Analyzing Cultural Influences on ELearning Transactional Issues
Abstract: Assessment of web-based distance learning often includes some measurement of Transactional Distance, a measure of the psychological distance students feel rather than a measure of the physical distance, which in distance learning can be large. Moore’s theory of transactional distance emphasizes the role of interdependence and autonomy to decrease the individual’s feeling of isolation. However, newer models of Transactional Distance which study the relationships students feel with each other, the instructor, the course material, and more recently, with the course interface can be used to analyze Transactional Distance when cultural issues are added. This paper assesses two computer science courses and measures the effects of cultural differences on Transactional Distance. The influence of integrated course management tools is also addressed.
Presider: Laura Mitchell, Fielding Graduate University