Remote and widely dispersed clientele in Alaska create a need for effective distance-delivery programs. Extension agents often travel via small airplane, snow machine, or boat to teach face-to-face classes in off-road communities. Effective and more cost-efficient delivery methods are needed. We taught a course for beginning farmers residing…

Telephone conference presentation delivery was compared to face-to-face classroom delivery in an undergraduate business course setting to assess whether concern over presenting in front of the class and/or gender impacted presentation mode preference. After completing a classroom exercise, students (n = 102) were surveyed and asked to compare…

This paper explores the use of videoconferencing as used in English schools, drawing on data collected over seven years from a number of funded and unfunded projects. A common theme emerging from across these investigations is that the educational use of videoconferencing technology in schools is not a unitary phenomenon. Rather, different…

Higher education students can and do take courses delivered in a variety of ways. But, to date, little research has been done on the effectiveness of different delivery modes. This study sought to fill that void by comparing the effectiveness of three undergraduate course delivery modes: classroom, online, and video conference at a technical…

Online learning environments are more prevalent in teacher education than ever before. In 2009, many instructors are attempting to emulate traditional instructional methods in the online learning environment as much as possible. Online courses are separated into two categories, (1) asynchronous; and (2) synchronous, depending on the nature of the…

Introduction: Videoconferencing (VC) is becoming a common method for the delivery of continuing education (CE) to clinicians in remote locations. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness, acceptability, and costs of a full-day training workshop (TW) delivered through two different formats: face-to-face (FTF) and VC. The TW was…

This study is the first assessment of the long term effects of computer conferencing. The use of PLANET and FORUM are described, and major users and conference characteristics are presented through excerpts from conference transcripts. Part I of the report focuses on the ways in which organizations used computer conferencing. Conference size and…

Discussion of collaborative learning techniques focuses on an empirical study that explored the impact on nontraditional higher education students of using asynchronous conferencing technology to complete collaborative teamwork. Highlights include gender differences; differences between face-to-face and asynchronous collaboration; and…

Reports on a descriptive study of the effects of remoteness on the attitude levels of secondary school students taking audiographic teleconferencing courses. Attitudes of students taking courses on site with a teacher were compared to those of students taking the courses at remote locations. No significant differences were found. (52 references)…

This paper argues that recent developments in technology hold considerable promise for distance education. Audiocassettes, audiographics (the combining of natural sound, via the telephone or audiocassettes, with computer-generated graphics), videocassettes, and computer conferencing are used as examples to identify factors that should be…

Presents personal reflections of a distance education teacher in two settings: a graduate course that used audiographics conferencing and computer mediated communication; and a traditional class that incorporated online computer discussions. Highlights include skills needed for distance education teaching, learner-centered instruction, and…

This study was designed to determine whether there was a difference in either the overall frequency or the frequency of specific types of student verbal interactions under three conditions: (1) teleconferenced instruction where students had two-way audio and video contact with the instructor; (2) teleconferenced instruction where students had only…

An experiment in problem-solving was conducted in which one group of students used computer conferencing for continual public exchanges of ideas through asynchronous meetings, and another group used class discussion groups, while attempting to solve a legal problem in a course in consumer law. Student success rates for solving the assigned problem…

This paper presents a definition of distance education and a rationale for it both in pragmatic, problem-solving terms and in relation to a larger view of society. The geographic, political, educational, and technological context of distance education in Canada is then discussed. Traditional correspondence courses, satellite-delivered credit and…

This paper presents the findings of a study comparing the amount of interactivity generated in three different instructional settings: face-to-face instruction in a television classroom, real time instruction via microwave (two-way interactive video), and audioteleconference instruction supplemented with prerecorded videos. The study was conducted…