Historical and Theoretical Perspectives in Distance Learning EDCI 591Z

What’s DE again?? Why is there all this debate and confusion about the definition of distance education?

Keegan’s Main Elements Quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the learning process Involvement of an educational organization Mediated communication of content Two-way communication between teacher and learners

Historical Perspectives Developments in Distance Education

Correspondence Courses Although isolated examples came earlier, the first widespread use of distance education occurred in parallel with the development of reliable mail delivery systems in Europe and America in the latter part of the 19 th century. Print-based correspondence study proliferated, correspondence schools were created, and traditional universities began authorizing courses.

Correspondence Courses The University of Wisconsin developed short courses and farmers’ institutes that formed the foundation for a university extension service. Correspondence courses were offered to secondary schools as early as 1906 in Baltimore and in the 1920s in Michigan and Nebraska.

Radio In the 1920s and 1930s, educational radio stations proliferated as over 200 educational radio stations were licensed. The Ohio School of the Air, launched in 1929 by Ohio State, was an early model of the use of radio as an educational medium. However, by 1940, this experiment had ended.

Television In the 1930s and 1940s, experimental television programming was launched (including a novel approach of delivery from a flying airplane here at Purdue). In 1950, Iowa State University launched the first regular educational television station. Later, 242 channels were set aside for public (then called educational) television stations. In 1951, Western Reserve University offered credit courses via television.

Major Efforts The founding of Britain’s Open University in 1971 marked a major development in distance education. New York State’s Empire State College (NYSES), founded in 1971, was the first U.S. open university. Major U.S. universities today include Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn State, New York Institute of Technology, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Recent Technology Developments Cable and satellite delivery of TV in the 1970s and 1980s. Emergence of computer-mediated distance education in the 1980s. Development of two-way interactive video systems in the 1980s. Explosive growth of the Internet and World Wide Web in the 1990s.

Theoretical Perspectives Understanding DE

Value of Theory A theory explains past observations and provides a framework for making predictions.

Major Theories in DE Theory of Independence and Autonomy Theory of Industrialization of Education Theory of Interaction and Communication

Group Activity As a group, identify what you think are the key points of the theoretical perspective of DE that you have been given. Create 2-3 Powerpoint slides that summarize these key points.

Independent Study and Autonomy

Theory of Independent Study – Charles Wedemeyer A wider choice in courses, formats and methodologies are offered to students. Learning can occur regardless of distance or separation of instructor from students.

Wedemeyer - Continued Students do their learning at their own pace. Greater responsibility is placed on the learner. Believed the relationship between student and instructor should be developed

Theory of Independent Study: Michael Moore Classified distance education programs as “autonomous” or “nonautonomous” – as determined by the three elements of objectives, methods, and evaluation. Believed high degree of responsibility must be placed on the learner.

Wedemeyer & Moore Emphasized individualized learning and ignored collaborative learning.

Industrialization of Teaching

Education is a Product Planning for mass production: – Instructional design including prep work, planning, organization Segmentation of roles – Assembly lines, division of labor, change of function Delivery – Standardization, formalization, scientific control methods

Centralization of Instruction Standardization Organization Objectified teaching Concentration of available resources – Administration

Learner’s Role Teacher’s role Standardized content Non-constructivist Few choices Passive role Standardized delivery across formats Few choices in delivery Didactic Split functions

Theory of Interaction and Communication

Background Assumptions (1985) Core of teaching is interaction Emotional involvement – Friendly personal tone and easy access Motivation: – Student likes what they are doing – Part of decision making about learning Student demonstrates what they learn

Theory Expansion (1995) Learners are diverse Society benefits from DL All learning is covered Study individualized with structured material DL works for all instructional theories Communication and connections among all parties Subject to same pitfalls of “The Professor”

Other Theoretical Perspectives Theory of Equivalency Communication Theory Social Constructivism

Theory of Equivalency The more equivalent the experiences of distant learners are to those of traditional learners, the more similar will be the learning outcomes.

Communication Theory

Social Constructivism In a departure from Keegan, who viewed DE as an isolated learning environment, many researchers today are focusing on collaborative web-based learning environments that offer opportunities for social construction of knowledge ala Vygotsky.

The End