|
Project Eagle Research Capsules (PERC) #3
October 2002
Trends and Guidelines in E-Learning from Four Recent Studies
Eric Newburger, U. S. Census Bureau
Current Population Reports
September 2001
- 4 out of 5 children between 6 and 17 years old used a computer at school, and 2 out of 3 used one at home. Combined,
9 out of 10 school-age children had access to a computer somewhere.
- 51% of all households (54 million) had one or more computers at home, an increase of 9% from 1998.
- More than 4 out of 5 households with computers (44 million households) had at least one member using the Internet at home.
- Nearly 9 out of 10 households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more had at least one computer and 8 out of 10 had at
least one member who used the Internet at home.
- Nearly 3 out of 10 households with annual incomes below $25,000 had a computer and 2 out of 10 had Internet access.
- Households in the West were most likely to have computers (57%) and Internet access (47%). Those in the South were the
least like to have computers (47%) and Internet access (38%).
- 94 million people used the Internet at home in 2000, up from 57 million in 1998.
- 88% of adults used the Internet for email; 64% for information searches; 53% for news, weather and sports; 40% to shop or pay bills; 34% for job-related tasks;
24% for school research or courses; 20% for job searches; 6% for making phone calls; and 5% for games and entertainment.
Findings of the Pew Internet and American Life Project
September 2001
- 73% of youth (17 million children, ages 12-17) in middle school and high school have Internet access.
- 94% of 754 youth surveyed in that age bracket use the Internet for school research.
- 71% rely on Internet sources the most when completing a project, compared to 24% who rely on library resources the most
- 41% use email and instant messaging to contact teachers or classmates about schoolwork.
- 87% of the parents of those surveyed believe the Internet helps students with their schoolwork.
Glen Farrell, Study Team Leader and Editor
Commonwealth of Learning
July 2001
- Developing countries of the world are largely being bypassed by the surging developments in virtual education.
- Future models of virtual education will be more "Web-centric"
but not exclusively online or used only to serve learners at a distance.
- Future models of virtual education will be more "Web-centric" but not
exclusively online or used only to serve learners at a distance.
- Systems will be more "learner centered" or "customer aware" in the sense
that they will enable learner-provider interaction, provide learners
and teachers with access to online resources, and give learners increased
choice in the mode of learning delivery.
- Learners will be able to access educational programs from anywhere, saving on relocation costs
- Learners can have existing skills and knowledge assessed and credited
towards future program credentials and be able to obtain credentials from
a variety of accredited institutions that have developed specialized assessment
and credit-banking services.
- Learners can have existing skills and knowledge assessed and credited towards future program credentials and be able to obtain credentials from a variety of
accredited institutions that have developed specialized assessment and credit-banking services.
- Indigenous expertise and knowledge can be incorporated to add value to learning resources acquired elsewhere.
- 73% say they use the Internet more than the library, while only 9% said
they use the library more than the Internet for information searching.
- Learners will be able to choose to meet their educational needs from
a "quality
assured" list of providing institutions.
- Greater "dis-intermediation" of the teaching/learning process will be
possible as individual learners go directly to learning object databases,
and peer-to-peer interactions enable them to establish their own learning
groups.
- Program planners and instructional designers can aggregate and sequence content according to the needs of particular groups of learners by selecting learning objects from large content databases.
A Virtual Revolution: Trends in the Expansion of Distance Education
Thomas J. Kriger, American Federation of Teachers
Commonwealth of Learning
May 2001
- Faculty must retain academic control.
- Faculty must be prepared to meet the special requirements of teaching at a distance.
- Course design should be shaped to the potentials of the medium.
- Students must fully understand course requirements and be prepared to succeed.
- Close personal interaction must be maintained.
- Class size should be set through normal faculty channels.
- Courses should cover all material.
- Experimentation with a broad variety of subjects should be encouraged.
- Equivalent research opportunities must be provided.
- Student assessment should be comparable.
- Equivalent advisement opportunities must be offered.
- Faculty should retain creative control over use and re-use of materials.
- Full undergraduate degree programs should include same-time, same place, coursework.
- Evaluation of distance coursework should be undertaken at all levels.
**Benchmarks for achieving quality in the distance environment
based on a survey of 200 distance education practitioners.
www.spjc.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc3.htm
For a list of previous Project Eagle Research Capsules, go to www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/index.htm
For more information, contact the project manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu
The contents of PERC were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
|
.
.
