Dimensions of the Field

Now that you have an idea of the parameters of the field, let's try to sketch out some of the main features, for these will be the subject of our study for the rest of the course. An overview is provided in the remainder of Moore-Kearsley Chapter One. I would like you to read this in three parts.

Open Book First read Distance Education: A Systems View, pages 4-6: "Levels of Distance Education." Do this now and then come back to this page.

Comment: This section describes different organizational structures in which distance education programs are designed and delivered. It is very important to be able to recognize these different levels of organization. The problems, challenges, and opportunities of designing and delivering a course or program in one organizational type are significantly different from others, and it is essential to be able to recognize what kind of organization one is reading about before it is possible to understand what happens there. Stated most simply, "not all distance education organizations are equal." To appreciate the extent of this fact is a good early step towards understanding the field.

On the Web, find an example of a single mode institution, a dual mode institution, an individual teacher program, and a virtual university. Try to identify some of the characteristics of each.

Open Book Read Distance Education: A Systems View, pages 6 and 7.
This section helps you sort out the differences between other terms that are carelessly used and that are important for our study. These are "courses and programs" and "technology and media."

Think about these concepts. Don't just take them for granted as people uneducated in this field do (and so they may because they haven't taken a graduate level course of study!) Reflect in particular on the idea that: "an informative Web site, like an encyclopedia, is not in itself a course." Reflect on: "A far bigger problem is the quality of the media that are produced for distribution via the technology." Can you explain this with an example?

Open Book Read Distance Education: A Systems View, pages 7 and 8: "Why distance education?"
Here Moore-Kearsley introduce some of the reasons why distance education has in the past been popular and why it is especially popular today.

Which of these explanations most closely fits the needs that brought you to distance education yourself? Is there a better explanation than any of these?

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