RESEARCH PAPER TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in EDLE & CUIN
EDUC 5324: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO EDUCATION
Name:

Touria Porter

Date: June, 18 2016

Topic Selected:
Traditionally, distance education courses lack face-to-face interaction. What are the
consequences of lack of interaction in distance education? What can be done to increase
interaction in distance education (online courses) so that same type of learning can occur
with face-to-face learning?

Brief Literature Review:

The earliest form of educational delivery mode is face-to-face
traditional mode, hosted in a defined school environment characterized
by teacher-students, or instructors-learners physical interaction.
Research on distance learning has been driven by what many are
calling the information revolution advancements in technology offer
both the general public, and faculty in particular , technology is having
and will continue to have a profound impact on colleges and
universities in America and around the globe.
For many years, researchers have endeavored to determine whether
distance education can provide the same level of academic excellence
as courses thought in traditional modes.
A large portion of distance education researcher has been devoted to
comparative studies of distance and traditional methods of education,
Brown and Wack(1999) Suggested that it is difficult to acquire clear
compelling evidence regarding the impact of technology on student
learning outcomes. They noted that studies attempting to provide this
evidence are usually based on the assumption that such compelling
evidence is attainable , and second , that even amid technology
change and shifting student populations such comparisons with
conventional education are relevant. Giannakos and chorianopoulos
and chrisochoides ,(2015), distance education often offer students the
ability the review the courses at their own pace prior or after
attending the lecture , however the lack of face to face remain the
most important aspect of any education , Phipps and Merisotis (1999,p
20 ) in a sweeping critiques of distance education studies noted that
most of the studies do not use randomly selected subject, they
conclude that these study run the risk of allowing multiple variable .
Saba(1998) and Ehrmann(1995) have suggested that many studies are
simply asking the wrong research question, Saba recommended that
research hypotheses focus on a whether education and strategies are
successfully engaging students and on whether or not that is sufficient
to promote the construction of knowledge
Despite the proliferation of online learning, some researchers are

skeptical about the effectiveness of interpersonal skill training

delivered by web technology, because of its limited interaction and
feedback in some cases

Reflection:

Face to face or physical interaction will remain to most important

aspect that distance education is lacking, this may cause many
problems, such as a great degree of flaming and isolation. The level of
difficulty and distress experienced by students might not clearly be
expressed. Working alone at night caused many complexities and
depressing experiences. Social bonds are very important for online
learners. University should increase the requirement for distance
learners student to attend certain hours where they can meet with
their classmates and teachers to get to know them in person, this way
they can work together to build a strong bonds and to have memories
of the time spent together, Its important that student feel the
connection otherwise they will become machines Without any social
skill , students will feel isolation and depression in the learning process
and may drop out of the program .
In Sum , faculty should carry the burden in distance education to plan
accordingly so that student should not suffer the short and the long
term consequences of being isolated and depressed, Another
important element that traditional learning offer is the teaching skill
that students learn when they are in a classroom where they can be
exposed to teachers displaying all teaching skill, the lack of this
exposure in distance learning will negatively impact students that may
never have the opportunity of observing how teachers deliver and
teach knowledge to students, another area that may be negatively
impacted by lack of physical interaction is , Professors should still have
the final word in planning and designing the curriculum , they should
keep the classes size reasonable in order to have the opportunity to
get to know each students personality and their learning style and to
make themselves available for immediate help not to forget the timely
completion of students grading and feedback.
In order for online courses to be successful the following measure
needs to be implemented
. Teacher training is a very crucial component that impact directly
online students learning outcomes and affect the success of the
program training should help teachers gain familiarity with various
course activities that students will experience and understand the
rationale for these activities.
. Teachers should become familiar with structure, dialogue, this help
instructors to facilitate a learning experience in which learners are
guided toward the capacity for greater choice and self-direction.
. Group work, and specifically the concept of collaborative control,
demonstrates that online learning is not an isolated activity and that
socialization, support, team-building, and problem-solving can be

developed through well-designed online course activities. These can

result in ownership of learning, self-direction, and autonomy.
Well-designed training should help instructors recognize how they can
incorporate their own voice through response to learners. The need for
quality learning to extend access to high level education with the aim
of having a workforce prepared to build the worlds knowledge
economy can be realized through online learning. Preparing instructor
expertise in this domain is key to its success and to transforming the
learning experience. The desired result of skilled facilitation of online
learning, demonstrates how such an activity helps learners serve their
communication, critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills
while increasing depth of knowledge in the subject area, These skills
are valued in the workplace (AAC&U, 2013, 2015), and have the
potential to lead to innovation (considered essential to the on-going
success of organizations by 92% of employers surveyed; AAC&U, 2013)
in order to improve quality of life and build local and global economies.
Online learning has a lot of potential to deliver a quality education to a large
population. However having teachers framework is a must to adjust the
pedagogies in addition teachers should have the willingness for new
approaches, because this type of learning requires a lot of collaboration for
the online learning experience to happen successfully.

References:
Andrade, M.S(2015). Teaching Online:A Theory-Based Approach to
Student Success.Journal Of Education And Training Studies.3(5),1-9.

Chen, Y.& Willits,F.K(1998). A Path Analysis of the concept in Moores

Theory of Transactional Distance in a Videoconferencing Learning
Environment.Journal Of Distance Education, 13(2),51-65
Oyeleke O., Oolugbenga,F.A,Oluwayemi,O.E,.&Sunday,A J.
(2015).Changing the landscape of learning Critical Factors in Open and
Distance Learning.Journal Of Education And Practice,6(3),53-61
Li,H.(2002).Distance Education:Pros,Cons, and the future.
Merisotie,J.P.,& Phipps, R.A (1999).Whats the difference?Outcomes of
distance vs.traditional classroom-based learning.Change,31(3).1217.doi.10.1080/00091389909602685
Saba, F.(1998).Is distance education comparable to
traditionaleducation?Distance Education report, sample issue,3
retrieved from the world Wide Web March, 2000:http//www.distanceeducator.com/der/comparable.html