Explores the nature of psychological distance in distance learning and identifies student support issues. Presents initial findings from a pilot study at the University of Plymouth (United Kingdom) comparing the experiences of remote and local students, including gender issues, individual differences in approaches to study, and expectations.…

Discussion of instructional design for distance education compares team-based and faculty-driven design approaches based on three online graduate degree programs in two disciplinary areas. Discusses design considerations for online graduate distance education, including needs analysis, content and task analysis, and media selection and design; and…

Investigated how stakeholder interests influenced one state's efforts to provide online undergraduate degree programs to meet workforce needs. Describes the use of an embedded qualitative case study design; discusses findings that showed that the interests of some stakeholder groups prevailed at the expense of other groups; and suggests further…

Describes a study that explored best practices for community building in university Web-based learning environments. Explains use of embedded case study design and discusses results that indicated that incorporating community-building strategies during course design, and encouraging interactions between participants during the course, can…

Considers the issues related to conducting qualitative inquiries in online settings for distance education and the implications for using electronic means in interviews and observation. Topics include attitudes and perceptions of online learning; epistemological viewpoints of qualitative research; and a comparison of interview techniques,…

Discussion of the effectiveness of distance education presents a framework for understanding three of the primary variables that comprise the design and delivery of distance education: teaching method, media attributes, and delivery mode; and emphasizes the importance of discriminating between them when evaluating instruction. Considers online…

Discusses course material organization for Web-based courses that rely on the instructor's mental models of organization and describes a study that was conducted to determine if a discrepancy exists between instructor organization and student expectations of where to find materials. Highlights include a theoretical framework; categorization; and…

Discussion of the increasing access to technology that is being used in higher education for distance education courses focuses on a Masters course offered through Penn State's World Campus. Topics include characteristics of adult learners; successful online learning communities; and changes in student perceptions regarding technology use, course…

Discusses the effectiveness of interactive televised (ITV) distance education and describes a study that measured constructs that contributed to graduate student satisfaction with ITV courses. Considers instructor's communication skills, teaching skills, instructor accessibility, course management, course content, quality of technology, on-campus…

Reviews the literature related to creating effective learning groups in face-to-face and virtual environments for distance education using research from cooperative learning, computer-mediated communication, organizational development, and group dynamics. Highlights include creating the groups, structuring the learning activities, and facilitating…

Discusses the training needs of preservice and inservice teachers to become successful in making the transition from face-to-face instruction to distance education. Recommends a transitional stage, using modules to scaffold student learning, and describes a course of study that included four projects using the Internet and Web sites. (LRW)

Describes a study that evaluated the effectiveness of two different approaches to training staff to support videoconferencing in higher education. Analysis of data suggests that the characteristics of the technology and its limitations my have contributed more to the perceived effectiveness than the amount and type of training that the tutor had…

This national study explored the nature of distance education at 67 land-grant institutions as perceived by administrators. Reports results that showed most administrators associated distance learning with instructional technologies; most believed distance education was very important to institutional survival; and institutions are increasingly…

Provides information, strategies, and activities designed specifically to aid instructors and students in developing collaborative group processes that promote teamwork in an online environment. Outlines an instructional module that was developed and formatively tested with graduate students, and describes a workshop designed for faculty members…

Proposes a three-level framework for classifying elearning (electronic learning) interactions in distance education. Illustrates how the framework may be used to design and sequence electronic learning interactions, analyze planned interactions to reduce the need for costly revisions, and organize research to help interpret findings and guide…