Distance Learning : Making Connections Across Virtual Space and Time

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Summary: Distance Learning
Review: Distance Learning: Making Connections Across Virtual Space and Time, by Anthony G. Picciano offers insight and guidance for all the faculty and administrators who need to plan and implement distance learning curriculum. Picciano, provides an academic outline for distance learning programs and specializes in educational technology, organization theory, and research methods. This text provides guidance for planning and implementing distance learning programs. Picciano welcomes the reader by defining distance learning as a vehicle to overcome the physical separation of teacher and students due to geography obstructions in an educational process. The author illustrates the fundamental concepts of distance learning, planning, program development, and the basic technologies used for his intended audience of administrators, managers, teachers, distance learning coordinators, chief information officers, and media specialists. Anyone involved in initiating and developing distance-learning programs will find this book beneficial. Picciano identifies planning as one of the most important issues dealing with distance education. In designing and developing new distance learning programs, additional consideration is necessary as to the goals and objectives of academic programs, hardware, software, facilities, staff development, student demands, curriculum integration, and finances. Evaluations need to be an on-going process in established distance-learning programs, including new digital technologies, and modernized alternatives. The author explains that planning should occur in all educational organizations and may be formal or informal. He outlines how educational organizations will function in the future and how they should prepare accordingly. Picciano highlights that the most effective type of planning for any educational organization is to make faculty and staff aware of the plan and the actions necessary for achieving important benchmarks. Picciano recommends an inclusive and participatory approach. Faculty, support staff and other administrators must be involved with the planning stage, in starting a new program, or expanding or modifying an existing distance learning program for it to be successful. According to Picciano, the four major elements of successful planning include comprehensiveness, collaboration, commitment, and continuity. The planning process is continuous, as technology and society changes, so must the plan. Developing a written plan guides everyday activities, and must be updated when necessary. Picciano's model for planning for distance learning includes the college, the governing board, and the environment with respect to cultural values, goals, applications, hardware, evaluation and feedback. This model teaches the development, uses, goals, and objectives for planning a distance-learning curriculum. Distance learning is dependent upon technology for delivering the instruction and as technology changes, so must the approved written plans and goals. Two good resources Picciano included in this book are A Guide to Designing a Web Based Distance Learning Course and online information resources on distance learning. Picciano stresses the need for written planning and evaluation and encourages his readers to adapt their newly learned skills to their specific situations. Each chapter includes a summary, case studies, and a reference list. The Companion Web Site is user-friendly and organized by topic area. This site provides the student with topic overviews, an Electronic Bluebook that sends homework directly to the instructor's e-mail, a message board, and links to other websites that relate to each topic. This site also includes links to professional organizations and topic-specific content that enhances material found in the text along with a resource for the instructors to create or revise their syllabi called the syllabus manager. The organization and content makes this text extremely functional as a distance-learning guide. Logically organized, Pinocchio begins with an introduction on distance learning, definitions, and the history of distance learning before diving into areas that are more technical. The hardware technology and media chapter is a great resource for new instructors and students to this area. The comparison of distance learning technologies is understandable and presented in a usable format. The instructional design chapter is the most complex topic in this book. Picciano urges developers to involve specialists for content, media, and technology help. A discussion of the two models for instructional development with associated graphics is easy to understand. Picciano provides an informative discussion on synchronous vs. asynchronous communication with different types of instructional interaction included. A limited discussion, buried at the end of chapter four, on tests, student assignments, and grades leaves the reader wanting more information. "Who is actually taking the distance-learning exam," an extremely important topic, is briefly mentioned by the author. Picciano leaves the reader lacking guidance in an area of great concern for most distance educators who need this rarely discussed topic addressed by distance learning specialists. The text concludes with a chapter about the future of distance learning and a guide to designing a Web based distance-learning course. This text provides many of the necessary tools for everyone involved in distance learning and encourages the reader to take advantage of all the wonderful work provided by Anthony Picciano. Distance Learning: Making Connections Across Virtual Space and Time as an excellent distance learning guide for anyone wanting to learn how to develop effective distance learning curriculum. Picciano stresses his book provides a foundation from which educators will look ahead to the powerful potential of distance learning as an increasingly appropriate approach for meeting the ever expanding needs of our students.