EDIT 5370: Foundations of Distance Education

Dr. Khadija Bakrim

July 20, 2016

Annotated Bibliography

Huang, Hsiu-Mei. Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments.
British Journal of Educational Technology 33.1 (2002): 27-37.

Adult learners in distance education environments tend to have special needs that are
distinct when compared to younger generations enrolled in distance education courses. This
article discussed the need for educators to be aware of the special characteristics of adult learners
in online learning environments. To elaborate on this need, the author explained the relationship
between constructivism and adult learning theory. He also examined instructional guidelines to
take into account for adults enrolled in distance education and for educator to carefully examine
learners influence before designing a new educational philosophy or pedagogy. Seven
implications are assessed for online educators; distance learners need to determine the quality
and authenticity of their learning experience, instructors of online courses should take note of
their role as a facilitator, social context is of equal importance for distance learning, the online
environment should match an online experience to the real world, using the adult learning theory
instructors evaluation of learners although time consuming is important, having a learner
centered environment based on constructivist principles is difficult and steps should be taken to
not match every need but to include various learning styles, contrary to what constructivism says

adult learners take control of their learning process and that instructors may have difficulty in
taking into account individual learning experiences. He concluded the paper by stating that adult
learners require critical thinking skills to able to challenge themselves. As a result, online
learning should involve activities high order thinking activities their needs.

Sun, Jerry ChihYuan, and Robert Rueda. Situational interest, computer selfefficacy and self-regulation: Their impact on student engagement in distance
engagement in distance education.. British Journal of Educational Technology 43.2
(2012): 191-204.

This study examined the relationships among variables such as interest, self-efficacy and selfregulation as well as three types of engagement; behavioral, emotional and cognitive in a
distance education environment. According to the authors, a review of previous literatures
suggests that although factors such as interest as self-efficacy and self-regulation have a positive
relation to student engagement levels, not enough research has specifically investigated how
such factors influence the various types of engagement previously mentioned. To examine
explore the relationship among these variables, this study looked at 203 participants enrolled in
online classes in the school of Gerontology and Engineering at a large research university in the
south-western USA. Participants completed an online survey to determine their level of
situational interest, computer self-efficacy, self-regulation and engagement. Results from the
study showed that self-regulation and interest were positively correlated with all the types of
engagement. Self-efficacy was not correlated with any of the types of engagement mentioned.
There was a strong correlation between emotional engagement and interest. The use of
multimedia was a contribution factor linked to student interest and emotional engagement. There
was a higher correlation between interest and emotional engagement was notably higher than the
correlation between interest and behavioral engagement and cognitive engagement. Computer
self-efficacy was not proven to be a significant predictor of engagement variables. Authors
concluded that online tools such as multimedia and discussion boards are ways to increase

student engagement. Finally, educators must consider ways to ease the anxieties of students
enrolled in online courses for the first time in order to increase their engagement levels.

Zhang, Z., & Kenny, R. (2010). Learning in an online distance education course: Experiences
of three international students. The International Review of Research in Open and
Distributed Learning, 11 (1), 17-36.

Kenny and Zhang in their article highlight the learning experiences of three international
students who enrolled in an online distance education program at a major university in Canada.
By using an exploratory case study design, authors examine the relationships between the
participants cultural experiences and their learning practices as a social phenomenon.
Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used as part of the study. The participants of
the study were 12 graduate students in a graduate Educational Technology program which lasted
13 weeks. The course delivery system used was WebCT. Of the twelve participants, eight were
born in countries outside of North America who had lived in Canada or the US for more than
eight years. While most of the participants lived in western Canada, four lived outside of
Canada: one in China, two in Japan and one in the US. Of particular interest to this study was
the experience of three non-native international students who did not live in North America for
more than six months. The course was taken off-site in China, Japan and Canada respectively. A
review of the literature used in this study focused on culture and use of computer-mediated
communication (CMC) learning environments where students contributed and responded to posts
(synchronously and asynchronously) from their classmates as well as the instructor. Using the
constructivist theory of learning as a framework, authors mentioned that the use of CMC spaces

as way for non-native and less verbal students to participate more in electronic discussions. The
course also had a socializing/mingling component for students to communicate about topics
not directly related to the course. The authors mentioned that online distance education is
becoming more common place for international and transnational students, however non-native
international students tend to have a different experience than domestic ones. Therefore, webbased instruction must consider the cultural orientation of learners. For example, English
Language proficiency and previous life experiences are two of many factors measured in the
study.
Findings from the study show that English language proficiency was considered one of
the most restrictive condition for the participants. More time was spent reading and writing
messages in the CMC spaces since they were not very confident about their English language
skills and lacked certain background knowledge. Others who commented on posts experienced a
sense of apprehension about their ability to communicate if they did not get a response from their
posting. The participants with little exposure to the North American education experience
considered their counterparts more knowledgeable about the topic at hand and were afraid to
express their thoughts in English in a comfortable manner. Furthermore, the study emphasized
the need for higher admission scores for non-native English speakers into graduate school.
Authors also stated that the design and delivery of the online course was designed to match the
experience of local students; that is students with a strong English language proficiency
background and who had strong background experience with the western educational
background. In order to meet the needs of all learners, the authors strongly argue for course
designers to develop course content and mediate CMC spaces to adequately meet the needs of a
linguistic and culturally diverse learners. They advocate for course designers to be culturally

aware of the expectations of international students and to use design principles from traditional
and constructivism theories.