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In 2002, Educational Leadership distance education students at Ball State University were surveyed (Sharp&Cox, 2003). In 2004 distance education classes from Ball State University and the University of South Carolina were given the same survey. The purpose was to see if there were any different points of view between the studio groups and the groups at the remote sites and whether there were any changes in opinion between the 2002 and the 2004 survey. All 360 students in the 8 classes completed the survey in 2004. There was a substantial increase in the participation of students in distance education classes between 2002 and 2004. Students also become more accepting of the call-in features utilized in these classes. Students viewed attendance taking as less necessary in 2004. Less than 2% of the students in each survey thought the technology was a big problem and males and females participated equally in the distance education problem in both surveys. The overwhelming reason for taking distance education continued to be convenience.
This module has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and sanctioned by the National Council of the Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a scholarly contribution to the knowledge base in educational administration.

As technology expands the professional development available outside the traditional classroom, it isimportant that educational executives consider the role of distance education in the development of school leaders. The studentpopulation has changed with many older adults, particularly school administrators attending universities and urging the universitiesto provide instruction in more convenient ways. More districts are seeking to develop leadership in their districts through customizedleadership programs.“Working adults want education delivered direct to them, at home or the workplace…. Preparation may be weaker than among conventional students; motivation may bestronger”(Jones&Pritchard, 1999, p. 56).

These new methods of delivery include television and the Internet, both of which allow students to accesscoursework miles from the traditional campus classroom. Instruction will have to change and assignments will need to be more tailoredto a population that is not on campus. College instructors will increasingly encounter classes that are much larger than thetraditional graduate level class. Decisions regarding which courses are selected for distance education need to be carefullyconsidered. As Lamb and Smith (2000) pointed out,“The distance education environment tends to exaggerate both the positive and thenegative aspects of all the elements of instruction”(p. 13). Kelly (1990) noted that instructors must develop new skills for distanceeducation teaching in the areas of timing, teaching methods, feedback from students at remote sites, and the evaluation ofstudents.

Stammen (2001) noted that technologies in and of themselves do not change the nature of leadership but the wayeducators use the technology does. The new technology requires instructors to re-consider and develop additional learner centeredenvironments. To make learning happen instructors need to understand both how to work the content and how the technology isimpacting their instruction. Some are skeptical of university motives noting the prospect of not having to build new facilitiesto accommodate more students has great economic appeal (Weigel, 2000). Regardless, the opportunity to improve the instruction andavailability through the new technology is here to stay.

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Source:  OpenStax, Mentorship for teacher leaders. OpenStax CNX. Dec 22, 2008 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10622/1.3
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