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ERIC Number: EJ852034
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1436-4522
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Distance Education Students Moving towards Collaborative Learning: A Field Study of Australian Distance Education Students and Systems
Fahraeus, Eva R.
Educational Technology & Society, v7 n2 p129-140 2004
Distance education has been offered to young students in Australia for about 100 years. Recently, information and communication technology has been introduced as a means to improve communication, but not all remote students have access to this new technology. This has made it difficult to arrange collaborative learning for distance-education students. In this student-focused study, more than 40 students as well as teachers and other important persons have been interviewed and observed in schools and on remote farms. Using Activity Theory for the analysis, different contradictions were identified. Lack of technology and access were not the only obstacles. The education was built on a tradition of individual learning, and the technology at hand was not supporting collaboration. However, contradictions may result in "expansive learning" among students and teachers, leading to more of a development towards collaborative learning. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)
International Forum of Educational Technology & Society. Athabasca University, School of Computing & Information Systems, 1 University Drive, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada. Tel: 780-675-6812; Fax: 780-675-6973; Web site: http://www.ifets.info
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A