Finding Determinants Affecting Distance Education Effectiveness in Terms of Learner Satisfaction and Application Achievement

Literature Review

Distance education, which is often used interchangeably with virtual learning, web-based learning, electronic learning or online learning (Sharma, Kitchens, Booker, & Xu, 2006; Lu, Yu, & Liu, 2003; Ubell, 2000), enables companies to provide more learning opportunities to learners and enhance the quality of learning through a computer-based telecommunication network (Peltier, Schibrowsky, & Drago, 2007). Thanks to the latest technologies, distance education enables sophisticated interactive communication (Hirschheim, 2005). That is, distance education provides not only typical one-way classes where information flows from trainer to learner, but also a suitable environment for the interactions between trainers and learners as well as among learners themselves (Morrison, Sweeney, & Heffeman, 2003; Riitta & Alvesalo, 2003). Virtual learning also enables both synchronous interactions such as those experienced in traditional face-to-face education, and asynchronous interactions beyond time and space (Clouse & Evans, 2003). The use of computer chatting, video conference and voice communications is popular in synchronous interactions, while e-mail and bulletin boards are popular in asynchronous methods.