(From EDD 7007 Discussion #8)
A classification method for distance education, transactional distance examines the amount of learner autonomy and the distance between students and instructors (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015). Transactions in distance education include
A classification method for distance education, transactional distance examines the amount of learner autonomy and the distance between students and instructors (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015). Transactions in distance education include
the interplay of teachers and learners in environments that have special characteristics of being spatially separated from one another (Moore, 2013). The theory was derived from the concept of distance education, and is defined in three sets of variables that are robust to enable subsequent research (Moore, 2013). According to Moore (2013), “there is a universe of educational programs and practices that are distinctly different from those where teachers and learners work in the same space and time (p.67).” Distance education resembles real teaching in the classroom and teaching and learning in separate locations is better understood not as an aberration from the classroom, but as a significant pedagogical domain (Moore, 2013).
Prior to my online Master’s degree, I attempted a face-to-face cohort group, thinking poorly of distance education. I moved online because I was forced to as a result of my family, life, and school balance. Through distance education, the professor was able to spend undivided attention to me via meeting rooms and email, such that I hadn’t experienced in the face-to-face program. The transactions between myself and my professor differed, but were not more or less attentive than the face-to-face room as a result of the technology, they were more simply because of the dedication of the instructor.
Moore, M. G. (Ed.). (2013). The theory of transactional distance. Handbook of distance education (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Prior to my online Master’s degree, I attempted a face-to-face cohort group, thinking poorly of distance education. I moved online because I was forced to as a result of my family, life, and school balance. Through distance education, the professor was able to spend undivided attention to me via meeting rooms and email, such that I hadn’t experienced in the face-to-face program. The transactions between myself and my professor differed, but were not more or less attentive than the face-to-face room as a result of the technology, they were more simply because of the dedication of the instructor.
Moore, M. G. (Ed.). (2013). The theory of transactional distance. Handbook of distance education (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.