A study of the Factors Governing Viability of Online Distance Education: Student Perceptions of the Experience
Geoffrey Dick, Mark Hanna
Thestudy reported in this paper assesses the responses a/students in a online distance education course against a series ofperceived advantages and disadvantages, their views ofthe tasks assigned and their individual characteristics. The results show a mix of advantages present and disadvantages absent and provides an insight into task design and individual suitability. The paper also gives some guidance as to whether the perceptions will change with experience. Although the sample size is small andthere is a self-selection bias, the results ofthe study reported in thispaper suggest that some students see on-line distance education in a very positive light, that these perceptions don't change with experience and that the learning outcomes can be positive.
Geoffrey Dick is professor ofmanagement at the Daniels College of Business of the University of Denver. She earned her B.A. in psychology and her M.A. in organizational behavior from the University of Illinois, and her Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Northwestern University. In addition to her disciplinary contributions, Dr. Fukami has published various articles and presented papers at a number of scholarly meetings on the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has served as chair of the Academy of Management's Teaching Committee and on the board of directors, including two years as board chair, of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society. Dr. Fukami served as associate editor of the Journal 0/Management Education from 1997-2000 and currently serves as associate editor of Academy 0/Management Learning and Education. She is a fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Mark Hanna is associate dean and professor in the College of Business Administration at Georgia Southern University. His research has focused primarily on operations strategy, quality management, and environmental issues in operations management. Dr. Hanna's research has appeared in The Journal a/Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, The International Journal a/Operations and Production Management, The International Journal 0/ Production Economics, The Journal of Production and Inventory Management, TheInternationalJournal a/Quality and Reliability Management, and other journals.
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