Sources, Reliability, Tools and Techniques

San Diego-- Fred Saba, and Vanessa Haakenson, co-founders of Distance-Educator.com will devote their presentation at the 18th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning to “Managing Your Personal Knowledge of Distance Education.” Arguing that literature of distance education has become increasingly opinion-based, they will call the attention of the audience to be more discriminating in their consumption of information about distance education. “There is nothing wrong with new comers to the field publishing their opinions about distance education” said Dr. Saba. “The problem arises when these opinions that are not based on data collected from the field become a base for decision making and policy formation.” Saba continued.

Vanessa Haakenson, who among other duties is in charge of developing the technology infrastructure of Distance-Educator.com said “in the past few years, we have developed several tools that would help our subscribers to manage the information they receive more effectively for use in their work, study or both.” She continued “we are implementing these tools using open-source technologies that are available online to everyone, since our primary aim is to serve our subscribers while we strive to reach our business objectives.”

The session presented by Saba and Haakenson at the 18th Annul Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, will include a comprehensive review of sources of knowledge and information in distance education. The audience will receive a matrix for evaluating sources of information in distance education, while they will be introduced to specific tools for managing their personal knowledge-base about the field.

A loyal participant of the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Dr. Saba has presented in several sessions over the past 15 years. Sessions that have often drawn a standing-room only crowed have included a keynote address, when he received the Charles A. Wedemeyer Award in 1989. The highly prestigious Wedemeyer award is presented to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the field over many of years of service, research, publishing or teaching.