DEOSNEWS Vol. 6 No.12, ISSN 1062-9416.
Copyright 1996 DEOS.
Director of ACSDE and Editor of AJDE: Dr. Michael G. Moore.
DEOSNEWS Editor: Dr. Melody M. Thompson
 
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EDITORIAL
 
This issue of DEOSNEWS comprises abstracts of articles from
Volume 10 of AJDE. The
Journal, a publication of the American Center for the Study of
Distance Education at The Pennsylvania State University, has been
published three times a year since 1987. Its purpose is to
disseminate information and act as a forum for criticism and debate
about the research and practice of distance education in the
Americas. The focus is on the role of print, electronic, and
telecommunications media and multimedia systems in the delivery
of educational programs in universities and colleges, business and
industry, the military, and in the public schools. Abtracts of the
main articles from the three issues published in 1996 (10:1, 10:2,
and 10:3) are presented here. Abstracts from previous publication
years have appeared in earlier issues of DEOSNEWS (Volume 1
in DEOSNEWS 1:4; Volume 2 in 1:8; Volume 3 in 1:12; Volume
4 in 1:16; Volume 5 in 2:2; Volume 6 in 2:22; Volume 7 in 3:11;
and Volume 8 in 4:12).
 
 
AJDE
 
VOLUME 10 NO. 1 - 1996
 
Author(s): Matthew R. Larson and Roger Bruning
Title: PARTICIPANT PERCEPTIONS OF A COLLABORATIVE
SATELLITE-BASED MATHEMATICS COURSE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 6-22
 
Abstract
 
Qualitative research methodology was used to explore the
perceptions of students and classroom teachers participating in an
interactive collaborative satellite-based mathematics course in
twenty-one high schools. A pre- and post-test measure of college
mathematics placement was used to compare students in the satellite-
based course to those in a traditional pre calculus course. Results
showed that a collaborative satellite distance learning format is
effective for mathematics instruction when it provides classroom
teachers with resources they would not typically have access to and
when it is used with underachieving students. Results also indicated
that the medium can be an effective way to implement nationally
recommended curriculum and instruction standards in mathematics.
Factors accounting for these results are discussed.
 
Author(s): Chere Campbell Gibson
Title: TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF ACADEMIC SELF-
CONCEPT IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 23-36
 
Abstract
 
Academic self-concept has been demonstrated to influence student
success in distance education. The purpose of this study was to
examine the nature of academic self-concept in distance education
and to determine its enhancers and detractors. It was determined that
this construct is dynamic and multi-faceted: the process of both
learning as an adult and learning at a distance, as well as the content
studied, influences academic self-concept. Implications for both
practice and further research are discussed.
 
Author(s): Gordon Burt
Title: QUALITY PROVISION FOR STUDENTS; THE
IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CHOICE THEORY
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 37-49
 
Abstract
 
Student feedback is often seen as an expression of the students'
collective voice that can be used as the basis for decisions about
course offerings. But what if student voices are not in harmony?
Social choice theory alerts us to alternative rationales on which
educational decision makers could base choices in situations where
students disagree. Decision makers need to discuss which of these
rationales to employ before designing feedback mechanisms. To
illustrate these points, this paper focuses on the single dimension of
student workload.
 
Author(s): Ricky Telg
Title: THE ROLES OF TELEVISION PRODUCTION
SPECIALISTS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMING
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 50-61
 
Abstract
 
The purpose of this study was to examine the roles that television
production specialists play in the development of live, interactive,
video-based distance education programs. The sample for this study
consisted of twelve full-time television production specialists who 1)
were employed for at least one year at four-year universities across
the United States to produce live, interactive, video-based
educational programs, and 2) had no experience or educational
background in the field of distance education prior to employment at
their respective universities. Qualitative methods, including semi-
structured interviews, observation, and concept maps, were used to
collect data. Findings show that television production specialists fill
multiple roles, many of which go far beyond their television
production training.
 
Author(s): Jose Manuel Alvarez Manilla
Title: EL PROGRAMA DE EDUCACION A DISTANCIA DE LA
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTONOMA DE MEXICO (UNAM)
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 62-67
 
Abstract (paper is in Spanish)
 
The organization of a distance education program at the National
Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), an institution more
than four hundred years old, will help us to meet different needs:
lifelong learning, higher education as a second chance, education for
adults unable to attend regular courses to finish their studies, service
to remote populations, and continuing education for faculty in the
remote campuses. This program confronts barriers such as
traditional structures, rapid technological change, and didactics in
the use of media for instruction. Provision of education on a large
scale depends on addressing issues dealing with research,
infrastructure, development, training delivery procedures, and
organizational changes. This paper describes some of the changes
occurring at UNAM to develop distance education programs for
lifelong learning.
 
Author(s): Rodolfo Herrero Ricano and Hector Barron Soto
Title: LA CALIDAD EN LA EDUCACION ABIERTA Y A
DISTANCIA EN MEXICO
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 1
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 68-71
 
Abstract (paper is in Spanish)
 
Since 1947, distance education in Mexico has had an important role
for nonconventional populations. Considering that distance
education is a heterogeneous and dynamic field, it is important to
reflect on the need to improve quality as measured by our own
standards. With that perspective in mind, a national meeting was
organized to start a self-diagnosis in which quality and access were
the main concerns. Five hundred and twenty specialists from fifty-
one institutions participated in a national interactive synchronous
meeting held in four regions. As a result of the meeting, thirty-five
criteria and 230 parameters of quality were established. The main
conclusion of the meeting refers to the need for the elaboration of
our own indicators for open and distance education.
 
 
VOLUME 10 NO. 2 - 1996
 
Author(s): Chris Dede
Title: THE EVOLUTION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND DISTRIBUTED LEARNING
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 4-36
 
Abstract
 
This article speculates about how the development of high
performance computing and communications may reshape both face-
to-face and distance education. Its purpose is to delineate a three-part
conceptual framework (knowledge webs, virtual communities, and
shared synthetic environments) for understanding the new types of
instructional messages that enable distributed learning. Citing
leading-edge scholarship to reinforce his claims, the author offers a
position/discussion piece, not an inclusive review of distance
education or educational technology research. The emphasis is on
expanding the reader's conceptualization of distance education rather
than on proving the validity of specific pedagogical practices.
 
Author(s): Philip C. Abrami and Eva Mary Bures
Title: COMPUTER-SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 37-42
 
Abstract
 
In this response to Dede's discussion of the potential for computer-
supported collaborative learning (CSCL) to facilitate learning at a
distance, the authors address several questions: What are some
concerns about current practices in distance education? What is
known about the mechanisms and effectiveness of collaborative
learning? and How do computer technology and small-group
instruction interact? On this latter issue, they speculate about
the ways computer technology may enable, disable, or become a
transparent means of collaborative learning at a distance.
 
Author(s): Gary McI. Boyd
Title: EMERGENCE FOR WHOM? A COMMENTARY ON CHRIS DEDE'S
"THE EVOLUTION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION"
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 42-47
 
Abstract
 
To Dede's three categories of new technologies Boyd suggests the
addition of a fourth category: PALS, or Personal Assistant Linker and
Shield systems. These symbiotic, artificially intelligent, personalized
agent systems will filter, manage, and store knowledge in ways that
reflect their owners' personal needs and aspirations. The author
speculates that PALS will become essential for academics who need
to cope with the floods of information that would otherwise inundate
them. Boyd also suggests that Dede's article lacks consideration of
the possibility that corporate interests and politicians may
appropriate new educational technologies for "mis-educative"
purposes.
 
Author(s): Chere Campbell Gibson
Title: TOWARD EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND
DISTRIBUTED LEARNING: CHALLENGES AND CHANGE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 47-49
 
Abstract
 
Gibson suggests that Dede's perspective reflects both "unlimited
opportunity" and "unbridled optimism." While impressed with the
numerous examples of multimedia and hypermedia, knowledge
webs, computer-supported collaborative learning, virtual
communities, and experiential simulation presented in the article, she
questions the conclusion that the proliferation of these technologies
means that the opportunity to transform distance education into
distributed learning is unlimited, particularly in the absence of
discussion regarding the fundamental assumptions of teaching and
learning.
 
Author(s): Peter Holt
Title: A RESPONSE TO CHRIS DEDE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 49-52
 
Abstract
 
In his response, Holt agrees with Dede's basic arguements, but
cautions against what he views as Dede's tendency to add
unecessarily to the jargon of the field. Additionally, Holt notes that
much of what Dede discusses supports the concept of situated
research practiced at Athabasca University and suggests that
educational technology articles dealing with descriptions of new
media should be offered in a multimedia format that demonstrates or
provides links to the technologies under discussion.
 
Author(s): Roger Kaufman
Title: SOME POSSIBLE REALITY THERAPY FOR WOULD-BE
INNOVATORS: A RESPONSE TO CHRIS DEDE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 52-55
 
Abstract
 
Although Kaufman believes that Dede has provided potentially
useful guidance in the application of emerging technologies to
distance learning/distributed learning, he identifies three weaknesses
in Dede's arguements: 1) ideological biases, 2) incomplete
consideration of the context for determining learning opportunities,
and 3) an incomplete research agenda that might restrict us to the
processes for delivery and ignore consideration of the external
payoffs for our learning investments. Kaufman expresses concern
that these three weaknesses could result in inadequate consideration
of Dede's otherwise important discussions.
 
Author(s): Greg Kearsley
Title: EDUCATION AS USUAL: COMMENTS ON CHRIS
DEDE'S ARTICLE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 55-58
 
Abstract
 
Kearsley notes that Dede provides "a wonderful vision" of how
distance education should change, but no hints about how to bring
about such changes. He suggests that in order to implement any of
these new distance education methods, it will be necessary to adopt
a systems approach that addresses the changes needed to the
infrastructure of schools and training: changes in the curriculum,
management, staffing, and assessment of learning and teaching.
 
 
Author(s): Michael P. Lambert
Title: KEEPING FIXED ON THE OBJECTIVE: REFLECTIONS
ON DISTANCE EDUCATION'S FUTURE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 59-60
 
Abstract
 
Calling Dede's article "truly seminal," the author suggests that Dede
deserves readers collective appreciation for drawing distance
educators into an international dialogue on how we should invent
our future. Noting that "tactical details of how, when, and who are
left to the practitioners," Lambert suggests that those who are too
fainthearted to join the upcoming technology battles might want to
stay "in the rear with the gear."
 
Author(s): Farhad Saba
Title: DEDE'S DISTRIBUTED LEARNING; A SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 60-64
 
Abstract
 
Saba suggests that although Dede's point of departure is
contemporary educational technology, his primary focus is on the
underlying models of learning. Saba bases his critique of Dede's
article on the three themes of telecomputing, psychology, and
sociology, and analyzes Dede's depiction of the future of distance
education from these three perspectives.
 
Author(s): Erv Schieman and Tom Jones
Title: REVISITING THE MEDIUM/DESIGN DEBATE . . . AGAIN:
A RESPONSE TO CHRIS DEDE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 64-69
 
Abstract
 
The authors identify Dede's thesis in the following terms: New,
high-performance computing and telecommunications capabilities
will require that the learner of tomorrow be able to re-organize
information from a myriad of disparate sources into a body of
personalized, meaningful knowledge and to do so within a novel
instructional paradigm, i.e., distributed learning. They then argue
that this predicition and the subsequent call for a restructuring of
distance instruction and learning are not new, as Dede implies. From
this basis they address some of the assumptions that are
inherent in Dede's article, present some "points to ponder," and
offer some of their own perspectives on the development of the
field.
 
Author(s): Thomas W. Smith
Title: A RESPONSE TO CHRIS DEDE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 69-73
 
Abstract
 
Smith contends that Dede's article contains both important concepts
and serious misconceptions about the field of distance education.
Noting Dede's "useful intellectual service" in providing examples of
knowledge webs, virtual communities, and shared synthetic
environments, the author goes on to discuss his dissatisfaction with
Dede's failure to provide a philosophical context for the evolution of
distance education through these new learning environments.
 
Author(s): Chris Dede
Title: CHRIS DEDE'S RESPONSE
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 2
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 74-75
 
Abstract
 
After thanking the reviewers and the guest editor, Dan Coldeway,
for their time and effort in preparing responses to his article, Dede
notes that the type of dialogue which characterizes this issue of The
Journal is crucial in formulating new models for the changing field
of distance education. He identifies four major concerns--design,
control, implementation, and evaluation--expressed by those who
reviewed his article and provides his own responses.
 
 
VOLUME 10 NO. 3 - 1996
 
Author(s): Whitney Rogers Bischoff, Sarah W. Bisconer,
Barbara M. Kooker, and Lanell C. Woods
Title: TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE AND INTERACTIVE
TELEVISION IN THE
DISTANCE EDUCATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 3
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 4-19
 
Abstract
 
Distance education, in which learners are remote from the primary
educational institution andthe teacher, is increasingly delivered via
interactive television technology. Moore described transactional
distance between students and faculty in distance education
as characterized by dialogue and structure. He hypothesized that
high structure and low dialogue yield "remote" transactional distance
and low structure and high dialogue yield "close" transactional
distance. The variables in the current study were operationally
defined following Moore. Student volunteers in thirteen public
health and nursing graduate courses at the University of Hawaii
at Manoa responded to an investigator-developed questionnaire
regarding elements of dialogue, structure, and transactional distance
in their courses. Principal components and internal consistency
reliability analyses verified the presence of three factors: structure,
dialogue, and transactional distance. Dialogue was greater in the
distance-format courses than in the traditional-format courses.
Distance-format courses did not differ from traditional courses
on amount of structure or transactional distance.
 
Author(s): Karen L. Murphy, Lauren Cifuentes, Ann D.
Yakimovicz,
Rhoda Segur, Sue E. Mahoney, and Sailaja Kodali
Title: STUDENTS ASSUME THE MANTLE OF MODERATING
COMPUTER CONFERENCES: A CASE STUDY
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 3
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 20-36
 
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.
 
Author(s): J. D. Thomerson and Clifton L. Smith
Title: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE AFFECTIVE
EXPERIENCES ENCOUNTERED IN DISTANCE LEARNING
COURSES
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 3
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 37-48
 
Abstract
 
The purpose of this study was to compare the affective perceptions
of remote-site distance learning students, host-site distance learning
students, and traditional classroom students toward the experiences
they encounter while taking courses from the College of Education
at Valdosta State University. The study used a survey instrument
containing twenty-one Likert-scale statements grouped into four
clusters (student-teacher interaction, overall course
enjoyment/satisfaction, course structure, and the physical learning
environment). The instrument was mailed to a sample of 495
students. Results of the study indicated no significant differences
between the three groups in regard to student/teacher interaction or
course structure. However, the remote- and host-site groups
responded significantly less positively to questions dealing with the
physical learning environment than did students in the traditional
group, and the host-site group responded significantly less
positively to questions dealing with overall course
enjoyment/satisfaction than did students in the traditional group.
 
Author(s): Nancy F. Fjortoft
Title: PERSISTENCE IN A DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM;
A CASE IN PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 3
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 49-59
 
Abstract
 
A survey instrument was designed and administered to a population
of currently enrolled and drop-out adult students in a post-
baccalaureate doctor of pharmacy program taught at a distance. The
data from the survey was used to test a predictive model developed
to examine the parameters of adult student persistence in distance
learning programs. The independent variables in the model were
significant in predicting persistence and explained 23% of the
variance in persistence. Intrinsic benefits, age, and level of student
ease or comfort with individual learning were significant factors.
 
Author(s): Kyle Franks
Title: ATTITUDES OF ALASKAN DISTANCE EDUCATION
STUDENTS TOWARD MEDIA AND INSTRUCTION
Publ: The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 10 No. 3
Publ. Year: 1996
Pages: 60-71
 
Abstract
 
This article reports the results of a study to assess the attitudes of
distance higher education students in various units of the College of
Rural Alaska, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Emphasis was given
to media preferences, the convenience of various media, and overall
attitudes toward distance instruction. Results of a mail survey
indicated acceptance of a wide variety of media as well as strong
general support for distance instruction. Additionally, a large
majority of respondents rated distance instruction as equal to or
better than face-to-face instruction.
 
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