Paul wrote:
> This does not look like what is usually referred to as
> 'Distance Education'.Most of us would like the luxury of
> working with a cohort of 5-7 students, with individually
> designed projects.
> It does not appear that distance technology (internet, ITV,
> whatever) is a significant part of these programs. I
> suspect that they would be equally successful if done as
> a traditional independent study project. In fact, I see
> little in your description that is different from a good
> old Oxbridge tutorial.
As it happens, Vermont College (which uses the Goddard model, btw) and
the Union Institute are among the oldest institutions in the US which
focus on distance learning approaches.
What I outlined _is_ typical of the better dl programs (schools on that
model include Goddard College, Vermont College, The Union Institute,
Antioch College, and a number of others)--not the "distance learning"
model that has relatively recently been introduced in traditional
institutions.
I agree that schools which offer little more than traditional course
content made available via the net or other sources are certainly no
better (if as good) as those using traditional approaches. But true dl
programs don't restrict themselves to the course/classroom model--they
focus on individualized programs that require serious initiative and
commitment on the part of the student.
For the record, I took my BA from Vermont College before there _was_ a
World Wide Web (we had BITNET access through the unix system available at
the college and my online research involved people who used such services
as bix, GEnie, and (of course) educational network access via unix
workstations at their institutions. Interfaces were text only, and the
concept of offering actual course over the net would have been absurd--if
you wanted to access the computer system from your home, you had to call
long distance and connect to a 300 to 1200b modem at the college!
There _are_ institutions that use an online delivery system for their
course work and yet offer excellent programs (Baker College is an example
of such a school), but even there the course structure is designed from
the ground up to be delivered via computer--and to integrate student
interaction with subject mastery--not merely to replace an essentially
similar on-campus section of the course. Baker, for example, offers an
online MBA in Computer Information Systems that requires the students to
not only master the material, but to demonstrate that mastery in their
online interactions with the system itself!
Don't judge dl by the "correspondance school" model--the better schools
dislike that model as much as you do.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College, Jackson, MI
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds
will be the love you leave behind when you're gone."
Fred Small, J.D., "Everything Possible"
