Distance Ed Motivation

Stephanie KaltenbacherETEC 645Fall 2013

An Interesting Profile-University Students who Take Distance Education Courses Show

Weaker Motivation Than On-Campus Students

Distance Ed Learners Are:

More mature – Most distance education students are adults that are

not first time college students engaged in the process of continuing to grow.

More experienced – These students tend to be degree seeking, information seeking, and job enhancing individuals.

Facing Barriers – Family and work commitments prevented these

students from attending courses on a university campus.

H O W E V E R

Distance Ed Students tend to be less motivated.

On campus students were willing to invest more time into their studies. They are also motivated by peers and audiences to perform to higher standards.

PREDICTING LEARNING FROMASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

Asynchronous Online Discussions Computer-mediated discussions are used to enhance interaction between peers and instructors.

The instructor plays an important role in promoting student’s motivation, enjoyment, and perceptions of online learning.

Students who have previously taken distance online courses are more motivated and gain more enjoyment from the classes.

Students who are more motivated and enjoy the online discussion from class will have higher perceptions of learning from the online discussions.

THE RELATION BETWEEN DISTANCE STUDENTS' MOTIVATION, THEIR USE

OF LEARNING STRATEGIES, AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Self-Regulated Students are more successful in distance learning courses. These students:

Set more intrinsic goals for themselves Value their learning Believe in their ability to accomplish

academic demands

Can handle distractions and maintain concentration

Utilize learning strategies that help organize their time, control the amount of effort they apply to their coursework, and regulate their learning environment.

Seek help from peers or teachers when they have difficulty with their work.

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume V, NumberIV, Winter 2002, State University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter54/Quershi54.htm

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Volume 8, Issue 2, April 2004. http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/30276661/helpfuldiscussioninfo.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAI5BFST3KI667TFIQ&Expires=1383428696&Signature=ndpSSsQXPDWZbRmcH%2FCDzGlmC44%3D&response-content-disposition=inline

The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – January 2011, volume 10 Issue 1. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ926571.pdf

CITED WORKS