A Comprehensive Look at Distance Education in the k–12 …education with a focus on the research...

Journal of Research on Technology in Education 427

AComprehensiveLookatDistanceEducationinthek–12Context

KerryLynnRiceBoise State University

AbstractThis review provides a comprehensive examination of the literature surround-ing the current state of K–12 distance education. The growth in K–12 distance education follows in the footsteps of expanded learning opportunities at all levels of public education and training in corporate environments. Implementation has been accomplished with a limited research base, often drawing from studies in adult distance education and policies adapted from traditional learning en-vironments. This review of literature provides an overview of the field of distance education with a focus on the research conducted in K–12 distance education environments. (Keywords: Distance education, distance learning, virtual schools, cyber-schools, K–12.)

Adultdistanceeducationisnotanewphenomenon,butinrecentyearsagrowingnumberofdistanceprogramshavebeenaimedatprimaryandsecond-aryschoolstudents.Nationalpolicyinitiativesfocusedonexpandingeduca-tionalopportunitiesforallstudents(Hassell&Terrell,2004;U.S.DepartmentofEducation,2004;Web-BasedEducationCommission,2000),fundingshort-ages,overcrowdedbrickandmortarfacilities(Fulton,2002;Clark,2001),andexplorationofalternativeroutesforeducation(Collins,2001;Herring,2004)arejustafewexamplesoftheforcesfuelingtheexpansionofK–12distanceeducationprogramsandschools.

Thisarticlepresentsacomprehensiveexaminationoftheliteraturesurround-ingthecurrentstateofK–12distanceeducation.Despitethenotedlackofqualitystudiesindistanceeducationingeneral(Bernard,Abrami,Lou,&Borokhovski,2004;Phipps&Merisotis,1999),theresearchbaseinK–12dis-tanceeducationcontinuestoexpandandincludesbothcomparativestudiesandstudiesthatattempttoidentifythefactorsassociatedwithinstructionalqualityandeffectiveness.

Inconductingthisreview,ageneralsearchoftheliteraturewasperformedinnumerousdatabases,journals,Websites,andbibliographicresourcesusingthedescriptors:distancelearning,onlinelearning,Web-basedinstruction,distanceeducation,onlineeducation,interactions,virtualK–12,virtualprogram,virtualschool,e-learning,cyberschool,andcybercharter.ElectronicsearcheswereconductedintheLILI-D,ERIC,WilsonEducation,andEBSCOdatabases.Inaddition,asystematicsearchofthejournalsspecificallyrelatedtodistanceeducationand/oreducationalresearchwasalsoconducted.TheseincludedRe-view of Educational Research,Distance Learning,International Journal of Distance Education,American Journal of Distance Education,Educational Technology,Jour-

428 Summer2006:Volume 38 Number 4

nal of Asynchronous Learning Networks,Educational Technology and Society,andOpen Learning.Morethan20nationalandstateWebsitesrelatingtodistancelearningand/orvirtualschoolsweresearched,includingtheU.S.DepartmentofEducationandTheNationalCenterforEducationStatisticsWebsites.

OVErVIEwOFTHEFIELDDistanceeducation,distancelearning,e-learning,Web-basedinstruction,vir-

tualschools,andonlinelearningarealltermsusedinterchangeablytodescribethisbroad,somewhatconfusing,andconstantlychangingfieldofnontradition-alinstruction(Carnevale,2001;Saba,2005).Althoughdistanceeducationhasbeendefinedfromavarietyofperspectives(Kaplan-Leiderson,n.d.;NationalCenterforEducationalStatistics,1999),perhapsthemostcomprehensivedefi-nitionisthatofferedinapublishedmonographbyTheAssociationforEduca-tionalCommunicationsandTechnology(Schlosser&Simonson,2002).Theydefinedistanceeducationas:

Institution-based,formaleducationwherethelearninggroupissepa-rated,andwhereinteractivetelecommunicationssystemsareusedtoconnectlearners,resources,andinstructors.(p.1)

AccordingtoSchlosserandSimonson,fourmaincomponentsarecriticaltothisdefinition.First,inordertodifferentiatedistanceeducationfromselfstudy,dis-tanceeducationmustbeinstitutionallybased.Second,theremustbeaseparationofteacherandlearnerintermsofgeography,time,andknowledgeoftheconceptstobetaught.Thirdly,someformofinteractivetelecommunicationsmustbeavail-ableforlearnerstointeractwitheachother,withtheresourcesofinstruction,andwiththeteacher.Inthiscase,telecommunicationsisdefinedas“communicatingatadistance”(p.2)anddoesnotnecessarilymeantheuseofelectronicmediabutcanalsoincludenon-electronicformsofcommunicationsuchasthepostalsystem.Thefinalconceptstressestheinclusionofinstructionalenvironmentsandresourcesthatfacilitatelearningexperiencesandpromotelearning.

Themeansbywhichdistanceeducationisaccomplishedarevariedandmayincludevideoconferencing,audioconferencing,Web-basedcommunications,oranycombinationofelectroniccommunicationandmanagementtools(RuralSchoolandCommunityTrustandtheStateTechnologyDirectorsAssociation,2003).Inadditiontothevarietyintypesofmediatoolsused,theinstructionmaybedeliveredsynchronously,withstudentsandteacherscommunicatinginrealtime,asynchronously,withstudentsworkingatdifferenttimes,oranycombina-tionofthetwo,oftenwiththeinclusionofphoneconversations,onlinechats,orface-to-facemeetings.Distanceeducationprogramsmayalsobeself-paced,struc-turedtofitintothetraditionalacademiccalendar,orfallanywhereinbetween.

Asinadultdistanceeducationprograms,K–12distanceeducationexistsonacontinuumfromtraditional“homestudy”ortext-basedcorrespondenceprogramstoprogramsthatutilizethefullpotentialoftechnology-mediatedinstruction.DistanceeducationprogramstargetinggradelevelsK–12,oftenre-ferredtoas“virtualschools”or“cyberschools,”areoperatedbyavarietyofenti-tiesthatmayincludestates,schooldistricts,charterschools,consortia,higher


educationinstitutions,for-profitcompanies,ornonprofitorganizations(Fulton&Kober,2002).Researchershaveattemptedtodefinethemultiplemethodsinwhichdistanceeducationprogramsmaybeorganizedwithintraditionalstateandlocaleducationalsystems.

Watson,Winograd,andKalmon(2004)haveidentifiedfivebasictypesofon-lineprogramsthatexistacrosstwodimensions.Onedimensionconcernshowtheprogramoperateswithinthestate’seducationalhierarchy,suchasstatewide,multi-districtorsingledistrict.Theotherconcernswhethertheprogramoper-atesasacyberschoolwherestudentsareenrolledandgarnercreditsanddiplo-mas,orprovidessupplementalonlinecoursestostudentswhoareenrolledinanotherschool.Table1(below)outlinesfivetypesofonlineprograms(Watsonetal.,2004).

Table1:FiveTypesofk–12OnlinePrograms

Type DescriptionStatewidesupple-mentalprograms

Studentstakeindividualcoursesbutareenrolledinaphysicalschoolorcyberschoolwithinthestate.Theseprogramsareauthorizedbythestateandoverseenbystateeducationgoverningagencies.

District-levelsupple-mentalprograms

Aretypicallyoperatedbyautonomousdistrictsandaretypicallynottrackedbystateagencies.

Single-districtcyberschools

Provideanalternativetothetraditionalface-to-faceschoolenvironmentandareofferedbyindividualdistrictsforstudentswithinthatdistrict.

Multi-districtcyberschools

Areoperatedwithinindividualschooldistrictsbutenrollstudentsfromotherschooldistrictswithinthestate.ThisrepresentsthelargestgrowthsectorinK–12onlinelearn-ing.

Cybercharters Arecharteredwithinasingledistrictbutcandrawstu-dentsfromacrossthestate.Inmanycasestheyarecon-nectedinsomewaytocommercialcurriculumproviders.

InadditiontodefiningpotentialorganizationalschemesforK–12distanceeducationprograms,descriptive,anecdotal,andsurveyevidenceidentifiesabroadpopulationofstudentsservedbythisnontraditionalformofeducation.Distanceeducationprogramscanserveentirepopulationsofstudentsthattra-ditionalclassroomsdonotbyprovidingincreasedopportunitythroughchoice,tutoring,andsupplementalservicesto:studentswholiveinremoteareas,stu-dentsinhomeschoolsettings,thosewhoarehospitalizedorhomeboundforhealthreasons,professionalathletes,studentswhoareincarcerated,studentswhoneedflexibleschedulesforemployment,orstudentswhowanttoenrichtheireducation,moveattheirownpace,orexperiencelearningthatfitstheirparticularlearningstyle(Bogden,2003;Chaney,2001;Patrick,2004).Virtualschoolingprovidesflexibilitytomeetschedulingdemands,offersanopportuni-tyforstudentstotakecoursesoverholidayorsummerbreaks,andcanprovide


remediationandtutoringondemand(Fulton&Kober,2002;RuralSchoolandCommunityTrustetal.,2003;Setzer&Lewis,2005).

In2001,itwasestimatedthat14stateshad“aplannedoroperationalstate-sanc-tioned,state-levelvirtualschoolinplace”(Clark,2001,p.1),withanestimateden-rollmentof40,000–50,000K–12students.A2003reportbytheEducationCom-missionoftheStates(Long,2004)estimated60cybercharterschoolsin13statesforthe2002–2003schoolyear,anumberthatwasdoublethatofthepreviousyear.Theestimatedenrollmentforthatyearwas100,000students(NationalAssociationofStateBoardsofEducation[NASBE],2002).Althoughexactnumbersaredif-ficulttodetermine,amorerecentreportestimatesthatvirtuallyeverystatenowhassomeformofcyber-schooloperatingwithinitsboundaries(Long,2004).

Despitethepotentialforexpansionofdistanceeducationprogramsatalllev-els,severalfactorshavebeenidentifiedthatmaylimitgrowth.Theseinclude:

coursedevelopmentand/orpurchasingcosts;limitedtechnologicalin-frastructuretosupportdistanceeducation;concernsaboutcoursequal-ity;restrictivefederal,state,orlocallawsorpolicies;concernsaboutreceivingfundingbasedonstudentattendancefordistanceeducationcourses;orsomeotherreason.(Setzer&Lewis,2005,p.15)

InadditiontotheimpedimentsidentifiedintheNCESstudy,factorsassoci-atedwithequity,access,andaccountabilityhavealsobeenidentified(Fulton&Kober,2002;Watsonetal.,2004).Policyinitiativesatalllevelsandbyavarietyofentitiesandorganizationscontinuetoaddresstheseissuesandwillbedis-cussedindetailbelow.

POLICyLeadingthewayineffortstopromoteachangeintraditionalviewsofedu-

cationintheK–12environmentistheNationalEducationTechnologyPlanpublishedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducation:Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the Law and Today’s Students are Revolu-tionizing Expectations(2004).Theplanproposessevenmainobjectivestoassistschoolsinimplementingsystematicchange:(1)strengthenleadership,(2)con-siderinnovativebudgeting,(3)improveteachertraining,(4)supporte-learningandvirtualschools,(5)encouragebroadbandaccess,(6)movetowarddigitalcontent,and(7)improveachievementthroughstudentdatamanagement.Particularlyrelevantforthisreportistheplan’semphasisone-learningasoneofthekeyissuesfacingfederal,state,andlocaleducationagencies.Theirrecom-mendationsforstates,districts,andschoolsinclude:

•Provideeverystudentaccesstoe-learning.•Enableeveryteachertoparticipateine-learningtraining.•Encouragetheuseofe-learningoptionstomeettheNoChildLeftBe-

hindrequirementsforhighlyqualifiedteachers,supplementalservicesandparentalchoice.

•Explorecreativewaystofunde-learningopportunities.•Developqualitymeasuresandaccreditationstandardsfore-learning

thatmirrorthoserequiredforcoursecredit.(p.42)


TheemphasisonvirtualschoolsintheNationalEducationTechnologyPlanisnocoincidence.UndertheNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)Act(U.S.Depart-mentofEducation,2001),virtualschoolsareconsideredalegitimateoptionforschoolchoice:“Avirtualschoolcanbeamongschoolstowhicheligiblestudentsareofferedtheopportunitytotransferaslongasthatschoolisapublicelementaryorsecondaryschoolasdefinedbystatelaw”(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,2004,p.13).Infact,virtualschoolsmaypresenttheonlyoptionfordistrictsthatlacktheresourcesnecessarytomeettheschoolchoicerequire-mentsofNCLBwithtraditionalbrickandmortarclassrooms(Hassel&Terrell,2004).Thecurrentandpredictedtrendinonlinecourseenrollmentseemstounderscorethisneed.

Implementingtheseandothersimilarrecommendationshasbeenthetopicofnumerousstate-level,local-level,andorganizationalpolicybriefs,initiatives,andexistingdistanceeducationprogramevaluations(Freedman,Darrow,&Watson,2002;Fulton&Kober,2002;NationalAssociationofStateBoardsofEduca-tion,2001;NationalSchoolBoardsAssociation,2002)But,researchersfromtheNCREL(Watsonetal.,2004)concludedfromempiricaldataaswellasanecdotalevidencethatonlyafewstateshaveestablishedpoliciesinplaceforthedevelop-mentofK–12onlinelearningprograms.Further,theyfoundthatinmostcases,onlinelearningislittleunderstoodbypolicymakers.Theresultistheapplicationofexistingpolicies—policiesthataddresstheneedsofphysicalschools—toonlineprograms,whichmaynotfitwellandthusmaynotbeinthebestinterestsofstu-dents.Theyurgestatesto“developappropriatemechanismstoprovideaframe-workofsustainabilityandvaluethatwillenableonlineeducationtoflourishandtomeetthediverseneedsofstudents”(Watsonetal.,2004,p.7).

Manyoftheissuesaddressedintheprecedingpolicyguidelineshavebeendrivenbyevaluationsoffullydevelopedprogramsalreadyinplace.PerhapstheearliestandmostwidelyknownK–12onlineeducationprogramsaretheFlor-idaVirtualSchool,astatewideprogram,andtheVirtualHighSchool,createdbytheHudson,MassachusettsPublicSchoolsandtheConcordConsortium,acollaborativeendeavorbetween125highschoolsacrosstheUnitedStates(Clair,2002;Freedman,Darrow,&Watson,2002).AlthoughtheseprogramsandotherstateswithmatureK–12onlineeducationprogramsoffercompre-hensiveprogramevaluations,theyofferlittleguidanceinthewayofstandard-izedpolicydevelopment.Ofthe11statesincludedinthefirstNCRELstudy(2004),CaliforniaandMinnesotahaddevelopedthemostextensivepoliciesregardingonlineeducation.

Asubsequentreport,publishedbyNCRELin2005,furtherelaboratesonthefindingsintheinitialreportbyexaminingstatelevelpolicyandpracticeinall50states(Watson,2005).Inthisupdate,theauthorconcludesthat“about50percentofallstateshaveoneorbothof:(a)astatewideonlinelearningpro-gramwithdevelopedpoliciesandpractices;(b)state-levelpoliciesthatgovernonlinelearningprogramsacrossthestate”(p.120).Inadditiontothesegeneralconclusions,severalrecommendationsareoffered.First,althoughnosinglestatehasanidealsetofpolicies,thosepoliciesthathavebeendevelopedcanserveasexamplesforotherstates.Second,basicresearchexaminingtheeffectiveness


ofonlinelearningandthecostsassociatedwithitisneededinordertoinformpolicydecisions.Associatedwiththisrecommendationisthecallforcommonmeasuresacrossstatesandprogramstobenefitresearchandpolicy,andtheuseofdatagatheredfromseveralstateswithreportingrequirementsalreadyinexistencetoinformfuturepolicydecisions.Third,althoughtherehasbeenandcontinuestobeaninformalsharingofideasandbestpractices,therehasbeennoformalattempttodocumentbestpracticesacrossprograms.

Thesereportsandothersunderscoretheneedforthecreationofacentralbodytofacilitatethestandardizationofonlineeducationthroughthesharingofinformationregardingpoliciesandpractices.TheNorthAmericanCouncilforOnlineLearning(NACOL)(2005),foundedinSeptember2003,istheresultofeffortsbythoseinvolvedintheearlydevelopmentofvirtualschoolsandtheneedforcommunicationandinteractionamongthem.NACOLrepresentstheinter-estsofadministrators,practitioners,andstudentsinvolvedinonlinelearning.Majorinitiativesinclude:conductingresearchtoenhanceK–12onlinelearn-ing,encouragingcollaborationamongstakeholders,andpromotingthesuccessandeffectivenessofonlinelearning.Inaddition,oneofthestrategicobjectivesofNACOListhecreationandmanagementofaK–12onlinelearningknowl-edgebasethatcontainscurrent,accurateinformationaboutonlinelearningintheUnitedStates,Canada,andMexico.Asanexample,NACOLcurrentlylistsmorethan144onlineschoolsorprogramsinitsonlinelearningdatabase.TheSouthernRegionalEducationBoard(SREB)(2005)hasalsotakenontheroleofdisseminatorofinformationrelatedtoeffectiveonlinelearningpracticeandpolicy.AspartoftheirEducationalTechnologyCooperative,thenewlydevel-opedOnlineLearningTaskGroupisoneexampleoftheireffortstodevelopandimproveimplementationofqualitye-learningprogramsintheK–12context.

k–12DISTAnCEEDUCATIOnrESEArCHAlthoughresearchintheareasrelativetogeneraltechnologyandInternet

useinschoolsisfairlyabundant,apaucityofresearchexistswhenexamininghighschoolstudentsenrolledinvirtualschools,andtheresearchbaseissmallerstillwhenthepopulationofstudentsisfurtherednarrowedtotheelementarygrades.Inanattempttopresentacompletepictureofresearchinthisfield,studiesforthisreviewweredrawnfromavarietyofresources,includingrefer-eedjournals,conferenceproceedings,governmentreports,dissertations,unpub-lishedstudies,andreportsfrompublicandprivateorganizations.Withsuchlittleavailableresearch,andtheintentofanexhaustiveandevaluativereview,onlystrictlyanecdotalstudiesweredeemedinappropriateforinclusion.

Unlikeearlyresearchthatfocusedmoreheavilyondistancetechnologiesthatinvolvedaudioandvideoconferencing(Downs&Moller,1999),currentre-searchfocusesmorecloselyonWeb-basedtechnologies,deliverysystems,andthespecificattributesofthosesystemsandtheirrelationshipwithstudentlearn-ingoutcomes.Inthisreview,researchwascategorizedintotwobroadcategories:(1)Comparativestudiesexaminingstudentperformanceindistanceeducationversusstudentperformanceintraditional,face-to-faceclassroomsand(2)stud-iesexaminingthequalitiesandcharacteristicsoftheteaching/learningexperi-


ence.Thiscategorywasfurthernarrowedintotheareasoflearnercharacteris-tics,learnersupports,andaffectivelearningdomains.

ComparativeStudiesAswiththeresearchinadultdistanceeducation,thestartingpointformost

studiesinK–12distanceeducationisananalysisofstudentachievementrela-tivetotraditionalface-to-faceinstruction(Cavanaugh,2001).Mediacompari-sonstudiesinK–12distanceeducationappeartosupportthesame“nosignifi-cantdifferencephenomenon”reportedinadultstudies(Phipps&Merisotis,1999;Russell,1999).Analysisinthisareaisparticularlydifficultduetoalackofconsistentexperimentalcomparativemethodologiesthatcontrolforamul-titudeofconfoundingvariables.Studiesinthisareaarealsooftenchallengedwithissuesofsmallsamplesize,dissimilarcomparisongroups,anddifferencesininstructorexperienceandtraining(Kozmaetal.,2000;Mills,2003).

McLeod,Hughes,Brown,Choi,andMaeda(2005)attemptedtolimitthesechallengesbycontrollingforstudentdemographicsandacademiccharacteristicsintheirstudyexaminingacademicperformanceofstudentsenrolledinAlgebraIclassesinthreevirtualschoolsandtwoface-to-faceschoolsinthreedifferentstates.Sixteachersand81studentsparticipatedinthestudy.Thefindingsin-dicatedthatvirtualstudentsoutperformedstudentsintraditionalface-to-faceclasses.Particularlynoteworthyabouttheirfindingsisthatstudentsintheface-to-faceclassesweremuchmorelikelytobeinacollegepreparatoryprogramthanvirtualstudents,andvirtualstudentsweremorelikelytobeenrolledinthemathcoursebecauseofapreviousfailure.Unfortunately,anumberofaddition-alvariables,suchasearlydropoutandvoluntarytestinginthevirtualschool,raisequestionsconcerningthecausalityofthefindings.

Fortunately,twometa-analysesexistthatmayassistingeneratingabetterunderstandingofthefindingsofresearchstudiesthathaveexaminedstudentachievementthroughcomparativestudies(Cavanaugh,2001;Cavanaugh,Gil-lan,Kromrey,Hess,&Blomeyer,2004).Meta-analysisisanappropriatemeth-odologybecauseitallowscomparisonofdifferentstudiesbycomputinganeffectsizeforeachstudy,aswellasinvestigationintotherelationshipamongstudyfeaturesandoutcomes.AccordingtoKrathwohl(1998),“ameta-analysiscanplotthenatureofcausalrelation,showhowitisaffectedbyothervariables,anddeterminewhereevidenceisneededformorecompleteunderstanding”(p.152).

Inameta-analysisconductedin2001,Cavanaughanalyzedtheeffectsizesof19experimentalandquasi-experimentalstudies(n=929)examiningstudentacademicachievementinK–12interactivedistanceeducationsettingsintheresearchfrom1980–1998.Thefindingsindicatedhighereffectsizesconsistentlyreportedindistanceeducationenvironmentscharacterizedbysmallersizedgroups,shorterduration,anddistanceeducationthatwasusedtosupplementorsupporttraditionalclassroominstructionratherthanastheprimarymodeofinstruction.Thesignificanceofthefindingshavebeencalledintoquestion,however,becauseatthetimetheinitialmeta-analysiswasconducted,theK–12virtualenvironmentwassonewthatnoachievementdatafromstudentsinfullyonlineprogramswereavailable(Blomeyer,2002).


Asubsequentmeta-analysispublishedin2004byCavanaugh,Gillan,Krom-rey,Hess,andBlomeyerexamined116effectsizesonnearly40factorsfrom14Web-deliveredK–12distanceprogramsbetween1999and2004.Usingonlystudiesthatfitthedefinitionofscientifically-basedresearchasdefinedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducationinitscallforevidence-basedprogramdecisionsthroughtheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(U.S.DepartmentofEduca-tion,2001),14studieswith116outcomeswereexamined(N=7,561students)

Thefindingsfromthisstudysupportpreviousfindingsofadultonlineeduca-tionprogramsthatsuggestthereisnosignificantdifferencebetweencoursesde-liveredonlineandthosedeliveredintraditionalface-to-faceclassrooms(Phipps&Merisotis,1999).Theresearchersconcluded,“Asdistanceeducationiscur-rentlypracticed,educatorsandotherstakeholderscanreasonablyexpectlearninginawell-designeddistanceeducationenvironmenttobeequivalenttolearninginawell-designedclassroomenvironment”(Cavanaughetal.,2004,p.20).

Inadditiontothefindings,thereportcontainsextensiverecommendationsforfutureresearch,policy,andpractice.Theauthorsencouragepolicymakersandevaluatorstomovebeyondquestioningwhetherdistanceeducationisaseffectiveastraditionalface-to-faceinstructionandbegintoevaluatethespecificcharacteristicsofeffectivedistanceeducationprogramsintheK–12arena.Fol-lowinginthefootstepsofthenationalcalltoactionforthoseintheadultdis-tanceeducationfield(Web-BasedEducationCommission,2000),theauthorsofthisreportcallfortheuseofcomprehensiveprogramevaluationplanningtoleadthewayforqualityresearchagendasinK–12.Itistheauthors’contentionthatthedetailedcollectionandreportingofdatacanonlybeginwhencommongoalsareidentifiedbypolicymakersandevaluators.

TherecommendationbyCavanaughetal.toredirectresearcheffortshasbeenechoedbyothersinthefield.RoblyerandKnezek(2003)suggestthatcom-parativestudiestendtobeonedimensionalintheirdesign,focusingonlyonthedeliverymedium(theuseoftechnologyvs.notechnology)ratherthanthemultidimensionalaspectsofteachingpracticeandthelearningprocess.Theseargumentsarealsosupportedbyresearchinadultdistanceeducation.Sener(2005)andBernardetal.(2004)arguethatevenwhensignificantdifferencesarefound,theyaremorelikelytobeattributabletofactorsunrelatedtodeliverymode,suchasinstructorexperienceandquality,orvariationsamongstudentcohorts.Indeed,Bernardetal.alsofounddifferencesinresultsbasedonmeth-odologicalfeaturesused.Forexample,studiesthatinvolvedresearcher-madetestsfavoreddistancelearningoverface-to-face,whilestudiesusingteacher-madetestsfavoredface-to-faceclassroomsoverdistancelearning.Calculatedef-fectsizesfavoreddistancelearningwhileestimatedeffectsizesfavoredtheclass-room.Althoughnoneoftheeffectsizesinhismeta-analysisweresignificant,thedifferencesilluminatethelargerproblemofconfoundingvariablesinherentisthistypeofresearch.

Theundeniablefactisthatsomestudentssucceedinthevirtualeducationalenvironmentandsomefailjustastheydointraditionalclassroomenviron-ments.Thekeyliesinunderstandingthecriticalcomponentsinaneducationalcontextthatpromoteandencouragestudentsuccess,notthemediathatwas


usedtodelivertheinstruction(Clark,1994;Gunawardena&McIsaac,2004).Blomeyer(2002)suggests

Infinalanalysis,onlinelearningore-learningisn’taboutdigitaltechnologiesanymorethanclassroomteachingisaboutblackboards.E-learningshouldbeaboutcreatinganddeployingtechnologysystemsthatenableconstructivehumaninteractionandsupporttheimprove-mentofall teachingandlearning.(p.19)

CriticalComponentsinTeachingandLearningBuildinguponthefindingsofcomparativestudiesareavarietyofstudiesthat

examinethequalitiesofboththelearningexperienceandteachingpracticeinon-lineenvironments.Althoughthemajorityofcomparativestudiesmaypresentonlyaone-dimensionalapproach,thestudiesinthisrealmareanattempttoaddressthecriticismsmentionedabove—thefailureofmostcomparativestudiestotakeintoaccountthecomplexsystemsinwhichdistanceeducationoperates.Ratherthancomparing,thesestudiesattempttoidentifytheimportantvariablesthatcre-atesuccessfulandeffectiveonlinelearningenvironmentsandmakerealeffortstotransformlearningexperiencesandteachingpractices.Researchinthissectionofthereviewhasbeencategorizedintostudiesthatexaminethreeareas:(1)Learnercharacteristics,(2)learnersupports,and(3)affectivelearningdomains.

Learner Characteristics Therelationshipbetweenpersonalvariables,(i.e.,learningstyle,self-esteem

beliefs,demographics,etc.),andsuccessisthefocusofstudiesinthisarea.Wehavelearnedfromadultresearchthatmanyfactorscoexistandmayberespon-sibleforpromotingstudentsuccessindistanceeducationenvironments.Forexample,greaterlearnerautonomyandstudentresponsibilityarecharacteristicsoftenfoundinsuccessfuldistanceeducationstudents(Fjortoft,1995;Morris&Wu,2005;Parker,1999).Inexaminingdistanceeducationstudies,however,Cavanaughetal.(2004)warnthatitisimportanttodifferentiatebetweenadultlearnersandlearnersinK–12classroomsettings.Younglearnersmaypresentfundamentallydifferentcharacteristicsthantheiradultcounterparts.Inaddi-tion,althoughmostadultshavedevelopedthesecharacteristicstosomeextent,youngerstudentsneedtoacquirenecessaryskillsthroughcarefulinstruction.

Whatarethecharacteristicsofthetypicaldistanceeducationstudent?Ac-curatestatisticaldataofyoungerstudentsparticipatingindistanceeducationisdifficulttolocate.InhisevaluationofaMidwesternvirtualhighschool,Mills(2003)examinedfrequencycountsof2,600onlinestudentenrollmentsandfoundthatthetypicalonlinestudentwasjustaslikelytobemaleasfemale,andwasanAorBstudentwhowaseitherajuniororsenior.RoblyerandMar-shall(2003)foundthatofthestudentswhoparticipatedintheirstudyoftheConcordConsortium’sVirtualHighSchoolProject(N=135),abouthalfwerefemale,mostwere16–17yearsold,and70%identifiedthemselvesaswhite.Whatseemstobemoreimportantthanspecificdemographicdescriptorsarelearnerattributesthatmayindicateastudent’spotentialsuccessorfailureindis-


tanceeducationenvironments.Mostreportsexaminingcharacteristicsofonlinestudentshypothesizethatacombinationoffactorsmaycontributetostudentsuccess.Aswithcomparativeresearch,theresearchexaminingstudentcharac-teristicsconsistsmainlyofstudiesthataredescriptiveandanecdotalinnature.

Studiesthatexaminereasonsforparticipatingindistanceeducationmayofferinsightintotherelationshipbetweenmotivationandstudentsuccess.Studentsacrossstudiesappeartoenrollinonlinecoursesforsimilarreasons.Convenience,flexibilityinscheduling,creditrecovery,acceleratedlearningop-portunities,conflictavoidance,andtheabilitytotakecoursesnotofferedatalocalschoolarejustsomeofthereasonsidentifiedintheresearch(Mills,2003;Tunison&Noonan,2001)Researchalsoindicatesthatfactorssuchasstudentattributesandtheirchoiceofcoursedeliverymethodmayalsoinfluencemo-tivation(Roblyer,1999;Tunison&Noonan,2001).Hypothesizingthatthereisarelationshipbetweenstudentattributes,motivation,andsuccess,RoblyerandMarshall(2003)usedtheresultsfromaneducationalsuccessinstrumenttopredictstudentsuccessinonlinecourses(n=94).Successwasdefinedaspass-ingwithagradeinthecourseofA,B,orC(n=73).StudentswhowithdreworreceivedaDorFinthecoursewerenotincludedinthepassinggroup(n=21).Seventyitemswithinfourmajorfactorsthoughttoberelatedtosuccessfulbehaviorinonlineenvironmentswereconstructedandpresentedasasurveytostudentsenrolledinvirtualhighschoolcourses.Descriminantanalysisofthe70itemsindicatedthattheinstrumentwassuccessfulatpredictingstudentsuccesswith100%confidence,orfailurewith95%confidence.

Thefirstfactorinthepredictioninstrument,achievementandself-esteembeliefs,revolvesaroundthedegreeoflocusofcontrolandself-efficacybeliefsthatstudentshave.Thisfactorisimportanttothesuccessofstudentsbecauseofthedegreeofself-motivationnecessarytocompleteworkinanonlineenviron-ment.Thesecondfactor,responsibilityandrisktaking,centersonthedegreeofindividualinitiativeandtakingresponsibilityforone’sactions.Thethirdfactor,technologyskillsandaccess,assesseshowskilledstudentsareinusingtechnol-ogyandtheirdegreeofaccesstothetechnology.Thefinalfactor,organizationandself-regulation,centersonstudyskillsandthenecessitytoapproachtasksinanorganizedway.Qualitativedataintheformofinstructorinputwasalsoexaminedandcorrespondedtoeachofthefactorsmentionedabove,withtheexceptionthatgoodparentalsupportwasmentionedbyteachersascontribut-ingtogoodworkhabits.Inadditiontothesefactors,theresearchersalsoex-aminedpersonalcharacteristicsofstudents(i.e.gradelevel,age,jobstatus)andtheirrelationshipwithstudentsuccessorfailure.Theonlystatisticaldifferenceoccurredwhenthenumberofhoursspentinoutsideschooljobswasexamined(t=2.73,p<.01).Notsurprisingly,studentswhoaresuccessfulspendfewerhoursworkinginjobsoutsideoftheschoolenvironment.

Onefindingillustratesthepotentialofdistanceeducationandmotivationinthedevelopmentoflearnerautonomy.TunisonandNoonan(2001)examinedonlinehighschoolsstudents’firstexperiencesinanonlinecourse.Theylookedatthedemographicsandperceptionsoflearnerexperiencesof126studentsen-rolledincoursesofferedthroughavirtualschoolcreatedasanalternativeschool


withinanexistingdistrictinamid-sizedCanadiancity.Theresearchersreport-edanemergentthemeofstudentappreciationforthefeelingofempowermentandfreedominthedirectionoftheirlearning.

Themostcommonstudentresponsetothequestionofbenefitsofavirtualschoolcoursewastheirappreciationoftheautonomyandfreedom.Althoughmoststudentsidentifiedtheteacherastheultimatesourceofinformation,manystudentsenjoyedtheopportunitytoworkontheirownandtofigureoutthingsforthemselveswithouthavingtowaitfortheirteachertotellthemwhattodo.(p.503)

Inadditiontothisfinding,studentsreportedappreciatingmostthefactthattheycouldworkaheadandattheirownpaceandtheopportunitytodevelopnewskills.Finally,studentsstatedbenefitsintheirinterpersonalrelationships.Studentsalsoreporteddisadvantagesintakinganonlinecourse.Timemanage-mentwasanissue,asweretechnologyproblems.Althoughingeneralthere-searchersconcludedthatstudentsenjoyedtheironlineexperience,theydidpointouttheneedforstudentsupportsasamajorchallengetoonlineinstruction.

Learner SupportsLearnerattributesappeartoplayaroleinthesuccessofstudentsindistance

education,butwhataboutmeetingtheneedsofstudentswhomaylackthosequalities?Inaddition,evenifstudentsarehighlymotivatedandself-directed,inadistanceeducationenvironmenttheycanstillfindtheexperienceisolating,difficult,anddiscouraging.Inadultresearch,instructionalsupport,technicalsupport,servicesthatpromoteasenseofcommunity,andthedesignofthelearningenvironmenthaveallbeenfoundtoinfluencestudentsuccess(LaPad-ula,2003;McLoughlin,2002).WhatcomponentsofthistypehavebeenfoundtoaffectstudentoutcomesintheK–12arena?Unfortunately,inthisreviewoftheresearch,veryfewstudieswerefoundthataddressthespecificneedsofK–12studentsintheformofstudentsupports.Thefewstudiesthatwerelocatedtendtobedescriptiveinnatureandfunctionasaninitialinquiry.

SimilartotheTunisonandNoonanstudydiscussedabove,astudyconductedbyFrid(2001)concluded,inthedescriptivestudyreferencedpreviously,thatexperi-encesinadistanceeducationenvironmentcanactuallyimprovelearnerautonomyandindependencebutalsoindicatestheimportanceofstudentsupports.Inthiscase,theamountofengagementbytheadultsupervisorseemedtoinfluencetheamountofandqualityofparticipationbystudents.Participantsincluded28stu-dentsrangingingradelevelfromtwotosevenandinagefrom7–12yearsold,livinginfourdifferentAustralianterritoriesorstates.Participantswhodidnothaveanadultsupervisoreitherdidnotfinishthecourseorexhibitedamarkeddecreaseintheamountandqualityofparticipation.Finally,interactionswithpeersap-pearedtohaveaneffectontheresults;whenevidenceofinteractionwithpeerswasapparent,studentsweremorelikelytopersistwithachallengingproblem.

Weiner(2003)examinedinformationgatheredthroughsurveysandinter-viewsinaqualitative,descriptivecasestudythatrevealedstudents’attitudesto-


wardslearning,motivationalissues,academicachievements,andstrengthsandweaknessesofWeb-basedinstruction.Insummarizingtheresultsshereports,

Theresearchfindingsconfirmedthatahighdegreeofstudent-teacherinteraction,includingfeedbackandsummariestothestudents,areanecessityinthevirtualclassroom,otherwisestudentsfeltignored,lonelyandlostintheircourses.(p.49)

TheroleoftheteacherhasbeenthetopicofasignificantnumberofadultdistanceeducationstudiesaswellasstudiesassociatedwithtraditionalK–12classroomenvironments.Severalstudiesindicatethemostinfluentialfactorinstudentsuccessorfailureintraditional environments,evenwhenaccountingforminorityandsocio-economicstatus(SES),maybeteacherquality(Ascher&Fruchter,2001;DarlingHammond,2000;Sanders&Rivers,1996).Notsurprisingly,ithasalsobeenpositedthatteacherqualityplaysasignificantroleindistanceeducationoutcomes(Cavanaughetal,2004).Indeed,oneofthemotivationalinfluencesforthedevelopmentofdistanceeducationprogramsinK–12educationisthenotionofincreasedaccesstohighlyqualifiedteachers.

Hughes,McLeod,Brown,Maeda,&Choi(2005)examinedstudentpercep-tionsofthelearningenvironmentinacomparisonstudyofanonlinehighschoolalgebraclassandaface-to-facecourseandtherelationshipnotonlywithstudentoutcomesbutwithteacherprofessionaldevelopment(face-to-facestudents,n=85;onlinestudents,n=31).Majorfindingsindicatedfirstthatstudentsinthetraditionalclassperceivedsignificantlyhighercooperation,studentcohesiveness,andinvolvementthantheirvirtualcounterparts.Sec-ondly,studentsinthevirtualclassperceivedsignificantlymoreteachersupportthanstudentsintheface-to-faceclass.Althoughtheauthorscautionedagainstgeneralizationsbecauseofthe“smallsamplesizeinthesample(n=7),”itisimportanttonotethattherewasasignificantrelationshipbetweenthenumberofprofessionaldevelopmentexperiencehoursandthreeofthestudentsupportcomponents(p.35).Therewasasignificantrelationshipbetweenthenumberofhoursofprofessionaldevelopmentinmathematicalcontentandperceivedinvolvement(r=0.872),betweenteachingmathematicsandperceivedteachersupport(0.852),andbetweenteachingtechnologiesandperceivedstudentco-hesiveness(-0.819).Onceagain,however,thisstudyisplaguedbyunansweredquestions.Forexample,anexaminationacrosslocationsindicatessignificantvariationincohesivenessacrossvirtualschools.Becauseofthelackofdescrip-tiveinformationregardingcoursestructureandlearningactivities,itisimpos-sibletomakeinferencesaboutthenatureofthisvariation.

Advocatesofcomputer-basedlearninghavetraditionallyadvocatedashiftinthetheoreticalfoundationsofpedagogicalpracticefromthatofbehavioristteacher-centeredinstructiontomorestudent-centeredconstructivistapproaches(Herring,2004;Hill,Wiley,Nelson,&Han,2004).Attheheartofthisshiftisachangeinthewayweviewtheroleoftheteacher.

Theinteractionmodelsthatareconsideredcharacteristicoftoday’stechnology-richlearningenvironmentsandtheincreasingemphasison


synthesisandapplicationofknowledgetoauthentictasksandproject-basedstudentworkmostoftenaredescribedasbeingstudentcentered.Studentsoftenworkindependentlyasindividualsoringroups.Theteacher’srolechangesfrombeingtheprimarysourceforknowledgeanddirectiontobecomesomethingmorelikeafacilitatoroflearningor(speakingmetaphorically)akindofringmasterinacircusoflearn-ingevents.(Blomeyer,2002,p.8)

Herring(2004)examinedtheissuessurroundingthisshiftinteachingprac-tices.InaDelphistudyconductedusingtheWeb,apanelofexpertsinuni-versitypositionsfrom13stateswasaskedtoidentifycoreconstructivist-basedexperiencesorelementsnecessaryfortheirimplementationindistanceeduca-tionsettings.Theresultisalistofpedagogicalguidingpracticesforcurriculumandprofessionaldevelopmentactivitiesthatpromotethetenetsofconstructivistlearningenvironments.Perhapsamoreimportantoutcomefromthisstudywasanacknowledgmentoftheprimaryroleoftheinstructionalprocessindistanceeducationratherthanafocusonoperationalissuessuchastimemanagement,classroommanagement,interaction,anddeliverymechanisms.

Althoughintheorywemayknowwhattodo,itismoredifficultinprac-ticetoimplement.McLoughlin(2002)providedinsightintohowthecoreprinciplesofeffectiveinstructionespousedbyconstructivisttenetsmaybeimplementedinadistanceeducationsettingthroughadetailedexaminationofscaffoldingandassociatedtechnologicaltools.“Effectivesupportwouldneedtoincludetheencouragementofreflectivethinking,provisionofsocialsupportfordialogue,interactionandextensionofideaswithfeedbackfrompeersandmen-torsonemergingissues”(p.152).

Thereisgeneralagreementthatdistanceeducationpresentsanopportunitytomovetowardarestructuringofeducation,butthismoverequiresashiftintheroleoftheteacher(Vornberg&Maris,2003).Inreality,however,thereareoftenbarrierstoimplementationthatmayinclude:inadequateprofessionalde-velopment,lackoftimefordevelopmentofcoursecontent,problemswiththetechnology,andresistancetochange.

Thereissomeevidencethatoncebarriersareremoved,thereisapotentialforchangeandpositiveoutcomesforstudents(Collins,2001).

Affective Learning DomainsRelatedtostudentsupportsandinstructionalqualityandeffectivenessisa

bodyofresearchthathasinvestigatedtherealmofaffectivelearningdomainsandtheireffectsonstudentperformance,satisfaction,andretentionindistanceeducationenvironments.Oneofthegreatestconcernssurroundingdistanceeducationmaybethelackofsocialinteractionandthepotentialharmthismaycause,especiallytoyoungerstudentsTheperceptionofstudentisolationinthevirtualenvironmentisoftenseenasonedrawbackofthisformofeducation(Fulton,2002).Improvementsindistanceeducationtechnologiesthatassistinprovidingenhancedopportunitiesforinteraction,suchasthreadeddiscussionboardsandreal-timeaudioandvideocommunicationtools,areexamplesofourperceivedneedtoreplicateclassroominteractionsascloselyaspossible.Forthis


reason,socialdimensionsandaffectivelearningdomainscontinuetogenerateinterestinbothtraditionalandvirtuallearningenvironments.Ofparticularinterestisresearchthatexaminesstudentperformancethroughthelensofthetheoriesoftransactionaldistance,interaction,andsocialpresence.

Theresearchprovidesevidencethatinteractionindistancecoursesinvolvesacomplexarrayofvariables:social,instructional,andtechnological.Interac-tionalsoplaysaroleinsocialpresence,andWolcott(1996)confirmedthatpsychologicaldistanceisaprobleminherentinmostdistancecourses.Moore(1989)positedthatdistanceisnotamatterofgeographybutratherpsychology,andalthoughgeographicalorphysicaldistancemaybeincreasedindistanceeducationsettings,itseffectcanbedecreased.Hesuggestedthattheinterchangewithinadistanceeducationcontextischaracterizedbythreedifferenttypesoflearnerinteractions:learner-to-content(appropriatenessofthecoursematerialanddeliveryvehicleconsideringtheobjectivesandlearners),learner-to-in-structor(typesofcommunicationandfeedback,accessandsupport,etc.),andlearner-to-learner(typesofcommunicationandfeedback,supportsystems,andproceduresfordialogue,etc.).Hillman,Willis,andGunawardena(1994)addanadditionalmodeofinteractionrelateddirectlytodistanceeducation;learner-to-interface,whereinteractionisrelatedtouseraccesstoandcompetencywiththespecifictechnologyemployed.

Inonlinecourses,thereareoftenavarietyofinteractiontypes.Currentcomputer-mediatedcommunications(CMC)researchidentifiestwobroadcat-egoriesofcommunication:synchronous(real-time)andasynchronous(delayed-time)(Romiszowski&Mason,2004).Typicaldistanceeducationsynchronouscommunicationtoolswouldincludethetelephone,instantmessagingorchattools,andvirtualclassroomtoolsthatallowfilesharing,audio,andevenvideocommunications.Asynchronouscommunicationsencompassthosetechnologiesthattypicallyinvolveadelayinwhenamessagehasbeensentandwhenithasbeenread.Letterwriting,fax,e-mail,andthreadeddiscussionsareallexamplesofasynchronouscommunications.

Preventingdropoutbehaviorisacriticalconcernofonlineprograms.Aswithonlineprogramsthatserveadultpopulations,K–12virtualschoolsandprogramshaverelativelyhighdropoutandfailurerates;asmuchas50%insomecases(Carr,2000;Roblyer&Elbaum,2000;Simpson,2004).Studiesofinteractivityinvolvingadultsenrolledinonlinecoursesrevealthatstudentshavearealneedtomakeconnectionswiththeirinstructorandtheirpeersandresearchconsistentlysupportstheconceptthatfaculty-to-studentandstudent-to-studentinteractionsareimportantcomponentsinstudentsatisfactionandstudentretention(Downs&Moller,1999;Kuh&Hu,2001;Muirhead,2001;Picciano,2002;Stein,Wanstreet,Calvin,Overtoom,&Wheaton,2005;Stith&Fitz,1994).Butdoesthesameholdtrueforyoungerstudents?

Theresearchconcerningpersistenceofat-riskyouthtendstosupportthisnotion.LeeandBurkham(2001)examinedavarietyoffactorsassociatedwithpersistenceandconcludedthatalthoughotherfactorssuchascurriculumandschoolsizeareimportant,themostimportantfactorinstudentsatisfactionandpersistencemayhavemoretodowiththesocialorganizationoftheschoolthan


withanyotherfactor.Inshort,studentswhoexperienceconsistent,positiverelationshipswiththeirteacherswerelesslikelytodropout.Studentswhodon’texperiencethesekindsofpositiverelationshipsoftenbecomedisconnectedanddropout(Zweig,2003).AlthoughnoresearchcouldbelocatedthataddressesthisrelationshipinthecontextofdistanceeducationinK–12,thereisnorea-sontobelievethatthefindingswouldnotbeconsistentacrossinstructionalmo-dalities.Passey(2000)suggeststhebasisforimplementingdistanceeducationinK–12shouldreflecttheneedtostrengthensocialsupportsratherthan“provid-ingacost-effectivesolutionwhichlowerslevelsofsocialinteraction”(p.48).Unfortunately,thereisverylittleresearchexaminingtherelationshipbetweenK–12interactionthatdirectlyrelatestostudentperformance,satisfaction,andretentioninadistanceeducationcontext.

AninternalevaluationofavirtualhighschoolinIllinois,witharetentionrateofmorethan95%,doeshighlighttheimportanceofinteractiontosomeextent.Usinginterviewtranscripts,classroomdocuments,memos,andsurveyresults,evaluatorswereabletoestablishthatthequalitiesmostresponsibleforsuccesscouldbeattributedinparttohighqualitymaterialsandfrequentteacher-stu-dentinteraction(Vrasidas&Zembyas,2003).

Studiesarealsobeginningtoappearthatattempttoevaluatesomeofthelat-estcomputer-mediatedcommunicationtoolsforevidenceofthequantityandqualityofinteractivity.Throughobservationsandinterviewsofoneteacherand20highschoolstudentsusingaWeb-basedsynchronoustool,researchersexam-inedthetypesofinteractionsoccurringwithinandamongtheteachersandstu-dentsparticipatinginsixseparateclassobservations(Murphy&Coffin,2003).AlthougheachofthethreetypesofinteractionsdescribedbyMoore(1989)andthefourthinteractiondescribedbyHillman,Willis,andGunawardena(1994)occurredwithuseofthistool,nodataweregatheredexaminingtherelationshipbetweeninteractionandstudentachievementorsatisfaction.

Therelationshipbetweeninteractionandstudentachievementislesssupport-edintheadultresearchbaseaswell(Simonson,Smaldino,Albright,&Zvacek,2006)butthereareindicationsinadultstudiesthattheuseofinteractive,asyn-chronoustoolssuchasdiscussionboardsmaybelinkedwithhigherachieve-ment(Kawachi,2003)andthedevelopmentofhigher-orderthinkingskills(Meyer,2003).Lapadat(2002)arguesthatthetext-based,nonlinearcharacter-isticsofthreadeddiscussionsmayprovideincreasedopportunitiesforreflectionandsense-makingbasedonconstructivistcognitivefoundations.Inessence,thistypeofcommunicationallowsstudentsto“writeone’swayintounderstanding”(p.27).NoresearchcouldbefoundintheK–12contextthatdirectlyaddressesthisissuebuttheremaybeindicationsofarelationshipbetweenstudent-to-stu-dentinteractionandlearning.Frid(2001)concluded,inthedescriptivestudyreferencedpreviously,thatincreasedinteractioninfluencedmotivationandengagementinactivitiesthatresultedinincreasedstudentpersistencewithachallengingproblem.

RoblyerandWiencke(2003)assertedthatidentifyingobservablebehaviorswithinteractivequalitiesisessentialinstudyingtheeffectofinteraction.Theyhaveformulatedarubricdesignedtoassesstheinteractivequalitiesofonline


courses.Preliminaryresultsfromaformativeevaluationsuggesttherubricwasshowntoexhibitusefulnessindefiningandclarifyingexpectedinteractiveper-formance.Hirumi(2002)alsosuggestsusinganapproachgroundedinlearningtheoryindevelopinginteractiveexperiencesandprovidesexplicitguidelinesfordoingso.

Researchinthesocialdimensionsofdistanceeducationiscomplexandacomprehensiveevaluationofthefieldisbeyondthescopeofthisreview.Simon-sonetal.(2006)summarizethat,“althoughinteractionseemsintuitivelyim-portanttothelearningexperience,interactionshouldnotbeaddedwithoutrealpurpose”(p.81).Additionally,“Focusingonbuildingcollaborationandgroupinteractionmaybemoreimportantthanfocusingonindividualparticipation”(p.81).ThelimitedresearchbaseandthedescriptivenatureofexistingresearchintheK–12realmmakesitdifficulttopresentevenabasicsummary.Obvious-ly,moreresearchisneededtodeterminetherelationshipbetweentheaffectivedomainsofdistanceeducationandstudentperformanceandwhethertheuseofasynchronousandsynchronoustechnologytoolsmayleadtoenhancedlearn-ing,butitcanbesurmisedthatineffectivepracticesusedintraditionalclass-roomswillalsobeineffectiveindistanceeducation.TranslatingalecturecoursetotheWeb,forexample,willlikelynotgeneratetheinterestandmotivationinstudentsthatahighlyinteractivecoursemight.Inaddition,caremustbegivenwhengeneralizingadultresearchtotheK–12studentpopulation.Asstatedearlier,youngerstudentsneedtobeprovidedguidanceindevelopingcharac-teristicsofsuccessfuldistancestudents.Commonsensewoulddictatethatthisappliestothesocialdomainsaswell.Enhancedcomputer-mediatedcommuni-cationtoolscannotsubstituteforwell-designedinstructionandopportunitiestoengageinpurposeful,interactivelearningactivities.

COnCLUSIOnThecurrentstateofdistanceeducationresearch,ingeneral,hasbeende-

scribedasoneofconfusion(Saba,2005).ItisapparentfromthisreviewthatresearchintherealmofK–12distanceeducationisfollowingcloselyinthefootstepsofadultdistanceeducation.Theresearchislimitedandmanyofthestudiesreviewedinthisreportprovideonlylimitedinsightintothecomplexitiesofthefield.Someoftheblameforthishasbeenplacedonthedoorstepoftheresearchcommunityforalackofatheoreticalrationaleformostdistanceedu-cationresearchaswellasalackofadequatetrainingfornewresearchersinthefield(Bernardetal.,2004;Saba,2005).Thecomplexnatureofthefieldonlyaddstotheconfusion.

Onethingwedoknowisthattheeffectivenessofdistanceeducationap-pearstohavemoretodowithwhoisteaching,whoislearning,andhowthatlearningisaccomplished,andlesstodowiththemedium.Attheveryleast,worksuchasthatbyRoblyerandMarshall(2003)andSimpson(2004)shouldcontinueandexpandonpredictioninstrumentsandmethodologiesthatassistinidentifyingthosestudentswhoarelesslikelytosucceed.Simpsonsuggestscollectingdemographicdataonstudentcohorts,linkingresultstoachievement/completiondata,andperforminglogisticregressionanalysisontheresultsof


apreviousstudentcohorttoassistinpredictingthefuturecohortresults.Thiswouldrequireaconcertedefforttocollect,organize,andmanagedataonstu-dents.Hiscurrenteffortsattain65%accuracyinpredictingwhetherstudentswillpassorfailandeffortsareunderwaytoimprovethisaccuracyrating.

TheKozmaetal.(2000)studyisalsoagoodexampleofaprogramevaluationthathasfollowedthisleadandtakenamorecomprehensiveviewofthepoten-tialfactorsresponsibleforstudentsuccessindistanceeducation.Whilepaintingamorecomprehensivepicture,thisstudyalsoillustratesthedifficultiesinisolat-ingcomplexinteractionsthatoccurinbothface-to-faceanddistanceeducationenvironments.Thedevelopmentofvalidandreliabletoolsdesignedtoidentifyexpectedbehaviorsassociatedwithinteractivity,suchastherubricdevelopedbyRoblyerandWiencke(2003),willlikelyassistinthisprocess,aswilltheworkbyHirumi(2002)intoguidingprinciplesofinteractiveexperiencesthroughthelensesoflearningtheoryandinstructionaldesign.

Technologyinandofitselfmayhavenospecialpowerstoimprovelearning,butithasbeenarguedthatdistancetechnologiescouldoffermorepowerfullearningopportunitiesthantheirface-to-facecounterpartswhenembeddedwithinstructionthataddressesthecognitiveandsocialprocessesofknowledgeconstruction(Kozma,1991).Qualityresearchinthisareawouldnotonlyexpandourknowledgeofdistanceeducationbutwouldbeavaluablecontribu-tiontotheknowledgebaseofexistingresearchintoteachingandlearningingeneral.

ThequestionoftheeffectivenessofstudentsupportsiscriticalintheK–12context,especiallywhenconsideringthealternativenatureoftheeducationalexperienceandtheproclivityforitsattractivenesstoat-riskstudentpopulations.Thecharacteristicsidentifiedassuccessfulwithat-riskstudents—instructionalenvironmentsthatareself-paced,personalized,utilizediverseinstructionalmethods,andarefacilitatedbycompetent,caringadults(Barr&Parrett,2001)—aretheverycharacteristicsthathavebeenlaudedindistanceeduca-tioncircles.Researchexaminingtherelationshipbetweenstudentsupportsandat-riskstudentneedsinrelationtodistanceeducationisessentialinansweringquestionsaboutthebenefitsordrawbacksofdistanceeducationnotonlyforthisspecialpopulationofstudentsbutforallstudents.

Wecanonlyexpectthemyriadaspectsofdistanceeducationtobecomemorecomplexastechnologicalimprovementsaremadeinsuchareasasspeechpro-cessing,gaming,3Dsimulations,andautomatedspeechtranslations.Thiscon-tinuedexpansionofdistanceeducationopportunitiesforprimaryandsecond-arystudents,particularlydistanceeducationthatusesInternetorWeb-basedtechnologies,warrantsacomprehensiveexaminationoftheneedsandissuesfacingnational,state,andlocaleducationagencies,policymakers,andresearch-ers.Inaddition,responsibilitiescannotbeexaminedfromjustaproprietaryorcentralizedperspective.Theadvancesthataremadeencourageandinfluenceeducationpolicyandpracticeonaglobalscale(Lin,2003).

Theresultsofthisinvestigationareusefulinthattheyprovideaframeofref-erencefromwhichtoviewthiscomplexandrapidlyevolvingfield.Asummaryofthefindingssuggestaneedto:


• Improvethequalityofresearchthatexaminesthecriticalcomponentsoflearningdirectlyrelatedtoyoungerlearners.

•Continueandexpandonthedevelopmentofpredictioninstructionsthathelpidentifysuccessfullearnerattributes.

•Developorganizedstudentevaluationsystemstofacilitateconsistentdatacollection.

• Investigatetherelationshipbetweenstudentsupportsandat-riskstudentneedsinrelationtodistanceeducation.

• Investigatethesocialandcognitiveaspectsofdistanceeducationandtheeffectonknowledgeconstruction.

•Developvalidandreliabletoolsforidentifyinginteractivequalitiesincoursedesignandinstruction.

ContributorKerryRiceisaninstructorandcoursedeveloperfortheonlinemaster’spro-

gramintheDepartmentofEducationalTechnologyatBoiseStateUniversity.Inadditiontocoursedevelopmentandteaching,shehascollaboratedonthedevelopmentofaninteractive,onlineproject-basedlearningWebsiteforagrantreceivedfromFIPSEandTheBuckInstituteforEducationandcreatedthecampus-wide,onlineorientationcourseforBoiseStatestudents—Introduc-tion to E-Learning at Boise State.(Address:KerryLynnRice,BoiseStateUniver-sity,DepartmentofEducationalTechnology,1910UniversityDrive,BoiseID83725;[email protected].)

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