The Four Waves of Distance Education: A (r)evolutionary grid

OMDE 601-9040 Fall 2015

Study Group 3
Crystal Chew
Jacqueline Gardy
Cordelia Hastings
Cari Lara
Stephanie Oliver
Tiffany Solarin

First Wave of Development: Correspondence / Independent Study (1840s )

1) Larger Context (economics/
politics/ societal values and
pressures/ government policies/
technological advances)

Correspondence education delivered via postal services.

Advancement in technology led to the change from rural to urban economy.
Change in governmental policies & development resulted in democratization of education
and mass education.
Demand for educational access was driven by accessibility to DE after both world wars for
employed but under-skilled and uneducated adults.
Correspondence education broke the customs of traditional teaching & learning.
Space-time barriers to learning were dismantled.
Separation of students and instructors.
Education delivered to underserved, severely restricted, and disperse students.
Mass production of printed materials for mass education.
Correspondence education developed on the primary, secondary, post-secondary, tertiary
level in many disciplines in the public and commercial sectors.
Education is regarded as a commodity (Peters, 2010).

2) Theories/ Ways of
Understanding

Correspondence education allowed students without access to higher education to gain

access to a guided self-study with universities through correspondence via the mail system
(Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010).
Correspondence education allowed distant learners to receive teaching through text
(Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010).
Andragogy is the concept of teaching adult learners (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).
Guided Self-study/independent study allows adult learners to work on their courses or
assignments outside of the school at home (Peters, 2001).

3) Institutional and Organizational

Developments/ System

Hundreds of proprietary correspondence schools. (Home Correspondence School of

Springfield and the American Farmers School)
Home-study by for-profit schools and independent study by universities
Some closely tied to corporate management for career development (International
Correspondence Schools, now known as Penn Foster)
For-profit schools organized the National Home Study Council (NHSC) in 1926 to help
regulate schools and to promote practices that were more ethical and professional. (Called
the Correspondence Education Research Project)
NHSC conducted several studies of correspondence education.
US Department of Defense created US Armed Forces Institute in 1941 that offered courses

in elementary, high school, college, technical, and vocational subjects for over a half
million students.
Schools of the air broadcast over radio beginning in 1925. (Ohio School of the Air)
References: Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010, Moore & Kearsley, 2012
4) Teaching/ Learning
Correspondence study helped make education more accessible to the non-elites in society.
Methodologies (role of teacher/role The heavy emphasis on text-based learning and distance from a physical location changed
of learner)
education for both teachers and learners. Self-regulated learning continues to be the
foundation for distance education throughout each wave of DE. (Cleveland-Innes &
Garrison, 2010).
5) Predominant Technologies

Development of the printing press - Increased ability to make mass prints of printed
materials at a lower costs. Increased the ability of learning materials to those outside of the
social elite (Haughey, 2010; Holmberg, 2005)
Development of the Postal Service - Increased capabilities and reliance on the postal
service allowed for increased reliability for communications between the student and the
tutor/instructor (Holmberg, 2005; Moore & Kearsley, 2012).
Radio Broadcasting - availability and use of radio broadcasting beginning in the 1925
allowed for schools of the air (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).

6) Key Authors

William Harper: William Harper was the first American educator who introduced a
structured correspondence study at the university level (Holmberg, 2005, p 1). He wrote a
brief explanation of the correspondence study plan that consisted of: an instruction sheet,
examination paper, and the recitation paper. He is referred to as the father of American
distance education.
Borje Holmberg: Borje Holmberg was a Swedish educator who played a major role in
defining the term distance education. He became a distinguished researcher on the theory
and practice of distance education and published several books and made many
contributions to learned journals (Holmberg, 2005).
Leo Vygotsky: Leo Vygotsky was a theorist who proposed the theory of zone of proximal
development. Vygotsky believed that learners construct their own way of thinking and
gradually come to take control of the process of learning (Moore & Kearsley, 2012, p.

211).
Desmond Keegan: Desmond Keegan was influential in helping practitioners and
researchers interpret and understand the emerging field of distance education theory and
practice (Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010, p 24). He made the ideas of other pioneering
researchers accessible.
Charles Wedemeyer: Charles Wedemeyer was a pioneer in the theoretical development
(Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010, p 14). His focus was on independent study because it
provided access to socially disadvantaged people.

Second Wave of Development: Systems Approach to Education (1960s )

1) Larger Context (economics/
politics/ societal values and
pressures/ government policies/
technological advances)

Wave 2 brought about an approach to teaching that was more learner-centered than the
previous wave. New methods were built upon existing practices using emerging
technology. The learner-centered approach was emphasized. The Open University in
England, established in 1969, paved the way for more accessible education. The driving
force behind the change was the diversity of the adult student population. More adults had
access to education than before, and it was observed that they learn differently than
children do. They also have different motivations and needs as learners. (Moore &
Kearsley, 2012).
Specific examples include:
DE became more industrialized because of a strong political push for more open
universities.
Technological advances in multimedia (radio, TV, audio, and video cassettes).
Extension of DE classrooms via video conferencing and satellite (extension of the
traditional face-to-face teaching and learning).
Professionally developed self-directed courses.
The establishment of dual and single-mode distance universities.
The organization of professional conferencing, research, and the publication of scholarly
journals.
DE provided structural framework which is flexible and easy to adopt.
Growing demand for post-secondary education.
Labor moving to cities as a result of industrialization
A need for economies of scale

2) Theories/ Ways of
Understanding

Transactional Distance Transactional distance explains how distance education is

greater than the distance between the instructor and teacher, but the pedagogy (Moore &
Kearsley, 2012). Transactional distance focuses on the behaviors and communication
between the teacher and students (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).
Guided pedagogic conversation - Guided pedagogic conversation creates the connection
between the teacher and students. This concept explains how teachers have to be
empathetic to their students needs and learning skills, when they are creating their lessons
via correspondences (Peters, 2001).
Industrialization model The Industrialization model explains distance education in
terms of division of labor, mass production and economies of scale (Cleveland-Innes &
Garrison, 2010, p 15). This approach explains the goal of distance education to increase
access, especially for the educationally disadvantaged (Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010,
p 15).

3) Institutional and Organizational

Developments/ System

Open Universities United Kingdom was the first single-mode university. Approximately
70 were established in 25 years. Provided access to higher education. (Peters, 2001).
Single mode, dual mode, or consortia (Guri-Rosenblit, 2009)
Support for DE Students (tutors, counseling, advising) (Peters, 2010)
Accredited and non-accredited courses
Expansion of online learning for K-12 and beyond (Moore & Kearsley, 2012)
Development of multimedia education
Beginning of various technologies
International Council for Correspondence Education (ICCE), formed 1938, renamed
International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) in 1982. Provided a
platform for DE research. (Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010)

4) Teaching/ Learning
Student-centered and independent, autonomous learning
Methodologies (role of teacher/role Creating cognitive space via Transactional Distance (Moore, 1989)
of learner)
Real-world application/Constructivism in learning (also referred to as Social
Constructivism)
Consideration of three constitutive elements of distance education: Peters (2004)- dialogue,
structure, and autonomy
5) Predominant Technologies

Increased implementation of television based broadcasting occurred during the second

wave. In 1961, instructional television fixed service helped promote educational

capabilities similar to traditional instructor classroom and laboratory demonstrations
(Holmberg, 2005; Moore & Kearsley, 2012).
The introduction of cable television within the 1960s increased the geographic availability
of distance education programs (Holmberg, 2005).
6) Key Authors

Malcolm Knowles: Malcolm Knowles was famous for the theory of andragogy.
Andragogy is the art and science of helping adults learn (Moore & Kearsley, 2012, p. 150).
Michael Moore: Michael Moore introduced the need for interaction. He introduced the
concept of dialogue and structure. He raised the issue of two way dialogue (ClevelandInnes & Garrison, 2010, p 16).
Otto Peters: Otto Peters observed the technology and scale of production, so that it was
consistent with the principles of industrialization (Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010, p
15). He focused on labor, mass production, and economics of scale. His focus was gearing
students to the point where they could work independently.
Doug Shale: Doug Shale pointed out the central role of two- way communication and
dialogue in an educational experience (Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010, p 16).

Third Wave of Development: Internet/Web-Based Communication (1995)

1) Larger Context (economics/
politics/ societal values and
pressures/ government policies/
technological advances)

Economic/Politics
Globalization led to a knowledge-base economy.
Workers demand for lifelong learning new skills.
New organizational forms of education emerge, e.g. corporate universities, virtual and forprofit institutions (University of Phoenix).
Social Values & Pressure
DE market expanding beyond higher education & adult education.
DE now includes home-schooling, K-12 online learning, single-mode universities
Open universities adopting new technological form of teaching & learning.
Increase in traditional brick-and-mortar schools offering both face-to-face & online
education - Blended Learning (Bates & Sangra, 2011).
Universities transforming to dual-mode of education, e.g. UMUC.
Technological Advances
The development of the Internet and digitalization of schools.
DE environment using both synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication.
Wide range of media available for teaching & learning.
Technology-mediated learning diminishes time, place barriers.
Emergence of Web 2.0 technology such as blogs, social media e.g. Twitter, Facebook,
Wiki, Skype, YouTube (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).

2) Theories/ Ways of
Understanding

Equivalency Theorem instructional design can substitute on type of interaction for one
of the others with little loss of educational effectiveness (Anderson, 2003).
Communities of Inquiry three distinct presences within the classroom. Virtual
learning/interaction involves one or more of the three following:
1. Social Presence Open communication that encourages reciprocal and respectful
exchanges along with recognition of each others contributions.
2. Cognitive presence Interaction and activities that promote/require critical thinking and/or
inquiry.
3. Teacher presence Uses curriculum, design, and assessment that balances cognitive and
social issues to reach the desired educational outcome (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer,
2000)
Flipped Learning Blended learning that allows students to watch short videos and

podcasts on lessons outside of the classroom then during class time, work in collaborative
groups guided by the instructor (The Flipped Classroom Infographic)
Constructivist model- The constructivist model was introduced by the findings of Paul
Watzlawick (Peters, 2001, p 163-164). The constructivist model allows students to work in
collaborative environments, do active work assignments, and learn by experience. This
model focuses more on the student than teacher.
3) Institutional and Organizational Virtual Universities- Tennessee Board of Regents' Online Degree Program (Clapp, 2015)
Developments/ System
Blended Learning- courses are a mix of in person and online requirements, offered by most
higher education institutions (Vaughn, 2010)

4) Teaching/ Learning

Methodologies (role of teacher/role

of learner)

Synchronous/Asynchronous communication forms (Anderson & Dron, 2011)

Collaboration (Garrison, 2009)
Individualism and self-directedness (Garrison, 2009)
Balance between student-content, student-student, and student-instructor in classroom
teaching and classroom management (Anderson, 2003)
Non-linear forms of teaching and learning (Peters, 2010)

5) Predominant Technologies

6) Key Authors

Web-Based Education The arrival of the internet opened more access to distance learning
(Moore & Kearsley, 2012, 42).
Online Platforms (learning management systems) This platform provides asynchronous
and synchronous studying on an online platform.
Video Streaming Opened the door for open universities, allowing universities to stream
lectures online to multiple students (Moore & Kearsley, 2012).
Terry Anderson: Terry Anderson focused on the costs, benefits, and research questions
associated with these models. He proposed the equivalency theory. This theory stated that
an instructional designer could substitute one type of interaction for another with little loss
to educational effectiveness (Moore & Kearsley, 2012, p. 150).
George Siemens: George Siemens proposed the theory of connectivism. Siemens
believed that learning is no longer generated and validated mainly by scholarly study, but
by discussion. (Bates & Sangra, 2011, p. 46).
Randy Garrison: Randy Garrison proposes the model of six types of transactional

relationships. He added on to Moores three part model of interaction. Garrison added

teacher-content, teacher-teacher, and content-content (Moore & Kearsley, 2012, p. 215).

Fourth Wave of Development: Current Trends, New Theories, New Roles, New Applications of Technology
1) Larger Context (economics/
politics/ societal values and
pressures/ government policies/
technological advances)

Economic /Politics
Emerging form of market Capitalism due to invention of new digital technology
(Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2010 p 217).
Democratization to the access of information & knowledge.
Increased economic globalization.
Increased competitive labor market.
New operators in the training business.
Limited public funding for schools.
Open education market emerging locally, nationally, & internationally.
Social Values & Pressure
Education & training becoming the basis for managing change.
Emergence of corporate classrooms, organizations providing in-house training.
Change in the demographics of the student population to include seniors and lifelong
learners.
Intercultural experiences becoming part of daily student life as a result of geographic,
mobility, immigration, and education technology.
Technology literacy and fluency becoming a graduation requirement (p 232)
Technological Advances/Government Policies
Emergence of a media culture environment.
Increase growth in Internet use.
Information communication technology driven environment.
Increase in virtual institutions.
Emerging technology becoming more diverse and ubiquitous (p 231).
Higher education transforming due to new technology.
Mobile communication or M-learning with the use of smart phones, PDAs, mini
computers or tablets used in DE
Cyberspace enabling large storage devices with the capability of holding thousand of
courses (p 213).

2) Theories/ Ways of Understanding

Constructivist model The constructivist model was introduced by the findings of Paul
Watzlawick (Peters, 2001, p 163-164). The constructivist model allows students to work
in collaborative environments, do active work assignments, and learn by experience. This
model focuses more on the student than teacher.

Heutagogy Is a flexible learning that allows the students to design the course he/she
wants to take, while the professor provides resources and pedagogy (Canter, 2012).
Interaction Equivalency Theorem Is a theory developed by Anderson that discusses
the importance of interaction between student to student, student to instructor and student
to content (Miyazoe & Anderson, 2010).
3) Institutional and Organizational Cloud/SaaS model (North Carolina State University, Global Nomads Group)
Developments/ System
Mobile learning, m-learning (as evidenced by UKs Open University to have DVDs and
podcasts vice BBC broadcasts)
Corporate Classroom (BBC Television, Plato.com, Motorola University)
References:
(Anderson, 2010) (Evans, 2010) (Ice, 2010)

4) Teaching/ Learning
Methodologies (role of teacher/role
of learner)

Heutagogy teacher assumes the role of facilitator and guide while students use online
and traditional resources to gain understanding and solve problems (Anderson, 2010).
Extends control to the learner as the primary developer and controller of their individual
learning (Hase & Kenyon, 2007)
Connectivism the teacher lacks a substantial role (Anderson, 2010). The learner has a
network consisting of learning resources, machines that store and generate information,
and people. (Anderson, 2010).

5) Predominant Technologies

Adaptive learning environments (Siemens, 2004)

Web 2.0: Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Facetime, Youtube, ITunes U, podcasts (Clark, 2011)
Open source learning: open and free content, Google Docs, Translate, Scholar, Khan
Academy, MIT Courseware, Project Gutenberg (Clark, 2011)
Software services: Googledocs, online translators, Scholar (Clark, 2011)
Mobile learning: text, bbm, IM, Tweet (Clark, 2011)

Blogs
Wikipedia/Wikis (Clark, 2011)
Social Networking: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (Siemens, 2004)
e-Learning: Flexible and blended learning environments (Ashton & Newton, 2006)
Virtual Classrooms (Anderson, 2010)
Web CT, Moodle, and Blackboard Learning Management Systems (Anderson, 2010)
Return of video conferencing (Anderson, 2010)
Research search engines (i.e. Google scholar) (Clark, 2011)
Smartphones/tablet technology (Clark, 2011)
6) Key Authors

Terry Anderson looks at three developing theories: pedagogy of nearness, heutagogy,

connectivism
D. Clark asserts 10 technology innovations have driven pedagogic change
A. Kamenetz- DIY learning- self-directed and self-determined learning
Otto Peters argues that theoretical underpinnings essential to decision making
Siemens- developed theory of Connectivism with S. Downes.

References
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