Distance Education Literature Review PDF

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Banas, Jennifer © 2006 Distance Education: A Literature Review Jennifer R. Banas © 2006 [Unpublished paper completed for ETT 535 Distance Education at Northern Illinois Unive Introduction The purpose of this literature review was to investigate distance education as a means of reaching and teaching ...

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Banas, Jennifer © 2006

Distance Education: A Literature Review

Jennifer R. Banas © 2006 [Unpublished paper completed for ETT 535 Distance Education at Northern Illinois Unive

Introduction The purpose of this literature review was to investigate distance education as a means of reaching and teaching education majors. More and more universities and colleges are offering distance education programs to individuals seeking teacher certification. Walden University (enrollment 12, 412), University of Phoenix (enrollment: 9,874), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (enrollment: 1,099), Pennsylvania State University – World Campus (enrollment: 903), and University of Georgia (enrollment: 678) are just some of the program now offering education programs online (Kingsbury and Galloway, 2006). Who are the individuals taking classes via distance education to become certified teachers or continue their professional development in education? What are the pro’s and con’s of getting certified online? What measures need to be taken to ensure that these programs are producing teachers of the same caliber as on-campus programs? Exploring answers to these questions will help to validate the advantages of distance education programs that certify teachers, provide guidance to course designers (be they faculty or education consultants), and point administrators to the kinds of policies that need to be in place to guarantee equivalency in quality.

Analysis and Discussion Distance education is a means of reaching and teaching students who want to become teachers or continue their professional development in education. The following pages highlight some pro’s and con’s of earning a teacher certificate or continuing professional development via distance education. These pro’s and con’s point to some of the factors that should be considered in the design of future courses/programs administered via distance education.

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Who is the student seeking to become a teacher or continue professional development in education via distance education technology? What kind of student seeks to learn via a distance and who, more specifically, are the ones seeking teacher certification or continued professional development in the field of education? In general, according to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2006, p. 156), distance education students can be of any age and educational level, and many have a variety of educational needs. Sometimes they may be learners who live in a rural area or in a metropolitan area that does not offer the sought course/degree. One of the qualities that distance learners share is increased commitment to learning, higher levels of motivation, and characteristics of a self-starter. As for individuals seeking teacher certification or continued professional development in education, they most likely are not too different than other distance education students. Some education students who may uniquely benefit from the distance education format, however, are the uncertified teacher already working in the classroom, the certified teacher seeking a secondary degree, the extracurricular activity leader or coach who can not make evening classes, or the student who is looking to get into distance education him/herself.

What Are the Pro’s and Con’s of Becoming a Teacher via Distance Education? Pro - Building confidence in using technology According to Caywood and Duckett (2003) the public has often complained that our elementary school students know more about technology than their teachers. Similarly, Lloyd, Merkley, and Dannenbring (2001) state that there seems to be uneven technology expertise among new teachers. Some new teachers have limited knowledge of how to work in a

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technology-enriched classroom or how to use technology to enhance teaching and learning. A single course about technology and education is not enough. Lloyd et al. (2001) state that using a variety of technologies needs to become a natural component of the pre-service teacher’s program. Learning via distance education is one way of accomplishing this. In a study conducted by Lloyd et al. (2001), 72 elementary education majors from four Iowa universities enrolled in a required science methodology course in the spring semester of 1999. Students within each collaboration team used distance learning technologies during the course to communicate while creating a team curriculum unit for K-6 science. Results showed that those with a previous technology-in-teaching course started the semester with higher perceptions of skill and confidence, but by the end of the course, these differences disappeared. This reaffirmed the conclusion that greater exposure to distance education technologies does indeed produce greater levels of confidence, perceived skill, and performance with the technologies. In other words by doing it themselves, they are more comfortable using it. Baron and McCay (2001), like Lloyd et al. (2001) found that learning at a distance leads pre-service teachers to not only be more confident with technology, but more likely to later use technology in their own classrooms. In the their study, students enrolled in enrolled in primarily distance-based, Internet Applications in Science Education course offered by Stevens Institute of Technology reported that they better able to design an Internet-based lesson, more likely to use that lesson, and identify appropriate uses of the Internet in the classroom. Lara and Malveaux (2002) cite similar outcomes after the implementation of The Greater Houston Partnership, a five-year project that linked five higher education institutions with six urban, local school districts is one such example. Hybrid professional development courses help

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teachers leave this new program with a greater sense of teaching and learning in a technologyrich environment.

Pro - Affordable, consistent and equitable access to high-quality education According to Roblyer and Davis (2005), the vision that drove the first virtual schools was that of an affordable, consistent, and equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities for students who need them most: rural, underserved, and at-risk populations. A pilot program that took place at Purdue University is an example of how distance education can improve the quality of educational opportunities. In this study conducted by Lehman and Richardson (2004), beginning education majors partnered with an elementary school in East Chicago as part of a shared field experience required by two required courses, Exploring Teaching as a Career and Multiculturalism and Education. The purpose of the field experience was to expose pre-service teachers to an ethnically, socio-economically diverse student population. Because Purdue is not near a major urban center, the video-conferencing project was a way to bring classrooms/schools outside the area to the university students. Prior to videoconferencing, the university students visited their sister school. The purpose of this visit was to combat the impersonal nature of videoconferencing and for both parties to develop a more accurate picture of each other. Students not only reported that they felt more comfortable using technology, but that they now felt that they would be more comfortable understanding and teaching diverse learners. Affordable and equitable access to high-quality education also serves as a major marketing strategy when it comes to recruiting new teachers to the field or encouraging already certified teachers to continue their professional development. According to Caywood and Duckett (2003), there is a growing concern that there are not enough teachers; distance education

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makes this an easier career choice for new recruits. In Alaska, for example, Reyes (2002) explains that the geography of the state, lack of a viable road system, harsh winters, and significantly higher prices of food and housing in rural areas have made it difficult to train, hire, and keep teachers in rural Alaska. Already licensed teachers have had difficulty obtaining courses for professional development. Certification, continuing education, and advanced degree courses, when offered via a distance, open new doors to these individuals.

Pro - Builds partnerships According to Caywood and Duckett (2003) distance education allows for collaboration amongst individuals spread over a wide geographic area. In a study conducted by Menlove, Hansford, and Lignugaris-Kraft (2003), the researchers found that students enrolled in the Department of Special Education at Utah State University used technology to overcome isolation (rural area) by linking with other students and the university via voice/video system. When students don’t have college learning experience, the support system offered by a well-designed distance education program can offer guidance and boost self-confidence.

Con - Poor interpersonal skills One of the negative outcomes of teacher certification via distance education, according to Shaughnessy and Gaedke (2000) is that students will emerge as teachers with a great deal of theoretical knowledge but poor interpersonal skills. Additionally, with young adults so used to communicating with others via IM (instant messaging), interactive video games, online chats, electronic bulletin boards, and blogs (Web-based journaling sites), learning to become classroom

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teachers over the internet may not provide them with the interpersonal skills to interact with students, parents, and staff.

Con -Too much uniformity To maintain consistency and quality, distance education courses/programs are often uniformly designed. This could eventually lead to the depersonalization of teaching styles. Teachers in rural Alaska, for examples, already felt that the “Western” ways of teaching was preferred over the methods taught locally Reyes (2002). If teachers are not given opportunity to learn how to adapt to their own culture climate, they may not be as effective in the classroom.

Con - Lack of concrete thinking According to Diaz and Cartnal (1999), successful distance education students prefer to look for abstract concepts to help explain the concrete experiences associated with their learning. That is, they wanted to know “why” certain things happened in conceptual or theoretical terms. But does this work the other way around? Will students who take all of their courses via distance education be able to take abstract concepts and put them into concrete practice? Diaz and Cartnal (1999) found that education students who possessed a more independent and conceptual learning style performed well in the distance learning class and education students who had a more social and applied learning style performed better on campus.

Ensuring an Equitable Learning Experience In light of the pro’s and con’s of distance education described above, how should education degree/teacher certification programs course designers design distance education courses to

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ensure an on-campus, quality-equivalent learning experience? The following are some points to consider:

Reducing anxiety According to Menlove, Hansford, and Lignugaris-Kraft (2003), distance education can provide access to students in rural areas but could be stressful for students with less college experience and self-confidence. Merrill (2004) indicates remind us that for most young adults, computers, electronic games, and other digital devices are a way of life for them, but for older learners, computers often cause anxiety. Technological solutions to dissolving these sources of anxiety might include email links to the course instructor and possibility a campus technology expert, a chat-room where students can ask for support from fellow students, and the creation of study groups for students collaborate with others. In this way, students would feel that they were getting the kind of support that they would normally get in a classroom. A logistical solution to dissolving anxiety is for institutions to select one of several course development platforms for faculty to use. By standardizing the platform, students would find it much easier to navigate from one distance education course to the next (Sun, Bender, & Fore, 2003).

Preserving the quality of course content According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2006, p. 80), content knowledge is the most important competency of any teacher seeking to teach at a distance because that knowledge is fundamental to being able to break down information into smaller pieces. To ensure that the kinds of courses being offered to students seeking teacher certification via a distance education are equitable, from a content standpoint, to on-campus classes, Sun, Bender,

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and Fore (2003) recommended that colleges and universities would do well to set up add-on certification programs first, based on courses which exist on campus. Ideally, the content of these courses would be directed by the faculties who have already been teaching those courses on-campus. Lao and Gonzales (2005), however, state that some faculty might be ill-prepared to make the shift from traditional face- to face classroom setting to the online academic environment. As colleges expand their distance education programs, they will also need to seek faculty or train existing faculty to deliver courses online. Exposing students to “like” activities In order to prepare distance education students for the challenges associated with using technology in the classroom, they must be exposed to like activities in their own learning. Like activities might include peer-to-peer collaboration, instructor feedback, grader feedback, authentic learning, student-centered learning, critical thinking, and problem-based learning. Because web-based technologies would be used to perform these activities, students would be gaining skills in an activity that could later use in their own classrooms (Baron & McCay, 2001).

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to uncover the types of individuals taking education courses via distance education, the pro’s and con’s of learning via distance education, and the points that need to be considered to ensure that these programs are producing teachers equitable to the ones produced on campus program. It was the found that individuals seeking certification or continuing education in teaching via distance education were not very different than other students seeking degrees or courses online. Like other distance learners, students who were most

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successful possessed increased commitment to learning, higher levels of motivation, and characteristics of a self-starter. These learners found that the advantages of taking courses via distance education were increased confidence in using technology in the classroom; affordable, consistent, and equitable access to a high quality education, and building partnerships with others. Disadvantages of taking teaching courses via distance education include lack of concrete thinking, too much uniformity, and poor development of interpersonal skills. To ensure a learning experience equitable to an on-campus course, instructing designers must take measures to preserve the quality of course content, expose student to like activities, and reduce anxiety related to technology and taking courses at the college level. To accomplish this measures, Caywood and Duckett (2003) first advocate for more qualitative studies on students and faculty’s distance education learning experiences. This author would also suggest interviewing the students of teachers who gained their certification via distance education and the administrators who evaluate teachers. This information would provide the data needed to support the belief that learning how to teach via distance education can be equitable to learning how to teach in the campus classroom.

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Peterson, R. (2006). Teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation via the web. Critical Care Nurse, 26, 3, 55-59. Reyes, M.E. (2002). Reaching out to teachers of teachers: Distance education in rural Alaska. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED477416) Roblyer, M.D. & Davis, N.E. (2005). Preparing teachers for the schools that technology built: Evaluation of a program to train teachers for virtual schooling. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37, 4, 399-409. Roblyer, M. D., & Marshall, J. (2003). Predicting success of virtual high school distance learners: Preliminary results from an educational success prediction instrument (ESPRI). Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35, 2, 241–255. Shaughnessy, M.F. & Gaedke, B. (2000). Earned and unearned degrees, earned and unearned teaching certificates: Implications for education. (Retrieved from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED454196) Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2006). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. Uppers Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Sun, L., Bender, W.N. & Fore, C. III. (2003). Web-based certification courses: The future of teacher preparation in special education? Teacher Education and Special Education, 26, 2, 8797....