Dr. Bob Spencer
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I am an Associate Professor in the Centre for Distance Education (CDE) at Athabasca University. I was the founding Director of CDE and served from 1986 until June 30, 2008. During this time, CDE developed Athabasca University’s first graduate program, a Master of Distance Education, and its first doctorate program, an EdD in Distance Education.
Prior to the establishment of CDE, I worked as a research associate at AU from 1979-1980, and as an Instructional Designer and Instructional Evauluator from 1980-1986. Thus, I have been at Athabasca University for nearly 30 years and have seem many changes not only at Athabasca University but in distance and open education in general.
In April 2008, I was awarded the first annual Leadership Award by the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education.
My research interests are many and include such topics as:i nstructional design, program evaluation, student behavior in online environments measurements of “success” in distance education
Recent Submissions
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The Self-Reported Impact of Graduate Program Completion on the Careers and Plans of Graduates
(2009-01-23)Abstract The Centre for Distance Education, Athabasca University, commenced a survey of all graduates of its two programs, the Master of Distance Education (MDE) degree, and the Graduate Diploma (GD) in Technology, in ... -
Research Experience and Agreement With Selected Ethics Principles From Canada’s Tri-Council Policy Statement—Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
(Canadian Network for Innovation in Education, 2004)An online survey was conducted of students, instructors, and researchers in distance education regarding principles for the ethical treatment of human research subjects. The study used an online questionnaire based on ... -
The mind of a plagiarist
(Taylor & Francis Group LTD, 2005-03)The ease with which material may be "copied and pasted" from the Internet into written work is raising concern in educational institutions, and particularly in those disciplines that use online courses and methods in their ... -
Factors Affecting the Development and Use of Learning Objects
(Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006)This study explored barriers and facilitating factors affecting the development and use of learning objects in developing instructional materials and their use in supporting individualized learning. Over a two-month period, ... -
The Personalized System of Instruction: Review and Applications to Distance Education
(International Review Research in Distance and Open Learning, 2003)The present paper (a) outlines the basic features of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI); (b) provides a brief history of PSI; and (c) describes the application of PSI to distance education. Some common misconceptions ...