Randall, K., & McGuire, E. G. (1997, November). Innovations in a global distance education program. In Frontiers in Education Conference, 1997. 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change. Proceedings. (Vol. 1, pp. 339-342). IEEE.

Categories: Technology, Communication Design

Summary & Citations:

Randall and McGuire studied a large organization's global distance education program and reported on their findings.  Their review of distance learning discussed: (1) PLATO, a commputer-assisted instruction (CAI) system that networked computers, (2) the advancement of email in academic settings at the beginning of the 1970s, (3) the computer conferencing systems "used for course activity and delivery" used by businesses then by schools, starting with Dartmouth's Intercultural Learning Network which linked k-12 students in San Diego and Alaska, then added other states before eventually involving schoolchildren in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Israel (pp. 339-340).

"A summary of the benefits from distance education that [they observed included]:

• Students become more active and independent participants in their own education.
• Teachers focus on collaboration and group activities and their role changes to that of facilitator and mentor. 
• Teachers can collaborate with each other more easily. 
• Students can communicate and collaborate with their peers more easily. 
• Access to resources greatly expands.
• High-quality educational offerings can be maintained and enhanced while budgets shrink" (Randall & McGuire, 1997, p. 341).

"Distance learning alternatives work best when they are strategically planned and are aligned with the business objectives and environment of the organization. There are many possible benefits of distance learning as briefly described above but these will not occur automatically. Organizations must adopt appropriate implementation strategies for distance learning that consider a wide range of teacher, studetn, pedagogical, and technology issues" (Randall & McGuire, 1997, p. 341).