Revisiting Transactional Distance Theory in a Context of Web-Based High-School Distance Education

• Main Authors: Murphy, Elizabeth, Rodriguez-Manzanares, Maria A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Athabasca University Press 2008
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Canada
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/2455/; https://research.library.mun.ca/2455/1/Revisiting_Transactional_Distance_Theory_in_a_Context_of_Web-Based_High-School_Distance_Education.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/2455/3/Revisiting_Transactional_Distance_Theory_in_a_Context_of_Web-Based_High-School_Distance_Education.pdf; http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/issue/view/3

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that considered Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) in a current technology context of web-based distance education (DE) in a high school environment. Data collection relied on semistructured interviews conducted with 13 e-teachers and seven other personnel within an organization responsible for high-school distance education in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Findings are presented in three categories labelled as follows: rapport and community-building; curriculum and teachercentered tools as barriers; and the role of real-time interaction and engagement. We relate these categories respectively to the TDT concepts of dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy.