Graduate Research Papers

Availability

Open Access Graduate Research Paper

Keywords

Distance education; Internet in education;

Abstract

As much as the explosive growth of electronic communication, things have changed in business, education and our society. Many professionals are thinking about the training and skill base in the area of technologies. How can instructors translate their teaching skills in a successful teaching online (Addesso, 2000). Coldeway (1988) acknowledges that the focus of most distance education institutions is on the technology but suggests that the research is shifting to the more human side of distance learning as the programs age. Using the current research on the problems addressed, as well as philosophies and theories implemented in online environments, this paper is intended to present information related to a more human side of online education. While much of the research done to date has centered around the use of new technologies for teaching and distance education's effectiveness as a teaching medium, this paper will discuss the non-technology, more human side, issues in online education. The purpose of this paper is focus on three aspects: 1. How should teachers prepare themselves to adjust the online environment in terms of teachers' attitude, knowledge, role, skills needed? 2. How can learners be successful in online learning? The factors that need to be considered include the special needs of distance learners, and the issues of characteristics of distance learners, learning style and motivation. 3. How to design meaningful interaction in online learning environment? Though this paper might only scratch the surface of those related issues, it concludes that the non-technology factors can not be overlooked and are equally important for an effective online education. Hopefully, further research will be done by educators and researchers in the area of distance education.

Year of Submission

2001

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Division of Educational Technology

First Advisor

Sharon E. Smaldino

Second Advisor

Mary C. Herring

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this graduate research paper and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with the URL.

Date Original

2001

Object Description

1 PDF file (31 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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