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Schlosser, Lee Ayers and Simonson, Michael. (2006).
Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms,
2nd Edition. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
Publishing, Inc.
160 pp. ISBN 1-59311-515-6 |
Reviewed by Glen T. Fogerty
Arizona State University
February 14, 2007
An on-going mission for many colleges or universities is to
provide “accessible education” (Owston, 1997) to
those who seek new knowledge. However, a traditional campus may
be limited in the access it can provide due to bricks and mortar,
geographic location, or faculty availability.
“Distance education” is now becoming an everyday
phrase around campuses as much as “Ivy Towers” or
“Biology 101.” It is this term, along with
“online education,” that provides students with new
opportunities to learn. No longer limited by bricks and mortar, a
set geographic location, or a limited pool of faculty on campus,
distance education could be the answer to a college or university
that seeks new avenues of access for its students.
With this interest in distance education, the Association for
Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) published the
first edition of Distance Education: Definitions and Glossary
of Terms in 2002. The 2nd edition, published in
2006, offers a great deal more than just, as the subtitle
suggests, definitions and a glossary. The authors look at new
ways of defining distance education, but also provide a brief
history of the subject, review the need for a strong theory base
for distance education, and explore a few of the relevant
theories in this field. The book concludes with a summary of what
the authors, Lee Ayers Schlosser and Michael Simonson, feel is
the state of distance education and the need for further study
prior to listing the glossary of terms. While the glossary of
terms does take up eighty percent of the book, the twenty percent
devoted to definition, history, theory and future of distance
education does provide a foundation for the subject.
Whether you are a novice or an expert in this field, the
glossary of terms developed for the book should strike you as
comprehensive and well defined. The authors offer the reader a
quick reference guide, and the terms are written in an easily
understood language. However, defining distance education and the
review of theories only serve to emphasize the multiplicity of
meanings and interpretations. The authors do not attempt to lead
the reader to a single definition or to an overriding theory.
While a single definition or theory may not have been their goal,
they state in their opening sentence of the summary, “many
questions remain unanswered.” When readers finish the first
portion of the publication (the narrative section prior to the
glossary of terms), they are likely to agree that many
questions remain unanswered, as Schlosser and Simonson never
attempt to give simple answers to the questions posed.
“Distance education is defined as
institutional-based, formal education where the learning group is
separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are
used to connect learners, resources, and instructors,”
(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2006, p. 32). The
opening quotation used by the authors is one chosen from
Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance
education, for which Simonson was a co-author. The definition
is comprehensive and the authors strive for a complete
understanding as they breakdown the definition into four parts.
First is the idea that distance education must be
institutionally based. Consequently, they wish to
distinguish distance education from independent self-study.
Second is the concept of separation of teacher and
student. Separation can be in either place or time.
The
timing of instruction leads to the notions of "synchronous"
instruction—students interacting with instructors in "real
time"—and "asynchronous" instruction—students
attending to the teachings of instructors at some interval after
the instructors have spoken, written, or provided some other form
of teaching. Next, interactive communications are defined
as the mode of connecting instructor and learner. Again, this can
be done synchronously or asynchronously. The last component of
this definition is the concept of connecting learners, resources,
and instructors or the capacity of sharing the data. This
is the ability to make certain that everything is in place so
learning can occur.
Schlosser and Simonson review eleven other
definitions of distance education. Arguments are made about which
words to use when defining this subject (e.g., distance
education, distance teaching, open learning). They go on to
compare definitions to show how some authors challenge others in
the field to keep the debate on this discipline alive.
Additionally, they highlight current trends
(globalization/technology) to support the notion that no
definition can be considered complete due to these ever-changing
factions. While the reader is introduced to new concepts in this
section, the authors fail to lead the reader back to a single
working definition that captures the essence of distance
education.
Schlosser and Simonson point out that the
concept of distance education is more than a century old.
Beginning as far back as 1833, a Swedish newspaper offered the
opportunity to study “Composition through the medium of the
Post” (p. 6). It was not until 1873 that distance education
made its way across the Atlantic and assumed the form of
“study at home." For this form of study, prestigious
universities lent credibility to distance education as they
developed correspondence courses. Early pioneers on the American
front included Illinois Wesleyan, the University of Chicago, and
the University of Wisconsin.
The author’s follow-up the history lesson
with a description of the evolution of electronic communications.
While they do offer that distance education can take many
different paths of delivery (mail, television, satellite), they
recognize that in today’s marketplace computer-mediated
communications (internet) is the most accepted mode of delivering
high-quality, two-way interaction between teacher and student.
Schlosser and Simonson cite a reference to estimate current
internet activity; however, the quantifiable details provided in
this quotation are based on what can be considered outdated
information. “Tens of thousands of networks are connected
to the Internet, with millions of people using the Internet
worldwide” (Ackermann, 1995). While this is an interesting
fact, the authors could have provided estimates that are more
current. With a little additional research, they would have been
able to show that actual Internet usage worldwide is currently
over 1 billion people. This comes from data collected from
Nielsen/NetRatings (http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/),
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
(http://www.itu.int/home/index.html),
and published on the Internet World Stats website
(http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm).
While this data point does not sway the reader one way or
another, citing current research certainly gives the reader a
sense of gaining more accurate information.
Once readers have been taken through
defining distance education and looking at a brief history of
this delivery mode, they are shown how “theory is important
to the study of distance education because it directly impacts
the practice in the field” (p. 11). Within the theory
section, nine different researchers are cited on the subject of
distance education. Highlighting this section was Desmond
Keegan’s landmark work in 1986, The Foundations of
Distance Education, in which he classified theories of
distance education into independence/autonomy, industrialization
of teaching, and interaction/communication. His research was
further cited in the definitions of “equivalency
theory” and the “virtual classroom” (1995). His
efforts have been carried forward with work from other scholars
building on his initial findings, but no other member from the
academy was cited more often in this book than Keegan when
discussing distance education.
While the theory section is thorough, it must be noted that of the twenty-one citations in this book, only one comes from the 21st century. The lone quote from the last six years comes from one of the co-authors (Simonson) in his work, Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. With the phenomenal growth of the Internet and the continued acceptance of distance education as a viable option for delivery of course content, one has to wonder if no other current research is being done on this delivery mode or the authors just failed to update their sources.
The conclusion of the book is what truly
leaves the reader looking for more. As mentioned earlier, the
glossary of terms is comprehensive and easily understood by
either an expert in the field or a layperson. Accolades are due
to the authors as they have provided a straightforward reference
guide on what constitutes distance education. However, when
readers finish the first thirty pages of the book, they are left
wondering what is the accepted definition of distance
education, what is the accepted theory of this practice
and what future research will be conducted in this field.
Certainly, no one has a crystal ball to tell the future.
Nevertheless, if the authors clearly identified holes in current
research – which they did not – they would have made
an even greater contribution. Unwavering in belief, the authors
agree that change is the inhibitor to the development of a single
theory and is affecting the condition of distance education
around the world. The last sentence of the book states that the
“theme of change will both challenge and motivate distance
educators and researchers as they strive to understand and
develop effective ways to meet the needs of learners around the
world” (p. 30). While this statement leaves readers to
speculate on their own where this field of study will be heading,
it is this reviewer’s belief that the authors could have
provided a few more answers.
References
Ackermann, E. (1995). Learning to use the Internet.
Wilsonville, OR: Franklin, Beedle and Associates.
Garrison, D. R. & Shale, D. (1987). Mapping the boundaries
of distance education: Problems in defining the field. The
American Journal of Distance Education, 1(1), 7-13.
International Telecommunications Union. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 17, 2006, from http://www.itu.int/home/index.html
Internet World Stats.(n.d.). Retrieved September 17,
2006, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm
Keegan, D. (1986). The foundations of distance
education. London: Croom Helm.
Keegan, D. (1995). Distance education technology for the
new millennium: Compressed video teaching. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service N. ED389931)
Nielsen/NetRatings. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17,
2006, from http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
Owston, R. (1997). The World Wide Web: A Technology to Enhance
Teaching and Learning? Educational Researcher, Vol. 26,
No. 2 (Mar., 1997), pp. 27-33.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S.
(2006). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of
distance education (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
About the Reviewer
Glen Fogerty is a Ph.D. student in Educational Leadership and
Policy Studies program at Arizona State University and the Mary
Lou Fulton College of Education. He is currently the Associate
Director of Graduate Admissions for the W. P. Carey School of
Business at ASU. His research interests revolve around college
rankings and the influence they have on admission policy and
practice.
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