Welcome to "The Impact of New Technologies on Distance Learning Students"

This is a reference material project on the impact of new technology on distance learning students.

The extant literature of the impact of technology on learning is fragile and inconclusive. This was the view of the World Bank  in March 2005 (Impact of ICTs on learning and achievement). In the UK in January 2004 Cox et al (A review of the research literature relating to ICT and achievement) reach the same conclusion. In the USA in 2005 similar findings come from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

A detailed search of the literature shows that what research there is is nearly all on the impact of technology on children in schools. There is little or nothing on adult education, on lifelong learning or on distance learning. This is the focus of this new proposal. The research situation is unacceptable in an area that is costing European governments millions of euros annually.

One of the major manifestations of the use of technology in education is distance education. In distance education the use of technology is essential. It is not a supplement. Today distance education is a rich and complex sector containing five major fields of education and training provision which are detailed here for the first time are:

• Distance education – the provision of education and training at a distance by Open Universities, distance education institutions and distance education departments of conventional institutions
  
• E-learning – e-learning is the provision of education and training via the WWW for students who study mainly as individuals using LMSs (or VLEs) like SumTotal and Blackboard
  
• Synchronous e-learning systems – these are the provision of education and training on the WWW to students who study mainly in groups using LMSs like Centra or Horizon Wimba
  
• The use of the WWW for the provision of education and training on university and college campuses as a supplement to lectures and ILT given on campus or, alternatively, as a substitute for lectures when the courseware is provided on the WWW in the institution in place of lectures
  
• Mobile learning – the provision of education and training on PDAs (including palmtops and handhelds), smartphones and mobile phones.

The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a set of findings that help instructors understand the implications of various technologies for their students, and to provide research-based principles for how instructors can best use technology in their teaching.

The methodology to be employed is based on the identifying and implementing educational practices supported by rigorous evidence of the US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences of December 2003, probably the most recent and most authoritative educational research methodology.