bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cross-Cultural Issues in Online Learning
Authors: Rogers P. Clint , Wang Minjuan
Published: May 2011

The rapid pace of technological change and development in the world has given those working in the field of online and distance education great opportunities to extend the reach of their programs across national boarders and cultural boundaries (Albritton, 2006; Rogers, 2006). Examples of educational initiatives that aim globally include projects such as MIT’s Open- CourseWare project (ocw.mit.edu); corporate initiatives like Cisco, already delivering academic curriculum to hundreds of thousands of students in 150 countries (Dennis, Bichelmeyer, Henry, Cakir, Korkmaz, Watson, Bunnage, 2005); and even private universities such as Global University, based in Springfield Missouri, offering courses to students in over a hundred different countries and languages (Rogers and Howell, 2004). And the size and scope of cross-cultural online learning is growing.
Designing Blended Learning Environments
Authors: Graham Charles G. , Allen Stephanie
Published: May 2011

The term “blended learning” is being used with increased frequency in academic publications and conferences, as well as in industry trade magazines around the world. In 2003 the American Society for Training and Development identified blended learning as one of the top 10 emergent trends in the knowledge-delivery industry (Rooney, 2003). In higher education, some predict a dramatic increase in the number of hybrid (i.e., blended) courses will include as many as 80%- 90% of the range of higher-education courses (Young, 2002). Additionally, in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, the president of Pennsylvania State University, Graham Spanier, was quoted as saying that the convergence between online and residential instruction was “the single-greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today” (Young, 2002). This article provides an overview of blended learning environments (BLEs) with examples from both corporate training and higher-education contexts. It also identifies the most common benefits and challenges related to the use of blended learning environments from the research literature.
Diffusion of Computers in Schools
Authors: Askar Petek , Kocak-Usleul Yasemin
Published: May 2011

Every system is shaped by the prevailing paradigm. As society innovates itself, it also adjusts its mechanisms to new situations. The phrase information society is one of the mechanisms suggested to adjust to new situations; it is to diffuse the innovation (Askar, 2004). On the other hand, in spite of the easily visible changes and adaptations in companies, it is hard to say this for educational organizations or schools. The use of computers in schools for the purpose of teaching and learning is a kind of diffusion process in which the computer is an innovation that is defined by Rogers (2003, p. 12) as “an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption.” In fact, computers, as a relatively new building block in the educational system, cause innovations that range from ways of communication, to teaching methods, to educational material and school management. As Rogers points out, getting a new idea adopted, even when it has obvious advantages, is difficult. In this article, the diffusion of computers in three schools was analyzed in the light of the theory of the diffusion of innovation. Furthermore, the findings were interpreted in the framework of complex systems since school is complex, an organic-like structure with its agents and schemas, and the interactions among them.
Digital Divide
Authors: Reilly Christiane
Published: May 2011

Distance education (DE) is a reality. Pop-up advertisements of online master’s degree programs appear with regularity on the Internet, and distance education courses are marketed via television, radio, and the printed media. It seems as though the options of receiving an education are expanding all around us. While DE indeed appears to reform education at a rapid speed, it is important to slow down and take a careful look at the issues DE presents to learners, to the market of education, and to society at large. Looking at DE from an educator’s perspective alone is not sufficient, as the effects of technology are interwoven with our economic, political, and sociological dimensions. While in today’s world the trend is toward specialization, it is a generalist’s view or multiple perspectives that are necessary in order to evaluate the effects of the digital divide. So from a sociological perspective, the question looms: Does distance education promise to widen or narrow the digital divide?
Distance Education in Turkey
Authors: Askar Petek
Published: May 2011

Distance education is the educational process in which the instructor and learner are physically separated, and interaction between them is conducted through technology. Distance education is neither a recent nor a new phenomenon. It has a long tradition. However, the development and adoption of sophisticated communication technologies often creates that impression (McGorry, 2003). Distance education has a strong background in Turkey and is recognized as a method of learning for all levels of education except primary (years one to five). On the other hand, distance education has been centralized and controlled by the state. The Ministry of National Education (MONE) is responsible for all distance learning activities from kindergarten to the secondary level. The Higher Education Council is responsible for distance learning implementation in universities. Recent statistics show that the demand for postsecondary education in Turkey is rising. Admission to higher education is centralized and based on nationwide examinations administered by the Student Selection and Placement Centre every year. Every year, approximately 1.5 million students enter the examination and nearly 420,000 of these students are placed into a higher education program (including the Open Education Faculty, OEF). In fact, in the 2001 to 2002 education year, the number of students at the secondary school level reached 2.24 million. This shows that the demand for postsecondary education will rise in the near future. However, it is not possible to double the capacity of the universities in a traditional sense. Therefore, it is expected that distance education will be thought of as one of the solutions to redress the balance. However, awareness about distance education based on the Internet is limited.
Distance Learning in Incarcerated Populations
Authors: Bagwell Christine
Published: May 2011

The United States Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that as of June 30, 2006, there are 1.6 million people serving sentences in state and federal facilities. This number does not include the roughly 600,000 additional inmates housed in local jails (AP, 2007). Inmate populations have been increasing in almost all states, with high numbers of recidivists. “The criminal justice system has frequently been referred to as a “revolving door” where offenders are released, only to be returned over and over again to incarceration” (Daniel, 2003, p. 3). While many educators focus on bridging the digital divide for rural and disadvantaged students, few focus on a much more isolated population: those in the prison system. Research shows that educating incarcerated populations lowers recidivism rates at substantial savings to state taxpayers. Just as the advent of the Web has revolutionized education’s reach, instructional Web technologies have the power to extend into the most dangerous and neglected schoolrooms in our country: America’s prisons.
Distance Learning in 21st Century Education
Authors: Howard Caroline , Discenza Richard , Turoff Murray
Published: May 2011

Colleges and universities around the country are scrambling to keep pace with the innovations in technology to engage a generation of students that come to campus with laptops, camera cell phones, and the knowledge and skills on how to use Google. Some professors make available course websites while others use podcast lectures, but these are often considered experimental. Many of these tools and techniques aim to revolutionize the learning process, however, many faculty and students worry that these advances are just distracting from the material and from time tested methods of teaching. Since no one understands the full impacts of these teaching tools or about their long range effectiveness, for now, colleges and universities are engaged in a beta test to determine how technologies will co-exist with or replace the traditional approaches. The challenge of each innovation is that it must be carefully measured against the successes of the traditional approaches.
The Effect of Cultural Differences and Educational Technology on Distance Education in the South Pacific
Authors: Frank Jonathan , Toland Janet
Published: May 2011

Innovations in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the development of global-knowledge- based economies are presenting higher-education institutions throughout the developing world with both opportunities and challenges. New opportunities for remotely located institutions are opening up, but the challenge is to ensure that these innovations can be utilized in a culturally appropriate manner at the local level. Despite a relatively low population base, the scattered geography of the South Pacific region has resulted in wide cultural variations between the different island groups. This makes the South Pacific an ideal region in which to explore the impact of cultural differences on online learning. This research investigates the opportunities offered by online learning; the focus is on the use of e-mail as a mechanism for encouraging Web-based interaction among students in two distance-education institutions with a culturally and geographically diverse student body.
E-Learning Industry
Authors: Gordon John , Lin Zhangxi
Published: May 2011

E-learning is the process of teaching and learning using electronic media, generally distributed over a network. For a thorough coverage of e-learning, see Anderson and Elloumi (2004). The market for e-learning is the market for the provision, delivery and administration of learning services through the use of new media and network technologies. Following the success of e-commerce, e-learning provides an effective pathway to bring education and training beyond national borders. With the deployment of technology, e-learning can make education and training accessible to even more people and more places around the world. E-learning also is a large information industry that has shown continuous growth over the past few years and is now a key e-commerce-based market. The e-learning industry has gone through many of the development cycles as other high-tech industries, and suffered from the dot-com boom and bust of 2000. It has now entered a period of steady growth, and the future bodes well for its development as a key element in the support and delivery of education and training.
Electronic Performance Support, E-Learning, and Knowledge Management
Authors: Banerji Ashok , Scales Glenda Rose
Published: May 2011

The key outcome of the current transition from the “old economy” to the “new economy” is the dramatic shift from investments in physical capital to investments in intellectual capital. Today, approximately 70% of a country’s wealth is in human capital as opposed to physical capital, as estimated by Gary S. Becker, Nobel laureate and professor of economics and sociology at the University of Chicago (Ruttenbur, Spickler, & Lurie, 2000). In the knowledge-based economy, organizations as well as individuals need to focus on protecting and enhancing their biggest asset: their knowledge capital. The increasing economic importance of knowledge is blurring the boundary lines for work arrangements and the links between education, work, and learning. Today, business needs workers who can perform, but to perform well they need timely, relevant, and task-specific knowledge, learning opportunities, and guidance. Traditional means of knowledge support ranging from conventional classroom training to computer-based training are becoming severely limited. At the same time, managers are voicing dissatisfaction with the IT investments in the workplaces because of unrealized productivity gains. Most often it is because of the fact that IT is adopted but not exploited properly.
Enhanced Instructional Presentations and Field-Webs
Authors: Pelton Leslee Francis , Pelton Timothy Ward , St. Cyr Bob
Published: May 2011

The development and growth of the Internet has revolutionized not only the way we access information, but the way we present it as well. Prior to the advent of the World Wide Web, most learning presentations were audio, textual, or video publications that were viewed linearly, or planned learning activities that were presented in a linear fashion. The learner may have listened to a lecture, completed a sequence of activities, read a chapter in a textbook, followed along on a tour, or watched a film or video to gain the information needed to learn a new concept – and opportunities to adjust the presentation sequence were limited. Linear presentations (lectures, expositions, demonstrations, activity sequences, etc.) can be seen as efficient from the perspective of the instructor and the institution. They aim to maximize the overall learning effects for a target audience by identifying the state of understanding and needs of the average learner, and then creating and reusing a fixed presentation to meet those typical needs. These presentations are often well polished and can be effective for large portions of their target audiences.
Faculty Participation in Distance Education Programs
Authors: Schifter Catherine C.
Published: May 2011

Distance education is not new to higher education. Correspondence courses have served students since the 19th century. What is different today is the use of interactive computer-mediated communication systems for distance education (DE). Indeed, DE is present in all levels of higher education, and the decision to offer DE is often an administrative one without faculty consultation. A successful DE program needs faculty participation. To teach in a DE program, faculty need to reconsider the teaching and learning process, and to modify their teaching methods to adopt interactive computer-mediated communication and teaching strategies that take advantage of the resources afforded by technologymediated pedagogy, and to be more student centered (Beaudoin, 1998). This shift in roles means that successful teaching skills for DE are different from those required in face-to-face teaching (Hackman & Walker, 1990); however, faculty training programs tend to focus on to how to use the computers or software, not on how to teach in DE environments (Merkley, Bozik & Oakland, 1997). Given that DE is not a common concept for most faculty and they will need to learn how to teach in the DE environment, there are two questions for DE administrators to answer. First, what motivates faculty to embrace this new teaching environment and to change their teaching strategies? And second, what assistance, incentives and compensation policies support faculty in this educational transformation?
The Future of Teaching and Learning Technologies
Authors: Strauss Howard
Published: May 2011

The evolution of a few critical technologies has the potential to change the way teaching and learning is done is the near future. Among those technologies are biometrics, global positioning systems and real mobile computing. Previously unthinkable paradigms for education are now—or soon will be—affordable, as Moore’s Law slashes the cost of intelligent devices. This chapter presents some challenging ideas about how learning might be done in the future and what the future of colleges, classes and courses —if they still exist —might be. Predicting the future accurately is at best difficult. Extrapolations from the present into the future are fraught with unpredictability. In 1958, a Boeing 707 320-B, the first United States (U.S.) commercial jet liner, cruised at 607 mph (Boeing, 2004). You’d expect that today, 46 years later, airplanes would fly much faster; yet the Boeing 747 and even the future 7e7 actually cruise a bit slower (Boeing, 2004). Spotting a trend doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue.
Heuristically Evaluating Web-Based ODL
Authors: Karoulis Athanasis , Pombortsis Andreas
Published: May 2011

The rapid establishment of third-generation distance learning environments, the so-called Web-based or tele-teaching environments, is nowadays a fact. The main means for the delivery of this new educational approach is the World Wide Web, and there are some good reasons for its use, such as its easy accessibility by many groups of learners. It also supports multiple representations of educational material and various ways of storing and structuring this information, as well as being powerful and easy to use as a publishing medium. Additionally, it has been widely accepted that the hyper-medial structure of the Web can support learning. Some researchers characterize the Web as an active learning environment that supports creativity. In addition to this, the Web encourages the exploration of knowledge and browsing, behaviors strongly related to learning. The associative organization of information in the Web is similar to that of human memory, and the process of information retrieval from the Web presents similarities to human cognitive activities (Tselios, Avouris, Dimitracopoulou, & Daskalaki, 2001).
Hybrid and Traditional Course Formats
Authors: Baugher Dan , Varanelli Andrew , Weisbord Ellen
Published: May 2011

The use of technology as a teaching tool, for example, self-paced programmed instruction, has a long history. However, developments in “high tech” support have considerably broadened the choice and viability of alternative learning contexts and the question of the value of technology for learning has been argued on both sides. There are those who assert that technology has no influence on learning under any circumstances (Clark, 1983). Rather, it affects only the cost or extent of instructional delivery. It is the quality of instruction itself that impacts learning (Clark, 1994). Others claim that the characteristics and capabilities of various technologies do indeed interact with learners, and that effects vary based on characteristics of both the technology and the learner (Kozma, 1991).
Implementing a Laptop Program within a College of Pharmacy
Authors: Robinson Evan T.
Published: May 2011

There has been a lot of change within pharmacy education over the past 15 years as schools and colleges of pharmacy, either independently or collaboratively with their institution, have invested in the use of technology for the processes of teaching, learning and assessment. One of the changes brought with the evolving technology is the onset of laptop initiatives. Theses are programs in which students bring either a provided or pre-determined laptop to classes and the use of technology within the program is greatly enhanced. Implementing a laptop initiative is a long term process requiring planning, implementation and budgetary support. This article provides an overview of the different ways a laptop initiative can be implemented, the pros and cons of different methods, the reasons for starting a laptop initiative, and some general challenges.
Improving Learning and Reducing Costs for Online Learning
Authors: Twigg Carol A.
Published: May 2011

Every college and university in the United States (US) is discovering exciting new ways of using information technology to enhance the process of teaching and learning, and to extend access to new populations of students. For most institutions, however, new technologies represent a black hole of additional expense. Most campuses have simply bolted new technologies onto a fixed plant, a fixed faculty and a fixed notion of classroom instruction. Under these circumstances, technology becomes part of the problem of rising costs rather than part of the solution. In addition, comparative research studies show that rather than improving quality, most technology-based courses produce learning outcomes that are simply “as good as” their traditional counterparts — what often is referred to as the “no significant difference” phenomenon. By and large, colleges and universities have not yet begun to realize the promise of technology to improve the quality of student learning and reduce the costs of instruction.
Leadership in Technology Integration
Authors: Burke Sue
Published: May 2011

We have all heard the saying, “Follow the Leader,” but what if there is none? When humans learn a new skill or idea, the tendency is to look to others to see how they are implementing or embracing the new methods, as well as look to see what the expectation is in its adoption. The integration of technology in the learning process is no different. Leadership, or lack thereof, can make the difference between the technology becoming a formidable tool that causes a change in the teaching and learning within the classroom, or just being a very expensive writing implement, or even worse, an electronic tool that provides busy seatwork. When technology was first introduced into schools, it was basically a “bottom-up” implementation, with those teachers who expressed interest being the ones who led the way. Today, with the amount of money and effort that has been invested in the infrastructure, it cannot sustain any measure of success to reform and transform education without committed leadership providing both vision and support for that vision. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the success or failure of the integration process is dependent on the role of those who guide the process.
Learning Outcomes across Instructional Delivery Modes
Authors: Aworuwa Bosede , Owen Robert
Published: May 2011

A discussion of distance learning usually entails a wide range of instructional and learning activities, instructional delivery modalities, and learner interactions characterized by some distance between the teacher and the learner, and mediated by a variety of technological tools (Schlosser & Simonson, 2002; Tiene & Ingram, 2001). The tools available for the delivery and access to learning materials contribute in large measure to the kind of experiences that learners have with distance learning. Distance-learning delivery and access tools have radically evolved in recent years with the advent of new and mostly Web-based technologies. Podcasting, virtual communities, and social networking tools, such as Facebook and MySpace, all have implications for how current and future learners access and even cocreate contents of instruction locally and at a distance (Appel, 2007).
Library Services for Distance Education Students in Higher Education
Authors: Buchanan Elizabeth
Published: May 2011

Contemporary distance education has its roots in early forms of postal correspondence study but has evolved to sophisticated, technologically grounded forms of education. It has progressed from simplistic forms of written, correspondence study, known as the first wave of distance education (1870-1970), to early forms of television, satellite, and compressed video delivery and open education, known as the second wave (1970-1992), to its present stage of computer-based delivery, mainly over the Internet and its multimedia component, the World Wide Web (WWW). This form constitutes the third wave or phase. While the means by which institutions of higher learning deliver education remotely will continue to change, there is at least one constant—distance students will need support from their institutions and, in particular, access to library resources and services to successfully complete their educational endeavors. Libraries’ roles are indeed changing in light of Webbased distance learning, as well as such developments as full-text databases, e-books, and on-demand services. For years, libraries have struggled with the tension between “just-in-time” versus “just-in-case” collection development, and the need to now serve remote users and on-site students exacerbates this tension. Yet, serving remote students is not novel—the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) issued its first guidelines for serving “extension students” in 1963. The ACRL Guidelines are now in their fourth revision (ACRL, 2000).
A Model for Evaluating Online Programs
Authors: Nelson Amy J.
Published: May 2011

According to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (1994), “Program evaluation is a systematic investigation of the worth of an ongoing or continuing distance education activity” (Simonson, 1997, p. 88). As such, this article addresses the issue of evaluating programs rather than courses. Although it is true that content, instructional design, and delivery greatly affect the quality of the program, course evaluation is a topic in and of itself. Frydenberg (2002) noted that program evaluation was frequently listed as a separate item in standards documentation: “While assessment of student achievement is normally described as part of instructional design and tied to specific course objectives, program evaluation is an activity that incorporates all the aspects of the e-learning experience” (p. 7). High-level aspects of course design are, however, built into program evaluation as you will see because it is impossible to evaluate an educational program without looking at courses.
The New "Space" of the University in the Digital Age
Authors: Raschke Carl A.
Published: May 2011

While critics of the new computer-mediated learning styles utter jeremiads about the impending apocalypse of higher education in general, technophiles argue that the changes are all salutary. In fact, some see no difference between faculty cultures and online and traditional schools (Johnstone, 2001). In the same vein, the proliferation of digital classrooms across the instructional spectrum and online learning have touched off a firestorm of controversy concerning the “effectiveness” of new computer-mediated pedagogies versus traditional face-to-face, or “presential,” instruction. Various studies have been conducted and the findings circulated (Smith, Smith, & Boone, 2000). Each research project purports to demonstrate the degree to which educational outcomes are enhanced or diminished by distance learning formats, such as the replacement of lectures by interactive Web chats or discussion forums, the use of e-mail for office hours, and so forth. As with performance assessment models in general, so many of these research initiatives cancel each other out. At the same time, they conceal the investigator’s own biases or wishes without examining assumptions. They also betray notoriously imprecise general concepts of what the studies themselves are actually measuring.
Online Instruction as a Caring Endeavor
Authors: Gangeness Jeanine E.
Published: May 2011

Online instruction has been approached with caution by nursing. Concerns range from unfamiliarity with online pedagogy to the potential for decreased student connectedness. Being unfamiliar with the online format can be overcome through a series of self-training, taking courses online, and dedication to the process. Student connectedness is basic to nursing and a caring and compassionate profession. It has been argued that an online format will create an atmosphere of disconnectedness and isolation. To combat this disconnectedness and isolation, an atmosphere of caring is required in the online classroom. This article considers the basics of both creating an atmosphere of caring and concepts that support the online pedagogy. Caring is the essence of nursing and should be conveyed in the instruction of nurses. Online instruction can facilitate a caring atmosphere, when done properly, and promote growth for student nurses. Grounding this notion is a brief discussion of various nursing concepts and theories on caring, and how the key elements of some of these theories relate directly to the outcomes of online instruction. In addition to the concept of caring and relating this to online instruction, a connection to the supporting concepts of trust and professional nurse autonomy are intimately connecting to caring and online instruction. This connection illustrates the foundational results of online instruction and how these are indeed the same elements of the concept of caring.
Online Learning Teams
Authors: Thompson Carla J.
Published: May 2011

Team player, a familiar expression in many educational and workplace environments, is also an important component of online learning environments. The inclusion of teams and groups in discussions, group projects, problem-solving exercises, and role playing activities is a vital part of teaching and learning that encourages students’ social interaction and leadership skills. The need for students in online environments to acquire and use social skills such as cooperative learning skills, group discussion strategies, and conflict resolution skills, that are traditionally included in face-to-face teaching and learning environments is an intrinsic goal of online teaching and learning. A brief historical perspective of the development of online learning programs highlights some of the factors that have influenced the need for including student teams in online learning environments.
The Open University of Israel
Authors: Erlich Zippy , Gal-Ezer Judith
Published: May 2011

The Open University of Israel (OUI) is a distance education institution with open admissions that offers academic studies to students throughout Israel. Its home-study method allows its students to pursue higher education whenever and wherever convenient. The OUI offers over 500 courses in life sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, management, Jewish studies, education, humanities, psychology, communications, music and art, and more, and has about 38,000 students all over Israel and abroad. The OUI has traditionally taken advantage of existing technologies and has integrated state-of-the-art technology into its courses. For several years, the OUI has been integrating computer-mediated-communication (CMC) technologies into its course Web sites to improve its distance teaching. These new teaching methods expand and enrich the written textbooks that are the basis for teaching at the OUI. The incorporation of technological teaching methods is fully adapted to the written study materials that are prepared by experts in their fields. Below, we will present the OUI and its distance learning methods, which include the integration of the CMC technologies.
Partnerships
Authors: Baer Linda L. , Duin Ann Hill
Published: May 2011

The rapidly changing environment in society is cause for higher education to reassess approaches to meeting educational needs. Many key factors are in a dynamic flux: these include growing numbers of students, more diverse populations of students, the need for more responsive educational content and modes of delivery, and the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the economy. At the same time that new and pervasive demands face higher education, we are experiencing a shift away from high, predictable public support to increased reliance on tuition and outside funding sources. Partnering, now more than ever, is a critical component of success. Partnerships enable people and organizations to support each other by leveraging, combining, and capitalizing on their complementary strengths and capabilities, thereby achieving more than either partner working alone. However, successful partnering demands new ways of doing business and greater understanding of the factors contributing to successful partnerships.
Podcasting as Mobile Learning
Authors: King Kathleen P.
Published: May 2011

Debuting as “audio-blogging” in September 2004, podcasting has evolved to a much more stalwart technology and a greater societal adoption (Geoghegan & Klass, 2005). The public awareness of podcasting was marked by the integration of podcasting into Apple’s music downloading extravaganza called iTunes® in June 2005 (Lafferty & Walch, 2006). However it was in 2006-2007 that the steep incline of adoption became obvious (Li, 2007) as the iPod® became more popular. Podcasts are digital audio files which are hosted on the Internet and published via a special scripting language. Podcasts are usually produced in a series, so that there are multiple episodes. And the scripting language, XML (Extensible Markup Language) and RSS (Really Simple Syndication), enables updates of the series to be sent to the listener’s computer or wireless device automatically (King & Gura, 2007). However, readers may ask what connection does this popular broadcasting phenomenon have to distance and online learning? Or then again, how could MP3 players, iPods®, and the movement of new media have any impact or relationship to formal and informal learning?
Preparing Faculty for Distance Learning Teaching
Authors: Ally Mohamed
Published: May 2011

Due to the recent development of delivery and communication technology and the success of distance learning, educational organizations are starting to use distance teaching to reach students so that they can learn anytime and from anywhere (Daniel, 1997). At the same time, businesses and organizations are increasingly using distance learning technology to bring the training to employees rather than send the employees for training. As a result, faculty and trainers are required to make the transition from classroom face-to-face teaching to distance teaching. One of the drawbacks in making the transition to distance delivery is faculty and trainers may not be prepared to function in the new role which is a major challenge for administrators (Agee, Holisky & Muir, 2003). Also, distance teaching is seen as an add-on for faculty in dual mode institutions (Wolcott, 2003), and resources are not available to prepare staff to work in the distance learning setting. At the same time, the commitment to distance learning from senior officials tend not to be as strong when compared to traditional delivery especially in dual mode institutions where there are both face-to-face delivery and distance delivery, and faculty have to teach both classroom delivery and distance delivery (Betts, 1998; Hislop & Atwood, 2000). Hence, it is important that administrators support distance delivery for it to be successful. According to Betts (1998), administrators who show interest in distance learning and who have experience in distance learning will influence faculty to use distance learning methods.
The Professional Learning Model (PLM™)
Authors: Leasure David E. , Peterson Amy , Kettner-Polley Richard , Tonningen Scott Van
Published: May 2011

Late in 2003, Colorado Technical University prepared to develop a large number of programs for online delivery. As part of the planning, the university developed its professional learning model (PLM™) to ensure online and face-to-face courses would address student motivation, employ proven teaching techniques, integrate theory with practice, teach real-world knowledge and skills, and support assessment of student learning. PLM™ courses focus on mastery of professional knowledge and skills by applying what is taught in the course to the construction of authentic deliverables that are produced in the professional environment, such as project plans, software programs, or electronic devices. CTU PLM™ engages the student in complex, real-world projects and scenarios that require them to organize, research, and solve problems. Essentially, it allows students to practice skills in real world situations. Professional learning naturally answers the student question, “How will I use this in the real world?” It allows students to easily establish the connection between what they learn in the classroom and real world issues and practices. This learning method encourages students to use higher levels of thinking skills by having them look critically and creatively at problems that don’t have one right answer. Students learn about information in situations that are similar to the professional situations in which they will use the information in the future.
Quality Assurance and Online Higher Education
Authors: Garten Edward D. , Thompson Tedi
Published: May 2011

For higher education, the assurance of quality to others in what it does is a deeply held value. Yet, marks surrounding quality are not easily identified, clearly understood, or universally accepted. The consumer movement, among other societal factors in recent years, has nudged and in some instances pushed institutions of higher learning toward the specification of meaningful assessment measures and the subsequent reporting out to concerned parties indications of quality relative to institutional infrastructure and resources, institutional processes, and readily understood outcomes measures (Baker, 2002, p. 3).
Quality Function Deployment in Training Design
Authors: Jeffery Arthur B. , Bratton-Jeffery Mary F.
Published: May 2011

Since the 1950s, the designers of training systems have embraced the logical and deliberate methodology of the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) Model in one form or another (Figure 1) (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2001; Sugrue, 2003). The inherent linear design of this model perpetuates thinking that a single input leads to a single output. Each phase has specific associated tasks dependent on the phase preceding it. The conceptual model is extremely linear in execution, albeit, ideally, the activities should be interwoven (Smith & Ragan, 1999). The traditional model implies terminality. One cannot refute the efforts or the products, but given the rapid advancement of technology and the complexity of performance systems, it is time to question the success of time-intensive approaches based on the classic models (Foshay, 1995; Myers, 1999; Wallace, Hybert, Smith, & Blecke, 2003).
Repurposing Educational Content into an International Market
Authors: Robinson Evan T.
Published: May 2011

The intent of action is the achievement of something decisive. Within any business, decisiveness is hopefully linked to the successful generation of revenue due to the right product being introduced to the right market at the right time. The challenge is to ensure that once a product is released to the market, the most revenue possible can be earned. In the case of higher education, one potential product is online education offerings that provide learning opportunities to students who cannot participate in a traditional education. The development of digitized educational materials for online use, however, can be costly and subsequent revenue streams may generate little or no revenue, which has occurred in some instances for distance education programs.
Research on Cultural Factors in Global E-Learning
Authors: Stepich Donald , Chyung Seung Youn (Yonnie) , Smith-Hobbs Allison
Published: May 2011

Simply put, e-learning refers to Internet-based learning. E-learning can take place by reading a piece of information, such as a Web page, or completing a package of instruction, both of which are designed to impact learning and performance (Rosenberg, 2000). E-learning has rapidly gained momentum, especially in large international companies, due to the globalization of business. Businesses in the current global economy need to provide fast-changing information to large numbers of employees and customers at dispersed locations more efficiently than ever (Rosenberg, 2000). Although traditional classroom instruction is still the primary mode for delivering training (Sugrue, 2003), e-learning enables the delivery of content to global locations in a timely manner (Hartley, 2001). Although e-learning promises learning opportunities for anyone, anytime, and anywhere, reliably producing successful learning outcomes is a challenge. Unfortunately, e-learning programs often suffer high dropout rates (Wang, Foucar-Szocki, Griffin, O’Connor, & Sceiford, 2003). There are various reasons for this, but with e-learning, “the lack of cultural adaptation is a leading reason why e-learning fails to work” (Dunn & Marinetti, n.d.). This article addresses e-learning as a method for both education and training in a global economy, and it questions how e-learning can effectively reach a multicultural audience. It provides a theoretical overview of various cultural dimensions, and addresses the importance of considering multicultural factors and strategies in the design of e-learning.
Research on the E-Teacher in the K-12 Distance Education Classroom
Authors: Murphy Elizabeth , Rodríguez-Manzanares María A.
Published: May 2011

Compared to the post-secondary level, distance education at the elementary and secondary levels has received little attention from researchers (Kapitzke & Pendergast, 2005; Smith, Clark, & Blomeyer, 2005). This lack of attention is of concern given the rapid and broad growth of this form of education. In the United States, online education programs are experiencing rapid growth. For example, during the academic year 2005-2006, more than 90,000 middle and high school students were enrolled in state virtual schools in the Southern Regional Education Board, which represented a 100% increase in enrollments from the previous year (Southern Regional Education Board, 2006). While we might assume that research from contexts of post-secondary may inform K-12 distance education, Cavanaugh, Gillan, Kromrey, Hess, and Blomeyer (2004) caution against this assumption as follows: “The temptation may be to attempt to apply or adapt findings from studies of K-12 classroom learning or of adult distance learning, but K-12 distance education is fundamentally unique” (p. 4). The authors further observed that, although research in this area “is maturing” (p. 17), it has only been studied since about 1999. The current “explosion in virtual schools” (p. 6) creates a compelling rationale for continued efforts to conduct research on K-12 distance education.
Riding the School Bus Called Technology
Authors: Droste Augusta , Droste Bruce
Published: May 2011

In the constantly growing and changing realm of teaching, learning, and technology, teachers are expected to embrace strange new technological mediums with enthusiasm and confidence. It is asking a lot! In our combined 10 years of working with teachers in the Virtual High School at the Marlboro College Technology Graduate Center, and in teaching the “Pedagogy of Online Learning” at Cambridge College, we have arrived at a few basic conclusions about what teachers must know and be able to do in order to have the best chance of success in the new millennium.
School Reform and the Maturing of Online Learning
Authors: Glick David B.
Published: May 2011

been underway that has led to new standards, new choices for students, and new forms of accountability. In the last few years, online learning has become a significant factor in this school reform and school choice landscape, and its influence is growing fast (Edwards, Chronister, & Bushweller, 2002). Standards, school choice, and accountability are three facets of school reform that are inextricably linked together. The logic goes something like this: start by defining what students should know and be able to do at various grade levels. These learner expectations have gone by several names, most of which have developed political connotations that flavor our perceptions: outcomes, objectives, or standards. For the purposes of this article, I will use the currently favored term “standards.” After standards are established at the national, state, or local levels, choices can be created that allow students to achieve these standards in a way that is most suitable for them. This has led to a large increase in options for students in curriculum, instruction, and school type. The increase in choices has in turn led to the need for greater accountability. More rigorous evaluation needs for students, teachers, and schools have led to new forms of assessment, more standardized tests, and greater scrutiny of schools (Elmore, 2000).
Sharable Learning Objects
Authors: Stavredes Tina
Published: May 2011

As we look to the future, we are poised at the edge of an ever-expanding universe of opportunities to learn. The Internet has opened the door for access to a vast amount of knowledge available to different users in different locations at the same time. The educational landscape is also changing to expand opportunities to learn at any time and any place through distance education. Additionally, Internet access is opening doors for a new population of learners who previously could not continue their education due to location, work, and time constraints. However, without new instructional design processes and standards, the time and effort it takes to utilize disparate resources for learning inhibits the ability to utilize the resources available. In this article, shareable learning objects will be presented as a way for sharing information in standard ways that will allow the design of learning events that fit the needs of learners and provide just-in-time opportunities to develop skills and knowledge.
Social Presence
Authors: Lowenthal Patrick R.
Published: May 2011

Learning is a social process (Harasim, 2002; Swan & Shea, 2005; Tu, 2000). Discourse plays a key role in the social process of learning (Harasim, 2002). Therefore, it is extremely important that we understand how students and teachers socially interact in online courses where asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) is the major form of discourse. Theories of social presence help explain how students and teachers interact and learn online.
Social Presence in Distance Learning
Authors: Newberry Brian
Published: May 2011

Online learning can be seen as a form of distance education. Though online education is relatively new, distance education is not. According to Rumble (1986), the term distance education may have first been used as early as 1892 in a catalog of the University of Wisconsin. Distance education is, according to Verduin and Clark (1991): “...any formal approach to learning in which a majority of the instruction occurs while educator and learner are at a distance from one another” (p. 8). This emphasis on distance between learner and instructor or teacher is common, for instance, Berge and Collins (1995) define distance education as “the delivery of the educational process to receivers who are not in proximity to the person or persons managing or conducting the process” (p. 14). These definitions cause one to envision learners working alone with their materials and completing assignments that are ultimately evaluated by a teacher also working alone, connected to their students by only the most tenuous of lines inscribed on the papers that they share. Indeed, prior to online learning, many forms of distance education were largely text based and relied on postal delivery of course materials to students, and to carry completed assignments to the instructor. This correspondence model, which primarily used mail as the primary delivery system, has been adapted to exploit perceived advantages of new media such as radio and televised systems for distance learning in both the United States and Australia (Lewis, Whitaker & Julian, 1995). However, while these models of distance learning used new media to transmit information to the learner, many still relied on postal delivery of materials from the student to the instructor. New communications technologies have changed this by making possible greater and more rapid interaction between participants in the online learning experience.