The nation seems to have suddenly awoken to the reality that for-profit academic institutions are a force to be reckoned with. For so long, they have been ignored as inconsequential, second-rate competition, and vilified for their greed and lack of quality. Two events have changed their image into something far more formidable: (1) the realization…

Considers the role of the teacher in distance education. Topics discussed include professional knowledge; differences from conventional teaching, including increased interpersonal distance, reduced interaction, loss of feedback, and interference in message transfer; and reflecting on context, learners, and methods. (23 references) (LRW)

Argues that "low-tech" instructional television works as well as expensive high-tech systems. Asserts that good teaching with appropriately designed and operated technology is as effective as traditional instruction and more cost effective than more technologically sophisticated delivery systems. (SK)

Compares factors required for a successful distance education course to requirements for designing a unit of instruction using instructional systems design (ISD). Application of these requirements to video teletraining is discussed to demonstrate that teaching ISD may be accomplished by teaching preservice teachers how to design a distance…

Suggests individual educational technologists have developed a variety of work styles including those characterized as: knowledge expert, executive manager, social-analyst, and specialist. These styles of working, based upon work behaviors of educational technologists at Great Britain's Open University, are compared in terms of practices, focuses,…

This study examined the interrelationship between the support system and learning materials of a distance learning source and the influence this relationship has on students' experiences and approaches to learning. Learners' experiences with two different distance learning courses which used the same learning materials but different support…

Presents the author's reflections on his first experience of tutoring on an online course. Compares online courses with their classroom and distance learning equivalents from the point of view of both tutors and learners. Examines the multiple roles of the online tutor and the advantages and disadvantages of online courses. (JMV)

Describes the evolution of distance education courses at the University of South Carolina and the results of a study of students who participated in those courses. Highlights include student performance and reactions of both students and faculty to the telecourses. (Author/CLB)

Studies may not help to determine cost-effectiveness of distance or mediated education for several reasons: difficulty gathering data; many costs are not intrinsic to technology, but a result of decisions made; and difficulty in comparing costs of different mediated programs. Cost-effectiveness of technology can be determined by designing and…

Suggests eight parameters as criteria for describing and comparing distance education/open learning institutions: target population, dimensions of openness, organizational structure, design and development of learning materials, use of advanced technology, teaching/tutoring system, student support systems, and interinstitutional collaboration. (35…

It is argued that because the term "dropout" has different meanings in different systems of distance education, it is difficult to compare dropout rates of two or more distance education universities. Two very different European distance education systems, the FernUniversitat in West Germany and the Swedish system, are examined.…

Presents a categorization of distance education methodologies in the form of a taxonomy that compares correspondence study-based distance education approaches with telecommunications-based approaches. Interaction between teachers and students and between students themselves in the distance learning process is highlighted, and a new definition of…

Describes organizational structure of Deakin University (which teaches on and off campus), compares distance education with face-to-face education, lists advantages of distance education, and predicts distance education will rise in status and expand in role due to its suitability for adult students and because of technological developments,…

Provides an overview of this issue focusing on relationships between instructional design (ID) and classroom teachers. Topics addressed include ID in teacher planning, including the systems approach; teachers' understanding of learning theory; instructional planning; a comparison of experiences of educators who were trained in ID; and distance…

Discussion of elements in the learning process focuses on an analytical framework to assist in the selection of educational technology that will support the learning process. Highlights include a comparison of print, video, computer-based tutorial, and teacher-student discussion and the use of multimedia in the Open University (United Kingdom).…