Distance Learning : Thai Public Open Universities

Viporn Katekao
Thailand

Distance education system is the diversity of the traditional classroom education. It serves the education for the needs of adults, disable or handicapped persons at the earlier period. Correspondence is the primary instructional delivery method. Radio and television broadcasting are the powerful tools for instructional delivery at the remote areas in the later time. Today, the advanced telecommunication technology provides the education in the widespread areas more than ever before.

Distance learning is the subset of distance education. Distance learning utilizes the development of telecommunication equipment and the capability of computer to achieve the new paradigm of education. Information technology (IT) plays the vital roles to delivery data and information into the multi forms of texts, sound, image and motion. Distance learning employed the capability of information technology (IT) to facilitate the various forms of communication with the miracle and unpredicted outcomes of education as well as the speedy boundless information in the globalization era.

Two public open universities in Thailand employ the distance learning system to serve the education, namely Ramkhamhaeng University (RU) and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU). Ramkhamhaeng University (RU) serves the distance learning system in parallel form of education where both face-to-face classroom and self-study education are facilitated. Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) serves the distance learning system in the distinctive form which based on the individualized study or self-directed study.

The main objective is to study the effectiveness of distance learning, comparing with RU and STOU, as the ultimate outcome of the outputs in terms of the students' learning satisfaction and the students' educational effectiveness. This study based on the Gooler's criteria of distance learning effectiveness, evaluating on the students' aspects.

The Gooler's seven criteria include access, relevancy to needs and expectations, the quality of the program offered, learner outcomes, effectiveness and efficiency, impact, and generation of knowledge. The acceptability is also included to evaluate the effectiveness of distance learning as the outcome.

The research had reviewed various factors in distance learning both qualitative and quantitative perspectives of education as well as the development of distance education and its history.

Three crucial elements to the successful distance education are considered. They are instructional design, technology, and supports. These three elements are used as the influential factors to examine the effectiveness of distance education in this research.

In order to assess the learning satisfaction, the measurement was evaluated on the educational supports, the technological supports, and the educational costs and time spent. The educational supports included the curriculum, faculty, student, and service and staff supports. Technological supports involved the instructional delivery modes, the efficiency of the computer-mediated communication (CMC), human-computer interaction (HCI), and technological utilization.

The measurement of educational effectiveness dealt with the influential factors including the information technology (IT) capability of access, efficiency, and effectiveness. Moreover, the research also studied students' needs and learning barriers, the educational environment, as well as the students' personal information.

This study utilized factor analysis to examine the construct validity of the measurement scales and it also enables us to determine the weight of individual variable, and reduce the number of variables to a set of meaningful interpretation. Reliability was used to check the consistent of variables and the validity of constructs on the measurement scale.

Multiple regression was utilized to determine the causal relationship of the independent variables to the dependent variable. Path analysis was employed to examine the path both in direct and indirect relationships among variables with the standardized coefficient beta values in order to form the path diagram of the causal model.

There were eight causal models constructed, separating into the undergraduate and the graduate studies of RU and STOU. For the graduate study, the two models were illustrated in the students' learning satisfaction of RU and STOU whereas the other two models of the students' educational effectiveness of RU and STOU were shown. For the undergraduate study, the two models were also illustrated in the students' learning satisfaction of RU and STOU whereas the other two models of the students' educational effectiveness of RU and STOU were studied. The overall conceptual framework is illustrated above.