The following thirteen papers were selected from MDE course assignments. They were chosen to demonstrate an ability to address a variety subjects and tasks pertinent to distance education. Most of the papers were limited to 500-1200 words.

OMDE 602 – Distance Education Systems
Assignment 2: April 7, 2002
Defining the Open University
This paper discusses characteristics that are important for a university to be considered open.
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OMDE 602 – Distance Education Systems
Assignment 3: April 28, 2002
The Anywhere/Anytime Open University
Included in this assignment are the organizational design for an open university, a picture of its relationship to a community setting, and a description of the student as a learning system.
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OMDE 603 – Technology in Distance Education
Assignment 3: April 21, 2002
Institution and Student Needs for Using Compressed Video Learning (CVL) Via the H.323 International Standard
The H.323 standard makes CVL more flexible and affordable. This paper describes the hardware, software, line capacity and technical support needed by an institution and learners for successful CVL using H.323.
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OMDE 604 – The Management of Distance Education
Assignment 3: April 20, 2003
Critical Issues for Distance Education Managers
in Public Institutions of Postsecondary Education in the United States
All distance education (DE) managers may experience similar issues, but the impact of external pressures, trends, developments, events, and politics can vary according to institutional setting. This paper discusses external elements and their interrelationships in order of potential impact on the public postsecondary institution in the United States.
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OMDE 604 – The Management of Distance Education
Assignment 4: May 4, 2003
The Anytime Anywhere Open University
Quality Assurance Manager
Quality assurance is an important function in the distance education environment. This paper provides a job description and candidate assessment criteria for a quality assurance manager position in an open university serving a diverse and dispersed student population.
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OMDE 606 – The Economics of Distance Education
Assignment 2: July 7, 2002
A Critical Assessment of A Case Study by Levin et al. Reported in G. Rumble (1997)
This paper presents an analysis of a study examining cost efficiency and cost effectiveness. It suggests additional work that might overcome Rumble's complaint of insufficient data for drawing conclusions.
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OMDE 607 – Instructional Design and Course Development in Distance Education
Assignment 1: June 29, 2003
A Proposal for Online Course Development
for the Social Security Administration
This paper outlines a proposal for consideration by the Associate Commissioner for Office of Training at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Although the proposal was prepared for an assignment, it represents an actual situation in a large government agency. The proposal begins with a problem analysis, presents an overview of online course development and organizational models, and then offers a recommendation for an option suited for SSA's situation. (Note: budget issues were not addressed because the proposal alternatives would have been understood to be budget neutral in this setting.)
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OMDE 607 – Instructional Design and Course Development in Distance Education
Assignment Journal: July 16, 2003
Creation of the Prototype Course: Introduction to Chaos Theory for Distance Education Managers
This journal is a record of using the instructional systems design (ISD) process to create a prototype course: "Introduction to Chaos Theory for Distance Education Managers." The journal is arranged according to the ADDIE model as described by Seels and Glasgow (1998). Within each section, there are sub-sections that address the tasks and outputs for that step. For each section, there are entries discussing what needs to be done, ideas, and reflections.
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OMDE 608 – Student Support in Distance Education
Assignment 2: November 10, 2002
A Typology of Student Support in Open and Distance Learning
Open and distance learning (ODL) has experienced a rapid expansion, not only for the number of learners who can be reached because of developments in a variety of technologies, but also in terms of the different settings in which ODL is being offered. Yet in spite of these advances, older styles of ODL persist, sometimes side by side with the new, depending on the availability of different technologies to students around the world. This situation has added to the complexity of discussions about ODL theory and practice. This paper offers a framework for discussion by presenting a typology of student support.
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OMDE 608 – Student Support in Distance Education
Assignment 3: December 15, 2002
A New Student Support System for
The Distance Education Center, Victoria, Australia
This paper addresses the need to create a new paradigm of student support that makes it an integrated feature of the entire education delivery system of the Distance Education Center, Victoria, Australia (DECV). DECV has experienced rapid growth recently, and the school has been moving to expand its use of Web-based course delivery. Although DECV has had a strong commitment to student support throughout its history, delivery of this key aspect of providing education to the Preparatory-12 population has been managed within the subschool teams across the organization. The paper discusses concepts of student support systems and their integration with the business operation and student learning system, focusing on the implementation of such a system in the DECV environment.
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OMDE 620 – Training and Learning with Multimedia
Assignment 1: April 7, 2002
Technological Developments and Paradigm Shifts in Distance Education
In more than one hundred years of distance education (DE), learning delivery methods and pedagogical techniques have changed substantially. This paper examines the evolution of DE with regard to technological innovations, the new capabilities offered by media, and the ways they support paradigm shifts across four generations of DE and an emerging fifth generation.
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OMDE 622 – The Business of Distance Education
Assignment 1: December 11, 2003
Exploring the Investment Potential of E-learning Companies
This paper presents the results of a study of publicly traded companies involved in e-learning. The purpose of the study was to explore the potential for investments in e-learning companies. A methodology was devised for tracking stock performance and comparing investment options to answer the following questions: 1) can investment in e-learning be profitable; 2) are e-learning companies similar in performance; and 3) how do investments in e-learning compare with general stock market performance?
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OMDE 601 – Foundations of Distance Education
Assignment 1: October 3, 2001
Students’ Independence
This is the first paper that was completed in my MDE program. It represents an entry level discussion of a key issue in distance learning.
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