Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji 08832320209599681
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Overcoming Barriers to Successful Delivery of
Distance-Learning Courses
Heidi Perreault , Lila Waldman , Melody Alexander & Jensen Zhao
To cite this article: Heidi Perreault , Lila Waldman , Melody Alexander & Jensen Zhao (2002)
Overcoming Barriers to Successful Delivery of Distance-Learning Courses, Journal of Education
for Business, 77:6, 313-318, DOI: 10.1080/08832320209599681
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320209599681
Published online: 31 Mar 2010.
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Overcoming Barriers to Successful
Delivery of Distance-Learning Courses
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HEIDI PERREAULT
Southwest Missouri State University
Springfield, Missouri
W
LILA WALDMAN
Bloomsburg University
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
MELODY ALEXANDER
JENSENZHAO
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
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eb-based distance education
offers the ideal combination of
self-paced learning and interactivity.
With distance-learning courses, students can schedule their learning for
convenient times and take courses from
either work or home at any hour of the
day or night. On-line discussions, email-support collaboration, and interactive presentations provided through
Webcasts create a sense of community
for students (Frankola, 2001, p. 16).
As distance learning expands and
matures, it is important for researchers
to (a) identify those factors that make a
distance-learning course successful and
(b) determine strategies for supporting
faculty members and students participating in on-line courses. They should
also identify, address, and remedy barriers and problems.
Purpose and Problem
Statements
Our purpose in this study was to
examine perceptions on the important
problems in the development and delivery of distance-learning courses among
college of business faculty members who
deliver such courses. Once the factors
deemed most important for the successful delivery of a course are identified,
strategies for improving development
and delivery can be defined and shared.
ABSTRACT. For this study, the
authors collected data from 81 business professors who taught distancelearning courses at 61 U.S. business
schools accredited by the American
Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB). Findings indicate
that the professors (a) primarily used
self-training for the design and delivery of on-line courses, (b) believed
that the technology was not suffciently reliable, (c) believed that the greatest benefit of distance learning was
flexibility for students, and (d) perceived a student-centered teaching
approach as necessary for successful
distance-education courses.
Related Literature Review
According to the U.S. Department of
Education (1999), one in three higher
education institutions in the United
States offered some type of distance
education during the 1997-98 academic
year. Nearly 80% of all 4-year and
almost two thirds of 2-year public institutions made distance education available to students during this period. Of
the institutions that did not offer distance
education, 20% planned to offer some
type of remote delivery service by 2002
(U.S. Department of Education, 1999).
To clarify the need for this study and
the specific research areas, we focused
our review of the related literature on
the following three issues: (a) distancelearning instructional issues, (b) instructor and course preparation considera-
tions, and (c) factors associated with
offering and delivering distance-education courses.
Distance-Learning Instruction
Students who participate in distancelearning courses may encounter several
technology-related difficulties. Students
taking a course at the Grant MacEwan
Community College in Alberta, Canada,
indicated that they had problems submitting assignments by e-mail and obtaining and locating information. They also
reported that the difficulties subsided as
they gained experience in using the
courseware. Faculty members at Grant
MacEwan agreed that many of the problems associated with their distancelearning courses were technology related. Many of the teachers felt that
students overestimated their computer
expertise when they enrolled in the
course. To assist the students with technology-related problems, instructors can
provide support through an on-line help
desk and student tutorials (White, 2000).
A common barrier or disappointment
reported by distance-learning students
is the lack of face-to-face interaction
with the professor and other students.
Sometimes students need to talk to the
instructor outside of class time. Students in a distance setting may not be
able to drive to campus during the
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313
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instructor’s office hours. Loeding and
Wynn (1999) noted the importance of
providing students with opportunities to
talk to the instructor and suggested that
instructors encourage students to use
the telephone, faxes, e-mail, and other
means for communication.
The increased reliance on e-mail can
become a problem. Although distanceeducation faculty members consider
their personalized feedback given to
students through e-mail important, they
note that the sheer volume of e-mail
often becomes problematic. In traditional courses, students expect feedback at
the next scheduled meeting: however,
when communicating on-line, students
expect immediate feedback. This expectation causes some faculty members to
feel that they must be available to the
students 100% of the time, including
evenings and weekends (White, 2000).
Therefore, by sharing guidelines with
students on expected turnaround time
for answering e-mails, instructors can
avert unrealistic student expectations
regarding response times to their emails or assignments. Setting on-line
“office hours” for student participation
in instant messaging or chat room conversations is another means of providing students with planned access to the
instructor (Berger, 1999).
Student-to-student communication is
also important to the success of a course.
Collaboration and team projects are
standard components of college classes.
On-line courses often incorporate a
threaded discussion as part of the course
requirements. Students make comments,
ask questions, and respond to other
classmates’ input. Cooper (2000)
encouraged the use of a computer-based
classroom management system. Such
systems provide tools that support student interaction and collaboration as
well as monitor student participation
Cooper (2000) also noted that on-line
testing can be problematic. If the course
uses an objective test format, a benefit
of most on-line course management
systems is the provision of automatic
grades and immediate feedback to the
students. However, objective test formats are not appropriate for all courses.
A possible solution is the use of alternative assessment strategies such as portfolios (Carlson, 2000). Instructors may
314
Journal of Education for Business
need training on developing and using
alternative assessment techniques.
Boettcher and Vijay-Kumar (2000)
warned that shifting programs and
courses from the physical to the digital
campus is not an easy undertaking.
Considerable planning and the development of an infrastructure are necessary
for circumventing the common problems associated with distance-learning
programs. Loeding and Wynn (1999)
strongly recommended that faculty
members attend training sessions and/or
participate in the type of distance course
that they will be delivering so that they
can design the course and prepare materials more appropriately for the instructional medium used. bani & Telg (2001)
recommended formal training in both
the technology and distance education
methodology. Too often, training is limited to the use of a specific software
package or particular technology such
as video conferencing.
the instructional process for courses
delivered in a distance setting. Design
includes incorporation of the instructor’s and the students’ viewpoints, backgrounds, and tools. Some of the factors
included in instructional design are providing support for the curriculum, using
teaching and learning management
tools, and selecting the best mix of
available technologies. Educators
should not be expected to make all of
the design decisions. We suggest a team
approach using instructors, curriculum
designers, and technology experts.
Whatever combination of training and
support is offered to faculty members,
adapting to the new delivery format still
will be a challenge. According to Gene
Ziegler, a consultant on distance education, the biggest change is moving from
a lecture to a coach or mentoring style
for teaching on-line courses (Daily,
2000). Building a personal relationship
with students whom the instructor may
never meet in person is very difficult.
White, who teaches on-line facilitation
techniques for a Seattle consulting
group, stressed that instructors must be
willing to put in extra work to make online courses as successful as classroomdelivered courses (Sitze, 2000).
Instructor and student communications in all distance-learning formats
differ from the communications in a
classroom-based course. In the classroom, there are multiple opportunities
for immediate two-way communication.
Berger (1999) suggested that instructors
need to make a special effort at the start
of a distance-learning course to build an
effective communication framework.
Her research indicates that student anxiety levels are highest at the start of a
distance-learning course. Students, concerned that they are missing important
announcements or misunderstanding
the responsibilities or expectations of
the course, contact the instructor to seek
assurances and clarification. The volume of e-mail and voice messages from
the students then overwhelms the faculty members.
Extra communication effort is needed
at other times in the course as well;
Kiser (1999) stressed the need to incorporate the “human touch” to motivate
and support learners throughout the
course. Offering assistance and oppor-
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Instructor and Course Preparation
Considerations
At some institutions, faculty members are expected to create distanceeducation courses with little or no support, whereas other institutions provide
technical support and faculty training
(Boettcher, 1999). Barbara Maaskant,
director of information services at
Emory’s Goizueta School, agreed that
support and encouragement of faculty
members involved in developing nontraditional courses varies widely across
educational institutions (Daily, 2000).
Financial incentives, through grants or
additional salary options, may be
offered to faculty members for developing on-line courses. Some institutions
provide faculty members with training
on using Web-based technology and
expect faculty members to take full
responsibility for the course development. Other institutions have created
on-line educational support centers with
technology support personnel and curriculum designers. Faculty members
provide the subject-matter expertise,
and the support-center personnel convert the course materials to an on-line
format (Daily, 2000).
Riley and Gallo (2000) stressed the
importance of designing all aspects of
z
tunities for discussion of course-related
materials supports the distance-learning
environment. She noted that an on-line
course without collaboration had a completion rate of only 25%. When the
same course was offered with access to
a tutor through e-mail or telephone and
collaboration was supported through a
discussion list, the completion rate
increased to 75%.
Method
To investigate the perceptions of distance-education instructors, we developed a questionnaire based on the related literature review and researchers’
experience of distance education. The
questionnaire covered the following
areas: (a) distance-education teaching
experience, (b) distance-education
course development and training, (c)
problems and issues relating to distance
education, and (d) factors relating to
distance education.
questionnaire to nonrespondents. Of the
184 professors identified as possible
participants, usable responses were
received from 81, resulting in a
response rate of 48.5%. We analyzed
data through descriptive statistics,
including percentages and frequencies.
Statistical significance was tested
between different groups.
The participants in our study ( N = 8 1)
were relatively new to distance education, with the majority having taught
distance-learning courses for no more
than 3 years. However, 23% indicated
that they had been teaching some types
of distance-learning courses for 5 or
more years. Most participants indicated
that their experience with distancelearning courses involved either only
Web-based or both Web-based and
interactive television courses.
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Distance-Learning Factors
From a student perspective, the
advantages associated with distancelearning courses are very personalized.
According to a review of numerous
studies on distance learning in the
National Education Association and
American Federation of Teachers commissioned report, What’s the Difference, students select a distance-learning format for its flexibility and the
“luxury” of not commuting to class
(Institute of Higher Education Policy,
1999). Distance learning is indeed a
viable alternative to classroom instruction and provides increased learning
opportunities for traditional and nontraditional students (Cooper, 2000).
Students can participate in distance
courses from any location at any time
instead of traveling to a campus on specific days. However, to truly meet the
needs of the students, distance courses
must be student centered (Graves,
2000).
By moving from instructor-centered
teaching to student-centered learning,
the instructor becomes a facilitator or
coach who prompts learners and clarifies expectations. Students have different learning styles and backgrounds.
Distance education provides a means
for customizing the learning environment by allowing a student to determine how fast and how deeply to examine a subject. The instructor provides
the resources, activities, and feedback,
but the student selects the pace. Distance learning allows the student who
just needs an overview to move quickly through the information, while giving the student who needs more thorough coverage the opportunity to
examine multiple resources and review
as many times as necessary the activities and readings (Appleton, 1999).
Content Validity
A ]%-member panel of experts that
included distance educators and administrators validated the content of the
questionnaire. Panel members were
involved in the development and teaching of distance education courses. The
panel’s evaluation indicated that the
instrument covered the stated objectives.
Survey Participants and Data Analysis
Through Website e-mail addresses
and phone numbers, we contacted all
335 business schools accredited by the
AACSB in the United States and asked
them to provide the names of professors
teaching a distance-learning courses in a
business area. Sixty-one institutions
agreed to participate in the study and
provided names and mailing addresses
of 184 professors who taught business
courses through distance learning. We
conducted the study during the
2000-2001 academic year, sending
business professors a cover letter with
the questionnaire. After 6 weeks, we
sent a follow-up letter and with the
Findings
Though problems and frustrations
exist in all learning situations, the
respondents in our study provided an
insight into the issues that they found to
be most troublesome in the delivery of a
distance learning course. They also provided insight into how their courses
were developed and what kind of training they received for creating and/or
delivering them. Finally, the respondents provided their opinions on the
qualities that make a course successful.
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I
Technology and Instructional
Delivery Issues
The respondents identified technology itself as an issue, and technology
reliability as a major issue. Even a small
TABLE 1. Percentage of Respondents Indicating Problems Associated
With Technology (N= 81)
Technologyrelated issues
Reliability of
technology
Technology support
Problematic
problematic
No
problem
51
29
20
19
39
41
13
50
37
4
37
59
Somewhat
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provided by institution
Student technology
competence
Teacher technology
competence
July/August 2002
315
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technical “glitch,” such as a server being
temporarily unavailable or a minor
transmission interruption, disrupts the
learning process. In Table 1, we present
the percentage of respondents reporting
problems associated with technologyrelated issues. Eighty percent of the
respondents indicated that technology
reliability was problematic or somewhat
problematic. Over 50% of the respondents indicated that the technical support provided by the institution to support the delivery of the course was
problematic or somewhat problematic.
Another technology-related problem
was student and instructor levels of
technology competence. Sixty-three
percent of the respondents reported that
student technology competence was
problematic or somewhat problematic.
However, only 41% felt that the instructor’s technology competence was problematic or somewhat problematic.
Other instruction-related issues noted
by the respondents involved access to
resources, students’ communicating
with the instructor and with other students, and testing (see Table 2). Sixtyeight of the respondents considered student access to course-related resources
as problematic or somewhat problematic. Another access issue listed as being
problematic by a majority of the respondents was student-to-teacher communication. Communication among students
working on team projects was considered problematic by 50% of the respondents. Although included in Table 1 as
an instructional problem, test administration was perceived as problematic or
somewhat problematic by only 47% of
the respondents
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Course Development and Instructor
Training
The majority of the respondents indicated that they had created the distancelearning course themselves. Some had
received technical support from the
TABLE 2. Percentage of Respondents Indicating Problems Associated
With Instruction
Instructionrelated issues
Somewhat
problematic
Problematic
Student access to
resources
Student and teacher
communication
Team projects
Administering tests
42
32
21
40
33
32
39
50
53
15
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problem
No
26
17
Flexibility for
student
New opportunity
for adult learni‘“g
Cost efficiency
for students
Faculty member
as facilitator
New teaching
approach
Student-centered
learning
316
Very
important
Important
Not
important
Unsure
64
26
4
6
37
36
5
22
15
29
19
37
39
47
3
11
37
36
6
21
33
26
5
36
Journal of Education for Business
I
I
Importance of Selected Factors in
Distance Learning
The two student-related factors
receiving the highest importance rating
were (a) flexibility provided to students
(90%) and (b) new opportunities provided to adult learners (73%). Two faculty-related factors involved methods
for course delivery: (a) Eighty-six percent of the respondents believed that the
instructor’s role as a facilitator when
teaching a distance-learning course was
very important or important, and (b)
73% believed that the use of new teaching approaches was important or very
important (see Table 3).
Fifty-nine percent of the respondents
rated student-centered learning in distance education as important or very
important. However, 36% were unsure
about the importance of this factor. The
unsure response could indicate that
some respondents were not familiar
with the term “student-centered learning.” When asked about the cost-efficiency issue in distance education, only
44% of the respondents rated it very
important or important. In contrast,
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TABLE 3. Respondents’Perceptions of the Importance of Factors
Associated With Distance Education (“h)
Factor
institution, and a few were provided
with a graduate assistant. Fifty-three
percent indicated that they created the
course in their spare time, and 16% stated that they received release time to
develop it. Nearly half of the respondents (47%) received at least some technical support from their institutions, and
a few (7%) had a graduate assistant
assigned to help while they developed
the course. Thirteen percent indicated
that the development was a team effort
among colleagues. Very few (4%) of the
respondents indicated that the course
was purchased from a third party.
Sixty-three percent of the respondents
said that they mainly had taught themselves how to create and deliver distance-learning courses without any formal training. In-house workshops (53%)
and mentoring or coaching (31%) were
the typical types of training offered by
the respondents’ schools. Only a few
respondents participated in a traditional
workshop (1 1%) or a Web-based workshop (6%)outside of their institutions to
learn about creating and/or delivering
distance-learning courses.
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37% were unsure, and 19% rated it as
not important.
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Discussion
Distance-education courses present
some unique problems within the learning environment. A majority of the
respondents in our study reported problems with the reliability of the technology, student technology competence,
and technical support provided by the
institution. These findings are consistent with the literature indicating that
students often overestimate their technical expertise when selecting an on-line
course (White, 2000). The American
Association of University Professors
Statement on Distance Learning stated
that the institution must take responsibility for the technological delivery of
the course. Carr (2000) reported that
some schools have rushed to develop an
on-line presence and that the resulting
courses are prone to design and technical problems. Courses that experience
continued technical problems fail to
meet the educational needs of students.
A second category of problems noted
by the respondents was instructional but
still included technology use. The problems were student access to needed
course materials and communication
issues between the teacher and students
and among students. Both faculty members and students may need training on
how to best use the resources provided
through distance-education technology.
Rosenblum (2000) suggested that the
key challenge for the instructor is to
design a learning environment in which
learning does not rely on face-to-face
communication. He stressed the need
for students to have easy access to
course materials, both on-line and
offline. The course design should
encourage independent learning by providing self-paced tutorials, opportunities for engaged learning, and selfassessments. Too many distanceeducation courses follow the same design as classroom-based courses and fail
to make use of the technology available.
Keeping up to date with technology is
a major challenge for educators
(Schank, 2000). Converting courses to
an on-line format requires using technology and instructional methodologies
in new ways. The “Quality on the Line”
report prepared by the nonprofit Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000)
has specified that faculty members must
be assisted in the transition from classroom teaching to on-line instruction.
The results of our survey indicate that
such support is not yet available to most
instructors. About half of the respondents (53%) had participated in at least
one in-house workshop on distancelearning technologies and/or distancelearning course development, and under
a third of the respondents indicated that
a mentoring or coaching relationship
was available to them when they prepared for and delivered their distancelearning course.
Although problems and concerns
were identified, the majority of the
respondents perceived distance education to be of value to students, primarily
for the flexibility and increased opportunities for adult learning that it provides. The new facilitator role and the
new teaching approaches required were
the two most important factors concerning faculty members.
Recommendations
Our purpose in this study was to
determine issues and problems associated with distance-learning courses so that
solutions can be found that improve their
development and delivery. The main
problems identified related to the reliability, support for, and use of the technology. Other problems noted related to
adapting teaching styles to the distance
format and fostering communications.
Training is the most obvious solution
to the problems noted by the educators.
To use the technology effectively, educators need opportunities to use and
experiment with the technologies and
the software outside of an actual class
situation. As the educators become
more familiar and comfortable with the
distance-education technologies, the
training needs can be refocused onto
curriculum design and delivery issues.
Until educators have such experience
with the technology, strong technical
and curricula support must be provided.
Teaming educators with curriculum
designers and technology support specialists can provide a means for creating
distance-learning courses that provide
students a challenging and supportive
learning environment. We recommend
the following steps for solving or
decreasing the severity of the identified
problems:
1. Provide technical support both to
faculty members and students for technology issues.
2. Provide training to instructors on use
of all the technologies available for the
distance-learning course. The technologies would include course management
and other software packages, fax, e-mail,
scanners, and other technologies.
3. Team instructors with curriculum
developers who have expertise in distance-learning design and technologies
and incorporate student-centered activities into distance-learning courses.
4. Conduct workshops for instructors
on how to take on the role of a facilitator in the distance-education learning
format.
5. Incorporate into all distance-courses
multiple means for communicating with
students including e-mail, course discussion boards, the telephone, and online office hours.
6 . Work with curriculum designers to
create activities that foster student-tostudent collaboration.
7. Provide training or tutorials to students planning to take their first distance-learning course to help them learn
how to use the technologies and how to
communicate with a faculty member
and/or other students.
8. Provide students with easy access to
resources. The resources may be print
materials or CD-Roms sent to the student when she or he registers or links to
on-line resources.
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ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Overcoming Barriers to Successful Delivery of
Distance-Learning Courses
Heidi Perreault , Lila Waldman , Melody Alexander & Jensen Zhao
To cite this article: Heidi Perreault , Lila Waldman , Melody Alexander & Jensen Zhao (2002)
Overcoming Barriers to Successful Delivery of Distance-Learning Courses, Journal of Education
for Business, 77:6, 313-318, DOI: 10.1080/08832320209599681
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832320209599681
Published online: 31 Mar 2010.
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Overcoming Barriers to Successful
Delivery of Distance-Learning Courses
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HEIDI PERREAULT
Southwest Missouri State University
Springfield, Missouri
W
LILA WALDMAN
Bloomsburg University
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
MELODY ALEXANDER
JENSENZHAO
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
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eb-based distance education
offers the ideal combination of
self-paced learning and interactivity.
With distance-learning courses, students can schedule their learning for
convenient times and take courses from
either work or home at any hour of the
day or night. On-line discussions, email-support collaboration, and interactive presentations provided through
Webcasts create a sense of community
for students (Frankola, 2001, p. 16).
As distance learning expands and
matures, it is important for researchers
to (a) identify those factors that make a
distance-learning course successful and
(b) determine strategies for supporting
faculty members and students participating in on-line courses. They should
also identify, address, and remedy barriers and problems.
Purpose and Problem
Statements
Our purpose in this study was to
examine perceptions on the important
problems in the development and delivery of distance-learning courses among
college of business faculty members who
deliver such courses. Once the factors
deemed most important for the successful delivery of a course are identified,
strategies for improving development
and delivery can be defined and shared.
ABSTRACT. For this study, the
authors collected data from 81 business professors who taught distancelearning courses at 61 U.S. business
schools accredited by the American
Assembly of Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB). Findings indicate
that the professors (a) primarily used
self-training for the design and delivery of on-line courses, (b) believed
that the technology was not suffciently reliable, (c) believed that the greatest benefit of distance learning was
flexibility for students, and (d) perceived a student-centered teaching
approach as necessary for successful
distance-education courses.
Related Literature Review
According to the U.S. Department of
Education (1999), one in three higher
education institutions in the United
States offered some type of distance
education during the 1997-98 academic
year. Nearly 80% of all 4-year and
almost two thirds of 2-year public institutions made distance education available to students during this period. Of
the institutions that did not offer distance
education, 20% planned to offer some
type of remote delivery service by 2002
(U.S. Department of Education, 1999).
To clarify the need for this study and
the specific research areas, we focused
our review of the related literature on
the following three issues: (a) distancelearning instructional issues, (b) instructor and course preparation considera-
tions, and (c) factors associated with
offering and delivering distance-education courses.
Distance-Learning Instruction
Students who participate in distancelearning courses may encounter several
technology-related difficulties. Students
taking a course at the Grant MacEwan
Community College in Alberta, Canada,
indicated that they had problems submitting assignments by e-mail and obtaining and locating information. They also
reported that the difficulties subsided as
they gained experience in using the
courseware. Faculty members at Grant
MacEwan agreed that many of the problems associated with their distancelearning courses were technology related. Many of the teachers felt that
students overestimated their computer
expertise when they enrolled in the
course. To assist the students with technology-related problems, instructors can
provide support through an on-line help
desk and student tutorials (White, 2000).
A common barrier or disappointment
reported by distance-learning students
is the lack of face-to-face interaction
with the professor and other students.
Sometimes students need to talk to the
instructor outside of class time. Students in a distance setting may not be
able to drive to campus during the
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July/August 2002
313
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instructor’s office hours. Loeding and
Wynn (1999) noted the importance of
providing students with opportunities to
talk to the instructor and suggested that
instructors encourage students to use
the telephone, faxes, e-mail, and other
means for communication.
The increased reliance on e-mail can
become a problem. Although distanceeducation faculty members consider
their personalized feedback given to
students through e-mail important, they
note that the sheer volume of e-mail
often becomes problematic. In traditional courses, students expect feedback at
the next scheduled meeting: however,
when communicating on-line, students
expect immediate feedback. This expectation causes some faculty members to
feel that they must be available to the
students 100% of the time, including
evenings and weekends (White, 2000).
Therefore, by sharing guidelines with
students on expected turnaround time
for answering e-mails, instructors can
avert unrealistic student expectations
regarding response times to their emails or assignments. Setting on-line
“office hours” for student participation
in instant messaging or chat room conversations is another means of providing students with planned access to the
instructor (Berger, 1999).
Student-to-student communication is
also important to the success of a course.
Collaboration and team projects are
standard components of college classes.
On-line courses often incorporate a
threaded discussion as part of the course
requirements. Students make comments,
ask questions, and respond to other
classmates’ input. Cooper (2000)
encouraged the use of a computer-based
classroom management system. Such
systems provide tools that support student interaction and collaboration as
well as monitor student participation
Cooper (2000) also noted that on-line
testing can be problematic. If the course
uses an objective test format, a benefit
of most on-line course management
systems is the provision of automatic
grades and immediate feedback to the
students. However, objective test formats are not appropriate for all courses.
A possible solution is the use of alternative assessment strategies such as portfolios (Carlson, 2000). Instructors may
314
Journal of Education for Business
need training on developing and using
alternative assessment techniques.
Boettcher and Vijay-Kumar (2000)
warned that shifting programs and
courses from the physical to the digital
campus is not an easy undertaking.
Considerable planning and the development of an infrastructure are necessary
for circumventing the common problems associated with distance-learning
programs. Loeding and Wynn (1999)
strongly recommended that faculty
members attend training sessions and/or
participate in the type of distance course
that they will be delivering so that they
can design the course and prepare materials more appropriately for the instructional medium used. bani & Telg (2001)
recommended formal training in both
the technology and distance education
methodology. Too often, training is limited to the use of a specific software
package or particular technology such
as video conferencing.
the instructional process for courses
delivered in a distance setting. Design
includes incorporation of the instructor’s and the students’ viewpoints, backgrounds, and tools. Some of the factors
included in instructional design are providing support for the curriculum, using
teaching and learning management
tools, and selecting the best mix of
available technologies. Educators
should not be expected to make all of
the design decisions. We suggest a team
approach using instructors, curriculum
designers, and technology experts.
Whatever combination of training and
support is offered to faculty members,
adapting to the new delivery format still
will be a challenge. According to Gene
Ziegler, a consultant on distance education, the biggest change is moving from
a lecture to a coach or mentoring style
for teaching on-line courses (Daily,
2000). Building a personal relationship
with students whom the instructor may
never meet in person is very difficult.
White, who teaches on-line facilitation
techniques for a Seattle consulting
group, stressed that instructors must be
willing to put in extra work to make online courses as successful as classroomdelivered courses (Sitze, 2000).
Instructor and student communications in all distance-learning formats
differ from the communications in a
classroom-based course. In the classroom, there are multiple opportunities
for immediate two-way communication.
Berger (1999) suggested that instructors
need to make a special effort at the start
of a distance-learning course to build an
effective communication framework.
Her research indicates that student anxiety levels are highest at the start of a
distance-learning course. Students, concerned that they are missing important
announcements or misunderstanding
the responsibilities or expectations of
the course, contact the instructor to seek
assurances and clarification. The volume of e-mail and voice messages from
the students then overwhelms the faculty members.
Extra communication effort is needed
at other times in the course as well;
Kiser (1999) stressed the need to incorporate the “human touch” to motivate
and support learners throughout the
course. Offering assistance and oppor-
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Instructor and Course Preparation
Considerations
At some institutions, faculty members are expected to create distanceeducation courses with little or no support, whereas other institutions provide
technical support and faculty training
(Boettcher, 1999). Barbara Maaskant,
director of information services at
Emory’s Goizueta School, agreed that
support and encouragement of faculty
members involved in developing nontraditional courses varies widely across
educational institutions (Daily, 2000).
Financial incentives, through grants or
additional salary options, may be
offered to faculty members for developing on-line courses. Some institutions
provide faculty members with training
on using Web-based technology and
expect faculty members to take full
responsibility for the course development. Other institutions have created
on-line educational support centers with
technology support personnel and curriculum designers. Faculty members
provide the subject-matter expertise,
and the support-center personnel convert the course materials to an on-line
format (Daily, 2000).
Riley and Gallo (2000) stressed the
importance of designing all aspects of
z
tunities for discussion of course-related
materials supports the distance-learning
environment. She noted that an on-line
course without collaboration had a completion rate of only 25%. When the
same course was offered with access to
a tutor through e-mail or telephone and
collaboration was supported through a
discussion list, the completion rate
increased to 75%.
Method
To investigate the perceptions of distance-education instructors, we developed a questionnaire based on the related literature review and researchers’
experience of distance education. The
questionnaire covered the following
areas: (a) distance-education teaching
experience, (b) distance-education
course development and training, (c)
problems and issues relating to distance
education, and (d) factors relating to
distance education.
questionnaire to nonrespondents. Of the
184 professors identified as possible
participants, usable responses were
received from 81, resulting in a
response rate of 48.5%. We analyzed
data through descriptive statistics,
including percentages and frequencies.
Statistical significance was tested
between different groups.
The participants in our study ( N = 8 1)
were relatively new to distance education, with the majority having taught
distance-learning courses for no more
than 3 years. However, 23% indicated
that they had been teaching some types
of distance-learning courses for 5 or
more years. Most participants indicated
that their experience with distancelearning courses involved either only
Web-based or both Web-based and
interactive television courses.
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Distance-Learning Factors
From a student perspective, the
advantages associated with distancelearning courses are very personalized.
According to a review of numerous
studies on distance learning in the
National Education Association and
American Federation of Teachers commissioned report, What’s the Difference, students select a distance-learning format for its flexibility and the
“luxury” of not commuting to class
(Institute of Higher Education Policy,
1999). Distance learning is indeed a
viable alternative to classroom instruction and provides increased learning
opportunities for traditional and nontraditional students (Cooper, 2000).
Students can participate in distance
courses from any location at any time
instead of traveling to a campus on specific days. However, to truly meet the
needs of the students, distance courses
must be student centered (Graves,
2000).
By moving from instructor-centered
teaching to student-centered learning,
the instructor becomes a facilitator or
coach who prompts learners and clarifies expectations. Students have different learning styles and backgrounds.
Distance education provides a means
for customizing the learning environment by allowing a student to determine how fast and how deeply to examine a subject. The instructor provides
the resources, activities, and feedback,
but the student selects the pace. Distance learning allows the student who
just needs an overview to move quickly through the information, while giving the student who needs more thorough coverage the opportunity to
examine multiple resources and review
as many times as necessary the activities and readings (Appleton, 1999).
Content Validity
A ]%-member panel of experts that
included distance educators and administrators validated the content of the
questionnaire. Panel members were
involved in the development and teaching of distance education courses. The
panel’s evaluation indicated that the
instrument covered the stated objectives.
Survey Participants and Data Analysis
Through Website e-mail addresses
and phone numbers, we contacted all
335 business schools accredited by the
AACSB in the United States and asked
them to provide the names of professors
teaching a distance-learning courses in a
business area. Sixty-one institutions
agreed to participate in the study and
provided names and mailing addresses
of 184 professors who taught business
courses through distance learning. We
conducted the study during the
2000-2001 academic year, sending
business professors a cover letter with
the questionnaire. After 6 weeks, we
sent a follow-up letter and with the
Findings
Though problems and frustrations
exist in all learning situations, the
respondents in our study provided an
insight into the issues that they found to
be most troublesome in the delivery of a
distance learning course. They also provided insight into how their courses
were developed and what kind of training they received for creating and/or
delivering them. Finally, the respondents provided their opinions on the
qualities that make a course successful.
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I
Technology and Instructional
Delivery Issues
The respondents identified technology itself as an issue, and technology
reliability as a major issue. Even a small
TABLE 1. Percentage of Respondents Indicating Problems Associated
With Technology (N= 81)
Technologyrelated issues
Reliability of
technology
Technology support
Problematic
problematic
No
problem
51
29
20
19
39
41
13
50
37
4
37
59
Somewhat
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provided by institution
Student technology
competence
Teacher technology
competence
July/August 2002
315
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technical “glitch,” such as a server being
temporarily unavailable or a minor
transmission interruption, disrupts the
learning process. In Table 1, we present
the percentage of respondents reporting
problems associated with technologyrelated issues. Eighty percent of the
respondents indicated that technology
reliability was problematic or somewhat
problematic. Over 50% of the respondents indicated that the technical support provided by the institution to support the delivery of the course was
problematic or somewhat problematic.
Another technology-related problem
was student and instructor levels of
technology competence. Sixty-three
percent of the respondents reported that
student technology competence was
problematic or somewhat problematic.
However, only 41% felt that the instructor’s technology competence was problematic or somewhat problematic.
Other instruction-related issues noted
by the respondents involved access to
resources, students’ communicating
with the instructor and with other students, and testing (see Table 2). Sixtyeight of the respondents considered student access to course-related resources
as problematic or somewhat problematic. Another access issue listed as being
problematic by a majority of the respondents was student-to-teacher communication. Communication among students
working on team projects was considered problematic by 50% of the respondents. Although included in Table 1 as
an instructional problem, test administration was perceived as problematic or
somewhat problematic by only 47% of
the respondents
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Course Development and Instructor
Training
The majority of the respondents indicated that they had created the distancelearning course themselves. Some had
received technical support from the
TABLE 2. Percentage of Respondents Indicating Problems Associated
With Instruction
Instructionrelated issues
Somewhat
problematic
Problematic
Student access to
resources
Student and teacher
communication
Team projects
Administering tests
42
32
21
40
33
32
39
50
53
15
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problem
No
26
17
Flexibility for
student
New opportunity
for adult learni‘“g
Cost efficiency
for students
Faculty member
as facilitator
New teaching
approach
Student-centered
learning
316
Very
important
Important
Not
important
Unsure
64
26
4
6
37
36
5
22
15
29
19
37
39
47
3
11
37
36
6
21
33
26
5
36
Journal of Education for Business
I
I
Importance of Selected Factors in
Distance Learning
The two student-related factors
receiving the highest importance rating
were (a) flexibility provided to students
(90%) and (b) new opportunities provided to adult learners (73%). Two faculty-related factors involved methods
for course delivery: (a) Eighty-six percent of the respondents believed that the
instructor’s role as a facilitator when
teaching a distance-learning course was
very important or important, and (b)
73% believed that the use of new teaching approaches was important or very
important (see Table 3).
Fifty-nine percent of the respondents
rated student-centered learning in distance education as important or very
important. However, 36% were unsure
about the importance of this factor. The
unsure response could indicate that
some respondents were not familiar
with the term “student-centered learning.” When asked about the cost-efficiency issue in distance education, only
44% of the respondents rated it very
important or important. In contrast,
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TABLE 3. Respondents’Perceptions of the Importance of Factors
Associated With Distance Education (“h)
Factor
institution, and a few were provided
with a graduate assistant. Fifty-three
percent indicated that they created the
course in their spare time, and 16% stated that they received release time to
develop it. Nearly half of the respondents (47%) received at least some technical support from their institutions, and
a few (7%) had a graduate assistant
assigned to help while they developed
the course. Thirteen percent indicated
that the development was a team effort
among colleagues. Very few (4%) of the
respondents indicated that the course
was purchased from a third party.
Sixty-three percent of the respondents
said that they mainly had taught themselves how to create and deliver distance-learning courses without any formal training. In-house workshops (53%)
and mentoring or coaching (31%) were
the typical types of training offered by
the respondents’ schools. Only a few
respondents participated in a traditional
workshop (1 1%) or a Web-based workshop (6%)outside of their institutions to
learn about creating and/or delivering
distance-learning courses.
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37% were unsure, and 19% rated it as
not important.
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Discussion
Distance-education courses present
some unique problems within the learning environment. A majority of the
respondents in our study reported problems with the reliability of the technology, student technology competence,
and technical support provided by the
institution. These findings are consistent with the literature indicating that
students often overestimate their technical expertise when selecting an on-line
course (White, 2000). The American
Association of University Professors
Statement on Distance Learning stated
that the institution must take responsibility for the technological delivery of
the course. Carr (2000) reported that
some schools have rushed to develop an
on-line presence and that the resulting
courses are prone to design and technical problems. Courses that experience
continued technical problems fail to
meet the educational needs of students.
A second category of problems noted
by the respondents was instructional but
still included technology use. The problems were student access to needed
course materials and communication
issues between the teacher and students
and among students. Both faculty members and students may need training on
how to best use the resources provided
through distance-education technology.
Rosenblum (2000) suggested that the
key challenge for the instructor is to
design a learning environment in which
learning does not rely on face-to-face
communication. He stressed the need
for students to have easy access to
course materials, both on-line and
offline. The course design should
encourage independent learning by providing self-paced tutorials, opportunities for engaged learning, and selfassessments. Too many distanceeducation courses follow the same design as classroom-based courses and fail
to make use of the technology available.
Keeping up to date with technology is
a major challenge for educators
(Schank, 2000). Converting courses to
an on-line format requires using technology and instructional methodologies
in new ways. The “Quality on the Line”
report prepared by the nonprofit Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000)
has specified that faculty members must
be assisted in the transition from classroom teaching to on-line instruction.
The results of our survey indicate that
such support is not yet available to most
instructors. About half of the respondents (53%) had participated in at least
one in-house workshop on distancelearning technologies and/or distancelearning course development, and under
a third of the respondents indicated that
a mentoring or coaching relationship
was available to them when they prepared for and delivered their distancelearning course.
Although problems and concerns
were identified, the majority of the
respondents perceived distance education to be of value to students, primarily
for the flexibility and increased opportunities for adult learning that it provides. The new facilitator role and the
new teaching approaches required were
the two most important factors concerning faculty members.
Recommendations
Our purpose in this study was to
determine issues and problems associated with distance-learning courses so that
solutions can be found that improve their
development and delivery. The main
problems identified related to the reliability, support for, and use of the technology. Other problems noted related to
adapting teaching styles to the distance
format and fostering communications.
Training is the most obvious solution
to the problems noted by the educators.
To use the technology effectively, educators need opportunities to use and
experiment with the technologies and
the software outside of an actual class
situation. As the educators become
more familiar and comfortable with the
distance-education technologies, the
training needs can be refocused onto
curriculum design and delivery issues.
Until educators have such experience
with the technology, strong technical
and curricula support must be provided.
Teaming educators with curriculum
designers and technology support specialists can provide a means for creating
distance-learning courses that provide
students a challenging and supportive
learning environment. We recommend
the following steps for solving or
decreasing the severity of the identified
problems:
1. Provide technical support both to
faculty members and students for technology issues.
2. Provide training to instructors on use
of all the technologies available for the
distance-learning course. The technologies would include course management
and other software packages, fax, e-mail,
scanners, and other technologies.
3. Team instructors with curriculum
developers who have expertise in distance-learning design and technologies
and incorporate student-centered activities into distance-learning courses.
4. Conduct workshops for instructors
on how to take on the role of a facilitator in the distance-education learning
format.
5. Incorporate into all distance-courses
multiple means for communicating with
students including e-mail, course discussion boards, the telephone, and online office hours.
6 . Work with curriculum designers to
create activities that foster student-tostudent collaboration.
7. Provide training or tutorials to students planning to take their first distance-learning course to help them learn
how to use the technologies and how to
communicate with a faculty member
and/or other students.
8. Provide students with easy access to
resources. The resources may be print
materials or CD-Roms sent to the student when she or he registers or links to
on-line resources.
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