The document provides an overview of major theories of distance education, beginning with early theorists in the late 19th century. It discusses theories such as Holmberg's theory of didactic interaction, theories of industrialization, Moore's theory of transactional distance, and more recent connectivist theories. The document also summarizes key findings from a meta-analysis on the effects of different types of interaction on achievement and attitudes in distance education.

1. An Overview of the MajorTheories of Distance EducationTerry AndersonDr. Seminar, Nova UniversityLisbon, 2011

2. Wed. AgendaMajor Theorists in DE – overviewSmall groups – what theory resonates with you??BreakCommunity of Inquiry Model

3. Three Wise Men of Distance Education Theory

4. First Distance Education CoursesWeekly lessons (by newspaper) for Sunday School TeachersPitman Shorthand – distributed “how to manuals”University of London from 1870- production of course Syllabus –ie content

5. Holmberg’s Theory of Didactic Interaction (1980’s)A Theory of conversation, based on empathyPrint publication NOT like discourse on subjectConversation like tonePersonal anecdotesPersonal disclosureOpportunity for one to one interactionsynchronous – F2F Asynchronous – postClaims to be predictive, ill defined"Theory and Practice of Distance Education 1989".)

6. Theories of IndustrializationFrom beyond craft production to industrial ageSpecialized labour – course teamAssembly lineMass market and CentralizationIndividualized study and tutorsScientific Control & New pedagogyEmbraced new (mass) technology Learning and Teaching in Distance2002 Distance Education in Transition

7. Michael MooreTheory of Transactional Distance: the cognitive space between instructors and learners in a distance education settingThe greater the dialogue, the lesser the structure and vice versa.Moore, M. G. (1973). Towards a theory of independent learning and teaching.Journal of Higher Education, (44), 661-679.Available online at http://www.ajde.com/Documents/theory.pdf

13. ElaborationsDesmond Keegan – defining distance education:separation of teacher and learnerinfluence of an educational organizationuse of media to link teacher and learnertwo way exchange of communicationlearners as individuals rather than groupededucators as an industrialized formFarad Saba (1994) empirically testing Moore’s theories of Transactional Distance

14. D. Randy GarrisonProclaimed a new era (1994) – distance education is really ‘education at a distance’NOT industrializedBased on interactions and transactions Student-Student and student- teacher interactions

15. Equivalency Theoryhttp://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?&pt=0&p=chocxtc-67609-equivalency-theory-education-distance-learning-ppt-powerpointMichael Simonson

16. LaniGunawardenaGunawardena, C. N., & Zittle, F. (1997). Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer mediated conferencing environment. American Journal of Distance Education, 11(3), 8-25.Cultural Influences in DE

17. GeertHofstade Cultural DefinitionsPDI Power Distance IndexIDV IndividualismMAS MasculinityUAI Uncertainty Avoidance IndexLTO Long-Term Orientationhttp://www.geert-hofstede.com/

18. Anderson Interaction Equivalency

19. Moore (1989) distinctions are:Three types of interactionstudent-student interaction

20. student-teacher interaction

21. Student-content interactionAnderson (2003) hypotheses state:Deep, meaningful learning is produced from 2 out of 3 interactions at a high levelHigh levels of more than 1 out of 3 interactions will produce satisfying educational experienceIncreasing satisfaction through interaction may not be as time or cost-effective as less interactive learning sequencesBernard, R., Abrami, P., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Tamim, R., et al. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243-1289.

22. 20What have we learned about the effects of interaction on achievement?The presence of any type of interaction enhances achievement outcomesIncreasing cognitive engagement (i.e., providing the conditions for interaction to occur) improves achievement (i.e., learning)This is especially true for student-content interaction and any combination that involves student-content interactionStrengthening student-student interaction also appears to influence achievement

23. 21What have we learned about the effects of interaction on attitudes (satisfaction)?The relationship between attitudes and interaction is more complex than for achievementStudent-student interaction seems importantStrengthening interactions (in general) has a modest impact The role of the teacher in DE seems to have a variable effect on attitudesThere is a slight suggestion that increasing SS + ST has an effect on attitudesBernard, R., Abrami, P., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Tamim, R., et al. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243-1289.

24. 3rd Generation - Networked Learning usingConnectivist PedagogyLearning is building networks of information, contacts and resources that are applied to real problems.

25. Connectivist Learning PrinciplesGeorge Siemens, 2004Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.Learning may reside in non-human appliances.Capacity to know is more critical than what is currently known.Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.Decision-making is itself a learning process.

26. Connectivist Knowledge isEmergentDistributedChaoticFragmentedNon sequentialContextualized

27. Connectivist Learning designsConnection formingSelectionFilteringAwareness and ReceptivityContribution and InvolvementReflection and MetacognitionPettenati, M. (2007).

28. Special Issue of IRRODL on Connectivism Mar. 2010Free Subscriptions at www.irrodl.org

29. Jon DronGenerating Structure through dialogueLearner up control, creating learning contentDron, J. (2007). Control and Constraint in E-Learning: Choosing When to Choose. Hershey, PA: Information Science Pub..

30. 28Current WorkJon Dron and AndersonTaxonomy of the ManySets28

31. ExerciseIn 3 groups:Do a round robin – Which of these major theories resonates most with you?Try to turn some aspect of the theory into a research question or intervention design that you find interesting