A methodological morass? How we can improve quantitative research in distance education

This article is about the quantitative research practices and methodologies that are used in distance education (DE). It begins with an analysis and assessment of a segment of the DE research literature, DE/classroom comparison studies, based on a recently completed meta-analysis of that literature from 1985 to 2002. Overall, the 232 studies reviewed were judged to be of poor methodological quality and severely lacking in critical information about research practices. Studies of synchronous and asynchronous DE are discussed separately and recommendations are made for improving designs and measures within these patterns. Suggestions for future quantitative research areas are provided. In discussing these findings, we recognize that high-quality research is being conducted in the field and that qualitative forms of research contribute greatly to the mosaic of evidence that is the base of available knowledge about DE. Finally, three organizations, the What Works Clearinghouse (USA), EPPI-Centre (UK), and the Campbell Collaboration (international), all devoted to improving the quality of research and research synthesis in education, are described briefly; suggestions are made as to how their philosophies and approaches for judging the worthiness of research evidence can be used to improve DE research.     

Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: Perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers

This paper presents the results of an inductive, interpretive analysis of the perspectives of 42 Canadian high school distance education (DE) teachers on asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. The paper includes a conceptual overview of the affordances and constraints of each form of teaching. Findings provided insight into the following aspects of asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: degree of use; the tools used; the contexts in which each occur; students' preferences; and limitations. Pedagogy emerged as more important than media for both asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. Synchronous online teaching relied on teacher‐ rather than student‐centred approaches. Asynchronous online teaching provided support for self‐paced, highly independent forms of secondary DE supplemented by synchronous online teaching for answering questions and troubleshooting.     

Exploring ideological becoming in professional development for teachers of multilingual learners: Perspectives on translanguaging in the classroom

This paper explores teachers' perspectives on the pedagogical resource of using students' first languages in the classroom. The authors implemented this action research case study within the context of a larger 15-week online, asynchronous, professional development course, where K-12 in-service public school teacher-participants were introduced to translanguaging and engaged in study and reflection on current practices and the benefits of including students' first languages in learning. This paper reports on the responses of seven representative teacher-participants from Hawai'i, USA, on their learning, with findings showing varied acceptance and resistance to encouraging and supporting their students' first language in the classroom.     

Using Facebook groups to support social presence in online learning

Building interpersonal connections in asynchronous online learning is important, but it is harder to achieve compared to face-to-face learning experiences due to its mostly text-based nature. Facebook is a popular social media platform and has been used as an outside-class communication space in formal learning contexts to supplement cognitive and affective aspects of learning. In this study, we used Facebook groups as supplemental social spaces in two asynchronous online master’s-level courses to understand if it impacted students’ perceptions of social presence (i.e., copresence, immediacy, and intimacy), learning interaction with faculty and peers, as well as sociability of the online learning environment. The results indicated that students felt more positively about social presence and learning interactions with other classmates and their instructor and perceived the course as having more sociability after they joined the class Facebook group. Findings have implications for supporting social impression formation in online learning.     

Intellectual roots of distance education: a progressive knowledge domain analysis

ABSTRACT

Distance education (DE) is a constantly evolving and advancing field, and as such, its intellectual network and dynamics need to be investigated and explored. In this regard, this study reviewed a total of 1685 articles and 51,940 references through social network analysis for a bibliometric examination of the DE field. The findings indicate that DE is an interdisciplinary field and part of mainstream education. The progressive knowledge domain analysis revealed that the intellectual roots of DE stem from generic social learning theories, after which DE-related theories began to emerge following the foundation of open universities. The research concludes that there was a paradigm shift that resulted from developments in online networked technologies in the 2000s, at which time DE started to gradually evolve into sixth generation ubiquitous DE.     

The Effects of Conversational Language on Group Interaction and Group Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation

This study examined the effects of conversational language (e.g., asking questions, inviting replies, acknowledgments, referencing others by name, closing signatures, ‘I agree, but’, greetings, etc.) on the frequency and types of responses posted in reply to given types of messages (e.g., argument, evidence, critique, explanation), and how the resulting response patterns support and inhibit collaborative argumentation in asynchronous online discussions. Using event sequence analysis to analyze message-response exchanges in eight online group debates, this study found that (a) arguments elicited 41% more challenges when presented with more conversational language (effect size .32), (b) challenges with more conversational language elicited three to eight times more explanations (effect size .12 to .31), and (c) the number of supporting evidence elicited by challenges was not significantly different from challenges that used more versus less conversational language. Overall, these and other findings from exploratory post-hoc tests show that conversational language can help to produce patterns of interaction that foster high levels of critical discourse, and that some forms of conversational language are more effective in eliciting responses than others.     

A comparative study of differential evolution and genetic algorithms for optimizing the design of water distribution systems

The differential evolution (DE) algorithm has been received increasing attention in terms of optimizing the design for the water distribution systems (WDSs). This paper aims to carry out a comprehensive performance comparison between the new emerged DE algorithm and the most popular algorithm??the genetic algorithm (GA). A total of six benchmark WDS case studies were used with the number of decision variables ranging from 8 to 454. A preliminary sensitivity analysis was performed to select the most effective parameter values for both algorithms to enable the fair comparison. It is observed from the results that the DE algorithm consistently outperforms the GA in terms of both efficiency and the solution quality for each case study. Additionally, the DE algorithm was also compared with the previously published optimization algorithms based on the results for those six case studies, indicating that the DE exhibits comparable performance with other algorithms. It can be concluded that the DE is a newly promising optimization algorithm in the design of WDSs.     

Participation,interaction and social presence: An exploratory study of collaboration in online peer review groups

A key reason for using asynchronous computer conferencing in instruction is its potential for supporting collaborative learning. However, few studies have examined collaboration in computer conferencing. This study examined collaboration in six peer review groups within an asynchronous computer conferencing. Eighteen tertiary students participated in the study. Content analyses of discussion protocols were performed in terms of participation, interaction, and social presence. The results indicate that collaboration does not occur automatically in asynchronous computer conference. Collaboration requires participation because no collaboration occurred in the two groups with low student participation; however, participation does not lead to collaboration, evidenced by student postings receiving no peer responses. Collaboration requires interaction but does not end with interaction, substantiated by different levels of collaboration across different interactional patterns. Social presence helps to realise collaboration through establishing a warm and collegial learning community to encourage participate and interaction, exemplified by the contrast of the group with the highest level of social presence and the group with the lowest level of social presence. A model of understanding and assessing collaboration in online learning is recommended, consisting of participation, interaction and social presence.     

基于社交网络的异步协同学习系统的设计

从分析异步协同学习中的交互行为出发,针对社交网络信息过载,内容难以沉淀等问题,提出基于社交网络实现异步协同学习系统的设计.其中包括群体交互方式的设计,协同推荐算法设计,支持概念图的内容模型设计等.     

How are campus students using social media to support their studies? An explorative interview study

Social media hype has created a lot of speculation among educators on how these media can be used to support learning, but there have been rather few studies so far. Our explorative interview study contributes by critically exploring how campus students perceive using social media to support their studies and the perceived benefits and limitations compared with other means. Although the vast majority of the respondents use social media frequently, a “digital dissonance” can be noted, because few of them feel that they use such media to support their studies. The interviewees mainly put forth e-mail and instant messaging, which are used among students to ask questions, coordinate group work and share files. Some of them mention using Wikipedia and YouTube for retrieving content and Facebook to initiate contact with course peers. Students regard social media as one of three key means of the educational experience, alongside face-to-face meetings and using the learning management systems, and are mainly used for brief questions and answers, and to coordinate group work. In conclusion, we argue that teaching strategy plays a key role in supporting students in moving from using social media to support coordination and information retrieval to also using such media for collaborative learning, when appropriate.     

以技术文化的视角考察远程教育

远程教育研究领域一直有着技术分析的传统,技术作为远程教育的文化组成,虽不是远程教育存在的决定因素,但却是最深刻的影响因素.在远程教育中.技术不仅体现"物的文化",同样也是"人的文化",技术的选择和改变是一个文化逐步积累的过程.技术文化直接影响着远程教育对技术的选择和使用,同样也深层次影响着学习文化的变迁.在实践中,需要克服工具理性的片面思维,以"教育学"而不仅是"技术学"的观点来解决教育问题.     

继续教育语境下现代远程教育专业及课程建设

近期,我们就继续教育语境下现代远程教育专业及课程建设话题,采访了北京师范大学远程教育研究中心主任、首都学习型社会研究院执行院长陈丽教授。陈教授认为:继续教育领域是远程教育机构的主战场。面向成人继续教育的现代远程教育系统应该显著区别于传统远程教育系统;专业和课程中应采用创新的方法,满足学生的特殊需要;现代远程教育应努力给学生带来全新的学习体验,这应该是现代远程教育专业及课程建设的基本思路。教学设计是远程教育课程建设最关键的环节,教学设计的重点在学习者分析、课程资源分析、学习目标设计、学习内容设计、学习活动设计、媒体组合方案设计、学习评价方案设计、学习支持服务设计等八个方面,其中,学习活动是支持远程教育自主学习的支架,尤为重要。经陈教授同意,现将访谈内容整理如下。     

Case report: the impact of a resubmission intervention on level 1 distance learning students

Student retention and success are key performance indicators within higher education. One of the key opportunities to address both of these lies with the support offered to students who fail a module but are entitled to resubmit. This study investigates the value of implementing a resubmission intervention to improve the quantity and quality of student resubmissions on a level 1 distance learning module. The intervention consisted of an online synchronous tutorial session and a supporting asynchronous forum. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by comparing the resubmission and pass rates to a previous presentation with no intervention. It was found that resubmission and pass rates were higher where the intervention was used suggesting that a resubmission intervention can increase the quality and quantity of submissions. Whilst, these findings are useful, it is important to acknowledge that there are additional factors that can impact the quantity and quality of resubmissions.     

Don’t Silence “the Dinosaurs”: Keeping Caution Alive With Regard to Social Work Distance Education

Distance education (DE) in social work programs and studies on its comparable effectiveness with face-to-face education continue to increase. Yet not all faculty are convinced of the results, and this study explores why. Three case studies indicate that reservations center on valuing the process of learning and nonverbal communication. Issues regarding duty of care to families to be served by future social workers primarily educated in a virtual classroom also matter significantly. The trend toward DE may be inevitable, but this does not mean that educators should not voice their concerns; their skepticism has merit, and they have a responsibility to be vocal.     

Validated Competencies for Distance Teaching

The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI) provides a methodology for drafting and validating teaching competencies. This study applied the IBSTPI methodology to identify and validate distance education (DE) instructor competencies. The research team's review of DE literature in the past 10 years resulted in a list of 20 competencies. The list was reviewed by 18 distance learning professionals as subject matter experts (SMEs). The SMEs' feedback and comments along with the performance statements developed for the competencies were analyzed which resulted in 54 task statements describing the instructional activities of a DE instructor. These tasks were then rated by 148 instructors in terms of importance, frequency of performance, and the perception of relative time spent on each task. The task analysis resulted in a list of 17 most frequently performed tasks that we linked back to the corresponding original competencies. Analysis of these data pointed out the significant characteristics of teaching from a distance including interaction with learners and technological and logistical requirements. This article presents the methodology and findings of this study and discusses their implications for recruitment, selection, and training of DE instructors.     

Where did distance education go wrong?

Distance education (DE) practices around the world use a wide range of audio‐visual technologies to overcome the lack of direct contact between teachers and students. These are not universally adopted by DE teachers, however, nor even encouraged by their institutions. This article discusses the organisational attitudes that can lead to outdated methods being maintained and successful ones abandoned, and it suggests that, just as educational television and programmed learning were supplanted in previous decades, so the World Wide Web could be abandoned as a viable education medium in the foreseeable future and replaced by more widely available media such as the cell phone. The article contrasts the learner‐centred philosophies underlying current DE approaches with the teacher‐centred philosophies of a generation ago. If these two philosophies are not united in a sensible middle ground, the article suggests, history may come to regard today’s DE as a Dark Age less enlightened than when Genghis Khan sent his arrow riders to deliver the mail in person across the Mongolian steppes, and when Lenin dispatched educational media experts to deliver DE materials by hand across the post‐revolutionary Soviet Union. The main losers in this scenario, the article concludes, will be the students of the developing world.     

Issues associated with participation in on line forums—the case of the communicative learner

This paper reports on participation within on-line forums. The focus is on asynchronous text based discussion within small groups of learners following a learning event or course. Participation is a key issue within such forums and research was carried out into adult learners' experiences within three case studies. Learners were positive about the forums in which they took part but participation was less than many would have liked. This paper describes the constraints on participation and outlines three patterns of participation—non participation, quiet participation and communicative participation. Discussion focuses on the communicative leaner—someone who participates regularly in forums and in ways which are broadly welcomed by others in the group. A profile of the communicative learner is developed in which the importance of fluency, coherence and informality is highlighted. The paper summarises the issues associated with on-line participation and their implications for supporting communicative participation.     

新媒体探析

计算机与信息技术的革命催生了种种新媒体。新媒体是个相对的概念,指的是相对于旧的传统媒体,新近出现的种种传播媒体。目前,从手机到互联网等各种数字媒体是最为常见的新媒体形态。新媒体具有传播主体的多元化、传播内容的多样性、传播行为的主动性、交互性、异步性以及新的传播效力等新的传播特性。     

新媒体探析

计算机与信息技术的革命催生了种种新媒体。新媒体是个相对的概念,指的是相对于旧的传统媒体,新近出现的种种传播媒体。目前,从手机到互联网等各种数字媒体是最为常见的新媒体形态。新媒体具有传播主体的多元化、传播内容的多样性、传播行为的主动性、交互性、异步性以及新的传播效力等新的传播特性。