ACM Logo  An ACM Publication  |  CONTRIBUTE  |  FOLLOW    

Do distance and location matter in e-learning?

By Lisa Neal / October 2007

TYPE: OPINION
Print Email
Comments Instapaper

There are many differences between teaching online and in the classroom-including, as I wrote in a previous column, whether an instructor can see who is making eye contact, nodding in agreement, or sighing with frustration. Vital information like this has never been replicated in the virtual classroom. Physical distance between students and teachers clearly has an impact, but does it matter how far apart participants are in an online class?

In a recent article in Communications of the ACM ("Why Nearshore Means That Distance Matters"), authors Erran Carmel and Pamela Abbott write that "the ubiquitous nature of technology has led to an assumption that common interactions such as communication, coordination, and collaboration can be easily resolved over distance by technology and that physical location therefore becomes a non-issue." To see if this applies to e-learning, we must examine separately courses with and without peer and instructor interaction.

In the case of self-paced courses, location matters primarily as regards culture and language. Some companies localize courses so that language—including dialects—and references reflect specific regions. Apart from concerns of this type, the locations of the instructional designers and others involved in creating and distributing the course don't impact the students.

In the case of instructor-led online courses, location still matters for language and cultural issues, and also impacts instructor-student interaction and student collaboration. The only "show-stopper," when synchronous technologies are used in the virtual classroom, is time-zone incompatibility. Archived sessions "solve" the problem, but remove the interactive element. Videoconferencing, especially with Cisco's TelePresence product, has potential to increase the realism of a virtual classroom, but only if students are comfortable being on camera.

I certainly prefer to work with people at a distance after having met in person. I have taught many students online without ever meeting them and felt like I knew them quite well. However, I needed techniques to make them seem real to me, not just disembodied voices or creators of text. I liked to talk to them on the phone instead of just by email, and, when I did, I pulled up their profiles which included their picture—not the same as being in a room with them, but helpful for me. I'm sure other online instructors develop their own techniques for bridging distances with students.

Most online courses include some student collaboration, mediated through technology. Carnegie Mellon professor Sara Kiesler's research looked at the role of proximity for groups in these situations and found that "technology alone is often insufficient to recreate the same facilitating environment in distributed teams that is present in co-located settings." I agree, but have found students quickly become accustomed to working together using, for instance, discussion forums or IM for communication.

Language and culture, however, can be difficult because they can limit a student's ability to fully participate in a class. In my view, that is how location matters most. I taught a class (in person) a few years ago in Poland and was amazed by the differences between Polish and American students. Polish students tended not to make eye contact with me, and far preferred to ask me questions during breaks than during class. Both of these were a noticeable contrast to the American students I was accustomed to. I was told by someone who had taught in both countries that these are typical differences. In this case, I adjusted to them, but if these Polish students were in a class with students from other countries, their style of participation might put them at a disadvantage.

Do distance and location matter? Technology certainly transcends borders although time zones restrict some forms of interaction. But ultimately, students from different locations benefit from the varied perspectives possible in an online course that transcends borders.



Comments

  • There are no comments at this time.

ADDITIONAL READING

    Lisa Neal
  1. In search of simplicity
  2. eLearning and fun
  3. Everything in moderation
  4. The basics of e-learning
  5. Is it live or is it Memorex?
  6. The Value of Voice
  7. Predictions for 2006
  8. Five Questions...for Christopher Dede
  9. Five Questions... for John Seely Brown
  10. Five questions...for Shigeru Miyagawi
  11. "Deep" thoughts
  12. 5 questions... for Richard E. Mayer
  13. Designing usable, self-paced e-learning courses
  14. Want better courses?
  15. Just "DO IT"
  16. Five questions...
  17. Formative evaluation
  18. Senior service
  19. Blogging to learn and learning to blog
  20. My life as a Wikipedian
  21. Five questions...for Elliott Masie
  22. The stripper and the bogus online degree
  23. Five questions...for Lynn Johnston
  24. Five questions...for Tom Carey
  25. Not all the world's a stage
  26. Five questions...for Karl M. Kapp
  27. Five questions...for Larry Prusack
  28. Five questions...for Seb Schmoller
  29. Why do our K-12 schools remain technology-free?
  30. Music lessons
  31. Learn to apologize for fun and profit
  32. Of web hits and Britney Spears
  33. Advertising or education?
  34. Five questions…for Matt DuPlessie
  35. Back to the future
  36. Serious games for serious topics
  37. Five (or six) questions...for Irene McAra-McWilliam
  38. Learner on the Orient Express
  39. "Spot Learning"
  40. Q&A with Saul Carliner
  41. When will e-learning reach a tipping point?
  42. Online learning and fun
  43. Predictions For 2003
  44. How to get students to show up and learn
  45. Q&A
  46. Blended conferences
  47. Predictions for 2002
  48. Learning from e-learning
  49. Storytelling at a distance
  50. Q&A with Don Norman
  51. Talk to me
  52. Q&A with Diana Laurillard
  53. Do it yourself
  54. Degrees by mail
  55. Predictions for 2004