Systems Thinking in Distance Education

Question 1

Management (Rumble 1992)

Answer 1

• the process of getting activities done efficiently and effectively with and through other people
• the process of getting activities done efficiently and effectively making decisions on what to do and how to do it and then checking that it is done

Question 2

Managers perform 4 management functions.

Answer 2

• Planning: includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to co-ordinate activities.
• Organizing: involves determining the tasks to be done, deciding who does what, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are made.
• Leading: involves the motivation of subordinates, the direction of other people, the resolution of conflicts, and the selection of the most effective channels of communications.
• Controlling: involves the monitoring of activities to ensure that they are being done as planned and the correction of any significant deviation from the plan.

Question 3

significant part of the task facing managers in DLSs

Answer 3

planning, organizing and controlling of the development, production, distribution and use of the various forms of media

Question 4

administrative processes (Rumble 1992)

Answer 4

enrolment, fee collection, etc, have to be undertaken at a distance

Question 5

Correspondence tuition

Answer 5

based upon the principle that a student is asked to do written assignments which test the knowledge or skills he or she should have acquired from the course materials.

Question 6

One of the drawbacks of traditional forms of education

Answer 6

there is a limit on the number of students who can be taught effectively by face-to-face means

Question 7

Distance learning systems are varied in respect of

Answer 7

• Purpose: satisfying the needs of different clients
• Needs and markets
• Consumer characteristics
• Media choice
• Size, technology and cost efficiency
• Educational philosophy
• The institutional framework
• Funding

Question 8

Distance learning systems are particularly appropriate for (Rumble 1992)

Answer 8

• those who cannot attend a traditional school,
• This includes persons of school-age who live in geographically remote areas
• those who suffer from physical disability or long-term illness,
• those who have been displaced
• and those who move frequently

Question 9

distance teaching methods is not appropriate for

Answer 9

primary school students unless those students are being tutored by a parent or another adult

Question 10

‘second chance’ courses is linked to

Answer 10

• waiving of normal entrance standards,
• credit transfer and advanced standing regulations,
• acceptance of experiential learning as a means of providing equivalent entrance qualification.

Question 11

market (Rumble 1992)

Answer 11

exists if there are actual or potential buyers of a product or service, who see the purchase as satisfying their needs

Question 12

Markets can be segmented (Rumble 1992)

Answer 12

• level of qualification
• subject matter
• age
• occupation
• income, and cultural background.

Question 13

Educational providers must either go (rumble 1992)

Answer 13

• differentiated market
• concentrated market

Question 14

Distance educators have an increasingly wide range of media (Rumble 1992)

Answer 14

print, correspondence tuition, radio, television, teletext, viewdata, audio and video-cassettes, video-discs, telephone, video-conferencing, teaching aids and computers

Question 15

There are various factors which planners and managers of distance learning systems need to take into account when deciding which medium to use. (Rumble 1992)

Answer 15

• use media which their potential market can access.
• can distance teaching institutions have or can afford to pay to have access to the necessary production and distribution systems.
• what works best pedagogically,
• The method of presentation needs to match the kind of knowledge. Thus video, colour slides, etc. can be used for natural history; print for numerical data; audio for music, etc.
• what medium will suit the learners.

Question 16

Leading-edge technologies, for example, computer-mediated communications, tend to have (Rumble 1992)

Answer 16

high costs

Question 17

Input substitution

Answer 17

has to do with economies of scale in the delivery process and the ability of the institution to spread fixed costs over large numbers of students, through the use of the same course materials over several years. (Rumble 1992)

Question 18

A significant cost in DE systems (Rumble 1992)

Answer 18

the cost of the time invested by teachers in the development of the curriculum and the materials

Question 19

development costs of a course are being _____ over the life of the course (Rumble 1992)

Answer 19

annualized

Question 20

Increasing the amount of face-to-face and correspondence tuition increases the (Rumble 1992)

Answer 20

variable cost per student,

Question 21

Choosing broadcasts – either radio or television – increases the _______ (Rumble 1992)

Answer 21

fixed costs,

Question 22

Computer-mediated communication costs are (Rumble 1992)

Answer 22

relatively high.

Question 23

The cheapest media tend to be (Rumble 1992)

Answer 23

print, audio-cassettes, and radio.

Question 24

Unit fixed costs fall rapidly as (Rumble 1992)

Answer 24

student numbers increase

Question 25

The substitution of inputs, means that most distance learning systems offer their students _______ which can be taken by many thousands of students (Rumble 1992)

Answer 25

relatively inflexible courses

Question 26

In general it is much easier to think about more flexible, open curriculum, and hence in terms of person or society-centred models, in systems which are (Rumble 1992)

Answer 26

small

Question 27

One of the major issues facing those planning a new distance learning system is to decide on the kind of institution framework which should be established. 3 options. (Rumble 1992)

Answer 27

• a purpose-built distance education system;
• a distance learning system embedded within a traditional institution, and drawing on it for many of its needs; and
• a small co-ordinating body which brings together and co-ordinates the expertise of other institutions in a network.

Question 28

in general private institutions restrict themselves to areas where there is (Rumble 1992)

Answer 28

a known market, able to pay prices which will meet the costs of teaching, administration, and future course development.

Question 29

the elaboration of a blueprint or grand design for the future (rumble 1992)

Answer 29

strategic planning

Question 30

expresses the expectations and fundamental beliefs and values that drive the institution.

Answer 30

mission statement

Question 31

the issues and values which he or she sees as important in the real world (rumble 1992)

Answer 31

vision statement

Question 32

why are strategic plans prepared?

Answer 32

• gives an impression of structure and control
• provides an opportunity for communication
• raises managers ‘comfort levels’

Question 33

strategic plans to be successful must (rumble 1992)

Answer 33

• define the area of operation within which they will operate.
• define the set of values
• define the direction of the institution,
• continually test the area of operation, direction and values

Question 34

strategic management is not about a grand plan which predetermines everything’. Rather _____ (Rumble 1992)

Answer 34

‘it is the planning of experiments … [that test] the boundaries of the business’ that lies at the heart of strategic management.

Question 35

similarities between the structures in the various distance teaching universities. (rumble 1992)

Answer 35

• central academic faculties, schools, and departments, responsible for curriculum development and the development of materials.
• a department organizing the tutorial and other local services provided to students and enquirers.
• a production department,
• a distribution department
• an administration unit,

Question 36

essentially the process which translates academic ideas into a prototype course, ready for handover to the producers. (rumble 1992)

Answer 36

course development

Question 37

four different approaches to the organisation and management of the development phase (rumble 1992)

Answer 37

• specialised approach; Each specialist works on his or her own tasks, the analogy being with an assembly line;
• chain approach: each specialist works with the assembly line specialist immediately before and after him or her;
• interdisciplinary team approach: persons from different specialities are brought together and given joint responsibility for the overall development and production of the project or course;
• matrix approach; projects are staffed by appropriate specialists who are borrowed from functional departments

Question 38

reasons for checking on the quality of the developers’ work (rumble 1992)

Answer 38

• academic quality appropriate to the level of the course;
• pedagogic quality appropriate to the level of the learners;
• integrated with any other materials being developed for the course;
• acceptable in political, religious or other terms.

Question 39

A way to address group think and tendency to skimp on reading author’s text in course devt (rumble 1992)

Answer 39

appoint external assessors to read and comment on the course as it is developed

Question 40

Student services exist to ensure that: (rumble 1992)

Answer 40

○ students are admitted to the institution and enrolled on courses;
- allocated to tutors and, where appropriate, counsellors;
- told what is expected of them in terms of their formal commitment to the institution regulations),
- told where and when to appear to sit any examinations, and
- generally provided with help to get them through the system.

Question 41

A great deal of the advice and counsel given to enquirers, applicants and students is of a routine nature, and can be provided through (rumble 1992)

Answer 41

standard publications

Question 42

Two functions of correspondence tuition in terms of assessment in DE (rumble 1992)

Answer 42

• The first is to provide help to the student in the form of comments on his or her work.
• The second is to grade the student’s work for assessment purposes.

Question 43

Any investment in training is likely to pay-off more where staff are employed_____ (rumble 1992)

Answer 43

full-time

Question 44

briefing and training materials to orientate tutors to the underlying rationale for the course, and the pedagogic strategy it is planned to use

Answer 44

tutor’s course manual.

Question 45

The object of ______is to measure the total actual costs incurred on identified activities which reflect the outputs of the institution. (Rumble 1992)

Answer 45

activity costing

Question 46

Activity costing requires four steps: (rumble 1992)

Answer 46

1. The totality of costs related to a particular activity
2. The next step is to identify the ‘cost drivers’ for each activity
3. The third step is to review the management information systems to ensure that the data for each cost driver is available.
4. One is then in a position to calculate cost

Question 47

measure the proportion of students who take another course or courses after successfully completing the first one(s)

Answer 47

Persistence-rates

Question 48

measure the proportion of students who obtain the final qualification to which a particular programme leads. (rumble 1992)

Answer 48

Graduation rates

Question 49

Dropout can be reduced by: (rumble 1992)

Answer 49

1. providing excellent study materials;
2. providing proper advice to enquiries and applicants before they embark on a course,
3. providing rapid, appropriate and effective advice and help to students once they are in the system,
4. creating a climate which encourages students to seek advice and help from tutors, counsellors,

Question 50

the ratio of inputs (in this case, resources) to outputs. (rumble 1992)

Answer 50

Efficiency

Question 51

concerned with the quality of outputs. (rumble 1992)

Answer 51

Effectiveness

Question 52

arise because the relatively high fixed costs of distance education can potentially be spread over large numbers of students, while the variable costs per student are generally low enough so as not to put the average cost per student up above that of campus-based students (rumble 1992)

Answer 52

Economies of scale