During 2002, the Extended Campus Services Librarian and the Instruction Librarian at East Tennessee State University created tutorials that were compiled on a CD to be distributed to online students. This workshop presents a simple process using PowerPoint to create interactive HTML-based tutorials, as well as menu and auto-run programming specific to use on a CD. Discussion of the other technologies used for the CD (Dreamweaver for Web editing and customizing open source tutorials from TILT) is included. An overview of the pedagogical theory underlying tutorial design is provided, and the rationale and distribution method for the CD-ROM format is discussed.

Research conducted over multiple decades explores student attrition from higher education institutions. The majority of this research relates to traditional, on-campus student populations. However, colleges and universities are serving more nontraditional students than before by increasing distance education course offerings. Although enrollments are increasing, few studies examine retention of nontraditional learners in a distance education setting. Even fewer suggest institutional action based on student satisfaction of nontraditional, distance learners. This study examined student satisfaction and education-related priorities of Utah State University (USU) undergraduate students at regional campus locations throughout the state of Utah. Perceived programming needs were determined based on the discrepancy between student-reported satisfaction and importance rankings of education-related items. The highest discrepancies between priorities and satisfaction of undergraduate students at USU regional campus locations were: use of student activity fees, adequate availability of financial aid, tuition being a worthwhile investment, registering for classes with few conflicts, scheduling of courses to complete program, timeliness of financial aid announcements, academic advisor’s knowledge of major requirements, instruction within major, variety of course offerings, and classes being scheduled at convenient times.

This study was motivated by my desire to understand participants’ perceptions about the effectiveness of learner support services and their contribution to distance learners’ progress and programme completion in the DPE programme in Botswana. The investigation was carried out to find out why despite the provision of learner support services, there were low completion rates and high incomplete rates in the final year (2002/2003 cohort) of the DPE programme. The study also intended to understand the strengths and weaknesses of learner support services and make recommendations for improvement. A qualitative case study research design was applied. Group and individual interviews were conducted with participants. Data were analysed using Atlas ti computer software which simplified the management of the large corpus of data generated during the fieldwork. The study found that there was need for sustained learner-tutor and learner-learner interaction and regular communication with the supporting institution during the learning process. This would require planning and aligning learner support services to identified learner needs, access to learning resources including the existence and application of effective monitoring and supervision mechanisms for academic, counselling and administrative support in order to ensure commitment and accountability of learner support providers. In order to reduce isolation which is created by the physical separation between learners and service providers, the study recommended a structure for the provision of decentralized learner support services that are as close as possible to where distance learners live and work for ease of access. The study further found that there is need for policy guidelines and management structures to facilitate the provision of effective learner support services for the benefit of distance learners. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

SUMMARY: Published guidelines for distance learning library services provide a framework for distance education librarians to use in planning services for off-campus students. Other literature in the arena of distance education librarianship provides concrete examples of how reference services have been offered in real settings. This paper attempts to synthesize these two types of literature in order to offer models of reference service for distance learners.

Distance learning is a fast-growing method of delivery in higher education. The literature about distance learning is rich with information about learning and course design. However, there is little information about the non-academic support services that universities can and should provide for distance students. This study addresses that gap in the literature by exploring the non-academic needs of distance learners. Students and faculty members involved with distance learning at four-year institutions in the Fall of 2000 were asked to identify what, if any, needs distance learners have outside the classroom. Specifically, an original web-based survey was designed to identify 34 possible non-academic needs. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of those needs in the success of distance learners, the accessibility of services to meet those needs, and when the needs present themselves to distance learners. Findings indicate that the non-academic needs of distance learners are very similar to those of campus-based students. The most important needs are basic: information about the institution and program, a way to purchase books, a contact person at the institution, and academic advising. More traditional developmental needs such as leadership development, experience with diversity, and career services were important to respondents pursuing Bachelors degrees. Services to meet the needs are currently not easily accessible. Most needs present themselves throughout a student's academic career. Institutions involved with distance learning should consider addressing basic needs first. If an institution targets a large number of students pursuing Bachelor degrees at a distance, they might also add services to meet more traditional developmental needs. / Ph. D.

Since their inception in 2006, K-12 virtual classrooms have spread across the nation, reaching millions of students every day. Despite the technological changes in today's society, adolescents who lack key personal characteristics may struggle to successfully complete online coursework. A caring teacher-student relationship may assist today's virtual learners in ways that enhance motivation, learning, and online education success. Although a veteran teacher of nine years, in this autoethnographic narrative inquiry, I shared my experience as a novice, English I virtual teacher as I strived to enact relational with my virtual education students.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of in-seat face-to-face advising in contrast to web camera advising of College of Arts and Sciences psychology majors in the 2005-2006 academic year. Satisfaction levels were determined and analyzed based on random assignment to either the control group (in-seat face-to face) or the experimental group (web camera) advising. The data collected for this study consisted of participants' responses to the Academic Advising Inventory (AAI) administered to undergraduate psychology majors (N = 102). Overall, students were satisfied with advising services regardless of the advising group to which they were randomly assigned. Although there was not a statistically significant difference between students who were advised in-seat face-to-face and those advised via web camera advising, the data reflected a slight preference for advisement via web camera.

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This thesis is a case study that investigates the attitudes and behaviours of learners of a Preparatory English distance learning course (BEL 100 e-PJJ) offered at the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, and whether those attitudes and behaviours are influenced by their prior educational experiences and whether cultural factors may also have influence in the attitudes and behaviours of these learners. The research adopts a mixed-method case study design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to the data collection and analysis. Thematic analysis has been adopted as a tool to analyse the interview data qualitatively. The thematic analyses constructed thematic networks which Attride-Stirling (2001) stressed served as an organizing principle and an illustrative tool in interpreting the analysed interview data. Another major source of data collected for this study was the asynchronous forum discussion transcripts. To match the needs of this study, several categories and examples of Henri’s (1992) framework combined with elements from Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) CoI model and Hofstede’s (1991) cultural values tool were adapted in analysing the asynchronous forum discussion transcripts. This was to identify the factors which contributed to the attitude and behaviour of the BEL 100 e-PJJ learners. This study has highlighted that the process of learning and teaching of the UiTM Malay/Bumiputera learners depend on the support and training given to the distance learners and facilitators. Learners’ attitudes, behaviours, facilitators’ intervention and purposeful tasks were found to be important in supporting active participation and effective interaction within the course.