Return to Programs & ProjectsGlobal Distance Education InitiativeOverview The Global Distance Education Initiative underwrites a series of occasional papers for an audience of selected academicians and policy makers. The purpose is to make information available on distance education techniques, technologies and issues. This program is funded in part by Samsung Electronics of the United States of America, in cooperation with MSU's Office of the Vice Provost for University Outreach. For more information about GDEI see the linked .pdf letter by Hamlin. Occasional Paper 97-01, Principles and Practices of International Distance Education, is intended to provide a basic understanding of distance education. The main issues addressed include instructional design, media choice, and cross-cultural education. Two pilot studies assess students' opinions about the effectiveness of the World Wide Web as a distance education tool. In regard to cross-cultural learning in web-based distance education, foreign students get advantages such as self-paced learning and more opportunities for class participation. However, the lack of human interaction in the class and delayed responses from the instructor can be major disadvantages in web-based distance education. The authors, Inkyung Lee and Joonho Do, were visiting faculty members at IPPSR and at the MSU Department of Telecommunication. The full text of the final report is available online in .pdf format. The report itself is 20 pages, the instructional design related annotated bibliography is seven pages, and the media related annotated bibliography is 16 pages. Viewing .pdf files requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. |