Understanding the innovation of satellite-based distance learning from the voices of network founders /
This dissertation examined how the process of the innovation
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1996.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=743157231&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This dissertation examined how the process of the innovation occurred which resulted in the use of satellite technology to distribute I've and interactive instruction. It also examined the context within which this technological innovation in distance education was introduced. The study included a purposive sample of seven of the earliest founders of four major satellite-based distance learning networks that were established and began operations in the 1980s. An ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis was employed in this study within an interpretive biographical framework of research. The findings of the study were interpreted using innovation as a theoretical model for defining the common essential features in the experiences of the founders who participated in the study. This process revealed that ( a ) the innovation evolved from prior practice, ( b ) the organizational structure did not matter, ( c ) timing was critical, ( d ) analysis was an essential component, and ( e ) the innovators shared the common essential traits of a compelling belief in what they were doing, a willingness to risk everything to realize their dreams, and an openness to and trust in serendipity. The participants in this study gave structure to the basic set of beliefs they held about distance education in the 1980s through the decisions they made and the actions they took as they developed and implemented the distance learning networks they founded. The three questions that provided the major foci for the decisions and actions of the innovators were defined in the study as needs, policies, and technology. The positions of the innovators on the issues of philosophy, pedagogy, content, instructional design, interaction, and evaluation were also defined as they were revealed in the common essential features of the data collected and analyzed. This study revealed that the positions held by the innovators on these issues have clearly impacted distance education theory and practice over the past decade. In addition, the innovation of using satellite technology to deliver instruction and the paradigm of distance education this innovation helped to define continue to have major implications for distance education theory and practice today. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Educational Human Resources Development". |
| Physical Description: | ix, 196 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |