The document discusses internet-based distance education. It begins by explaining what the internet is and its architecture consisting of four tiers from backbone networks to organizational networks. It then discusses the foundations of internet-based distance education being student-centered learning. It contrasts instructor-centered vs learner-centered models and defines distance learning vs distributed learning. It outlines technologies used like course management systems and web 2.0. It discusses pedagogies and adoption cycles of e-learning. It concludes by outlining five standards for e-learning.

1. INTERNET-BASED DISTANCE
EDUCATION
Carolyn Jenkins-Haigler

2. What Is The Internet, and
Why Does It Matter?
 The Internet is not a single, clearly defined entity, but a meta-network of
interconnected networks that share a common language, TCP-IP
(transmission control protocol/Internet protocol).
 Protocol is an electronic language that computers use to communicate with
one another and exchange data, it is roughly analogous to the languages
humans use to communicate and share information
 The Internet has no international headquarters or mailing address, no chief
executive officer or board of directors, no stockholders, and no toll-free
numbers
 The Internet is an anarchy

3. Architecture of the Internet Four
Basic Tiers
 Tier 1: Backbone Networks and Internet Exchange Points – the essential framework
that provides by a worldwide configuration of extremely high-bandwidth networks
 Tier 2: Regional Networks – operates backbone on a smaller scale
 Tier 3: Internet Service Providers – the most important component for distance
educators. The individual Internet service providers (ISPs) are connected to regional
networks and provide dial-up, or direct, high-speed access to the Internet at the local
level
 Tier 4: Organizational and Home Networks – these are the local area networks that
interconnect computers within an organization, such as school, college, government
agency, or company, and provide Internet access to individuals within those entities.

4. Foundations of Internet-Based
Distance Education
Student-Centered Learning – this philosophy of
education provides learning experiences to the
student.
It promotes strong active learning
Collaboration
Mastery of course material
Student control of learning process

5. Characteristics of the Transition from an Instructor-
Based to a
Learner-Based Instructor Model
Instructor-Centered Model
Mission and Purposes
 Provide/deliver instruction
 Transfer knowledge from faculty to students
 Offer courses and programs
Teaching/Learning Structures
 Time held constant, learning varies
 50-minute lecture, 3-unit course
 Covering material
 Success determined by accumulated credit hours
Learning Theory
 Learning is teacher centered and controlled
 “Live” teacher, “live” students required
 Classroom and learning are competitive
Nature of Roles
 Faculty are primarily lecturers
 Faculty and students act independently
Learner-Centered Model
Mission and Purposes
 Produce learning
 Elicit student discovery and construction of knowledge
 Create powerful learning environments
Teaching/Learning Structures
 Learning held constant, time varies
 Learning environments
 Specified learning results
 Success determined by demonstrated knowledge and skills
Learning Theory
 Learning is student centered and controlled
 “Active” learner required, but not “live” teacher
 Learning environments are cooperative, individualistic, collaborative, and
supportive
Nature of Roles
 Faculty are primarily designers of learning methods and environments
 Faculty and students work in terms with each other

6. Distance Learning Versus
Distributed Learning
 Distributed learning illustrates how the learner-centered educational model is being
implemented in today’s schools and colleges.
 Internet-based learning activity involves students and teachers who continue to meet
at least part time in conventional classroom settings.
 According Saltzberg and Polyson, (1995), replaced the other DI, distance learning
 Distributed learning is also represented by what are called hybrid or blended courses
 students
 Do not need to be at a distance from their instructor to benefit from distributed
learning

7. Advantages and
Limitations of Online Learning
 Unless access is deliberately restricted, courses or online course materials could be available to any
qualified individual in the world with a properly equipped
computer and an Internet connection. Students can participate from school, home, office, or community
locations.
 ■ Asynchronous course components are available 24 hours a day, at the learner’s convenience, and are
time-zone independent.
 ■ Students can work at their own pace.
 ■ Course materials and activities available through the Web are distributable across multiple
computer platforms; it makes no difference if users are using Windows or Macintosh operating
systems.
 ■ The technology is relatively easy for students to use.
 ■ Learning materials are available across the entire World Wide Web.
 ■ Online course materials, once developed, are easy to update, providing students access to current
information.

8. Continued
 The Internet can provide a student-centered learning environment, if the materials and
methods are designed to take advantage of the interactivity and resources the Internet
provides.
 ■ The Internet promotes active learning and facilitates student’s intellectual involvement with
the course content.
 ■ A well-conceived online course provides a variety of learning experiences and
accommodates different learning styles.
 ■ Students become skilled at using Internet resources, a factor that may improve employment
options upon graduation.
 ■ When personal identities remain concealed, all students, regardless of gender, ethnicity,
appearance, or disabling condition, are on equal ground.
 ■ Corporate training programs conducted via the Internet can yield significant savings in
employee time and travel costs, and training can be conducted on a “just in time” basis.

9. Technologies of Internet-Based
Distance Education
 The Internet has its roots in the ARPANET, a network created in 1969 to link the computing systems of
military and other government agencies to those of their research partners around the United States,
including universities and corporate contractors.
 ARPANET grew, important technologies such as TCP-IP, tools for electronic mail and online discussion
forums, and Ethernet were developed to enhance its capabilities.
 course management systems (CMSs) would
 Course Management appeared by 1997, web course authoring and management systems in various stages
of development. Course management systems are often erroneously identified as “learning management
systems.
 Learning management systems (LMSs) are an entirely different genre of product. The primary difference
between the two is that the focus of a CMS, as its name implies, is on the delivery of courses, while an LMS
focuses upon an individual and tracks the learning needs and outcomes achievement of that person over
periods of time that can be several years in length.
 Learning management systems are also now common at the K–12 level as a means of providing learning
experiences and tracking student achievement toward state and No Child Left Behind standards.

10. Components of a Course
Management System
 The two CMS industry leaders in education are Blackboard and
Desire2Learn.
 The major course management systems all provide essentially the same
basic set of components: a syllabus, course calendar, announcements,
assignment instructions, learning objectives, a student roster, and a
glossary.
 There are other tools that support the Management of Online Courses
such as: homework collection and grading, electronic gradebook,
electronic testing, and plagiarism detection

11. Web 2.0
The term “Web 2.0” was coined by O’Reilly Media in 2003 (O’Reilly, 2005) and is now widely used in a collective sense to describe
these technologies. Web 2.0 applications are not limited to education—in fact, Web 2.0 exists primarily outside the education
sphere—but these technologies have extraordinary potential for education and the kinds of learner-engaging functions that should
be incorporated into the next generation of course management systems.
Web 2.0 technologies include, but certainly are not limited to the following areas:
 Blogging - Web logging, or blogging, is a form of online reporting and journaling that gives anyone an opportunity to publish
on the Internet.
 Wikis -is an online writing space designed to be created and edited by groups of persons.
 Podcasting -which derived from the Apple product iPod and the term "broadcasting,” is the process of recording and storing
audio and/or video content on the Internet for downloading and playback using iPods, MP3 players, computers, and other
electronic gear that plays back audio and/or video files .
 Other forms of content creation One of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 is that literally anyone can generate “content”
and place it on the Web without knowledge of web page design tools and methods.
 Social bookmarking was described by Alexander (2006) as “classic social software. . . . a rare case of people connecting through
shared metadata”
 Social Networking sites promote the development of online communities through posting of personal information, journals,
photos, likes and dislikes, and provide communication channels for persons with similar interests to meet virtually.
 Virtual Worlds is hardly a new concept. Virtual reality in the form of computer-generated simulations dates back to the mid-
1950s and has long been used for corporate, health science, and military training purposes.

12. Pedagogies of Internet-Based
Distance Education
Three assumptions of e-learning advocates had proven to be incorrect: (1) that a viable market for e-learning
products has yet to emerge despite a plethora of available hardware and software; (2) that students in general
have not embraced online learning as anticipated; and (3) that the availability of e-learning tools has not
fundamentally changed the way most faculty teach.
E-learning adoption cycles are most relevant. .Any or all of these cycles may be operating simultaneously in
different parts of the same campus.
■ Cycle 1.Enhancements to traditional course/program configurations. In this cycle, faculty introduce basic-level
technologies into their courses, such as e-mail, web resources, and PowerPoint slides, without fundamentally
altering their instructional strategies.
■ Cycle 2.Course management systems. Here, faculty use some of the basic tools a CMS offers and shift
resources and course activities to an online format.
■ Cycle 3.Imported course objects. This cycle involves embedding electronic learning objects within a course to
further promote student understanding of the course material.
■ Cycle 4.New course/program configurations. In this cycle, courses are reconceptualized and redesigned to take
advantage of the power of technology and the Internet in enhancing learning and increasing student
engagement.“

13. Five Standards
E-Learning should enable these five standards:
1. Interoperability—can the system work with any other system?
2. 2. Re-usability—can courseware (learning objects, or “chunks”) be re-used?
3. 3. Manageability—can a system track the appropriate information about the learner and the
content?
4. 4. Accessibility—can a learner access the appropriate content at the appropriate time?
5. 5. Durability—will the technology evolve with the standards to avoid obsolescence?