POWERPOINT MODULE 9

1. INTERNET-BASED DISTANCE
EDUCATION
JOYCE DAVIS

2. WHAT IS THE INTERNET, AND WHY DOES IT
MATTER?
• THE INTERNET IS NOT A SINGLE, CLEARLY DEFINED ENTITY, BUT A META-
NETWORK OF INTERCONNECTED NETWORKS THAT SHARE A COMMON
LANGUAGE, TCP-IP (TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL/INTERNET
PROTOCOL).
• PROTOCOL IS AN ELECTRONIC LANGUAGE THAT COMPUTERS USE TO
COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND EXCHANGE DATA, IT IS ROUGHLY
ANALOGOUS TO THE LANGUAGES HUMANS USE TO COMMUNICATE AND SHARE
INFORMATION

3. WHAT IS THE INTERNET, AND WHY DOES IT
MATTER?
• THE INTERNET HAS NO INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OR MAILING ADDRESS,
NO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, NO STOCKHOLDERS,
AND NO TOLL-FREE NUMBERS .
• THE INTERNET IS AN ANARCHY.

4. ARCHITECTURE OF THE INTERNET FOUR
BASIC TIERS
• TIER 1: BACKBONE NETWORKS AND INTERNET EXCHANGE POINTS – THE
ESSENTIAL FRAMEWORK THAT PROVIDES BY A WORLDWIDE CONFIGURATION OF
EXTREMELY HIGH-BANDWIDTH NETWORKS.
• TIER 2: REGIONAL NETWORKS – OPERATES BACKBONE ON A SMALLER SCALE.
• TIER 3: INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS – THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT
FOR DISTANCE EDUCATORS. THE INDIVIDUAL INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
(ISPS) ARE CONNECTED TO REGIONAL NETWORKS AND PROVIDE DIAL-UP, OR
DIRECT, HIGH-SPEED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.

5. ARCHITECTURE OF THE INTERNET FOUR
BASIC TIERS CONT.
• TIER 4: ORGANIZATIONAL AND HOME NETWORKS – THESE ARE THE LOCAL AREA
NETWORKS THAT INTERCONNECT COMPUTERS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION,
SUCH AS SCHOOL, COLLEGE, GOVERNMENT AGENCY, OR COMPANY, AND
PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS TO INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THOSE ENTITIES.

6. DISTANCE LEARNING VERSUS DISTRIBUTED
LEARNING
• DISTRIBUTED LEARNING ILLUSTRATES HOW THE LEARNER-CENTERED
EDUCATIONAL MODEL IS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN TODAY’S SCHOOLS AND
COLLEGES..
• INTERNET-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITY INVOLVES STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
WHO CONTINUE TO MEET AT LEAST PART TIME IN CONVENTIONAL CLASSROOM
SETTINGS.

7. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF ONLINE
LEARNING
• UNLESS ACCESS IS DELIBERATELY RESTRICTED, COURSES OR ONLINE COURSE
MATERIALS COULD BE AVAILABLE TO ANY QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL IN THE WORLD
WITH A PROPERLY EQUIPPED COMPUTER AND AN INTERNET CONNECTION.
STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE FROM SCHOOL, HOME, OFFICE, OR COMMUNITY
LOCATIONS.
• ASYNCHRONOUS COURSE COMPONENTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, AT THE
LEARNER’S CONVENIENCE, AND ARE TIME-ZONE INDEPENDENT.
• STUDENTS CAN WORK AT THEIR OWN PACE.
• COURSE MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEB ARE
DISTRIBUTABLE ACROSS MULTIPLE COMPUTER PLATFORMS; IT MAKES NO
DIFFERENCE IF USERS ARE USING WINDOWS OR MACINTOSH OPERATING SYSTEMS.

8. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF ONLINE
LEARNING
• LEARNING MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE WORLD WIDE WEB.
• ONLINE COURSE MATERIALS, ONCE DEVELOPED, ARE EASY TO UPDATE,
PROVIDING STUDENTS ACCESS TO CURRENT INFORMATION.
• HE INTERNET CAN PROVIDE A STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, IF
THE MATERIALS AND METHODS ARE DESIGNED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE
INTERACTIVITY AND RESOURCES THE INTERNET PROVIDES.
• STUDENTS BECOME SKILLED AT USING INTERNET RESOURCES, A FACTOR THAT
MAY IMPROVE EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS UPON GRADUATION.

9. TECHNOLOGIES OF INTERNET-BASED
DISTANCE EDUCATION
• THE INTERNET HAS ITS ROOTS IN THE ARPANET, A NETWORK CREATED IN 1969
TO LINK THE COMPUTING SYSTEMS OF MILITARY AND OTHER GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES TO THOSE OF THEIR RESEARCH PARTNERS AROUND THE UNITED
STATES, INCLUDING UNIVERSITIES AND CORPORATE CONTRACTORS.
• COURSE MANAGEMENT APPEARED BY 1997, WEB COURSE AUTHORING AND
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. COURSE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ARE OFTEN ERRONEOUSLY IDENTIFIED AS “LEARNING
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

10. COMPONENTS OF A COURSE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
• HE TWO CMS INDUSTRY LEADERS IN EDUCATION ARE BLACKBOARD AND
DESIRE2LEARN.
• THE MAJOR COURSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ALL PROVIDE ESSENTIALLY THE
SAME BASIC SET OF COMPONENTS: A SYLLABUS, COURSE CALENDAR,
ANNOUNCEMENTS, ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS, LEARNING OBJECTIVES, A
STUDENT ROSTER, AND A GLOSSARY.
• THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS THAT SUPPORT THE MANAGEMENT OF ONLINE
COURSES SUCH AS: HOMEWORK COLLECTION AND GRADING, ELECTRONIC
GRADEBOOK, ELECTRONIC TESTING, AND PLAGIARISM DETECTION