Content area
Full text
Introduction
Distance education has rapidly evolved over the past decade. While courses have been delivered at a distance for more than a century (Valentine, 2002), as recently as the 1990s, traditional brick-and-mortar universities continued to engage students in paper-based correspondence courses, using course packets and the postal service as a primary means of delivering content and materials. The progression of distance education over the past decade can be attributed mostly to factors related to technology, including the proliferation of the Internet and other digital and networked learning tools.
Before the advent of the Internet, distance education relied on audiocassettes, television, radio, and print materials (Bates, 2005). While the future of distance education continues to lie with the Internet and the World Wide Web, new forms of software, communication technologies, and learning platforms are fuelling a move from one-way transmission of knowledge to two-way, interactive communication and collaboration between instructors and students (Bates, 2005; Sumner, 2000). Early distance courses did not necessarily rely solely on one-way communication, but there was often a significant delay in response time. Students had to rely on mail or the telephone to receive feedback or interact with their instructor. Interaction can now occur through a variety of digital means, including blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and podcasts, helping to alleviate problems arising from the lack of face-to-face contact (Beldarrain, 2006). Although delayed response and interaction still exist, there is a marked improvement in communication in present-day forms of online learning when compared to those of the past.
Distance education research continues to inform the way practitioners operate in this environment. As more becomes known about student preferences, instructional strategies, and assessment methods, the online classroom experience keeps on improving. Yet, despite the efforts that influence the growth and effectiveness of online education, skepticism remains, particularly from the point of view of some traditional educators (Casey, 2008). One reason for this uncertainty is the lack of understanding about how best to replicate many of the elements of the "live" classroom experience in an online environment, as the risk of reduced interaction among students and with the instructor in an online course triggers significant concern. Research findings repeatedly emphasize the fact that students participating in distance education programs experience dissatisfaction for a number...