A Systemic View of Distance Education Evaluation: Finding Our Bearings.

Overview & Synopsis

For a number of years it has been suggested that distance education is a natural extension of existing teaching methods that includes learners who are separated from the instructor by time or distance. This paper takes an alternative look at distance-education research and evaluation and proposes an evaluation model built on that view. That distance education is essentially different from traditional education is made apparent by examining both methods and techniques. Methods generate techniques, and both must be distinguished from the devices (technology hardware) that are used in education. In traditional instruction the flow is from method to technique to device; in distance education, the device can affect method and technique. An evaluation framework is diagrammed that depicts the relations among device, method, technique, learner, content, and instructor. The interaction among these elements cannot be ignored during the development of distance education in the future. Three figures and two tables illustrate the framework. (Contains 7 references.) (SLD)