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 Education Terry Anderson Dr. Seminar, Nova University Lisbon, 2011

2. Wed. Agenda Major Theorists in DE – overview Small groups – what theory resonates with you?? Break Community of Inquiry Model

3. Three Wise Men of Distance Education Theory

4. First Distance Education Courses Weekly lessons (by newspaper) for Sunday School Teachers Pitman 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 empathy Print publication NOT like discourse on subject Conversation like tone Personal anecdotes Personal disclosure Opportunity for one to one interaction synchronous – F2F Asynchronous – post Claims to be predictive, ill defined "Theory and Practice of Distance Education 1989" .)

6. Theories of Industrialization From beyond craft production to industrial age Specialized labour – course team Assembly line Mass market and Centralization Individualized study and tutors Scientific Control & New pedagogy Embraced new (mass) technology Learning and Teaching in Distance 2002 Distance Education in Transition

7. Michael Moore Theory of Transactional Distance: the cognitive space between instructors and learners in a distance education setting The 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. Elaborations Desmond Keegan – defining distance education: separation of teacher and learner influence of an educational organization use of media to link teacher and learner two way exchange of communication learners as individuals rather than grouped educators as an industrialized form Farad Saba (1994) empirically testing Moore’s theories of Transactional Distance

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

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

16. LaniGunawardena Gunawardena, 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 Definitions PDI Power Distance Index IDV Individualism MAS Masculinity UAI Uncertainty Avoidance Index LTO Long-Term Orientation http://www.geert-hofstede.com/

18. Anderson Interaction Equivalency

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 level High levels of more than 1 out of 3 interactions will produce satisfying educational experience Increasing satisfaction through interaction may not be as time or cost-effective as less interactive learning sequences Bernard, 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. 20 What have we learned about the effects of interaction on achievement? The presence of any type of interaction enhances achievement outcomes Increasing 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 interaction Strengthening student-student interaction also appears to influence achievement

23. 21 What have we learned about the effects of interaction on attitudes (satisfaction)? The relationship between attitudes and interaction is more complex than for achievement Student-student interaction seems important Strengthening interactions (in general) has a modest impact The role of the teacher in DE seems to have a variable effect on attitudes There is a slight suggestion that increasing SS + ST has an effect on attitudes Bernard, 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 Pedagogy Learning is building networks of information, contacts and resources that are applied to real problems.

25. Connectivist Learning PrinciplesGeorge Siemens, 2004 Learning 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 is Emergent Distributed Chaotic Fragmented Non sequential Contextualized

27. Connectivist Learning designs Connection forming Selection Filtering Awareness and Receptivity Contribution and Involvement Reflection and Metacognition Pettenati, M. (2007).

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

29. Jon Dron Generating Structure through dialogue Learner up control, creating learning content Dron, J. (2007). Control and Constraint in E-Learning: Choosing When to Choose. Hershey, PA: Information Science Pub. .

30. 28 Current WorkJon Dron and AndersonTaxonomy of the Many Sets 28

31. Exercise In 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