Understanding the communication gap due to the separation of teachers-students and students-students in online learning environments can have a profound impact on improving online learning. Moores Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) is an important pedagogical theory in distance learning that can be used to gain a better understanding of K-12 distance education practices. This study sought to empirically verify the theory by investigating the relationship of dialogue, structure, learner autonomy, and transactional distance (TD) perceived by students in K-12 Online Learning Environments (OLE). The study also investigated the effect of environmental and demographic factors on TD. Participants were selected from online students taking one-year science courses in online high and middle school. A correlational design was used to analyze the association between transactional distance and the constructs. ANOVA was used to analyze the difference in transactional distance perceived by students in classes with different combinations of high to low structure and dialogue (+D+S, +D-S, -D+S, -D-S). ANOVA and two-sample t-tests were used to test hypotheses on the impact of TD on environmental and demographic factors. The results empirically showed that TD varies inversely with dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy and that environmental and demographic factors had no impact TD..

According to UNESCO statistics, 10 million of the world's 600 million students study at a distance. Theoretical Principles of Distance Education seeks to lay solid foundations for the education of these students and for the structures within which they study. As a more industrialised form of education provision, distance education is well adapted to the use of new communication technologies, and brings to education many of the strengths and dangers of post-industrialism. The central focus of the study of distance education is the placing of the student at home or at work and the justification of the abandonment in this form of education of interpersonal, face-to-face communication, previously considered to be a cultural imperative for education in both east and west. This book explores the problems that distance education poses to the theorist, bringing together an international team of distance educators to address these issues for the first time in a systematic way. The team comprises theoreticians, administrators, experts in educational technology and adult education, experts in learning from video machines, from computers and other forms of technology. Contributions from Italy, and Scandinavia contrast with viewpoints provided by scholars from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

Abstract: This study aimed at refining one of the most influential and well-known theories of distance education - the theory of transactional distance (TD). TD theory was developed by Michael G. Moore based on correspondence forms of distance education. The study researched a distance learning environment that had not been investigated in relation to TD - synchronous Web-extended classrooms. In this unique format, live on- campus classes are delivered simultaneously to both in-class students on campus and remote students on the Web who attend synchronously via virtual classroom Web collaboration software. The research involved N=235 students enrolled in 14 graduate business courses. ANOVA tests, correlation and regression analyses were deployed on the 46-item "Scale of TD for synchronous Web-extended learning environments" questionnaire. The study compared perceived TD for three attendance groups: always in-class, always online, and mixed. It found no difference in TD among them. The learning environment enabled by using Saba-Centra Web collaboration software combined with other technologies provided a comparable learning experience for all three learner groups. The findings confirmed that four dimensions of dialogue, student-student, student-instructor, student-content, and student-interface interactions are significant in students' perceived TD and their engagement with learning. Moreover, their significance levels varied for different attendance groups. This research confirms the need to refine TD theory to view dialogue as a multidimensional construct. Furthermore, student-instructor and student-student interactions were significant factors that affected TD in all three learner groups. This study analyzed student satisfaction. The study not only found no difference in satisfaction by attendance type, but also it found that TD is strongly related to student satisfaction: the lower the TD, the more satisfied the students are with the learning environment, including interactions with the instructor, fellow students, course content, and the interface. For all attendance groups, interaction with other students was the common factor that affected satisfaction. The study demonstrated that the level of TD also affects students' perceived learning: the lower the TD, the higher the students' perceived learning. Thus, the study suggests that instructors plan activities that include interpersonal interactions between themselves and students, and also among students in all attendance groups.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe the experiences of teachers interacting with students in an online learning environment at Township School District. The theory guiding this study is Moore’s transactional distance theory as it examines how meaningful interactions can minimize the transactional distance in distance learning or remote learning environments. Data from teacher interviews, focus groups, and teacher generated writing samples were used to provide an understanding of how teachers support and promote interactions in online learning environments. Participants were teachers with at least one-year experience teaching remotely or online. All participants were from the same medium sized school district in central Illinois, with a student population of nearly 8,000. This study adds to the literature by sharing high school teachers’ perspectives and experiences of creating and supporting interactions in an online learning environment. The central research question asked, “What are the experiences of high school teachers creating and fostering meaningful interactions in online learning environments?” NVivo coding was utilized to identify codes generated directly from participant responses. The results of the study indicated that teachers created and supported a variety of meaningful interactions. Teachers experienced challenges, adopted new teaching strategies, embraced interactive digital content, and gained a new perspective on students’ home life.

As a subset of distance education, online learning takes place primarily in learning management systems through asynchronous interaction, that can cause transactional distance between instructor and learners. This study investigated how transactional distance may be affected by the use of Second Life, a 3-D virtual world, as a learning environment for online learners. Given the similarities between Second Life and avatar-based video games, the influence of video game play on participant perceptions was also considered. To explore transactional distance theory in Second Life, suspension of disbelief and social presence were considered as supporting theories because of their effects on learner experience in virtual environments. Participants were preservice teachers who entered Second Life for two learning experiences and reported their perceptions through interviews. Research results noted the outcomes of closeness and isolation, object and task familiarity, and video game influence. Ultimately, transactional distance may be influenced by how close learners feel they are to other people inside a virtual world, how closely the virtual world accurately matches the physical world, and how challenging their access and use to the virtual world is. Video game experience appeared to positively influence learners' experience in Second Life, thus potentially narrowing transactional distance because those with video game experience were more likely to focus on learning tasks rather than technology tasks.

This study explored students' perceived course quality and instructor effectiveness as a function of course structure, dialogue/interaction, and learner autonomy in an online learning environment. Using Moore's (1993) theory of Transactional Distance (TD) as a conceptual framework, the researcher collected data from postsecondary learners (N = 1049) across the USA who took online courses between Fall 2014 and Fall 2018. The highest percentage of participants, 48.2%, were aged between 25 to 34; 26.0% were 35 to 44; 11.4% were 18 to 24, while the rest were 45 and above. Of the total respondents, 54.5% were male, 45% were female, and .5% were of other gender. The sample by race consisted of 62.2% White; 22.8% Black or African American; 7.3% Asian or Pacific Islander; while the rest broke into Hispanic or Latino 5.5%; American Indian or Alaskan Native .9%; Other Race .9%; while .4% preferred not to answer. The study adopted a quantitative, non-experimental, survey approach in the identification of TD factors that influenced or best predicted course quality and instructor effectiveness from the students' view. All participants completed a Course Quality and Instructor Effectiveness (CQIE) survey as a measure of transactional distance (18 items), course quality (2 items), and instructor effectiveness (2 items). Path analysis was employed to assess the conceptual model, while Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression were applied as key data analysis techniques. The momentous study categorically established that TD exhibited significant, positive, and strong correlations with course quality (r = .610, N = 1038, p

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how transactional distance was addressed during the development of the first digital content for K-12 schools in Haiti. Transactional distance theory provides a framework for understanding the cognitive space between instructors and learners within a learning setting, thus influencing the learning experience.