April 15, 2007

Distance Education Report - April 15, 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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Nine Tips for Doing Scholarly Work as a Distance Ed Administrator
“One of the questions we get asked quite frequently is what scholarship are you contributing to the field. [Academics] are very used to the tenure and promotion process that emphasizes scholarly productivity and that’s spilling over into our area as distance education is mainstreamed” So says Scott Howell, director of evening classes at Brigham Young University. He’s pointing to a fact that many distance educators are finding themselves dealing with. More and more, they’re expected to be scholars as well as administrators, to contribute to the academic discourse on distance education. “The need for involvement in academic research by distance education administrators today, as contrasted to even five years ago, has seen a dramatic increase,” Howell says.

Avoiding the Mosquito Effect: Keys to Improving Support for Your Distance Education Students
By Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti
Your distance learning program is thriving, you have more successful courses than ever before, and your students and faculty are enthusiastic about the opportunity to teach and study online. There is just one problem: Every semester questions and requests for support arrive in swarms. As you spend your time answering the same question multiple times, you feel you are being slowly nibbled until there is nothing left.

Practical Tips for Preventing Cheating on Online Exams
By By David M. Eplion, PhD, and Thomas J. Keefe, PhD
For as long as there have been exams, there has been cheating on exams. Online exams are no different, although they do provide some challenges that set them apart from traditional face-to-face exams. These include a heightened opportunity to collaborate with others, greater possibility of using unapproved resources, and an increased likelihood that someone other than the student is taking the test.

Solving the Problems of Faculty Ownership
In the distance education world, the battle lines between faculty and administration have become complex and fraught. Once traditional understandings regarding intellectual production and property have been eroded by digital technology. Everyone is trying to make their own way and find their own solutions to the problems posed by putting courses online. In this scenario, however, there are options for happy solutions.