144 behavior, 79, 91, 102, 103, 106, 111, 112, 114, 129, 130, 147, 202, 224, 260 behavioral disorders, 273 behaviors, 92, 102, 105, 114, 130, 145, 146 belief systems, 11 beliefs, x, 4, 12, 25, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 209 bias, 7 binding, 258 birth, 29, 266 blame, 176 blocks, 153, 160 blog, 107, 200 blogs, 111 boredom, 202 Botswana, 172, 175 boys, 203 Braille, 254, 258, 267 brain, 256, 259, 269, 288 brainstorming, 188, 190 branching, 221, 225 Brazil, 99

broadband, 44, 47, 65, 186 browser, 37, 38, 156 browsing, 41, 50, 132, 200 bureaucracy, 237 business education, ix, 101, 102, 108, 122 business environment, 107, 108, 112, 122 business management, 111 business model, ix, 101, 114, 119 buttons, 50, 51, 52

C Canada, 29, 30, 145, 150, 167, 176, 215, 271, 290 candidates, xi, 213 carbon, 276 case study, x, 124, 185, 186, 189, 195, 197, 218, 271, 272, 289 cast, 264, 271 casting, 245 catalyst, 174 categorization, 128 category a, 40 causal attribution, 207, 208 causality, 129, 130, 144, 145, 147 Central Asia, 202 cerebral palsy, 264 certificate, 136, 143, 144, 214, 216 certification, 172, 173, 242, 243, 246, 260 challenges, x, xii, 112, 132, 134, 150, 161, 167, 169, 171, 172, 179, 217, 242, 246, 259, 262, 281, 288, 289 changing environment, 104, 105 channels, 252, 287 character, 38 child development, 99 childhood, 99 children, x, 99, 146, 167, 168, 169, 170, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 179, 180, 242, 248, 256, 259, 260, 265, 271, 275, 279 China, 63, 103, 168 chronic fatigue syndrome, 249 CIA, 282, 283, 286, 290 citizenship, 243 City, 65, 266, 267 civil rights, 242, 253, 270, 275 civil society, 271 clarity, 160, 162 class period, 107 class size, 150 classes, 44, 53, 60, 75, 77, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 88, 93, 94, 95, 154, 157, 158, 159, 174, 187, 188, 216, 243, 251, 266, 267 classification, 73, 77, 84, 87, 96, 105, 106, 114, 270

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index classroom, vii, viii, ix, 2, 9, 20, 34, 36, 43, 62, 67, 68, 90, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 111, 122, 131, 145, 147, 157, 158, 159, 177, 178, 179, 180, 196, 197, 245, 250, 254, 259, 260, 267, 272, 274, 275, 279 classroom environment, 122 classroom settings, 131 classroom teacher, 159 classroom teachers, 159 classrooms, vii, x, 131, 132, 170, 176, 185, 186, 187, 197, 244, 252, 260, 263, 274, 291 clients, 59, 61, 105 climate, 8, 170, 189, 230 climate change, 170 closure, 137 clustering, 105, 115, 124 clusters, 105 CMC, 147, 252 codes, 25, 220 coding, 220 cognition, 70, 73, 78, 81, 86, 87, 92, 200, 271 cognitive abilities, 264 cognitive development, 69, 74, 97 cognitive dimension, 203 cognitive function, 200 cognitive impairment, 249 cognitive load, 135 cognitive science, 69 cognitive tool, 77, 135, 146 coherence, 190, 191, 192, 209 cohort, 136 collaboration, 30, 131, 132, 135, 157, 162, 164, 186, 187, 188, 189, 192, 195, 196, 197, 222, 244, 247, 251, 252, 261, 265, 276 college campuses, 263 college students, 249, 270 colleges, ix, xi, 127, 149, 176, 221, 222, 229, 243, 246, 248, 254, 255 colonization, 25 color, iv, 43, 51, 52, 55, 69, 73, 75, 85, 136 commerce, 255, 267 common sense, 5 communication, vii, ix, xii, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 48, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 74, 77, 80, 103, 107, 111, 131, 132, 135, 145, 147, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 160, 161, 162, 173, 182, 186, 189, 191, 195, 209, 214, 216, 221, 223, 224, 231, 236, 237, 249, 250, 251, 252, 254, 258, 262, 264, 266, 267, 271, 274, 275, 281, 282, 283, 287, 292 communication skills, 189, 209 communication systems, 162

295

communication technologies, xii, 103, 152, 182, 216, 223, 281, 283, 292 community, 25, 27, 152, 157, 160, 169, 179, 181, 187, 188, 189, 195, 196, 201, 203, 251, 252, 253, 254, 260, 261, 262, 266, 275 comparative advantage, 181 compatibility, 194 compensation, 85, 87, 93, 96 competence, 109, 111, 129, 130, 144, 208, 209, 231, 260 competency, 109, 131, 134, 156, 195, 217 competition, ix, xi, 101, 102, 103, 104, 109, 118, 134, 181, 229, 230, 231 competitive advantage, xi, 118, 229 competitor, 118, 122 competitors, xi, 106, 107, 108, 118, 229 complaints, 168 complement, 154, 178 complementarity, 71 complexity, 74, 102, 104, 105, 106, 118, 209 compliance, xii, 18, 242, 247, 256, 264, 268 components, 15, 55, 70, 92, 117, 154, 159, 201, 233, 236, 244, 251, 261, 266 composition, 19, 71, 77 comprehension, 210 computation, 115 computer conferencing, 7, 13, 18, 179 computer science, 114 computer skills, 132, 156, 249 computer use, 201 computer-mediated communication (CMC), 252 computers, 284, 289 computing, 99, 115, 175, 289 concentration, 210, 232, 261 conception, 73, 208, 209 conciliation, 90 concrete, 69, 71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 86, 87, 92, 93, 95, 255 conductor, 259 conference, 9, 12, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 35, 48, 56, 57, 59, 61, 182, 249, 252, 266, 267, 273 confidence, 128, 159, 231, 261 configuration, 4, 84 conflict, 131, 251 confusion, 202 Congress, iv, 99, 253, 255, 257, 278, 290, 291 connectivity, 63, 64 consciousness, 153, 165 consensus, 151 consent, 137, 255 conservation, 85, 87, 96 Constitution, 255, 277 constraints, xii, 281, 283, 284, 286, 289

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

296

Index

construction, viii, 12, 13, 22, 23, 28, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 75, 83, 85, 90, 93, 95, 96, 97, 187, 200 constructivism, 68, 69, 135 consultants, 135 consulting, 89, 94, 95, 131, 221 consumption, 4, 27 content analysis, 190, 220 contextualization, 73 contingency, 130 continuity, 71, 237 control, 4, 5, 15, 39, 45, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 71, 73, 75, 117, 128, 145, 147, 203, 205, 237, 253, 261, 274 convention, 5, 277 Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, 257 convergence, 99 conversion, 252 conviction, 207 cooperative learning, 73, 225, 260, 262, 273 coordination, viii, 67, 71, 75, 80, 86, 87, 92, 96, 218, 219, 222 correlation, 73, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 96, 176, 208, 209, 235 correlation analysis, 208, 209, 235 correlations, 207 corruption, 177 cost, x, 34, 103, 112, 118, 122, 167, 170, 171, 179, 183, 193, 215, 237, 258, 262, 263, 265, 282, 284, 285 costs, ix, 118, 149, 170, 177, 182, 231, 257, 260, 266, 267, 268, 288 counseling, 216, 260, 261, 265 course content, 113, 186, 244, 245, 250, 264, 268, 269 course work, 155, 248 Court of Appeals, 255 coverage, 254 covering, 25, 169 CPU, 56 creative process, 3 creativity, 4, 103, 109, 111, 125, 202, 204, 207, 208 credibility, 9, 27, 171, 173, 231 credit, 12, 243, 247, 262, 264, 266, 268 critical analysis, 29, 30 critical thinking, 186, 224 criticism, 2, 109, 110, 111, 155 cross-sectional study, ix, 127, 128 Cuba, 168 cues, 9, 10, 132 culture, vii, 1, 11, 13, 18, 29, 144, 202, 221, 246, 251, 271, 286 curricula, 172, 269

curricular materials, 173 curriculum, 154, 157, 159, 172, 173, 174, 175, 181, 182, 243, 260, 264, 265, 270, 272 curriculum development, 173, 175 customers, 230, 231, 232 cyberspace, 17, 131 cycles, 158

D daily living, 22, 261 damages, iv data analysis, 12, 142, 153, 290 data collection, 73, 219 data communication, 57 data mining, 105 data processing, 104 data set, 119 data structure, 42, 43, 54, 55 database, 36, 47, 53, 59, 105, 124, 190, 192, 251 dating, 103 deaths, 176 debts, 286 decision makers, 104 decision making, 74, 102, 104, 109, 110, 111, 116, 186, 230 decision-making process, 104, 112, 113 decisions, 102, 103, 104, 108, 110, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 122, 219, 221, 222, 261, 263, 265 deconstruction, 74 deduction, 87 deductive reasoning, 79 defense, 192 deficiencies, 191 definition, 92, 173, 231, 273 delivery, 21, 152, 197, 221, 236, 245, 272, 286, 287, 288 delusions, 168 demand, 245, 249, 261, 269 demographic characteristics, 137 demonstrations, 43, 268 density, 18, 19, 69 Department of Health and Human Services, 247, 278 Department of Justice, 254, 266, 278 depression, 203 deprivation, 129 designers, 252, 269 developed countries, 177, 178, 284 developing countries, viii, x, xii, 33, 35, 37, 167, 169, 170, 171, 175, 176, 178, 179, 281, 282, 285, 286, 289 deviation, 113, 120, 121 diabetes, 147 differentiation, 74, 118, 122

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index diffusion, xii, 73, 281, 282, 283, 285, 287, 288, 289 digital technologies, 252 dimensionality, 115 directives, 130 directors, 250 disability, xii, 242, 250, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 259, 260, 262, 265, 266, 267, 269, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276 disadvantaged students, 248 discipline, 12, 13, 21, 25, 28, 159, 214 disclosure, 12 discourse, vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 282, 285, 289 discrimination, 255, 257 diseases, 282 dissatisfaction, 134, 172 disseminate, 64 dissociation, 75, 79, 86, 95 distance education, vii, ix, x, xi, xii, 68, 101, 102, 107, 132, 146, 152, 161, 181, 182, 185, 195, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 248,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

249, 250, 253, 262,룀263, 264, 268, 269, 270, 272, 274, 276, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 292 distance learning, vii, x, xi, xii, 50, 56, 122, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 178, 179, 180, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 195, 196, 197, 200, 202, 204, 207, 230, 233, 242, 243, 244, 246, 248, 249, 250, 257, 259, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267, 268, 269, 271, 276, 283, 284 distribution, 4, 27, 37, 73, 92, 186, 233, 252, 258, 263 diversification, 103 diversity, 223, 251, 259, 269 division, 171 doctors, 10, 30 dominance, 5, 7 donors, 181, 182 doors, 273 draft, 165 drawing, 52, 173, 180 dreams, 99 drought, 163 due process, 265 durability, 237 duration, 45, 143 duties, 289 dynamics, 102, 128 dynamism, 220 dyslexia, 278

297

E earth, 170 eating, 237 ecology, 57 economic assistance, 259 economic downturn, 169 economic growth, 168, 284 economic indicator, 282, 283 economy, 104, 290 ecosystem, 170, 180 education, xii, 241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 255, 256, 257, 260, 261, 262, 265, 268, 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 281, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291, 292 educational materials, 36, 57 educational objective, 97, 106, 108 educational policy, 269 educational programs, 113, 242, 244 educational psychology, 73 educational research, vii, 1 educational services, 250, 260, 262 educational settings, 147 educational software, 17, 68, 98, 99 educational system, 172, 181 educators, 242, 261, 262, 269, 274, 287 elaboration, 18 e-learning, 2, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 29, 44, 47, 50, 57, 60, 64, 65, 146, 197, 225, 230, 247, 276, 277, 278, 279, 289, 291 electricity, 105, 125, 237 emerging issues, 289 emotional reactions, 203, 205 empathy, 231, 233, 235 employees, 34, 196, 231, 236, 245, 255, 256 employment, xii, 136, 138, 142, 151, 157, 162, 222, 241, 242, 249, 256, 259, 260, 261, 262, 275, 276 employment status, 136, 138, 142 energy, 118 engagement, 145, 268 engineering, x, 34, 38, 42, 73, 74, 185, 189 England, 1, 12, 29, 98, 125 enrollment, 127, 286 enthusiasm, 152, 168, 194 entrepreneurship, 109 environment, viii, ix, 8, 9, 11, 17, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 62, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 87, 88, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 111, 115, 119, 122, 129, 131, 134, 143, 158, 161, 162, 179, 187, 188, 189, 192, 197, 200, 208, 210, 232, 249, 251, 252, 256, 257, 260, 266, 273, 284, 291 epistemology, 69, 73, 99, 197 equality, 71, 85, 86, 96, 216, 257, 267

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

298

Index

equilibrium, 69, 70, 71, 77, 80, 87 equipment, 17, 63, 64, 158, 231, 246, 256, 289 equity, ix, 149, 150, 214 ergonomics, 73 ethics, 109, 111, 236 ethnic groups, 248 Europe, 150, 202, 282, 283 evening, 266 evidence-based practices, 260 evolution, 3, 62, 103, 108, 111, 121, 250 evolutionary computation, 114 examinations, vii, 33, 172, 173, 175, 181, 195 excess demand, 170 exclusion, 84 execution, 75, 94, 115, 193 exercise, 74, 119, 120, 121, 145 expertise, 13, 22, 107, 175, 195, 225, 268, 286, 289 experts, xi, 11, 20, 22, 24, 26, 102, 109, 111, 119, 122, 131, 213, 214, 215, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 263, 265 exploration, viii, 67, 69, 71, 276 exposure, 250 extraction, 205 extrinsic motivation, 129, 130, 137, 147

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

F face-to-face interaction, 132, 135, 232, 237 facial expression, 132 failure, x, 135, 167, 169, 203, 205, 237, 249, 255, 257 family, 257, 265, 282 fatigue, 249 fear, 145 federal funds, 255 federal government, 255 federal law, 250, 262 feedback, x, 104, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 194, 195, 196, 197, 202, 210, 223, 232, 236, 245, 251, 262 feelings, 80, 87, 89, 90, 129, 135, 205, 206, 207 females, 142, 143 finance, 249 financial planning, 102 financial resources, 74, 285, 289 Finland, 98, 176, 281 firewalls, 57 firms, 242 flexibility, vii, ix, 33, 34, 42, 64, 69, 99, 106, 131, 134, 150, 161, 190, 214, 224, 232, 237, 243, 245 float, 55 fluctuations, 105 focusing, vii, x, 1, 24, 35, 64, 69, 109, 111, 118, 153, 199, 231, 236

Ford, 164 forecasting, 109 formal education, 170, 191, 262 formal operational stage, 71, 75, 78 formal reasoning, 75 formula, 91 France, 99, 172, 176, 283 freedom, 143, 169, 258, 289 freedom of expression, 258, 289 frustration, 132, 134, 156, 162 funding, 28, 151, 266, 285 funds, 169, 255, 261, 265, 269

G GDP, 283 GDP per capita, 283 gender, 136, 138, 139, 142, 143 gender differences, 143 general education, 260, 265 generalization, 71, 80 generation, 286, 289 genre, 4, 18, 21, 22 genres, 6, 22, 24, 28, 273 geography, 164, 224 Georgia, 214, 254 Germany, 176, 291 gestures, 246 girls, 169, 170, 203 globalization, vii, 33, 34, 37, 42, 64 glucose, 147 goal setting, 134 goals, ix, x, 21, 82, 94, 101, 108, 111, 122, 129, 130, 131, 135, 142, 169, 199, 200, 201, 224, 244, 257, 259, 261, 265, 277 google, 65, 272 gossip, 160 governance, 172, 173, 183 government, iv, 7, 18, 21, 22, 23, 150, 151, 168, 169, 170, 173, 175, 176, 177, 182, 230, 254, 255, 256, 262, 270, 284, 289, 290, 291 Government Accountability Office, 272 grades, 15, 172, 190, 192 grading, 192 graduate education, 34, 35, 64 graduate students, 219 grants, 165, 241, 255, 266 group activities, 196 group size, 195 group work, 188, 191, 192, 193 grouping, 70, 71, 75, 77, 81, 82, 83, 86, 92 groups, viii, ix, x, xi, 17, 39, 68, 75, 92, 94, 97, 105, 111, 150, 153, 154, 159, 185, 187, 188, 189, 190,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index 193, 195, 196, 213, 219, 221, 225, 243, 244, 246, 248, 266 growth, 68, 99, 127, 128, 168, 247, 282, 284, 288, 291 growth rate, 127 guardian, 265 guidance, 84, 194 guidelines, 134, 263, 268 Guinea, 173

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

H handheld devices, 252 hands, 16, 113, 122, 159, 175, 263, 264 Hawaii, 247 headquarters, 267 health, 12, 13, 15, 30, 256 health education, 13 health problems, 256 hearing impairment, 252, 263, 264 hegemony, 4 height, 52, 57, 61, 69 high school, x, 147, 199, 201, 203, 247, 248, 256, 261, 262, 264, 265, 267, 273, 278 higher education, vii, ix, xi, xii, 9, 12, 33, 34, 36, 37, 63, 64, 108, 127, 135, 145, 146, 149, 152, 163, 168, 175, 181, 213, 216, 229, 230, 241, 242, 243, 250, 255, 262, 272, 276, 277 higher quality, 34, 252 HIV, 282 HIV/AIDS, 282 host, 56, 244 hostility, 178 House, 151, 162, 164 HTTP protocol, 57 human behavior, 79, 114, 145 human capital, 168, 285, 286, 289 Human Development Index, 282 human experience, 253 human resources, 243 human rights, 257 human subjects, 243, 247, 278 hybrid, 68, 97 hypertext, 74, 112 hypothesis, 79

I icon, 44 ideal, 81, 144, 168, 174, 231 ideals, 21 identification, 74 identity, 10, 24, 26, 71, 87, 202 ideology, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13

299

idiosyncratic, 253 illiteracy, 284, 286, 290 image, viii, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 56, 57, 62 image files, 36 images, 36, 38, 43, 45, 50, 64, 70, 182, 186, 237, 249, 263, 275 imagination, 79, 210, 211 imitation, 99 immersion, 107, 108, 112, 246, 251 immunity, 255 impacts, 117, 142, 147, 290 impairments, 249, 252, 256, 259, 263, 264 implementation, xi, 21, 22, 64, 102, 193, 213, 215, 218, 219, 220, 222, 223, 226, 250, 258, 259, 260, 265, 269, 278, 283, 286, 290 impulsive, 259 in transition, 145 incidence, 264 inclusion, xii, 242, 253, 275 income, 118 independence, 22, 173 Independence, 241 India, 168, 169, 171, 173, 175, 182 indication, 27, 171 indicators, vii, 1, 95, 150, 282, 283 indices, 282 individual action, 71 individual differences, 73, 130, 135 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 248, 256, 273, 278 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 256, 273 Indonesia, 171, 172, 173 industrial revolution, 170 industrialized societies, 284 industry, viii, xi, 33, 35, 106, 125, 230, 237, 291 inequality, 7, 183 infancy, 151 inferences, 79, 86, 87, 93, 96, 237 infinite, 115 information processing, 34, 261 information technology, 108, 186, 189, 214, 269, 270, 277, 278, 286, 291, 292 infrastructure, 17, 112, 181, 187, 216, 224, 245, 285, 291 initial state, 116, 121 injury, iv, 256, 259, 269 innovation, 112, 152, 174, 284, 286 input, 249, 252, 263, 265, 268 insight, 5, 158

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

300

Index

institutions, viii, ix, xi, 33, 35, 106, 149, 152, 153, 170, 171, 173, 178, 179, 180, 221, 229, 248, 250, 255, 256, 263, 275, 284, 287 instruction, ix, 99, 127, 130, 135, 145, 149, 150, 152, 153, 161, 174, 197, 202, 232, 245, 247, 256, 260, 261, 263, 265, 270, 276 instruction time, 161 instructional activities, 200, 203 instructional design, 145, 175 instructional methods, 257, 259 instructors, 35, 107, 108, 109, 112, 128, 131, 134, 135, 136, 137, 143, 151, 152, 186, 187, 188, 194, 195, 196, 221, 222, 223, 224, 243, 244, 245, 249, 250, 259, 262, 267, 269, 271, 284 instruments, 73, 110, 175 insurance, 267 integration, 10, 73, 113, 123, 128, 129, 172, 173, 176, 186, 189, 195, 224, 253, 254, 268, 269 integrity, 128 intellectual property, 258, 289 intelligence, 69, 99, 104, 105, 123 interaction, viii, 11, 16, 18, 23, 27, 30, 68, 71, 74, 77, 79, 81, 87, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 104, 105, 111, 114, 115, 119, 132, 146, 147, 156, 175, 181, 186, 187, 188, 189, 191, 192, 196, 218, 222, 226, 232, 236, 243, 244, 245, 249, 252, 268, 274, 277 interactions, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 23, 69, 70, 71, 88, 106, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 180, 196, 221, 222, 244 interactivity, 251, 252 interdependence, 85, 87, 96, 187, 188, 190, 191, 196 interface, 35, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 46, 64, 73, 107, 108, 136, 190, 252 interference, 86 internal consistency, 137 internalization, 129, 130, 144, 147 internet, x, 13, 42, 43, 68, 156, 185, 186, 188, 189, 190, 286 Internet, v, viii, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 63, 64, 65, 122, 130, 135, 146, 147, 163, 197, 209, 216, 226, 230, 243, 245, 247, 248, 250, 252, 253, 254, 258, 262, 265, 266, 267, 268, 271, 274, 276, 277, 278, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 289, 290, 291 interpersonal relations, 132 interpersonal relationships, 132 interpersonal skills, 236 interpretation, 258 interrelations, 104, 129 interrelationships, 180 interview, 162, 218, 219 intrinsic motivation, ix, 127, 129, 130, 131, 137, 138, 140, 142, 143 intuition, 202

invariants, 69 inversion, 85, 86, 87, 93, 96 investment, 173 Ireland, 176, 263, 274, 291 isolation, 84, 132, 151, 162, 195, 202, 244, 265 issues, 2, 6, 9, 21, 22, 23, 28, 57, 74, 111, 136, 145, 146, 152, 154, 156, 157, 158, 162, 182, 201, 202, 216, 217, 221, 223, 226, 236, 251, 258, 259, 272, 276, 289, 290, 291 Italy, 98, 199, 202, 204, 205, 288

J Jamaica, 257 Japan, viii, 33, 34, 35, 63, 64, 124, 290 Java, viii, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 53, 54, 55, 156, 243 job skills, 261 jobs, 177, 178, 243, 249, 261 Jordan, 262, 279 judgment, 22, 168 justification, 8, 89, 90, 169

K Kenya, 176 knowledge acquisition, 104, 111, 170 knowledge discovery, 124 knowledge economy, 177 Korea, 150

L labour, 29, 171, 177 labour market, 177 language, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 36, 37, 38, 71, 80, 114, 174, 201, 202, 224, 248, 251, 256, 258, 263, 264, 265 language impairment, 256 languages, 38, 43, 113, 258 laptop, 63, 64 lattices, 77 laws, xii, 242, 250, 253, 255, 258, 262, 273 leadership, 109, 273 learner support, 225, 287 learners, viii, ix, xi, xii, 9, 28, 33, 35, 43, 44, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 150, 151, 161, 179, 186, 187, 188, 201, 203, 213, 215, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 242, 243, 248, 250, 251, 252, 261, 262, 264, 269, 272, 283, 284, 289 learning activity, 142, 147 learning disabilities, 249, 252, 261, 263, 270, 272, 276, 278

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index learning environment, vii, 1, 2, 8, 11, 13, 15, 27, 29, 34, 60, 128, 130, 131, 134, 144, 145, 197, 209, 218, 221, 223, 249, 250, 251, 252, 284 learning outcomes, 109, 128, 143, 146, 200, 202, 222 learning process, 15, 68, 134, 135, 187, 188, 189, 195, 196, 201, 202, 205, 208, 209, 215, 216, 222, 223, 251 learning skills, 132, 261 learning styles, 131, 159, 224 learning task, 73, 135, 187, 195 legislation, 256 leisure, 258 lens, 128, 131, 144, 145 liberation, 3 lifelong learning, 10, 287 likelihood, 151, 253 limitation, 34, 56, 57, 60 line, viii, 18, 23, 33, 35, 36, 55, 105, 107, 145, 153, 157, 163, 197, 233, 236, 237, 273, 285 linguistics, 3, 29 links, 12, 15, 151, 159, 162, 181, 210, 269 listening, 159, 187 literacy, 178, 249, 259, 263, 284, 285, 290 liver, 135 loans, 266, 289 local government, 254, 255, 256, 262 localization, 57 location, 243, 246, 255, 267, 282 locus, ix, 29, 127, 129, 136, 138, 139, 142, 147, 178, 203, 205 logical reasoning, 202 logistics, 171, 172 long distance, ix, 149 longitudinal study, 147 Louisiana, 247 love, 161

M machine learning, 102, 114 maintenance, 237 majority, xi, 87, 132, 136, 156, 169, 172, 230, 235, 248, 250, 255, 259, 260, 266 malaria, 282 Malaysia, vi, xi, 1, 229, 230, 237, 238 males, 142, 143 management, x, xi, 25, 36, 37, 39, 42, 48, 53, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 113, 118, 123, 125, 132, 135, 136, 162, 172, 177, 185, 189, 196, 213, 214, 215, 218, 219, 221, 222, 232, 236, 237, 238, 244, 245, 246, 261, 263, 264, 271 mandates, xii, 173, 242, 257, 262 manipulation, 69 manufacturing, 106, 231

301

mapping, 4 marginalization, 7 market, 68, 105, 106, 111, 112, 113, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 125, 138, 168, 261 market economics, 168 marketing, 105, 106, 109, 124, 190, 196 marketplace, 104, 117 markets, 106, 111 Markov Decision Processes, 116, 124 MAS, 105 mass media, 258 mastery, 73 mathematical knowledge, viii, 67, 68, 69, 71, 97 mathematics, 178 matrix, 73, 82, 83, 84, 86 meanings, 4, 27, 231, 251 measurement, viii, 67, 231, 260, 272 measures, 134, 137, 151, 168, 204, 207, 208, 231, 247, 257, 258 media, 7, 45, 48, 65, 111, 186, 187, 201, 210, 245, 247, 249, 258, 263, 264, 266, 268, 282 mediation, 210 membership, 10, 25, 247, 251 memorizing, 200 memory, 54, 55, 56, 249, 269 men, 219 mental actions, 69, 71, 79, 87 mental activity, 69, 70 mental development, 69 mental model, 103, 124, 201 mental processes, 103, 200 mental representation, 71, 80 mental retardation, 256, 274 mental state, 201 mentor, 152, 153 mentoring, ix, 112, 150, 153 message passing, 105 messages, vii, 2, 9, 12, 13, 16, 22, 24, 25, 57, 192, 194, 203, 267 meta-analysis, 181 metacognition, 15, 132, 200, 209 metacognitive knowledge, vii, x, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 206, 208, 209, 210 metacognitive skills, 210 methodology, viii, 6, 67, 68, 74, 91, 95, 97, 104, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112, 197, 244 Mexico, 171, 172, 215 Microsoft, 43 Middle East, 199, 202 mining, 101, 105 minority, 253 misunderstanding, 251 mobile phone, 193

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

302

Index

model, ix, xi, 13, 21, 23, 34, 68, 69, 73, 74, 91, 98, 104, 105, 107, 108, 114, 124, 128, 147, 149, 150, 151, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 188, 189, 230, 232, 270, 285 modeling, 105, 155, 260, 262 modelling, 155 models, 21, 68, 71, 73, 74, 78, 97, 104, 105, 106, 108, 114, 124, 128, 151, 155, 172, 226 moderators, 29 modernity, 28 modules, vii, viii, 1, 33, 35, 36, 64, 73, 83, 91, 263, 287 momentum, 178, 260 money, 162, 242 motion, 85, 87, 96, 246, 269, 274 motivation, ix, 13, 52, 73, 74, 102, 109, 111, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 189, 210, 224, 236, 261, 263, 268 motives, 129, 146 motor skills, 249 movement, xii, 51, 77, 93, 174, 242, 260 multimedia, x, 34, 35, 36, 39, 42, 44, 45, 47, 56, 57, 74, 98, 99, 103, 189, 197, 199, 200, 201, 202, 207, 208, 209, 210, 225, 245, 255, 258, 263, 265, 267 multiplication, 84, 86 music, 201, 203

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

N Namibia, 171, 172, 175, 182 nation, 34 National Center for Education Statistics, 275 National Council on Disability, 275, 276 National Health Service, 16 national policy, 289, 292 National Survey, 30, 164 NCES, 243, 246, 248, 256, 275 negotiating, 105 negotiation, 24, 29, 109, 113, 187 Netherlands, 29 neural networks, 105, 114 New England, 164 new media, 187 New South Wales, 164 New Zealand, 98 NGOs, 169 Nigeria, xii, 169, 179, 183, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292 No Child Left Behind, 242, 247, 271, 272, 275 noise, 60 nonverbal cues, 132 normal distribution, 233

nursery school, 255 nurses, 2, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 nursing, 2, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30 nursing care, 22, 24 nutrients, 129

O objectives, 6, 73, 77, 102, 107, 108, 109, 115, 233, 257, 261, 288, 290 objectivity, 73 obligation, 258 observations, 22, 89, 90, 181 obstacles, 10, 13, 187, 248, 258 occupational therapy, 264 ODS, 43 OECD, 176 online communication, 250 online learning, vii, ix, xii, 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 24, 26, 27, 28, 127, 128, 131, 132, 134, 136, 138, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 152, 153, 157, 161, 162, 164, 174, 197, 221, 232, 242, 243, 247, 250, 269, 277, 278 on-the-job training, 177 openness, 172 operating system, 36, 73, 195 opportunities, xi, xii, 28, 34, 105, 117, 131, 150, 155, 156, 161, 162, 163, 180, 200, 202, 213, 214, 241, 242, 244, 246, 247, 248, 250, 251, 254, 259, 262, 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 284 oppression, 3, 7 optimization, 104 order, xi, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24, 27, 34, 42, 44, 46, 52, 53, 57, 59, 60, 75, 77, 79, 82, 83, 85, 87, 90, 105, 106, 108, 111, 114, 116, 118, 128, 129, 132, 136, 138, 162, 168, 174, 176, 180, 191, 196, 199, 201, 202, 203, 218, 224, 225, 285, 288 organ, 71 organization, 245, 278, 288 orientation, 25, 75, 87, 109, 110, 130, 136, 144, 177, 191, 194 originality, 112 outliers, 136 output, 268 outsourcing, 106 overlap, 84 ownership, 216

P Pacific, 164

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index pacing, 136 Pakistan, 169 palliative, 30 paradigm, viii, 30, 67, 68, 180, 197 paradigm shift, 180 parallel, 51, 69, 216, 221, 226 parallelism, 217 parameter, 115, 122 parameters, 56, 61, 95, 116, 119 parental involvement, 261 parents, 157, 171, 173, 181, 262, 276 parity, 173 Parliament, 151, 152, 162, 164 partnership, ix, 150, 162, 288 passive, 49, 129, 208 password, 39, 41 pathways, 143 patient care, 18, 21, 22, 23 payroll, 243 pedagogy, vii, 15, 73, 152, 162, 175, 186, 187, 195, 197, 214, 265 peer tutoring, 260, 274 peers, viii, x, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 68, 94, 132, 156, 185, 243, 249, 251, 254, 262, 265, 266, 267 perceptions, xi, 30, 103, 134, 146, 147, 151, 153, 161, 162, 230, 231, 233, 235, 236 performance, x, 56, 64, 94, 107, 109, 114, 122, 128, 146, 151, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178, 180, 185, 186, 188, 191, 195, 197, 231, 256, 261, 271, 284 permission, iv, 220 permit, xii, 80, 84, 88, 122, 242, 249, 252, 267, 282 personal computers, 36 personality, 145 persons with disabilities, 248, 250, 254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 262, 277 physical education, 259, 264 physical environment, 71, 79, 81, 88, 93 physical therapy, 260, 265 PISA, 176, 178 planning, x, xi, 21, 22, 24, 83, 106, 107, 109, 110, 185, 187, 202, 213, 214, 218, 248, 257, 259, 261, 263 platform, vii, ix, 33, 34, 35, 37, 45, 57, 64, 101, 153, 154, 156, 157, 186, 187, 188, 193, 222, 252, 271 Plato, 270 pleasure, 138, 143, 203 policy initiative, 243 policy makers, xii, 281, 282, 286, 288, 289 politeness, 5, 236 political power, 253 politics, 249 polling, 50, 53 pools, 53

303

poor, 160, 170, 172, 176, 179, 285, 286 population, xi, 12, 111, 127, 152, 167, 170, 171, 172, 230, 233, 252, 253, 259, 283, 284, 285, 286, 288, 289 population growth, 170 portfolio, 263 portfolio assessment, 263 Portugal, 98 posture, 132 poverty, 284, 285, 290, 291 poverty reduction, 291 power, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 27, 28, 30, 105, 135, 155, 178, 286, 289 power generation, 286, 289 power relations, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 27 practical knowledge, 151 prayer, 237 prediction, 104, 118 predictors, 147 preference, 266 preservice teacher education, ix, 149, 150, 151, 153, 158, 162 preservice teachers, ix, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162 prices, 105 primary school, x, 167, 169, 177, 179, 216 prior knowledge, 25 privacy, 57, 74, 289 private schools, 181 private sector, 221, 222, 223 probability, 87, 96 problem solving, 10, 21, 75, 90 procurement, 285 producers, 4 product design, 73 production, 3, 4, 7, 8, 27, 97, 172, 237, 258 productivity, 4, 34, 118 profession, 260 professional development, 150, 151, 175, 178, 179, 182, 243, 247, 249 professional growth, ix, 150, 153 professionalism, 191 profit, 119, 232, 288 profitability, 231 profits, 243, 272, 274 program, viii, ix, xi, 34, 43, 73, 74, 114, 136, 137, 149, 150, 152, 154, 158, 160, 162, 193, 213, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 237, 244, 254, 255, 264, 266, 273, 278, 288 programming, 35, 36, 37, 190, 193 programming languages, 190, 193

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

304

Index

project, vii, x, 2, 64, 73, 101, 154, 163, 171, 175, 185, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 221, 225, 237, 249, 250, 270, 287, 288 proliferation, 243 properties, 5, 69, 70, 71, 75, 78, 115, 130, 218, 219, 224 proposition, 104 protocol, 57, 61 psychological processes, 30, 147 psychology, 73, 98, 99, 102 public education, 247, 256, 265, 275, 279 public investment, 168 public life, 258 public schools, 248, 255, 275 public sector, 171, 196 public service, 262, 266 pupil, 176

Q QoS, 56 qualifications, 162 qualitative concept, 96 quality assurance, 230 quality of life, 237 quality of service, 237 quality standards, 74 query, 11, 88, 194 questioning, 224 quizzes, 175, 245, 265, 267

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

R radar, 262 radio, 186, 216 random numbers, 114 range, 3, 5, 11, 68, 111, 149, 156, 157, 159, 219, 243, 244, 247, 256, 259, 262, 267, 269 ratings, 179, 204 reactions, 117, 210 reactivity, 202 readership, 22 reading, 11, 15, 22, 25, 116, 135, 174, 192, 259, 260, 263, 265, 266, 267 real estate, 243 real time, 244, 245, 250, 252, 264, 266, 267 realism, 6, 103, 112 reality, 7, 68, 102, 104, 111, 113, 129, 209, 225, 244, 246, 274, 286 reason, 4, 8, 9, 12, 21, 27, 28, 57, 86, 87, 90, 121, 210, 230, 254 reasoning, 75, 79, 80, 84, 93, 96 reciprocity, 71, 75, 78, 85, 86, 87, 93, 95, 96 recognition, 7, 59, 252, 253, 263, 265

recommendations, iv, xii, 95, 160, 190, 236, 247, 268, 281, 288 recreation, 246, 258 recruiting, 176, 248 reduction, 268 reference system, 85, 93 reflection, 3, 71, 80, 132, 189, 197, 200, 202, 261 reflexes, 202, 211 reflexivity, 8, 28 region, 179, 277, 282, 286 regression, 91, 114 regulation, ix, 29, 127, 129, 130, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143, 261 regulations, 130, 137, 138, 139, 264 Rehabilitation Act, xii, 242, 253, 255, 266, 276 reinforcement, 114, 115, 116, 121, 123, 124 reinforcement learning, 114, 116, 121, 123, 124 relationship, 5, 10, 11, 13, 30, 70, 75, 85, 86, 91, 99, 109, 113, 151, 177, 209, 225, 235 relationships, 273 relativity, 87 relevance, 128, 145, 175, 178, 249 reliability, 73, 137, 231, 233, 235 replacement, 161 repression, 7 Requirements, 220, 221, 225 resistance, 286 resolution, 62, 109 resource management, 109, 123, 238 resources, viii, 4, 17, 23, 57, 68, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 87, 88, 91, 94, 96, 106, 107, 118, 131, 135, 155, 161, 162, 169, 170, 173, 174, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 196, 200, 224, 243, 244, 250, 254, 261, 262, 265, 266, 273, 285, 287, 288, 289 respect, 8, 114, 158, 251, 258, 268, 290 responsiveness, 231, 233, 235 restaurants, 255 restructuring, 216 retail, 248, 249 retardation, 256, 274 retention, 176, 231 returns, 115, 119 rewards, 119, 129, 134 rhetoric, 24 rhythm, 158 rights, iv, 12, 150, 242, 247, 250, 253, 257, 258, 261, 265, 269, 270, 275, 289 rings, 161 risk, 9, 102, 160 routines, 158 rural areas, ix, 150, 151, 152

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

S safety, 168, 236, 237, 248 sales, 105, 118, 272 sampling, 219 SAP, 124 satisfaction, xi, 111, 112, 128, 130, 138, 143, 144, 146, 155, 224, 230, 231, 232, 233, 235, 236 savings, 103 scarce resources, 285 scheduling, 254 schema, 129, 251 scholarship, 98, 287 school, ix, x, xi, 7, 35, 89, 90, 95, 97, 98, 131, 135, 137, 145, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 199, 201, 203, 216, 230, 237, 243, 244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 255, 256, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 267, 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 282, 288 school activities, 260 school community, 157, 161 school work, 145 schooling, x, 165, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 176, 180, 181 scores, 91, 109, 136, 138, 139, 142, 144, 205, 207, 208 search, 77, 261 searching, 105, 132 secondary education, x, 163, 167, 170, 171, 176, 179, 181, 249, 254, 256, 259, 260, 261, 275 secondary school education, 237 secondary schools, 171, 173, 175, 255 secondary students, 173 security, 57, 60, 74, 155, 231, 236, 254, 285 seizure, 263, 269 selecting, 41, 48, 53 self monitoring, 260 self-assessment, 112 self-awareness, 132, 261 self-control, 189 self-efficacy, 128, 146, 202, 205 self-paced learning, 15 self-regulation, 132, 261 self-study, 108, 109, 122 seminars, 35, 238 sensory impairments, 252 sensory modalities, 252 separation, 151, 283 sequencing, 73 series, 273 servers, 47

305

sexuality, 29 Seychelles, 175 shape, 11, 75, 86, 221, 251 shares, 87, 251, 282 sharing, 3, 15, 22, 24, 38, 50, 64, 65, 74, 156, 188, 192, 195, 197, 203, 223, 245, 246, 251, 252, 259, 288 short supply, 175 shortage, 176, 177, 249 sign, 263 signals, 39 simulation, 103, 106, 107, 108, 109, 117, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 187 Singapore, 1 sites, 263 skill acquisition, 263 skills, x, xi, 10, 74, 92, 103, 109, 110, 111, 113, 132, 135, 143, 156, 170, 173, 175, 177, 185, 187, 189, 191, 195, 196, 200, 202, 210, 213, 215, 224, 226, 243, 247, 249, 251, 252, 259, 261, 267, 268, 286, 288, 289 skills training, 170, 247 smoothing, 134 social care, 12, 13, 15, 30 social change, 5, 28, 173 social construct, 3, 15, 153 social context, 8, 11, 12, 17, 128, 129, 130 social environment, 71, 81, 88, 93, 129, 187, 188 social events, 12, 157 social exchange, 71 social learning, 250 social learning theory, 250 social life, 6, 7, 11, 153 social network, 201 social order, 8, 11, 13, 24 social policy, 153 social problems, 7 social psychology, 147 social regulation, 22 social relations, vii, 1, 4, 7, 11, 26 social security, 254 Social Security, 261 social skills, 186 social software, 152 social status, 130 social structure, 6, 11, 251 social theory, 3, 7 socialization, 11 society, 248, 253, 254, 269, 283, 284, 285, 289 sociocultural practices, 10 soft loan, 289 software, viii, ix, x, 13, 16, 34, 35, 37, 65, 73, 74, 91, 97, 98, 99, 101, 103, 105, 117, 118, 121, 122,

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

306

Index

132, 136, 156, 185, 188, 189, 190, 195, 196, 220, 224, 243, 246, 255, 256, 263, 264, 274 South Africa, 179, 291 space, 20, 60, 62, 68, 82, 105, 118, 131, 155, 200, 246, 269, 271 Spain, 101 special education, 248, 249, 256, 257, 259, 260, 264, 272, 273, 278 specialisation, 171 specialists, 250, 269 specialization, 118, 122 specific knowledge, 103, 251 specifications, 135, 236 speech, 5, 79, 132, 249, 254, 256, 260, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267 speed, viii, 33, 35, 38, 57, 64, 87, 103, 194, 232, 236 sports, 157, 258 spreadsheets, 272 SPSS, 138 stakeholders, 215, 218, 219, 222, 225, 250, 269 standard deviation, 111, 121 standard error, 111 standards, 232, 247, 248, 249, 255, 256, 259, 265, 268, 270, 273 state laws, 253 statistics, 286 statutes, 255 stereotyping, 2 stock, 104, 119 strain, 269 strategic management, 25, 238 strategies, ix, x, 5, 11, 12, 18, 28, 101, 110, 116, 117, 121, 122, 124, 127, 128, 132, 145, 146, 159, 178, 187, 199, 200, 201, 202, 208, 217, 226, 249, 257, 259, 260, 262, 272, 273, 276, 290, 291 strategy, 17, 104, 109, 111, 114, 117, 118, 121, 177, 201, 232, 260, 262 strength, 158, 178, 256 stress, 44 structural characteristics, 79 structuralism, 3 structure formation, 71 structuring, 97, 216, 219, 225, 226 student motivation, 128, 132, 143, 144 student teacher, 158, 160 subjectivity, 209 Sub-Saharan Africa, 282 subtraction, 84 summer, 136, 137, 143 supervision, 115, 157, 189, 245, 265 supervisors, 151 supply, 182, 231, 237, 268, 286 support services, 223, 226, 261

support staff, 135 suppression, 92 surveillance, 134 survey, xi, 111, 123, 136, 137, 145, 190, 191, 192, 193, 230, 272 survival, 231, 284 sustainability, 164 symbols, 201, 202 symmetry, 86 symptoms, 21 synchronization, 38, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 61, 77 syndrome, 249 synthesis, 74, 109, 110, 219, 220, 224, 225 systems, 243, 244, 245, 249, 252, 258, 262, 263, 264, 270, 284

T tags, 264 Taiwan, 127, 197, 274 targets, 169, 192 tax base, 272 taxonomy, 282 teacher preparation, ix, 149, 161, 163, 249 teacher training, 158, 164, 176 teachers, viii, ix, x, 35, 47, 67, 68, 97, 131, 135, 142, 147, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 165, 167, 169, 171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 200, 237, 247, 249, 257, 259, 262, 265, 274, 276, 287 teacher-student relationship, 150 teaching, ix, xii, 2, 13, 30, 68, 73, 74, 99, 102, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 122, 136, 143, 146, 150, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 163, 164, 171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 197, 200, 215, 237, 248, 260, 281, 283, 284, 286, 287 teaching experience, 107, 112, 156, 159, 164 teaching materials, 174 technical assistance, 267, 269, 278 technological advancement, 269 technological developments, xi, 213 technology, xii, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 249, 250, 252, 253, 258, 263, 265, 268, 269, 273, 274, 275, 278, 283, 286, 291 telecommunications, 132, 146, 147, 255, 284, 286, 288 telephone, 194, 243, 254, 269, 285 television, 5, 186, 216, 243, 254 tension, 4, 152 tensions, 2, 8, 9, 28 tertiary education, 172, 284 test data, 136, 139 testing, x, 185, 190, 250, 261 test-retest reliability, 137

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index text messaging, 245 textbooks, 250 Thailand, 169 theoretical assumptions, 2 theory, xii, 242, 250, 251, 274 therapy, 260, 264, 265 thinking, 69, 71, 75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 87, 89, 90, 97, 99, 123, 135, 157, 200, 202, 204, 206, 207, 208, 210, 251, 284 thinking styles, 200 thoughts, 71, 90, 188 threats, 105, 107, 134 tics, 259 time, 244, 245, 250, 252, 253, 257, 261, 263, 264, 267, 268 time pressure, 109, 110 timing, 189 Title I, 254, 255, 256, 266, 267 tourism, 237 tracking, 13, 262 trade, 246, 254, 255, 277 trading, 105 traditions, 163, 202 traffic, 59, 195 trainees, 200 training, x, xii, 99, 103, 106, 108, 112, 113, 114, 115, 122, 156, 157, 167, 176, 177, 178, 179, 182, 196, 214, 216, 217, 236, 241, 242, 243, 244, 246, 247, 254, 256, 259, 260, 261, 264, 267, 268, 269, 270, 272, 273, 278, 288, 289 training programs, 106, 108, 217, 270 traits, 87 transcription, 220 transcripts, 264 transformation, 86, 96 transformations, 79 transition, 118, 248, 257, 259, 261, 271, 272, 275 translation, 266 transmission, 38, 205, 207, 208, 243, 252 transparency, 27 transportation, 246, 254 traumatic brain injury, 256, 259, 269 treaties, 257 trees, 105, 114 trends, 112, 222, 224, 275 trial, 84, 86, 93, 115 triggers, 86 troubleshooting, 135 trust, 132, 189, 231, 251 trustworthiness, 9, 27 tuition, 268 tunneling, 60

307

Turkey, xi, 185, 199, 202, 204, 205, 213, 216, 217, 219, 226, 291 tutoring, 56, 260, 264, 274

U undergraduate education, vii, 33, 34 UNESCO, 39, 63, 64, 169, 174, 176, 177, 179, 182, 183, 259 uniform, 13, 85, 87, 93, 96, 114 unit cost, 171 United Nations, 248, 249, 253, 257, 277, 282, 291 United States, 29, 136, 144, 145, 151, 164, 244, 253, 274, 288 universal access, 289 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 168 universities, viii, ix, x, xi, 34, 35, 37, 57, 63, 64, 127, 149, 150, 151, 152, 158, 160, 162, 171, 179, 216, 217, 229, 237, 243, 246, 248, 249, 254, 255, 262, 286, 287, 288, 289 university students, 290 updating, 215, 218 users, 246, 252, 256, 262, 264, 286, 289

V vacuum, 128 validation, 80, 89, 94, 97 values, 251 variability, 152 variables, 75, 79, 80, 85, 102, 104, 106, 107, 112, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 122, 128, 137, 138, 141, 142, 143, 233, 236 variance, 138, 142 variations, 86, 109, 268 vector, 52, 54, 55, 114 vein, 285 victims, 7 video, viii, x, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47, 48, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 131, 185, 186, 187, 188, 244, 245, 246, 247, 252, 266, 268, 287 videos, 43, 244 violence, 30 vision, 208, 223, 226, 249, 259, 263, 267, 286 visions, 261 visual images, 5, 11 visualization, 202 vocabulary, 5, 20 vocational education, 260, 276 vocational training, xii, 241, 242 voice, 9, 36, 38, 41, 44, 50, 51, 53, 216, 246, 263, 268 voting, 258

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,

308

Index

Vygotsky, 15, 30, 69, 135, 147

W

Y young adults, 271 young women, 173

Copyright © 2010. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

wages, 177 waiver, 261 war, 18 waste, 168 wealth, 130, 174 wear, 160 well-being, 128, 129, 130, 145 Western Europe, 282, 283 wholesale, 105, 125 windows, 38 women, 11, 219

word processing, 267 Workforce Investment Act, 255 working conditions, 177, 224 working groups, 193 workload, 157 workplace, 17, 30 World Bank, 168, 182, 282, 285, 291 World Wide Web, 244, 249, 256 writing, 11, 22, 60, 146, 157, 174, 252, 263, 265, 266, 267

Distance Education, edited by Claudia F. MacTeer, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,