Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 103

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015
teaching approach, immediacy, and how often these textbooks include acknowledgment of
prominent scholarly studies about immediacy. DeGroot and Marshak (1978) maintained that
academics with little significant first-hand experience write textbooks. Coppola et al. (2002)
argued that instructors who do author textbooks do have much experience, and, finally,
Arnold (1993) asserted that textbooks should be a collaboration between teaching,
researching, and publishing efforts.
Regardless of the author’s level of experience, many scholars agree that textbooks
should comprise a homogenous scholarly mix rather than reflect only the author’s voice
(Alred, 2006; Kulp, 1927; Laidlaw et al., 2003; Lewis et al., 2006). The homogenous
approach of the textbooks was determined by examining whether the independently
authored online educational textbooks included acknowledgment of the best practice of
immediacy as documented by the scholars.
A secondary purpose of the study was to examine the transformation of knowledge
to practice. Availability of online degree programs continues to increase. According to Kyle
(2005), “The 2003 MBAInfo database indicated that 208 institutions worldwide offer MBA
programs online or through distance learning. As of October 2003, USNews.com (2003) was
listing 246 online graduate degree programs, up from 48 in 2001” (p. 241). However,
academicians, such as Moskal, Dziuban, Upchurch, Hartman, & Truman (2006), question
online education as an effective learning tool. Researchers such as these recommend that
studies continue to address instructor interest in effective online teaching.
The academy exists to transfer knowledge to the practice (Bleiklie & Powell, 2005).
Presence of scholarly immediacy terminology in online education textbooks indicates
knowledge has been transferred. Secondly, if the practice of online education implements
best practices responsibly, the practice has an opportunity to prove growth in attendance that
is not simply due to convenience of the online modality. Academicians have demonstrated
online immediacy is a best practice that leads to student satisfaction and retention (Arbaugh,
2001; Dahl, 2004; Rocca, 2004).
An analysis of the sample psychology texts revealed a peculiar idiosyncratic view
between the terminology and scholarly references in the textbooks (Griggs et al., 2004). The
online education textbook study involved using a similar method of counting terms. The
study of online education textbooks involved applying the quantitative content analysis
methodology to independently authored online teaching textbooks instead of introductory
psychology textbooks as in Griggs et al.
Griggs et al. (2004) examined introductory psychology textbooks copyrighted from
1999 to 2002 in the context of a content analysis. Griggs et al. discovered that textbooks
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