Distance Education Applications in Rural Special Education: Where We've Been and Where We're Going
In the last decade, distance education applications in rural special education have expanded rapidly with the growing use of telecommunications technologies. Distance education has been used in direct service programs for students with special needs in rural school systems, in preservice personnel preparation programs, and in inservice training programs for teachers working in rural areas. State educational agencies, colleges and universities, and regional and local school districts all have implemented distance education efforts to support rural special education using a variety of new technologies. Distance education will continue to offer exciting opportunities in which the needs of pupils, preservice students, and inservice teachers will be met as telecommunications technologies become more widely available and organizational constraints are eliminated.
Delivering Instruction via Interactive Television and Videotape: Student Achievement and Satisfaction
Distance education in the form of Interactive Television (ITV) and videotape currently is being discussed as a method to provide instruction to students enrolled in education courses. In this study, the effect of traditional, ITV, and videotape lectures on student achievement and attendance was investigated. Student satisfaction with the course and student evaluations of the instructor were also analyzed. Sixty-seven preservice special education students were randomly assigned to one of three instructional methods. One group received instruction with the instructor present, one group received instruction via ITV and the third group received instruction by means of a videotape lecture. Results indicated that (a) students achieved equally well on quizzes and tests regardless of the instructional method, (b) students who received instruction in the traditional setting were satisfied with the instruction they received, (c) students who received instruction via ITV were satisfied with the instruction they received, (d) students who received instruction by means of videotape were not satisfied with the instruction they received, (e) students attended class regularly regardless of the instructional method, and (f) students who received instruction via ITV and videotape did not perceive the instructor as taking an active role in the course.
Marie Curie's doctoral thesis: Prelude to a Nobel Prize
This paper is a critical account for the most significant body of Marie Sklodowska Curie's scientific work, presented in the hopes that she be remembered for more of the "right" reasons. It also offers some new insights into her methods and results.