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Session 2620

A Study in Use of Technology in Distance Education and On-line Learning Azim Danesh, Munir Mandviwalla, Chang Liu Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg / Temple University /Shippensburg University

Introduction

With the advent of the Internet online/distance education gaining popularity, everyday more and more colleges are introducing new online courses. Computer and telecommunication technological advances have provided alternatives to the traditional classroom setting. Technology and interaction software are the basic blocks of the online courses. While distance education and online learning overcome many barriers and allow learners and educators many new opportunities over the traditional education, it also introduces many shortcomings and challenges.

This paper will review different studies regarding communication, distance education and the use of technology in online courses. It will focus on technology issues in the area of interaction and communication. The processes involved and the problems that exist will be identified and discussed. As part of the research, a survey regarding these issues will be given to students who have tried online education and the results will be evaluated.

Historical Definition and Background

The concept of distance education is not new; universities have been offering correspondence courses since the nineteenth century (McIsaac & Gunawardena , 1996). In fact, the foundation of a correspondence course at the Illinois State University in 1874 has been credited as the start of distance education at the university level in the United States (Rumble & Harry, 1982). Distance education is primarily made up of four types of media: print, voice, video, and computer (Charles, 1991). Because of the sharp increase in the use of the computer, the use of distance education in higher education has increased dramatically. According to a U.S. Department of Education study (“ED Study..., “ 1997), about ninety percent of all higher education institutions with enrollments of ten thousand or more will be offering some form of distance education by the fall of 1998; seventy-six percent were offering distance education programs in the fall of 1995.

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Mandviwalla, M., & Liu, C., & Danesh, A. (2000, June), A Study In Use Of Technology In Distance Education And On Line Learning Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8726