Karen L. Murphy

Competencies for Distance Education Professionals.

The purpose of this study was to identify the roles and competencies of distance education professionals within the United States and Canada. A population of 103 distance education experts was identified, and their perceptions regarding this information were sought in a modified two-round Delphi process. The results of the study include a competency model for distance education. It illustrates the final top ten competencies and eleven roles which were identified by the study. In addition, a supplemental table outlining outputs and competencies by individual role was developed. The top ten competencies portray the dual importance of both communication and technical skills in distance education. These ten competencies are: (1) Interpersonal Communication, (2) Planning Skills, (3) Collaboration/Teamwork Skills, (4) English Proficiency, (5) Writing Skills, (6) Organizational Skills, (7) Feedback Skills, (8) Knowledge of Distance Education Field, (9) Basic Technology Knowledge, and (10) Technology Access Knowledge. The resulting competency model will be useful in serving as a research foundation for development training and certification programs for distance education professionals.

Using Web tools, collaborating, and learning online

This case study reports how graduate students learned in a constructivist online course in educational telecommunications. The study investigated the ways students learned to use technology and learned to collaborate in small groups as they learned online. The students used a collaborative workspace and several other Web tools to conduct independent and collaborative activities. Solutions to problems of using technology and learning collaboratively online included getting to know each other, respecting individual differences, negotiating meaning with others, and self‐regulating. The study contributes to an understanding of key design elements for online courses: a delicate balance between structure and dialogue in transactional distance, and the development of a sense of community.

Design Considerations for Computer Conferences

AbstractThis article describes a formative evaluation of computer conferences for preservice teachers during 5 semesters of implementation on a campuswide system. The successes and problems encountered by students in 24 sections of an upper-level undergraduate course on technology use in the classroom were evaluated by the 4-person research team. We used qualitative participant and observer research methods to understand why and how students participated in the computer conferences. Six design considerations emerged as we addressed challenges: (a) grading system, (b) grouping, (c) collaboration, (d) relevance, (e) learner control, and (f) technological preparation. During our study we made changes associated with all 6 design considerations. Finally, we examined students’ conference messages and their postcourse surveys from the first and the last semesters as we continued to evaluate the impact of the design considerations on the conferences.

Promoting Multicultural Understanding and Positive Self-Concept through a Distance Learning Community: Cultural Connections.

We explored the effectiveness of distance learning and multimedia technologies in facilitating an expanded learning community among two teachers and their students in geographically separated schools. The teachers collaboratively developed curricular activities and identity-forming multicultural activities for their K-12 students to conduct over the distance. Predominantly Hispanic students in a school on the Texas border with Mexico communicated regularly over a school year with diverse students in a partner school hundreds of miles to the north. They participated in collaborative activities and shared multimedia files via interactive videoconference. Using qualitative research methods, we discovered that the participating teachers developed empowering multicultural relationships while their students developed multicultural understanding and positive self-concept. Examples of empowerment and positive self-concept included raised levels of academic aspirations and heightened poise during public speaking.

Learning through computer‐mediated communication: a comparison of Australian and Chinese heritage students

Twelve Australian and 12 Chinese heritage students from a third‐year university computer ethics subject completed a Readiness for Online Learning Questionnaire; and six students from each of these two groups participated in a student‐facilitated problem‐solving discussion through computer‐mediated communication. The questionnaire comparisons showed that the two groups of students were equally willing to self‐manage their own learning, but that Australian students were significantly more comfortable with e‐learning. The analysis of student postings in the CMC component showed that, collectively, Australian students posted more messages than did the Chinese students. Both groups participated equally in socialisation online; although Chinese heritage students posted a higher number of messages associated with organisational matters; and Australian students posted a larger number of message components associated with intellectual contributions to the discussion. These results are interpreted in a theoretical context and implications for practice are drawn.

Collaboration in distance education: From local to international perspectives

Abstract This article explores the various levels of collaboration found within distance education contexts. A continuum reflecting the local to international levels of collaboration is outlined; descriptions of the components found along the continuum are provided, and the implications for change in higher education institutions engaged in distance education are explored. Necessary modifications in structure, policies, reward systems, and instructional skills are identified and discussed.

Students assume the mantle of moderating computer conferences: A case study

Abstract The article presents an analysis of six semester‐long computer conferences moderated by university students to discover how students perceived and used the conferences. The two purposes of the conferences were to provide a meaningful, authentic context for preservice teachers to learn about technology and collaborative learning and to provide an opportunity for graduate students to learn to moderate computer conferences in an authentic context. A qualitative analysis of the conference data yielded the following findings: 1) student moderator roles reflect the influence of both instruction and personal communication styles, and 2) participants adopted behaviors that fostered communication in a text‐based environment and led to positive attitudes about computer conferencing. We conclude by identifying the critical tasks of moderators and participants in student‐moderated computer conferences.

Patronage and an Oral Tradition: Influences on Attributions of Distance Learners in a Traditional Society (a Qualitative Study).

This paper examines sociocultural influences on the attributions for success and failure among distance learners in Turkey. To gather data on influences on student attributions, in‐depth interviews and observations of four first‐year distance learners were conducted. The two influences discussed, patronage and oral tradition, are central aspects of Turkish culture — emanatingfrom Islam and the Ottoman Empire. It was found that, when the distance learners operated outside the traditional patronage system in a society with roots in an oral tradition, they coped with their first year in the system by reconceptualising their roles as both students and employees. Implications of this research relate to problems inherent in applying Western‐based attribution theory to distance learners in traditional cultures.

Examining distance education in Turkey

This article describes the distance education program at Anadolu University in Turkey and compares its problems and solutions with similar distance education programs in other Asian countries. A brief history is presented, enrollment figures are given and future directions are described. Conclusions suggest that open education is accomplishing the goals of the countrys 1981 reforms and can continue to be helpful in the countrys quest for modernization.

Teaching presence in computer conferencing: lessons from the United States and Australia

This paper uses the category of teaching presence as a framework to analyze and compare teaching presence in two computer conference contexts. Teaching presence is defined as the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes. This paper is based on an interview designed to capture reflections about teaching practices of two instructors, one from the United States and the other from Australia. The authors first present individual case studies of the two computer conference contexts, followed by conclusions and implications for research and practice.