Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning

Transactional distance (TD), the perception of psychological distance between the student and his peers, his instructor/teacher, and the learning content, has long been a prominent construct in research on distance education. Today, distance education primarily takes place over the internet, with te...

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Autores principales:	Joshua Weidlich, Theo J. Bastiaens
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2018
Materias:	transactional distance learning technology satisfaction distance education online learning Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e5642cafbca54c538f698c0d58633702
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e5642cafbca54c538f698c0d586337022021-12-02T19:25:28ZTechnology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning10.19173/irrodl.v19i3.34171492-3831https://doaj.org/article/e5642cafbca54c538f698c0d586337022018-07-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3417https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831Transactional distance (TD), the perception of psychological distance between the student and his peers, his instructor/teacher, and the learning content, has long been a prominent construct in research on distance education. Today, distance education primarily takes place over the internet, with technology mediating engagement and communication. Because transactional distance in online distance learning will always rely on technologically-mediated communication or interaction, we argue that in order to get the full picture, this aspect of technological mediation needs to be considered. For this purpose, we introduce a new scale for measuring transactional distance between students and the learning technology (TDSTECH), comprised of two interrelated dimensions. Reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity suggest a suitable scale. Preliminary inferential analyses are conducted with multiple linear regression and mediation analysis. Regression models show that TDSTECH is the single most important predictor of satisfaction in this population. This may have important implications for practitioners trying design and facilitate satisfying online distance learning experiences. Also, mediator analysis reveals that TDSTECH mediates the relationship between TD student-teacher and satisfaction, but not for TD student-content. Surprisingly, TD student-student shows no significant relationship with satisfaction. Implications for practice and further research are discussed. Joshua WeidlichTheo J. BastiaensAthabasca University Pressarticletransactional distancelearning technologysatisfactiondistance educationonline learningSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 19, Iss 3 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	transactional distance learning technology satisfaction distance education online learning Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	transactional distance learning technology satisfaction distance education online learning Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Joshua Weidlich Theo J. Bastiaens Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
description	Transactional distance (TD), the perception of psychological distance between the student and his peers, his instructor/teacher, and the learning content, has long been a prominent construct in research on distance education. Today, distance education primarily takes place over the internet, with technology mediating engagement and communication. Because transactional distance in online distance learning will always rely on technologically-mediated communication or interaction, we argue that in order to get the full picture, this aspect of technological mediation needs to be considered. For this purpose, we introduce a new scale for measuring transactional distance between students and the learning technology (TDSTECH), comprised of two interrelated dimensions. Reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity suggest a suitable scale. Preliminary inferential analyses are conducted with multiple linear regression and mediation analysis. Regression models show that TDSTECH is the single most important predictor of satisfaction in this population. This may have important implications for practitioners trying design and facilitate satisfying online distance learning experiences. Also, mediator analysis reveals that TDSTECH mediates the relationship between TD student-teacher and satisfaction, but not for TD student-content. Surprisingly, TD student-student shows no significant relationship with satisfaction. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.
format	article
author	Joshua Weidlich Theo J. Bastiaens
author_facet	Joshua Weidlich Theo J. Bastiaens
author_sort	Joshua Weidlich
title	Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
title_short	Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
title_full	Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
title_fullStr	Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
title_full_unstemmed	Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning
title_sort	technology matters – the impact of transactional distance on satisfaction in online distance learning
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/e5642cafbca54c538f698c0d58633702
work_keys_str_mv	AT joshuaweidlich technologymatterstheimpactoftransactionaldistanceonsatisfactioninonlinedistancelearning AT theojbastiaens technologymatterstheimpactoftransactionaldistanceonsatisfactioninonlinedistancelearning
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Technology Matters – The Impact of Transactional Distance on Satisfaction in Online Distance Learning

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