Issues in Distance Education: A Primer for Higher Education Decision Makers

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (173) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Beaudoin
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wawrzinek ◽  
Guido Ellert ◽  
Claas Christian Germelmann

This conceptual paper looks into the question of what purpose and which superordinate strategic goals can be identified for higher education. Because of the large variety of different purposes and goals in the existing literature, there’s a need for integrative models and frameworks that help to manage the complex challenges which higher education is facing in an increasingly complex world. Based on the theoretical perspective of Service Dominant Logic (SD-logic), a holistic higher education strategy system model is presented, allowing higher education decision makers and managers a better understanding and consequently the measurement of strategical higher education goals. Irrespective of the branch of study, the HESM can be used as a decision-making aid in operative tasks regarding curriculum creation and optimization of teaching and learning contents.


2022 ◽  
pp. 533-553
Author(s):  
Jessica Reuter ◽  
Marta Ferreira Dias ◽  
Marlene Amorim ◽  
Mara Madaleno ◽  
Claúdia Veloso

Innovative educational methods such as gamification are gaining ground in more formal environments and have great potential to improve learning in education. However, the implementation of this strategy in the classroom is assumed to be a complex practice for beginners and requires the development of new competencies by educators. This chapter aims to contribute to the advancement of knowledge about the main competencies needed for educators to perform as facilitators of educational games. The study was developed through critical literature review, interviews, and questionnaires. The outcome is the development of a framework of competencies of an educator willing to use game-based learning. The study highlights the importance of institutional support to boost the development of pedagogical, technological, and social skills among educators. The conclusions of the chapter are valuable for educators aiming to adopt game-based learning and to higher education decision makers committed to expanding innovative learning contexts on their institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-66
Author(s):  
Izabela Cytlak

Purpose – To identify the main challenges experienced at local Higher Educational Institutions by students while studying online during the pandemic. The research will find out the difficulties faced, and detect the areas to improve in further implementation of distance education in the country. Motivation - Only about 11% of applicants have been accepted to High Educational Institutions in Uzbekistan for the last two years. The integration and development of distance learning will create opportunities for more young and middle-aged people who do not have enough resources to study in a traditional way. Due to the pandemic, all the educational institutions had to transfer into the online teaching system. This unexpected situation made both teachers and students of Uzbekistan face the challenges. At the same time, it created an opportunity to experience remote teaching and learning, which can become a groundwork on approval and application of distance education in Uzbekistan. Design/Methodology/Approach – Quantitative type of research was implemented. The questionnaire was designed and the students who experienced remote learning during the pandemic at least for one semester were invited to participate. Implications – The results of the research can be implied to develop educational policy in the Higher Education system of Uzbekistan. The outcomes of surveys were analyzed to understand how the findings can be implemented in the Higher Education of Uzbekistan. Moreover, the conclusions of the research may constitute recommendations for decision-makers in the field of higher education (rectors and dean's authorities of universities).


No teaching method has evolved as much as distance education, in the state of Amazonas this would not be different, especially in higher education. Distance Education is a modality where the student is separated from the teacher and uses several communication technologies around all his learning. The methods used were bibliographic, documentary and quantitative. The researched environment was the capital city of Manaus and the municipality of Maués, with the application of the closed questionnaire aimed at higher education students. Our objective was to question certain nuances as their benefits and challenges for those who study Distance Education in the different locations of the State of Amazonas. The result was the realization that among its many advantages in the execution of education, time is considered the main one, and the loss of deadlines its greatest disadvantage, besides the concept of distance education is already well known by university students. Thus, it is well known that with the passing of time and with the progress of the state's modernization, distance education is gradually becoming the most practical means of teaching.


Author(s):  
Сергей Александрович Грязнов

Технологии меняют образ жизни и деятельность человека. Глобальная сеть Интернет облегчает быстрый доступ к полезной информации. Социальная, культурная и образовательная конкурентоспособность находятся под влиянием образовательных технологий, которые положительно влияют на стиль, продолжительность и метод обучения в высших учебных заведениях. Дистанционное образование возможно применять и как полноценную самодостаточную форму, и как дополнение к классическому обучению в аудиториях. Автор рассматривает в статье дистанционную форму обучения как альтернативу традиционной форме преподавания в вузах на время периодов самоизоляции (пандемии, сезонные карантины), а также как дополнение к традиционным формам обучения. Анализируются проблемные и положительные аспекты применения данной формы. Указаны возможные форматы обучения в условиях дистанционного образования. Выделены сильные и слабые стороны использования некоторых технологий. Technologies alter the way of living and work of a person. The Internet world network makes it easier to quickly access useful information. Social, cultural and educational competitiveness are influenced by educational technologies that positively influence the style, duration and method of education in higher education institutions. Distance education can be used as a full-fledged self-sufficient form, or as a Supplement to classical training in classrooms. The author considers distance learning as an alternative to the traditional form of teaching in higher education institutions during periods of self-isolation (pandemics, seasonal quarantines), as well as as an addition to traditional forms of education. The problem and positive aspects of using this form are analyzed. Possible formats of training in the conditions of distance education are specified. The strengths and weaknesses of the use of certain technologies are highlighted.


Public Voices ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Mark Peterson

"Distance education" at the college level is well over a century old.  It has served the needs of a numerically large, but proportionately small population of learners who have eschewed the campus classroom.  These correspondence school enrollees, educational TV watchers, and audiocassette listeners have had only modest impact on the structure, mission, and strategy of the institutions serving them.  But that is now changing, and changing very dramatically.  The advent of the Internet, interactive television technology, and web-based instructional software, coupled with administrative and political perceptions of educational reformation and fiscal efficiency, may be causing nothing less than a revolution in higher education.  By applying a feminist model of assessment called "unthinking technology," that is to say, exploring the potential, but unthought of socio-political aspects of this technological revolution, this paper raises significant questions about the security of the traditional academic enterprise.  "The Politics of Distance Education" urges a pro-active embrace of these technologies by the academy in order to enable a legitimate "competency for grievance" so that the protection of the validity of higher education, and legitimacy of the academic profession can be ethically defended and publicly respected, rather than being viewed as mulish resistance to the inevitable.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Venugopal Prabhakar Gantasala ◽  
Swapna Bhargavi Gantasala ◽  
Tareq Na'el Al Tawil ◽  
Prerana Prasad

PurposeThe intention for this study was to explore any relationship that might exist between quality of learning experience (QLE), the second construct student satisfaction (SS) and the third construct perceived overall experience (POE) among undergraduate students within the higher education context. This study also attempts to explain the path direction between QLE, SS and POE.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers utilized structural equation modeling to analyze the variables considered for this study – QLE, SS and POE and for hypotheses testing. Respondents for this study were medical students' coordinators of the undergraduate level of medical colleges in the 28 states of India. Data collected for the study were possible by utilizing a questionnaire that was emailed to these student coordinators. The emailing effort returned 198 (n) filled questionnaires (complete) representing 198 institutions offering undergraduate-level medical programs out of a total of 542 institutions that offer undergraduate medical programs.FindingsFindings from this study confirm the relationship between QLE with SS, and PLE. Interestingly, the findings established a significant relationship between SS and POE.Practical implicationsDecision-makers and administrators of higher education institutions (HEIs) can utilize the findings from this study to focus on strengthening important elements of QLE in ways that positively impact SS and POE of students taking online courses and program offerings. The study reiterates the importance of course content, course structure, lecture-delivery quality, instructor mentoring and student-instructor interactions on SS and POE. The role of SS in reinforcing confirmation, perceived usefulness, perceived openness of the online courses and the perceived reputation was established. This relationship is key to administrators while they focus on improving SS and building on the institutions' reputation in addition to their efforts to support marketing and enrollments during the pandemic.Originality/valueResearchers in the past have examined the relationships between QLE and another construct of this study – SS. Past research has also examined the relationship between QLE and POE. However, there is not enough research exploring the relationship between SS and POE. This study establishes the relationship between SS and POE that benefits decision-makers in higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Chen ◽  
Angela Yung Chi Hou ◽  
Lei Huang

PurposeThis paper aimed to explore the development of distance education (DE) in Chinese higher education as well as the three significant themes: accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE and the performance of these three themes in Chinese DE.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis was used as the major research method in this study to examine the development and challenges in terms of accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE. In this study, national-level official policy documents and reports from the Chinese government were collected and analyzed. Also, scientific articles from CNKI were analyzed to find out the evolution of the Frontier topics on Chinese DE in accessibility, quality and equity.FindingsThere are three major findings. First, the Chinese government has shown its positive attitude toward DE in higher education. Second, compared with the other two themes: quality and equity; the number of articles in the accessibility of DE was lower than the other two themes and the problems of accessing online courses were insufficiently caused by two reasons due to lack of basic ICT literacy and poor Internet infrastructure. Third, there was a gap between Chinese policies and research articles mainly because of the unbalanced development of accessibility in policy management and research articles.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this paper has summarized the development of the DE in Chinese higher education, it was clear that accessibility, quality and equity were three critical issues in DE. However, there are still other essential factors that contribute to the development of DE that requires further investigation, such as learner satisfaction, different features of learning platforms and instructional strategy.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper can be used to identify the attitude toward the DE of the Chinese government. Besides, the accessibility could be a research and practical focus for Chinese DE in the future.Originality/valueThis study showed some significant policies released by the Chinese government toward DE in higher education and revealed the achievements, trends and challenges in the accessibility, quality and equity of Chinese DE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-47
Author(s):  
David Steiner

Education leaders know that they should use research when choosing interventions for their schools, but they don’t always know how to read the research that is available. David Steiner explains some of the reasons that reading research is a low priority for educators on the front lines and offers some guidance for determining whether research results are meaningful without an extensive background in statistics. Ideally, education decision makers should look for randomized control trials with high effect sizes and low p-values.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document