Postmortem on a Distance Education Course: Successes and Failures
Abstract
Athabasca University (AU) is an open university committed to delivering
courses via distance education technology. In 1973, AU started work
on "World Ecology: The Scientific Context" as its first home study
course. This paper describes the birth, life, and death of this course. We
deal here with the successes and failures associated with the design, production,
delivery, and evaluation of the course, not with its content. Our
findings may help academics and managers save time, effort, and
expense in producing and delivering their own courses (cf. Fyfe 1981;
Gussow 1978).
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The effect of a pre-course orientation handbook on student persistence in undergraduate online courses
Lockhart, Kathryn E. (2011-05-11)The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not orientation for new online students presented in a pre-course handbook would impact student persistence. In this sequential mixed-methods quasi-experimental study ... -
TeleEducation NB and the Telecampus online course database: Building the learning industry in New Brunswick
McGreal, Rory (Commonwealth of Learning, 1999)The TeleCampus online course database (http://database.telecampus.com) is a project of TeleEducation NB. It has implemented as a comprehensive online course database sponsored by Industry Canada, the World Bank, the ... -
Distance education MBA students: An investigation into the use of an orientation course to address academic and social integration issues
Kanuka, Heather; Jugdev, Kam (Open Learning, 2006)Distance education programs warrant the use of innovative intervention practices to enhance student learning experiences. Academic and social empathy by faculty has been shown to enhance student retention in programs along ...