The Luddite Revolt continues

The bicentenary in 2011 of the Luddite Revolt prompts us to ask ‘what would Ned Ludd think of today’s automated styles of distance education?’ He would no doubt echo the common criticism that educational technologies create an impersonal style of teaching and learning, and devalue the teacher. He would probably agree that online methods have major potential for millions of distance‐based students who cannot attend classroom‐based education and training; but he would emphasise the need for quality assurance and cost‐effectiveness studies in distance education implementation. He might also ask why anyone would encourage the development of e‐learning in countries where the Internet is largely inaccessible. This article uses the Luddites’ views of workplace automation to explore how global distance education practices might be improved. It suggests that the intentions of the original Luddites were laudable and worthy of application in distance education today.     

远程学习者能否享受到成本优势

当前大多数学者认为只要达到了一定的规模,远程教育将能够实现以较低的生均成本让更多的学习者获得较高质量的教育。但是也有学者对这一观点持悲观或者质疑的态度。那么我国远程教育的学习者能否享受到低生均成本优势？如果能,又是否是以得到＂低效廉价＂的教育为代价呢？中国社会科学调查中心关于中国家庭动态跟踪调查数据显示：在控制了学历层次和专业后,与普通教育的学习者相比较,远程教育的学习者付出了显著更少的教育支出;在控制了私人教育支出等因素后,远程教育学习者和普通教育学习者的教育满意度基本持平,没有显著差异。这说明现阶段远程教育的学习者的确享受到了远程教育的成本优势,而且这种优势并不是以教育质量为代价的。同时,实证结果还显示普通教育学习者的教育满意度对＂住宿费＂和＂交通费＂具有显著的价格敏感度,而远程教育支出中的＂其他费用＂项目会显著拉低学习者的教育满意度,因而需要远程教育办学机构对这部分费用进行减免。     

A quantitative cost effectiveness model for Web-supported academic instruction

This paper describes a quantitative cost effectiveness model for Web-supported academic instruction. The model was designed for Web-supported instruction (rather than distance learning only) characterizing most of the traditional higher education institutions. It is based on empirical data (Web logs) of students' and instructors' usage implementing Web-mining techniques. This will enable to quantify the costs and benefits of Web-supported instruction on both the single-course and the campus-wide levels. This paper describes the model's characteristics; the costs and benefits components in six dimensions; the computational mechanism that translates the cost and benefit components into quantitative values referring to university policymakers, instructors, and students; and its development process consists of the model design, creation of the computational mechanism and validation by instructors and students.     

远程教育服务增值模型研究

通过借鉴市场营销领域的顾客参与理论对远程教育服务体系增值模型的研究,表明学生对于目前的远程教育服务具有中等偏高的满意度,女生满意度高于男生;学生学习参与行为的维度及程度影响这一满意度指标;学费性价比的认知、教学设施使用、教学信息接收、教学信息获取、教学要求、学习疑难提出、教学服务人员接触等行为正向影响学生满意度;学生的学习兴趣满足、网上资源获取及保安服务等参与行为则对满意度起负向影响。远程教育服务体系可以通过学生参与行为的良好互动来提升服务品质,创造学生满意度最大化。     

关于学生个性因素与远程教育相关性的探讨

随着计算机技术在教育领域中应用的不断深入 ,远程教育这种顺应新技术发展的教学模式 ,开始深入影响人类未来的学习模式。为了有效地提高网上教学的质量 ,本文探讨了学生个性因素与远程教育之间的关系 ,并提出学生的个性因素在很大程度上影响着网上教学的教学效果。因此 ,有针对性地研制适合学生个性因素的网上教学 /学习系统 ,是今后远程教育的发展方向。     

TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ART STUDIO METHOD OF INSTRUCTION

Abstract

This distance degree program was specifically designed to meet the needs of Head Start teachers working with children from birth through 5 years of age and to raise the professional standards of these multicultural, non‐traditional students. Using electronic technologies and traditional learning methods, a partnership of university faculty and Head Start partners designed and evaluated the 3‐year program (1997–2000) of professional education distinguished by tailored instruction, work site mentoring and consultation, active self‐directed study, reflection and cooperative learning. Evaluative outcomes of program quality included learning success, relevance and practicability of curricula, efficacy of retention efforts, completion rates, quality of delivery strategies, instruction and mentoring. Evidence of program success was supported by these outcomes using multiple sources, including participating Head Start teachers, their supervisors, and university faculty.     

Distance learning and interaction: Toward a virtual learning institution

This paper considers distance learning at all levels, learning that can occur anywhere. Most education today in schools, universities, and companies is dependent on students being at a particular location, such as a university. The major distance learning institutions today are in Europe, but the potential for this type of learning is great as we reach out to serve greater numbers of students. The following factors are critical in forming a distance learning institute today: the quality of learning provided to each student; whether courses work for very large numbers of students; and the cost per student hour, for both development and delivery. Many delivery technologies are possible today. We examine them from the standpoint of these factors. The conclusion is that highly interactive multimedia learning units, either CD ROMs or (in the near future) broadband networks, provide the best delivery system today for distance learning. The paper concludes with a brief review of strategies for developing the curriculum units needed to support distance learning.     

Factors determining e‐learning service quality

e‐Learning courses are fast becoming common‐place, yet the success of these online courses varies considerably. Since limited research addresses the issue of e‐learning quality (ELQ) of service in higher education environments, there is an increasing need to effectively assess ELQ. In this paper, we argue that to obtain a satisfactory e‐learning student experience, we must offer more than access to learning material. The research proposes an extended SERVQUAL model, the ELQ model, which in addition to key service constructs, facilitates consideration of both information and system quality factors. Exploratory Factor Analysis is conducted to investigate the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and multiple regression analysis is used to test the research model. Data analysis reveals that Assurance, Responsiveness, Tangibility, Course Website and Learning Content have a positive correlation with the perception of ELQ. e‐Learning students value a stable, and easy to use e‐learning environment, yet do not perceive empathy and reliability as significant to student perception of ELQ.     

远程开放教育学员学习模式选择的调查分析

由于远程教育具有教学时空分离的特点,传统的面授教学在现代远程教育中难以发挥足够的作用,了解和分析学生学习模式的选择倾向是有效开展远程教学的前提。本文通过对湖南广播电视大学开放教育专业学员的问卷调查,分析了学员学习模式的选择现状,并利用灰色关联理论建立学习模式选择的评价模型,针对不同学员的学习特点及学习需求设计合理有效的...     

TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EXPLORING DISTANCE LEARNING FROM A CONSTRUCT/VIST PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which distance learning (distance learning vs. traditional) may influence undergraduate education majors’ emerging constructivist perspective. Elementary education majors at 2 universities (N = 102) volunteered to complete questionnaires. The 3 independent variables were traditional vs. distance learning, whether or not ever enrolled in distance learning, and instructor difference. The 3 dependent variables were concerned with what the instructor provided; what the instructor demonstrated; and what students believed they learned. A Multiple Analysis of Variance (Manova) compared the 3 independent variables across the 3 dependent variables and indicated that students in traditional classrooms rated what the instructor provided, what the instructor demonstrated, and what students believed they learned significantly greater than students in distance learning classrooms. An interpretation suggests that distance learning technology may hold potential for facilitating undergraduate education majors’ emerging constructivist perspective.     

Tests as means for promotion of learning from distance teaching

This article from a pedagogical viewpoint deals with the problem of how to promote meaningful learning in distance education. In correspondence courses, major problems arise from individual learning difficulties which are caused, e.g. by ineffective teaching methods, deficient individual prerequisites, and/or lack of social facilitation because of isolation. Dealing with those problems experts have been using various technical facilities (e.g., computers for administration and management) and media. Nevertheless, learning difficulties can be solved only by students themselves, but not by mere manipulation of technology, educational methods, or students’ activities. Methods to enhance individual engagement and learning cannot be based well on existing pedagogical theories, since these address direct teaching of children or youth in classroom. Search for theories and methods appropriate to distance teaching reveals as a major goal the development of problem‐solving skills and related abilities. Learning activities corresponding to that goal obviously cohere to working on problem‐like tests. Thus, a conceptual model of how to effect meaningful learning by tests is being proposed. Based on that model special modular components of tests are being described which should be apt for enhancing meaningful learning, and for computer‐based application.     

Designing distance learning programmes for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in large urban areas: An application of perceptual mapping and conjoint analysis methods

Providing low cost, high quality educational services to growing numbers of multilingual communities is perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing large urban school districts. In the Los Angeles urban area, adult students who wish to attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are presently constrained by the limitations of school resources, public transportation and growing levels of crime and street violence. Urban distance learning programmes may provide the best alternative to meet the educational needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) adult students because it can service large numbers of students who are separated from their schools by geographical distance, safety, convenience, transportation, etc. Using perceptual mapping and conjoint analysis methodologies, this study analytically identifies and examines the design features or attribute characteristics of an ESL urban distance learning programme for LEP adults. Using focus groups as the basis to identify these attributes, perceptual mapping methods point to a market niche in developing technology‐driven, low‐cost distance learning programmes for these students. A conjoint analysis survey finds that LEP students generally favour distance learning programmes where ‘cost’, ‘effectiveness’ and ‘assessment’ are the primary attribute components.     

关于学习支持服务体系及其职能的探讨

随着远程开放教育的迅速变革和不断发展普及 ,越来越多的人采用了这种灵活便捷的学习方式。与传统教育不同的是 ,远程开放教育的学生更多依赖于良好的支持服务。通过对学习支持服务体系及其职能的讨论 ,旨在为完善现代远程开放教育学生支持服务体系提供粗略框架     

Student support in distance education in the 21st century: Learning from service management

The popular conception of distance education is of a system in which students receive few of the consumptive service benefits of their colleagues in full‐time education. In fact, distance educators have generally been better at articulating what they mean by student service than traditional educators. Nevertheless, the rationale developed by distance educators for providing such services is less well based, making the service side of distance education vulnerable to pressures to reduce costs. With signs of a change in what traditional students, acting within a consumerist framework, want in the way of support services, and with distance education undergoing considerable changes in the wake of the development of e‐business, there is a need to reconsider the rationale for and nature of student services, drawing on some of the thinking that has taken place in the service management sector.     

The Development of Distance Learning Delivery Systems

The history of distance learning, traditionally a peripheral university activity, is briefly traced. The advent, first of the British Open University with its renovated philosophy of distance learning, and then of the new information and communication technologies and their application to distance education, has led to a revalorization of open and distance education. These technologies are rapidly blurring the distinction between traditional higher education and distance learning. Various techniques of distance learning are described, particularly the electronic classroom and the electronic library. These techniques, based as they are on text transmission, stand to improve the reading comprehension and writing skills of students even as they make radical changes in the positions, relative to one another, of students and teachers. At the same time, the ease of electronic writing may lead to a decrease in required intellectual rigour, chat rooms producing chatter rather than serious ideas. Also, the economies of scale available via the information and communication technologies may lead to serious cut‐backs in traditional higher education provision.     

现代远程教育服务农村学习型党组织建设之模式探究

采用文献研究、实地调研和理论分析等方法,结合农村学习型党组织的学习特点及教育需求,基于服务优势与可行性、服务内容与体系等,探究面向农村学习型党组织建设的现代远程教育服务模式。该模式以农村学习型党组织及其成员为主体,以教育需求为导向,以资源服务、技术设施服务、学习过程服务和管理服务等为主要内容,以服务满意度为质量评价标准。     

Using SERVQUAL to Measure the Quality of the Classroom Experience

Over the last three decades, higher education institutions have found themselves using vernacular that was once chiefly found in business disciplines, such as value‐added and competitive advantage. With the rising costs of tuition, newer‐generation students are seeing themselves more and more as customers and universities are beginning to adopt customer‐centric strategies and missions. However, even with this paradigm shift, little research has been done to extend traditional service management concepts to educational settings. This research attempts to bridge this gap by applying the SERVQUAL scale, a well‐validated and widely used service operations construct, to the classroom environment. The findings show that the SERVQUAL scale exhibits both reliability and convergent and divergent validity; in fact, in these regards, it outperforms traditional student assessment scales. Moreover, the scale can explain significant amounts of variances in student‐related outcome variables such as satisfaction and learning. This innovative approach to measuring classroom service quality does indeed show that students can be viewed as customers and has far‐reaching implications to all stakeholders in the delivery of higher education.     

Understanding persistence in adult learning

The paper summarizes recent data on the retention and non‐completion patterns of adult students, especially those over the age of 25 who have had a gap since completing full‐time education. While data on further and higher education suggest that older learners are less likely than younger ones to complete longer, qualification‐bearing programmes, central statistics do not distinguish between students in their early‐to‐mid 20s, many of whom still have much in common with those in their late teens, and those in their 30s, 40s and 50s whose lifestyles, learning goals and aspirations are often qualitatively different.

The section on retention data is followed by a summary of the reasons for not completing courses commonly cited by adults learning in conventional education settings, and reflection on whether these are significantly different from those cited by younger students and students in open or distance learning programmes. The paper ends with a summary of the kind of factors that might increase adult retention rates in both kinds of learning programme.

For the purposes of this paper, ‘adults’ are defined as those over the age of 25 who have had a gap since completing full‐time education.     

A model for self‐regulated distance language learning

The role of learner autonomy and self‐regulated learning in distance education has received much attention. The application of these concepts impacts course design and, potentially, learner achievement. In the case of distance language learning, course designers must consider not only how to help learners gain communicative competence but also language learner strategies that support success. Although the concepts of autonomy and self‐regulated learning share some similarities, they have been variously defined and applied to distance education. Current research and discussion has not synthesized the ways in which these factors can be more fully utilized to improve distance education. Based on a critical review and synthesis of the literature on autonomy and self‐regulation, this article contributes a new model for distance language learning. The model provides guidance for course designers and assists instructors in supporting their students.     

The Impact of CMS Quality on the Outcomes of E‐learning Systems in Higher Education: An Empirical Study

Course Management Systems (CMSs) in higher education have emerged as one of the most widely adopted e‐learning platforms. This study examines the success of e‐learning CMSs based on user satisfaction and benefits. Using DeLone and McLean's information system success model as a theoretical framework, we analyze the success of e‐learning CMSs in five dimensions: system quality, information quality, instructional quality, user satisfaction, and CMS benefits. An analysis of survey data collected from students participating in a university‐wide CMS shows that system quality, information quality, and instructional quality positively influence user satisfaction, which, in turn, increases the benefits of CMSs. By providing a comprehensive framework for the critical success factors in e‐learning CMSs and their causal relationships, this study provides practical implications for managing e‐learning courses and resources for a more flexible and effective CMS‐centered, e‐learning environment.