Distance Learners in Higher Education: Institutional Responses for Quality Outcomes (Diversity Series No. 1) [Paperback]

Chere C. Gibson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1891859234 | ISBN-13: 978-1891859236 | Publication Date: March 1998

Distance learning offers unprecedented access to higher education, to people from all walks of life. A person can now easily take a college-level course without ever setting foot on campus or meeting with his or her professor face to face.

Well-credentialed authors collaborate in "Distance Learners in Higher Education", designed to give faculty unique perspectives on a variety of issues in higher education today.

Edited by Chere Campbell Gibson, this volume encompasses the full realm of teaching and learning at a distance from both an administrative and faculty viewpoint. Connecting the demographics of the distance learner, cultural considerations, academic self-concept and support, and learning strategies, "Distance Learners" is of interest to faculty and administrators in higher education.

This book focuses on the learner and the conditions for learning, and is essential for those who need to stay current in this rapidly changing area.

Introduction by Michael Moore.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr Chere Campbell Gibson is Chair of the Graduate Program of Continuing and Vocational Education at the the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr Michael Moore is Academic Director of the American Center for the Study of Distance Education (ACSDE) at The Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder and editor of "The American Journal of Distance Education".

Dr Melody M. Thompson is Assistant Director of Operations and Evaluation at Penn State's World Campus and a faculty member teaching Adult Education in the College of Education.

Dr Elizabeth Burge is a Professor of Adult Education at the University of New Brunswick in Atlantic Canada.

Dr Irene M. Sanchez is the Bureau Chief for the Child Care Services Bureau of the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.

Dr Charlotte N. (Lani) Gunawardena is Associate Professor of Distance Education and Instructional Technology in the Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology Program at the University of New Mexico.

Dr Christine Olgren is Distance Education Program Manager, Continuing and Vocational Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr Terry Anderson is currently the Director of Academic Technologies for Learning (ATL) at the University of Alberta and is also Associate Professor in the Faculty of Extension.

Dr Randy Garrison holds the position of Dean, in the Faculty of Extension, at the University of Alberta.

Dr Daniel Granger is currently the Director of Distributed Learning and Extended Education at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Dr Meg Benke has been with Empire State College since 1990 and connected with distance education since 1983.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Atwood Publishing (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891859234
• ISBN-13: 978-1891859236
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,453,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Reader from Akron, OH, May 15, 2000

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This review is from: Distance Learners in Higher Education: Institutional Responses for Quality Outcomes (Diversity Series No. 1) (Paperback)

A fine overview of a currently-hot topic (among educators, anyway.) Dr. Campbell-Gibson is concerned mainly with the quality of the instruction available, in terms of learner retention, i.e. do the learners finish their course? She is attempting here to provide a tool for the distance educator to use in creating a learning context which maximizes the learner's chances of success.

As she says in the Introduction, "There's no one to call. . . . If the distance learner is to succeed, we as faculty must do more than provide access to information. We need to truly understand that learner and design environments that facilitate learning, environments that enhance access to and success in higher education."

To this end, the author-editor has assembled a team of many of the top names in the field of distance learning, including an introduction by the much-cited Michael G. Moore of Penn State. The advice and analyses that they offer strike me as the advice of seasoned workers in the field.

Two disadvantages of this book are more reflective of the mechanics of the book than of the information it contains. First, for a book primarily aimed at scholars, there is very little space available for marginal notes. Second, the facts offered in support of the authors' conclusions are not cited in APA style, nor any other for the most part: the bibliography is fine, but there is a distinct lack of in-text citations that limits the book's usefulness.

Against that is the very reasonable price and the book's currency, combined with the expertise of the authors. In addition, the book is unusually coherent for an edited book with multiple authors. They all seem to be on the same page, and there is little duplication between the various author's chapters.