scholarly journals Leveraging IT for Distance Education: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Program on the Internet

10.28945/2362 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Onay

Distance education through the Internet represents a paradigm shift in higher education. The implementation of an information technology (IT) enabled teaching and learning environment necessitates the redesign of conventional structures. This paper addresses some of the issues involved in the design and delivery of an Internet-based interdisciplinary graduate program in Informatics at Middle East Technical University in Turkey. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the development of a number of guidelines for leveraging the use of IT in distance education programs at universities.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (Sp.Issue) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorin W. Anderson

Distance education has been practised for generations, although its purpose and form have changed. Correspondence courses, in which students receive instruction via mail and respond with assignments or questions to the instructor, date back to the mid-1800s, if not earlier. As technology changed, so did the nature of distance education. Radio, television, computers, and, most recently, the internet have supported distance education over the years. Research studies on the use and effectiveness of distance education focus almost exclusively on higher education. A recent research synthesis suggests that fewer than five per cent of the studies have addressed K-12 education. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has brought distance education into K-12 schools and classrooms. Distance education in the Covid-19 era has been referred to as ‘emergency remote teaching’ (ERT) because, with little research on which to rely, teachers must improvise quick solutions under less-than-ideal circumstances, a situation that causes many teachers to experience stress. The purpose of this paper is to address five fundamental questions. First, what problems have K-12 school administrators and teachers faced in implementing ERT? Second, under what conditions has ERT been effective since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic? Third, what are the strengths of ERT in K-12 schools and classrooms? Fourth, what are the weaknesses of ERT in K-12 schools and classrooms? Fifth, to what extent will lessons learned from ERT influence teaching and learning when the pandemic abates? The paper concludes with a brief set of recommendations. Throughout the paper, the focus is on K-12 education.


Author(s):  
Katrina Higgins ◽  
R. E.(Bobby) Harreveld

Contextual changes in Australian universities such as the growth of the Internet, a new student population, and an emphasis on re-education and lifelong learning are manifest in a repositioning of distance education from the margins to the centre of concern. In addition, recent reform imperatives have future implications for distance education as it is considered integral to delivering on Australian Government policy in terms of increased socially inclusive engagements in university education. However, there is scant policy conversation about the experiences of academics who deliver distance education programs. In addition to this, the delivery of distance education is often undertaken by academics employed in a casual capacity. The experiences of the teaching workforce in distance education need to be explored and issues addressed if the future of distance education in higher education is to be a sustainable one for meeting the needs of university education in the new millennium.


Author(s):  
Deirdre A. Folkers

Higher education has traditionally been very slow moving, with change being measured in years or even decades. Recently, external forces have combined to challenge higher education’s resistance to change. These forces range from the growth of the Internet, to the emergence of a new student population, to a continued decline in governmental support. Together these changes have caused institutions to reexamine both how they function and how they interact with the outside world. Distance education has become a concrete manifestation of the changes in higher education; however, the incorporation of online education often has far-reaching effects, impacting the organization financially, structurally, and culturally. This article will examine the external forces that are challenging higher education. It will further examine the managerial, organizational, and cultural issues that arise as colleges and universities seek to move from the physical “marketplace” to the virtual world of the “marketspace” through the integration of distance education programs.


Author(s):  
Chris Zirkle ◽  
Edward C. Fletcher Jr.

The proliferation of distance education components to courses and entire programs at institutes of higher education have been the focus of discussion within the last decade. Educational constituents have sought to explore the implications of distance education practices on teaching and learning. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the literature on barriers to access, particularly for adult learners, in distance education programs and courses. Prior to discussing access barriers, a brief history of distance education is articulated. Further, strategies that individuals or institutions utilize to overcomethese barriers are presented. Concluding the chapter are trends and issues shaping the future landscape of distance education.


Author(s):  
Shane Pachagadu ◽  
Liezel Nel

Numerous studies have explored the potential of podcast integration in teaching and learning environments. This paper first presents and organises perspectives from literature in a conceptual framework for the effective integration of podcasting in higher education. An empirical study is then discussed in which the guidelines presented in the framework were evaluated for applicability in a selected course at a South African University of Technology. Since the results of the study revealed a number of aspects not accounted for in the conceptual framework, the framework was customised to make it more applicable for the particular higher education environment. The customised framework identifies four principles and a series of related guidelines for the effective integration of podcasts in a South African higher education teaching and learning environment. This framework can become a valuable resource for effective podcast integration in similar environments.


Author(s):  
Сергей Александрович Грязнов

Технологии меняют образ жизни и деятельность человека. Глобальная сеть Интернет облегчает быстрый доступ к полезной информации. Социальная, культурная и образовательная конкурентоспособность находятся под влиянием образовательных технологий, которые положительно влияют на стиль, продолжительность и метод обучения в высших учебных заведениях. Дистанционное образование возможно применять и как полноценную самодостаточную форму, и как дополнение к классическому обучению в аудиториях. Автор рассматривает в статье дистанционную форму обучения как альтернативу традиционной форме преподавания в вузах на время периодов самоизоляции (пандемии, сезонные карантины), а также как дополнение к традиционным формам обучения. Анализируются проблемные и положительные аспекты применения данной формы. Указаны возможные форматы обучения в условиях дистанционного образования. Выделены сильные и слабые стороны использования некоторых технологий. Technologies alter the way of living and work of a person. The Internet world network makes it easier to quickly access useful information. Social, cultural and educational competitiveness are influenced by educational technologies that positively influence the style, duration and method of education in higher education institutions. Distance education can be used as a full-fledged self-sufficient form, or as a Supplement to classical training in classrooms. The author considers distance learning as an alternative to the traditional form of teaching in higher education institutions during periods of self-isolation (pandemics, seasonal quarantines), as well as as an addition to traditional forms of education. The problem and positive aspects of using this form are analyzed. Possible formats of training in the conditions of distance education are specified. The strengths and weaknesses of the use of certain technologies are highlighted.


Public Voices ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Mark Peterson

"Distance education" at the college level is well over a century old.  It has served the needs of a numerically large, but proportionately small population of learners who have eschewed the campus classroom.  These correspondence school enrollees, educational TV watchers, and audiocassette listeners have had only modest impact on the structure, mission, and strategy of the institutions serving them.  But that is now changing, and changing very dramatically.  The advent of the Internet, interactive television technology, and web-based instructional software, coupled with administrative and political perceptions of educational reformation and fiscal efficiency, may be causing nothing less than a revolution in higher education.  By applying a feminist model of assessment called "unthinking technology," that is to say, exploring the potential, but unthought of socio-political aspects of this technological revolution, this paper raises significant questions about the security of the traditional academic enterprise.  "The Politics of Distance Education" urges a pro-active embrace of these technologies by the academy in order to enable a legitimate "competency for grievance" so that the protection of the validity of higher education, and legitimacy of the academic profession can be ethically defended and publicly respected, rather than being viewed as mulish resistance to the inevitable.


Recently, the market of E-Learning is soaring and is known as a new paradigm in modern education. E-Learning acts as a medium, consisting of several types of computers and electronic media that are communication tools as well as the Internet, which provides training and informative access on certain subjects. By using E-Learning students can attend online classes anywhere, regardless of time and place. Generally, E-Learning is more geared towards self-training and is ideal for individuals who work full-time but desire to further their studies. Thus, this study has been developed and integrated with factors leading towards the effectiveness of E-Learning as a tool in Teaching and Learning (T&L) approach. A quantitative approach was applied by using a self-administered distribution of questionnaire targeted at higher education students. Therefore, the outcomes of this research will help to provide insightful information to the current education system in Malaysia, particularly in crafting strategies to enhance the learning education for the country in general.


Author(s):  
Joseph Ezale Cobbinah

Higher educational institutions are widening participation through the introduction of new programs, using different approaches to deliver learning so that many people can have access to education. With the growing number of students in our higher educational institutions, coupled with learners who are working and by virtue of their job commitments cannot do traditional face-to-face education, using information technology (IT) to support lessons in higher education institutions has become very laudable. The introduction and use of technology have brought changes in the way we teach and support students in our higher education institutions. This, therefore, calls for effective IT leaders who will be able to motivate, inspire, and meet the learning needs of the diverse students in our institutions while improving teaching and learning. The IT leaders should not only be individuals who can only lead the change crusade but should be able to manage the change process.


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