Issue 26(1)
Web-Based
Distance Education for Adults. (2004). Barbara
DuCharme-Hansen and Pamela Dupin-Bryant. Malabar,
FL: Krieger Publishing Company, 145 pp, Price
$24.00. ISBN 1-57524-221-4.
Review
by: Gwenette
Gaddis Goshert
Advisor
and Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs
Department of Mathematics
Indiana
University
Bloomington
This "pragmatic
resource for instructors" (p. ix) certainly lives up to its claim.
Throughout the book the authors effectively compare the development
of a distance education course to creating an effective resume,
an example familiar to most instructors. The authors set out to
"expand this sample distance education plan framework to illustrate
possible online activities, methods, and strategies that help
create an effective and efficient web-based learning environment"
(p. 16), and they accomplish exactly this.
Creating
a learning community may be the most important part of building
an effective online distance education program. It is certainly
the hallmark of a good traditional education system - bringing
people together by what they have in common. "Creating a community
. . . one event at a time" - the theme used to welcome 35,000
students to Indiana University this fall - is just as applicable
for creating an online learning community. Instructors of web-based
courses do not create a community with the first message they
send to their students. That message simply is the first brick
in the foundation. Numerous contacts with students - as a group
and individually - begin the building process; every contact among
the students adds bricks to the structure.
One
section of this book emphasized the importance of needs assessment
through the example of an instructor who "developed a simple timeline
for conducting a learning styles needs assessment" (p. 25). This
instructor captured benchmarks before the semester began, on the
first day of class, in the first week of class, and throughout
the semester. The reader is admonished to "select appropriate
teaching methods to match learner needs as determined by assessment
results" (p. 25). In my own teaching experiences, I have failed
to do this adequately. I have often used only one method to teach
the material, forgetting the differences in learning styles. This
book provides examples of multiple teaching methods to address
different learning styles so that an instructor can tailor his/her
class to students' needs.
As
part of the needs assessment, instructors of web-based classes
must know what knowledge students already possess before throwing
new information at them. For example, "until the use of technology
is innate in listening, reading, and writing, we cannot assume
students are 'tech-ready'" (p. 29). The authors offer five areas
in which instructors must assess needs before beginning to teach
the course material: computer skills, learning styles, available
resources, learner's desired outcomes, and prior learning experiences.
This
book addresses the differences between adult students and younger
students, including differences in reading and writing skills
and in motivation. The authors note that "adult learners.tend
to be older, married, and have an abundance of job, family, and
social responsibilities. They enroll in distance education for
the flexibility and convenience" (p. 8). In my own experience,
both in creating and editing online courses and in "attending"
web-based courses, I have found that motivation is key. This book
adequately addresses how to maintain the motivation needed to
successfully complete web-based courses.
Those responsible
for creating or teaching a web-based course will find that this
book is a great resource. Likewise, those who advise students
interested in taking web-based courses will find this book useful
for helping students understand their learning styles and for
choosing courses appropriate for their needs.
