Editorial
Take Time to Design
Michael G. Moore
Articles
(for abstracts, click here)
Interstate Authorization of Distance Higher Education via Telecommunications:
The Developing National Consensus in Policy
and Practice
Kevin P. Reilly and Kate M. Gulliver
Dimensions of 'Control'
in Distance Education: A Factor Analysis
Myra Baynton
Integrating Computer-Based
Instruction with Computer Conferencing: An Evaluation of a Model for Designing
Online Education
A. C. Lauzon
Learners' Perceptions
of Instructional Delivery Systems: Conventional and Television
M. Winston Egan, Marshall Welch, Brent Page, and Joan Sebastian
Establishing Workload
Equivalence: in dependent Study Courses and College Residence Classes
Ronald F. Malan and Sandra Feller
The Study of Distance
Education in the United States: Programs of Study and Coursework
Connie L. Dillon
Interview
Speaking Personally with Teresa Miaja de la Pena
Patricia Gonzalez Flores
Media Review
Transmission Rights and Wrongs: Using Commercial Video in Distance Education
Gina Molise
Book Reviews
The Foundations of American Distance Education: A Century of Collegiate
Correspondence Study
Edited by Barbara L. Watkins and Stephen J. Wright
John W. Strain
Funding Distance Education
Projects
Edited by Virginia A. Ostendorf
Darcie A. Lincoln
EDITORIAL
Take Time to Design
Michael G. Moore
In "How Long Does it Take?," an article I frequently quote to my students, Chris Lee and Ron Zemke (1987) discuss a number of studies that have attempted to give a rule of thumb regarding how much time is required to design instruction that is to be communicated through electronic or printed media. In some of my recent consulting work, I have found almost without exception that decision makers and advisers are making an almost catastrophic error in underestimating how much time and money are required to ensure the benefits of good distance education programs. This tendency is not limited to any one sector of the distance education field, nor is it an exclusively American phenomenon. In fact, this editorial is being written in a foreign country and is stimulated by numerous instances of the same tendency to expect good results too quickly and too cheaply.
In addressing the question of how much time is needed, Lee and Zemke point out that the answer depends on many variables. Generally, however, it comes down to a question of what quality of product an organization will be satisfied with. You can have it good, fast, or cheap, Lee and Zemke remind us, but you can have only two of these. I'm not convinced you can have good quality very quickly, even if you don't look for cheapness, since a certain time is needed for every act of creativity even when substantial funding is provided. However, the main point is well taken: you cannot produce good quality materials without taking time and investing substantial amounts of money, and if you want to invest small amounts of money and personnel time, lower quality programs must be expected as a consequence of the lower investment.
Lee and Zemke cite a range of estimates of the time required to prepare instructional materials for one hour of student's study time. McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company estimates that one hour of student "contact time" using printed materials requires, for the best quality, some 274 hours of design. Among the conditions leading to this substantial time investment, McDonnell Douglas includes the need for numerous revisions when working with "state of the art" content, substantial research in the subject to be delivered, high quality graphic design, and substantial validation of content. A second significant source is the United States Office of Personnel Management. Its estimate of the production time needed for each hour of presentation of materials designed as "Self-contained for hand off to other instructors" is between fifty hours and 100 hours.
his can be compared with the estimates of Charles Jackson of the U.S. Army, who estimates 100 hours of design for each hour of instruction by print, 200 for video tape, and 300 for computer-based training. In major distance teaching institutions, i.e., those that produce programs of good quality, I estimate that courses that are based on print and recorded audio and video take between fifty and 100 hours of design per hour of instruction.
As Lee and Zemke point out, these estimates are extremely imprecise, and the variability is explained in part by the question of final quality of the product. I believe they are worth quoting, however, because I find many decision makers in educational and other institutions who are contemplating a distance education strategy with absolutely no recognition of the fact that it can take a team of five to ten people a full year to design the equivalent of a one semester three hour course. What I observe is either innocent ignorance of the time needed for design, or a disbelief that it can really need such resources. In either case, the consequence is that an under-resourced design team is desperately overworked; materials are produced that are good under the circumstances, but much below what is possible; and the market is flooded with mediocre materials that threaten to undermine confidence in the distance education approach. It is true that, given enough resources, distance education can provide better quality education at lower average cost to more students than is possible in conventional education. The big condition, however, is that persons with expertise in design and delivery must be found, and the time must be given them to perform their functions to the full.
Reference
Lee, C. and R. Zemke. 1987. How long does it take? Training June:75-80.
Interstate Authorization of Distance Higher Education
via Telecommunications: The Developing National Consensus in Policy and
Practice
Kevin P. Reilly and Kate M. Gulliver
The growing number of colleges seeking to offer distance
education across state lines via telecommunications confronts a welter
of state and other approval requirements. An institution that wants to
operate nationally can face as many state assessments as there are states,
along with additional evaluations by six regional accrediting groups and
any professional or specialized accrediting associations that may be involved.
The chilling effect of this restrictive process of regulation on the development
of strong interstate telecommunications systems is obvious. This article
discusses the policy, legal, and political contexts of this problem, and
describes how a group of states and accreditors has come together to address
it. The result is a new and still-expanding agreement among states to
use the review of a distance education institution in the institution's
home state as part of the approval process in other states in which the
institution seeks to operate.
Dimensions of 'Control' in Distance Education: A Factor Analysis
Myra Baynton
The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions
present in the distance learning situation as experienced by teleconference
and home-study students. Based on a conceptual model of control, this
research explored whether the experiences of distance learners were congruent
with this model. The model conceptualized control as a three factor construct
composed of independence, competence, and support. A questionnaire that
included a 7-point scale and five open ended questions was mailed to teleconference
and home-study students. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine
the underlying factors associated with learner control. Descriptive data
analysis was used to analyze the open-ended questions. The results indicated
that the proposed model of control was reasonably congruent with the experiences
of the students. However, the original model appeared to be too limited
to account for the complexity of the distance learning situation. A six
factor orthogonal solution was suggested as the most interpretable and
structurally simple solution.
Integrating Computer-Based Instruction with
Computer Conferencing:
An Evaluation of a Model for Designing Online Education
A. C. Lauzon
Recent advances in computer technology (e.g. computer-based
instruction) and communication technology (e.g. computer conferencing)
may facilitate dramatic changes in the nature of distance education delivery
systems. Developments in these technologies are shifting the emphasis
away from the mass production model of distance education to one which
is more responsive to the individual needs of learners. Often these technologies
are thought of as antithetical and incompatible. However, the application
of specific technologies is a philosophical expression of the instructional
designer/teacher and not a consequence of some inherent quality of the
technology itself. The true problem facing educators is the absence of
creative approaches to integrating these technologies into effective distance
education delivery systems. There is a need for models that will guide
systematic integration of technologies as well as delineate their appropriate
application and function. This article briefly reviews the concept of
learning in distance education and argues that there is a greater need
for multiple patterns of interaction in the learning process. It presents
a model that lays the conceptual foundation for integrating computer based
instruction with computer conferencing for interactive distance delivery.
Evaluation results of an application of this model to an undergraduate
course in interpersonal communications indicate that computer conferencing
is an excellent medium for allowing distance learners to interact in meaningful
ways both with the instructor/facilitator and with other students. Results
also suggest that, by providing instruction via computer-based instruction
and computer conferencing, educators can facilitate development of positive
student attitudes toward computers and communication technology.
Learners' Perceptions of Instructional Delivery Systems: Conventional
and Television
M. Winston Egan; Marshall Welch; Brent Page; and Joan Sebastian
The literature dealing with television instruction
consistently suggests that telecourse learning in business, military,
and higher education settings is as effective as conventional instructional
methods. A variety of television delivery systems are used to provide
instruction to learners who cannot interact face to face with instructors
in classrooms. While there is no single best model of distance learning,
instructional designers need to understand what components of distance
education delivery systems are effective and why. Learner achievement
is not the only import- ant consideration in assessing the effectiveness
of video-based distance education. Researchers must also seek to understand
learner perceptions and attitudes. This paper reports results of a study
that examined the perceptions of learners across three instructional delivery
systems, two of which were television systems. Using a variety of Likert-type
scale items, students appraised the quality of course features such as
organization, clarity of content, instructor's delivery, difficulty of
the course, etc. Significant differences were established between and
among the different groups on selected variables.
Establishing Workload Equivalence: Independent
Study Courses And College Residence Classes
Ronald F. Malan and Sandra Feller
For many years college-affiliated independent study
in the United States has been stigmatized by a reputation for imposing
a heavy workload on students. This overload results not only in student
complaints and lower completion rates, but also in faculty dissatisfaction.
There is no interest in providing "easy" courses; rather, independent
study programs are looking for ways to structure a workload comparable
to that of resident courses while maintaining the academic rigor and integrity
of course content. Two approaches to this challenge are reducing the total
number of lessons in a course and reducing the number of submitted lessons.
Reducing the total number of lessons results in reduced opportunities
both for student accomplishment and for the feedback from faculty necessary
to reinforce this accomplishment. This solution also leads to a reduction
of faculty pay and, thus, to faculty dissatisfaction. Reducing the number
of submitted lessons is a strategy used by Brigham Young University. The
faculty author determines the number of submissions that would approximate
the workload of students in residence and builds into the structure of
the course inducements to complete nonsubmitted lessons. Nonsubmitted
lessons include self-check quizzes that provide immediate feedback. Faculty
support for this approach is enlisted by paying instructors for the total
number of lessons--submitted and nonsubmitted--in a course. This strategy
has increased both student completion rates and faculty interest in writing
and teaching independent study courses.
The Study of Distance Education in the United States: Programs of Study
and Coursework
Connie L. Dillon
This listing of distance education programs was compiled
for the Educational Telecommunications Division, National University Continuing
Education Association. It includes credit and noncredit programs offered
at twelve U. S. universities. Entries for each university report areas
of study; degree(s) offered or program emphasis; distance education courses
offered; and a program contact person and address.
