Many educators and the public are interested in online distance education, in particular Internet-based schooling. The underlying assumption is that this is a new and untested fad in education. This is due in part to a lack of documentation within academia of the early development of online distance education, and, in part, to a shortage of experienced, practicing online schools. On the Internet, one may become confused by the flurry of activity and by the various claims from organizations that they are providing a revolutionary method of instruction--online teaching. Furthermore, many people are unaware of the long and distinguished history of distance education itself that is the root of current day Internet-based schooling. Despite the uncertainty, the public is clearly demanding o...

As distance education schools grow in popularity, contemporary educators are raising important instructional questions about quality of these programs. A vital question involves concerns about the level of interactivity or interaction between students and between teachers and students. Interactivity is a challenging subject because there are few research studies that address the issue. It is a dynamic entity that involves a number of important elements, but the researcher stressed three vital elements: communication, participation, and feedback. The study highlights research results from a survey of students who were pursuing on-line graduate degrees (masters and doctoral). Important distance education issues are discussed such as feedback from professors and the quality of academic dialo...

The purpose of this book is to define and explain concepts in distance learning academia. The intended audience are students, faculty, staff and managers at tertiary education organizations. The ten chapters elucidate factors, concepts and trends which increasingly effect the academic environment of distance learning, such as: -creativity -communication practices -culture, identity and equity -academic freedom -goodstudy habits -ethics -OpenEducational Resources (OER) -networking -Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

While distance education is solidly entrenched in the American educational scene, clinical training using distance learning technology is not yet so clearly accepted. A review of the literature found very few studies of the use of Internet technology for clinical training. This study used semi-structured interviews combined with Giorgi's method of phenomenological analysis of experiences of students and site supervisors involved in the Amridge University clinical training program. The purpose of the study was to examine the process by which master's degree students are able to construct their professional identity in a virtual environment. Both supervisors and students reported phenomenological evidence that professional identity can in fact be constructed through group interactions based ...

Recent national efforts to coordinate and promote higher education in the fire service led to this national survey of fire service degree programs. The main purpose of the study was to gather descriptive information concerning fire service degree programs offered at two-year and four-year accredited institutions. A second purpose of the study was to identify the perceptions fire service degree program coordinators/directors hold concerning current and future issues affecting their programs. The information collected as part of the study can be used in a variety of ways from benchmarking among fire service degree programs to assistance and support with policy formation at the local, state, and federal level. Of the 248 institutions identified for this study, 222 (89.52 percent) were...