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Correspondence Education

Distance education is not a new phenomenon; it has been a mode of teaching and learning for countless individuals for at least a hundred years (Moore & Kearsley, 1996). Before the widespread use of electronic communications, educators used print technology, and the postal service for what became known as correspondence education. Reverend Joseph H. Odell, D. D. (1910) in his address titled "The New Era in Education: A Study of the Psychology of Correspondence Methods of Instruction" delivered in November of 1910 at the dedication of the instruction building of the International Correspondence Schools in Scranton Pennsylvania said:   The International Correspondence Schools employ no less than 1,600 men in the United States and Canada whose main mission in life is go through the heterogeneous mass of humanity as the Apostles of Ambition, to discover and direct and inspire their fellows with a desire for the benefit of education. I do not know any innovation upon existing methods more radical and revolutionary than this. Here is an educational institution that spends more than two million dollars a year to create a demand for education. (p. 9).

Educational Radio

With the advent of broadcasting, the federal government issued the first educational radio license to the Latter Day Saints' University of Salt Lake City, in 1921. The University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota also received licenses to establish educational radio stations in 1922. (Saettler, 1990). Levenson (1945) listed a series of evaluation studies conducted by Ohio State University and The University of Wisconsin as early as 1931 to demonstrate the effectiveness of radio in learning. The number of studies listed and the variety of research questions are indicative of the ubiquity and popularity of the use of radio in education. For example, research questions ranged from the "relative effectiveness of short and long sentences," to "the value of repetition in the presentation of different types of material," to development of new instrument of evaluation. (pp. 192-197).

Educational Television

Iowa State University applied to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for an educational television (ETV) license in 1945, and became the first ETV broadcaster in the world, as it commenced televising educational programs in 1950. (Saettler, 1990). Since the mid-1980's the attention shifted to the use of computer networks for teaching and learning. As the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided access for universities to the Internet, educators gained a powerful means for teaching and learning, which was radically different with previous electronic media. Arrival of networked computing to higher education, the place of work, K-12 schools, and even homes did not come a moment too soon, since towards the late 1980's, and in early 1990's families, institutions, societies, and relations among nations were going through rapid change. Novel solutions were required to meet the demands of the changing social institutions.

Approaching the 21st Century

As we are approaching the 21st Century several events have dramatically changed the environment of higher education in the US, and elsewhere in the world: In June of 1997, Allen Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board testified in the Congress, that the US economy has gone through a fundamental change. Mr. Greenspan said, a synergy among technologies, which may occur ''once or twice in a century," has brought unprecedented added value to the products of many companies, and have reduced the cost of production and distribution of goods and services. The emergence of knowledge as the single most important "commodity" in the economic prosperity of nations is a very rare change. Such a far-reaching transformation, according to Alvin Toffler, has happened only once before in human history, when the world economy transformed from an agricultural-based system into an industrial one. A similar change is occurring now, as the world economy is becoming more reliant on knowledge bases for increased productivity. In the introductory chapter of his book titled "The Knowledge Economy" editor Dale Neef (1998) stated: "…there is now compelling evidence that the sudden and ever-accelerating burst of growth in high-technology and high-skilled services …may bring about some of the most profound an unexpected changes to the way in which we live and work witnessed since the nineteenth-century transition from an agricultural to an industrial society." It is no wonder that precisely at this historic moment, policy makers on the federal, state and local levels became advocates of the use of information technology for teaching and learning. The emergence of the knowledge economy has had a dual effect on higher education. First, information technology has deeply impacted teaching, learning and managing practices. An evidence of this is the establishment of virtual universities and rapid expansion of distance education practices during 1997 throughout the country. Second, businesses, industries, and even major farmers see themselves as knowledge generators and disseminators; thus, ending the semi-monopoly of higher education over creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Adoption of distance education has been driven by social change more than any other factor. Establishment of the Open University (OU) in Great Britain, in 1971 for example, was a direct response to an increased demand for alternative means of access to higher education. It is no wonder that many developing countries, including for example India, and the People's Republic of China, who even lacked the means to provide campus-based education to their youth, readily adopted the British OU as a model to expand educational services. Closer to home, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was established in 1964 primarily in response to the far-reaching social events of the 60's. In the US, however, it was not until the 1990's when public policy makers took a hard look at distance education. Until then, at all levels, educational institutions had the general support of the taxpayer. In California, for example, the state policy was to provide access to higher education to all eligible candidates. With dwindling resources, California among other states gradually imposed new tuition and fees, which increased the cost of education for families. Between 1980, and 1993 the cost of higher education grew at an astonishing rate of 242%. (Reiland, 1996). Today, higher education is a necessity for those who wish to work and prosper in an economy that is becoming dependant not on sheer muscle power, but on brain power. Today, the workforce is rewarded for how well and how fast problems are detected and solved. Until recently, however, at least in the US, distance education has been peripheral to main stream education. Some institutions of higher education, business and industry, as well as the armed forces have used electronic telecommunications media to reach learners at a distance, but the practice has always suffered from enjoying "parity of esteem" (Jevons, 1987) with mainstream education. In my 25 years or so experience in the field, I have been asked countless times, if students learn as well at a distance, or what are we sacrificing by mediating instruction? I have also been told with varying degrees of certainty from time-to-time that face-to-face education is inherently superior to distance education.

Is Distance Education Effective?

The euphoric rush of state governments all over the country to invest in distance education practices and technologies has raised the issue of efficacy of teaching and learning at a distance in comparison to what is generally described as conventional education, or face-to-face education. Fortunately, there is a long and well-established research literature in the field which educators and policy makers can examine to make decisions for now and in the future (Wetzel, C. D., Radtke, P. H., Stern, H. W., 1994). In summary: Jim Finn a pioneer in the field of Educational Technology conducted one of the very first studies on educational television in 1953. So research on teaching and learning at a distance is at least 45 years old. In 1967, Chu, and Schramm, researchers at Stanford University, examined 207 studies involving 421 separate comparisons of Educational TV and conventional classroom instruction. In 308 observations (73% of the studies) they found no statistically significant difference in learning achievement. 63 studies (15%) reported television instruction to be superior, and 50 studies (12%) reported conventional education to be better. Wilbur Schramm did a follow up study in 1975, which included analysis of achievement data on students in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education, in different subject matters. His analysis showed while there were no significant difference among subject matters taught younger children learned more from television than older ones. Early researchers also studied the attitude of students and teachers towards television. Both faculty and students showed more favorable attitude towards teaching and learning via television, once they had experience in teaching a course on TV, or taking a course on TV. In general, students preferred to be in a conventional classroom, but preferred a TV course, if the classroom was a large lecture hall. Among students, according to Wetzel, Radtke, and Stern, scientists at the Naval Personnel Research and Training Center in San Diego, "relevant factors are the extent of personal contact with the instructor and quality of instruction." By early 1970's there was considerable evidence that the medium of communication is not as much of a factor in distance teaching and learning as the quality of instruction, and provision for two-way synchronous, or asynchronous communication between students and instructors. as we all remember, was a carefully designed and produced educational television program. It also remains to be the most widely evaluated television program ever. Evaluation results indicated, for example, that youngsters exposed to Sesame Street had a clear advantage in learning elementary reading, writing, math, and social skills over those who were not exposed to the program, or had less exposure to it. These observations shifted the attention of the researchers in the field from the medium of delivery to how well instructional programs are designed, and how much they provide for teacher-learner interaction. Dr. Richard Clark, one of my professors at Syracuse University, as well as a colleague led the debate on comparative studies of face-to-face versus distance education. He argued the media are like trucks, which deliver groceries to stores. The quality of the food, he said, has little to do with the truck. His crusade to deflect our attention from comparing mediated education to classroom education, and concentrating on design factors finally paid off. Today, there are still a few comparative studies published here and there, but the focus is not whether instruction is mediated or face-to-face, but how well it is designed in either case. Just about the same time that professor Clark was making his argument, in 1972, Michael Moore, who is now the Academic Director of the American Center for the Study of Distance Education at Pennsylvania State University, and the Editor of the American Journal of Distance Education was hard at work. Professor Moore reviewed close to 2000 published articles on independent learning, adult education, distance education, and open learning. He came to the conclusion that in all these published studies two factors played a key role: structure and dialog. Structure or the extent to which the instructor is responsive to the learner, and dialogue, or the extent to which students could influence and control the course of instruction by interacting with the instructor. In 1978, I came across Professor Moore's article published in 1973, which reported the result of his exhaustive review of literature. Looking at Moore's study I realized that distance in education is not defined by the geographic separation of the teacher and learner, but by the amount of structure and dialog. In other words, when structure is maximized, distance increases, and when dialog is maximized distance decreases. In systems dynamic terminology, there is a negative feedback loop between dialog and structure, which governs "transactional distance." Later, upon my arrival at San Diego State University, through the diligent assistance of Mr. J. Michael Mahon, I received a generous grant from Northern Telecom, or as it is now called Nortel. Nortel, which is the largest manufacturer of digital phone equipment in the world, had spent 500 million dollars to create the first integrated voice, video, and data telecommunications system in a computer. They were marketing these units to major corporations and large government agencies at $100,000.00 per unit. In mid-1980 through the use of this computer we could communicate with voice at a distance, but more importantly, we could screen share application software. With a few additions, the instructor and student could also see each other. As a side note, I should add those similar units, for example the Intel ProShare, which fits into a Pentium-based desktop computer cost about $1000.00 now. In a series of studies, before the birth of the American Journal of Distance Education, and ever having met Mr. Moore, I set out to examine the concept of transactional distance, and see if it indeed varied with dialogue and structure. I had come to the conclusion that Michael Moore had made a major contribution to the field of distance education by grounding it in the new science, which was not interested in physical distance, but distance as it is defined by the quality of instructional design. With assistance of Rick Shearer, then one of my most able graduate students, who is now Senior Instructional Designer at Penn State's World Campus, I have tentatively demonstrated that transactional distance is dependent on dialogue and structure. This does not mean that maximizing dialog, and minimizing distance is necessarily desirable. The question that, Rick Shearer and I are pursuing now is the proper balance of dialog and structure for different learners, various subject matters, and levels of education. We are using discourse analysis to quantify dialog and structure in instructional settings, and system dynamics, a mathematical computer-modeling method for complex systems to show the variance of dialog and structure over specified periods of time. I am happy to report that my esteemed colleagues in other institutions are also using techniques similar to discourse analysis in studying distance education projects, and programs. Charlotte Gunawardena at the University of New Mexico and Chere Campbell-Gibson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have also carried out studies which involves detailed analysis of communication between instructors and learners.

Quality Education at a Distance

The society is changing rapidly, and as educators we need to be sensitive to these changes and respond to them in a measured and thoughtful manner. As such the rules for quality education at a distance are not very different from those that work in a classroom. The most important factor for quality distance education is advanced planning. In distance education strategic planning is not an option but a necessity. The planning process can be summarized in a five-step model: Five Step Model Analyzing the needs of the learner Designing instruction based on students' learning needs Developing instructional materials Implementing instructional sessions, and Evaluating the results systematically. The ADDIE model is a general-purpose systematic problem solving heuristics modified for educational technology. It implies quality distance education; Must respond to the real needs of learners. As such, distance education is learner-centered. Includes teaching and learning strategies, and activities that are based on the analysis of the subject matter at hand. Must specify teaching and learning strategies and activities in terms of cognitive and behavioral skills the learners need to acquire in order to master the subject matter. Must specify teaching and learning strategies and activities in a context familiar to students in order to maximize its affective appeal and motivation to learn. May be complex, but not complicated to implement, if students are scattered in a wide geographic area. Provisions for local library access, monitored tests and exams, and access to health-care must be provided. Should be evaluated in terms of meeting the needs of all of the stakeholders including students, faculty, administrators, employers, and the community at large.

Course Teams

Another important implication of the ADDIE model is instruction will move out of its current craft-mode, and will enter the era of technology-based production. Faculty as the subject matter specialist, will assume the leadership of a team of professionals who are responsible for the quality of needs assessment, content, production, presentation, delivery and evaluation of a course. In the early 1970's, the British Open University introduced the concept of course teams. Since then, the concept has been tested in a variety of different circumstances. Faculty, in many instances, have worked with a team of professional instructional designers, graphic artists, producers, directors, and other professionals to make a polished product with a long shelf life. Given the fact that at the present time most faculty, including myself, do everything themselves in offering a course, it is hard to imagine a situation where help is available for defining course objectives, selecting the content based on objectives, visualizing important concepts, and creating tests and exams. But we are still at the Model T stage of distance education. At the turn of the century, there were no paved roads between cities, and streets were not designed for cars. If someone told you in a few years, there would be an interstate highway system complete with service stations with factory trained mechanics at on ramps, rest stops, emergency phones, and other amenities you would not have believed the poor dreamer. To achieve quality distance education, a professional staff to make their courses effective must support faculty.

Other Important Factors

In addition to faculty support, it is becoming apparent that to achieve quality in distance teaching and learning the following things need to be put into place: Students must be prepared, or at least screened for their competency in learning at a distance. A help desk should be provided for students to respond to their technical problems. Instructors should form a community of learners among their students so its members can assist each other and learn from each other's experience. Students should also have access to the instructor via email or phone in case they encounter difficulty in understanding course materials.

Conclusion

We are in the midst of exciting, and far reaching changes in education. As we look today, educators can define and design effective and robust teaching and learning systems that would be responsive to the needs of student communities close and afar. In a sense, distance education today is similar to the early movies. Producers of first motion pictures tired to make movies as close to the theatre format as possible. In these movies a stationary camera was fixed on a stage. It took a while, before someone realized the camera can be moved, scenes can be shot from different angles, and time can be manipulated at the editing table. Today, distance education is trying to imitate the classroom. In few instances, such as Sesame Street, where educators and media specialists experimented with forms native to distance education results have been spectacular. This generation of faculty can be designers of a unique effective and quality-driven form of teaching and learning. In many instances, it will resemble classroom instruction. In other instances it will be very different. To use the media analogy again, over the years many outstanding dramatic plays have been produced and presented on television. These same plays could also be produced for the theatre stage. However, television also brings unique events such as landing on the Moon or a historic home run in a base ball game to millions of viewers, as events occur. It is safe to say telecast of live events is native to television. We have the historic opportunity to define what is native to distance education, and how it blends into our current practices. Have fun with it, while you are inventing the future of teaching and learning.

References

Jevons, F. (1987). Distance education and campus-based education: Parity of esteem. In Smith, P., & Kelly, M. (Eds.). Distance education and the mainstream. Levenson, W. B. (1945). Teaching through radio. NY: Rinehart & Company Inc. Moore, M G., & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance Education: As systems view. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Neef, D. (1998). The knowledge economy: Resources for the knowledge-based economy. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Odell, J. H. (1910). The new era in education: A study of the psychology of correspondence methods of instruction. Scarnton, PA: International Correspondence Schools. Reiland, R. (September 6, 1996). Colleges must stop giving students less for more. The Christian Science Monitor. (pp. 18). Saettler, P. (1990). The evolution of American educational technology. Toffler, A. (1981). The third wave. NY: Bantam Books. Toffler, A. (1971). Future shock. NY; Bantam Books. Wetzel, C. D., Radtke, P. H., Stern, H. W. (1994). Instructional effectiveness of video media. Hillsdale: N. J. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Publishers.

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