Published Article / Throughout history children have been taught by means of stories told by their parents, and for many centuries this was the primary method of transferring knowledge and information. As time progressed, we spent less and less time listening to stories, although to this day storytelling is still being used as an education methodology. People of our modern century are accustomed to receiving information in an audio format. It is natural for us to absorb information through an auditory medium, and since such information transfer takes place on such a personal level, we tend to form a personal relationship with radio presenters. They become like family members who visit every time one turns on the radio. Podcasting has grown over the past year and is seen as a major leap forward in mobile learning, or as we like to call it, "learning-on-the-go". The learner is able to download lectures or information to his or her iPod or any other MP3 player, and no matter where he is or what he is doing, he will be able to gain knowledge. Whether the learner is working out at the gym or driving a car, the lecturer is always there with him, allowing the learner to constantly absorb information as it is presented in an amazingly personal way. When lectures are presented in this way, it of course remains the learner's responsibility to absorb the information made available to him. The whole idea of self-regulated learning comes to the fore and learners actually take responsibility for what they learn and the pace at which they learn. Lecturers are advised to record their lectures and make them available online as an essential tool in the education process. Language lecturers in particular should use pod casting as the main feature of their courses. Providing learners with a podcast of information on the next face-to-face lecture and having them prepare according to what they have been told in the podcast will truly enhance learning in the lecture room and stimulate discussion. The main aim of all lecturers should be to have their learners prepare to such a degree that all face-to-face sessions become discussion sessions. The iPod and podcasting have changed the face of open higher distance education as we know it. All we need to do is jump aboard and make the most of the amazing opportunities this paradigm shift is offering.

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This case study examines an asynchronous distance learning program to identify characteristics critical to the diffusion and adoption process necessary for effective implementation. These attributes extrapolated from the review of literature and case study examination are both insightful and timely, since many educational institutions are currently implementing distance learning programs without a formal plan or vision. The study specified how an asynchronous program dealt with the diffusion and adoption process by providing a thorough examination of secondary documentation and archival record review, coupled with program interviews. Media for communicating information has expanded from simple print, voice, and face-to-face communications to include fax, voice mail, computer-assisted instruction, email, video and other technologies. These technologies are central to the mission of education. Institutions have entered the distance learning arena with the intent of capturing and attracting nontraditional students, as defined by age, marital status or employment status, to the academic market. Adoption and diffusion mechanisms focus on societal and customer needs. At institutions of higher learning, students are the customers and their academic needs should come first. The corporate sector is indirectly shaping education by hiring students who have acquired the skills needed to compete in the information age. Distance education must have an integrated strategic plan that successfully aligns all vital programs to support academic, industry and societal needs. Students and faculty must have easy access to information resources, support services, policies and procedures for distance education. The information resulting from this examination may facilitate adoption and diffusion of asynchronous distance learning programs. Based upon identified characteristics, the ancillary product of this case study was a compiled list and discussion of lessons learned, composed from the review of literature and case study examination. Key recommendations from the study, and substantiated in the review of literature, follow: • The case study had an adaptable infrastructure that changed with the times. • The purchase and use of distance learning technology was consistent with the strategic plan. • Participants had easy access and training to distance learning technology. / Ph. D.

Because distance learning (DL) programs provide students educational opportunities with minimal restrictions on location and/or time, the number of institutions that provide DL courses has grown at a tremendous rate over recent years and is projected to increase in the future. Foreign language courses through DL, however, have been criticized for limited opportunities to engage in speaking activities and to develop oral proficiency. While previous research consistently reports no significant differences, the focus of those studies has been the comparison of outcomes assessments between face-to-face and DL courses. This study analyzed the types of interactions that occurred in the virtual foreign language classroom while using asynchronous audio-based CMC, known as voice boards, to learn Spanish at a rural community college located in Southwestern Virginia, Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC). An embedded multiple-case study design and computer mediated discourse analysis were applied with activity theory to analyze the interactions holistically. During a 10-year period, the amount of students enrolled in on-line only courses or in the virtual campus at PHCC increased from 97 students in the summer 2001 session to 655 students in the summer 2011 session. These results showed a 575.3% (n = 558) increase of students enrolled in DL. Only 37.7% (n = 507) of the students attending the community college during the summer 2011 session were enrolled in only FTF courses. These increases were a result of students' needs to pursue degrees of higher education while working and taking care of family and other personal obligations. Students enrolled in the SPA 101: Beginning Spanish I course explained that employment schedules, family obligations, and financial reasons motivated their decisions for taking a DL course. When completing audio-based discussion board assignments, experimentation with the language was observed and participants took advantage of opportunities to listen to recordings multiple times before submitting responses. Forty-seven percent of the utterances were categorized as containing questions to encourage continued discussion. However, lexical chains for those utterances showed that only 11.6% (n = 11) of the utterances followed a three link chain of initial post-response-response (IRR) that represented extended conversations in the voice boards. / Ph. D.

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This study examines an increasingly common distance learning context: where tertiary level and English-medium DE courses are produced, tutored and examined in one country but studied by learners in other countries and who have English as an additional language. Empirical work is drawn from a case-study of agricultural extension officers in disparate parts of Zimbabwe undertaking a professional development course which is produced and mainly tutored in the distant UK. This long-distance cross-cultural writing relationship between academics and students serves as a basis for the examination of difficulties created by taken-for-granted educational practices embedded in the course structure and materials, particularly in relation to language and academic literacy. The study examines contemporary debates around internationalised learning, including cultural and linguistic imperialism and the desirability of locally-produced courses, and provides an insight into black Zimbabwean perspectives on them. It explores a variety of contextual issues including the wider significance of DE in a southern African context, gendered learning patterns, the linguistic repertoire of the students and their academic literacy background. Drawing on grounded theory, discourse analysis, literacy as social practice and genre theories,this overseas research aims to provide the UK course producers with insight into some of the particularities of the Zimbabwean learning context and some of the learning and teaching resources which exists beyond their control and ambit. It is hoped that more multi-faceted image of some of their learners may help course producers consider more closely the differences and commonalities between course participants; it may challenge the normative pedagogy embedded in the course and prompt the producers to consider appropriate responses;it may raise the policy question of how to establish, within an asymmetrical donor-recipient situation, a north-south academic relationship of an emancipatory kind. These aims spring from the conviction that as we move towards globalised educational contexts, dominated by market leaders, significant changes and improvements in educational practice are more likely to come about as a result of an emerging reflexivity on the part of the course producers. Learners and importers of course may not have much influence over such decisions.