How do we study Distance Education? If you buy into the notion that all education is at a distance, the answer becomes at once simpler and more complex. Simpler, because it means we don’t need any special Secret Knowledge. More complex, because it means we have to create mental models of this stuff that work regardless of delivery channel.
Duh.
If there’s a Research Reflex in Distance Ed, it’s surely the “Let’s compare the classroom to the online course and see which is more effective.” Which is a non-starter. More useless research has been done on that model than perhaps any other topic in Education. To begin with, it falls into the category of research known in Educational Technology as “Media Comparison Study.” The main problem is that you’re trying to assess whether one channel or another is more effective. The results show only one of two outcomes — No Significant Difference, or A is better than B. You cannot learn if either is Good. They could both be horrible, but if there’s a differentiated result, then all you can say about it is that one is better. Of course, if there’s no significant difference, you still can’t determine if one of them is good. They could both be equally bad and you won’t know.
The other problem with the media comparison study is the nature of the medium. Which is better at telling a story - movie or novel? What has the better character development - play or tv show? Which makes you feel better - radio play or short story? These are meaningless questions because the answer depends on the implementation and the viewer. A movie that stays true to the underlying novel may be sacrificing the power of the medium. A reader may prefer the pace and depth of a novel over an MTV-cut film. The short answer is, “No.”
So, what do we study when we’re interested in Distance Education?
November 7th, 2007 at 7:31 am
[...] When you think of research, do you think it’s about getting answers? Me, I think it’s about asking questions. From the Dept of Better Late than Never, here’s the melon squeezing post for the day: On Research How do we study Distance Education? If you buy into the notion that all education is at a distance, the answer becomes at once simpler and more complex. Simpler, because it means we don’t need any special Secret Knowledge. More complex, because it means we have to create mental models of this stuff that work regardless of delivery channel. [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 11:08 am
[...] In phaedrus’s post On Research, I would have to agree that the choice of which the better medium is a matter of preference. I like to watch a lot of movies and prefer the stories told in that medium to books, but I still enjoy reading books. However, someone could feel differently and prefer it the other way around. Neither of us are right or wrong, it is just what we prefer. [...]
November 10th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I think when addressing Distance Education what’s most important is to study the most effective tools that could be used to reach students. We’ve already learned that Distance Ed. is not defined by an actual distance between teacher and learner, so we should be concentrating on which tools make the job easier no matter which medium is used to deliver the message.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
[...] In a post about research, Dr. Lowell makes the point that many studies have been done comparing distance education and traditional education. These studies have resulted in no real value. Tippi made the comment there that we have already established that it’s not the distance that is our focus, rather it should be on the tools that we can use to reach the students. I agree that we have many more tools available (and now known to those of us in this class) with which to reach our students. We hear a lot about engagement. Do these tools really make an impact and engage our students? Is there research being done to compare the use of various tools? [...]