A review by James Hendricks Jr.

Zirkle, C. & Guan, S. (2000). The journey into distance education. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 75(5), 18-22.

This article provides the reader with the important factors that are needed to develop a successful web-based course. The authors point out that it is very important for the instructor to answer some basic questions. These questions include: "Why do I want to offer distance learning," "What purpose will web-based courses serve for our school and students," and "Do we have the right resources?" These questions are all an integral part of building a successful online course. The authors, from Indiana State University, write that the reason they built online courses at the university because they wanted to serve the customers. They realized that college students are not always the traditional, live-on-campus types of students and that these non-traditional students are beginning to be constrained by the traditional university schedule.

It is important to realize, as the authors write, that there are specific things that make a good course. By integrating many different means of transferring information, such as video, sound and "friendly" class web pages, teachers are filling the void of the true human interaction in the campus classroom. By also requiring students to communicate by email or other electronic means, the instructor is providing a method for learning from others as well as the traditional professor. Course presentations can also accomplished by forwarding video tapes (made by the students) to the professor for transference to a web-based streaming video. By doing this, students are able to see their peers through the online course.

The authors also point out that you can’t be a good web instructor by just being a good on-campus professor. You must have the technology and training in order to create a good online course. The university must have the proper network and creation and deliverance software. Without this professors are "sunk." The professors must also have the training to operate the equipment and software that runs the online course. The authors point out that just having an outline and a syllabus online is not sufficient.

By developing these specific skills, many professors can deliver successful courses, however they must remember that online courses are works-in-progress and instructors must always reflect on the progress of the course.

Article Review by Scott Trepanier

Kilbane, Clare. “CaseNET: On-line, Cases for Teachers.” Edutopia. Spring 1999. P. 1,10.

Clare Kilbane, a doctoral student in educational evaluation at the University of Virginia, discusses CaseNet, an online program for teachers. With CaseNET, teachers and teaching students can replace the use of one-dimensional videotapes that are shown on the standard VCR. Kilbane describes this Internet program as a tool that can be used to understand students from different socio-cultural backgrounds, and communicate with colleagues that are all over the world. The main advantage of CaseNET is its interactive program that allows teachers to take part in various case studies in classrooms around the globe. The case studies present different types of problems that a teacher could face. Therefore, the program can be used to increase an educator’s ability to solve real-life problems in the classroom. Kilbane, goes on to discuss the limited amount of time and training that teachers currently receive in technology. Some schools may have inadequate computers or have teachers that are already overwhelmed with work. Kilbane still argues that teachers need to take advantage of these Internet programs because they will broaden one’s perspectives, and increase their knowledge about the profession of education.

Reviews by James Sparkes

1. Big Visions from Small Village Schools. Odasz, Frank. Edutopia, Spring 1999.

2. The Origins of Distance Education and its use in the United States. Matthews, Diane. The Journal – Technological Horizons in Education, volume 27, number 2, September, 1999.

This 12 page article provides a critical look at the birth and growth of online distance learning. Looking at the history of distance learning, the author outlines how it has been around for quite some time, but shows how it has exploded with computers. This is not a phenomena just in the United States, but worldwide. Traditionally distance learning has served learners in remote locations, however, today there are many different types of learners it serves. These learners include adults with time constraints that do not allow them to attend class regularly to part time students who find online courses easier for them. The article then examines the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning before ending by focusing on distance learning in the United States.
 
 

3. Reassessing the Assessment of Distance Education Courses. Dominguez, Paula S and Ridley, Dennis, Ph.D. The Journal – Technological Horizons in Education, volume 27, number 2, September, 1999.

This article examines the effectiveness of distance learning and how the authors feel it is much more student oriented that other forms of instruction traditionally used in today’s schools. The key question addressed here is how does online instruction prepare the learner for other types of instruction. The main thrust of the article is as a platform for the authors to voice their ideas on how distance education should be approached.
 
 

4. Migrating your Course to the Online Environment. Carlson, Rosemary. Syllabus - New Directions in Education Technology, volume 13, number 2, September, 1999.

This article takes a look at moving an existing course that you teach to the internet and the necessary steps to do so. The author points out that you should not think of this move as designing a new course, but rather you are changing the method of delivery of an old course. Key things pointed out are do not let the technology dictate how you teach but rather make it work for you, do not try to maintain your own webpage but rather have the school support it, and that while the initial set up is time intensive it is much easier to update a course of this nature.
 
 

5. On the Internet: Building Creativity in the Online Classroom. Nash, Susan S and Dougherty, Robert J. Syllabus - New Directions in Education Technology, volume 13, number 2, September, 1999.

This article stresses the importance of creativity in the online classroom, just as it is stressed in the traditional classroom. To assist others the authors list and then discuss the guidelines that were developed at the University of Oklahoma.
 
 

6. How to Design a Virtual Classroom – 10 Easy Steps to Follow. Hsu, Sam, Oge, Marques, Hamza, Khalid M, Alhalabi, Bassem. The Journal – Technological Horizons in Education, volume 27, number 2, September, 1999.

The title of the article says it all. The authors discuss what they see as the 10 steps to establishing an online classroom. The steps are in order and the article contains a flow chart that shows you a visual picture of how the classroom develops. One thing the authors point out, and one step that is often overlooked, is that once the virtual classroom is up and running it is critical to maintain and update it.