Notes from Book Review Editor |
VOL. 5, No. 1, 73-74
From time to time, a book review editor receives volumes that should be brought to the attention of the readers of the Canadian Journal of Distance Education; these volumes do not warrant lengthy reviews by external reviewers. Because of this, I will initiate a periodic feature in the book review section of the Journal entitled "Notes from the Editor." In this section, I will provide a brief review of limited circulation volumes, edited collections, government and conference reports, and other publications that might be of interest to our readers. In this first column, I focus on two re-cent publications.
Higher Level Distance Education: Perspectives for International Cooperation and New Developments in Technology by UNESCO (7, place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, 1988, 261 pages) is the proceedings of the UNESCO International Consultation on Higher Level Distance Education, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia, 6–11 September, 1987. Credit must be given to UNESCO for convening an International Consultation on Higher Level Distance Education. The meeting brought together a small group of specialists from all parts of the world whose background and experience in distance education are widely recognized. The beginning note by the UNESCO Secretariat is an important overview of UNESCO's involvement and commitment to distance education as part of the development of educational systems throughout the world: all distance education administrators should read it. The volume has background papers written by John S. Daniel and A. W. Bates who are both known for their contributions in the area of distance education and the use of educational telecommunications. The volume includes case studies and a range of views from participants and observers from countries such as Algeria, Australia, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, the member countries associated with the University of the South Pacific, France, GDR, Jordan, Nigeria, Thailand, USSR, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom. The final section in the volume before the bibliographical note on contributors discusses development in distance education and experiences at Deakin University. The only criticism one would have about the volume is that, while each of the international representatives provided well-rounded case studies for their particular area, the volume is somewhat unbalanced by so much focus on developments at a particular university. Nevertheless, the volume will be of interest to practitioners in distance education in terms of finding out what is happening worldwide and determining who some of the main actors are in those countries.
For readers who are interested in student support in distance education open learning and who find it difficult to locate up-to-date information on the subject about educational systems throughout the world, Interaction and Independence: Student Support in Distance Education and Open Learning edited by Alan Tait (1989) (The Open University, Cintra House, 12 Hills Road, Cambridge) will fill an obvious gap on the subject. The volume consists of conference papers for an international conference presented by the International Council for Distance Education and the British Open University Regional Academic Services, September 19–22, 1989, Downing College, Cambridge, England. The volume has an introduction by Alan Tait in which he describes the third such international conference on distance education and open learning in Cambridge. The first two meetings in 1984 and 1987 were workshops on counselling in distance education. The first two conferences were dedicated to a particular activity within the field of student services which had not found a focus or a forum. The third conference attracted papers based on a broad theme: Interaction and Independence in Distance Education and Open Learning. The conference, as a result, attracted a wider range of professionals such as course writers and producers, administrators, researchers, specialists in audio visual, telephonic, and computer-mediated communications fields. In addition, papers also included a general coverage of student support, tuition, and counselling. Conference representatives included speakers from Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, India, USA, and New Zealand. The contributions to this volume are superior to most conference proceedings; it is hoped that many of the authors will submit their articles to professional journals.