United States Distance Learning Association

DISTANCE LEARNING
FEATURED ARTICLES
01 SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM
BARRIERS AND THE ORGANIZATION’S
CAPABILITIES FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION
Zane L. Berge
16 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF BUILDING A
QUALITY E-LEARNING COURSE AND
PROGRAM
Abed H. Almala
19 QUALITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:
A TRIPLE PERSPECTIVE
Elias Garcell, María R. García, Noteh Glogauer, and
Diane Hobson
29 DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE
PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Sheryl Brenner
35 USING IT-BASED DISTANCE EDUCATION
FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT LEARNING
Jane Dougan
41 ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL COURSES:
PREVENTING DROPOUTS AND PROVIDING
A SUCCESSFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Fern Entrekin
48 WIMBA LIVE CLASSROOM: A CASE STUDY
OF DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
Christina Rogoza
57 ACCESS TO COLLEGE FOR
NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS:
DISTANCE EDUCATION THROUGH
FLEXIBILITY AND SUPPORT
Dave H. Winogron
63 DISTANCE EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF FLORIDA’S COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL
AND LIFE SCIENCES
William C. Byrd, Mari Jayne M. Frederick, and
Angeline Yoder
73 LEARNING OBJECTS: WHAT ARE THEY,
AND WHY SHOULD WE USE THEM IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Robert Keown
INTERVIEWS
The Perils and Promise
of Distance Education:
An Interview With
Yusra Visser 79
Richard Ihde
Here Come the Marines!
An Interview With the
Dean of the Marine Corps
College of Continuing
Education 87
Julie A. Prommasit and
M. Denise Orndorff
COLUMNS
ENDS AND MEANS
Developing a
Digital Portfolio 93
—by Natalie B. Milman
NEW MEDIA,
NEW LEARNING
School for Tykes 97
—by Craig Ullman
AND FINALLY …
The Dirty Little Secret:
Teaching Online Takes
Less Time 100
—by Michael Simonson
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning i

EDITOR
Michael Simonson
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MANAGING EDITOR
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cschloss@nsu.nova.edu
ASSISTANT EDITOR
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orellana@nsu.nova.edu
COPY EDITOR
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ASSOCIATION EDITOR
John G. Flores
jflores@usdla.org
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learning, e-learning,
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ii Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

DISTANCE LEARNING MAGAZINE
SPONSORED BY THE U.S. DISTANCE LEARNING ASSOCIATION
FISCHLER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
AND INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION GUIDELINES
Distance Learning is for leaders,
practitioners, and decision makers in the
fields of distance learning, e-learning,
telecommunications, and related areas. It is
a professional journal with applicable
information for those involved in providing
instruction of all kinds to learners of all ages
using telecommunications technologies.
Articles are written by practitioners for
practitioners with the intent of providing
usable information and ideas. Articles are
accepted from authors with interesting and
important information about the effective
practice of distance teaching and learning.
No page costs are charged authors, nor are
stipends paid. Two copies of the issue with
the author’s article will be provided. Reprints
will also be available.
1. Your manuscript should be written in
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Distance Learning
Instructional Technology and
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Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning iii

COMING FALL 2007:
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IN UPCOMING ISSUES
Closing the Distance: Success Coaching for
Online Education Goes Mainstream
National Distance Education Trends and Issues:
Intellectual Property
A Historical Perspective and Look Forward at the
E-learning Industry
Chats and Shared Understanding:
How Instructors Can Help Learners Use
Academic Chat Rooms
Effectiveness of E-content on Concept Attainment
Model Over Teaching Competence at the
Secondary Level
Facilitating Adoption of Technology in Higher
Education
The Virtual College of Texas: United We Stand
Alan Tripp
Sharon Devary
Stephen Gatlin
David S. Stein
G. Viswanathappa
Dustin L. Annan
Jeff Getchell
iv Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE
Barriers and the
Organization’s Capabilities
for Distance Education
Zane L. Berge
Zane L. Berge, University of Maryland
Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle,
Baltimore MD 21250.
E-mail: berge@umbc.edu
INTRODUCTION
It is clear that changes in society and the
marketplace demand changes in the
workplace, including a shift in the focus
of distance training and education from
instructing to learning. What is not as clear
to most people is that, to develop enterprise-wide
capabilities for sustaining distance
training and education, it takes
continuous effort to link project management,
program management, change management,
and strategic planning (Benninck,
2004; Berge & Smith, 2000; Dobbins & Berge,
2006). It is also important to realize that
these changes affect the expectations, roles,
and responsibilities of instructors, learners,
and managers as the organization builds
capacity for technologically enhanced
learning of mission-critical problems.
Persons beginning a professional career
in any complex area that is new to them
face a large number of barriers—both perceived
and real (Berge, 2004). This is true of
distance education, and it is especially true
when the individual’s organization is at a
low stage of maturity or capabilities
regarding distance education. My purpose
here is to present a framework for distance
education linking several perspectives
within an organization. It is important to
place this framework within a broader context,
making explicit the more salient factors,
barriers, and assumptions that drive
the design of this model. Part of this is to
identify shifts in the economy that act as a
catalyst for new roles, responsibilities, and
expectations of instructors and learners
that are concomitant with the changes in
the economy. This article reviews some of
the work my students, colleagues, and I
have done over the past decade and a half
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 1

concerning barriers to elearning and a few
recommendations to help ameliorate them.
DISTANCE TRAINING IN THE
WORKPLACE
Managers in organizations are usually
effective at managing projects and programs.
Additionally, in successful enterprises,
much of the overall strategic level
planning is well done. However, what I
have suggested is that there are stages or
levels of technological capability within
the organization with regard to technology-enhanced
learning and distance education
(Berge, 2001b; Schreiber & Berge,
1998). Once managers become aware of
these levels of technological maturity, and
aware of the relationship among project
management, program management, and
strategic planning, a better understanding
may be gained concerning the need for
change management to link these elements.
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
The same technologies that are fueling
changes in the global economy and driving
the growth of what is called the learning
organization are also fueling the need for
lifelong education for both organizations
and individuals. Not surprisingly, this
trend is also transforming how we deliver
training in the workplace (Bachman, 2000;
Moe, Bailey, & Lau, 1999). Technologybased
learning and distance training can
help to solve business problems. Trainingat-a-distance
can improve the quality of
learning and worker performance in an
organization in a cost effective way while
taking advantage of opportunities to
increase competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The power of training-at-a-distance is in
its use of models different from the traditional
approach to training. This traditional
approach usually involves a “stand and
deliver,” in-person presentation by a
trainer, who is located in the same physical
space as the trainees. With elearning, adult
learning principles are often used to
design and develop an active, authentic
problem-solving learning environment that
often focuses on collaboration and teamwork.
WHY ALL THE FUSS
Why all the fuss Why should changing
culture, economic conditions, and theoretical
stances influence the way education
and training occur Specifically, why
change how training is done and why do
so now In today’s economic climate incremental
improvements are often not
enough. Significant changes within an
organization ultimately come when the
chief executive officer feels enough pain.
Such pain can come from several sources:
external mandates, often from government;
corporate mergers; economic competition;
and self-awareness/education
regarding how organization can better
meet goals (Berge, 2001a). Simply put, for
companies and corporations to remain viable
and profitable, the marketplace will not
allow “business as usual” with regard to
talent management.
It is possible to significantly improve
much of the training and education that is
done by using a learner-centered, collaborative,
social, constructivist approach. To
do this can mean improvement in performance
and employee competencies on an
order of magnitude that exceeds what can
be achieved by didactic methods. It is this
order of magnitude change in the workplace
that necessitates changes to the
expectations, roles, and responsibilities of
instructors, students, and managers as the
organization builds capacity for technologically
enhanced learning of mission-critical
problems. Technology is a catalyst for
change in society, the marketplace economy,
and a cause for changing how training
must occur.
2 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

THE EMERGENCE OF A
NEW ECONOMY
A detailed discussion regarding the megatrends
affecting society and the economy—globalization,
technology, outsourcing,
consolidation, demographics, and
branding—is beyond the scope of this article,
but here are some general changes
being felt within many organizations
(Moe, Bailey, & Lau, 1999) (see Table 1).
These economic shifts demand new
ways of building competent employees
(see Table 2)
TRENDS IN TRAINING
The trend in the United States is that the
number of face-to-face training events is
down and technologically mediated training
is increasing. Technology used for
training delivery in 2005 (the most current
data available), was 36%, with 60% of that
occurring online. Since 1999, technology
used to deliver training has risen each year,
while in-person training has steadily gone
down (HighTop Company, 2007).
Change of this magnitude within the
system causes expectations of persons
throughout the organization to change.
Leading-edge companies are starting to
see a well-educated and well-trained
workforce as a competitive advantage in
the global workplace. The perception of
training is changing from a cost center to a
revenue-generating investment.
NEW ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Whether one decides to embrace distance
training and education to reduce costs,
improve quality, remain competitive, or for
some other combination of business reasons,
to do so across the organization usually
requires a significant cultural change.
This move to a learning organization is a
move toward each person taking responsi-
Table 1.
Old Economy
A skill
Labor vs. management
Business vs. environment
Security
Monopolies
Plant, equipment
National
Status quo
Top-down
Shifts in the Economy
New Economy
Life-long learning
Teams
Encourage growth
Risk taking
Competition
Intellectual property
Global
Speed, change
Distributed
Table 2.
Old Economy
Four-year degree
Training as cost center
Learner mobility
Correspondence and video
One-size fits all
Geographic institutions
Just-in-case
Isolated learners and learning events
Shifts in Education and Training
New Economy
Forty-year degree
Training as competitive advantage
Content mobility
High-tech multimedia centers
Tailored programs
Brand name university; celebrity professors
Just-in-time
On-going virtual learning communities
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 3

Table 3.
Changes in Learner and Instructor Roles
Changing
learners’
roles
Changing
instructors’
roles
• from learners as passive receptacles for hand-me-down knowledge to learners as constructing
their own knowledge;
• learners become adept at complex problem-solving activities rather than just memorizing
facts;
• more activities in which learners refine their own questions and search for answers;
• more collaborative/cooperative assignments with learners working as group members;
• group interaction significantly increased;
• increased multicultural awareness;
• independent, self-motivated managers of their own time;
• discussion of learners’ own work in the classroom;
• emphasis on knowledge use rather than only observation of the teacher’s expert performance
or just learning to “pass the test”;
• emphasis on acquiring learning strategies (both individually and collaboratively); and
• access to resources is significantly expanded
• instructors’ role changing from oracle and lecturer to consultant, guide, and resource
provider;
• instructors become expert questioners, rather than providers of answers;
• instructor provides structure to student work, encouraging self-direction;
• from a solitary instructor to a member of a learning team (reduces isolation sometimes
experienced by instructors);
• from instructor having total autonomy to activities that can be broadly assessed;
• from total control of the teaching environment to sharing with the participants as fellow
learner;
• more emphasis on sensitivity to student’s learning styles; and
• instructor-learner hierarchy is broken down
bility for his or her learning (Brown, Murphy,
& Wade, 2006; Murray, 2001). To
remain competitive, an instructor-centered
approach to training will no longer work
in today's workplace. The new emphasis
helps employees to handle a variety of jobs
and unpredictable problems (see Table 3)
(Berge, 1996).
STAGES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CAPABILITIES
Organizations struggle with this type of
change—and they do not have it all figured
out yet, but some companies are
closer than others in their understanding
of when, where, and how distance training
can help them become competitively
advantaged. These organizations have a
better understanding because they have
integrated a combination of project management,
program management, change
management, and strategic planning to
include distance education as part of the
profile of their organization.
When considering the distance delivery
of education and training, it is useful to
think of the learning “stages” the enterprise
goes through that are analogous to the
learning processes of maturing individuals.
A brief model that describes stages of organizational
maturity, or capabilities, with
regard to the delivery of distance education
(Schreiber & Berge, 1998) might be:
• Predistance Training and Education
Stage: The organization has not
attempted to use distance learning.
• Stage 1: Separate or sporadic distance
learning events occur in the organization.
• Stage 2: The organization’s technological
capability and infrastructure can
support distance learning events. When
distance education events occur, they
are replicated through an interdisciplinary
team which responds to staff and
4 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Table 4. Rank Order of the 10 Factors at
Each Stage of (Corporate) Organizational Maturity
Organizational Stage
Predistance T & E 1 2 3 4
• Lack tech expertise
• Organizational
Change
• evaluation
• Social interaction
• Access
• Student support
services
• Faculty comp/
time
• Legal issues
• Threatened by
tech
• Admin structure
• Organizational
change
• Lack tech expertise
• Access
• Evaluation
• Social interaction
• Faculty comp/
time
• Student support
services
• Threatened by
tech
• Legal issues
• Admin structure
• Organizational
change
• Lack tech expertise
• Social interaction
• Evaluation
• Access
• Faculty comp/
time
• Threatened by
tech
• Student support
services
• Legal issues
• Admin structure
• Lack tech expertise
• Organizational
change
• Evaluation
• Social interaction
• Faculty comp/
time
• Access
• Threatened by
tech
• Legal issues
• Student support
services
• Admin structure
• Evaluation
• Organizational
change
• Faculty comp/
time
• Social interaction
• Access
• Threatened by
tech
• Lack tech expertise
• Student support
services
• Legal issues
• Admin structure
management needs and makes recommendations
regarding the organization
and management of distance learning
among the workforce.
• Stage 3: The organization has established
a distance learning policy, procedures
are in place and planning occurs.
This means that a stable and predictable
process is in place to facilitate the identification
and selection of content and of
technology to deliver distance training.
• Stage 4: Distance training and education
has been institutionalized in the organization
as characterized by policy, communication,
and practice that are
aligned so that business objectives are
being addressed. The business unit has
established a distance education identity
and conducts systematic assessment
of distance training events from an
organizational perspective.
Distance education is used here to indicate
what the organization and instructors
do, while distance learning indicates what
the learner does. Of course, these stages
represent points along a continuum; the
capability stages an organization moves
through are neither linear nor discrete.
While it is convenient to describe an organization
as generally being at a particular
stage, this does not mean the absence of
elements of earlier stages, nor does it mean
that all units within the organization are at
that same stage.
BARRIERS TO CORPORATE
E-LEARNING
Impediments to teaching, instructing,
learning, and training at a distance can be
situational, epistemological, philosophical,
psychological, pedagogical, technical,
social, and/or cultural (e.g., Espinoza et. al.,
1996; Kaye & Rumble, 1991; Lewis &
Romiszowski, 1996; Sherritt, 1992;
Shklanaka, 1990; Spodick, 1995). They
include such things as: content quality,
intellectual property rights, instructors’
workloads, costs, lack of time to plan and
deliver an online course, lack of knowledge
and policies that impede development,
inadequate pay and incentives for
delivering an online class, and dozens
more (BECTA, 2005; Clay, 1999; Collis,
2005; Grant, 2005; International Data Corporation
Asia/Pacific, 2001; Kirby, 1999;
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 5

Organization's Stage vs. Mean Score for Barriers
2.50
2.45
Means
2.40
2.35
2.30
2.25
2.20
2.15
Mean
Barrier
Organizational Stage of Capability
Figure 1.
Mean scores at each level of organizational capability for the 64 barriers.
Levine & Sun, 2002; Maguire, 2005;
McKenzie, Mims, Bennett, & Waugh, 2000;
Pan, 1998; Rockwell, Scheuer, Fritz, &
Marx, 1999; Stockeband & Althoff, 1997).
A review of literature, experience, and
conversations with other experienced distance
educators indicated that simply
identifying a laundry list of problems faced
by persons wanting to implement distance
training and education is not especially
useful. What we have found is that different
organizations (or business units within
large organizations), are at different stages
or levels of maturity regarding the capabilities
that each has for conducting distance
education (Berge, 2001b, 2002; Schreiber &
Berge, 1998).
Based on survey responses, a subsequent
factor analysis (Muilenburg & Berge,
2001) clustered barriers to online learning
into the following 10 factors: administrative
organizational change, lack of technical
expertise and support, evaluation,
social interaction and quality concerns,
access, faculty compensation and time,
threatened by technology, student support
services, legal issues, and administrative
structure (see Appendix A for a description
of each factor).
DIFFERENT STAGES,
DIFFERENT BARRIERS
We have found that there is a relationship
between an organization’s level of
capability in distance education/training
and the perceived barriers to it reported by
respondents. As organizations became
more capable and better equipped to conduct
education/training at a distance, the
mean score for all barriers at each of the
five stages of organizational capability
decreases (see Figure 1).
Said differently, corporate respondents
to our survey perceive fewer or lessintense
barriers in organizations that have
more capabilities for delivering distance
education. The overall level of barriers is
higher for the novice compared to someone
more expert and compared to someone
who works in an organization with
more maturity in distance education and
training (Maor & Volet, 2007; Muilenburg
& Berge, 2001). Certainly, this makes sense.
Managers and persons charged with
6 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

ORGANIZATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
STRATEGIC
PLANNING
TOOLS FOR
CHANGE
PROGRAM
PERSPECTIVE
PROJECT/PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT
INTEGRATION WITH THE
ORGANIZATIONAL
MISSION AND VISION
GUIDING
BELIEFS/PRINCIPLES
EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN
INTERNAL
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRENGTHS
BUDGET .
INFRASTRUCTURE .
COMMUNICATION .
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
POLICY .
EXERCISING
PROFESINOAL
RESPONSIBILITY
ENGAGING RELEVANT
CONTEXTS
DESIGNING THE
PROGRAM
MANAGING
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASPECTS
Figure 2. Linking organizational perspective with program perspective: Using project and program management,
tools for change, and strategic planning.
implementing distance training and education
within the organization need to recognize
that it is common for the perceived
barriers to be greater, perhaps seeming
overwhelming, with novice distance trainers
in the initial stages of organizational
maturity in DE. These normally abate as
the organization and its personnel
matures. Secondly, it should be expected
that the ranking of which obstacles are
most important to overcome will change as
the organization gains experience with DE
and as distance training and education
becomes mission-critical within the organizational
strategic planning (see Figure 2).
LINKING THE ORGANIZATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE WITH DISTANCE
TRAINING PROGRAMS
Key to the success of technologyenhanced
learning and to distance education
and training is the commitment and
support of the organization’s top leaders
(Berge & Smith, 2000). These leaders will
need to exhibit enthusiasm for, champion,
and allocate resources to these programs
while encouraging and rewarding instructor
cooperation. Such leaders can build
credibility for distance education, maintain
currency in the field, and gather support
and partners inside and outside of the
organization. The most important function
of organizational leadership, in this regard,
may be to create a shared vision that
includes widespread input and support
from the instructors and managers, articulates
a clear training or educational purpose,
has validity for stakeholders, and
reflects the broader mission of the organization.
Both top-down and bottom-up
support is needed for successful, sustained
distance training and education at the
higher stages of organizational capability.
In addition to the establishment of a vision,
leaders link strategic planning and specific
program implementation and monitoring
using such tools as budgeting, infrastructure
development, communication, work-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 7

force development, and policy revision
(see Figure 2).
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
CASE STUDIES
When people within an organization plan
to use distance training and education,
there are several barriers to their efforts
that they are likely to encounter. Consideration
of barriers faced by other organizations
may help leaders find solutions to
reduce or to minimize obstacles in their
own organization. Using a content analysis
of 32 in-depth case studies of leading organizations,
Cho and Berge (2002) explored
solutions to the barriers faced by organizations
when they use distance education
In a traditional, in-person training situation,
registration for the course, documentation,
payment, and travel arrangements
(if any)—all the functions that are normally
thought of as involving the organization—are
completed, for the most part,
before classes begin. Once instruction
starts, the direct interactions that learners
have with their instructors become paramount.
This may not be the case in the distance
training and education classroom.
Opinions from learners in distance education
classes indicate a halo effect as they
suggest that they attribute responsibility
for a much broader scope of barriers to the
instructor compared to what they would
in a traditional setting. For instance, the
organization’s communication infrastructure
is generally not under the direct control
of the instructor, yet such operability
issues as access, network stability, and
technical support are an inseparable part
of elearning. Thus, often learners do not
make as clear a distinction between issues
normally under the responsibility of the
organization from those under the instructors’
control (Keast, 1997; Moore, 1994).
Administrative structure and organizational
change are important issues that
need to be considered simultaneously. Several
of the case studies examined by Cho
and Berge (2002) indicate the primary
importance of organizational culture or
norms, paired with administrative structure,
when an organization implements, or
plans to implement distance training
(Berge, 2001b; Bunn, 2001; Crow &
Rariden, 1993; Keast, 1997; Moore, 1997;
Olcott & Wright, 1995; Shrivastava &
Souder, 1987). Technical infrastructure and
technical support are also closely linked
with other barriers such as user access, student
support, social interaction, and quality
of learning. It appears that when there
is strong support from upper management,
aligned with organizational norms
and culture favorable to DE, other barriers
will be minimized or reduced in intensity
(see Table 5 and Appendix B).
CONCLUSIONS
Technology is one major factor that is helping
to drastically change the world economy.
Changes in society and the
marketplace demand changes in the workplace
that include a shift in the focus of distance
training and education from
instructing to learning. The need for a flexible,
knowledgeable workforce, capable of
making many decisions that are consistent
with management's objectives is driving a
new intensity in the area of talent management.
Distance training requires a great deal of
organizational support if it is to be moved
to center-stage and become part of the profile
of the enterprise. This will only occur
as a result of a cultural shift from valuing
education/training to valuing learning and
strategic planning that requires commitment
from the top echelon of the organization.
To make that kind of investment in
time, resources, and effort, there must be
mission critical business needs that are
being address by distance learning (Kearney
& Ottley, 2002). To develop enterprisewide
capabilities for sustaining distance
training and education, it takes continuous
effort to link project management, pro-
8 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Table 5.
Solutions to Barriers to Distance Education and Training
Technical Expertise, Support, and Infrastructure
Barriers Solutions Cases
Technical support • Operate or collaborate with learning center
• Implement electronic communication tools
• Design, develop, and to use an automated instructor controlled
system (e.g., Keypads system, One Touch system
and the Optel Audio-graphics system)
• Provide a backup plan
Technical infrastructure • Maintain technical resources
• Utilize site coordinators
• Upgrade communication infrastructure
• Utilize the intranet
• Provide tools to trainer and individuals to allow them more
choices
• Use vendor-produced materials when the internal infrastructure
can not keep pace with the demand from employees
Technical expertise and
staff training
Support for course
development
• Host ongoing training for staff, instructors, instructional
designers, and site coordinators
• Use trainers and consultants experienced in distance training
and education to train your staff
• Consider outsourcing
• Train faculty concerning DE
• Use subject matter experts
• Simplify scheduling for multiple time zone
• Conduct a field-test before releasing a course
2, 5, 7, 10, 14, 17,
18, 23, 26, 30, 31
3, 4, 6, 15, 16, 17,
19, 20, 24, 26 29,
31, 32
3, 7, 16, 17, 19, 21,
26, 28
2, 4, 5, 11, 17, 24,
26, 28, 29
Administrative Structure
Barriers Solutions Cases
Organizational structure
Financial support and cost
reduction
Staffing and team
building
Adopt a centralized structure, or a hub-and-spoke structure,
designed to enhance consistency in management of the DE
program and training
Conduct a cost analysis and provide report or briefings
periodically
Design and develop a cost-saving, technologically-enhanced
classroom, such as an instructor-controlled electronic classroom
(e.g., for “lean broadcasting,” the labor costs of instructors may
be reduced, and also this may reduce the need for other
technical staff)
Negotiate with local telephone company to reduce telephone
charges
• Utilize experienced professionals, including site coordinators
• Install the remote control equipment and to provide training,
checklists, and backup procedures to site coordinators
• Establish a DE team, including outside consultants
• In cases involving more than one culture, cross-cultural
awareness is needed, and probably in-person meetings are
necessary to address communication/cultural problems
• Use the defined process for the selection, hiring, and training
of instructors depending on the region of the world
where staffing is being done
2, 13, 20, 22, 24, 27,
30, 32
2, 3, 7, 17, 20, 21,
24, 27, 29, 31
8, 9, 11, 17, 19, 20,
23, 32
Table continues on next page.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 9

Table 5.
Continued
Administrative Structure (continued)
Barriers Solutions Cases
Marketing and sustaining
the program
• Provide constant and similar messages via multiple channels,
such as management and team briefings, high quality
catalogs, a video of site information and resources
• Distribute an organizational newsletter, flyers and wall
posters
• If special infrastructure is built, remember that planned
maintenance and resources are needed to sustain the network
over its lifetime
• Host an open house for the program
• Reassign or reuse existing media where cost effective, rather
then installing new systems without considering existing
ones
Vendor management • Select vendors by using open system and open standard
• Evaluate vendor performance regularly.
4, 5, 24, 27
18, 27
Organizational Change
Barriers Solutions Cases
Organizational support to
have a shared vision and
infrastructure
Organizational learning
culture against DE and
constructivist learning.
Planning and delivering
DE programs
• Conduct strategic planning and announce the DE policy
• Solidify the initiative with management and demonstrate
support from corporate executives
• Convince and solicit support from the corporate executive
through educating them
• Have a forum, workshop, or seminar for staff and managers
to facilitate their understanding about DE and to hear their
expectations about DE
• When using teaching methods or styles that have not been
used in the organization in the past, provide a “bridge” to
the new methods and processes
• Articulate the mission of the online distance education program.
• Build infrastructure
• Provide operating guidelines and standards
• Develop templates, processes, and systems to enhance the
quality
• Pay special attention to realistic expectations for distance
education in a non-Western culture
3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 25,
27, 30
3, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19,
23
9, 22, 23, 24, 32
Evaluation/Effectiveness
Barriers Solutions Cases
Evaluation of courses and
programs
Assessing and tracking
learners’ achievement
• Plan the collection of information, feedback, and evaluation
before, during and after the program
• Host a seminar with students and DE team to get feedback
about program
3, 4, 5, 6, 8,
17, 24, 25, 29
• Conduct both formative and summative evaluation 13, 18, 20, 27, 28
Table continues on next page.
10 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Table 5.
Continued
Social Interaction and Quality
Barriers Solutions Cases
Lack of learner interaction
and communication
• to encourage learners’ participation and increase the interactions
among learners, it often helps for instructors and
instructional designers to participate with learners in their
social and task interactions, and to elicit feedback from
learners
• For an IVT class, to include off air group activities and to
design a viewer response system to increase interactions
• Humanize relationships; show that people care
• Consider offering courses for faculty and students in which
the goals are for participants to adjust from classroombased
to distance learning
5, 7, 8, 9, 20, 23, 24
Student Support Services
Barriers Solutions Cases
Student advice; library
access; administrative
assistance
• Staff the distance program with liaisons between the students
and the organization
• Design a web page to provide information regarding registration,
admission, class information, help desk tips, etc.
• Purchase database systems for communication use and for
online library
2, 5, 17, 18, 24, 31
Threatened by Technology
Barriers Solutions Cases
Adapting existing
instructors and reducing
their fear over DE
• Consider having the existing instructors teach the converted
courses
• Consider creating a position that functions to ease others
through the distance learning changes and is a combination
of project manager, salesperson, instructor, and developer.
It may serve as a good opportunity for instructors to learn
other functions and ultimately improves teamwork with
others.
• Develop train-the-trainer session specifically for learning
how to use DE tools
• Consider including noncomputer activities such as paperbase
note taking. For the learners or instructors who have a
fear of using technology, this familiar activity helps them to
“learn content (how to use a DE tools),” with their more
comfortable learning method
• Consider how to use visual aids and simple games for
teaching courseware. Employees often are not experience in
using the system that will be used for their learning. So, the
first job should be to familiarize them with these systems.
2, 7, 11
Table continues on next page.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 11

Table 5.
Continued
Faculty Compensation and Time
Barriers Solutions Cases
Instructors are resistant to
DE
• Develop incentives and rewards for faculty participating in
the DE program
• Create a detailed instructor guide
• Develop train-the-trainer session
• Conduct detailed evaluation feedback with participants
1, 9
Access
Barriers Solutions Cases
Reducing users' technical
problems regarding access
to courses
• Select the simplest courseware to meet the course goals
• Work with the best hardware vendors
• Provide access both with internet connection to the server
and via direct dial to the server
2, 4
Note:
There were no cases examined that mentioned legal issues as a barrier.
gram management, change management,
and strategic planning.
As upper management realizes that global
competition is marked by organizations
with a competent workforce, it becomes
imperative to encourage continuous learning.
The concepts of “just in time,” “just
enough,” and “just for me” are driving the
use of different methods of instructional
design, teaching, and training for the first
time. The changes in the workplace affect
the expectations, roles, and responsibilities
of instructors, students, and managers as
the organization builds capacity for technologically
enhanced learning of missioncritical
problems. Training and education,
including that which is done at a distance,
will continue to become more problemand
case-based, collaborative, effective,
and exciting.
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APPENDIX A
Administrative Structure: Managing distance learning
programs through most existing organizational
structures can be problematic. Partnerships among
different units within an organization or among different
organizations require agreements about fiscal
issues such as costs, tuition and fees, and distribution
of revenue, as well as course scheduling and the issuance
of credits.
Organizational Change: Most organizations are
resistant to change. Without a shared vision for distance
learning, explicated in a strategic plan, and key
players within the organization who are knowledgeable
and supportive of distance learning, implementing
a distance learning program can be a slow and
difficult process.
Technical Expertise, Support, and Infrastructure: It is
difficult to keep up with the fast pace of technological
change. Many instructors lack the knowledge and
skills to design and teach distance learning courses,
yet their organizations do not provide a support staff
to assist them to develop distance learning course
materials, or to provide distance learning training.
The technology-enhanced classrooms or laboratories
and the infrastructure required to use them may not
be available.
Social Interaction and Quality: Participants in distance
learning courses can feel isolated due to lack of
person-to-person contact. Both faculty and students
are sometimes uncomfortable with the use of studentcentered
and collaborative learning activities because
they change the traditional social structure of the
classroom. There are concerns about the quality of
distance learning courses, programs and student
learning. Testing and assessment of student outcomes
is also a concern.
Faculty Compensation and Time: As the saying goes
… “Time is money.” Distance learning courses require
a greater time commitment, so additional faculty
14 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

compensation, incentives and release time are important
issues. Lack of grant monies to fund distance
learning start-up and subsequent projects is also a
problem.
Threatened by Technology: Some people fear that an
increase in the use of distance learning technologies
may decrease the need for teachers. Feeling intimidated
by technology may also threaten an instructor’s
sense of competence or authority. Either or both of
these psychological factors may lead faculty to feel
that their job security is threatened.
Legal Issues: The increasing use of particularly the
Internet to deliver distance learning raises concerns
about copyright, fair use policies, piracy, intellectual
property rights, and problems with hackers and
viruses.
Evaluation/Effectiveness: There is concern over a
lack of research supporting the effectiveness of distance
education. A lack of effective evaluation methods
for distance learning courses and programs is also
a concern.
Access: Many students lack access or there are concerns
over equal access to courses offered via newer
technologies such as Web-based instruction. Sometimes
instructors also lack access to the necessary
equipment and courses.
Student Support Services: Provision of student services,
such as advisement, library services, admissions
and financial aid, at a distance is a critical facet of any
distance learning program. There are also concerns
about how to monitor the identity of distance learning
students.
APPENDIX B:
CASES ANALYZED
Case # a
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Case # b
Organization
The home improvement industry
NYNEX
The American Red Cross Biomedical Services
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America
The California Department of Rehabilitation
The Unisys Corporation
The Federal Aviation Administration
The Department of Health and Human Services
Malaysia’s Virtual University
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation
The Columbus Center
The IDL Group Inc.
H.B. Zachry company
Organization
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
The U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
The U.S. Army Intelligence Center
SBC’s Regional Telecom Training Centers
MCI Worldcom
The U.S. General Accounting Office
Rseau Interaction Network
The IRS
The UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center
First Union
Ford Motor Company Dealerships
Nortel Networks
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
Hewlett-Packard’s Regional Training Center
Public Health
NYNEX
The U.S. Postal Service
TeleEducation NB
The American Red Cross
Source for cases 1-15: Schreiber and Berge (1998).
Source for cases 16-32: Berge (2001b).
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 15

Operational Definition of
Building a Quality
E-Learning Course
and Program
Abed H. Almala
Many institutions of higher education,
educational organizations,
the business community,
and learners are embracing e-learning for a
variety of reasons and needs. These parties
refer to key factors such as flexibility, the
use of mixed interactive multimedia, Internet
research, archiving, electronic networks,
telecommunications, and cost to
support the idea that e-learning could
Abed H. Almala, Campus Dean,
Alexandria Campus, Strayer University,
2730 Eisenhower Ave.,
Alexandria, VA 22314.
Telephone: (703) 329-9601.
E-mail: AAL@strayer.edu
serve as a viable and qualitative learning
alternative. Some educators and learners,
however, believe that e-learning cannot,
and should not, replace classroom instruction,
pointing out that the quality of faceto-face
education must not be compromised
by e-learning. Nevertheless, professional
and scholastic individuals with such
reservations often recognize that e-learning
can be a valuable supplement and
effective learning tool for mature and
responsible students and should be pursued.
Hence, quality of learning is a deciding
factor as to whether e-learning should
be considered as a total and effective learning
environment.
Recent educational statistics and forecasts
have revealed that e-learning is gaining
ground in community colleges and
universities nationwide. Investigating and
assessing the planning and implementation
processes of e-learning courses and
programs at these institutions of higher
education is necessary to determine the
quality of a Web-based learning environment.
Quality e-learning is a Web-based
learning environment designed, developed,
and delivered based on several
dynamic principles, such as institutionalsupport,
course development, teaching/
learning, course structure, student support,
faculty support, and evaluation and
assessment (Phipps & Merisotis, 2000).
16 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Pedagogy
--Course
Development
--Course Structure
--Instructional and
Learning Strategies
--Evaluation and
Assessment
E-Learning
Technology
--Synchronous
--Asynchronous
--Hypermedia
--Multimodal
--Archival
--Online Searching
Organization
--Vision and Mission
--Effective Leadership
--Collaboration
--Cost and Funding
--Market Needs
--Ownership and Intellectual property rights
Support
--Institutional
--Student
--Faculty
Figure 1.
Operational definition of building quality e-learning course and program.
Ensuring a quality e-learning environment
is essential in providing students with the
full range of benefits that e-learning
entails.
Advanced new technology has provided
educators with valuable tools to
design, develop, and teach quality e-learning
courses. Educators could use effective
technology-based applications, such as
microworlds, virtual realities, and case
studies to simulate active and quality e-
learning environments that might otherwise
be unavailable to the learner. Evolving
technology is making it even very
possible for learners at a distance to interact
fully with fellow learners in course
related activities. Participating in highquality
e-learning courses and programs,
community college and university learners
gain an ability to obtain educational
instruction under almost any circumstances.
There will be no more excuses
about the lack of time or availability of
courses or transportation.
E-learning is now occupying part of the
higher education agenda. Depending on
the individual and type of degree, course,
and program, e-learning could be
described as a “total” education option. To
achieve successful e-learning experiences
for all student participants, institutions of
higher education should ensure that the
academic needs of the learner are met and
the quality of education is guaranteed.
There is a critical need for more research
in the area of planning for quality e-learning
courses and programs at colleges and
universities. Educators must find ways to
effectively plan for and offer comprehensive
e-learning courses and programs in a
variety of subject areas for learners and
workers. Community colleges and universities
could serve more individuals and
businesses, at the location of their choosing,
with a wide range of developing e-
learning courses, programs, and projects.
Technology has given us great opportunity
to reach more potential learners and
employers than we ever have had before.
Institutions of higher education need to
harness and manage this energy successfully
and ride it into the future.
Based on current distance learning
research and personal e-learning experi-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 17

ence, the author designed an operational
definition of establishing a quality e-learning
course and program. Figure 1 demonstrates
the four main pillars of a solid
foundation of building such a course and
program: (1) Durable pedagogical strategies
to design, develop, and implement
effective e-learning courses and programs
in which students assume significant
responsibility toward their own learning;
(2) flexible and convenient access to
resources and support services; (3) an
organizational base that has a long-term
vision and mission in place, managed by
proactive leaders who seek collaboration
and monetary support to develop and
implement quality e-learning courses and
programs, driven by market needs, and
complying with the laws of ownership and
intellectual property rights; and (4) robust
technological tools that meet the instructional
and learning demands of students
and instructors and integrate well with
diverse content to obtain the desired learning
outcomes. Figure 1 elaborates on and
expands the current principles of quality
e-learning identified in the e-learning literature.
REFERENCE
Phipps, R., & Merisotis, J. (2000). Quality on the
online: Benchmarks for success in Internet-based
distance education. Washington, DC: The
Institute for Higher Education Policy.
THE TREND IN THE UNITED STATES IS THAT THE NUMBER OF FACE-TO-FACE TRAINING EVENTS
IS DOWN AND TECHNOLOGICALLY MEDIATED TRAINING IS INCREASING.
18 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Quality in
Distance Education
A Triple Perspective
Elias Garcell, María R. García,
Noteh Glogauer, and Diane Hobson
INTRODUCTION
Distance education opportunities
have become increasingly common
in higher education
(Rooney et al., 2006). In 2005, about 62% of
the 2- and 4-year higher education institutions
offered distance education courses
(Rooney et al., 2006), up from 56% in 2001
(Waits & Greene, 2003). In addition, enrollment
in distance education courses
exceeded 3.18 million in 2005 (Allen & Seaman,
2006), up from 2.35 million in 2004
(Allen & Seaman, 2005) and 1.98 in 2003
(Allen & Seaman, 2004).
In response to the growing demand for
a clear definition of quality in distance
education, different organizations have
provided guidelines and standards (American
Distance Education Consortium,
2003a, 2003b; American Federation of
Teachers, 2000; Chickering & Gamson,
1987, as cited in Chickering & Ehrmann,
1996; Phipps & Merisotis, 2000; J. C. Moore,
Elias Garcell, Adjunct Professor, Office Systems
and Technology, Broward Community
College, 7200 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke
Pines, FL 33024. Telephone: (954) 850-4521.
E-mail: egarcell@broward.edu
María R. García, Associate Professor,
Graduate Studies, Director, MS in IT Management,
Franklin Pierce University, 670 North
Commercial Street, Manchester, NH 03101.
Telephone: (603) 626-4972.
E-mail: garciam@franklinpierce.edu
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 19

2004; The Quality Assurance Agency for
Higher Education, 1999; Western Cooperative
for Educational Telecommunications
Project, 2003). A review of the published
standards reveals a high degree of congruence
among them (Twigg, 2001b). A successful
education is associated with a
number of factors. The quality of the learning
experience, and the expectations that
learners bring to the table are among the
most important ones (Rooney et al., 2006).
The present article focuses on providing
perceptions of quality in distance education
from the perspective of faculty, students,
and administrators. The setting of
this report is three institutions of higher
education that have embraced distance
education. Two representatives from each
constituency were interviewed on their
perceptions of quality in distance education,
with a focus on building relationships,
feedback, and the future of distance
education. This article is relevant for educators
and administrators interested in
understanding quality in distance education
at their institutions.
DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS
The theory of diffusion of innovations
(Rogers, 1962), provides the foundation for
understanding adoption cycles and provides
the labels to describe the population.
“Adopter categories are the classifications
of the members of a social system” (Rogers,
2003, p. 297).
ROGERS’S ADOPTER CATEGORIES
Rogers (2003) uses five categories: innovators,
early adopters, early majority, late
majority, and laggards.
INNOVATORS
Innovators are obsessed by innovations.
They tend to be risk takers and are able to
adapt and cope with innovations. This
attribute requires innovators to have the
Noteh Glogauer, Principal,
Kesser Torah College, Sydney, Australia.
Telephone: +61 2 9388 2600, Ext 108.
E-mail: rabbinoteh@glogauer.com
Diane Hobson, Technology Instructor,
Trimble Middle School, 18500 Jacksonville
Road, Glouster, OH 45732.
Telephone: (740) 767-4277.
E-mail: tl_dhobson@seovec.org
20 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

ability to understand and apply technical
knowledge. As new ideas are introduced,
innovators tend to cope well with failure
and setbacks.
EARLY ADOPTERS
Early adopters are more integrated
within a social system than innovators,
which allows them to become change
agents for the innovation taking place
(Rogers, 2003). Early adopters tend to be
looked upon as opinion leaders by other
potential adopters within a social system
(Rogers, 2003). Individuals who are currently
engaged in distance education fall
under the category of early adopters.
EARLY MAJORITY
The early majority adopts innovation
just before the average member of a social
system. The early majority interacts frequently
with peers but seldom holds positions
of opinion leadership within a social
system (Rogers, 2003). The early majority
will deliberate extensively before completely
adopting a new idea. The innovation-decision
process period for this group
tends to be longer than for innovators and
early adopters.
LATE MAJORITY
The late majority adopts new ideas after
the average member of a social system.
Adoption by the late majority is a result of
socioeconomic and peer pressure (Rogers,
2003). They tend to be skeptical and cautious,
and require uncertainties to be
removed before adopting the innovation
(Rogers).
LAGGARDS
Laggards are the last to adopt innovations
within a social system (Rogers, 2003).
They tend to be isolated and do not participate
in social networks within a social system.
Experience is their point of reference;
they tend to be suspicious of innovation
and change agents. The innovation-adoption
process is relatively lengthy. Resistance
to innovation may be entirely
rational from the laggard’s viewpoint.
Postsecondary educational institutions
are facing many challenges, including
decreased enrollments, increased competition,
and a reduction of government funding.
As the cost of postsecondary
education increases, technological innovations
used in both teaching and learning
have become a stabilizing factor for
increasing productivity while keeping
administrative costs down (Massy & Zemsky,
1995). Advances in technology have
generated a boom in the development and
application of online education in post secondary
institutions.
Faculty members are being pressured to
integrate technology into their instructional
activities by administrators trying to
keep up with new technological advances,
from students who are becoming increasingly
insistent that technology be integrated
in their courses, and colleagues who
are considered “innovators” (Rogers, 2003)
of instructional technology and always
willing to spread its advantages to “laggards.”
Faculty members adopt online
technology either into face-to-face (Sun,
2004), hybrid (Sands, 2002), blended (Alvarez,
2005), or mixed delivery courses
(McFadden, 2004).
QUALITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
Based on management and engineering
concepts of quality, Reid and Robertshaw
(1991) define quality in distance education
as “fitness for [the] purpose [of] successful
learning by means of distance education
methods” (para. 1). It is common to frame
the definition of quality as fitness for purpose
(Reid & Robertshaw) from the point
of view of the customer. In education, the
term customer often refers to the student.
However, there is an important distinction
between customer in a purchaser-supplier
relationship and service provider meeting
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 21

the needs of a student (Tait, 1997). Moreover,
defining “fitness for purpose” from
the sole point of view of the student is too
narrow and may lead to misunderstandings
(Murgatroyd, 1996). Instead, the
phrase raises two important questions: fitness
for whom, and for what purpose (Perraton,
1995; Twigg, 2001b)
As the distance education options
increase, so will students’ interest in quality.
Quality, as Cress (2005) and Smith
(2004) point out, will become the standard
by which students choose a program.
DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS AND
QUALITY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
Much effort has been devoted to reach a
consensus on what constitutes quality in
distance education (Abel, 2005; American
Distance Education Consortium, 2003a,
2003b; American Federation of Teachers
2000; Chickering & Gamson, 1987, as cited
in Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996; Frydenberg,
2002; J. C. Moore, 2004; The Quality
Assurance Agency for Higher Education,
1999; Western Cooperative for Educational
Telecommunications Project, 2003). Each
constituency is working to define a set of
standards, based on their understanding
and evaluation of the issues involved in
providing an environment conducive to
learning. Many believe that consensus is
necessary because distance education transcends
local, regional, and even national
boundaries (Calder, 2000; Hillesheim, 1998;
Twigg, 2001b).
Rogers (2003) states that during the
adoption process an individual is introduced
with a technological innovation
which necessitates the amassing of specific
relevant data and the opportunity to test
the new technology. This evaluation process
is designed to determine whether the
innovation offers a sufficient improvement
to merit the investment of time and energy
that is required to integrate the new technology
into the individual’s inventory of
skill sets. Quality is the great influencer of
this decision-making process. The characteristics
and levels of quality impact the
evaluation of the efficacy of the integration
of technology in the proposed environment
as to whether it is a valid alternative
to the traditional educational experience.
ENTERING THE MAINSTREAM
Quality in distance education has been
analyzed extensively using a top-down
approach: one that considers the infrastructure,
the design of the course, the
support services available to students, and
other hygiene factors conducive to help
students complete their degrees (Ortiz-
Rodriguez, Telg, Irani, Roberts, & Rhoades,
2003). Other studies have concentrated on
analyzing the learning as a result of online
dialogue (Haavind, 2004).
Clark (2001) argues that “no one media
attribute has a unique cognitive effect” (p.
131). He further suggests that researchers
should stop looking for a relationship
between media and learning until a new
theory is brought forward. It is important
to continue searching for the most effective
way to reach students, to facilitate the way
for them to learn. Kozma invites researchers
to move away from “Do media influence
learning” to “Will media influence
learning” (Kozma, 1994, as cited in Clark,
2001, p. 179). Clark and Kozma propose a
focus on effective and efficient ways to
provide quality in distance education,
which have little to do with the delivery
mechanism, and more to do with teaching
strategies designed to encourage analysis
and understanding.
Simonson (2005) points out that if distance
education is to enter the mainstream,
quality must be in the mainstream as well.
Delivering quality e-learning represents a
considerable monetary investment for the
institution that offers it, and requires faculty
willing to invest time to use it effectively.
22 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

CONSTITUENCIES IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Each constituency brings a different
agenda to the table: the students, the
administration, and the faculty. Harvey
and Green (1993) contend that “this is not a
different perspective on the same thing,
but different perspectives on different
things with the same label” (p. 9).
FACULTY
Many studies (Abel, 2005; Allen & Seaman,
2003; American Federation of Teachers,
2000; Perry, 2003; Puffer, 2005; Smith,
2004; Sumrall, 2002; Twigg, 2001a; Zemsky
& Massy, 2004) provide evidence of the
perceptions of faculty about what constitutes
quality in distance education. One of
the reasons why distance education has
not yet become mainstream lies in the faculty.
Early adopters maintain that distance
education has the ability to foster independent
study, while laggards remain skeptical
because they believe that “teaching and
learning are inherently social processes,”
where “‘same-time same-place’ interaction
[is] central to a successful educational
learning experience” (American Federation
of Teachers, 2000, p. 5).
For some faculty members, venturing
online constitutes transferring the learning
materials they have developed for traditional
settings online (Weigel, 2000). Students,
on the other hand, may have
different expectations. In addition, there is
no guarantee that students will take
advantage of all the learning materials provided.
Faculty may be adding a great variety
of materials, but if some students do
not take advantage of them, can this still be
defined as quality distance education
Learning needs to be a factor in measuring
the quality of the education provided. As
Zemsky and Massy (2004) contend, faculty
must change the way they teach before e-
learning becomes mainstream.
Faculty may be resisting the move
towards distance education for reasons
that have nothing to do with academics.
Aside from a new set of skills, preparing
content for online delivery requires a huge
investment of faculty time. The question
remains as to how the institution will
acknowledge such effort. In 1990, the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching (Boyer, 1990) proposed a model
to reward teachers for more than just
“good evaluations” and amount of
research. According to this model, activities
such as service to the school community
and engagement in new projects
promoted by the school should also be
considered scholarship.
Regardless of whether the course is
taught face-to-face or at a distance, the
teacher needs to be present both at the
cognitive and at the social level (Beaudoin,
2002, Haavind, 2004). It is the teacher’s
responsibility to create a comfortable learning
environment, where prompt feedback
is the norm rather than the exception
(Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996; Kirtley,
2002).
Faculty members have traditionally
modified their teaching style and the mix
of materials used based on student feedback.
This is no different in distance education.
Perry (2003) examined faculty beliefs
about quality in distance education and
their perceptions of what students believe
about quality in distance education. The
results of this study showed that faculty
rated their beliefs about quality in distance
education and other areas higher than
they rated their perceptions of student
beliefs in the same areas.
STUDENTS
Some studies (LaBonte, 2003; Mansouri,
2003; Ortiz-Rodriguez et al., 2003; Shepperd,
2002) have analyzed the perceptions
of distance learners about what constitutes
quality in distance education. Others have
compared the perceptions of quality of
online and traditional courses (Gottwald,
2005; Moret, 2004).
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 23

Education is a vital element of society.
Individuals have two choices: adapt, or
risk being replaced. In today’s knowledge
economy, individuals not only have to
obtain the necessary foundation skills and
keep them current; they also need to
acquire new knowledge and skills if they
wish to maintain their status quo. The fastevolving
pace of today’s business environment
demands that its workers become
lifelong learners. Tuijnmam (2003) defines
lifelong learning as the process of individual
learning across a person’s life span,
from cradle to grave. Lifelong learning can
occur in both a formal and an informal setting.
A formal setting is provided by an
educational institution. This is not only
true for information technology professionals,
but also for those who are expected
to interact with the electronic and fully
automated information systems available
in one way or another (Richards & Garcia,
2006). For example, accountants and
finance professionals must understand
how information systems enable real-time
information to make decisions regarding
the productive use of the company’s
resources (Richards & Garcia, 2006). The
need for education has expanded remarkably.
Unfortunately, more often than not,
these needs are at odds with the lack of
time to pursue such endeavors. Today’s
workers and their sponsors expect ondemand
learning services (Mariasingarn,
2005).
However, working professionals are not
the only ones demanding online learning.
Younger generations which have grown
accustomed to technology expect to be
exposed to the same level of technology in
school as they do for entertainment. The
digital divide so pervasive among baby
boomers is not an issue for them.
ADMINISTRATION
Administrators at many institutions of
higher education believe that delivering
distance education costs less than traditional
education. Moved by this belief, they
invest heavily in new technologies. However,
the cost of investing in expensive,
cutting-edge technology requires a critical
mass in order to be effective. A study of
various methods of course delivery conducted
by Neely (2004) revealed that the
number of students enrolled in a course
has a significant effect on the unit cost of a
course per student. Thus, consistently running
small classes will increase the time it
takes the institution to amortize the initial
investment in new technologies. In those
cases, the total cost for face-to-face courses
tends to be lower than for technologydelivered
courses.
A common mistake when measuring
quality in distance education is to equate
success with increased enrollments. Quantity
is not quality (Ström, 2004; U.S.
National Commission on Libraries and
Information Science, 2001). Concentrating
on quantity will inevitably lead to commoditization
of the education provided. If
commoditization occurs, competition will
focus on price, not on quality, which will
undoubtedly have devastating consequences
for those institutions that don’t
operate at the lowest cost in the market
(Weigel, 2000).
Hemlata (2005) asserts that the four
main issues encountered by administrators
when implementing online education at
their institution are sustainability, quality,
organization, and learner support system.
Administrators seem to agree to a systematic
approach to online learning, one that
must begin with a careful analysis and further
strengthening of the mission statement
of the organization (Hemlata, 2005).
A major risk in distance education
endeavors is the tendency of some institutions
to hire cheaper labor to reduce costs
(Twigg, 2001a). Excessive use of teaching
assistants and adjuncts may solve a problem
in the short run, but the long-term cost
in quality could be greater than what the
institution might anticipate (American
Federation of Teachers, 2000). First, the
24 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

control and responsibility for the curriculum
will shift from the faculty to the
administration, whose decisions are driven
by financial interests. Second, most institutions
don’t have strong quality assurance
systems in place to ensure quality when
the faculty loses control of the curriculum
(Twigg, 2001a).
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Recent research endeavors have studied
the quality of the dialog among instructors
and students, and the pedagogy of teaching
at a distance (Angeli, Valanides, &
Bonk, 2003; Beaudoin, 2002; Haavind,
2004; Swan, 2002). This pedagogy refers to
the theory and practice of transactional
distance: interaction among teachers and
students, students and students, learning
communities, and teaching and learning
processes across time and space (M. G.
Moore, 1973). In smaller universities, professors
and students have a direct relationship;
aside from teaching, the professors
interact directly with students. In larger
universities, this task is mostly performed
by the teaching assistants.
M. G. Moore’s theory of transactional
distance (1980) places major emphasis on
the student’s role as an active learner. He
indicates that students should define their
own learning objectives, and are responsible
for accomplishing those objectives.
Moore’s definition of distance encompasses
two elements: dialog and structure.
Dialog is defined as a two-way communication
between teacher and learner. Structure
is defined as the extent to which a
program is able to respond to the needs of
each learner. Successful distance learners
are individuals who do not require close
guidance, and are able to fill the gap that
distance creates between teacher and student.
Not surprisingly, Moore suggests
that successful learners are likely to be
experienced adults.
While the level of structure and class
size may vary, relationships are at the cornerstone
of quality in distance education.
Open dialogue serves as a motivator and
fosters deeper learning.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
Technology provides many convenient
methods for providing immediate feedback
to both the learner and the instructor.
Students are able to discover promptly not
only how they did on a quiz or an exam
but with the guidance of a faculty member,
where to get supporting information on
any subject related material. This constant
and directed communication fosters a
higher level of self-monitoring and
accountability in students as they continuously
monitor their individual progress.
Students feel that quality feedback needs
to be timely, personalized, motivating, and
framed to inspire learning (Goldsmith,
2001).
Students usually gauge the success of a
class based on the promptness and quality
of the feedback provided. This is even
more important at a distance, where students
seek for a path to success. In the
absence of face-to-face contact, faculty
must rely on reviewing student work to
assess the progress of the class. Feedback
begins prior to the term’s start date with a
comprehensive syllabus and a set of welldefined
rubrics.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
This article discussed quality in distance
education from the perspective of three of
the main constituencies at three institutions
of higher education defined as early
adopters: faculty, students, and administrators.
The above discussion revealed that
the multiplicity of views and issues in [distance]
education make defining quality difficult
(Mariasingarn, 2005). Quality is the
responsibility of the institution, and it is up
to the institution to include the different
constituencies when agreeing in a set of
standards.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 25

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28 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Distance Education in the
Public High School
Sheryl Brenner
THE CHANGING FACE
OF EDUCATION
Educational needs are changing, as
is being seen all over the nation as
students are moving more and
more toward competition with other students
from around the world. The need for
a complete and upper-level education is
necessary if current students are to be able
to compete with their world peers in the
job market.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ITS NEED
FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION
It is now clear that distance education is as
important for the healthy growth of the
American high school as it is for the college
and university-level educational facilities.
High school students are faced with
greater and greater demands to exit the
12th grade with better and better skills in
reading, writing, and mathematics as well
as basic job market skills. With all of the
demands on high school students’ time, it
is no longer a futuristic thought that these
students need to have additional opportunities
to get more complete high school
education course opportunities or begin a
Sheryl Brenner, Junior High Guidance
Counselor and Adjunct Professor,
119 Ashley Lane, Satsuma, FL 32189.
Telephone: (386) 530-0671.
E-mail: sbrenner32189@gmail.com
college education before completing high
school.
Distance education in the form of Nova-
NET, Florida Virtual School, or online
courses offered through the local community
college for dual enrollment students
has become an essential component of the
public high school curriculum in Florida.
Gone are the days when high school
seniors could graduate and walk out of the
doors of the school and find a moderatepaying
job with job advancement opportunities
that did not demand specific skills.
Now, according to the United States
Department of Labor Statistics, as cited by
Land (2006), 20% of all careers will require
an education at or above the bachelor’s
degree level and 85% will require education
and training past high school. With
labor market numbers estimating that 85
percent of our high school students need
skills beyond high school, distance education
has become the key to success for
many of these students. According to Thomas
and Bowler (2005), “There were an
estimated 45,300 enrollments in advanced
placement or college-level courses offered
through distance education in 2002–03.”
The greatest need for distance education
and educational opportunities that
differ from the regular metropolitan high
school are for those public education facilities
that are farther away from higher education
facilities or access is limited due to
lower socioeconomic situations. Patrick (as
cited by Thomas & Bowler, 2005) noted
that “distance education is more prevalent
in rural districts, where distance learning
may be the students’ only available option.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 29

And districts that already have students
enrolled in distance education courses
indicated that they have plans to increase
these offerings” (para. 4). In a section of
rural Florida it has become increasingly
more difficult for high school students to
dual enroll in community college courses
due to limited transportation and economic
hardship. These students are provided
the opportunity to dual enroll
through distance education courses
offered through the local community college
and accessed at the local high school.
There is also the opportunity for grade forgiveness
and alternative education
through the use of NovaNET a distance
digital education system that follows the
Florida Sunshine State Standards and
allows students to work at their own pace
to complete high school classes for high
school credits. The Florida Virtual School
allows students to access high school
classes through the Internet while at
school or while at home. With distance
education becoming more and more a part
of the regular public high school, it gives
the students a better chance of entering the
labor market equipped with what is
needed to succeed.
NovaNET has provided a leading edge
to a rural school district in Florida as it
allows students to advance through high
school classes and earn high school credits
in alternative settings and at their own
pace. Students in the high school Grade
Forgiveness Program and those entering
the adult education GED program utilize
NovaNET to meet the requirement for
graduation. NovaNET is a form of distance
digital learning that is accessed via the
Internet at a computer base that is
equipped with Internet access. The program
for NovaNET is purchased through
the school district by contract. The computers
and the Internet access are purchased
and provided through grants to the
Career Service department and Adult Education
department. Students placed in
alternative educational programs are also
utilizing NovaNET to keep pace with their
peers while they are excluded from the
regular classroom. Homebound students
are also benefiting from distance learning
through the use of NovaNET. Without
NovaNET or a similar product for distance
education, these students and others like
them would have limited or no access to
education. “With this transition, there is
also a shift toward increased accessibility
for those who are disabled” (Howell, Lindsay,
& Williams, 2003, para. 34). As Frydenberg
(2000, as cited in Howell, Lindsay, &
Williams, 2003) noted, “Many feel that
eLearning holds great promise … for
learners with physical and mental challenges”
(para. 34).
The Florida Virtual High School is
another vehicle for distance education that
has allowed high school students to
advance at their own pace in their own
space. High school students can access the
Internet-based virtual high school through
Internet access provided at the public high
school or from home at an Internet access
computer. The Florida Virtual High School
offers high school students educational
courses not always available in many rural
Florida high schools. “Florida Virtual
School, an Internet-based public school,
offers a rigorous online curriculum for
middle and high school students. Our fully
accredited, award-winning program
serves thousands of students around the
globe!” (Florida Virtual School, 2002). Students
have the opportunity to take English
courses, languages including, but not limited
to, Latin and Spanish, and courses in
the sciences and mathematical fields. Students
enrolled in the Florida Virtual High
School have constant contact with their
teacher through phone conversations and
e-mail correspondence. Florida Virtual
School students take accelerated or regular-length
classes and they have the opportunity
for honor credits.
Dual-enrollment through the local community
college has proved to be an educational
tool like none other. Through
30 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

distance education courses and Internet
access provided at the regular high school,
high school students are able to begin their
higher education while attending a public
high school at no out-of-pocket expense.
Access to the distance classes provided by
the community college is provided by the
regular high school during school hours to
allow high school students the ability to
use the public school transportation to and
from regular high school while attending
college courses. “Dual Enrollment provides
accelerated high school seniors and eligible
juniors the opportunity to simultaneously
earn college credit while earning credit
toward a high school diploma. Public and
private high school students as well as
home-schooled students are served by this
program that was created by Florida Statute
1007.271 and is governed by state law”
(St. Johns River Community College, 2006).
CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTANCE
EDUCATION VERSES TRADITIONAL
CLASSROOM EDUCATION
In the past, it was expected and accepted
that students would enter the classroom
and listen attentively to the teacher as the
lesson began with direct instruction or
some other form of face-to-face contact
with an educator. It was also expected that
each student would achieve at the approximate
same level and within the same
approximate timeframe. It has become
increasingly obvious that learners differ in
their learning styles and in their ability to
grasp a concept and with this new awareness
was the realization that distance education
was an opportunity for learners to
learn at their own pace in the learning
style best adapted to their needs. Distance
education allows a student to enter the virtual
class at the time the student chooses
(with the exception of synchronous chats
or conferences) and allows the student to
complete his or her work independent of
other students, distractions, or traditional
settings.
The traditional classroom operates for
the good of all of the students at the
expense of a few. When the traditional
classroom teacher begins class he or she
must develop a teaching meter that is consistent
with the amount of material or concepts
to be covered and the amount of time
allotted for a particular skill or concept.
The traditional classroom is fraught with
distractions and interruptions that limit
the amount of instructional time, and the
number of students in a class is also a driving
factor as to how much or how little of a
concept or skill will be achieved. In the traditional
classroom, learning is more
abstract and can occasionally happen by
chance rather than by design. In contrast,
the distance education classroom is the
place the learner chooses to access the class
and the distractions are controlled by the
distance learner. Education and learning is
back in the hands of the learner with distance
education, and learning is dependent
on the learner and his or her active
participation in his or her own education.
GETTING THE MOST FROM
EDUCATION THROUGH
DISTANCE EDUCATION
There is a distinct need for high school students
to achieve at a higher level than ever
before, and with distance education the
level and quality of education has
increased through the quantity of education
being offered. In a study released in
2005, Thomas and Bowler noted that
“Eighty percent of public school districts
said that offering courses not available at
their schools is one of the most important
reasons for having distance education …
[and] half cited distance learning as very
important in making advanced placement
or college-level courses available to all students”
(para. 1).
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 31

FLEXIBILITY AND TIMEFRAMES OF
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Distance education brings with it the element
of flexibility and the ability of high
school students to be involved in many different
areas of their own education while
utilizing the financial benefits of online
education at a distance. Distance education
frees many students of the burden of overloaded
schedules crammed into a few
hours each day and has the added benefit
of being accessible when the student is
ready to learn.
QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Quality of education is more than taking
many classes, it is the ability of the student
to retain and learn the concepts being
offered in the classes that will give them an
edge when they enter college or the job
force. The regular high school can no
longer meet the demands for higher and
higher level classes while combating the
need to remediate the lower level achievers.
As classes are slowed down to accommodate
the lower-achieving student, more
higher-achieving students are permitted to
sit uninspired and unchallenged. Distance
education puts quality and value back into
education as it offers upper level students
the opportunity to learn in a challenging
self-paced format.
FACING THE CHALLENGES OF
DISTANCE EDUCATION
High school is a challenging endeavor for
most students and compounding the challenges
are the lack of interesting and
diverse classes. With distance education
offered at the local high school many students
are able to take advantage of the
high quality classes offered at a distance.
Students are no longer limited to a single
language class, but have the opportunity
to take any one of a number of languages
offered through the varying venues of distance
education. Upper-level AP and honors
classes are no longer being “squished”
into the best time frame for the institution,
but rather are being taken by students with
the drive to succeed and the opportunity
to take the class when it is best for the
learner.
INDEPENDENT LEARNING IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
There are challenges directly associated
with distance learning and, for some, the
challenges make distance education all but
impossible. Distance education is typically
a form of education in which the learner is
isolated from other learners. This does not
mean that other students are not present
while the student is engaged in the course;
the contrary is true. In a typical classroom
developed and maintained for the distance
education student, there are many students
present; however, few are engaged
in the same class at the same time and
rarely if ever are two or more students at
the same place in the course. The distance
learner must be a motivated and self-regulated
learner. The isolation of distance
learning can mean that a good student will
not always find success, and a student who
found the distractions of the classroom created
an environment in which it was
impossible to learn will be able to achieve
at a higher level.
INDIRECT COMMUNICATION IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Another challenge of distance learning is
the inability to immediately confer with
the teacher. Although many classes taken
at a distance provide communication links
through telephone or instant messaging,
there is not the ability to walk up and show
a teacher what one is experiencing problems
with. As Arsham (2002) noted, “Some
students may struggle with independent
learning and feel insecure with an amorphous
teacher” (para. 6). There is also the
32 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

need, in a distance education class, for the
student to remember that because there
are no visual cues to fall back on, they must
be particularly careful how they express
themselves during chats and discussions.
Distance education offers shy or introverted
students an opportunity to express
themselves without feeling threatened or
uncomfortable. Distance education poses
several challenges, but for each challenge
there is are student looking to express
themselves in a medium that is both available
and accessible.
TIME MANAGEMENT IN
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Students involved in distance education
are similar to the regular high school student
in the need to manage their time, but
for the distance education student it is
even more essential that learning opportunities
are not squandered or assignments
allowed to build to an impossible level.
Students taking distance education courses
must be good time mangers as they plan
and orchestrate their schedule to encompass
the needs and demands of both regular
classes and distance classes. “The
virtual learning course is being taken at a
pupil’s self-scheduled time and place with
no ‘regular daily attendance’ required of
the pupil” (Michigan Virtual High School
and Distance Learning, 2005, para. 3).
SOLUTION FOR FAULTY SHORTAGES
AND CLASS LIMITS THROUGH THE
USE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
As school districts throughout the United
State struggle with budget cuts and faculty
shortages, distance education provides
much-needed relief and eases the burdens
of overcrowded classrooms. Distance education
can mean lowered dropout rates
and increased graduation rates. Distance
education can be a solution for the limited
budget and the states’ mandates on classroom
size. With distance education, the
educational system begins to lean in the
direction of high achievement and higher
success for the first time in a long time.
“Though the instructor and the learner are
at different locations, this participation in
learning is by itself a positive learning
experience” (Arsham, 2002, para. 16). The
confidence level of high school students
improves as they are provided the opportunity
to have an education comparable to
larger more financially sound school districts.
CONCLUSION
Distance education has brought back much
of what public education was founded on;
education for the masses that allow students
to enter college or the work force
with an edge—an education that lets students
excel beyond what is possible in
today’s classrooms of remedial learning
and standardized testing. Schools are
being called upon to provide a top education
with a limited budget for faculty, facilities,
and supplies, and distance education
answers the needs of all three areas.
Distance education is not for every student,
but for those students who are motivated
and self-regulated it offers the
opportunity to be challenged and reach a
higher plateau in public education while
remaining safely tucked up in the local
high school with family, peers, and friends
close by.
REFERENCES
Arsham, H. (2002). Impact of the internet on
teaching and learning. USDLA Journal.
Retrieved November 30, 2006, from http://
www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/
article01.html
Florida Virtual School. (2002). About us.
Retrieved December 1, 2006, from http://
www.flvs.net/_about_us/index_au.htm
Howell, S., Williams, P., & Lindsay, N. (2003).
Thirty-two trends affecting distance education:
An informed foundation for strategic
planning. Online Journal of Distance Learning
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 33

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Using IT-Based Distance
Education for Global
Environment and
Development Learning
Jane Dougan
We must look at today’s radical changes in technology, not just as forecasters but as
actors charged with designing and bringing about a sustainable and acceptable
world.… The problems we face go well beyond technology: problems of living in harmony
with nature, and most important, living in harmony with each other. Information
technology, so closely tied to the properties of the human mind, can give us, if
we ask the right questions, the special insights we need to advance these goals.
—Herbert Simon (1916-2001)
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1978
Jane Dougan, Coordinator of Distance
Learning, The Oceanographic Center, Nova
Southeastern University. 8000 North Ocean
Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004.
Telephone: (954) 262-3621.
E-mail: douganj@nova.edu
INTRODUCTION
The political, social, economic, and
ecological complexities evident at
the dawn of the twenty-first century
underscore the reality of “a dramatically
changed, and increasingly interconnected,
world”; one that is adjusting to
“new forms of worldwide communication
and collaboration that were, until recently,
unimaginable” (Ford Foundation, 1999, p.
xi).
By 2025, projections are that almost two
thirds of the world’s population will be
urban or suburban, and already 60% live
within 100 km of a coastline. To give just
one example of the ecological and socioeconomic
challenges, increased concerns
regarding health of the world’s oceans and
freshwater bodies highlight a critical need
to share knowledge of water issues and
solutions regionally and globally, and to
raise awareness of this among the general
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 35

population. The argument is made that
any such diffusion of knowledge and
awareness must be broadly-based. It
should include civil society, the private sector,
grassroots and non-governmental
organizations, local communities, and
academia, and must relate to real situations
and action. Environmental problems and
solutions transcend national borders. It is
therefore important to communicate and
understand a diversity of international
perspectives on how these issues are interpreted
and perceived at an individual and
local level.
Such concern for widespread dissemination
of critical knowledge and resulting
praxis is not new; arguably, what has
changed radically is the form and reach of
the tools by which these educational goals
can be achieved. In 1980, the Belgrade
Conference related to a New World Information
and Communication Order,
enshrined principles of “respect for the
right of all peoples to participate in international
exchanges of information on the
basis of equality, justice and mutual benefit”
and “respect for the right of the public,
of ethnic and social groups and of individuals
to have access to information sources
and to participate actively in the communication
process.” We have embarked upon
the United Nations Decade of Education
for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a
major tenet of which is the goal of allowing
“students to develop the skills to understand
and act on both the global and local
nature of the wide range of issues that are
included in sustainable development (SD)”
(Combes, 2005). All well and good, but
how is this to be achieved
USE OF IT IN
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING
The rise of IT-based distance learning
courses and knowledge networks is welldocumented.
Increasingly, environment
and development organizations and
related learning institutions are looking to
the use of instructional technologies (IT) in
formal and informal learning as a tool for
local and international knowledge-sharing
and communication with particular regard
to ecological and social challenges. There is
a rich literature suggesting that the spread
and reach of instructional technologies is
shaping the development of new transnational
networks across environment and
development concerns (Albirini, 2005;
Bracey & Culver, 2005; Rohrschneider &
Dalton, 2002).
Michael Totten is cofounder of the Center
for Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Technology, and senior director for climate
and water with the Washington-based
Center for Environmental Leadership in
Business. In a recent interview, he recognized
all too well the environmental challenges:
We face multiple problems, and in fact
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change said in their last report that climate
certainly is not an isolated problem,
it’s intimately linked to other major problems
we face on this planet. For example
we have more absolute poor than any
other time in human history, and we
have the sixth largest species extinction
spasm in the history of the planet.… How
do you get a Win-Win-Win-Win when
you are looking at issues of poverty alleviation
and creating sustainable livelihoods,
without compromising other species
in our search for energy and
resources and water How do you ecologically
sustain over the long-term, over
many generations, for a large population
at a level of well being (Totten, 2006, p. )
Totten is one example of those who
envisages the potentially positive educational
and communicative role that may be
realized through IT-linkages.
We have a new tool that’s emerged right
at a time when we face so many problems
and that, of course, is very low-cost computing
power with very low-cost connectivity
worldwide that now enables people
36 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

to participate and share and exchange
and learn more rapidly.… Now with
these interactive linked tools we have the
opportunity for all individuals to become
engaged.… With this new opportunity to
link and share, the solutions, technically,
financially, economically I think are there,
but we need to seize these opportunities.
(Totten, 2006)
The reach of IT-based distance learning
also allows for the relative ease of inclusion
of instructors and materials from a broad
base of international learning institutions
and perspectives. Especially since the promotion
of Agenda 21 at the Earth Summit in
1992, (United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, 1992), educational
institutions worldwide are becoming
involved with integrating environmental
concerns and issues into a broad range of
programs and course materials. The
instructional technologies and reach
allowed by computer-mediated distance
learning is of particular value in environmental
studies, the urgency of which
require an integrated, cross-disciplinary
approach reaching a diversity of learners
across borders of time and geography.
At the Oceanographic Center of Nova
Southeastern University, we offer an
online MS in coastal zone management, a
graduate certificate in coastal studies and,
together with Nova’s Fischler School of
Education, an online MS in education with
specialization in environmental education.
The Oceanographic Center has also
received approval to offer an online graduate
certificate in marine and coastal climate
change. Since the mid-1980s, I have taught
a range of e-learning courses on environment
and development issues to students
ranging in age from undergraduates and
graduates to “Third Age” (retirees) and
every stage in-between (adult learners,
working professionals). The students have
been based primarily within the United
States and Canada, but also within Europe,
Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
As Pretorius (2004) points out,
Since distance education allows students
to stay in their jobs while studying, there
is the opportunity for applying what is
learnt immediately. Given the urgency
with which environmental problems
should be attended to, especially in developing
countries, this synergy between
what is learnt and what is done in practice
is of particular importance. (p. 65)
As an example of how e-learning allows
for an immediacy of response across a
range of borders and cultures, one of my
online environmental policy courses
included a student based in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). At the start of a unit,
she posted a message that there had been
an oil spill off the Persian Gulf coast. Students
pressed for more details, and she was
able to provide little information. The UAE
is a federation of seven emirates and not
much was being said in official circles. She
had heard rumors that the spill had come
from a pirate barge associated with the
embargo on oil from Iraq. A North American
student asked her why she didn’t go to
the library. She explained that as a female
in the UAE, she was only allowed into a
very restricted area of the library.
Asynchronous questions and discussion
soon came thick and fast, and in the
process students explored gender equity,
distributions of power, the reality of ability
to influence policy and take action for nongovernmental
organizations in different
parts of the world, a powerful illustration
of the direct experience of an oil spill (as
she sent us daily bulletins from progress
“on the front”), implications of embargoes
and blockades, and a host of related issues,
sometimes with gentle prodding and guidance
on my part to make sure that things
stayed “on track” in terms of environmental
policy perspectives. If this was a pirate
barge, where was the oil going What did
the students use oil for in their daily lives
Could they trace its route to their homes
Another student had colleagues who had
worked on the Exxon Valdez clean-up, and
shared their experiences, insights, and sug-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 37

gestions with the student and her colleagues
in the UAE. It made for very
powerful and relevant learning, although
quite different in content from what I had
originally prepared at the start of the week.
As I have become more familiar with the
technological possibilities of online interactive
linked distance learning, I have
become increasingly excited and intrigued
with its potential to help create formal,
diverse, connected learning communities.
Developing an ecological worldview in
part involves a blurring of perceptual borders
between where definitions of “local”
and “global” begin and end, particularly in
terms of environmental impact. Geographically
and/or culturally disparate learners
can use on-line technology to share their
knowledge, experiences, and discussions;
create perceptual immediacy and intimacy;
and in the process actively contribute
to course content.
There are numerous examples of how
this is being approached in formal and
informal learning, with students of all
ages, from K-12 to postgraduate. At the K-
12 end of the spectrum, there is the Finnish-based
ENO “Environment Online,” a
global virtual school for sustainable development
and environmental awareness.
This can be found on the Web at
http:eno.joensuu.fi/basics/briefly.htm
Another such example is iEARN (http://
www.iearn.org), “the world’s largest nonprofit
global network that enables teachers
and young people to use the Internet and
other new technologies to collaborate on
projects that both enhance learning and
make a difference in the world” (para. 1).
TakingITGlobal is a relevant e-learning
site that I recently used for e-linking
groups of students from two universities
internationally (NSU in Florida, and the
University of Guelph in Canada). TakingITGlobal
(TIG) is a nonprofit international
organization founded and led by
youth. It uses Web-based technology to
connect a target-base of youth 13 to 30
from around the world (130,000 members
in over 200 countries) to learn about crosscultural
issues and perspectives, so that
they may be empowered to take “tangible
action” (TakingITGlobal, 2006) to improve
their local and global communities.
Regional membership breakdown is notable
in terms of equity of access and voice
across the global North and South. For
2005, the highest percentage (28.9%) was
North America, followed by Africa (22.2%),
Asia (21%), Europe (13%), and the remainder.
The organization’s simple mantra is to
inspire, inform, involve. TIG promotes
socially and environmentally responsible
entrepreneurship and engagement
through technology, communication, collaboration,
and community. Its Web site is a
multifaceted hub where members interact,
learn and report at a local and global level.
Information and communication technologies
are explicitly recognized as a major
resource by TIG. The organization is selfdescribed
as “led by youth, empowered by
technology.” The use of the technologies is
not passive, but mandated to be “meaningful”
in terms of bringing about positive
change. Educators can take advantage of
the TIGEd site embedded within TakingIT-
Global to create open or closed classrooms
with the potential for asynchronous discussions,
chats, file uploading, blogs, and
the advantage of being able to collaborate
easily with other TIGEd educators and the
broad TIG member community.
Professor and educator David Orr is
chair of the environmental studies program
at Oberlin College, Ohio. He is the
author several books and numerous
papers on environmental literacy in higher
education, and renowned for his work in
ecological design. In an interview in London,
England in June 2005, he mused that:
Education is about educing qualities in
students … the role then of teaching is
the role in a way of being a broker, of
being a catalyst, but it’s not the old banking
model of education where poor,
young, ignorant, and empty minds come
38 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

to a teacher and get to get filled with
knowledge. It’s more … like an acorn and
so what you are doing … is to try to provide
the nutrients … in my case it’s a
Rolodex. I want young people to come
through knowing [innovators in environment
and development] personally, so
they have a start on a good Rolodex. (Orr,
2005)
Orr’s allusion to a sort of nurturing
Rolodex got me thinking that this may be a
good analogy for the connectedness of e-
learning, in which students in an online
course or program can also build an extensive
network of local and global contacts
across their field of study, with whom they
have interacted and “met,” albeit in a computer-mediated
form. Once those connections
are made in the virtual arena, they
may continue beyond the time when the
formal class period has ended. Unlike the
F2F classroom, the students do not “leave”
a physical space; the ethereal space within
which they have been accustomed to interacting
is still up and running. I was surprised
and pleased to find that several of
my international students who had got
used to interacting within my formal
online course on TIGEd were still interacting
online within the virtual classroom
space, some time after the formal class
period had ended.
Orr also sees potential with e-learning
connectivity. To return to his interview, he
elaborates that:
the thing that’s happening now, on the
positive side of new technology, the
power of networks that we’ve known
about for some time now, but … combined
with a different paradigm, complexity
science and ecological design, the
convergence of very different streams
means that a change in positive direction
can be very fast and so in one way you
look at climatic change, biotic impoverishment,
and all the big problems and
you go “Oh my God, it’s all spiraling
downward” and in fact it will unless we
do something about it. But the potential
with this convergence is for these things
to spiral upward into a whole dynamic of
solutions. That I think is happening.
Is it happening fast enough I don’t
know, but it sure is happening very
quickly. … In the future, when people in
a hundred or two hundred years look
back on this time, this will be seen as
something that looks a great deal like an
ecological enlightenment, like we look
back at the eighteenth century … all these
people writing letters and being published
in the encyclopedia and what-not,
that was slow, that was at the pace of a
horse or sailing ship but now it’s at the
pace of electrons, moving around the
world. (Orr, 2005)
The reach and speed of the movement
of these e-learning connections “around
the world” is not, of course, happening at
the same pace everywhere, and there are
valid and widespread concerns and discussions
with regard to equity of access and
the digital divide. IT-linkages are primarily
an urban phenomenon, but perhaps this is
not entirely misplaced given that, at least
perceptively, we are on the cusp of inhabiting
a primarily urban world, with all its
resulting benefits and problems. Many of
our socioecological problems originate
here, and perhaps it is also within the
urban world that the challenges need to be
communicated and the solutions
approached. Arguably, students worldwide
who are engaged in formal environment
and development studies programs
represent an elite network; primarily
urban-based, literate, with access to higher
education and IT.
Related academic debate over the last
three decades has focused on concerns
regarding equity of access to such technologies,
but there is also concern about equitable
patterns of exchange within this
global network regarding what is communicated
and shared (Pasquali, 2005).
IT solutions need to be democratically
encouraged so as to create a situation
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 39

where actors with different perspectives
can meet, and where the general public
can get information about what these different
groups decide upon, whilst reflecting
both sides of the debate. (Pamlin,
2002, p. 167)
E-learning offers the promise of widespread
capacity building and knowledgesharing.
Equity and transparency are
underpinnings to concepts of sustainable
development. Accordingly, some perceive
that the “non-hierarchical architecture,
interactivity and liberating nature imbedded
in internet technologies have provided
unprecedented opportunities for
human development” ( Jinqui, Xiaoming,
& Banerjee, 2006, p. 293).
None of us experience life as a system or
an institution or a nation or an economic
bloc. We experience life as individuals.
Ultimately, for environmental education to
be effective beyond an academic level, the
focus has to return to the aims and experiences
and feelings and concerns of people.
Fundamentally, progress can only come
from individual actions and our relationships
to one another and our communities.
In approaching global problems, we need
to make space for individual voices to be
heard. My experience over the past few
years is that the reach and potential of connected
distance-learning courses offers a
very powerful, timely, and effective means
of doing just that.
REFERENCES
Albirini, A. (2005) Cultural perceptions: The
missing element in the implementation of
ICT in developing countries. International
Journal of Education and Development Using
Information and Communication Technology,
2(1), 49-65.
Bracey, B., & Culver, T. (2005). UN ICT Task Force
Series 9: Harnessing the potential of ICT for Education:
A multistakeholder approach. Proceedings
from the Dublin Global Forum of the United
Nations ICT Task Force. New York: United
Nations Information and Communication
Technologies Task Force.
Combes, B. P. Y. (2005). The United Nations
decade of education for sustainable development
(2005-2014): Learning to live together
sustainably. Applied Environmental Education
and Conservation, 4, 215-219.
Ford Foundation. (1999). Crossing borders, revitalizing
area studies. Retrieved April 20, 2007,
from http://www.fordfound.org/
publications/recent_articles/docs
/crossingborders.pdf
Jinqiu, Z., Xiaoming, H., & Banerjee, I. (2006).
The diffusion of the Internet and rural
development. Convergence: The International
Journal of Research into New Media Technologies,
12(3), 293-305.
Orr, D. (2005). Audio interview. Interviewed in
London, England on June 4, 2005. Retrieved
from http://www.bigpicture.tv/videos/watch/
006f52e91
Pamlin, D. (Ed.). (2002). Opportunities and challenges
for tomorrow’s society. In Sustainability
at the speed of light: Opportunities and
challenges for tomorrow’s society (pp. 156-192).
Solna, Sweden: World Wildlife Fund.
Pasquali, A. (2005). The South and the imbalance
in communication. Global Media and
Communication, 1(3), 289-300.
Pretorius, R. W. (2004). An environmental management
qualification through distance education.
International Journal of Sustainability in
Higher Education, 5(1), 63-80.
Rohrschneir, R., & Dalton, R. J. (2002). A global
network Transnational cooperation among
environmental groups. The Journal of Politics,
64(2), 510-533.
TakingITGlobal.org. (2006). Annual report 2005.
Retrieved April 16, 2007, from http://about
.takingitglobal.org/d/publicationsview=12
Totten, M. (2006, September 10). Win-win solutions
[Video clip interview]. Retrieved April
16, 2007, from http://www.bigpicture.tv/
search/totten
United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development. (1992) Agenda 21.
Retrieved April 16, 2007 from http://www.un
.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index
.htm
40 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Online High School Courses
Preventing Dropouts and Providing a
Successful Learning Experience
Fern Entrekin
INTRODUCTION
The impact of technology on education
through computers, peripherals,
software applications, and the
Internet has changed the structure of the
high school curriculum. Nevertheless, for
all the exciting potential technology holds
for education, perhaps the greatest impact
will be on distance learning (November,
2001). The ability to provide any high
school student with access to quality educational
experiences beyond the confines
of the school building is a growing reality
in today’s global society.
The number of high school students
either needing or wanting to take distance
education classes increases every day.
However, the learning styles of high school
students are quite different from adults. In
order for teenagers to be successful distance
learners and profit from the potential
of anytime-anywhere learning they need
specific skills.
Distance learning, not developed specifically
for the school where it is being used,
is playing an increasing role in K-12 education.
According to Durrington and West
(2006), “the need for systemic thinking
about how to implement distance learning
effectively is critical” (p. 16). How do
schools go about identifying the distance
learning needs of the school and their students
How can distance learning courses,
developed by other institutions, best be
structured for high school students What
groundwork is needed for students to succeed
at distance learning courses This
article will present a design for an
approach to effective planning for distance
education that proved successful for students
at one high school.
Fern Entrekin, Milton Hershey School,
Hershey, PA 17033.
Telephone: (717) 520-2848.
E-mail: entrekinf@mhs-pa.org
ONLINE CHALLENGES FOR
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Distance education classes are an obvious
solution for meeting many of the educational
needs of students. However, high
school students often do not have the time
management skills or maturity for the
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 41

unstructured nature of distance learning
(Oblender, 2002). In surveys conducted by
Oblender, it was noted that even high
school students academically strong in traditional
classrooms were not disciplined
enough to finish online courses. Student
interviews and surveys administered
before taking online courses might imply
they have the self discipline needed; however,
the success the students showed in
the traditional classroom was not replicated
in the online environment.
Our school had a number of unsuccessful
experiences with distance education
classes in the past. The guidance department
had tried enrolling a number of academically
talented students in online
classes, but the students lacked the time
management skills needed to complete the
courses. Our students had a 100% incompletion
rate for online learning. This experience
led the guidance department to
believe distance education was a “bad idea
for our students” (Anonymous, personal
communication, September, 2003). The students
were not being monitored by an
adult and it was later learned the students
often went for weeks without working on
their courses. These students, in their traditional
classes, all made honor roll.
According to Oblender (2002), students
attending traditional high schools are more
familiar with the traditional class structure.
They have not yet learned the skills
needed to be self-sufficient online learners.
This was the case at our school. If we
wanted to utilize distance education we
would need to use an approach that better
met the needs of learners coming from a
traditional classroom structure.
ONSITE ONLINE PROGRAM DESIGN
As had been learned by our earlier experiences
with distance learning, just having
students take a class did not make for a
successful learning experience. When it
was decided to try distance education for a
second time, the ADDIE model (analyze,
design, develop, implement, and evaluate)
was used (see Figure 1). Gustafson and
Branch (2002), state that an educational
system is not just the students educated in
the system; it is a comprehensive, all-inclusive
process that includes designing, creating,
analyzing, and evaluating a learning
system.
The ADDIE model covered all the items
needed to ensure successful development
of an online distance education program. It
also covered many important factors
missed the first time distance education
had been tried. First, the needs of the
learners and the school’s objectives for utilizing
distance education were analyzed.
Second, a program was designed that
included monitoring students in online
courses. Third, criteria were developed for
choosing online courses that met the
school’s objectives and the needs of the
Figure 1.
The five steps used in the design of the online program.
42 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

students. Fourth, a program that introduced
and prepared students for online
learning was implemented. Finally, an
evaluation process was developed to
ensure ongoing success of the online learning
program.
ANALYZE: ONLINE COURSES FOR
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
High schools look at the distance learning
option for a number of reasons. Brown
(2000) identified four main reasons students
pursue online courses: failed courses
needed to be made up, courses not available
at the school, early graduation, and
home schooling. Our school identified
three main objectives to meet when creating
the online program for courses developed
by other institutions: provide
students with courses not available in the
school course catalog, provide students
with an online experience, and provide
students with the ability to obtain college
level classes and credits before high school
graduation (see Table 1).
The first objective, provide students
with courses not available at the school, is
common to many high schools. The divergent
educational needs of today’s students
can often not be met by the academic staff;
either a certified teacher cannot be located
to teach the class, or so few students want
or need a class it does not make fiscal sense
to hire a teacher.
The second objective, provide students
with an online experience, is not quite as
common. Distance education is emerging
as an acceptable method of training
employees in almost all segments of our
economy. It is also seen as a respected
mode for education and the pursuit of lifelong
learning. The high school staff
believed exposure to distance learning and
the ability to study online was a skill high
school students needed to learn.
The third objective is to provide seniors,
who had completed coursework in specific
areas, with the option of obtaining college
credits. A complaint voiced by many
seniors to the guidance department was
they were bored in their senior year. Our
school needed to look at how to provide
more meaningful learning for senior students.
Providing college credit courses
made sense on a number of levels. The students
would be involved in a challenging
course, gain experience in participating in
a college course, and get college credits
before starting college.
DESIGN: ONLINE PROGRAM
STRUCTURE
Research, although widely varied, indicates
the dropout rate for online learning is
generally higher than in the face-to-face
classroom (Frankola, n.d.; Tyler-Smith,
2006). However, according to November
(2001), “The debate is not about if we will
have online learning. The question is: How
can we effectively plan for online learning”
(p. 76). Oblender (2002) was able to bring
his school’s online course completion rate
to 99% by first having students work in a
classroom with an assigned teacher.
Table 1.
Analyze Learning Objectives and Design Programs to Meet Objectives
Programs Used to Meet the Objectives
Distance Learning Objectives
In School Program
After School Program
• Providing courses not offered at school X X
• Providing online experience for students X X
• Providing challenging college credit courses X
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 43

According to Frankola, Penn State was able
to bring their online completion rate to
95% by making students aware of course
rigor before the course starts and stressing
interaction between students and faculty.
UCLA (Frankola) increased their completion
rate to close to 89% by providing
course managers who serve as support for
the students and also made sure they are
keeping up with their classes.
Our staff identified specific elements
that we hoped would prevent student
dropout and lead to student success when
taking online courses (see Table 2). First, all
students were made aware of the time
commitment and reviewed the online
course syllabus. Second, all online course
students were assigned to a structures time
and an assigned classroom. Third, all
online courses were monitored by an onsite
teacher facilitator who assisted students
with academic and technical problems.
Fourth, only courses with a high
level of teacher/student interactivity were
chosen for the students. Fifth, students
were not enrolled individually in courses.
We looked for at least two students who
wanted or needed a course and then
encouraged them to work together.
Two online programs were developed to
meet the established objectives and ensure
student success in an online environment
(see Tables 1 and 2), a structured in school
program and a less-structured after school
program. The 15-week in-school program
operates during the school day. Students
attend classes for approximately 3 hours
and 20 minutes a week. The in school program
was specifically designed to meet the
objectives of offering challenging college
credit courses. The not-as-tightly-monitored
after-school program is run as an
eight-week program. Students are only
required to check in with a teacher twice a
week after school. The after school program
was designed to provide students
with courses not offered in the school
course catalog.
DEVELOP: CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING
DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES
Of importance to all staff was another item
that had been missing the first time distance
courses had been offered at the
school: developing a list of criteria for
choosing courses that our students would
be taking. Three main characteristics were
identified as being relevant when distance
education courses were chosen for the students:
be as rigorous as courses students
would normally take in the traditional
classroom; present content that is relevant
and accurate, and employ instructors with
qualifications similar to those in the traditional
courses. If the course was being
taken for college credit then one more criterion
was added: the institute originating
the course had to be accredited.
In addition, we looked for shorter
online courses for students participating in
the less-structured afterschool program.
Distance education involves students
learning how to problem solve and work
Table 2.
Online Programs Developed Supporting Elements Leading to Student Success
Elements Having a Positive Impact on Student Performance
In School
Program
After School
Program
• Student understanding of the rigors of online learning X X
• Scheduled times for distance courses X X
• Student/facilitator (onsite teacher support) X X
• Student/teacher (course instructor interactivity) X X
• Student/student support (at least 2 students to a class) X X
44 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

independently (November, 2001). This
structure is quite different from the students’
experience in a traditional class and
it seemed realistic to have students in the
less-structured program start with shorter,
6- to 8-week online courses. There were a
number of shorter, quality online courses
that met student educational needs, and
we felt they would give students time to
adjust to the different learning style of distance
education. If a student was successful
with this first shorter class, he or she
would then be allowed to try a longer
course.
IMPLEMENT: PREPARING STUDENTS
FOR ONLINE LEARNING
Online learning places the responsibility
for learning on the student, who needs to
be conscientious and motivated. The student
also needs to have a sincere reason for
taking a distance learning class. Much of
the research mentions that students need
to be self-motivated to learn to succeed in
distance education (Brown, 2000; November,
2001). We knew the students who had
not succeeded in distance learning before
had also not been prepared to participate
in a distance course. This time we implemented
a procedure designed to prepare
students for success in online learning.
Students who expressed an interest in
an online course attended an introductory
face-to-face session. During the session,
students were told about the time commitment
they would need to make for the
course and the rigor of the course content.
They heard true stories of students who
had been unsuccessful with online learning.
However, during the introductory session
we emphasized what was in it for the
students. They would walk away with
either college credit or a certificate of completion
for their transcript. Another item
discussed in the introductory session was
teacher support. Both programs would
have an on-site teacher available. This
teacher would help with any problems
associated with the online course. The onsite
teacher would also monitor student
progress and work with students who
might start to fall behind. In addition, all
courses would have a minimum of two
students from our school. If there were
always two students in a course, then there
would always be someone on-site to collaborate
and study with.
EVALUATE: WHAT NEEDS TO BE
CHANGED
The End of Course Survey (see Figure 2)
has proved invaluable to the distance
learning program. Two pilot courses were
run; an in-school college credit course
from January to May 2006, and an afterschool
program from February to April
2006.
The results from the pilot in-school program
validated that the students did feel
challenged by taking a college-level course.
The survey results indicated they were not
“bored” and felt that the course was preparing
them for college the following year.
The afterschool pilot survey and exit
interviews resulted in the decision not to
offer an online course with less than two
students. Many of the students in the pilot
groups mentioned how important it was to
have a “live” classmate to talk to about the
class (see Table 2). Another change that was
made was to the introductory face-to-face
session. Students in the pilot felt it was
important to emphasize to future online
students the rigor of the courses. We now
emphasize that fact twice in the face-toface
session.
CONCLUSION
The in-school program, specifically
designed to meet the objective of providing
a challenging college-level course,
offered its first two courses in a pilot program
in January of 2006. A college-level
biology course was offered to two sections
of students, with 12 students in each sec-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 45

Distance Education Program: End of Course Survey
Select the answer that best describes how you feel. The “comments” section is optional.
1. Will you take another distance education course
• I’m signed up for course
• Definitely
• Possibly
• Probably not
• Never
Comments:
2. Did you prepare a personal schedule, other than reporting twice a week to the designated classroom, to
complete your coursework
• Yes
• No
Comments:
3. Compared to traditional courses you have taken how would you rate the degree of work it took to learn the
content of this course
• Very Easy
• Easy
• About the Same
• Difficult
• Very difficult
Comments:
4. Compared to traditional courses you have taken, how would you rate the degree of independence, responsibility,
and self discipline required to succeed in this course
• Much greater
• Greater
• About the same
• Less
• Much less
Comments:
5. How would you rate your effort in this course
• Best effort
• Good effort
• Average effort
• Poor effort
• Worst effortcomments:
Comments:
Please answer the following questions.
1. Is this course what you expected Why or Why not
2. What advice would you give to students who have never taken an online course
3. In order to take the time to participate in this class did you have to give something else up Were you able
to meet all of your scholastic requirements while you took this course
4. Are there any comments you wish to make to help us improve the Distance Education Program
Figure 2. End-of-course student survey.
46 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

tion. Both classes had a 100% completion
rate. Two students failed the course. However,
this was not unexpected, and we had
actually been prepared for a higher rate of
failure. During the 2007-2008 school year,
six online courses will be offered during
the school day for college credit. Approximately
36 students will participate in these
courses.
The afterschool program, specifically
designed to meet the objective of providing
courses for students not available at
school, offered its first pilot course in February
of 2006. A C++ programming
course was taken by five students. This
program also had a 100% completion rate,
with two of the students going on to take a
three-credit college programming course
during the 2006-2007 school year. In addition,
six students participated in a Veterinary
Assistant online course during the
2006-2007 school year. All students completed
the course. During the 2007-2008
school year, C++ programming will again
be offered as an afterschool option; it is
estimated that four students will participate
in the class.
REFERENCES
Brown, M. D. (2000). Virtual high schools: Part
1: The voices of experience. Education World.
Retrieved October 10, 2004, from http://
educationworld.com/a_tech/tech052.shtml
Durrington, V., & West, R. (2006). The distance
learning division and systemic change.
TechTrends, 50(2), 16.
Frankola, K. (n.d.). Why online learners drop
out. Workforce Management. Retrieved
November 10, 2006, from http://www
.workforce.com/archive/feature/22/26/
22index_printer.php
Gustafson, K. L., & Branch, R. M. (2002). Survey
of instructional development models (4th
ed.). Syracuse, NY: ERIC.
November, A. (2001). Empowering students with
technology. Arlington Heights, IL: SkyLight.
Oblender, T. (2002). A hybrid course model: One
solution to the high online drop-out rate.
Learning & Leading with Technology, 29(6), 42-
46.
Tyler-Smith, K. (2006). Early attrition among
first time eLearners: A review of factors that
contribute to drop-out, withdrawal and noncompletion
rates of adult learners undertaking
eLearning programmes. Journal of Online
Learning and Teaching. Retrieved November
7, 2006 from http://jolt.merlot.org/Vol2_No2_
TylerSmith.htm
THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON EDUCATION THOUGH COMPUTERS, PERIPHERALS, SOFTWARE
APPLICATION, AND THE INTERNET HAS CHANGED THE STRUCTURE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
CURRICULUM.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 47

Wimba Live Classroom
A Case Study of Diffusion of Innovation
Christina Rogoza
Christina Rogoza, Instructional Designer,
University of Manitoba,
Extended Education Division.
Telephone: (204) 474-8705.
E-mail: rogoza@cc.umanitoba.ca
The learning landscape is continuously
changing and is reflected in
the increase of online delivery of
curriculum. In higher education, overall
online enrollment increased from 1.98 million
in 2003 to 3.1 million in 2006 representing
a 64% increase in online engagement
(Sloan Consortium, 2006). This no longer
represents a trend but rather a process of
diffusion of online learning as it becomes
mainstreamed in higher education.
Contrary to what we may assume about
learners’ preferences for the online world,
studies have shown that students prefer
face-to-face environments for learning.
The level of peer interaction and facultystudent
interaction are important to students
and contribute to overall student satisfaction
with their learning environment
(Roach & Lemasters, 2006). Students
remain wary of online learning and they
take online courses primarily because of
convenience (Ryan, 1999, as cited in Mansour
& Mupinga, 2007).
Similarly, faculty remain concerned
about the perceived lack of interaction in
the online environment and the challenge
of how to maintain effective communication
and engagement of the learners
(O’Quinn & Corry, 2002; Simonson, Smaldino,
Albright, & Zvacek, 2006). However,
online teaching has the potential to create
a vibrant and active learning community.
As the role of the instructor changes from
teacher to facilitator, there may be even
more interaction in the online class than
what occurs in a face-to-face classroom
(Gahungu, Dereshiwsky, & Moan, 2006). In
addition, ensuring interaction in the online
environment is an accepted standard for
quality in the design for online courses
(Simonson et al., 2006).
These concerns for enabling effective
interaction were well-founded when the
main vehicle for online communication
was comprised of asynchronous text-based
modalities. However, McInnerney and
Roberts (2004) propose that the development
of online learning communities is
enhanced with the use of synchronous
communication. Technology now allows
students to connect with their instructors
and their peers in real time with audio and
video chat. Platforms such as Wimba or
Elluminate are Internet based applications
48 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

that allow instructors and students to do
presentations, share whiteboard activities,
and share desktop applications with the
capability of hearing and seeing each
other. Student polling and break-out
rooms for group activities all add to the
interactive environment. Instructors can
hold virtual office hours, Webcasts, and
bring in guest lecturers. In addition, sessions
can be archived for future viewing.
Teaching online has now been taken to a
new level, but faculty remain cautious in
the adoption of this technology.
This article will examine factors related
to the diffusion of the Wimba Live Classroom
technology using Rogers’ (1995)
framework for diffusion of innovation.
Recommendations for adoption and
implementation of this technology will be
provided.
BACKGROUND
The study takes place at a minority-serving
4-year university where the student enrollment
is 87% Hispanic, specifically Mexican
American. Most of the students are commuters
and also work while attending
school full time. Accessibility and flexibility
of curriculum delivery are significant
issues for this population. Taking fullyonline,
hybrid, and Web-augmented
courses both synchronously and asynchronously
may contribute to ease of access for
course completion and retention of students
Culture impacts on learning styles, and
in this case it is an important factor for consideration
in curriculum design (Chan,
2003). Mexican American culture is collectivist
and high context where communication
is indirect and rich in nuance and
meaning (Hofstede, 2001). This type of
communication style uses both verbal and
nonverbal cues that can be afforded in a
face-to-face situation. It would seem then,
that, considering this audience, the use of
Wimba Live Classroom that simulates
authentic communication, would be essential
for student satisfaction and effective
delivery of curriculum.
In 2005, Wimba Live Classroom was
introduced to this university community
via the Center for Learning, Teaching &
Technology (CLTT). The Center maintains
the WebCT course management system
and has supported over 12,000 students in
over 650 courses that are delivered in Webaugmented,
hybrid, and fully-online formats.
In addition, CLTT is responsible for
the research and dissemination of new
educational technologies campus-wide.
CLTT also provides full training and support
for faculty in the appropriate pedagogical
use of educational technology for
delivery of curriculum.
Live Classroom represented a new technology
for the faculty and sparked their
interest in terms of their consideration for
teaching online courses. The use of a live
virtual classroom addressed the issue of
maintaining effective communication and
interaction. Faculty were now more willing
to entertain the possibilities that technology
now afforded for online teaching.
Two faculty teaching graduate courses
in linguistics were actively recruited to use
Live Classroom. Both faculty had taught
internationally and were open to the possibilities
that Live Classroom had to offer.
Both had a foreign student overseas that
they wanted to bring into their class that
they were teaching on-site. Their plan was
to use Live Classroom for one semester
and see how it worked. One was a new
faculty member and the other was a senior
faculty member. The training occurred in
the following steps:
1. Completion of the Live Classroom
online one-hour training session sponsored
by Wimba.
2. A practice session with instructional
developers at the Center for Learning,
Teaching & Technology.
3. A face-to-face Live Classroom session
with students conducted in a computer
lab. Instructors are located in the
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 49

lab assistant’s room beside the classroom
and can see the students
through a window.
Before the face-to-face session, instructional
materials and Live Classroom procedures
were uploaded in the WebCT course
for the students (see Appendix A). Procedural
checklists were distributed to the faculty
(see Appendix B). CLTT Developers
and technical help were available to be
with the students and the instructor for
these face-to-face sessions.
Both instructors ran two face-to-face
sessions. Following that, the senior faculty
member felt competent to run her class virtually
off-site. The other faculty member
continued to meet with her class face-toface
and used Live Classroom to bring in
the foreign student.
It was hoped that these two faculty
members could be influential in the diffusion
process for this technology. They did a
presentation of their experiences in a luncheon
forum for 40 faculty and continue to
use the platform themselves. In addition,
CLTT delivers a 6-week online training session
for faculty who are going to teach
fully online and Live Classroom is incorporated
into this course. Over 50 faculty have
completed the course over the past year.
Despite the presentation and the online
training, only five faculty members have
adopted Live Classroom over the course of
the year. Three of the faculty use it for fully
online courses and two faculty members
use it for recording and archiving their
face-to-face sessions. A more systematic
approach using diffusion theory may have
contributed to a faster rate of adoption
among faculty at the university.
an innovation, communication channels,
time, and a social system.
INNOVATION
According to Rogers (1995) the rate of
adoption of an innovation is based upon
the perceived characteristics of the innovation.
In other words, the innovation could
be beneficial, but if it is not perceived as
such, will not be adopted. These characteristics
are categorized as relative advantage,
compatibility, complexity, trialability, and
observability.
RELATIVE ADVANTAGE
For the two faculty members in this
pilot, the relative advantage of using this
technology was to connect an international
student to their face-to-face group. The
senior faculty member realized that this
would also benefit her students as they
were working full-time jobs and they
would appreciate not having to come onsite
to classes. She was receptive to the idea
of having regularly scheduled virtual
evening classes.
The junior faculty member was not
ready to take that step and she felt more
comfortable in the face-to-face environment.
She said “This was my first time
teaching a graduate class and I did not
want to abandon my students.” She felt
that there was a disadvantage to her students
in doing these virtual sessions. Interestingly
she did move to a fully online
environment the next semester. This might
be the result of her own comfort level and
her realization that she could still interact
with her students and was not in any way
abandoning them.
DIFFUSION THEORY
Rogers (1976) defines diffusion as “the process
in which an innovation is communicated
through certain channels over time
among members of a social system” (p. 5).
The concept contains four main elements:
COMPATIBILITY
Rogers (1995) defines compatibility as
the perception of the innovation in relation
to existing values, experiences, and needs
of the potential adopters. In the case of the
junior faculty member, she recalled her
50 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

own graduate experience as being face-toface
intensive with her advisor and peers.
She said, “I really enjoyed those times
when I could go by his office and just sit
and speak with him about my topic. Also I
remember that often a group of us would
sit in his office and have great conversation.”
In light of these experiences, she naturally
would have ambivalence about
interacting only in a virtual environment
in that it may take away from the richness
of the experience. She clearly was much
more tied to this concept of a live presence
than the other professor. Perhaps that
would wane as she became more experienced
in teaching. This would be something
to note in selecting professors for
using this technology. The more experienced
faculty may not have such a strong
need for a face-to-face presence with their
students. It would be expedient to gauge
their attitudes around having a face-toface
or virtual presence.
COMPLEXITY
The perceived complexity of Live Classroom
became compounded when many
faculty thought that they had to learn how
to teach in a fully online course to use this
technology. However, some professors
modified the use of Live Classroom to
record and archive their lectures in the
face-to-face classroom. This would have
been a good strategy to suggest for the
entire faculty. Using it this way would
have provided a bridge to allow them to
get comfortable with the technology and
master it in stages.
The complexity of Live Classroom was
mitigated by the full support and training
offered to the faculty by CLTT. Having
instructional and technical support
allowed them to relax and concentrate on
their teaching. It is essential that in considering
diffusion of new technology that the
complexity factor is reduced to a minimum.
TRIALABILITY
Both faculty members had the opportunity
to experiment with Live Classroom
and did not have to make a decision for
full-scale adoption immediately. This was
helpful for the junior faculty member who
was more hesitant in delivering her course
off-site. If she had not been given this
opportunity to test it in a modified way,
she might not have engaged with it at all.
OBSERVABILITY
There was nothing tangible to observe in
terms of results of the use of this technology.
However, the Center did donate tablet PCs
to those faculty using Live Classroom for
the semester. Other faculty inquired about
their new laptops, which initiated the discussion
of Live Classroom. It is important to
try to provide something concrete in relation
to new technology usage.
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
The rate of adoption of an innovation is
measured by the number of individuals
over a specific period of time who adopt
the innovation (Rogers, 1995). Communication
channels, either mass media or
interpersonal, will influence this rate.
However, the communication channel
needs to be used strategically depending
on the stage of adoption. For example, in
the early stages of diffusion, the innovation
is picked up by early adopters. Rogers
(1995) developed five adopter categories
that provide useful information when
framing the diffusion process for a new
technology. They consist of innovators,
early adopters, early majority, late majority,
and laggards. These categories provide
a structure for audience segmentation and
different communication channels can be
selected for the target audience.
Rogers’ (1995) framework suggests that
the process of diffusion begins with the
innovators. In this case, the innovator was
a department (CLTT) rather than an individual.
This allowed for control of financial
resources and was helpful in assuming the
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 51

isk that goes along with new ventures.
CLTT also had the ability to use mass channels
of communication, that is, faculty listserves.
This avenue was not used
effectively and the emphasis was placed
on the early adopters as the driving force
for the diffusion process.
When examining communication
through channels, Huckman (2003) found
that individuals who were perceived as
having a high level of technology expertise
exerted significant influence on the technology
adoption of their peers. In the medical
field, for example, pharmaceutical
companies target opinion leaders as the
optimal means of diffusing the adoption of
the technology through the community of
practice.
The notion of expert power is embedded
in the academic community of practice.
Burke, Fournier, and Prasad (2007)
define expert power as the influence that
an individual exerts on others due to their
perceived superiority of knowledge or
ability. Rogers (1995) acknowledged that
diffusion occurs among participants that
are most likely heterophilous—the degree
to which individuals have different
attributes. In academe, most faculty are
fairly homophilous or similar in education
and socioeconomic status. However, the
distinction of achieved expertise is where
the clear boundaries are drawn amongst
faculty members.
In this case, one of the faculty members
who was recruited was a new faculty member
and not well known on the campus,
while the other was a senior faculty member.
The senior faculty member would be
considered more influential in terms of perceived
expertise due to her formal position
in the system. Based on this, it would be
expedient to target those individuals who
have senior status and are viewed by their
peers to be fairly technologically savvy.
The hierarchy of position should not be
the only consideration in recruiting early
adopters. There are individuals who are
early adopters but who operate outside of
a communication network. These individuals
may have a limited interpersonal network
and prefer to quietly experiment
with the innovation to test for results.
However, early adopters who have a broad
interpersonal network and are respected
by their peers should be recruited. The
foundation for the diffusion process relies
on these early adopters and the communication
of the message throughout the
social system to others. Therefore, it is
important for the facilitator of the diffusion
process to distinguish between an early
adopter who can move the adoption rate
forward and the early adopter who brings
it to a standstill.
SOCIAL SYSTEM
Communication occurs within a social
structure where norms and roles of opinion
leaders affect the diffusion process
(Rogers, 2005). The norms for the higher
education system are moving from a paradigm
of traditional approaches to teaching
and learning to integrating new models
that use technology for curriculum delivery.
Offering fully online and blended
learning opportunities is a strategic direction
for most colleges and universities
(Sloan Consortium, 2006).
Opinion leadership occurs beyond the
individual level to an organizational level
and is diffused throughout organizational
networks. The Sloan Consortium is an
example of organizational leadership in
the diffusion of online programming.
When adopting a new technology for a
particular campus it is useful to identify
other organizations that use the same technology.
Aligning the campus strategy with
acknowledged organizational opinion
leaders should be made explicit in the marketing
of the technology.
This aspect was neglected in this particular
case. However, the advantages of
using this strategy are clear. Universities
tend to be risk-aversive and are cautious
when forging into new arenas for educa-
52 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

tional delivery. The knowledge that other
institutions are taking similar steps reduces
anxiety for administrators who make the
decisions to adopt the technology. In addition,
faculty who are the early adopters
can look to their colleagues at other institutions
for guidance.
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
The selection of educational technology for
a campus is not always systematic and may
be tied to the particular idiosyncratic likes
and dislikes of the technology manager. A
systematic approach based on the principles
of diffusion would mitigate this problem.
In this case, the implementation of
Live Classroom may have been more effective
with the use of Rogers’ (1995) diffusion
theory as a framework.
Innovators who bring in new technologies
may gravitate to those they know will
participate willingly in the initiative. However,
these early adopters may not have
the interpersonal networks or the
acknowledged position of expertise in the
social system to support effective communication
for the diffusion process. It is
important to distinguish early adopters
who can facilitate the diffusion process
from those who would not be as effective.
In addition to their perceived leadership
role, those targeted to pilot the technology
should be selected based on their compatibility
with how the technology will be
used. Too often, faculty are selected based
on their technological ability. A faculty
member could be very technologically
savvy but favor face-to-face interaction
with students over online environments.
In this case, it would be wise to give a considerable
weight in the selection decision
to those faculty who have favorable attitudes
to enabling virtual environments.
Emphasis should be placed on the support
and training that will be provided for
both faculty and students who will be
using this platform. The complexity of the
technology needs to be minimized in relation
to its relative advantage.
It is important to allow faculty time to
experiment with the technology and evaluate
its use in their teaching practice. They
need the flexibility to opt out at any point
in the semester.
Communication channels should be
used strategically with a combination of
interpersonal networks and mass media
channels. Although diffusion is initially
driven by opinion leaders and early adopters,
it can be further facilitated by promotion
through internal mass media channels
(i.e., campus faculty e-mail). In addition, a
good marketing strategy would capitalize
on the leadership of other institutions in
regard to this particular technology. Many
faculty may have colleagues at other institutions
that are using this technology and
could provide them with advice on their
experiences.
Diffusion theory offers a broad framework
that can be applied in the field of
education. It is wise for decision makers to
look to the theory for guidance when considering
the adoption of an emerging technology.
APPENDIX A: TECHNICAL FEATURES
AND REQUIREMENTS OF WIMBA LIVE
CLASSROOM
For Wimba to work efficiently follow the
instructions below.
1. Test Your System
It is recommended to perform a diagnostic
check on your computer prior to
using Wimba for the first time. This
diagnostic check will verify that your
computer has the correct version of
Java, and that the Wimba tools work.
Ensure that your pop-up blockers are
disabled. Most popular browsers like
Firefox and Internet Explorer have
built in pop-up blockers. For more
information on pop-up blockers please
go to the following link: http://
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 53

cdl.utpa.edu/Home/
Student_Resources/index.cfmfuseaction=webctreqs
2. Operating System and Browser
Requirements
WINDOWS 98SE, ME, 2000, XP Home,
and Professional Edition & Mac OS X
The following browsers are supported
on PC systems:
• Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0
• Netscape 7.0+
• Mozilla 1.4+
• Firefox 1.0+
The following browsers are supported
for the MAC OS X environment:
• MS IE 5.1 or above
• Netscape 6.2, 7.0 and 7.1
• Safari 1.2 or above
3. Audio Requirements
The Wimba system does require the
use of a microphone/headset. A recommended
microphone is a headset
style microphone. Some relatively
inexpensive (under $20) headset
microphones are available at retail
stores. Your computer usually has
color coded plugs for connecting
microphones/headset. The speakers or
headphones are green and microphones
are pink. The plugs are usually
located in the back of the computer.
4. Software Requirements
The Wimba audio components require
Sun Java to operate. Follow the
instructions below.
1) Installing Sun Java
Download and install the Java plug-in
at: http://cdl.utpa.edu/Home/Student_
Resources/index.cfmfuseaction=
webctreqs
Click run in the popup window.
2) After downloading Sun Java onto
your system, you need to select Sun
Java as the default applet for your
computer by doing the following:
• Launch your Internet Explorer
Browser
• Select Tools and then Internet
Options from the Tools Pull Down
Menu
• Select Advanced from the Internet
Options Dialog Box
• Check the box under Java (Sun)
heading (“Use JRE 1.5.0_06 for
(requires restart)”)
5. Now click on the following link to
configure your computer for Horizon
Wimba.
• Voice/Audio Checker: http://
utpavt.horizonwimba.com/utpavt/
diagnostic/main
If you are experiencing any technical problems
using Wimba please contact:
Center for Learning, Teaching & Technology
Help Desk
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: (956) 318-5327
Email: cdl@utpa.edu
If you need immediate help after 5:00 p.m.
you may contact Horizon Wimba Technical
Support by e-mail or phone (toll-free in the
U.S. and Canada)
• technicalsupport@horizonwimba.com
• 866.350.4978
54 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

APPENDIX B: WIMBA LIVE
CLASSROOM INSTRUCTOR
PROCEDURES
1. Type instructions on screen
I will be talking when we start the session.
Check in the text messaging section
in the lower left hand corner and I
will type “I have started the session
and am talking.” If you cannot hear
me, (1) first check to see that your
headset is plugged in correctly, (2) that
the mute button is off (your headset
may have a mute button, and (3) check
the volume levels on your computer.
If you are still having problems our
technician will talk to you in private
text chat in the lower left corner of
your screen or call the Wimba support
number at 866.350.4978.
2. Lock Talk
3. Archive—Start Presentation
Tell students that this class is being
recorded
4. Type in text “I have started the session
and am talking. This session is being
recorded.”
5. Welcome Overview
State objectives for this lesson, such
as, orientation to the Wimba platform.
Rules for interacting in Wimba, that is,
when you want to ask a question raise
your hand.
6. Click on the yes button if you can
hear me.
7. Text chat—everybody type hello. Be
sure it is directed to All in the pull
down menu. Explain that you can
message privately but you can see the
private messages.
8. Audio check levels. Click on the
speaker and you will see controls to
adjust volume for hearing and speaking.
9. Talk—Hold down the talk button with
your mouse and speak. Go down the
list and have them practice talking.
10. Whiteboard
Enable whiteboard
Draw tool
Clear Screen
Text Tool—Click on it then click on the
whiteboard and a little square box will
show up. Just type and then hit enter.
11. There is a blue telephone on the bar
located beside the audio controls.
When you click on this you can see
that a telephone number comes up
with a pin number. You can use this to
call in by phone if you cannot get your
audio to work. You can talk to us just
as you are doing now and you can also
hear us.
12. Raise your hand if you have any questions
before I begin the class.
13. Stop and ask questions regularly.
REFERENCES
Burke, M., Fournier, G., & Prasad, K. (2007). A
diffusion of a medical innovation: Is success
in the stars Southern Economic Journal, 73(3),
588-603.
Chan, K. (2003). Hong Kong teacher education
students’ epistemological beliefs and
approaches to learning. Research in Education,
69, 36-50
Gahungu, A., Dereshiwsky, M., & Moan, E.
(2006). Finally I can be with my students 24/
7, individually and in group: A survey of faculty
teaching online. Journal of Interactive
Online Learning, 5(2), 118-142.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing
values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations
across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 55

Huckman, R. (2003). The utilization of competing
technologies within the firm: Evidence
from cardiac procedures. Management Science,
49(5), 599-617.
Mansour, P., & Mupinga, D. (2007). Students’
positive and negative experiences in hybrid
and online classes. College Student Journal,
41(1), 242-248.
McInnerney, J. M., & Roberts, T. S. (2004).
Online learning: Social interaction and the
creation of a sense of community. Educational
Technology and Society, 7(3), 73-81.
O’Quinn, L., & Corry M. (2002). Factors that
deter faculty from participating in distance
education. Online Journal of Distance Learning
Administration, 5(4). Retrieved April 8, 2007,
from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/
ojdla/winter54/Quinn54.html
Roach, V., & Lemasters, L. (2006). Satisfaction
with online learning: A comparative descriptive
study. Journal of Interactive Online Learning,
5(3). Retrieved April 12, 2007, from http:/
/www.ncolr.org/jiol
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations (5th
ed.). New York: Free Press.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., &
Zvacek, S. (2006). Teaching and learning at a
distance: Foundations of distance education.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Sloan Consortium. (2006). Making the grade:
Online education in the United States, 2006.
Retrieved April 2, 2007, from http://www
.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/index.asp
… FACULTY REMAIN CONCERNED ABOUT THE PERCEIVED LACK OF INTERACTION IN THE
ONLINE ENVIRONMENT AND THE CHALLENGE OF HOW TO MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICA-
TION AND ENGAGEMENT OF THE LEARNERS.
56 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Access to College for
Nontraditional Students
Distance Education Through
Flexibility and Support
Dave H. Winogron
INTRODUCTION
Since its inception, distance education
has focused primarily on adult
learners unable to attend traditional
face-to-face institutions principally due to
distance and time constraints. In the
United States, distance education started
during the late 1800s with correspondence
study. The University of Chicago instituted
distance education using the postal service
as the vehicle to provide communication
Dave H. Winogron, Video Specialist,
Public and Media Relations Department,
Trenton Public Schools,
108 N. Clinton Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08609.
Telephone: (609) 506-7881.
E-mail: dwinogron@trenton.k12.nj.us
between instructor and learner. While not
a new concept, distance education has
been meeting the needs of underserved
populations. Varieties of media as well as
combinations of media have been introduced
in the ensuing years to facilitate
communication between instructor and
learner, including: instructional radio, educational
television, telephone, audio/video
conferencing and, with the rapid development
of technology, Internet, e-mail, and
Web-based environments. Online instruction
in higher education has become commonplace
to help fulfill the desires of
students for convenient access to educational
advancement regardless of time and
distance separating teachers and learners.
One institution that has been meeting
the needs of distance students nationally
and internationally is Thomas Edition
State College (TESC). Located in Trenton,
New Jersey, Thomas Edison provides flexible
education programs for self-directed
adult learners. There are no face-to-face
classes offered at TESC, where programs
offered include: previously earned credit
transfer from regionally accredited colleges
and universities; asynchronous online
instruction; guided self-study; credit by
examination courses developed at Thomas
Edison; and prior learning assessment that
enable students to demonstrate college
level knowledge to acquire course credit.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 57

Educational experiences can be categorized
within a four-part framework known
as Coldeway’s Quadrants. According to
Coldeway, the purest form of distance
education is asynchronous, in which learners
can access instruction at times and
places convenient to the learner (Simonson,
Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2006)
This work will explore experiences with
asynchronous online programs offered at
Thomas Edison State College.
BACKGROUND
According to Joe Guzzardo, TESC Director
of Communications, a Carnegie Commission
study in the late 1960s indicated that
the state of New Jersey needed to develop
educational resources for diverse groups of
people not served by the established educational
system. One significant group that
report identified as underserved by the
existing colleges were nontraditional adult
students. Based in part on that Carnegie
study, Thomas Edison State College was
founded in 1972. From its inception, TESC
was designed primarily to serve one group
of people: adult learners.
TESC is unique. Never envisioned as a
bricks-and-mortar institution, around a
specific geographic region, or a specific
academic discipline per se, it was developed
around a particular type of student.
Thomas Edison is a public college designed
for adults in New Jersey, and is one of the
oldest institutions dedicated exclusively to
adults in the United States. The college is
recognized as a national center of excellence
in the area of adult education and in
the area of assessing college-level learning
that has been acquired outside of the classroom.
Regionally accredited by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools,
Thomas Edison students are assured a
high standard of quality. The college today
has around 13,000 students; around half of
those students are New Jersey residents,
while the remainder are from all 50 states
and over 70 countries. Additionally, a very
large number of active military personnel
are pursuing their degrees at Thomas Edison
State College. TESC is one of the largest
providers of higher education
programs to the U.S. military (2007).
FLEXIBILITY A KEY INGREDIENT
The core of programs offered at Thomas
Edison State College revolves around
when and where an adult student can
learn, unlike traditional colleges that have
programs that revolve around a specific
place and time that may or may not take
into account the needs of the adult. (J.
Guzzardo, personal communication,
March 29, 2007)
TESC uses Blackboard as its course management
system. Additionally, the TESC
MIS department has developed an online
portal called MyEdison, a very easy-tonavigate
system through which all students
and even applicants enter the college.
The MyEdison portal becomes the de
facto place where students go to class and
earn their degree—where they register for
courses, pay tuition, check grades, view
degree audits, get in touch with mentors,
e-mail other students. All aspects of going
to college can be managed through the
MyEdison/Blackboard portal.
Online classes at Thomas Edison are on
a 12- to 16-week asynchronous timeline.
Students generally log on when it is convenient
for them to post their responses to
readings and to post assignments for
review by faculty members—or mentors,
as they are called at TESC—who supervise
all courses whether they are online or
guided study. Taking an active role in
course discussions is required, unlike in
traditional face-to-face courses that might
enable the student to sit quietly and not
contribute to classroom discussion. Students
do not receive credit for just attending
class as might occur in face-to-face
instruction. Every student must participate
actively in discussions; individuals cannot
58 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

coast through by quietly sitting in the back
of the room (Oblender & Glass, 2004).
In online courses, discussion postings
can become an integral part of the grade in
addition to examinations, papers, or
projects. The quality of the postings and
responses from classmates as well as the
mentor create a dialogue that contributes
to forming a learning community in online
courses. Students might not know each
other by face or voice, since they don’t see
each other face-to-face; however, they certainly
feel that they can learn a lot about
each other through online contributions
and reactions to the readings and assignments.
Discussion also allows students to
apply knowledge they have as adults with
life experiences. Typical traditional college
students are 18 to 21 years old and have
limited life experiences, unlike nontraditional
adult students, who often possess a
wealth of life experiences. Adult students
bring a myriad of life experiences, of raising
a family, running a business or working
in industry; they bring a significant
level of experience to class discussion and
can often apply things happening in their
office or workplace directly to the topic in
discussion.
PROVIDING NEEDED SUPPORT
According to Manner (2003), providing
nontraditional students the support
needed to provide a level of technical competence
is of vital importance for those students
new to using computers and new to
online instruction. Some nontraditional
students who apply to TESC may have
very little to no experience using a computer
or using the Internet. TESC provides
essential support services through their
advising department; they are experts at
using the Blackboard system, and are very
familiar with what a student will face.
Advising counselors can talk potential students
through the MyEdison portal in real
time via telephone or face-to-face, and in
many cases going through a sample online
course to have students preview what an
online course will look like, what it’s like to
post a reaction to an online reading, and
what is necessary for them to complete an
assignment. During the application process,
applicants have access to the MyEdison
portal to check on their application
status; access is limited, of course, until
enrollment status is granted. In addition,
admission counselors can provide online
and telephone support for an applicant if a
student needs further help getting acclimated
with Blackboard and using an
online format. During classes, mentors also
serve in an advising capacity; in addition
to grading student work, if a student is
challenged by the technology, one of the
mentor’s jobs is to make sure students
grasp what they have to do next.
While classes are held online with students
posting assignments via the MyEdison/Blackboard
portal, to assure student
identity and alleviate claims of cheating,
students must take a proctored written
exam for most courses. The testing takes
place at sites throughout the country and
all over the world, as needed. Some classes
are now offering an online test capacity,
while most still offer a pencil-and-paper
proctored test.
Another online program designed at
TESC is called e-PAK. Suited for the independent
learner, it is a combination online
course and final examination with virtually
no mentor supervision. Technical assistance
for those unsure of their skills can
still avail themselves of assistance via the
advising department. Students progress
through a sequential series of quizzes on a
particular topic. These quizzes help the
student prepare for a final examination.
Students receive immediate feedback by
reviewing quiz responses they answered
incorrectly and are provided with the right
answers; they then retake a different version
of the quiz so that the new knowledge
that they have learned can be applied. Students
cannot take the next quiz in the
sequence until they pass a quiz for the
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 59

prior failed section. The e-PAK courses are
very popular with military students who
often do not have the time to take part in a
12- to 16-week online course.
Guided study courses provide yet
another method for students to earn credit.
Students work independently using texts,
study guides, video/audio recordings or
streamed multi-media to complete assignments.
Students can communicate with
assigned mentors for subject matter questions
or additional information. Again, a
proctored midterm and final exam completes
the assessment process.
What makes TESC unique in today’s
crowded distance learning marketplace is
the variety of programs that are offered to
the adult student. In addition to a fair
credit transfer policy allowing credits previously
earned at regionally accredited colleges
and universities, Thomas Edison also
reviews prior learning in a process called
prior learning assessment. When students
inquire about prior learning assessment or
earning credit for what they have learned
outside of the classroom, they begin a rigorous
discussion with an academic mentor.
It is not for someone looking for a shortcut;
it is, however, for the student who does not
want to take the time and spend the
money to go through a course in which
they already know the material. Students
develop an electronic portfolio under a
mentor’s guidance that document mastery
of specific subject material linked to course
objectives and learning outcomes.
Today, over half of the students enrolled
in colleges and universities throughout the
country are over the age of the traditional
student. The nontraditional student is usually
over the age of 22, and over 40% of
them are over the age of 25. The typical
student attending Thomas Edison State
College is 40 years old, and might be a
member of the mobile work force from a
wide cross section of employment—police
officers, fire fighters, military, business
managers, chief executive officers, secretaries,
and even homemakers. Flexibility is a
key ingredient in distance education that
makes higher education accessible for
those learners unable to overcome time
and distance constraints caused by responsibilities
of life.
STUDENT PERSPECTIVES
After graduating high school in 1996, Shanika,
a soft-spoken 18-year-old, attended an
out-of-state traditional university for 1½
years. Like many teenagers, Shanika
wanted to become independent from her
parents, but ultimately left college due to
extreme homesickness. She then transferred
to a local university close to home,
but was overwhelmed by large lecture-hall
courses. Shanika did not feel secure
enough to raise her hand to even ask questions,
and fell behind quickly. The instructional
environment was not conducive for
her learning or success; or perhaps she,
like many 18- to 20-year-olds, was not
mature enough for the college experience.
After entering the workforce and getting
married, she realizing that only additional
education would allow for job advancement.
Shanika tried reentering higher education
via evening classes at a local college,
but found it very difficult to balance family,
work, and school. In the fall of 2004,
while unfamiliar with distance education
or TESC, she tried an online class and
found an environment that would offer
the encouragement, support and, most
importantly, the flexibility of time that
would fit higher education into her life.
Shanika is now married with three children
under the age of 8 and has attained
her dream of earning a bachelor’s degree
prior to her 10-year anniversary of graduating
from high school. Thomas Edison’s
credit transfer policy and flexible distance
education programs allowed her to complete
a bachelor’s degree by utilizing credits
earned at multiple institutions as well as
use the variety of distance programs
offered at TESC to earn her degree online
without the time constraints of traditional
60 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

institutions. According to Shanika, “Thomas
Edison is very flexible in a lot of different
ways. Maybe I was more mature and
ready for college, but distance learning
made my dream attainable and a good fit
for my busy family life” (S. Henderson,
personal communication, March 30, 2007)
Distance education provided the flexibility
required for Shanika to become a TESC
alumna.
Kelly, a forty-something current student,
was hesitant about going back to
school, as she had completed an associate’s
degree more than 15 years ago. However,
after getting started, she found the online
experience flexible and a good fit around
family and work. While demonstrating the
ease of navigating the MyEdition/Blackboard
portal, Kelly discussed her prior
face-to-face experiences in comparison to
distance education especially online
courses. “The online experience is not conventional.
Normally we’re used to people
teaching and just talking at us while we sit
there and listen, a kind of muted listen,
especially in larger lecture hall situations.
Distance education is not that at all; you
have to be motivated, sort of self propelled”
(K. Saccomanno, personal communication,
March 30, 2007). While it is a
virtual classroom, students have interaction
with instructional material and each
other through the discussion board, where
they are expected to post assignments and
responses to classmates’ postings or concepts.
In that sense, she felt as though she
had more of a voice than in a regular conventional
classroom. “I was definitely sharing
more of my ideas than before. So in
that sense it’s ironic that you think … well
I won’t have any real interaction or physical
interaction with people. They’re not sitting
right in front of me, but the
expectation is and the reality is you are
invested in it and expressing your
thoughts and your knowledge perhaps in
a larger way then you have been in a conventional
setting” (K. Saccomanno, personal
communication, March 30, 2007).
Providing extra encouragement and support
for nontraditional students helps
overcome apprehension of new technology,
while providing flexibility makes
higher education possible for those who
cannot fit into the time and distance constraints
of traditional education. Students
value the interaction with fellow students
and mentors provided via course discussion
boards; they provide the interaction
normally present in a traditional face-toface
learning community.
CHALLENGES
According to the U.S. Department of Education,
college tuition and fees have
increased above the rate of inflation for
more that the past decade, discouraging
many from pursing higher education.
Additionally, the rate of completion for traditional
18- to 21-year-old college students
has remained relatively stagnant, perhaps
due to age-group maturity or inadequate
preparation in secondary education. College
dropout rates for distance education
students have been thought to be higher
than for traditional higher education programs,
but it is difficult to determine actual
rates due to inconsistent reporting methods
from institution to institution (Carr,
2000). Nontraditional students entering
college do have significant additional pressures
of family and work; they must at
times reprioritize their educational goals
due to life circumstances. Many, however,
resume academic pursuits when life issues
stabilize. Further, demographics of online
students indicate a more mature and older
student-base that generally performs better
than the less-mature traditional students
(Diaz, 2002). Nontraditional students
often have time constraints, but are more
independent and self-directed learners;
perhaps their learning styles adapt more
readily to the flexibility of distance courses.
Providing acclimation to technology new
to them as well as ongoing support is a
small accommodation for those so deter-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 61

mined to move their lives forward through
education.
CONCLUSION
Distance education began as instruction
between instructor and learner group separated
by time, location, and relying on the
postal service as the communications vehicle.
While it has undergone numerous
transformations, as new and intriguing
technologies have become available the
vehicle used to enable two-way communication
has been determined to have no significant
effect on student achievement.
However, as distance education matures
using Internet and Web-based vehicles to
relay instruction, we must once again
assure that the learner is always at the
forefront of instructional design and
implementation. Among the key attributes
of distance education are program flexibility
and support for students. Every student
has his or her own reason for wanting to
acquire higher education. For those learners
who have the determination and selfmotivation,
distance education provides
access to learning, overcoming time and
distance constraints. We as distance educators
must allow for program flexibility and
provide support for students to scaffold
their efforts.
REFERENCES
Carr, S. (2000). As distance education comes of
age, the challenge is keeping the students.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 46(23), A39-
a41.
Diaz, D. P. (2002, May/June). Online drop out
rates revisited. The Technology Source,
Retrieved April 5, 2007, from https://
illiad.library.nova.edu/illiad/FNN/pdf/
296262.pdf
Manner, J. C. (2003). Serving the non-traditional
student through a technology enhanced curriculum.
TechTrends, 47(5), 32-35.
Oblender, T. E., & Glass, J. (2004). 5 reasons to
offer online courses. Principal Leadership, 5(2),
40-42.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., &
Zvacek, S. (2006). Teaching and learning at a
distance. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.
Thomas Edison State College. (2007). Military
programs. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from
Thomas Edison State College Web site: http:
//www.tesc.edu/879.php
THE CORE OF PROGRAMS OFFERED AT THOMAS EDISON STATE COLLEGE REVOLVES AROUND
WHEN AND WHERE AN ADULT STUDENT CAN LEARN, UNLIKE TRADITIONAL COLLEGES THAT
HAVE PROGRAMS THAT REVOLVE AROUND A SPECIFIC PLACE AND TIME THAT MAY OR MAY NOT
TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS OF THE ADULT.
62 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Distance Education at the
University of Florida’s
College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences
William C. Byrd, Mari Jayne M. Frederick, and Angeline Yoder
INTRODUCTION
The University of Florida (UF) is
Florida’s largest university and the
fourth largest university nationally
(University of Florida Facts, 2007).
The university’s annual enrollment is
approximately 50,000 students. UF is composed
of 16 colleges and more than 150
research centers and institutes. The university
is actively engaged in distance
learning enterprises. Currently, two
undergraduate and 30 graduate programs,
26 of which are master’s degree
programs, are offered at a distance (Distance
Learning at the University of Florida,
2007). This analysis will focus on the
graduate programs offered at a distance
by the College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences (CALS).
William C. Byrd, Visiting Assistant Professor,
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Carbondale, IL, 62901.
Telephone: (402) 306-6190.
E-mail: cbyrd@siu.edu
Mari Jayne M. Frederick, Information Technology
Expert, University of Florida Tropical
Research and Education Center, 18905 SW
280 th Street, Homestead, FL 33031.
Telephone: (305) 246-7001, Ext. 352.
E-mail: mmfrederick@ifas.ufl.edu
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 63

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
has approximately 4,800 students,
including more than 1,100 graduate students
(College of Agricultural and Life Sciences,
2007). In addition to the traditional
programs offered on the main campus at
Gainesville, the college offers baccalaureate
degrees, professional graduate degrees,
and teacher certification courses at six satellite
sites. The College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences offers over 80 courses via distance
education (University of Florida Distance
Education Degrees, 2007). Additional
live and distance education courses are
offered at various locations around the
state. The mission of the College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences is to provide
undergraduate and graduate students
with a high-quality education that results
in knowledge and abilities for gainful
employment and additional education,
productive citizenship, and lifelong learning
in the areas of food, agriculture, natural
resources, and life sciences as they
relate to human resources, the environment,
individual communities, and a global
society (College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, 2007)
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
The University of Florida and the Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences entered
into a “federal-state-county wide partnership
federal-state-county partnership dedicated
to developing knowledge in
agriculture, human and natural resources,
and the life sciences, and enhancing and
sustaining the quality of human life by
making that information accessible” (Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences,
2007a, para. 1). This partnership is commonly
known as UF/IFAS. In 1964, a reorganization
of UF’s College of Agriculture,
School of Forestry, Agricultural Experiment
Station, and the Cooperative Extension
Service into a single unit occurred and
UF/IFAS was born. Today, UF/IFAS
includes extension in each of the state’s 67
counties, 13 research and education centers
throughout Florida, College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences, School of Forest
Resources and Conservation, the School of
Natural Resources and Environment, Center
for Tropical Agriculture, portions of the
College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida
Sea Grant Program, and the International
Program for Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources (Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, 2007a). UF/IFAS locations
are depicted in Figure 1.
Angeline Yoder, Business Education Teacher,
Tamaqua Area High School, 500 Penn Street
Tamaqua, PA 18252.
Telephone: (570) 668-1901.
E-mail: ayoder@tamaqua.k12.pa.us
TECHNOLOGY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The University of Florida’s Office of Informational
Technology (OIT) serves faculty,
students, and staff by providing a computing
environment that applies technology.
UF OIT strives to provide that technology
64 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Figure 1.
UF/IFAS IT’s relationship in Florida.
in accordance with the university mission:
to provide state-of-the-art information
technology to meet the needs of faculty
and students in research and teaching;
acquiring, developing, and maintaining
data and information, computers, computer
systems and networks (University of
Florida Office of Information Technology,
2006).
The infrastructure of the Office of Information
Technology consists of academic
technology, computing and networking
services (cns), and network services and
telecommunications. computer networking
services provides centralized campusbased
technology support, as well as Weband
security management. Academic Technology
provides campus-wide service to
students and faculty. Network Services
provides network status, traffic, security,
and spam reporting. These three branches
assist to ensure that the UF’s technology
functions efficiently and effectively.
The Office of Academic Technology provides
production services and facilities,
accommodating both television and special
project production for the University of
Florida community. Video and ollaboration
services (VCS) provides video production
services for internal use and for-hire
projects. Emphasis is on planning and production
of educational and instructional
videos. Postproduction editing can be
done either by VCS staff, with the assistance
of VCS staff, or by others, with fullyequipped
non-linear digital video editing
systems, with graphics compositing, 2-D
and 3-D motion effects, and music and
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 65

sound effects as needed. Classroom technology
support can include reservation,
setup, and configuration of a number of
items. Relevant technologies may include
projectors, laptops, and video/DVD players
among other items. Classroom Support
services include assisting instructors with
the operation of classroom technology,
installing, maintaining, and supporting
classroom technology, and circulating
audio/visual and portable multimedia
equipment. The Office of Academic Technology’s
satellite downlink services provide
facilities to receive programming
broadcast via satellite, with several options
for delivery. Satellite downlinks can be
received and redistributed on any of the
Video and collaboration services systems.
Each antenna is capable of receiving multiple
programs from a satellite at one time,
providing flexible access to programming
distributed over satellite for UF campus
users. This service is most often used for
Distance Learning and Video-Teleconferencing.
All downlinks can be made available
as streaming video in addition to
being broadcast on the UF cable TV network
(University of Florida Office of Academic
Technology, 2006).
An advisory structure, consisting of the
Information Technology Advisory Council
(ITAC), provides recommendations and
advisement to university administration
regarding matters of technology on campus.
Subcommittees have been established
to bring the information technology leaders
on campus together to participate in
visioning, planning, and problem solving
in relation to technology. The Academic
Technology unit provides analysis and recommended
direction in support of the efficient
implementation of academic
technology resources and functions campus-wide
(University of Florida Office of
Information Technology Information Technology
Advisory Committee, 2007). These
information technology resources are
intended for university-related purposes,
including direct and indirect support of
the university’s instruction, research and
service missions, university administrative
functions, student and campus life activities,
and the free exchange of ideas within
the university community and among the
university community and the wider local,
national, and world communities (University
of Florida Office of Information Technology,
2006).
FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THE
INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES
IFAS’ $273 million operating budget consists
of the funding sources displayed in
Figure 2 (Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, 2007b). A designated portion of
funding is distributed to IFAS IT for analysis,
support and design purposes inclusive
of, but not limited to: high-end domains,
multipurpose, e-mail, backup and security
servers and other equipment to create,
replenish, and upgrade wide area networks
(WAN) connected to various local
area networks (LAN) and the virtual private
network (VPN) located throughout
the state of Florida and abroad.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS OFFERED AT
A DISTANCE BY THE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
offers three graduate degrees, three
certificate programs, and more than 80
courses through distance education. The
master of science distance-delivered programs
are specifically designed to meet the
needs of practicing county extension
agents and middle/high school agriscience
teachers. The course schedule and content
are tailored to best meet the instructional
and scheduling needs of practicing educators.
The College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences administers the degree programs
of the University of Florida’s Institute of
Food and Agricultural Sciences.
66 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Figure 2.
IFAS 2005-06 operating budget funding sources.
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND
COMMUNICATION
The master of science in agricultural
education and communication program is
designed for practicing teachers. The
degree is intended to be completed in 2.5
years and consists of 11 courses, a final
examination, and a project, rather than a
traditional master’s thesis. “The course
schedule and content are tailored to meet
the instructional and scheduling needs of
busy practicing educators” (University of
Florida Distance Delivered Master of Science
Program, 2007).
ENTOMOLOGY
The University of Florida’s Entomology
and Nematology Department offers a master
of science degree with a concentration
in entomology. A master of science in entomology
with a concentration in pest management
is also offered at a distance by the
university. “Courses are offered via distance
education to accommodate placebound
students interested in biological science
with emphasis on insects and other
arthropods, including extension agents
and other educators; state and federal
employees in agricultural, environmental
and regulatory positions; consultants; pest
control industry personnel; and others
who want to further their education.”
(University of Florida Department of Entomology
and Nematology Distance Education
Program, 2007). Each program consists
of 30 credits of coursework, delivered
through CD-ROMs, video, and online
technologies. A face-to-face component is
required. The capstone requirement of a
written and oral examination is scheduled
at one of the University of Florida’s campuses.
SOIL AND WATER SCIENCE
The Department of Soil and Water Science
offers a master of science in environmental
science completely at a distance.
This degree program is intended for students
who seek to enhance their knowl-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 67

edge in environmental science ranging
from extension agents, state and federal
employees, consultants, or students who
want to pursue an academic career (University
of Florida, Department of Soil and
Water Science, 2007). Students can choose
from two tracks: thesis and non-thesis.
Each track is designed to be completed
within 2 to 4 years of study. The 30-credit
track features a thesis as the capstone
requirement of the program. The 34-credit
non-thesis track replaces the traditional
thesis with a special topic project.
FUTURE GROWTH IN DISTANCE
EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL
AND LIFE SCIENCES
A new distance master of science program
in agroecology will be debuted in the
2007-2008 academic year. The degree is a
combined program between the departments
of Agronomy and Soil and Water
Sciences. The program is intended for
students interested in the application of
ecological principles to the design and
management of sustainable agricultural
production systems (agroecosystems). A
holistic, sustainable approach to managing
complex agroecosystems requires balancing
(i) stewardship of land and water
resources, (ii) system productivity and
profitability, and (iii) quality of life and
cultural values. This track provides training
in key areas including: crop ecology,
physiology, and production; environmentally-sound
nutrient management;
soil and water resource management;
cropping and integrated crop-livestock
systems. (M. Rieger, personal communication,
July 28, 2007)
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
The Center for Instructional Technology
and Training (CITT) has equipment, training,
and staff to assist faculty with multimedia
instructional materials for both
Web-based and live classes. The center’s
mission is to support University of Florida
faculty in the implementation of technology
to enhance and improve teaching,
research, and engagement. Instructional
designers work with faculty to analyze and
develop their learning-based content for
pedagogical soundness and suitability for
the Web. The instructional designers assist
with course conversion to online formats,
planning and layout, course design and
development, accessibility, and component
design and development (University of
Florida Office of Academic Technology
Center for Instructional Technology and
Training, 2007). CITT helps IFAS faculty
and staff develop and present educational
programs to students outside the traditional
classroom, including credit courses
from the College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, extension in-service programs,
faculty and staff training in distance education
technology and techniques, and
other applications. From online instruction,
to CD/DVD production, to full video
services, to a high quality Internet-based
videoconferencing network, the ICS Distance
Education section has the expertise
and the resources to produce outstanding,
award-winning programs (University of
Florida Office of Academic Technology
Center for Instructional Technology and
Training, 2007).
DELIVERY METHODS
According to the Division of Continuing
Education (2007), distance education gives
students the flexibility and opportunity to
further their education while maintaining
other responsibilities such as a full time job
or a family. Distance education courses are
offered in a variety of formats including
Internet-based platforms such as WebCT
and Adobe Connect, interactive DVD and
CD, and videoconferencing. UF/IFAS has
specially equipped classrooms at sites
throughout Florida. Some of the various
delivery platforms are (University of Flor-
68 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

ida Division of Continuing Education,
2007):
1. Web-based courses that provide information
and instructional content
online, usually in the form of interactive
text, graphics, and various other
types of online tools. Examples of
these tools include course Web sites
(such as provided by WebCT), streaming
video, bulletin boards, online chat,
student progress tracking, e-mail,
course calendars, and student homepages.
2. Video tape(s) using moving images
and audio tends in a lecture-style
presentation. Courses incorporating
videotaped lectures usually are accomplished
by mailing videotapes directly
to a student, although UF also allows
students to view VHS videotapes of
instructor lectures at specific locations
within the UF system.
3. Video conferencing is a live, two-way
dialogue with teacher and other students
via a specially equipped conference
room or on a computer.
Interactive video conferencing courses
allow the instructor and students to
communicate with each other live
through a two-way audio and video
signal.
4. CD-ROM or DVD-ROM technology
often uses moving images and audio
in a format that is easy for students to
review. This format usually can be
used without accessing the Internet.
The materials on a CD-ROM or DVD-
ROM could include prerecorded lectures,
multimedia demonstrations,
interactive assignments as well as lecture
notes, and other types of computer
files.
5. Printed materials that provide for portable,
inexpensive, accessible and wellorganized
materials. Many courses
that use other technologies also integrate
printed materials, but those
courses, which exclusively use print
materials to convey course contents,
are often referred to as “correspondence
courses.” UF’s Office of Correspondence
Studies specializes in these
types of courses, aimed at the individual
who does not have access to a computer
or the Internet.
6. Proctoring in the form of exams for
distance students, with a designated
person (usually a professional unrelated
to the student) receiving all
materials for course exams, and overseeing
those students taking the exam.
Some courses allow students to designate
a unique exam proctor and location
(e.g., College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences Exam Administrators,
College of Engineering’s Proctors)
while other courses require formally
scheduled times and locations for
exams.
METHODS OF COMMUNICATION
The Electronic Data Information Source of
UF/IFAS Extension (EDIS) is a publication
management system providing a comprehensive,
single-source repository of all current
UF/IFAS numbered peer-reviewed
publications. Using the EDIS system, UF/
IFAS academic departments develop and
maintain a collection of publications available
for universal free distribution on the
Web and through the Florida Cooperative
Extension Service County Offices and
Research and Education Centers statewide
(University of Florida IFAS Extension,
2007). From the EDIS Web site, more
than 10 million educational print and electronic
products are disseminated each year
from some 7,000 publication titles (University
of Florida IFAS Extension, 2007).
IMPACT magazine features news about the
statewide teaching, research and extension
programs of the University of Florida’s
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
The ICS Graphic Design Department provides
professional services that enhance
the visual effectiveness of University of
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 69

Florida research and extension work,
including print and electronic document
production and design, communications
consulting, and additional services. The
ICS Photography Department offers photography
for news media and magazines
as well as for printed materials such as brochures,
books, and slide shows. Services
are free to UF/IFAS personnel. The ICS
educational-video area working with
broadcast-grade technology produce
instructional and promotional videos, programming,
public service announcements,
and coordinate and contribute to the video
news effort. The video staff members provide
support for distance education
projects and radio programming (University
of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences Communication Services,
2006). Thus, by utilizing the EDIS system,
UF/IFAS is able to disseminate information
from a single source, resulting in efficiency.
CONCLUSION
The mission of the College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences is to provide undergraduate
and graduate students with a high
quality education that results in knowledge
and abilities for gainful employment
and additional education, productive citizenship,
and lifelong learning in the areas
of food, agriculture, natural resources, and
life sciences as they relate to human
resources, the environment, individual
communities, and a global society. To
achieve excellence, the College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences promotes these core
values (College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, 2007):
• Respect, honesty, integrity, fairness, and
cooperation;
• Academic excellence and scientific
inquiry;
• Diversity of people and ideas;
• Programs that are responsive to the
need of students, Florida, and the
world;
• Global awareness and understanding;
• Opportunities for student growth,
development, and career success;
• Quality teaching and advising;
• Education as a lifelong process;
• Partnerships with faculty, students,
staff, and stakeholders; and
• The role of the College in fulfilling the
IFAS mission.
The vision of the University of Florida’s
distance learning programs in the College
of Agricultural and Life Sciences is to create
a library of learning objects that can be
accessible to both distance education and
face to face faculty (M. Rieger, personal
communication, July 28, 2007). This library
would make digital media available to UF’s
research and education centers, as well as
to developing countries such as India and
in Africa. The need for further education
and research in environmental science and
natural resource management is needed
both home and abroad. Some issues of
concern involve keeping tuition cost down
and utilizing effective methods of delivery
for distance education (M. Rieger, personal
communication, July 28, 2007). Of particular
interest to the University of Florida are
the values that are synonymous with the
principles and purpose of distance education,
such as being responsive to the needs
of students, fostering a diversity of people
and ideas and promoting life-long education
and partnerships for future success.
REFERENCES
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. (2007).
Retrieved July 22, 2007, from http://
www.cals.ufl.edu/
Distance Learning at the University of Florida.
(2007). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://
www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degrees.aspx
Institute of Food and Agricultural Science
(2007a). Fact digest. Retrieved July 28, 2007,
from http://analysis2001.ifas.ufl.edu/facts150
.htm#History
70 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Institute of Food and Agricultural Science
(2007b). Introduction to IFAS. Retrieved July 3,
2007, from http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/
Institute of Food and Agricultural Science Communication
Services. (2006). Introduction to
communication services. Retrieved July 3, 2007,
from http://ics.ifas.ufl.edu/
University of Florida Facts. (2007). Retrieved
July 20, 2007, from http://www.ufl.edu/facts/
University of Florida Office of Academic Technology
Video Production. (2006). Retrieved
July 18, 2007, from http://home.at.ufl.edu/
detail.cgia=&b=&c=36&d=18&e=1
University of Florida Department of Entomology
and Nematology. (2007). Retrieved July
20, 2007, from http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl
.edu/dept_disted.htm
University of Florida Department of Soil and
Water Science. (2007). Retrieved July 21,
2007, from http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/.
University of Florida Distance Delivered Master
of Science Program. (2007). Retrieved July 20,
2007, from http://aec.ifas.ufl.edu/printer_
friendly/distance_masters07.pdf
University of Florida Distance Education
Degrees. (2007). Retrieved July 22, 2007, from
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/
degrees.aspx
University of Florida Division of Continuing
Education. (2007). Retrieved July 19, 2007,
from http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/
students/technology.aspx
University of Florida IFAS Extension. (2007).
About this site. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/about.html.
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences Electronic Data Information
Source. (2007). Retrieved on July 21,
2007, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/
University of Florida Office of Information
Technology. (2007). Introduction to the office of
informational technology. Retrieved July 28,
2007, from http://www.it.ufl.edu/
University of Florida Office of Information
Technology, Information Technology Advisory
Committee. (2007). Retrieved July 19,
2007, from http://www.it.ufl.edu/
committees/itac
DELIVERY PLATFORMS, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
WEB-BASED COURSES
VIDEO TAPES
VIDEO CONFERENCING
CDS AND DVDS
PRINT
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 71

72 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Learning Objects
What Are They, and Why Should We Use
Them in Distance Education
Robert Keown
Imagine yourself as a student sitting in
a classroom. The instructor is walking
around the room reading from a textbook
and interjecting occasional lecture
items. On occasion the instructor stops to
ask a question or two just to make sure
everyone is listening. Once the questions
are answered and the instructor is satisfied,
the reading and lecturing continues.
You are counting the holes in the ceiling
and fighting to keep your eyelids open as
you watch the clock tick round and round
at a snail’s pace.
Robert Keown, Director of Online Learning,
East Central Technical College, 667 Perry
House Rd., Fitzgerald, GA 31750.
Telephone: (229) 468-2022.
E-mail: rkeown@eastcentraltech.edu
Unfortunately, this type of scenario happens
across the educational world every
day. Now imagine the same classroom, but
instead of reading from a textbook and lecturing,
the instructor introduces some
short video and audio clips dealing with
the content. Instead of asking questions
the instructor has you log in to a Webbased
extension of the course and allows
you to select 5 of 10 questions posted and
requests that you develop responses to
them for class discussion. The instructor
then lectures for several minutes and starts
a question-and-answer session discussing
all of the questions that were posed in the
online course extension. Lastly, the instructor
challenges you and the entire class to
log in to the Internet and find material
dealing with the subject matter and gives a
set time to be prepared to present and discuss
to the whole class what you find.
Unfortunately, again, this scenario does
not happen very often; however, technology
and student interaction are becoming
more and more integrated into the traditional
classroom setting everyday.
In the first scenario described, the material
was being delivered in a very boring
manner. Students were not being challenged,
and no involvement was occurring.
Basically, the instructor was trying to
hand-feed the students and allowing them
to just sit and listen with little or no expectations
of demonstrating what they were
learning. This type of classroom setting
gears itself more to the convenience of the
instructor as opposed to being student
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 73

centered and engaging the students. The
second scenario fully engages the students
with various media and delivery methods.
Students are given the opportunity to control
some of the learning environment by
having the choice of what questions to
answer. They are also engaged in the learning
by not only having to do the research
but by having to present their findings.
Both scenarios have an instructor overseeing
the learning experience. The difference
is what the instructor chooses to use or not
use in the delivery of the content. This
holds true in face-to-face as well as online
learning. The problems with lack of student
interaction and strict adherence to
textbook learning are compounded even
more in the world of online learning
Online courses and online delivery of
training have become widely accepted in
the educational and training realm. One
major problem is that we have too many
scenarios like the first, where instructors
post text for the students to read and then
answer questions and then read some
more. This sets the stage for a very boring
and uneventful learning experience. Most
times, this type of course becomes nothing
but a glorified electronic textbook. Students
are not challenged or engaged in the learning
process. They are basically instructed to
read a text block and answer a few questions,
and then read another text block and
answer a few questions, and on and on.
They become robot learners with no control
over their learning experience.
The introduction and use of learning
objects has enabled the online environment
to become and feel more like the second
scenario described. Instructors design
and develop their courses utilizing learning
objects to enhance the learning experience.
Students are given the opportunity
to view videos or hear audio clips; they use
electronic workbooks that give them
instant feedback. They experiment with
simulations, view working models of the
human anatomy, and even take virtual
tours around the world. The Internet
becomes a tool. It becomes an open source
of information for the students as well as
the instructor. In an online class, students
are encouraged to use technology and to
cross-talk and share their thoughts and
research information that pertains to the
subject matter. This environment stimulates
learning and engages the students. It
differs from a face-to-face environment
only in the sense that students don’t actually
have the physical contact, but they
seem to communicate more through e-
mails and discussion boards; and with the
use of learning objects, they are able to feel
involved.
So exactly what is a learning object
There have been several definitions
offered by various individuals and organizations.
The Learning Technology Standards
Committee (LTSC) of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE),
which was formed in 1996 to help develop
and promote instructional technology
standards identifies learning objects in this
manner:
Learning objects are defined here as any
entity, digital or non-digital, which can be
used, re-used or referenced during technology
supported learning. Examples of
technology-supported learning include
computer-based training systems, interactive
learning environments, intelligent
computer-aided instruction systems, distance
learning systems, and collaborative
learning environments. Examples of
Learning Objects include multimedia
content, instructional content, learning
objectives, instructional software and
software tools, and persons, organizations,
or events referenced during technology
supported learning. (Learning
Object Metadata, 2005 )
This broad description does not exclude
anything. If it can be delivered via technology,
then it is a learning object, according
to the LTSC. But the simplest and purest
definition of a learning object is offered by
Wiley. He classifies a learning object as
“any digital resource that can be reused to
74 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Table 1.
Goals of Learning Object Design
Goals
Reusability
Interoperability
Durability
Accessibility
Descriptions
Learning content modularized into small units of instruction suitable for assembly and
reassembly into a variety of courses
Instructional units that interoperate with each other regardless of developer or
learning management system
Units of instruction that withstand ever-evolving delivery and presentation
technologies without becoming unusable
Learning content that is available anywhere, anytime—learning content that can be
discovered and reused across networks
Source: Web Based Training Information Center (2007).
support learning” (Wiley, 2000). This definition,
even though it is broad and allows
for almost any item to be classified as a
learning object, does narrow the field
down to digital items only. The digital item
is representative of what is used in the
world of online instruction. In online
instruction the learning object must be digital
to allow for delivery to the student via
technology. A very good analogy and
excellent visual imaginary of what learning
objects are is the LEGO metaphor (Wiley
2000). The LEGO metaphor simply demonstrates
how learning objects can be connected
in various ways to create multiple
learning experiences. A child can build
many different items by using the same
LEGO blocks by connecting them in different
ways and combinations just like an
instructor can build various learning experiences
by connecting learning objects in
different combinations.
Another guiding factor in defining
learning objects is the term “chunk.” Most
learning objects are just small definable
chunks of learning. They can be used as
stand-alones or can be combined with
other chunks to create a lesson or support
a particular learning objective. The chunk
factor could also be visualized as building
blocks. Most of us are probably more familiar
with the building block analogy, but
most experts are now identifying learning
objects as chunks to demonstrate their use
in either linear or nonlinear learning,
whereas the building blocks have always
been associated with being able to build
upon each other. This element is still viable
with learning objects, but the terminology
has changed some.
Learning objects in their simplest form
are quick items of instruction or information.
They are designed to support the
learning objectives of the course or training
module and at times become the primary
means of delivering the lesson. The
whole premise of a learning object is
developed around four basic goals; reusability,
interoperability, durability, and
accessibility (see Table 1).
Imagine purchasing new equipment for
a lab or multimedia equipment for a
school. These four goals would probably
be the same goals used to help make the
decision of purchase. Is the equipment
reusable Is it something that can be used
throughout the entire school How durable
is it Will it be accessible to the majority
These are smart and logical questions
that must be asked before designing and
even using a learning object. Designers
must build learning objects with these four
goals in mind, and users must filter the
objects they will use by gauging them
against these same four goals.
Other items must be looked at as well
when deciding to use and/or build learning
objects. First, why even build a learning
object One of the main reasons always
given is cost. To help limit expenditures,
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 75

most agencies always look to see if there is
a cheaper way of doing things. Every educational
institution and corporate training
office has similar goals: educate and train.
So with that in mind, why should all of
them try to reinvent the wheel each time
they want to demonstrate or explain a
learning objective Once a learning object
is built, all it has to be is maintained for
currency, and it can be used over and over
again by anyone to whom it is made available.
Before, instructors and teachers
would build the same things and use them
only in their particular environments.
Now, if a learning object is available, they
all can use the same object and save themselves
numerous man hours and best of all
ease their frustrations in having to design
and develop multiple aids.
How to decide what to build can be difficult
at times. A good rule of thumb when
deciding to build an aid or a learning
object to help in the teaching process is to
determine what needs to be emphasized.
Educators look for problematic areas of the
lesson or where the students are just not
getting it. This area can be classified as a
“choke point” and would be the best starting
point in designing an aid or learning
object to help instruct the lesson. An example
would be in a lesson designed to teach
students how to create a word processing
document, an instructor would probably
not need to build an object showing how
to turn on a computer. However; the task
of merging a database into the Word document
may require more explanation and
could be classified as a choke point. This
area would then be a good candidate for a
learning object. The instructor would
design and develop a tutorial walking the
students through the process step by step,
explaining to them how to merge the database
into the word document. This item
could be a video demonstration, a step-bystep
document with illustrations, or even a
combination of both. What is so great
about this is once the item is built, the
instructor now has it as a resource for
future classes and can post it to allow others
access to it as well.
This brings out another excellent benefit
of learning objects. Before building any
items, it is highly recommend that an
exhaustive search is performed looking for
already-built learning objects that will
meet the required need. There are numerous
learning object repositories on the
Internet. Some are designed specifically for
educational purposes while others lean to
the corporate training industry. Repositories
are collections of learning objects that
have been cataloged and entered into
databases allowing them to be searchable
according to the metadata that is attached
to the learning object itself. Two of the
most recognized repositories in the educational
sector are the Multimedia Educational
Resource for Learning and Online
Teaching (MERLOT) repository and the
WISC-Online repository
MERLOT was developed in 1997 at the
California State University for Distributed
Learning and was offered as a free
resource to the educational world. It has
grown to be one of the largest repositories
for learning objects and is probably the
most recognized. It is comprised of
donated learning objects from educators
and designers throughout the world. The
whole concept of the repository is to establish
the sharing of resources to help the
entire educational profession. WISC-
Online is also a well recognized repository
for learning objects. It primarily has been
developed and maintained by the faculty
from the Wisconsin Technical College System.
According to the WISC Web site, it
averages over 20,000 hits per day. This
shows the need and desire that is being
generated for learning objects. Both of
these repositories have numerous learning
objects to offer, but there are many more in
other repositories throughout the Web; so,
when you need a learning object, don’t
limit your search to just these two.
Now you know the basic definition of a
learning object, you know the design and
76 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

easoning as to how they are built, and you
even know locations that you can retrieve
them from; so now the question is, why use
them at all One of the most difficult situations
facing the education profession today
is the fact that technology has almost created
a demand for its usage and students
are expecting the same type of technology
in their classrooms as they get in everyday
life. Music, videos, gaming, text messaging,
e-mail—the list goes on and on, and these
forms of technology are used every day in
today’s society, and the education profession
must be prepared to incorporate them
into the learning environment. This is
especially true in online education. Referring
back to our beginning scenario of how
online classes were first designed as nothing
more than electronic textbooks, we
realize that learning object usage will help
engage the students and offer them an
environment to learn in as opposed to one
to learn from. Videos, audio notes, discussion
boards, Web logs, and instant messaging
can all be incorporated into an online
course and will help keep the students
engaged. Of course, to do all of this, the
instructor must be able to use the technology
and will have to use learning objects
either that he or she has constructed or that
he or she has pulled from a repository or
other location. This is where a breakdown
or a “choke point” is identified.
Educational and training professionals
must make time to learn technologies so
they can take advantage of where this
movement is taking the professions.
Administrations must allow staff development
time specifically for the technology
training needed to enable their faculty and
staff to acquire the knowledge and skill sets
required to design and develop learning
objects. In addition, the educators who grab
hold of this movement now will be way
ahead of the pack 3 or 4 years down the road
when all courses face-to-face and distance
are using learning objects as part of the
everyday learning experience. On campus
courses are becoming more hybridized and
Web-enhanced, and are utilizing the same
technologies that the online courses are
using to deliver the content at a distance.
This means that most of the faculty will need
to know how to utilize, design, develop, and
incorporate learning objects into their
everyday lesson plans.
Learning objects have become the new
training aids of our day. They are a movement
unto themselves. The only constant
about learning objects is that they will continue
to expand and evolve. They will be a
part of the educational and training profession
for as long as the digital revolution
lasts and perhaps longer. For all we know,
in the future, we’ll all be using telekinesis
to download the information directly from
the instructor’s to the student’s brain. Educators,
trainers and administrators all need
to prepare for the usage and expected
involvement of learning objects both on
campus and in distance education. The
student of tomorrow will expect and
demand technology usage in his or her
learning experience, and educators and
trainers will need to be prepared to meet
their demand. That demand will be met by
engaging and involving the students
through the incorporation and usage of
learning objects.
REFERENCES
Learning Object Metadata. (2005). Retrieved
July 20, 2007, from http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning
and Online Teaching. (2007). Retrieved July
20, 2007, from http://www.merlot.org/merlot/
index.htm
Web Based Training Information Center. (2007).
Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www
.webbasedtraining.com/trends_ objects.aspx
Wiley, D. (2000). The instructional use of learning
objects. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from
http://www.reusability.org/read/
Wisconsin Online Resource Center. (2007).
Retrieved on July 20, 2007, from http://
www.wisc-online.com/
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 77

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78 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

INTERVIEW
The Perils and Promise of
Distance Education
An Interview with Dr. Yusra Visser
Richard Ihde
Yusra Laila Visser is a faculty member
working in the Digital Education
Teacher’s Academy (DETA), a
collaborative program between Florida
Atlantic University and the School Board
of Broward County. In this capacity, she is
engaged in the design, development, and
evaluation of targeted in-service teacher
training programs focused on instructional
design and technology integration. She
concurrently serves as vice-president and
researcher for the Learning Development
Institute. Previously, Visser worked as
assistant professor in instructional technology
at Florida Atlantic University and
Wayne State University, as visiting faculty/
program manager at Florida State University’s
Office for Distance and Distributed
Learning, and as program associate for
international programs at Education
Development Center, Inc. In her consulting
work she has served such clients as
Verizon Corp, the Department of Homeland
Security, Arthur Andersen, the United
Nations, and Pearson PCS. Visser holds a
PhD and master of science in instructional
systems from Florida State University. Her
bachelor’s degree in international relations
is from American University.
Richard Ihde,
1411 E. 13th, Russellville, AR 72802.
Telephone: (479) 264-2191.
E-mail: ihde@nova.edu
INTRODUCTION
The field of distance education today
seems to be filled with promise while
struggling to find an identity to call its
own; in the world of higher education it is
often seen as both darling and demon. This
interview sought to present some of the
challenges of distance education to a seasoned
veteran in terms of being both a
former distance education student and an
instructor in distance education-based programs.
The answers provided are insightful
and important. They represent current
thinking about challenges in distance edu-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 79

cation and give indications of where the
field is headed.
QUESTION: Is it fair to state that distance
education on a graduate level in its current
state is the true equivalent of a classroom experience
with regard to content and instructional
design
Yes and No. It depends on how you
define “graduate level education.” Based
on research and prior experience, I believe
quite firmly that there is a qualitative difference
between the distance learning and
the face-to-face experience. Effective distance
[instruction] is a different experience
than effective face-to-face instruction. It
challenges learners in different ways, and
develops different types of skills. Therefore,
as long as we do not use traditional
face-to-face instruction’s metaphor as the
basis for comparison with other instructional
approaches, I believe distance learning
graduate education can be as effective
as face-to-face graduate education (quality
of teaching and instructional design
remains the key determinant of quality in
both instructional approaches). However,
if our measuring stick is traditional face-toface
education, and “equivalence” is based
on how closely distance learning mirrors
face-to-face instruction, then it would be
hard to argue that the two are truly equivalent.
QUESTION: There seems to be a mad dash
by universities to develop new online offerings.
How can we be assured of a reasonable level of
quality and accountability in these educational
products
Great question! People differ in their
views on this issue. Some argue that market
forces will ensure that the highest quality
programs will be the most successful
ones, and therefore that there is a built-in
incentive for quality and accountability. I
am skeptical about this. While I have high
confidence in the potential of online distance
learning, I believe that many universities
are propagating online learning with
more focus on increasing enrollment than
on improving quality of instruction. A couple
of ways to improve quality and
accountability:
1. Requiring faculty to experience distance
learning as learners before teaching
online. Many faculty are clueless
about the online experience since it did
not figure in their own education.
2. Evaluating distance learning courses
on the basis of relevant attributes for
distance learning. Many universities
use the same criteria for student course
evaluation in distance learning and in
fact to face instruction. This seems
inappropriate to me, and leaves little
relevant insight into the true quality of
online instruction. Dropout rates, student
perception of isolation, and so on
need to figure prominently when the
effectiveness of distance learning is
evaluated.
3. Requiring faculty/departments to gain
approval for distance learning courses
in the same way that they are required
to get approval for new course offerings.
If a department in a university
wants to offer a new course, they have
to submit a proposed syllabus and so
on for the class in order to get
approval. I believe that it would help if
departments were required to provide
proposals for courses when they are
switched from face-to-face to distance
learning delivery. As part of this process,
departments could be required to
answer questions about Carnegie unit
equivalence between the distance
learning and face-to-face versions of
the course, how (and how often) students
will have access to faculty, etc.
Often it seems courses are being converted
to an online format in a very
haphazard manner, and the quality of
the course suffers immensely.
80 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

4. Limiting the enrollment in distance
learning sections, ensuring equivalence
in teaching loads for distance
learning and face-to-face instructors,
limiting the use of teaching assistants
and adjuncts for distance learning
courses. At present it seems that universities
are really running the risk of
reducing the potential effectiveness of
distance learning by finding ways to
reduce cost for delivery of courses in
this format. They override class size
conventions, exceeding the 25:1 ratio
that is usually present in face-to-face
instruction. They expect faculty who
teach online to teach more, rather than
less, sections (even though it is often a
more labor-intensive teaching
approach). They have more distance
learning courses taught by teaching
assistants and adjuncts than face-toface
courses.
QUESTION: Is higher education in the
midst of a revolution as they embrace distance
education or have administrators been seduced
by potential enrollment numbers and more dollars
I have a terrible record with predicting
the future, but I would guess a little bit of
both. I think much of distance learning is
pushed by numbers and dollars. However,
I think higher education is in the midst of a
revolution—and distance learning is part
of that. There is little continued tolerance
for the prevalence of graduates exiting
with few marketable or worthwhile skills.
Competing models (corporate universities,
community colleges, etc.) are forcing
higher education to reevaluate what they
do and how they do it.
QUESTION: There is a documented trend in
universities, at least in the United States,
which shows a great deal of resistance by faculty
to teaching online. How can we overcome that
resistance
A couple of different ways:
1. Allow faculty to move through gradually—going
from Web-supported to
fully online instruction.
2. Providing adequate pre-, during- and
postcourse support to faculty teaching
online.
3. Finding ways to reassure faculty that
their intellectual property in the
course design is not compromised
through putting their course material
in published format on university
servers.
4. Limiting class sizes and teaching loads
in distance learning—right now distance
learning has the reputation of
being the ultimate way in which faculty
can be overburdened.
QUESTION: Because of the shortage of qualified
online instructors, universities will often
hire a professor fresh from a graduate program
to teach. Should these people be required to
acquire practical experience in a subject matter
area before being allowed to teach or is access to
an SME good enough
Your suggestion would certainly help
improve the quality and relevance of university
teaching, so I would very much
support it. However, the reality is that the
majority of faculty at universities have
been career professors, with no experience
in the outside world for 20-30 years. Perhaps
there should be more of a requirement
for all teachers to demonstrate that
they are continuing to get “real-world”
experience throughout their teaching
experience.
QUESTION: Research shows that students
select online courses mostly for convenience’s
sake. Should students be dissuaded from thinking
of distance learning as an educational
shortcut
I think the main challenge here is misinformation.
Convenience may be the initial
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 81

draw, but in reality distance learning is
very challenging for many students, so
those who choose distance learning for the
sake of convenience are in for a major
shock, and will likely not persevere. I think
that in many areas, there is an advantage
to having both distance learning and faceto-face
instruction, simply because it helps
learners develop the full gamut of skills
that a university education can offer.
QUESTION: Has higher education started
down a slippery slope by giving students too
much freedom in moving away from a face-toface
experience at least for younger undergraduate
students
The slippery slope, in my estimation, is
the focus on market-driven approaches to
education. This creates a highly prevalent
idea that the customer of education is the
student. I could not disagree more—the
customer for higher education is society.
By focusing on the learner as customer,
higher education is changing in ways that,
in my view, may not server either the student
or the university.
QUESTION: The concept of learner as customer
seems to be quite prevalent in higher education.
Can you elaborate on why you think this
approach may not serve the student or the university
At the broadest level, I believe that the
purpose of education is—quite simply—to
make a better person. A better person, in
my estimation, is a person who is not only
self-reliant and able to be effective in his/
her job, but also someone who has the
skills and desires to positively impact the
world, and to leave this little planet behind
in better shape than he/she found it. So, I
feel that the customer of education is society.
Ultimately, education should seek to
shape each of us to be better “tools” with
which to improve the world.
This view contrasts significantly with
what we often see in higher education
nowadays. Because of the focus on education
as a market-driven phenomenon, we
start applying all kinds of business terms to
the different components of the higher
education system. A class or a learning
experience becomes a “service.” We look at
the value of a degree in terms of “return on
investment.” We see distance education as
an approach to improve “efficiency” and
to achieve “economies of scale.” Lastly, we
label the individual learner as “the customer.”
While there is certainly some merit
to recognizing that higher education is a
business, I feel that we are making a mistake
by taking this concept as far as we do.
Here is how the issue of learner as customer
can pan out: There is a common
mantra in all business settings that “customer
is king” or “the customer is always
right.” If I order an item from a menu in a
restaurant and I don’t like it, I can tell the
waiter that I don’t like the item and would
like to return it. I can exchange it for something
else or I can just walk out without
paying for the item. I have this “right” even
if the menu item is exactly as it was
described on the menu, and my only
objection is that I just don’t like the way it
tastes (i.e. nothing is missing from the dish,
nothing is rotten, etc.). What is happening,
in my experience, is that this very same
thing is cropping up in our higher education
classes. I can give you a couple of concrete
examples:
I know of a faculty member who on the
first day of class in a grad course, had a student
walk in and say; “this is my last
semester in the program, I have a 4.0 GPA,
so I need to get an A in this class.” Then,
the student just stood there and stared at
the professor. The student did not express
any desire in knowing what it would take
to get an A, nor did she express an interest
in committing herself 100% to the class in
order to maintain her 4.0. The student simply
was expressing that as a customer, she
expected that in exchange for paying
tuition she would basically be eligible for
an A. And that it was the professor’s
82 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

esponsibility to make sure that this happened.
I know of a faculty member who
received a concerned letter from a very
hard-working student in her class. The
alarmed student was writing to ask
whether it was really true that in graduate
education as long as you showed up to
class and submitted assignments, you
would get an A. The reason why the student
was asking this question was because,
after working his tail off on a series of
assignments, the student had heard from
others in his class that he should not worry
so much because “graduate education is
basically pay-for-your-degree education.
As long as you run through the motions,
you have paid for the As and for the
degree.”
These are true stories, and they are
from different institutions. The underlying
theme in all of them is the notion that
the learner is the customer, and therefore
he/she can demand “value for my investment”
on the basis that is defined by the
learner, and not by what best serves society.
In other words, if the learner/customer
has determined that he has gotten his
money’s worth simply by getting an A,
and not by having learned a whole bunch
of valuable new stuff, then that is what
higher education should give the learner.
Interestingly, even though my examples
refer to cases where the student is
really overstepping what would be considered
(in my estimation) reasonable academic
practice, the greatest problem, in my
view, is that the universities are very much
perpetuating this. University administrations
sound a constant drumbeat of
“learner as customer” which makes it very
difficult for individual faculty members to
feel that they can take any risks at all in
their teaching. Any business wants more
customers, and more repeat customers. So,
universities want more students, and they
want students to keep coming back for
more. So universities keep focusing on
recruitment, classes are getting bigger, services
in universities are becoming strained,
and individual attention is hard for learners
to get. Faculty members may feel pressure
not to turn away students, even if the
student may not be qualified to succeed in
the class. They likewise may feel pressure
not to challenge students excessively,
because research consistently shows that
students most negatively evaluate teachers
who teach the most complex subjects. The
net effect is that the quality of education is
lowered, grade inflation is rampant, and
the value of a university degree is brought
into question.
QUESTION: Graduate programs seem to be
populated more and more by working professionals
who are asking for degree programs with
shorter time frames and concentrated areas of
study. Should universities accommodate these
goals or should standard program configurations
be maintained to facilitate an adequate
learning experience
I believe universities should by and
large offer standard program configurations
be maintained to facilitate an adequate
learning experience. However, the
push for compressed curricula comes
about largely because universities have
historically bogged learners down with all
kinds of required courses that either seems
to have little relevance, or for which learners
already have prior relevant experience.
So, universities need to address that issue
if they wish to avoid going the fast-track
route. My opposition to a large-scale adoption
of the fast-track approach is because I
believe that it comes at the expense of sustained,
profound learning opportunities
that require extended reflection and
immersion into the academic culture.
QUESTION: The developing trend toward
more international students taking online
courses from American universities is becoming
a reality even for smaller schools. What measures
would you suggest to successfully accom-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 83

modate international students in an online
environment
Great question! I think part of the
responsibility is with the international student
to adjust to the culture of education
in the United States (I was an international
student myself throughout my university
education). The other part of it likely
involves the following:
1. Clearly expressed expectations for the
class
2. Clear guidelines for online discussion/
exchanges
3. Lots of information for all learners on
intercultural communication
4. Assignments that have learners connect
the content for the course to
issues, experiences, etc. in the learner’s
local context.
5. Careful integration of pre-admission
requirements for English language
competence.
6. Providing teaching faculty with experiences
for intercultural communication
and teaching.
QUESTION: What will the world of distance
education look like in 10 years
I think that distance education will have
eclipsed today’s world of higher education
in the next 10 years. Meeting in class will
be the exception rather than the rule. But,
then again, I am lousy with predictions. I
also think some schools will give up on distance
learning and strongly move to a
100% nondistance education approach
because they may come to associate distance
education with poor instruction. (I
don’t agree with this view but believe that
so many universities are adopting a haphazard
approach to distance education
that they are unlikely to realize the full
potential of distance education).
QUESTION: You state in your online biography
you like to challenge stated fact and look for
alternative explanations. What current stated
fact, or facts, would you like to challenge in the
world of distance education
Wow, nice catch!
1. Distance learning should strive to be
equivalent to face-to-face instruction.
2. Distance learning limits the ability of
the learner to develop the skills to
apply and transfer what he/she learns.
3. An effective distance learning learner
must have effective self-regulatory
skills and high levels of intrinsic motivation.
4. Distance learning is cost-effective.
5. Distance learning allows for higher
student/teacher ratios.
6. Course-in-a-box is an effective
approach for distance education.
7. Distance learning learners don’t learn
as much as face-to-face learners.
CONCLUSION
I think it is important to note that the questions
asked certainly do not represent
every challenge present today in the field
of distance education. It can be argued
they are a representative sample.
Distance education in its present form is
a unique and evolving entity which could
not have existed 25 years ago. Yusra Visser
certainly reflects that fact in her responses.
She sees higher education on dual paths
both fraught with the perilous trappings of
academic tradition. She clearly feels that
distance education and the face-to-face
format are separate but equal experiences.
She states that with this thought in mind
evaluation of course effectiveness should
also be separate but equal by applying
applicable standards for each.
The issue of faculty moving into the
online environment before they are ready
also emphasizes the separate but equal status.
She states there can be a disconnect
when it comes to teaching online; “Many
faculty are clueless about the online experi-
84 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

ence since it did not figure in their own
education.” This reflects a major problem
in attempting to assure separate but equal
paths to an acceptable student outcome,
only one of which has been addressed in
traditional education. Teacher preparation
may just now be reaching the point of
being up to the challenge of preparing
future practitioners for the virtual world.
More importantly, Visser challenges
institutions of higher learning to rethink
their learner-as-customer approach and
once more concentrate on the quality of
the educational experiences offered to students
and not the quantity of students
enrolled. This emphasis on quality, she
believes, should extend to both face-to-face
and distance education courses. Part of this
return to glory, in her opinion, should
involve dispelling myth and rumor about
the difficulty and quality of distance education—something
best done by the institutions
themselves.
Ultimately, I think Visser would have us
realize that distance education should be
given the respect it deserves as a great
equalizer and not a usurper or pretender
to the throne. Her message reflects her
belief that distance education is an important
trend in higher education and should
be nurtured and allowed to mature to its
full potential.
YUSRA LAILA VISSER IS A FACULTY MEMBER WORKING IN THE DIGITAL EDUCATION TEACHER’S
ACADEMY, A COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM BETWEEN FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY AND THE
SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY.
YOUR ADVERTISEMENT OR
ANNOUNCEMENT COULD BE HERE
USDLA
8 WINTER STREET, SUITE 508
BOSTON, MA 02108
800-275-5162
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 85

5
86 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

INTERVIEW
Here Come the Marines!
An Interview With the Dean of the Marine
Corps College of Continuing Education
Julie A. Prommasit and M. Denise Orndorff
INTRODUCTION
Since the establishment of the Marine
Corps College of Continuing Education
(CCE) in 1998, Professional Military
Education (PME) in the Marine Corps
has been undergoing an overhaul. The
infamous “box of books,” as it has come to
be known, is no more. Independent
Guided Study (IGS) is the formal name for
the rudimentary form of distance education
that had been the accepted educational
construct for 80% of the aspiring
upward mobile Marine officers for many
years. It’s a basic self-paced correspondence
course, with all the materials and a
multiple-choice final exam delivered
neatly in a box to your doorstep. Marines
would work on the course as time permitted
and motivation prompted; the only
constraint being a 5-year completion window.
But, senior officers routinely recognized
that, when compared to the other
20% of their peer group (those who
Julie A. Prommasit, Freshman Academy
English Teacher, West Florence High School,
221 N. Beltline Dr., Florence, SC 29501.
Telephone: (843) 664-8472.
E-mail: jprommasit@fsd1.org
M. Denise Orndorff, Human Performance
Engineering, Lockheed Martin Simulation,
Training & Support, 12506 Lake Underhill
Road, MP 810, Orlando, FL 32825-5002.
Telephone: (407) 306-3128.
E-mail: denise.orndorff@lmco.com
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 87

attended a residential version of the
course) these Marines simply did not stack
up. Comprehending what they were supposed
to be learning and then effectively
employing that learning on the job was
consistently observed as less than
expected. Even when the box of books was
augmented with seminars, there remained
a distinct difference between the two
groups. But, the supplementary seminar
presentations were voluntary and the format
was more or less a lecture at a distance
that may or may not have been relevant to
the individual student; they were still, by
their very nature, not equal to the residential
program.
Enter the U. S. Marine Corps’ Son of
Seminar. It hit the ground running in
October 2007. Based on the Socratic
method, this new delivery format will be
centered on highly seasoned instructors
positing well-directed questions and limiting
their lecture time in deference to the
facilitation of student-to-student discussion.
The program will consist of eight
courses to be delivered over a reduced 2-
year construct. Active student participation
is a requirement in the seminars that
will be offered both on-site and online.
Rubrics will be used to assess student contributions,
writing, speaking and performance
in exercises.
One of the people heading up this
transformation in Marine Corps distance
education is James I. Van Zummeren, dean
of academics, Marine Corps College of
Continuing Education, Training and Education
Command (TECOM). In a recent
interview, he gave his views on the direction
of distance e in the Marine Corps.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH
DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE
MARINE CORPS
PROMMASIT: What experience did you
have with distance education as a Marine
officer
VAN ZUMMEREN: I did two nonresident
courses. I did the Amphibious Warfare
School for captains. I did the
traditional box of books, nonresident; we
call it Independent Guided Studies, IGS. I
did that as a lieutenant, and then as a captain
went to the resident school. I also did
the Naval War College, what they call the
off-campus program. It’s a nonresident,
seminar-based 3-year construct. I did that,
but then I also went to the Marine Corps
Command Staff resident experience. So I
did two nonres and two resident of similar
courses.
ORNDORFF: Can you expound a little
bit on what your view of the difference is
between education and training, and how
that relates to what you’re doing with the
Marine Corps distance education program
VAN ZUMMEREN: You know it’s
always fun, because when we get into conferences
or meetings, at a training and
education command or anywhere really in
the world of academics, there’s always a
conversation on whether that’s really
training or that’s really education. Some of
us have a perspective that there isn’t all
education and/or all training. It’s really a
combination. In some there is going to be a
little bit more emphasis on critical thinking
and creative thinking, and some is going to
be a little bit more emphasis on a process of
doing something within an approved set
of procedures.
So the training and education to me is
somewhat blurred. For example, our Command
Staff College Distance Program is
more about education because it deals
more about thinking about things, learning
about strategic thought, and coming
up with solutions that not only are critical
based on doctrine and constructs, but also
creative. That’s the whole point—bring in
your own perspective to solve or provide a
solution to some kind of emerging issue.
The training aspect is more like our Expeditionary
Warfare School, School of Captains,
in which we are looking for them to
88 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

demonstrate, within a set of procedures
and policies, certain actions. Like how you
would tactically move forces to achieve a
mission. And we would think that’s more
training.
So when you look at our programs,
which are basically professional military
education, we look at it as a combination of
both; also, we look at the training aspect as
the doing part, the practical application.
You talk about building something that’s
great theoretically, and that’s all nice stuff.
Do it. So it’s that “do it” part that we see as
the training, because when they do it, we
provide feedback, and show them if
they’re really in error, show them a better
way or a different perspective to get them
to a solution. Because there’s no real solution,
other than a set of procedures to get
you to what we may think is a usable solution.
As a side note—I teach a course at
George Mason University for undergraduates.
It’s a 300 level, and it’s a writingintensive
speech communication course.
Most of them are not real clear on what
creative or critical thinking is, but more
importantly, they’re not real clear on what
a normal essay or paper construct is, like
with an introduction, a middle, and a conclusion.
So we spend a lot more time trying
to get them up to speed because, like
speaking, writing is one of the critical
skills.
And we see the same thing in our
Officer Corps and in our nonresident
courses, and that’s one reason why, as we
get to these questions, we’re moving to a
different type of nonresident, or distance
learning, model because we want them to
be able to demonstrate what they have
learned.
ORNDORFF: And that’s exactly it. It’s
a blend, really, the perfect storm of anybody’s
overall education and training. It’s
not just one or the other. It’s not just in person,
sitting in a classroom, sitting at a computer
taking an online course, or literally
going out and driving the newest version
of a vehicle around. It’s got to be the combination
of them all together, as I see it.
VAN ZUMMEREN: Absolutely! And
therein lies the complexity of nonresident
education. Because it is in trying to find a
balance between what you can do online
and what you want to do in some form of
collaboration. And then again, what’s the
topic If it’s business administration, it’s
one thing. If it’s tactics, it’s another. And if
it’s leadership, another whole different
dynamic of what kind of interaction you’re
actually going to have.
THE CHANGEOVER PROCESS
ORNDORFF: How do the experiences
that you have had with distance learning
in the Marine Corps compare with the
experiences that students have nowadays
with the distance education program
VAN ZUMMEREN: I think prior to
around 1997—that’s when the College of
Continuing Education stood up the seminar
program—the Marine Corps, just like
all the services, tried to do nonresident
education on the cheap. They looked at
those officers who they thought were very
competitive and needed the resident experience
to make them more competitive [for
promotion]; [they] went to the resident
program. And the throughput is sufficient
to sustain itself through our resident
schools to get people into the general
officer ranks.
The problem is, to the Marine Corps, it’s
20% of your population. Eighty percent of
your population does not get the resident
opportunities, so they have to do a nonresident.
As indicated earlier in the conversation,
a box of books with a multiple choice
assessment tool is about as cheap as you
can get. And it’s more of a check in the box.
It’s more about surface information. That’s
what we provided, until we started getting
to 1997, and into a seminar. The biggest
change—first of all, we had to convince the
Marine Corps—we did this in around
2004—is that if the institution is serious
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 89

about wanting to develop a competent
corps of officers or leaders, then what they
have to provide them, in different parts of
their career, is learning opportunities in
which they truly address the priorities or
core competencies, with more than just
knowledge of an actual experience, and
skill in applying what we think are the critical
learning outcomes of our resident education.
And the Corps, of course, agreed. So
they provided the money, which is always
the showstopper. The second part of that,
of transforming, literally, our box of books
to a seminar-based environment, was to
find the time for students to do it. Because
if you’re doing asynchronous, or just a box
of books, and you have a five-year construct
or window to do it in, you do it
whenever you find time to do it. When
you start getting into a more regimented
seminar, 2-year construct, we start getting
into a more personal time, because it’s a
tighter window, and it’s more disciplined
and more focused, too. You all meet once a
week during the school year.…
So we had to fight that whole issue. And
then the other issue that goes along with
that is finding a corps of course developers—or
we call them course directors—
who can build the courses in a comprehensive
way that are useful in a seminar environment.
PROMMASIT: Have you had much
resistance from any sides, like people who
maybe preferred the box of books, since it
was easier and didn’t take as much work,
per se
ORNDORFF: Or didn’t want to spend
the money, or other areas of resistance as
well
VAN ZUMMEREN: I think that we
have found minimal resistance, if at all.
And part of it is, that myself, Terry Kerrigan
the director, and a bunch of my faculty
are all retired Marines or retired military.
We’re all graduates of our resident programs.
We’ve all been instructors at the
resident programs. We’ve all been commanders.
So we all have a sense of the
impact of what resident education does,
and we’ve all had officers working for us
who have been nonresident graduates or
the box of books graduates and saw the
deficiency.
I would argue that most of the senior
leadership of the Marine Corps, when we
started briefing the seminar opportunity,
agreed with us. Now we started the seminar—voluntary
seminar program—which
you could be a “box of books” [student] or
take the seminar option; 1998 was the first
seminar. So by the time we got to 2004, we
had significant amount of feedback from
instructors and from students about the
value of doing this. Commanders [were]
saying, “You know, the graduates coming
from the seminar thing They’re way
ahead of the box of books, and they’re
almost like a resident graduate.”
PROMMASIT: What great validation.
VAN ZUMMEREN: It was. But again,
most of it’s a living experience, and so it
wasn’t that big of a deal to do that, and of
course we believe in it, so when we brief
these things, we have a little bit of passion.
But the Corps agrees. That’s why we got
the green light to start, this coming October,
for our Command Staff School for
majors, the all seminar only distance program,
which is significant—there is no
more box of books for them. Which means
that we had to [ask ourselves]—if we’re
not doing a box of books, then how can we
touch all our officers worldwide, in very
high up-tempo environment
And the way we can touch them is
using Blackboard as really the backbone,
our learning support system, to be able to
touch all students, regardless if you’re
doing on-site traditional seminars, or if
you’re going to do online asynchronous
seminars. Either way, you’ve all got to
come in through Blackboard. And the only
time that the difference is obvious is if
you’re doing purely online, Blackboard
will be your total environment, period. But
of course the Corps has had the patience,
90 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

and this is significant, the Corps has had
the patience to allow us to build. We’ve
been building this … for three years now.
We have done a little bit of validation, and
we will start full up this coming October.
Our school year goes October to June.
And our program is a two year construct.
Because they allowed us that patience, we
have really focused in the most important
part, and that is building the courseware
that matches this, and more importantly, a
faculty development program so our
instructors can lead seminars and not sit
there and try to lecture, which is key.
LIMITATIONS OF
DISTANCE EDUCATION
PROMMASIT: You acknowledge that
there are limitations to a distance course,
and that the Marine Corps also understands
that and does not expect it to be
equal. That’s significant. Quite often people
think the results should be exactly the
same.There has to be some understanding
that it is a different environment.
VAN ZUMMEREN: You’re exactly
right. What we do is we sit down with the
Marine Corps University and the colleges
specifically, and we say, “All right, list your
core competencies, the outcomes, the
expectations of the graduates, and they do.
Then we sit down and honestly say, “Can
we meet some of it or all of it Based on
that, what are the learning objectives that
support that How do you get to those
outcomes”
We really home in on what’s most critical.
The seminar experience allows us to
hone in on leadership, writing, and speaking,
along with the learning outcomes or
objectives of strategic thought.
THE CHALLENGE
PROMMASIT: What has been the biggest
challenge for you so far in the
changeover process
VAN ZUMMEREN: A very loaded
question—the whole thing has been very
challenging. I think dealing with the
unknown. In my graduate studies, I did
two hybrid online courses at George
Mason—hybrid in the sense you took, of a
16-week semester, you took four lessons on
campus and 12 lessons from your home.
They were great learning experiences.
Some of my course directors are online
instructors, or were students of online. So
many of us bring a lot of experience doing
online type stuff. All of us have been
engaged in our nonresident seminar programs.
We bring all that experience.
The biggest change is [the exam].
Because the seminar program, up to today,
has been an option, students still took the
multiple-choice exam, which was the same
exam that the box of books students took.
Everything was really based off of what
that exam was going to be. So the instructors
really ended up teaching the exam.
Not a good way of doing business, but
that’s how it matured.
This changed to a seminar, or to a
Socratic learning method in which the students,
theoretically, are the ones who are
teaching each other, and the instructor is
really a facilitator. That we see as the long
pole in the tent. That is where the challenge
is—to get the seminar leaders to be a
little bit more quiet and to orchestrate or
coordinate the conversations to make sure
that everybody participates. That’s what
we’ve been doing with our faculty development
sessions and practicing for the last
two years. To me, it was, it is, and it’s going
to be always a challenge for us.
CONCLUSION
The changeover process is admittedly a
challenge. The Socratic learning method
forces students to be active in class sessions.
More important than accumulation
of knowledge, the main focus is on teaching
Marine officers how to respond to situations
by applying creative critical-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 91

thinking techniques. At the command
level, Marine officers are often called upon
to make critical decisions in a short amount
of time. With this new nonresident program
in place, more Marines are able to
reap the benefits of first-rate command
training, once reserved for the top 20%.
As noted in his interview, Van Zummeren
concedes that no distance education
program can fully replicate the experience
of the resident program. However, the staff
has worked diligently to select the most
important skills and to address those areas
in the nonresident program. A cadre of
dedicated instructors prepares and delivers
instruction through online courseware.
Not only has funding been provided for
the changeover process, but the call has
gone out to commanding officers to facilitate
training by allowing participants time
during the work day to prepare for classes
and practice what they have learned. By
establishing an atmosphere that encourages
students instead of hindering them,
the chances of a student successfully completing
the program are much higher. By
applying interactive forms of distance education,
the Marine Corps can build an
organization of well-trained professionals
who are able to perform jobs with greater
skill and efficiency. Thanks in part to the
enthusiasm and hard work of the CCE
staff, the Marine Corps is committed to
upgrading the education provided to all
Marines. With the advent of the new Command
Staff College program in October
2007, the Corps is on their way to accomplishing
that goal.
JAMES I. VAN ZUMMEREN IS DEAN OF ACADEMICS, MARINE CORPS COLLEGE OF
CONTINUING EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EDUCATION COMMAND (TECOM).
92 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

Ends and Means
Developing a
Digital Portfolio
Natalie B. Milman
In a previous Ends and Means article,
Watkins (2005) discussed the importance
of online programs and students
marketing their own successes not
only to promote online programs and individuals’
achievements, but also to demonstrate
program quality. A growing number
of individuals, programs, and institutions
across the United States and abroad, with
Natalie B. Milman, Assistant Professor,
The George Washington University,
2134 G ST NW #416,
Washington, DC 20052.
Telephone: (202) 994-1884.
E-mail: milman@gwu.edu
varying purposes, are using digital portfolios
to do just this—and the numbers will
likely grow. Consider that nearly 30% of
public universities and 18% of private universities
across the [United States]” use
digital portfolios in some way (Green,
2004, as cited in Carney, 2006, p. 89) and
89% of the nation’s schools, colleges, and
departments of education are using portfolios
in some capacity, too (Salzman, Denner,
& Harris, 2002). These numbers show
an interest in using digital portfolios, as
Batson (2002) declared:
The term “electronic portfolio,” or “ePortfolio,”
is on everyone’s lips. We often hear
it associated with assessment, but also
with accreditation, reflection, student
résumés, and career tracking. It’s as if this
new tool is the answer to all the questions
we didn't realize we were asking. (para. 1)
In this article, I briefly describe what digital
portfolios are, what the digital portfolio
development process involves, which
approaches might be used for developing
one, and how some programs are using
digital portfolios, by sharing some specific
examples.
WHAT IS A DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
A portfolio is a goal-driven, organized, collection
of materials (often referred to as
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 93

artifacts) that demonstrates a person's
expansion of knowledge and skills over
time. The contents, organization, and presentation
of materials in a portfolio vary
greatly, depending on its audience (e.g.,
employer or faculty advisor), purpose (e.g.,
to get a job versus to demonstrate a masters
degree requirement), and type (e.g.,
showcase or employment portfolio). Digital
portfolios, sometimes referred to as
electronic portfolios, e-folios, multimedia
portfolios, Webfolios and electronicallyaugmented
portfolios, contain much of the
same content as regular, traditional portfolios,
but their materials are produced and
shared in digital format such as a Web site
(Kilbane & Milman, 2003, 2005). As a result,
digital portfolios are not merely a number
of artifacts or lists of experiences put onto
the Web without a specific goal and ability
to demonstrate reflection. A digital portfolio
is not an electronic résumé. What distinguishes
it from one is that it contains
thoughtful, professional, reflective comments
about its contents.
WHAT IS THE DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Embarking on the creation of a digital portfolio
is similar to going on a journey. It is a
journey that will take you places you may
not have otherwise visited (i.e., creation of
a portfolio), or places you have not visited
in some time (e.g., your résumé that
requires updating, some wrinkled letters
from a colleague, professor, or employer
complimenting you on your work, or an
old PowerPoint presentation you created
years ago). The fun part about taking this
journey is having other people to experience
the new sights and adventures with
you. So, I encourage you to find some critical
friends, people you know will give you
constructive feedback about your portfolio
and who might develop their own portfolios
along with you. This will provide you
with a community of critical friends so that
you may lean on each other, both for direction
in this journey as well as encouragement,
advice, ideas, critiques, help, and
camaraderie.
WHY DEVELOP A
DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
There are many reasons why you (or your
students) might develop a digital portfolio.
Among the many reasons for developing
one are that they provide an easy and efficient
way to showcase your knowledge
and professionalism with many people
simultaneously (there is no need to tote
around a heavy binder of materials from
person to person!), update portfolio materials
effortlessly and cheaply, illustrate
much sought-after technology skills, and
control your “message.” Academic programs
within institutions can benefit as
well from digital portfolios. For example, a
program can highlight information about
its courses and degree areas that demonstrate
its quality and validate student competency,
while also providing a marketing
tool.
OVERVIEW OF THE STEPS IN THE
DIGITAL PORTFOLIO PROCESS
Before creating a digital portfolio, it is
important to understand the five basic
stages in the development of a portfolio
(Kilbane & Milman, 2003), each consisting
of several distinct processes or steps. They
are:
Planning the portfolio. Focus on the
goals of your portfolio and frame its objectives.
Focusing your portfolio involves
identifying the purpose(s) for and
intended audience(s) of your portfolio,
whereas framing your portfolio entails creating
continuity among the various components
of your portfolio.
Considering portfolio contents. Collect,
select, and reflect on the materials you will
include in your portfolio. In the beginning
of this stage, the emphasis is on quantity
(e.g., collecting as many artifacts as possible),
and then on quality (e.g., selecting the
94 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

artifacts one wants to include in the portfolio).
It also includes reflecting on the portfolio
contents by writing reflective
statements that provide commentary
about the artifact, as well as information
about what you have learned from it.
Designing the portfolio. Organize the
materials you have selected and assemble
them into digital pieces that make up your
portfolio. This stage consists of organizing
the contents of the portfolio, creating a
table of contents, creating a storyboard and
design grid, and finally actually producing
the portfolio. Many artifacts may not be in
an electronic format when you select them,
therefore you may have to, for example,
scan pictures or papers in order to include
them in your new portfolio.
Evaluating the portfolio. Conduct formative
evaluation to improve your portfolio-in-progress
and summative evaluation
to determine the quality of your portfolio.
You may use rubrics or short question-andanswer
forms for conducting these evaluations.
Publishing the portfolio. In this stage,
you perform the necessary activities to
present your portfolio materials in a format
that others can view. This state
requires server space for uploading your
portfolio so that it is accessible on the Web.
WHAT APPROACHES/TOOLS ARE
AVAILABLE FOR CREATING DIGITAL
PORTFOLIOS
There are two major approaches for developing
a digital portfolio: the integrative
approach and the turnkey solution
approach (Kilbane & Milman, 2005). Each
of these has its advantages and challenges.
The integrative approach involves a variety
of skills, programs, and knowledge
about various software programs, such as
Web site development, graphics, and FTP
software. If you were to create a digital
portfolio using this approach, you might
use Dreamweaver for developing your
portfolio Web site, Photoshop for creating
and modifying any graphics, and WS_FTP
for uploading and downloading files to a
server.
On the other hand, turnkey solutions
require less technical skills and knowledge,
and typically require simply understanding
how to upload and download your
files using the turnkey solution’s Webbased
interface. Usually this approach
requires creating files in a common file format
such as Microsoft Word that can be
uploaded via the turnkey solution’s Web
site. A few popular turnkey solutions are:
• Chalk and Wire
(http://www.chalkandwire.com/);
• Epsilen
(http://www.epsilen.com/Epsilen/Public/
Home .aspx); and
• Taskstream
(http://www .taskstream.com/pub/
electronicportfolio .asp).
You can also use blog, social networking,
or other template-driven Web sites if
you are not comfortable publishing your
own Web page.
The best advice I can share for choosing
an approach is to evaluate: your skills and
available resources; the amount of creative
and technical control you desire in the digital
portfolio’s appearance, navigation, and
organization; and, ultimately, the amount
of time you want to spend creating one. An
excellent resource for learning more about
digital portfolios is Helen Barrett’s site (see
http://electronicportfolios.com/). She also
maintains a site that contains multiple versions
of her digital portfolio using various
approaches and tools (see http://electronic
portfolios.com/myportfolio/index.html).
Here you can see first-hand what a digital
portfolio looks like using various turnkey
solutions, as well as some other open source
tools.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 95

HOW ARE PROGRAMS OF HIGHER
EDUCATION USING DIGITAL
PORTFOLIOS
I believe the best way to learn about the
potential for digital portfolios is to examine
some first-hand. Keep in mind that digital
portfolios are being created and promoted
for a range of purposes and audiences,
occasionally resulting in conflicting outcomes.
Some programs dictate the contents,
whereas others allow students
complete autonomy in choosing which
items to include. As you examine these
digital portfolios, consider how we might
use these tools for “encouraging our students
to share their positive online experiences
with their colleagues and working
together to market the value of online
graduates to the many organizations that
may be their future employers” (Watkins,
2005, p. 35). Consider how these digital
portfolios market your achievement or an
academic program’s successes as well.
Examples of digital portfolios created by
individuals and compiled by specific programs
are available at http://home.gwu
.edu/~nmilman/dl
REFERENCES
Batson, T. (2002). The electronic portfolio boom:
What’s it all about Campus Technology.
Retrieved August 29, 2007, from http://
www.campustechnology.com/articles/39299/
Carney, J. (2006). Analyzing research on teachers’
electronic portfolios: What does it tell us
about portfolios and methods for studying
them Journal of Computing in Teacher Education,
22(3), 89-97.
Kilbane, C. R., & Milman, N. B. (2003). The digital
teaching portfolio handbook: A developmental
guide for educators. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Kilbane, C. R., & Milman, N. B. (2005). The digital
teaching portfolio workbook: Understanding
the Digital teaching portfolio development process.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Salzman, S., Denner, P., & Harris, L. (2002).
Teaching education outcomes measures: Special
study survey. Paper presented at the annual
meeting of the American Association of Colleges
of Teacher Education, New York.
Watkins, R. (2005). Marketing our success. Distance
Learning, 2(3), 34-35.
A PORTFOLIO IS A GOAL-DRIVEN, ORGANIZED, COLLECTION OF MATERIALS THAT DEMON-
STRATES A PERSON’S EXPANSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OVER TIME.
96 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

New Media, New Learning
School for Tykes
Craig Ullman
Arecent article in The New York
Times (“The Garlanded Classroom,”
by Graham Bowley, September
23, 2007) discussed the latest new
trend in tyke education: “the Reggio Emilia
system.” From the article:
The approach is based on the assumption
that children learn best in groups and are
resourceful enough to come up with their
own ideas for lessons. Under the Reggio
Emilia system, children investigate
themes like angels or elevators; in one
Craig Ullman, Partner, Networked Politics,
49 West 27th St., Suite 901,
New York, NY 12401.
Telephone: (646) 435-0697.
E-mail: cullman@networkedpolitics.com
famous example, they built water wheels
and fountains for an amusement park for
birds. The method so engages and electrifies
children, its supporters contend, that
they create work of unparalleled beauty
and complexity. (para. 5)
The children choose their own projects;
the Reggio Emilia system, according to the
article, is much more open-ended than a
Montessori school, for instance. Quite a
number of schools in the Upper East Side
of Manhattan and in some other areas of
the country have adopted or been inspired
by the Reggio Emilia system.
Two things strike me about Reggio
Emilia—the contrasting view of childhood,
and the political mashup that occurs when
this system is used in the States.
The traditional British classroom that
was one of their legacies to us had a particular
view of childhood: each little boy and
girl is a potential miscreant. If left to their
own devices, every public classroom
would become a miniature Lord of the Flies.
The ultimate value of school for children is
for them to learn self-discipline by internalizing
their submission to adult authority.
Although a lot has changed in
American nursery and grade schools over
the last several hundred years, this kind of
thinking about children and school still
runs deep in our culture.
The Reggio Emilia system turns all that
on its head by propagating a view of child-
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 97

hood innocence that would make Rousseau
seem like a downer. Children just
need to be given the time and tools to
become artists. They are budding geniuses
until society gets in the way and stamps
out their creativity and ability to collaborate.
It turns out that this area outside Turin
has a long history of left-wing activism, of
which the Reggio Emilia system is only the
latest product. For the public schools there
to insist that even the poorest child has
intelligence, creativity, and immense curiosity
is a profoundly political statement
that of course is immediately transmogrified
when placed in an American context.
In America, there is such an emphasis on
children of successful people all being
“baby Einsteins,” that treating each child
like a little genius makes perfect sense.
However, the door closes on such an idea
when it tries to spread to poorer neighborhoods,
which don’t have the money to
support indulging children, and whose
children haven’t been taught the prereading,
reading, and early math skills that
bourgeois American parents give their children
as a matter of course.
So yet another Utopian left wing idea
gets absorbed into the great American
bourgeoisie for its own self-indulgence
(okay, kind of a harsh statement. We can
talk about it at IKEA).
I have no idea whether Reggio Emilia or
the distant, modern equivalent of spare the
rod, spoil the child is the better educational
philosophy. I hate to sound so moderate,
but it strikes me that both extremes have
an incomplete view of children and their
needs.
It would be great if we could start with a
more complex understanding of what a
child actually is, instead of what we fear
him to be, or what we hope he will
become, to point the mirror so it reflects
the child, rather than we adults.
Another idea, I suppose, we can talk
about at IKEA.
UNDER THE REGGIO EMILIA SYSTEM, CHILDREN INVESTIGATE THEMES LIKE ANGELS OR ELEVATORS.
98 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4

And Finally … continued from page 100
dotal reports, where is the evidence to support
this “wisdom”
For example, let’s talk about the college
course. According to the century-old standard
of the course unit, sometimes called
the Carnegie Unit, a one-credit course
should have 750 minutes of instruction by
a teacher to students in a classroom. This
equates to fifteen 50-minute classes.
A three-credit class would have 2,250
minutes of classroom instruction, or fortyfive
50-minute classes often scheduled
over a 15-week semester—three classes
each week for 15 weeks. Typically, a student
would be expected to spend 2 hours
outside of class for every hour in the classroom—time
spent studying or completing
assignments.
What about instructors Well, if students
are in the classroom for forty-five 50-
minute sessions, the instructor probably is
also. And, most agree that for every hour
the college professor is in class he or she
probably needs to spend 2 hours preparing
and grading, so teacher and student time
required to complete a typical college
course is roughly equivalent.
Obviously, in a distance-delivered
course, instructors do not attend a traditional
class—there often is no formal class,
especially in an asynchronous course.
Thus, instructor time can be reallocated
from presenting to preparing, from lecturing
to posting, and from explaining to
interacting.
Does this change really happen In
some cases, possibly not, since there is a
small but growing number of online
instructors who teach asynchronous
courses who are reporting that they need
to allocate less time to teaching online to
accomplish an equivalent level of involvement
as they contributed to their traditional
classes. As a matter of fact, a rule of
thumb has been proposed—for every 10%
of the content of a class that is converted
from face-to-face instruction there is a 5%
saving in instructor time, up to a total possible
saving of 25%. Thus, for an experienced
instructor, teaching an online course
that he or she has taught several times,
there is a potential saving of about 30
hours for a typical three-credit college
course.
Obviously, this “dirty little secret” needs
to be studied carefully and in a scientifically
appropriate manner—the field needs
research dealing with instructor time.
And finally, as Victor Hugo said in his
Histoire d’un Crime (1852), “An invasion of
armies can be resisted, but not an idea
whose time has come.”
DO EXPERIENCED DISTANCE EDUCATORS NEED TO SPEND LESS TIME TO BE EQUIVALENTLY
EFFECTIVE ANOTHER RESEARCH QUESTION FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION SCIENTISTS.
Volume 4, Issue 4 Distance Learning 99

And Finally …
The Dirty Little Secret
Teaching Online Takes Less Time
Michael Simonson
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
—Parkinson’s Law
“Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (Fireside chat, February 23, 1942)
“Dost thou love life Then do not squander time; that’s the stuff life is made of.”
—Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, June, 1746
Michael Simonson, Editor, Distance Learning,
and Program Professor, Programs in Instructional
Technology and Distance Education,
Fischler School of Education, Nova Southeastern
University, 1750 NE 167 St., North
Miami Beach, FL 33162. Telephone: (954)
262-8563. E-mail: simsmich@nsu.nova.edu
Time, specifically, the saving of time,
may be one of the most significant
contributions of distance learning
to formal education. College students save
time when they do not have to drive to
campus. High schoolers save time when
they access resources in class online and do
not have to walk to the media center. Doctors
save time when they interview distant
specialists about an illness, and sales staff
save time when they learn about new
products on the sales floor, rather than in
the training room.
Most who study distance education are
beginning to document the potential and
real savings in time for distant learners, but
what about teachers and trainers The conventional
wisdom is that teaching at a distance
takes more time than conventional
teaching or training, but other than anec-
… continues on page 99
100 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4