I have always had an interest in distance education. After leaving college I completed a short course by distance education and it was a very interesting experience with positive and negative aspects. When it came to choosing a topic to research, ICT’s possible role in distance education quickly came to mind. My course was quite practical and had no ICT aspects other than utilizing email to contact tutors and Microsoft Word to type up documents. But what are the technologies generally associated with distance learning? Are they really valuable? And what sort of issues surround their use? I chose for the purposes of this analysis to focus on the situation in developed countries where the issues of funding and resources are not of particular concern, so that I could look deeply into how ICT is affecting the education of those learning by distance when the implementation of relevant technologies is not restricted.
While the United States Distance Learning Association defines distance learning as “the acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and instruction, encompassing all technologies and other forms of learning at a distance” (as cited in Roblyer & Doering, 2009, p.224), I have found (quite to my surprise) that the online and technology based components make up the majority of learning and delivery methods for many, if not most courses, especially those for K-12 students. Many positives surround the inclusion of this level of technology in distance learning, and where there are issues of concern, technology is not the problem and can be part of the solution.
One issue raised as a potential problem for the K-12 age group is social development. The American Academy of Paediatricians (AAP) recommended that children limit time spent using technology to two hours daily (McNabb, 2001 as cited in Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p.227). This recognizes the fact that “too much time spent on computers has been cited as harmful to children’s development of relationships and social skills” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p.227). However, an American 2009 study found that “typical, mainstream students enrolled in full-time, online public schools... are
either superior to or not significantly different than students enrolled in traditional public schools with respect to social skills and problem behaviours” (IESD, p.31). What came immediately to mind for me, when considering the AAP’s assertion, was the fact that children enrolled in traditional schools generally spend a large amount of time using technology in and out of school. What’s to say that their technology use is not as great as, or even in some cases greater than that of distance education students? Exploring this idea further, I discovered a
study into the daily media use of children and teenagers conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation and Stanford University(2010), which reports extremely high rates of technology use (specifically for entertainment purposes) among children and teens aged 8-18 attending regular schools. This was a large study including over 2000 participants and the researchers attempted to use a sample representative of the overall population. The idea that distance education students are using technology more than their traditionally schooled counterparts seems unlikely. And maybe it’s not unreasonable to assert that students learning online might even be utilizing the educational capacities of technology more effectively than learners in traditional environments, and showing no signs of decreased social capabilities.
Whether distance education is effective for students with different learning styles is somewhat debated among researchers. This makes sense to me, as it seems that those without self motivation and independent learning skills will struggle without the extrinsic motivation of having to ‘front up’ to classes and physically interact with teachers. For adults, many studies have shown that while the academic outcomes achieved by students enrolled in online courses are as high or higher than those in traditional classrooms (US Department of Education, 2009), dropout rates are higher (Oblender, 2002; Zucker & Kozma, 2003 as cited in Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p.228; Summers et al, 2005 as cited in Levy, 2009, p.28). Student dissatisfaction has also been found to be higher (Rivera et al, 2002 as cited in Levy, 2009, p.29). As I expected, studies show that students’ learning styles certainly play a part. Independent learners were found to be more satisfied than social learners in a study by Diaz and Cartnell in 1999(as cited in Levy, 2009, p.29). With emphasis placed on high levels of student interaction with instructors and peers however, the problem of students feeling isolated can be decreased. Learner’s feedback in a 2002 study highlighted the importance of interaction, and showed that it impacted greatly on student learning and satisfaction (Northrup, 2002 as cited in Tomasson, 2007, p.9). It seems logical to conclude that with the use of online student forums, email and the possibility of videoconferencing, well designed online courses should be able to accommodate different types of learners.
I find the promise that technology has in the area of student to student and student to teacher interaction exciting. If ICTs can open the way for learners normally unsuited to distance education to succeed with this type of learning, then the possibility for a wide range of people with life circumstances preventing them from engaging in traditional face to face education to still meet their educational goals will be increased.
Some courses have traditionally been difficult to deliver through distance education, for example languages. Without synchronous communication in the language, students lack communicative skills and become frustrated (Wang & Sun, 2009). This problem can be circumvented through videoconferencing technology, as discussed in Wang & Sun’s 2000 paper. This technology is “still not used as frequently as hoped, but it is increasing” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p.225) and has obvious potential for effective delivery of courses and increasing students’ feeling of connectedness. Interestingly, during my exploration of language courses offered by distance education, I found use of technology limited to CDs and minimal online resources incorporated into some courses. Having learnt through these methods myself and encountered the difficulties, I can see the educational benefits that videoconferencing would afford, not only in relation to language speaking ability, but also feelings of motivation and course satisfaction.
Distance education provides opportunities to those who otherwise would not be able to access quality education, as previously mentioned. Australia’s Schools of the Air are able to deliver education to students in rural and remote regions through primarily online programs. With the use of satellite technology, videoconferencing is integrated into programs so that real time interaction is possible. Adult learners also benefit. With multiple responsibilities and demands on their time such as work and children, they have the opportunity to achieve their study goals. Universities are adapting and providing the necessary technology to accommodate these needs (Anderson & Mercer, 2003, as cited in Levy, 2009, p.29).
It seems clear from the literature that ICT in distance education is contributing to high quality education as effective as traditional classrooms. Where negative opinions and findings are present, other studies give a different, positive, balancing view. Many of the technologies mentioned (videoconferencing, email, online forums etc) are centred around student to student and student to teacher interaction. These are not technologies that require specific pedagogy. Obviously, students need to be taught how to properly use these technologies, but beyond this, pedagogy related to the actual technology is not an issue. Other ICTs such as educational games, word processing programs and specifically web centred learning activities still require careful use and integration beyond merely teaching the skills needed to use the programs. My conclusion is that these issues are the same as those facing traditional schools - teacher and program quality, student attitudes and individually tailored programs and methods. The use of technology is addressing some of these issues by making high level interaction and the provision of individual attention possible.
Patrick and Powell propose that “larger scale studies are needed to show the correlations between program models, instructional models, technologies, conditions and practices for effective online learning” (2009, p.9). I believe this is the area future research should focus on. While there are gaps in online education research (Australian studies on learning outcomes and other aspects are minimal despite many distance courses being offered at all levels), it is clear from existing research that academic outcomes are not a concern. Focusing on what really works and looking at how to satisfy a range of learning styles will help to develop courses using ICT in the most effective way.
