Towards understanding adult distance learners

We are all aware that adults who return to study at a distance may approach their studies in very different ways. The reasons for such differences, and their relation to students' personal contexts, are not well understood. In this paper, Mavis Kelly of the School of External Studies and Continuing Education, University of Queensland, and Margaret Shapcott of the Distance Education Unit, Deakin University, present some of their findings from research into this area. Analysing interviews with external students of the University of Queensland, at two distinct levels, has enabled them to identify both attitudes to study common to all those interviewed and two basic kinds of study orientation. These differences are closely related to the students' personal background and experiences.     

Teaching distance learners in Wales

Open University students and staff in Wales often have to cover large distances to achieve face‐to‐face contact. To provide accessible tuition and counselling on an equitable basis is recognised as a difficulty in the differential provision of resources compared with a compact and densely populated region such as London. However, as disparities grow and budgets shrink, historical tolerance cannot be taken for granted. Heddwyn Richards, Senior Counsellor in the Open University in Wales, provides an analysis of the tutorial problems of student distribution and geography in a low population region.     

Cultivating a cyber-safety culture among school learners in South Africa

Technology is playing an increasingly significant role in people’s lives. They use it for work, education, business and social activities; however, their use of different kinds of information communication technologies (ICTs) puts their personal information at risk. It is essential for everyone using ICTs to be aware of the potential information safety risks and how to identify and prevent them. The latter is a growing problem among ICT users in South Africa – especially school learners – because many of them do not have the necessary knowledge and background to use ICTs properly and safely. The dangers associated with the lack of a cyber-safety culture when using ICTs at school level render it vital for school learners and all relevant role-players to be thoroughly alerted to and educated about cyber safety. This article proposes a cyber-culture approach (CCA) that can guide and mobilise the different role-players (e.g. government, teachers and parents) to address the cyber-safety situation urgently. The CCA proposes a time-based approach that can be implemented to cultivate a growing and sustainable cyber-safety culture among school learners in particular. The CCA, as proposed in the research, can be used to ensure that a culture of cyber-safety awareness is created in South Africa – one that is aimed not only at protecting all role-players, but also at providing critical information about possible ICT risks, threats and attacks.     

基层电大远程学习者学习障碍成因研究

基层电大的远程学习者在学习过程遇到各种困难和障碍是导致其不能顺利完成学业甚至辍学的重要诱因。研究者对远程学习障碍的含义和产生的诱因进行分析,并结合某市电大对学习者和教师的调查访谈的结果,提出了远程学习者学习障碍的成因及解决的对策。     

Improving teaching at a distance within the University of the South Pacific

A preliminary to improving the teaching material that is studied at the University of the South Pacific involves the identification and consideration of those factors that may detract from their teaching effectiveness. The relatively high withdrawal, dropout and failure rates on a number of courses indicated possible weaknesses in the teaching methods. The investigation of three emergent concerns, judged to be directly related to the teaching problem, is currently contributing to the improvement of distance teaching material.     

Performance and perceptions of distance learners in cyberspace

Abstract

This study compared the performance and perception of cyber‐learners to that of traditional learners. A study of several hundred undergraduate students taking an introductory economics course at the University of California suggests that cyberlearners learn as well as, or better than, traditional learners regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, academic background, computer skills, and academic aptitude and that they do so with a high degree of satisfaction. CD‐ROM‐based lectures, electronic testing, threaded electronic bulletin boards, and online discussion rooms all appear to be effective instructional technologies. The CD‐ROM‐based lectures that simulated the traditional classroom experience were regarded as being both the most essential and most enjoyable instructional medium.     

Support for distance learners in a Nigerian distance education programme

This paper reports on a research study that draws on the perceptions of students, tutors, field centre coordinators and central management to evaluate the support services provided to students in the National Teachers’ Institute’s distance teacher training programme. Within a conceptual framework that built upon models of teaching and learning at_A_distance, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used for data collection and analysis. Although the major forms of support provided were found to be relevant to students, the study highlights the need to improve the current level of student satisfaction by strategies that will improve the supply of course materials and tutorial support, enhance students networking and exploit the use of multimedia.     

The development of a distance‐taught introductory computing course in the South Pacific

This paper presents a case study of a ‘hands on’ computing course taught both on‐and off‐campus to students from developing countries. The paper illustrates that a limited resource environment does not have to be a constraint in mounting a distance education course in computing with a major practical component. Some of the problems encountered and techniques used for implementation are also given.     

试论现代远程教育条件下学习者的学习方式

本文首先论述了学会学习是实现远程学习和终身学习的基础。其次指出现代建构主义理论是指导学习者学会学习的理论基础。最后指出要学会学习一要转变观念,树立全新的学习观念;二要个别化学习,培养自学能力;三要探究学习,提高信息素养;四要协作学习,培养人际交往和与人合作的能力。     

远程学习者学习动机、需要及动力的研究

通过问卷调查，对学生的学习动机、需要、动力进行研究，得出如下结论：一是学生的学习动机是健康的，追求知识的欲望比较强烈；二是学生的远程学习需要是多样的、复杂的；三是学生学习的动力较为充足，学生参加学习的社会支持度很高。围绕结论，文章作了进一步的讨论。     

Sex differences in attitudes toward science among Northern Sotho speaking learners in South Africa

Abstract

Research shows that although most studies have explored the relationship between attitude and achievement in science only a few have been undertaken to reveal the nature of the relationship between affective variables and process outcomes in science. This study seeks to examine sex differences in attitude toward science among Northern Sotho speaking learners in South Africa. A random sample of 793 respondents (365 boys and 428 girls) in Grade 12 whose ages ranged from 17 to 24 years was selected from 27 schools out of 566 schools in Limpopo Province of South Africa. A questionnaire was administered to pupils during the Physical Science lessons and required almost 45 minutes to complete. The attitude scores of 365 boys and 428 girls were 3.2 (SD = 1.2) and 2.9 (SD = 1.3), respectively. A t-test indicated that the attitude score of boys was significantly higher than that of the girls (t 989 = 3.9, p<.01). Further, the correlation between sex and attitude towards science was .90 (p<.01). The coefficient of concomitance of .81 indicates that sex was associated with 81% of the variance in these attitudes. There is considerable evidence from the findings that males have more positive attitudes towards science than females.     

Explorations of relationships among learners, tasks, and learning

Based on a critical re-analysis of cognitive load theory (CLT), Schnotz and Kürschner identified the need for research on more sensitive ways of assessing learner characteristics, both prior to and during instruction, in order to understand learning processes and outcomes. One emergent theme of the papers in this special issue is that the “same” learning environment is differentially demanding and produces different results depending on characteristics of the learners, most importantly their knowledge in the task domain. These findings indicate that to optimize learning outcomes, theories of instructional design and learning need to be more adaptive and reflect the nuances of interactions among learners, tasks, and instructional supports.     

远程学习行为之分析

学习者的学习行为决定着学习的成效。好的学习行为、学习习惯的养成决定一个人的成长。在信息时代到来之际,探索基于网络环境下学习者的学习行为,有助于在职人员自主学习精神的建立和学习习惯的养成。在职成人学生要端正学习动机,克服心理障碍,在教师的指导下逐步学会学习。     

远程开放教育成人学习心理分析——对南京电大开放教育成人学生学习心理的调查

本文研究根据成人学习理论,采用问卷调查和个案访谈相结合的方式,从认知、情绪与情感、学习行为倾向性三个层面对南京电大开放教育成人学生的学习心理进行调查与描述,指出当前开放教育成人学习心理具有学习动机多样性、学习活动自发性、学习支持网络完整性、学习行为自主性和适度的学习自信心等特点。     

Faculty involvement in instructional materials development for distance study at the University of the South Pacific.

As a regional institution serving the needs of eleven different island nations of the South West Pacific, the University of the South Pacific is, along with its on‐campus face‐to‐face teaching activity, deeply committed to and reliant on distance study methods. Both these activities at the University are the principal responsibility of a single body of teaching staff.

This investigation, through the means of a structured questionnaire, studied the involvement of members of the University's teaching staff in instructional materials development for distance study. It enquired into the time they spent on such activity, their levels of satisfaction with the materials they produced, various preferences and their views on how the process of instructional materials development at USP could be improved.

Responses received revealed a rather unsatisfactory picture with a cry for, among other things, more time, advance planning, greater consultation among colleagues and adequate support services in instructional materials development for distance study.     

Progress assessment in Chinese distance education: the voices of learners

Progress assessment aims to assess students’ performance and progress during a course of study. Its purpose is primarily developmental—to help students improve learning. Progress assessment is of special value in distance education in that it can motivate or pace distance learners throughout their course of study. It can help the tutor monitor the learning process of distance learners, diagnose their problems and provide prompt help and support. However, few empirical studies have been reported in the literature that address the issue of progress assessment from the perspective of Chinese distance learners. This paper investigates the perceptions of Chinese distance learners with regard to the necessity of progress assessment and the way it is being implemented in practice.