Reading Assignment on basic principles of DE

Dear Class Members,

Some basic principles of distance education will be the theme of this reading assignment.

Discussing principles necessarily means looking into the historical development of distance education. What we now mean when we talk about distance education, i.e. its very concept, is a consequence of its history, just as the principles on which its methods, media, organisation, general potential and attractiveness are outcomes of more than a century of thinking and practice. This means that at the outset I will ask you to read and consider a couple of texts looking into the concept and history of distance education.

Traditionally distance education implies wholly individual study, each student interacting on the basis of pre-prepared study materials with his/her tutor who corrects and comments on assignment solutions submitted. However, as an element of traditional campus study and particularly with the advent of modern information technology, distance education can also be arranged for and offered to groups of students. In the latter case it is the use of tele- and/or computer-conferencing that makes this possible.

What is very important indeed is that distance teaching consists of two components,

• the presentation of learning matter, which means one-way traffic, and
• the interaction between students and tutors, thus two-way traffic.

Sometimes distance education is supplemented by face-fo-face sessions.

The protagonists of distance education usually claim that it is a mode of education that should open up possibilities for study to anyone interested, particularly adults with jobs, families and other social commitment and that it should encourage students' independence.

You will soon find that scholars and practitioners writing on distance education have different target groups in mind. Otto Peters, whose printed works and contributions to this course will be of great importance to you, almost invariably discusses university distance education, whereas other writers, like myelf, also have students at the high school level and people in professional training in mind. Whenever you read the texts to which we refer you - and also our own communications to you - make sure you realise how inclusive, as to academic stages, the presentations are.

Bearing in mind what I have said so far, I ask you to read the following texts carefully.

1. On the concept of distance education, its relation to 'open learning', its students, ethos and how it is usually brought about:

   Chapter 1 (pp. 1-17) in Theory and practice of distance education. And also Chapter 1 (pp. 8-17) in Peters, Learning and Teaching in Distance Education. (You will find these texts in the Course Content area.)

   In this context consider a description of the characteristics of distance education given by Desmond Keegan. It is the updated version of Keegan's definition Uli referred to. In my view this is the best succinct presentation of what the concept means. The characteristics identified by Keegan are

   • the quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the length of the learning process (this distinguishes it from conventional face-to-face education);
   • the influence of an educational organization both in the planning and preparation of learning materials and in the provision of student support services (this distinguishes it from private study and teach-yourself programmes):
   • the use of technical media - print, audio, video or computer - to unite teacher and learner and carry the content of the course;
   • the provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiate dialogue (this distinguishes it from other uses of technology in education); and
   • the quasi-permanent absence of the learning group throughout the length of the learning process so that people are usually taught as individuals and not in groups, with the possibility of occasional meetings for both didactic and socialization purposes.
   (Keegan, D. (1990), Foundations of Distance Education, Routledge, p. 14)

   The only possible objection to this definition is, in my view, that the first part of the last-mentioned characteristic need no longer apply, as mediated both synchronous and asynchronous seminars are now possible, the former above all by teleconferencing, the latter by computer conferencing.

   Nevertheless, most distance education in the world is individual and includes little or no group or class work, which means that the pace of study varies with each student and that there are no fixed semester or vacation periods. Allow yourself time to consider Keegan's definition carefully. I appreciate your questions and comments.

2. On the history of distance education, read and consider my article The evolution of the character and practice of distance education as well as the excerpt of the article of Peters O (1997) on Growing Importance of Distance Education in the World. (Please find these articles in the Course Content area.)

I invite you in this conference area to raise any question and comment with regard to the reading assignment. I don't want to leave you with an an unanswered question or with an uncertainty about the interpretation of what you are reading.

Kind regards
Boerje Holmberg

Reading Assignment on planning, course development, interaction

Dear Class Members

This reading assignment concerns three subject areas,

• the planning of distance education,
• the development of course materials and
• interaction.

Planning of distance education

Chapter 3 of Theory and practice of distance education (pp. 27-44) will give you a short survey of these planning considerations and also briefly discuss the so-called systems approach, which engages many distance educators.

Naturally you are not expected to memorise these pages. Just see to it that you understand what it is all about.

The planning is, of course, just the beginning of the distance-education process as seen from the viewpoints of the course developer, tutor, advisor and adminstrator, all roles a distance educator may have to undertake. Chapters 4-7 ofTheory and practice of distance education (pp. 45-145) deal with these matters. Look these chapters through, decide on what is relevant on the one hand from the objectives defined for this course, on the other hand from your own perspective, i.e. from what you find important in relation to your experiences, job requirements and expectations so that you can look these matters up when you feel they become relevant to you.

Course development

This empathy can be brought about by the style of presentation - I always recommend a conversational style - and the helpfulness and friendliness of tutors showing personal interest in students and their progress.

This thinking has led to the development of a theory which has been empirically tested. The relevance of the empathy approach to the interaction between students and tutors is examined in Chapter 6 (pp. 125-127) - important indeed.

Sequencing of learning material is related to the organisation of courses. The division of printed courses into units (sometimes called lessons or 'letters') is an important concern. Please pay attention to what is said about this at the beginning of Chapter 5 (pp. 68-70).

The development and use of self-checking exercises (pp. 76-78) and of assignment tasks are a problematic area. The latter have to be considered in relation to the tutorial support given to students. What is said about this in Chapter 6 is, in my view, of paramount importance (pp. 104-112).

The media used both in course development and in student-tutor interaction are looked into in Chapters 5 and 6.

You are no doubt highly aware of the potential of new media, particularly as a result of the development of modern information technology. While on the whole it will be enough for you to read what is said about media cursively to fill in any lacunae in your knowledge or awareness there is one particular aspect that you should pay particular attention to and that is the possibility for speeding up communication by the use of e-mail and/or fax for students' assignments and tutors' comments (pp. 122-125).

Interaction

Also please note that the empathy approach is shown to be important in counselling (p. 132).

Summing up Reading assignment 2

All the best,

Boerje Holmberg