Charles Schlosser

Theory and Distance Education: A New Discussion.

Theories guide the practice and research of distance education. Traditionally, theories of distance education have been derived from classical European or American models based on correspondence study. Recently, telecommunications systems have significantly altered the practice of distance education in the United States and have produced a uniquely American approach to this field. This has created the need for a new theory to guide the practice of distance education. This theory, called Equivalency Theory, is described and compared to the historical theories of distance education.

Distance Education Research: A Review of the Literature

Distance education is defined, the various approaches for effective research are summarized, and the results of major research reviews of the field are explained in this article. Additionally, two major areas of research are included—research on barriers to the adoption of distance education and research summaries that explain and support best practices in the field. This paper concludes with the summary statement that it is not different education, it is distance education; what is known about effectiveness in education is most often also applicable to distance education.

Capabilities‐based educational equivalency units: Beginning a professional dialogue

Abstract This article proposes a basic model for the transformation of academic equivalency in distance education, shifting from a unit of measurement that relies on time in the classroom (the Carnegie unit) to one that focuses on learner achievement. The Capabilities‐Based Educational Equivalency (CBEE) model puts forward a framework of academic equivalency that is founded on valid and useful instructional design objectives. While allowing time to be variable (rather than constant) and holding academic achievement relatively constant, the CBEE model permits the comparison of student achievement in face‐to‐face and distance education, as well as between programs delivering instruction via a wide variety of media.

A Comparison of Group and Individualized Motivational Messages Sent by SMS and E-mail to Improve Student Achievement

For many years, it has been generally accepted that communication and motivation affect students’ learning. Properly designed communication can enhance the students’ motivation to learn. This paper describes a study to determine whether a personalized Motivational Message System (MMS) is more effective than a group MMS, at the School of Computing and Information Technology situated on the campus of the University of Technology, Jamaica. A specific course (Business Information Management Systems) was selected to test whether the above statement is, in fact, true. Forty-four students were randomly selected and divided into two groups. All the students were part time, undergraduate, final (4th) year students. Two methods were used to deliver the MMS to students. Those methods were text messages on mobile phones (SMS) and email. E-mail was used to deliver the messages only when length of the message was more than 160 characters or the messages contained graphics. Keller’s (1983) ARCS model of motivation was used to design the MMS. The students’ grades for four measures were used as the motivational levels of students. Tests were spread from the middle to the end of the semester. No significant difference was found in averaged course grades between two groups (Table-1). However, there was a significant difference

Distance education: what the literature says works

The distance education literature is dominated by media comparison studies in which students learning at a distance are compared to students learning in a traditional classroom. Although newer, more technologically advanced media are hyped as facilitating more effective instruction the research clearly indicates that all media of instruction are equally effective. Researchers can more profitably devote their energies to examining the truly critical factor in determining student achievement: instruction itself.

The DaVinci Project: Multimedia in Art and Chemistry

ConclusionOne of the most important curricular areas that provides a foundation for critical, logical, and creative thinking is chemistry. This statement is also true, if when repeated verbatim, the word art is substituted for the word chemistry (Waltz, 1992).Certainly, the two disciplines are considered fundamentally different by the vast majority of students and scholars. While the DaVinci Project did not dispel this long-standing perception about the differences between Art and Chemistry, it serves as a model and a prototype for reform and change. The DaVinci Project produced concrete, observable, and measurable products — long the goal of both artists and scientists — that pay testimony to the project’s purpose, the bridging of the artificial gulf between the worlds of the artist and the chemist.On the far wall of the laboratory there is a note:the measurement is a poem if properly expressed.