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Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE January 2010 ISSN 1302-6488 Volume: 11 Number: 1 Book Review 2
DISTANCE EDUCATION:
Definition And Glossary Of Terms, 3RD EDITION
Schlosser, L. A. & Simonson, M., ISBN: 1607521393, EAN:9781607521396,
Publisher: Information Age Publishing, Pages:249, June 2009
Reviewed by Ozlem OZAN
Computer Education and Instructional Technologies,
Eskisehir Osmangazi University,
Eskisehir, TURKEY
Because
Distance Education
(DE) provides students the new
opportunities for accessible and lifelong education, it is getting
more and more popular day by day over the entire world, and as
stated in the book it has become a major topic of interest in the
field of educational communication and technology.
This is one of the basic books in the field of DE. It is written by Lee
Ayers Schlosser and Michael Simonson. Lee Ayers Schlosser, EdD,
PhD is in Extended Campus Program of Southern Oregon
University and an associate professor of Criminology Department
at Southern Oregon University. Michael R. Simonson, Ph.D. is a
professor of Instructional Technology & Distance Education at
Nova Southeastern University. There are three editions of the book.
In 2002 first edition, in 2006 second edition, in 2009 third and last edition was
published. If you look at content of first and second edition of the book, you can‘t see
very big difference between them. But in third edition there are considerable changes.
In first and second edition
definitions, brief history and theory of DE, glossary of terms
are given. In addition to these titles, third edition provides information about
effectiveness, status and future of DE, learning outcomes, perceptions and attributes of
learners, interaction, barriers, research in DE
. The book is consisted of 249 pages (+vii)
and divided into four sections.
In part I, Distance Education is defined as ―institutional-based, formal education where
the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are
used to connect learners, resources, and instructors (Simonson, 2003)‖.
After that, definitions of Holmberg (1986), Peters (1988), Moore (1994), Keegan (1996)
and Garrison and Shale (1987) are given as traditional definitions. Furthermore,
emerging definitions are discussed in the light of rapid changes in society and
technology. Brief history of DE is provided from correspondence study, to electronic
communication, to distance teaching universities.
217
Finally in this part, after an explanation about why theory is needed for DE following
theories are briefly explained: Charles Wedemeyer‘s Theory of Independent Study,
Michael Moore‘s Theory of Transactional Distance, Otto Peters‘ Theory of
Industrialization of Teaching, Börje Holmberg‘s Theory of Interaction and
Communication, Malcolm Knowles‘ Andragogy, Hilary Perraton‘s A Synthesis of Existing
Theories and Desmond Keegan‘s Equivalency
In part II, current situation of DE is given in brief. Anadolu University in Turkey, The
Open University of Hong Kong, growth in DE in Sub-Saharan African countries, national
higher distance education program in China, finally European Union and United States
are taken as examples. In this part two of the important management issues of distance
education are also discussed. The first one is
effectiveness
.
According to the 248 studies were compiled by Russell (2000), there is no significant
difference between distance learning and traditional classroom learning (Schlosser &
Simonson, 2009, p. 42). In other words, distance learning can be considered as effective
as face-to-face learning (Dean, Stah, Swlwester, & Pear, 2001, p 252). Topics related to
effectiveness are presented in the book as follows: i
nstructional strategies which are
used designing distance education courses, visualization of ideas and concepts, an
adequate support system, interaction, assessments related to learning outcomes
. The
second management issue of distance education given in the book is accreditation.
Defining standards are critical for accreditation and to ensure quality of educational
programs. According to book, generally the same standards are applied to traditional and
distance education programs in United States.
In part III, authors focus on learner side of DE and emphasize that there is a shift toward
more learner-centered approach. In this part, important topics of distance education
which are
attributes, perceptions, interaction patterns, learning experiences
and
barriers
are examined briefly in the light of research studies besides a short review of distance
education research literature. According to Biner, Dean & Mellinger, 1994) factors
affecting satisfaction are instruction/instructor, technology, course management, at-side
personnel, and promptness of material delivery, support services and out-of-class
communication with instructor.
In addition, factors affecting learning at distance are content, environment, finances,
readiness, time employment, and family support (Jegede & Kirkwood, 1994). Moreover it
is stated that distance education learners generally have a more favorable attitude
toward distance education than to traditional learners, and
interaction
is a primary
component of any effective distance education program (Mahle, 2007) and important for
learning experience. Interaction has various definitions; an instructional exchange;
computer mediated communication; and social/psychological connections. Different
technologies allow different degrees of interaction.
Part IV is glossary of terms. It takes up approximately sixty-five percent of the book.
Although glossary of terms contains mostly terms related to technology, there are
educational and communicational concepts in it.
In conclusion, this book is clear, informative, and provides distance education
terminology in a way that is applicable and easy to understand. As mentioned earlier,
this is one of the basic books in the field of distance education. It can be used both
experts in the field and anyone who is interested in distance education.
218
REFERENCES
Biner, P.M., Dean, R.S., & Mellinger, A.E. (1994). Factors underlying distance learner
satisfaction with televised college- level courses.
The American Journal of Distance
Education
, 8 (1), 60-71
Dean, P., Stah, M., Swlwester, D. & Pear, J. (2001). Effectiveness of combined delivery
modalities distance learning and resident learning.
Quarterly Review of Distance
Education,
2(3), 247-254
Jegede, O. J. & Kirkwood, J. (1994). Students‘ anxiety in learning through distance
education.
The American Journal of Distance Education
, 15 (2), 279-290
Mahle, M. (2007). Interactivity in distance education. Distance Learning, 4(1), 47-51
Russell, T. (2000).
No significant difference phenomenon: A survey of U.S. school district
administrators
. Needham, MA: Sloan Consortium.
Schlosser, L. A. & Simonson, M. (2009
). Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of
Terms
. 3rd Edition. U.S.:Information Age Publishing.
Simonson, M. (2003). Definition of the filed.
Quarterly Review of Distance Education
,
4(1), vii-viii http://www.nova.edu/~simsmich/index.htm
http://www.sou.edu/criminology/faculty/ayersl.html
BIODATA and CONTACT ADDRESS of REVIEWER
Ozlem OZAN has been a Research Assistant in Department of Computer
Education & Instructional Technology at Eskisehir Osmangazi University in
Turkey since 2002. She received B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering Department and master‘s degree in Distance Education at
Anadolu University. Her research interests are distance education,
information and communication technologies. She also gives lessons about
multimedia development as an instructor. Now she is also a PhD student
in Distance Education Program of Social Sciences Institute of Anadolu
University.
Ozlem OZAN
Computer Education and Instructional Technologies,
Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, TURKEY
Telefon : +90 222) 239 37 50/1649
Gsm : +90 532) 565 46 11
Faks : +90 222) 229 31 24
Phone : : +90222 2393750 ext. 1649
URL : http://www.ozlemozan.inf
E-mails : ozlemozan@gmail.com ; oozan@ogu.edu.tr
