Abstract
One of the early objections to distance education, that students would find the experience unpleasant, was rebutted with a number of meta-analyses summarizing many investigations. The focus on current efforts becomes an understanding how best to use the technological tools available. The need to use the flexibility afforded by reliance on technology creates opportunities to increase student satisfaction with learning by providing a plethora of alternatives. The result is a dynamic educational process that constantly evolves as various options become considered and evaluated.
This chapter begins by discussing the use of meta-analysis as a means to provide evidence for decision making concerning student satisfaction in the domain of distance education. It describes distance education as a learning environment, and evaluating student satisfaction within a variety of distance learning contexts. Meta-analysis provides a mechanism to accumulate existing research by creating averages across domains of empirical literature. Distance education provides a wide variety of options and potential in terms of course structure. Learning environments for distance education offerings may operate in real time, such as through a webcam or closed-circuit television system. Creating a way for socialization in distance education may represent a key for student satisfaction. One evolving issue in distance education concerns increasing student satisfaction with online courses. The understanding of the equivalent functions in the distance learning environment and how an instructor can increase satisfaction requires additional research.