Distance Education: Facing the Teachers' Challenge

Who could doubt that distance learning, in the multiple forms it takes today, is the hottest and most controversial issue in American higher education? Hardly any issue of any higher education journal or newsletter is published that doesn’t contain at least one article on the topic of distance learning or educational technology. You are bombarded constantly with messages heralding the technological revolution that is occurring on campuses across the country. As teachers, you are warned that if you don’t "get with the program" our institutions will suffer and our jobs will be lost to more technologically, bottom-line oriented organizations.

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Problems and Challenges of Distance Education

Technological advancement has made education readily available for everyone regardless of the one’s location. The acceleration in distance education brought on by the development of sophisticated computer network tools is making noise as a variety of challenges stare distance educators and students.

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Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone

Distance learning has been around for quite some time now. Early online courses using email were rapidly followed by web-based instruction. Today, the lines are blurred between different types of distance learning courses as multiple modes of delivery are employed in a single course. For example, a class "library" could be a website; class discussions could take place using email; some course content could be delivered using printed materials and television; and the final activity could be a place-bound proctored exam.

 

Increasing access to more students is a common reason for providing instruction in a distance learning format. However, these access arguments usually focus on people separated by distance and time and rarely include consideration of the needs of people with disabilities. In fact, the design of many distance learning courses erects barriers to the full participation of students and instructors with some types of disabilities.

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 mandates that no otherwise qualified individuals shall, solely by reason of their disabilities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in public programs. The ADA does not specifically mention online courses, but the United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights have clarified that the ADA applies to Internet-based programs and services. Clearly, distance learning programs must make their offerings available to qualified people with disabilities.

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Questions to Ask when Considering Distance Learning

Thinking of enrolling online for a course or two but having doubts? Here are some questions that will serve as your guide when making this decision.

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CYBERPLAGIARISM: How to Spot a Phony

Although plagiarism has been around as long as students have, the Internet has dramatically increased the ease of and opportunities for plagiarism. "Cyber-plagiarism" is the term used to describe the process by which students either copy ideas found on the Web without giving proper attribution, or the process by which students download research papers from the Web, in whole or in part, and submit the paper as original work. The phenomenon of cyber-plagiarism is affecting Universities around the globe.

  • In a 1999 survey of American students conducted by the Center of Academic Integrity at Duke University, 68% of the 2,100 students polled said that they had committed at least one academic offence such as plagiarizing.
  • Larry McKill, the Associate Dean of Arts, Student Programs at the University of Alberta, estimates about 70 people were proven to have plagiarized during the academic year 2000 in the You of Arts.
  • During the same year, at the University of Ottawa, 18 students in the you of arts and sciences were disciplined for plagiarism; Carleton University reported 50 cases of plagiarism; and at the University of Toronto over 200 cases of plagiarism are reported each year.
  • Most university administrators believe that the number of unreported cases of plagiarism far exceeds reported numbers.

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Why Students Plagiarize

Plagiarism is a difficult concept to define because it encompasses a wide range of actions from merely writing incorrect citations to the wholesale theft of someone else's work or ideas. Also, the type of plagiarism can have an impact on the perception of the offence for both the teacher and the student involved. The exact causes of plagiarism are complex to understand, but worth examining. As an instructor, knowing and understanding why students are tempted to copy or totally present other people’s work as their own will allow you to take better steps in encouraging them not to.

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Preventing Cyberplagiarism

Preventing plagiarism isn't as difficult as one might think. It is made more difficult for online instructor who are battling a special form or plagiarism called cyberplagiarism. Here is a simple guide to help you make sure that each and every student that logs on to your class is turning in authentic assignments.

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Academic Integrity: Terms and Concepts that help secure an Honest and Fair Future

Imagine that you were about to get surgery and just as you were going under, you discovered that your surgeon had cheated throughout their university career. Would you feel betrayed? What if it was your lawyer? Your accountant? Your child's teacher? This scenario is reflective of a concept called academic integrity. It is a concept that does not only affect the climate at the university, or even online learning, but it can also affect every other area of your life.

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How to Prepare for those College Entrance Exams

College can be one of most challenging phases of your life. But getting your foot in the door can be as equally challenging as the entire college experience. US colleges differ in their approach for sifting through all their applicants. College entrance exams is just one of them. These series of tests serve a specific purpose. They are used to gauge whether the student can live by the standards of the college and is ready to tackle the academic workload. College entrance test preparation requires both time and diligent study. Here are some tips and guidelines for the day before the test and during the test that will help you score better.

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Unleashing your Thoughts on Paper: Getting the hang of Essay Exams

This is most probably the least favorite type of test. It is not tricky but quite difficult hit the right spot. Yes, I am talking about essay exams. Even those who love to write journals are challenged by essay questions. It is a test of how well you can organize your thoughts and express them well on paper. Here are some tips on how conquer those killer essay questions and get the best results.

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