Contemporary Issues In American Distance Education

Distance Learning in America is characterised by an enormous variety of institutions, programs, media and pedagogical methods. This book attempts to draw together an overall picture of the rapid growth and achievements in the field of American distance education and the problems and issues that confront it. The book is aimed primarily at the university and college teacher and student, and particularly at graduate students in adult and distance education and other related fields. It aims to provide a cross-sectional view of the administrative and policy issues, the questions about learners and instruction, the problems of curriculum and course design and the new conceptual and theoretical concerns of some of the country's foremost practitioners and thinkers.

Distance Learning in America is characterised by an enormous variety of institutions, programs, media and pedagogical methods. This book attempts to draw together an overall picture of the rapid growth and achievements in the field of American distance education and the problems and issues that confront it. The book is aimed primarily at the university and college teacher and student, and particularly at graduate students in adult and distance education and other related fields. It aims to provide a cross-sectional view of the administrative and policy issues, the questions about learners and instruction, the problems of curriculum and course design and the new conceptual and theoretical concerns of some of the country's foremost practitioners and thinkers.

The third edition of this award-winning Handbook continues the mission of its predecessors: to provide a comprehensive compendium of research in all aspects of distance education, arguably the most significant development in education over the past three decades. While the book deals with education that uses technology, the focus is on teaching and learning and how its management can be facilitated through technology. Key features include: Comprehensive coverage that includes all aspects of distance education, including design, instruction, management, policy, and a section on different audiences. Chapter authors frame their topic in terms of empirical research (past and present) and discuss the nature of current practice in terms of that research. Future research needs are discussed in relation to both confirmed practice and recent changes in the field. Section one provides a unique review of the theories that support distance education pedagogy. Section six includes a unique review of distance education as a component of global culture. This book will be of interest to anyone engaged in distance education at any level. It is also appropriate for corporate and government trainers and for administrators and policy makers in all these environments. Recipient of the 2013 IAP Distance Education Book Award

According to UNESCO statistics, 10 million of the world's 600 million students study at a distance. Theoretical Principles of Distance Education seeks to lay solid foundations for the education of these students and for the structures within which they study. As a more industrialised form of education provision, distance education is well adapted to the use of new communication technologies, and brings to education many of the strengths and dangers of post-industrialism. The central focus of the study of distance education is the placing of the student at home or at work and the justification of the abandonment in this form of education of interpersonal, face-to-face communication, previously considered to be a cultural imperative for education in both east and west. This book explores the problems that distance education poses to the theorist, bringing together an international team of distance educators to address these issues for the first time in a systematic way. The team comprises theoreticians, administrators, experts in educational technology and adult education, experts in learning from video machines, from computers and other forms of technology. Contributions from Italy, and Scandinavia contrast with viewpoints provided by scholars from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

The Handbook of Distance Education, 4th Edition is a comprehensive compendium of research in the field of distance education. The volume is divided into four sections covering the historical and theoretical foundations of distance education, attributes of teaching and learning using technology, management and administration, and different audiences and providers. Throughout, leading scholars address future research needs and directions based on current research, established practices, and recent changes to implementation, pedagogy, and policy.

"This comprehensive, six-volume collection addresses all aspects of online and distance learning, including information communication technologies applied to education, virtual classrooms, pedagogical systems, Web-based learning, library information systems, virtual universities, and more. It enables libraries to provide a foundational reference to meet the information needs of researchers, educators, practitioners, administrators, and other stakeholders in online and distance learning"--Provided by publisher.

This book provides an introduction to the technology for educators, with case studies of education and training uses of ISDN technologies in Europe, the US and Australia.