Effective teaching techniques and practices in an Internet-based distance education environment.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Educators today face the challenges of an information explosion and a continuing technology revolution. Adult learners, compelled to upgrade job skills while maintaining jobs and raising families, frequently choose a form of distance education. Higher education also faces “Tidal Wave II”, an expected increase of two million college students between 2000 and 2010. Couple the need for life-long learning with the rapidly growing population, and the projections of increasing numbers of individuals seeking higher education in the next two decades presents an overwhelming demand upon educational institutions. One solution is distance education.
The Internet is a particularly appealing way in which to offer distance education courses for a variety of reasons including: the global scope of the audience, the ability of students to conduct their studies at any place and any time of the night or day that is convenient, and easy access to current information about a variety of topics. While many colleges are rushing to offer distance education courses over the Internet, very little has been done to determine effective techniques to facilitate student learning using this medium.
The purpose of this study was to address four distinct research questions pertaining to Internet-base distance education. (1) Which methods and technologies are perceived by instructors of classes offered in an Internet-based distance education environment to be effective in that environment? (2) Is there a difference in the perceived effectiveness of methods and technologies based on amount of experience teaching Internet-based or Internet-augmented classes? (3) What types of personal interaction are perceived to work well in negating the lack of direct classroom contact? (4) What are perceived as the effects of distance education on student mastery of subject material? A survey was sent via email to professors of online classes to determine their perceptions regarding these questions. Interesting circumstances conducting the survey yielded some recommendations that are not a direct result of the responses to the survey instrument.