The Internet and Distance Education
Distance education is a form of education in which “the reaching and learning process involves activities where the learners are at a distance from the originator of the teaching material” (Phipps 1999), so that face-to-face communication is absent. Although the initial idea of distance learning dates back to over one hundred years ago, it is especially transforming education today because of the immediacy with which it can occur and the types of interactions now possible over such great distances. As university students become increasingly aware of the Internet and its applications, institutions of higher education are beginning to realize the potential of the Internet in the role of distance education. Indeed, as the application of Internet-technologies to educational systems continues to grow stronger, so too does the practice of distance education.
How does Internet education differ from face-to-face
interaction?
• The Internet does not restrict education geographically whereas face-to-face
education does. Because of distance learning, students who live in remote areas
will no longer have to travel great distances to get to classes or to access
educational materials (Southard 428).
• With the use of electronic mail, students can maintain one-to-one correspondence
with teachers. Prior to e-mail, students had to make appointments with instructors,
which oftentimes proved difficult as schedules differed. Moreover, students
can receive feedback from professors more quickly using e-mail.
• The Internet can be used to post answers to common questions asked by
students so that other students may benefit. It is also a convenient way to
access a vast array of sources to facilitate assignments and essays. The World
Wide Web also offers instructors the option to create a classroom homepage with
information such as the course syllabus, exercises, and specific links to other
sites that directly relate to course content (“Education
and the Internet”)
Problems with Distance Education
The development of technologies for distance education has triggered
a number of conditions previously nonexistent in the educational arena. For
instance (American
Association of University Professors):
• In distance education the teacher does not have the traditional face-to-face
interaction with the student typical in traditional classroom settings. Resultantly,
there is a need designing and implanting special means for assigning, guiding,
and assessing student work.
• In order to communicate with his or her students, teachers are frequently
forced to utilize sophisticated and expensive technological devices which are
not under their exclusive control and which often require special technical
knowledge that teachers might not fully possess.
• A teacher’s syllabus, lectures, examinations, and other course
materials may be copied, recorded, or reused without his or her presence.
Indeed, distance learning certainly differs from traditional methods used in
the classroom, and as such, traditional academic principles and procedures do
not necessarily apply to its circumstances. As such, there are a number of new
policy issues that must be addressed (Sherry
1996):
• new forms of assessment evaluation, including means to insure that student
work is original and authentic
• a set of nationally accepted institutional accreditation standards to
insure the quality of distance education
• a nationally accepted set of teacher certification standards which meet
a minimum criterion, including training in distance education theory, methods,
and strategies
• the need for cooperation among business, government, and education services
• the technology training and accessibility for all, not just for progressive
students and teachers.
Possible Outcomes of Distance Learning
According to “Education
and the Internet,” there are three possible outcomes that can result
from incorporating the Internet into higher education.
Scenario 1: Faculty and students resist the advancement of
distance learning into their schools.
The consequences for students who attend a school that completely extinguishes
distance learning from the delivery of education are obvious:
• Students would be unable to take advantage of all the benefits offered
by Internet distance learning.
• Students would be lag behind in a world that is moving forward with
the incorporation of information technologies into virtually every job and area
of research.
Scenario 2: Schools completely incorporate the Internet into
their curricula and reduce the delivery of traditional face-to-face education.
Such an outcome would of course have important implications for both teachers
and students:
• The Internet tends to be time-consuming. As such, the technology associate
with distance learning could put time constraints on the ability of the teacher
to convey lessons as well as the ability of the student to receive them.
• Students’ accessibility to the Internet may limit their ability
to participate in distance courses. Many students cannot afford to purchase
personal computers and can thus only access the Internet on campus.
• Many students are uncomfortable using computers. Since computer illiteracy
puts those inexperienced students at an inherent disadvantage, equal opportunity
is not ensured for all students.
• Distance education via the Internet is more costly than traditional
forms of education.
• Education at higher institutions has a more profound effect on students
than simply feeding them with information; students also learn about themselves
and experience great personal growth. Distance learning does not enable this
opportunity for growth.
Scenario 3: Higher learning institutions incorporate a hybrid
learning system: the incorporation of distance learning into face-to-face methods
in their delivery of education.
Coupling the Internet and face-to-face methods would ensure that students who
are unable access the Internet as well as students who cannot purchase a personal
computer are not at a disadvantage, and moreover, it would not deprive them
of the experience of going away to college.
Policy Recommendations
College and university administrators who are considering creating
or expanding distance-learning programs need to consider several potential legal
issues.
One significant issue is whether the institution has obtained whatever approvals
it needs from the states in which it plans to offer its program. Another is
whether the institution has obtained all of the right to use the intellectual
property involved, and has protected the material from misuse (Steinback
and Lupo).
Indeed, in an attempt to establish a system based on distance education, administrators
must first determine whether their institution needs to obtain approval from
accrediting agencies or higher-education boards in the states where they plan
to offer distance learning programs. Unless an institution is not awarding academic
credit for its classes, or unless it does not have an established “physical
presence” in the state, it will generally require approval. Designing
effective policy is still a nebulous area, however, as state definitions of
“physical presence” vary greatly.
Beyond the realm of state regulations, institutions must also comply with intellectual
property laws relevant to distance-learning programs. Thus, “an institution
must make sure that it has all the necessary rights to the materials and lectures
that it plans to transmit electronically. Administrators need to understand
that copyright includes five independent rights: to reproduce the work, to distribute
or transmit the work, to perform the work in public, to display the work in
public, and to create another work derived or adapted from the first work”
(Steinback
and Lupo).
In short, to help protect themselves from legal liability, colleges and universities
striving to implement distance-learning should develop (and subsequently distribute
to students and faculty) policies that specifically address the following issues:
• Who owns the material produced by faculty members in the distance-learning
program?
• How should the materials be used in accordance with the “fair
use” provisions in the US Copyright Act and with any other existing licenses
or restrictions?
• How can we insure that whoever receives the distance-learning programs
or materials understands and acknowledges that they may not be used without
authorization of the educational institution?
Conclusion
As the Internet and its technology evolve and become an influential
part of everyday life, incorporating online material into the educational infrastructure
becomes essential (“Education
and Society”). Many higher education institutions have recognized
the importance of technologies in education and have incorporated Internet distance
education into their practices. The implementation of the Internet into academic
curricula has resulted in a number of outcomes, some more beneficial than others.
Nevertheless, while there is still significant controversy in determining whether
these effects are beneficial or malignant, we can be certain that they are changing
the relationships between educators and their students as we know it, oftentimes
undermining the traditional instruction technique found in face-to-face methods
to education. While we have considered the various potential outcomes and the
various policy implications associated with a proliferation of distance education,
it is important to remember that there has yet to be any research that confirms
face-to-face interaction as superior to online distance learning, or vice versa.
As such, it appears logical for face-to-face interaction to coexist with Internet
distance learning in a hybrid model in today’s educational system.
Works Cited
Southard, P.A. Dee. "Expanding Horizons: Electronic Communication and Classroom
Teaching in Sociology." Social Science Computer Review 15, no.4, (Winter
1997). Pages 427-430.
Related Links
American Association of University Professors
Statement on Distance Education
http://www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/StDistEd.HTM
American Council on Education
Developing a Distance Education Policy for 21st Century Living
http://www.acenet.edu/washington/distance_ed/2000/03march/distance_ed.html
American Distance Education Consortium
ADEC Guiding Principles for Distance Learning
http://www.adec.edu/admin/papers/distance-learning_principles.html
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Distance Learning in Higher Education
http://www.chea.org/Commentary/distance-learning/distance-learning-3.cfm
Distance Education Policies, Principles, and Guidelines
http://oregonone.org/DEpolicy.htm
Educase Higher Education Policies and Practices
http://www.educause.edu/issues/policy.html
Issues in Distance Learning
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~lsherry/pubs/issues.html#issues
University of Maryland
White Paper from the Chancellor's Symposium on Policy and Distance Education
http://www.umuc.edu/ide/whitepap.html
Oregon Network for Education (ONE)
What is distance education?
http://OregonONE.org/whatis.htm
Web-based Education Commission: U.S. Congress
Commission Policy Issues
http://www.webcommission.org