sample courses

This first core course in Athabasca University's Master of Distance Education program is required for all program students. It provides students with an overview of the field, addressing issues such as: what distance education is; where it came from; whom it serves; how it serves; and what its major problems are. It provides descriptions and examples of what distance education is and how it works, and encourages students to critically analyze and question both current practice and rhetoric in the field.

MDDE 603 introduces systems, systems analysis, and learning theory. It also explores the contributions of various areas of psychology, including behaviorism and cognitive psychology, culminating in an examination of instructional systems design and constructivist models of instruction.

This first core course in Athabasca University's Master of Distance Education program is required for all program students. It provides students with an overview of the field, addressing issues such as: what distance education is; where it came from; whom it serves; how it serves; and what its major problems are. It provides descriptions and examples of what distance education is and how it works, and encourages students to critically analyze and question both current practice and rhetoric in the field.

MDDE 604 is a project-based course that introduces instructional design principles and explores their application in a realistic way.

MDDE 610 will allow you to experience and critically evaluate a number of the computer-based technologies currently used in distance education. Different technologies will be used for content presentation, notification and communication.