Historical and Theoretical
Perspectives
in Distance Learning
EDCI 591Z
What’s DE again??
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Why is there all this debate and confusion
about the definition of distance education?
Keegan’s Main Elements
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Quasi-permanent separation of teacher and
learner throughout the learning process
Involvement of an educational organization
Mediated communication of content
Two-way communication between teacher and
learners
Historical Perspectives
Developments in
Distance Education
Correspondence Courses
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Although isolated examples came earlier, the
first widespread use of distance education
occurred in parallel with the development of
reliable mail delivery systems in Europe and
America in the latter part of the 19th century.
Print-based correspondence study proliferated,
correspondence schools were created, and
traditional universities began authorizing
courses.
Correspondence Courses
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The University of Wisconsin developed short
courses and farmers’ institutes that formed the
foundation for a university extension service.
Correspondence courses were offered to
secondary schools as early as 1906 in
Baltimore and in the 1920s in Michigan and
Nebraska.
Radio
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In the 1920s and 1930s, educational radio
stations proliferated as over 200 educational
radio stations were licensed.
The Ohio School of the Air, launched in 1929
by Ohio State, was an early model of the use
of radio as an educational medium.
However, by 1940, this experiment had ended.
Television
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In the 1930s and 1940s, experimental
television programming was launched
(including a novel approach of delivery from a
flying airplane here at Purdue).
In 1950, Iowa State University launched the
first regular educational television station.
Later, 242 channels were set aside for public
(then called educational) television stations.
In 1951, Western Reserve University offered
credit courses via television.
Major Efforts
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The founding of Britain’s Open University in
1971 marked a major development in distance
education.
New York State’s Empire State College
(NYSES), founded in 1971, was the first U.S.
open university.
Major U.S. universities today include
Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn State, New York
Institute of Technology, and New Jersey
Institute of Technology.
Recent Technology Developments
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Cable and satellite delivery of TV in the 1970s
and 1980s.
Emergence of computer-mediated distance
education in the 1980s.
Development of two-way interactive video
systems in the 1980s.
Explosive growth of the Internet and World
Wide Web in the 1990s.
Theoretical Perspectives
Understanding DE
Value of Theory
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A theory explains past observations and
provides a framework for making predictions.
Major Theories in DE
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Theory of Independence and Autonomy
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Theory of Industrialization of Education
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Theory of Interaction and Communication
Group Activity
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As a group, identify what you think are the key
points of the theoretical perspective of DE that
you have been given.
Create 2-3 Powerpoint slides that summarize
these key points.
Independent Study and Autonomy
Theory of Independent Study –
Charles Wedemeyer
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A wider choice in courses, formats and
methodologies are offered to students.
Learning can occur regardless of distance or
separation of instructor from students.
Wedemeyer - Continued
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Students do their learning at their own pace.
Greater responsibility is placed on the learner.
Believed the relationship between student and
instructor should be developed
Theory of Independent Study:
Michael Moore
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Classified distance education programs as
“autonomous” or “nonautonomous” – as
determined by the three elements of
objectives, methods, and evaluation.
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Believed high degree of responsibility must be
placed on the learner.
Wedemeyer & Moore
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Emphasized individualized learning and
ignored collaborative learning.
Industrialization of Teaching
Industrialization of Teaching
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Education is a Product
Planning for mass production:
–
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Segmentation of roles
–
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Instructional design including prep work, planning, organization
Assembly lines, division of labor, change of function
Delivery
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Standardization, formalization, scientific control methods
Centralization of Instruction
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Standardization
Organization
Objectified teaching
Concentration of available resources
–
Administration
Learner’s Role
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Standardized content
Non-constructivist
Few choices
Passive role
Teacher’s role
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Standardized delivery
across formats
Few choices in delivery
Didactic
Split functions
Theory of Interaction and
Communication
Background Assumptions (1985)
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Core of teaching is interaction
Emotional involvement
– Friendly personal tone and easy access
Motivation:
– Student likes what they are doing
– Part of decision making about learning
Student demonstrates what they learn
Theory Expansion (1995)
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Learners are diverse
Society benefits from DL
All learning is covered
Study individualized with structured material
DL works for all instructional theories
Communication and connections among all
parties
Subject to same pitfalls of “The Professor”
Other Theoretical Perspectives
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Theory of Equivalency
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Communication Theory
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Social Constructivism
Theory of Equivalency
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The more equivalent the experiences of distant
learners are to those of traditional learners, the
more similar will be the learning outcomes.
Communication Theory
Social Constructivism
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In a departure from Keegan, who viewed DE
as an isolated learning environment, many
researchers today are focusing on
collaborative web-based learning environments
that offer opportunities for social construction
of knowledge ala Vygotsky.
The End