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 An Introduction to
Distance Education

An Introduction to Distance Education is a comprehensive look at the field

of distance education, outlining current theories, practices, and goals that
are essential to effective design, delivery, and navigation. As an alternative
pedagogical approach, distance education is posited to meet the evolving
demands for access, affordability, and quality in higher education.This fully
revised and updated second edition reviews the history of distance educa-
tion while addressing its current influence on the education sector.
Utilizing a student-​ guided approach, chapters offer pedagogical
features to engage and support the teaching and learning process, including:

• questions for reflection, review, and discussion: students can use

these questions as triggers for further thoughts related to the topic.
Instructors can use these questions for classroom and online discussion
• key quotations: strategically placed throughout the text, these points
act as a springboard for further reflection and classroom discussion
• concept definitions: central concepts discussed in the text are defined
for students at the end of each chapter.

Driven by seminal contributors who are researching and shaping our

understanding and practice of distance education today, An Introduction
to Distance Education offers a solid foundation from which to explore and
develop new approaches to designing and implementing online courses.

Martha F. Cleveland-​Innes is Professor and Program Director in

Graduate Education Programs at Athabasca University, Canada. She is an
award-​winning researcher and author in the field of distance and blended
higher education.


D. Randy Garrison is Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary,

Canada. Dr. Garrison has published extensively on teaching and learning
in distance, higher, and adult education contexts.
An Introduction to
Distance Education
Understanding Teaching and
Learning in a New Era
2nd Edition

Edited by
Martha F. Cleveland-​Innes
and D. Randy Garrison
Second edition published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Martha F. Cleveland-​Innes and D. Randy Garrison to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2010
Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data
Names: Cleveland-Innes, Martha, 1956– editor. |
Garrison, D. R. (D. Randy), 1945– editor.
Title: An introduction to distance education: understanding teaching and
learning in a new era / edited by Martha Cleveland-Innes, and D. Randy Garrison.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020019309 (print) | LCCN 2020019310 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138054400 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138054417 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781315166896 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Distance education.
Classification: LCC LC5800 .I68 2020 (print) |
LCC LC5800 (ebook) | DDC 371.35–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020019309
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020019310
ISBN: 9781138054400 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781138054417 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781315166896 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
 Contents

Foreword: An Attendant Posture by Richard A. Schwier vii

Part I An Evolving Distance Education 1

1 Teaching and Learning in Distance Education:

Continue a New Era 3
M. F. Cleveland-​Innes

2 From Independence to Collaboration: A Personal

Retrospective on Distance Education 13
D. R. Garrison

3 Formal and Informal Paths of Lifelong Learning:

Hybrid Distance Educational Settings for the Digital Era 25
J. Jaldemark

4 Failures of Open and Distance Education’s Successes 43

H. Kanuka

Part II Distance Education in the Post-​industrial

Context 65

5 Teaching and Learning in Post-​Industrial Distance

Education 67
K. Swan
vi contents

6 Into the Breach: The Emerging Landscape in Online

Learning 90
P. Ice and M. Layne

7 Blended Learning Revisited 108

N.Vaughan

8 Repositioning and Re-​purposing Distance Education

for the Future 121
T. Evans and B. Pauling

Part III Leading the Change 147

9 Leadership in a New Era of Higher Distance Education 149

A. Sangrà and M. F. Cleveland-​Innes

10 From Distance Education to Blended Learning:

Leading Pedagogical Change 168
K. Matheos and M. F. Cleveland-​Innes

Part IV Summary and Conclusions 189

11 Teaching, Learning, and Beyond 191

M. F. Cleveland-​Innes and D. R. Garrison

Author Biographies 202

Index 211
 Foreword
An Attendant Posture

E very person I know acknowledges we are living in a time of profound

social change, and technology has a lot to do with it.We are educators,
so we worry about how to respond to the changes that seem to knock us
around, and in almost the same breath we think about how we can surf
the crest of change to improve teaching and learning. We worry about a
student who is bullied on social media; we thrill at the idea of building a
social network with a partner school in Uganda.We fret about poor band-
width in northern communities; we videoconference with our students
during transcontinental flights. We warn colleagues about the latest online
scam; we invite people we’ve never met to join our online networks.Yin
and yang.
At the bottom of the matter, we are attendant. We have little choice
in the matter, but we can choose our posture. We can huddle in a pro-
tective stance, or we can lean into the changes. This book invites us
to lean into it. The purpose of this foreword is to provide a couple of
snacks you can put in your backpack for the journey on which you’re
about to embark. It’s not to summarize or critique what you’re about
to read (which is elegantly done in Chapter 11, and I recommend you
defy convention and begin your reading there), but rather to hold up
a lantern and encourage you to begin what will be a fascinating and
worthwhile hike.
The scholars in this volume realize it’s about much more than the
technology, and in fact, they realize that the affordances of new technology,
impressive as they appear, are only the beginning for us as educators who
care about distance learning. We, as a collective, care about equity and
social change –​change we celebrate with learning designs that promote
inclusivity, diversity, and deep social engagement. Not to over-​dramatize it,
viii richard a. schwier

but we see ourselves as part of a movement that can promote big change
in the world. We know that when we take a sledgehammer to the trad-
itional geographic and social boundaries of our work, we not only create
a larger “market” for our work, we actually create new boundaries that
are permeable, but not invisible. When distance learning is responsive to
social and cultural demands, when we acknowledge that everything we
create has socio-​cultural implications, we realize we are alchemists, and
well-​intentioned alchemists can do good things. But they also have cap-
acity for doing great harm. The most mundane ideas in one culture can
become a dangerous virus in another. So we find ourselves making moral
and ethical, not just practical, decisions when we design and deliver dis-
tance education.
Let’s glance back a couple of decades to think about the state of things
in distance education, just to get a sense of how far we have come. Bernard
et al. (2004), in a landmark meta-​analysis of distance education, concluded
that when they examined studies comparing classroom instruction with
distance education, they found effect sizes of essentially zero overall on
attitude, achievement, and retention. Pretty depressing, really. But there
was also great variability among studies, suggesting the overall results were
masking some effects, such as the differences between asynchronous and
synchronous delivery or the designs of the courses.
It is important to remember that at that point in the evolution and
practice of distance education, in the 1980s–​90s when most of the research
they reviewed was conducted, much of the research was about “Fordist”
or on rare occasions “Post-​Fordist” education, and barely peeked over the
fence to consider the disruptions just surfacing outside the paddock. The
most innovative of them were concerned with online discussions, learning
management systems, and comparisons of conventional classrooms with
conventional distance education classrooms. Even several years later,
conversations were just beginning to turn to more informal and efferves-
cent online learning, social media, and MOOCs. Dave Cormier’s notion
of “rhizomatic learning” was just being hatched. And we were no longer
talking as much about how we controlled learning environments.We were
thinking about how informal learning was a legitimate enterprise, and
how in online learning environments we were merging informal, learner-​
directed learning with formal, institution-​directed teaching.
So just when educators were getting comfortable with some dated
assumptions behind distance education, informal online learning was
flourishing and shaking up those ideas. But change doesn’t magically
happen when new ideas emerge. Formal learning and its doppelgänger,
non-​ formal learning (which uses formal learning conventions and
structures, but learners have control of how they consume or participate),
 foreword: an attendant posture ix

are still comfortably embedded in institutional distance education.

Universities struggle with which LMS they should adopt, but too few
conversations are held about how courses are designed and delivered,
and almost nobody talks about mashups of formal and informal learning.
Some instructors, designers, and courses are innovative; some look a lot
like they did when they arrived in mailboxes as correspondence courses
in 1980. Informal online learning exists, as authors in this volume suggest,
in uncomfortable opposition to formal learning, not as a cohabitant of the
same learning space.
Of course, there are more pragmatic forces at work too. In a learning
ecology that invites innovation and change, and apparently demands it,
why do organizations apparently hold so tenaciously to fairly traditional
and conservative approaches to distance education? Garrison rightly
observes that theoretical development in distance education has stalled,
and I would also suggest that programmatic innovation has been slowed
too (not stalled, but slowed). A few years ago, I argued that competition,
growth, and accountability were corrosive influences in higher education,
and I could say the same thing about distance education today. Institutions
in higher education have been driven into competition with other
institutions by severe financial constraints and a concomitant demand to
increase enrollments.Yes, some institutions are imperialistic and predatory,
but most “encroach on the territory” of other institutions because they
recognize a need to expand in an environment of shrinking resources –​
not because they are expressing an altruistic belief in social change and
equity. Their learning economies demand growth and distance educa-
tion has been seen as a convenient approach to extending the reach of
programs. And in this book, we see some of these tensions play out in the
critical views Kanuka and others bring to the conversation.
There seems to be a reciprocal conversation/​tension between structures
of education and the unequal movements of society(ies). It’s complex, of
course, and almost unimaginably so. But as Matheos and Cleveland-​Innes
argue, we require outside views to challenge our conventions, and help us
navigate meaningful, responsive change. I applaud this observation, and
underscore that those conversations need to include philosophers, poets,
and artists –​people who deliberately challenge the science-​bias of so many
of our approaches.
So I’d have to agree with Garrison (2009) that distance education
theory has stalled, and this has occurred in an environment where online
learning writ large has flourished –​an atheoretical learning ecology.
Formal institutional learning is a castle keep; informal online learning is a
juggernaut. We are challenged to unify these movements, not in order to
create a “unified theory of distance education,” but rather to move theory
newgenprepdf

x richard a. schwier

in a direction that allows it to reflect emerging and innovative practice,

and also inform the development of pedagogical innovations and larger
change. Will distance education theory and practice be reformed? Or will
it be “renewed to the point of being unrecognizable”?
I think it depends, at least to a significant level, on our attendant
posture.
And that’s where your journey begins.
Lean into it.
Richard A. Schwier, Professor Emeritus
Interim Associate Dean, Research and the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning
College of Education
University of Saskatchewan
March 11, 2020

REFERENCE
Bernard, R.M., Abrami, P.C., Lou,Y., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Wozney, L., et al. (2004).
How does distance education compare with classroom instruction? A meta-​analysis
of the empirical literature. Review of Educational Research, 74(3), 379–​439.
PA R T I

An Evolving Distance Education

 C H A P T E R    1

Teaching and Learning

in Distance Education
Continue a New Era
M. F. Cleveland-​Innes

INTRODUCTION

I t has been a decade since the release of An Introduction to Distance

Education; Understanding Teaching and Learning in a New Era, 1st edition.
This updated volume continues to address two significant education
transformations. One is the evolution, such that it is, of the long-​standing
foundations of distance education. Second is the role distance education
history and foundations have played in an evolving higher education envir-
onment. In both cases, pervasive technology and significant social and eco-
nomic developments are changing the context in which education resides.
Online and blended education delivery has emerged in response to these
changes. Those attendant to distance education, and the commitment to
learner access and independence, want to ensure that instruction remains
relevant and effective in an evolving digital age (Beaudoin, 2015). In the
“constantly developing interdisciplinary fields where technology has
become a significant catalyst” (Bozkurt, 2019, p. 252) delivery mechanisms
and opportunities evolve. For distance and mainstream higher education,
now seemingly connected in ways previously unavailable, “there is a need
to revisit core values and fundamentals where critical pedagogy would
have a pivotal role.” (Bozkurt, 2019, p. 252).
Enter the need for new ways of conceiving of and implementing
teaching and learning, in distance education, in higher education, and in
online and blended higher education. According to Beaudoin (2015), “the
introduction of technology into the teaching and learning environment
represents a process of disruptive innovation that has not had any truly
4 m. f. cleveland-innes

transformative impact, and indeed, has widened the digital divide” and,
as such, “providers of online education, whether administrators, program
planners, instructional designers, teachers, student support personnel, and
others in key roles are faced with formidable challenges to ensure that dis-
tance education and training remains relevant and effective in this digital
age” (p. 33).
An Introduction to Distance Education: Understanding Teaching and Learning
in a New Era is a response to this reality. It is a comprehensive examination
of the current education context, where distance education is presenting
itself, evolving, and making itself known. The modern era of distance and
higher education operates in a postmodern, post-​Fordist socioeconomic
environment. Thus, the post-​industrial approach to distance education is a
transforming factor in higher education; fundamentally reconceptualizing,
restructuring, and significantly reshaping the teaching and learning trans-
action. This book provides a detailed review of the influence of industrial
distance education, and the current changes occurring through the tran-
sition to post-​industrial society. Most critically, it outlines what must be
part of distance education design and delivery for effective education in
the twenty-​first century.
In the design and delivery of twenty-​first-​century distance educa-
tion, online teaching and learning has emerged. Defined as Internet-​
based learning that delivers content and enables communication
between instructor and students, online teaching and learning is rooted
in the transaction of distance education and advanced computer and
communications technology.1 Absent from the developing field is a foun-
dation of thought from the fields of distance, higher, and adult education.
Previous discussions on the topic of online learning pay little attention
to this integration; what reference is available is superficial and separate
from the premises of facilitating online learning. This text presents the
conceptual and structural foundation of factors contributing to the
emergence and successful implementation of online learning. It explains
how we get to quality learning outcomes in the post-​industrial online
environment. This text provides the reader with a rationale, answering
the “why” question for the development of new teaching and learning
models for a new era.
The content of the book is based upon the research and practice
of multiple authors regarding educational approaches and transitions as
they are shaped and influenced by new and emerging technologies and
broad-​based societal change. The premise is that the twenty-​first century
represents a new era of distance education identified by collaborative com-
munities of inquiry in an online learning environment. The framework
and conceptual foundation for the theory and practice of online education
 teaching and learning in distance education 5

emerges from the work reviewed in the Routledge publication, E-​Learning

in the 21st Century (Garrison, 2016). Research of the editors and colleagues
(Cleveland-​ Innes, Gauvreau, Richardson, Mishra, & Ostashewski)
(Cleveland-​Innes & Garrison, 2009; Cleveland-​Innes, Garrison, & Kinsel,
2007; Garrison & Cleveland-​Innes, 2004, 2005; Garrison, Cleveland-​Innes,
& Fung, T., 2004) shape the theory, perspectives, practical guidelines, and
activities described in the book.

REVIEW OF THE BOOK

The text divides into three main sections. Part I reviews the content
of the book overall and the roots and evolution of distance education.
These chapters explore the transition to technology-​enabled, digital
forms as distance and higher education respond to the affordances
and requirements of the fourth industrial age; “the massive prolifer-
ation of affordable mobile devices, Internet broadband connectivity
and rich education content start a trend of transforming how educa-
tion is delivered” (Xing & Marwala, 2017, p. 7). This section covers the
foundations of distance education in the industrial era, as it emerged
through correspondence models, the open learning concept, and the
development of new pedagogies: theories and practices. Technology
and resulting digital forms enabled new ways of designing education,
but also constrained innovation within the boundaries of available tech-
nologies of the time. Teaching and learning, reconceptualized in ways
that shaped new roles for teachers and learners, emerged to accommo-
date new models for delivering education at a distance. Developments
at the time fit within the dominant organizational system, allowing
for new specializations, open designs and collaborative, constructivist
approaches for the delivery of instruction.
Chapter 2 outlines the evolution of distance education for the
reader. The story focuses on the foundational principles and practices
of distance education. This is what eventually becomes known as the
industrial era of distance education. After describing the industrial era
of distance education, we demonstrate that we are entering a new era of
distance education. This post-​industrial era has emerged in the twenty-​
first century and is not fully understood or adequately addressed by the
scholars in the field.
The history of distance education makes clear a pre-​occupation with
geographical constraints that used available technologies to neutralize
distance and increase access. This contrasts with the modern or post-​
industrial era that reflects a focus on transactional issues and ubiquitous
6 m. f. cleveland-innes

communications technologies (Garrison, 2000). This developmental

framework shapes the structure of this book and the discussions of subse-
quent chapters.
Part II addresses a changing environment. The hegemony of indus-
trial models set the ideals and limits for distance education and created the
opportunity for the formation of new models in post-​industrial times; now
identified by some as the fourth industrial revolution. The developments
of education were and are redirected according to the philosophy and
technology of the time. As the twenty-​first century approached, infor-
mation and communications technology and rapid, continuous change
shifted assumptions about teaching, learning, and institutional organiza-
tion. Again, teaching and learning activities, reconceptualized in ways that
shaped new roles for teachers and learners, emerged to accommodate new
models. Education theories and practices were reshaped by postmodern,
constructivist views encompassing strategies of collaborative and lifelong
learning, all in support of an information and knowledge society with ubi-
quitous, networked environments.
Chapter 3 is written by Jimmy Jaldemark. Dr. Jaldemark submits
that contemporary education must be redesigned as a tool that supports
lifelong learning by using appropriate education design for increasing
numbers of diverse students. The historical relationship between distance
education and lifelong learning is reviewed, followed by current and future
opportunities to align an evolving, technologically enabled distance edu-
cation to development and support for lifelong learning. Dr. Jaldemark
argues that an unbounded lifelong learning, with less focus on formal and
informal learning, is important to educations response to societal trans-
formation to a digital economy and political problems at the national
and global levels. Here, in the reconceptualizing and redesign of lifelong
learning, open and distance educational settings have an important role
to play.
In Chapter 4, Heather Kanuka explores the effects of post-​Fordism
and neoliberal economic structures in higher education. The current eco-
nomic market effects on higher education systems are described in refer-
ence to open and distance education providers. Here, the time-​honored
on-​ campus university experience, with flexible program offerings
and craft courses, and interpersonal relationships between and among
professors and students, are discussed in reference to the ebb and flow
of such experiences. These retrospective visions of traditional on-​campus
experiences, Dr. Kanuka suggests, will continue to be central imperatives.
Higher education in an increasingly competitive, globalized world will
depend on an ability to respond to market-​driven imperatives while not
 teaching and learning in distance education 7

compromising the core values and missions of institutions of higher edu-

cation represented in this traditional vision. Open and distant education
must, then, be provided within these visionary boundaries. Dr. Kanuka
predicts that open and distance providers that continue to deliver programs
in mass education, Fordist formats, which yielded success previously,
will likely see declines similar to the Open University (OUUK) in the
following decades.
Bridging the gap between teacher and learner in post-​industrial edu-
cation is the focus of Chapter 5 by Karen Swan. For Dr. Swan, what
distinguishes online learning from the distance education of the previous
era is not just the digital technologies from which it takes its name, but
the pedagogical approaches they enable. Distance education was materials
and teacher-​centered, online learning is student-​centered; where distance
education focused on independent study, online learning focuses on col-
laboration; where distance education was grounded in behaviorist and
cognitive psychology, online learning is grounded in social constructivist
learning theory. This chapter explores why and how online learning is
embracing emerging digital technologies and social constructivist epis-
temologies. The chapter demonstrates that a particular confluence of
emerging technologies, cultural practices, and serendipity has resulted in
an online teaching and learning characterized by social constructivist and
inquiry-​oriented approaches.
Part III looks at the most recent developments of the field, from
emerging and disruptive technologies to international competition. The
integration of virtual and place-​based universities has led us to models
of collaborative online and blended learning. The future of distance,
distributed, online, and blended education will emerge in technology-​
enabled institutions with faculty development and training programs and
support for the production of virtual spaces and materials.
Chapter 6, by Phil Ice and Melissa Layne, reviews the current
state of higher education. Changes are required; there is a role for dis-
tance and online learning as the education sector adjusts to new eco-
nomic and social realities. eLearning includes the rapid proliferation of
new applications, communication modalities and competing visions of
what the future of technological convergence will look like. Open educa-
tion resources and the use of artificial intelligence will change cost models
and customization. Despite issues revolving around the rapid pace of trans-
formation, contemporary, and emerging technologies allow practitioners
benefits; they select from an array of tools that allow for co-​construction
of knowledge as opposed to mere transmittal of facts. This chapter is both
declarative and prophetic.
8 m. f. cleveland-innes

In Chapter 7, Norm Vaughan reports that 80 percent of all

higher education institutions and 93 percent of comprehensive research
institutions offer hybrid or blended learning courses –​the infusion of web-​
based technologies into the learning and teaching process. Technologies
have created new opportunities for students to interact with their peers,
faculty, and content in blended courses and programs. This chapter
describes blended learning delivery from three points of view: the perspec-
tive of students, faculty, and administration. Vaughan uses a previous sys-
tematic review of over 35 studies published between 2001 and 2006.These
findings indicate a marked difference as to the benefits and challenges of
blended learning from each of these major constituent groups. In com-
parison to more recent findings such as those from Taylor, Atas, and Ghani
(2017), the chapter first explores the similarities and differences that have
occurred in blended learning from three perspectives over the past decade.
Second, blended learning is examined through the lens of the Community
of Inquiry framework.Third, a future research agenda for blended learning
is identified.
Terry Evans and Brian Pauling describe in Chapter 8 the
repositioning and repurposing of distance education for the future. Drs.
Evans and Pauling feel a discussion of the future of distance education
needs to be about possibilities rather than predictions. These authors pre-
viously considered these possibilities in an era where diversity, fluidity,
and flexibility were the main attributes of a contemporary distance edu-
cation. While these characteristics persist to a large extent, post-​humanist
practices and consequences are being added to distance education as the
field attempts to adjust to new social ad economics realities. The chapter
provides comparison to single-​mode face-​to-​face institutions gradually
mutating into dual-​mode institutions without the explicit incorporation
of distance education’s pedagogical, student support and quality assurance
processes. Evans and Pauling provide us with a view to the context in
which both distance, place-​based, and dual-​mode institutions are oper-
ating and the needed response from education. For all institutions, the
synergy between digital media and digitally mediated learning must
be considered. For distance education, there must be recognition and
maintenance of its previous uniqueness and creative repurposing in line
with the changing technology, and the diversity and capacities of digital
learners.
Part IV completes the text with a view to leadership of teaching
and learning in a networked university, as defined in the post-​industrial
era. In Chapter 9, Albert Sangra of the Open University of Catalonia
and editor Martha Cleveland-​Innes of Athabasca University discuss the
 teaching and learning in distance education 9

challenges and opportunities of creating a new higher education, and the

leadership required to face these challenges and capitalize on the oppor-
tunities. New leadership for a new and distributed higher education will
proceed with identification of challenges in the existing situation that make
current ways of operating counterproductive. Addressing challenges will
involve leading through change toward innovation. Advancement is only
innovation until it becomes the new normal; leading is required until new
normal has been reached. Most importantly, these authors state, leadership
toward the adoption of new processes and practices in higher education
teaching and learning must be done with a critical view to the context.
Contextual factors provide the structure for the chapter, providing on
overview for leadership considerations toward a new normal that involves
remedies to current contextual challenges: collaborative partnerships,
networked environments, new models of teaching and learning and con-
tinuous strategic planning.
Chapter 10 continues the all-​important discussion of leadership for
a new distance, distributed, and digital teaching and learning in higher
education. Drs. Kathleen Matheos and Martha Cleveland-​Innes
review a pedagogical, technology-​enabled evolution of distance edu-
cation called blended learning. As indicated by Vaughan in Chapter 7,
blended learning is rapidly being adopted as a new form of higher
education delivery, with new requirements for teaching and learning
through the use of web-​based technology and digital forms. Evidence-​
based research and the necessary technology are now available to offer
blended learning. Needed is the leadership strategy and competence
required to deconstruct our traditional models and structures by col-
laboratively engaging with individuals willing and able to harness and
implement blended learning. Higher education reform needs a change
in pedagogy, learning delivery, and a change in leadership to make this
happen. This chapter speaks to the need for a new type of leadership
to enable blended learning to situate itself within the timely and cru-
cial higher education reform agenda; an agenda that, as indicated in
Chapter 9, addresses not only change in teaching and learning through
blended delivery models, but does so in reference to concomitant social
and economic changes and contextual necessities.
The book concludes with a summary chapter written by the editors.
We revisit the idea that teaching and learning models in distance educa-
tion are being shaped over time and are reshaping teaching and learning
in higher education in general. The limitations of post-​industrial distance
education are considered. Distance education theory, which is evolving
in scope and practice, is reviewed. We finish with questions still to be
10 m. f. cleveland-innes

answered and consider the extent to which a new model of teaching and
learning can be maintained without compromising access and required
cost-​effectiveness, so certain to the traditions of distance education.
All chapters provide pedagogical enhancements and support for
teachers and learners using the book. The supports are of several kinds.
Some chapters offer review and reflection questions with key terms and
definitions. In addition, quotes that illuminate central premises in the
chapter are offered in sidebars throughout each chapter.
The field of distance education, and its evolution over time, occurred
because of people dedicated to the cause of improved access to education
and the development of the structures and processes required to do so.
These significant contributors to the field are people who were instru-
mental in the growth of field; they are the builders, creators, developers,
and pioneers. Understanding these people and the work done over time
provides a more grounded view of how things have emerged and changed
over time in distance education. There are many who could be named; a
select few have been included in this text. Each chapter includes a biog-
raphy and picture of one significant contributor to the field of distance
education, one whose work is aligned with the topic of the chapter.

CONCLUSION
The content of the book provides discussion of the past and present con-
text for higher and distance education, with a view to accessible educa-
tion and appropriate use of technology for education. This book provides
longitudinal perspectives on distance education broadly, with particular
emphasis on the shape of distance teaching and learning over time. It is
assumed that the evolution of distance higher education provides valu-
able responses to the challenges facing higher education in general. This
is particularly so in reference to teaching and learning. The move from
industrial distance education to post-​industrial collaborative, constructivist
learning in online environments gives us a window to possible changes in
higher education –​whether online, blended, or face-​to-​face.
A fulsome view of distance education in all its forms, over time and
space, is necessary to see both the value and the imperatives in the changes
in teaching and learning that have occurred. This book is an introduction
to distance, online, and blended learning for students, a working refer-
ence for faculty and instructional designers, and a guide to the future
for senior administrators to understand distance, online and blended
learning approaches in higher education. It will have particular value to
 teaching and learning in distance education 11

instructional technology courses and programs. Interest in technologically

mediated learning is emerging in the larger field of education. Diverse
approaches and innovations require that we make sense of this period of
change and transition in distance education and education broadly.

NOTE
1 The term ‘technology’ refers to person-​made objects designed to extend human
capabilities, in support of life activities leading to sustenance and gratification. In
this discussion, the term technology will refer most often to computer systems as
an extension of human abilities.

REFERENCES
Beaudoin, M. F. (2015). Distance education leadership in the context of digital change.
Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(2), 33.
Bozkurt, A. (2019). From distance education to open and distance learning: A holistic
evaluation of history, definitions, and theories. In Handbook of Research on Learning
in the Age of Transhumanism (252–​273). IGI Global.
Cleveland-​Innes, M. & Garrison, D.R. (2009). The role of learner in an online commu-
nity of inquiry: Instructor support for first time online learners. In N. Karacapilidis
(ed.), Solutions and innovations in web-​based technologies for augmented learning: Improved
platforms, tools and applications. Hershey, PA, USA: IGI Global.
Cleveland-​Innes, M., Garrison, R., & Kinsel, E. (2007). Role adjustment for learners in
an online community of inquiry: Identifying the needs of novice online learners.
International Journal of Web-​based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 2(1), 1–​16.
Garrison, D.R. (2000). Theoretical challenges for distance education in the twenty-​first
century: A shift from structural to transactional issues. International Review of Research
in Open and Distance Learning, 1(1), Retrieved September 29, 2008 from: www.
irrodl.org/​index.php/​irrodl/​article/​view/​2/​333.
Garrison, D. R. (2016). E-​learning in the 21st century: A community of inquiry framework for
research and practice. London, UK: Routledge.
Garrison, D. R., & Cleveland-​Innes, M. (2004). Critical factors in student satisfaction
and success: Facilitating student role adjustment in online communities of inquiry.
In J. Bourne & J. C. Moore (eds.), Elements of quality online education: Into the main-
stream. Volume 5 in the Sloan C Series, Needham, MA: The Sloan Consortium.
Garrison, D.R., & Cleveland-​Innes, M. (2005). Facilitating cognitive presence in online
learning: interaction is not enough. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(3),
133–​148.
Garrison, R., Cleveland-​Innes, M., & Fung, T. (2004). Student role adjustment in online
communities of inquiry: Model and instrument validation. Journal of Asynchronous
Learning Networks, 8(2), 61–​74. Retrieved December 2007 from www.aln.org/​
publications/​jaln/​v8n2/​v8n2_​garrison.asp.
12 m. f. cleveland-innes

Ikenberry, S. (2001). Forward. In C. Latchem, & D. Hanna (eds.), Leadership for 21st
century learning: Global perspectives from educational perspectives. Sterling, VA.: Stylus
Publishing.
Keller, G. (2008). Higher education and the new society. Maryland: John Hopkins
University Press.
Xing, B., & Marwala, T. (2017). Implications of the fourth industrial age for higher edu-
cation. The_​Thinker_​_​Issue_​73_​_​Third_​Quarter_​2017.
 C H A P T E R    2

From Independence
to Collaboration
A Personal Retrospective on Distance Education
D. R. Garrison

T his chapter is an analysis of the evolution of distance education from

the mid-​1980s to the present. It is a personal journey during which
the field of distance education evolved dramatically. The chapter begins
at the time distance education expanded exponentially with the devel-
opment of open distance education institutions providing broad access to
standardized learning modules. I explore the field of distance education
as the technological possibilities challenged the definition and delivery of
traditional distance education based largely on independent study. At this
time the boundary between independent distance study and collaborative
approaches to learning (reserved largely for face-​to-​face environments)
were becoming increasingly blurred.With this in mind, my focus is on the
gradual adoption of collaborative approaches to thinking and learning that
has transformed distance education and brought it into the mainstream of
education.
In 1983 my career in distance education began unexpectantly. I had
just finished my doctorate and was working in a college when I was
offered a temporary position as acting director of a university distance
education unit. While I had a background in computer applications in
education, I didn’t know much about distance education, but I thought
this would be an interesting opportunity. To my great good fortune the
professor I was substituting for did not return and I was selected for a
tenure track professorial position as the director of distance education.
This career opportunity necessitated that I immerse myself in the dis-
tance education literature (at the time this was not a particularly onerous
challenge).
14 d. r. garrison

INDEPENDENT STUDY
As I immersed myself in the DE literature I was immediately faced with a
dissonance. My background in teaching and learning was largely grounded
in the transactional assumptions of adult education (my doctoral special-
ization). As a result I immediately found myself at odds with the accepted
orthodoxy of distance education that seemed to me excessively focused
on independent study. This was contrasted further by the fact that we
were doing cutting-​edge work with audio teleconferencing predicated
on interaction. The reality was that my philosophical and practical pos-
ition was somewhat at odds with the remarkable success and influence of
the British Open University that reflected to some degree Peters’ (1994)
industrial model of distance education. Therefore, it appeared to me that
distance educators were myopically focused on access –​perhaps with good
reason considering the contextual challenges at the time of accessing an
educational experience at a distance.
During the early period of disciplinary growth in the 1970s and
’80s distance education seemed to be preoccupied with justifying the
necessity for independent study due to overwhelming access challenges.
However, early attempts to establish distance education as a distinct dis-
cipline (see Holmberg, 1986; Peters, 1994) did not prove credible. This
was largely due to the premise and idealization of distance education
as independent study where course materials were developed by insti-
tutional teams to cost-​effectively reach a mass audience. Unfortunately,
these standardized and institutionally produced course materials were
prescriptive and largely impervious to change and input from the
learners. The implicit assumption was that “complex, ambiguous con-
tent can be transmitted via text and grasped whole without question”
(Garrison, 1999, p. 11). Teaching guidance had to be designed into the
learning module and teacher proof. As a result it was clear to me early
in my new position that the focus had to shift to the nature and quality
of the educational experience and not succumb to the idealization of
independent study. Moreover, if distance education was to enter the edu-
cational mainstream the focus needed to shift to transactional learning
experiences. Distance had to be seen as merely a structural constraining
feature and not the defining construct.
The process of re-​conceptualizing distance education began when
Doug Shale and I wrote an article that defined distance education from
the perspective of two-​ way communication; what we considered the
essential process of an educational experience (Garrison & Shale, 1987).
This caused me to further explore the implications of this criterion
when I wrote Understanding Distance Education: A Framework for the Future
 from independence to collaboration 15

(Garrison, 1989). The goal of the book was to map what I perceived as an
eventual paradigmatic shift in distance education based on the merging
technological possibilities that could support two-​way communication at
a distance. Doug Shale and I then took the opportunity to argue that the
way forward theoretically and practically was to view distance education
as education at a distance (Garrison & Shale, 1990). This meant focusing
on the educational transaction and a move away from the preoccupation
with distance and independence. We had concluded that distance itself
was too simplistic a concept to be of value in understanding the essential
transactional relationships of an educational experience (Garrison, 1989).
With the impending advances in communications technology it became
apparent that independent study was not a necessary option. We were
clear that we needed to have a hard look at the essence of an educational
experience.
During the period of the 1990s the focus in distance education
began to shift from structural constraints to the transactional dynamics
of a quality educational experience. Technological advances precipitated
challenges to the twentieth-​century models of distance education based
on “distance constraints and approaches that bridged geographical
constraints by way of organizational strategies such as the mass produc-
tion and delivery of learning packages” (Garrison, 2000, p. 2). This early
period was generally regarded as the industrial era of distance education.
In my 2000 paper I argued that the advent of the twenty-​first cen-
tury was the beginning of a shift in DE away from structural constraints
to a serious consideration of the transactional dynamics grounded in
mediated two-​way communication not constrained by space or time.
Moreover, the terminology of distance education was beginning to be
replaced by online learning with the possibility of sustained interaction
and discourse over time and distance. This transformational argument is
supported by a recent analysis of the intellectual roots of distance edu-
cation (Bozkurt, 2019).
Pedagogic and not geographic theories of distance education began
to emerge as we approached the twenty-​first century. For example, in an
attempt to focus on pedagogical elements of distance education, Moore
(1989) distinguished between three types of interaction –​learner–​content
interaction, learner–​ instructor interaction, and learner–​learner inter-
action. However, consistent with traditional distance education theory
he placed emphasis on learner–​ content interaction and internal con-
versation. Learner–​instructor interaction was based largely on instructor
presentations with limited feedback opportunities. Independence was
still viewed as a distinct advantage. However, Moore (1989) recognized
that learner–​learner interaction was an “extremely valuable resource” but
16 d. r. garrison

I believe this was a challenge to traditional distance education thinking.

Moore placed the emphasis on interaction but was not able to complete
the shift to a fully transactional and collaborative learning experience. In
my mind recognition of the value of learner–​learner interaction only drew
attention to the concept of collaboration and sustained academic discourse.
It was evident that theoretical developments were too often “made to
fit the Procrustean bed created by the industrial and structural assumptions
of the era” (Garrison, 2000, p. 13). The limitation of independence and
even interaction as a core distance education concept was revealed as we
began to explore constructivist approaches to learning and the importance
of constructing personal meaning and validating shared understanding. To
overcome confirmation bias prevalent in the online world, ill-​conceived
ideas must be challenged. Interaction must be more than the simple
exchange of information. This takes us beyond simple interaction and
moves us into the enormous advantages of communities of inquiry. For
this reason, it became clear to me that interaction was not sufficient as
an organizing concept for distance education. Interaction by itself cannot
ensure critical discourse and reflection necessary for deep and meaningful
learning experiences and outcomes. I was convinced that a more con-
structivist and collaborative theoretical framework was required to move
distance education into the mainstream of education as we entered the
twenty-​first century.

COLLABORATION AT A DISTANCE
Discussion of collaborative approaches became more understandable and
therefore acceptable as distance educators began to experiment with com-
puter conferencing in the 1990s. At the time I predicted that the ability
of computer conferencing (this terminology evolved into online learning)
to support collaborative approaches to learning would “become not only
the defining technology of post-​industrial distance education but will per-
vade conventional higher education” (Garrison, 1997a, p. 9). Ubiquitous
advances in communications technology virtually eliminated distance as
a contextual constraint and collaboration became a viable reality in dis-
tance education. In this regard I began to argue that distance education
should be approached as a transactional and collaborative experience. In
addition I began to use the phrase collaborative-​constructivism to describe
the emergence of a new world-​view of distance education (Garrison,
1997b). This was not only precipitated by the available technology but
the increasing acceptance that education is a social enterprise. This reality
 from independence to collaboration 17

cannot be discarded simply because of contextual constraints. While trad-

itional distance education may have minimally met this standard, too often
the requirement for educational discourse was masked or constrained by
the false ideal of independence.
The inherent social nature of an educational experience draws our
attention to the role of collaboration and community in constructing
meaning and confirming understanding. Participants in collaborative
learning environments are able to grow beyond what is probable in largely
independent learning experiences. Collaboration is based upon common
purpose, trust, and leadership and, in turn, is dependent upon open com-
munication to stimulate and support critical discourse and reflection.
However, collaboration must also have a social focus if it is to create an
environment of trust and security where participants feel free to engage
in critical discourse allowing participants to freely express their thoughts.
Academic and social transactions create a purposeful and cohesive com-
munity necessary for a deep and meaningful educational experience.
A shared learning experience creates a greater likelihood of making sense
of information and constructing knowledge.
The reflective component of an educational experience addresses
the ability to think critically while monitoring and managing the con-
struction of personal meaning. Personal reflection addresses the essence
of constructivism which must be fused with collaboration for a worth-
while educational experience. Collaborative-​ constructivism integrates
contextual influences with the personal responsibility to construct and
confirm understanding through reflection and discourse. The inter-​
dependence and unity of collaboration and constructivism is present in
a proper educational experience. Parenthetically I have chosen to use the
phrase collaborative-​constructivism (compared to social constructivism) as
I believe it better reflects an educational environment.
If we need further justification for collaboration we need only
step back and consider its role in human development. Collaboration
was central to human intelligence and evolution. In this regard, Wilson
(2012) stated that “the primary and crucial difference between human
cognition and that of other animal species … is the ability to collab-
orate for the purpose of achieving shared goals and intention (p. 226).
This has become even more evident in our complex knowledge society
where innovation is enhanced in a culture of collaboration. However,
this is not an entirely new phenomenon. There are many examples for
the successes of collaboration (Mayo Clinic; Thomas Edison’s labora-
tory). Our connected society is simply taking collaboration to new
heights.
18 d. r. garrison

THINKING COLLABORATIVELY
Coming out of an educational psychology background I have always
had a strong interest in thinking and learning. While my initial interest
was on the individual dynamics of critical thinking, it became apparent
as a doctoral student that we were focusing too much on the individual
with constructs such as self-​directed (regulated) learning. In my mind we
were not adequately considering the social context. In an early attempt to
address this issue I explored links between cognition and external man-
agement of the learning process (Garrison, 1992). After a close examin-
ation of the critical thinking and self-​directed learning constructs it was
apparent that both implicitly recognized a world beyond the self. At the
time I came at this from the theory of communicative action (Habermas,
1981) that promotes the construct of mutual understanding through open
communication. In this way I was searching for a conceptual resolution
that would link the private and shared worlds of an educational experi-
ence (as I progressed I began to rely increasingly on the more relevant
educational perspective of John Dewey).
My challenge, therefore, was how to reconcile the cognitive independ-
ence of the individual and the interactive influence of the shared world
inherent in an educational experience? In my mind this was the dilemma
that distance education had struggled with (Daniel & Marquis, 1979) but
was not able to resolve.What could not be traded-​off was purposeful inter-
action or collaboration in the construction of knowledge. I argued that
such a position was essential to address issues of bias and misunderstanding
through reflection and meaningful discourse. Collaboration brings an
essential dynamic to stimulating and shaping thinking and learning.
I wanted to explore how we reveal personal biases, challenge erroneous
ideas, and negotiate understanding systematically and rigorously. It is this
transaction that inspired me when distance educators focused excessively
on content and independence.
There is an inherent reluctance in most of us to openly explore
conflicting ideas and reveal personal biases.This is of particular importance
regarding the pragmatic demands of our connected knowledge society
and the proliferation of ideological channels and websites micro targeting
audiences and expositing singular perspectives. Deep and meaningful
learning necessitates that our thinking, ideas and biases be challenged. The
difficulty, however, in the age of the Internet where we can isolate our-
selves by choice, is to create the commitment and climate that supports
critical and creative thinking and learning. Critical thinking can best be
developed in a collaborative environment where thinking is shared and
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 The Project Gutenberg eBook of A woman's
wanderings and trials during the Anglo-Boer War
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
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eBook.

Title: A woman's wanderings and trials during the Anglo-Boer

War

Author: Jacoba Elizabeth De la Rey

Translator: Lucy Hotz

Release date: November 22, 2023 [eBook #72195]

Language: English

Original publication: London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1903

Credits: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at

https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WOMAN'S

WANDERINGS AND TRIALS DURING THE ANGLO-BOER WAR ***
A Woman’s Wanderings and
Trials during the Anglo-Boer
War
 TWO GREAT
SOUTH AFRICAN
BOOKS

THE
MEMOIRS OF
PAUL KRUGER,
Four Times
President of the
South African
Republic. Told
by Himself.
Translated by A.
Teixeira de
Mattos. With
Portraits. Two
Volumes. Demy
8vo, cloth gilt,
32s.
THE ANGLO-
BOER WAR.
Edited by
Commandant
Bresler. With
Introductory
Chapters by
Generals De
Wet, Kritzinger,
Fouché, Jean
Joubert, and the
 Rev. J. D.
Kestell. Demy
8vo, cloth. With
30 Maps. 21s.

London: T. FISHER UNWIN

The Wanderers.
 A

WOMAN’S WANDERINGS AND

TRIALS
DURING THE

Anglo-Boer War
BY
Mrs (General) DE LA REY

Translated by Lucy Hotz

ILLUSTRATED

LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
Paternoster Square
MDCDIII
All Rights reserved
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Wanderers Frontispiece
General De la Rey and His Staff 17
Mrs De la Rey beside Her Waggon 36
“The Picture of My Wandering Life” 63
“Our People” 96
Mesdames Ferreira and Bezuidenhout 134
Four of Mrs De la Rey’s Children, with Two 137
Little Girl Friends
Three of Mrs De la Rey’s Children 139
 A Woman’s Wanderings and Trials
during the Anglo-Boer War

On the 4th of October 1899 my husband left for the western

border. I wondered what would be the outcome for me, and I thought
of the many now leaving, some of whom might never come back.
After a short time my husband returned and spent one day at home,
then he left again on commando.
A few days later I went to pay him a visit. I found that all was going
well, and I met many friends, for the laager was a very big one.
I was in good spirits, but the same day came the order to move to
Kraaipan with 1200 men. This was not very pleasant news for me.
All was soon ready for the start. It was a lovely evening, the moon
shone brightly, and the 1200 horsemen rode out, the cannon
clattering as they went.
I had to spend the night in the laager. Next morning I went home to
wait there anxiously for what was to happen. That day I heard
nothing. Next day there was a report that some prisoners of war had
been brought by train to Kraaipan, and no one on our side was hurt
in this first fight. A day or two later I returned to the laager, which had
been moved some distance farther back.
There I found all of good cheer and courage. The same day an
order came to trek for Kimberley, and I went on for two days with the
laager, in which were many odd sights. When I had to return I felt it
hard that all my people must go so far away. That afternoon it had
been warm near the waggon, and my dear son had taken on himself
to prepare our dinner. We ate it there all together, and Field-Cornet
H. Coetzee, who was with us, said he must learn from my son how
to make such good things to eat. My son had done it very well,
though it was the first time that he had ever tried to act as cook.
We then took up our journey again. It was curious to me to see so
many horsemen. That night I had to return; my husband came a little
way with me and the laager trekked on.
I had now to take leave of my two sons, who were going with the
laager. My heart was torn, for I did not know if I should see them
again.
But time was passing; they had to go on, and I to go back; the
waggons must be inspanned and the horses saddled.
Then I said to my two sons, “Adrian and Jacobus, let your ways be
in the fear of the Lord. If I do not see you again upon earth, let me
find you again in heaven.” And my beloved Adrian, when I said these
words, looked at me.
We went to spend the night at Mr Du Toit’s house, where we had a
welcome rest. Next morning my husband went back to the laager
and I returned home, where I found all well. We kept hearing always
of fighting. The commando trekked to Freiburg, and from there to
Kimberley. I had a telegram saying that my husband had gone to the
Modder River, and I thought of the dangerous work that he had to
do. Then he had to go farther and farther away. News came of the
fight at Rooilaagte; it was terrible to hear how many “khakis” had
been there and how hard our men had had to fight. There were
many from the Lichtenburg district among them, so that everyone
was anxious.
Sunday, the 26th of December, was the nineteenth birthday of my
son Adrian Johannes. When I went to the village in the morning I met
my sisters on their way to church. Then we all began to speak of him
and of how he would fare on his birthday; and we all grew heavy-
hearted.
On Monday we were without news. On Tuesday evening a
telegram came that all was well, which filled me with joy. Yet that
night I sat on my bed, and could not sleep for anxiety and sorrow till I
had earnestly begged of the Lord to make me fit to bear the burden
He should lay upon me, and to let me sleep.
Early next morning I was awake, but the same feeling remained. I
got out of bed quickly and then saw it was going to rain. On going
out it felt pleasant after the rain. Suddenly someone cried out, “There
is Juffrouw Martens.” She came from the village, and my first words
were, “What am I going to hear?” She came through the house and
met me in the backyard with these words, “Nonne,[1] I have sorrowful
tidings. Your husband has sent me a telegram for you, and it says,
‘This morning our dearly-beloved son Adrian passed away in my
arms from a wound received yesterday in a heavy fight, and to-day
we shall lay him in the ground at Jacobsdaal.’”
[1] Nonne. A Dutch-Indian term meaning Mrs or mistress.
It was heartrending for me, but there is comfort to be found at the
feet of Jesus. All Lichtenburg knew him and loved him. I had not only
lost my son, but many had lost their friend.
The Sunday after he died, Dominie Du Toit of Lichtenburg chose
as his text Revelations xxi., verse 7:—“And I will be his God, and he
shall be my son”—and he said that the Lord had more need of him
than we.

“I give him to the goodness of God.

Ransomed by the Saviour
He rises towards Heaven.
All shall contemplate him there
On the beautiful borders of Heaven
By the crystal waters.
 “Yes, my son is gone away
Over the crystal waters.
Saviour, wilt thou receive him
At Thy side for evermore?
Take this son, unto Thee he is given,
Take him in Thy Father’s house;
Some day we shall find each other
Among the jubilant host.

“God said, This son is mine,

Zealous in the work of the Lord.
Barely the space of nineteen years
Did he spend as man upon earth.
Some day I also shall come there
To reign by my Saviour’s might
Unto the last generation.
Thou, my son, naught can harm thee,
Thou hadst to die for the right.

“The Lord is trusty and strong,

E’er long shall He in His might,
Watching the deeds of His people,
Teach them to understand.
Rest on thou Afrikander son;
We shall all one day stand before Jesus,
Zealous in the work of the Lord.”

A fortnight after my son’s death I went to join his father and

brother. After travelling four days I came near the Vaal River. That
morning we heard a terrible roar of cannon; a great fight was taking
place at Maggersfontein. I thought then, “Whose turn shall it be to-
day to give up his life?” When I came to the laager they had already
come out to meet me, but we missed each other. Just then I met my
brother, Jan Greef, and as I had heard nothing more about the death
of my son I asked him to tell me everything. He told me what a great
fight it had been all day, and how my son had been all day in the
thick of the fighting and no hurt had come to him. At sunset he was
walking with his father; suddenly a bomb burst between them. He
asked his father if the bomb had touched him and his father
answered “No.” He said nothing more, but went on 150 steps farther
before he sat down, saying to his father, “The bomb that burst over
there struck me.” Then they saw that a bullet had entered his right
side. They carried him a little way, and placed him in a carriage to
bring him to the hospital. At four o’clock in the morning they reached
Jacobsdaal; they bore him into the hospital, and the doctor said he
would come and take the bullet out after breakfast.
All night he had tasted only a little water; now they brought him
some coffee. He told his father that he must help him to take it; his
father raised him up in bed and he saw that he was near death. He
asked him if he did not want to say anything. His answer was, “Nay,
father, only lay me down.” With these words he drew his last breath.
All was over with our son. This I heard from my brother.
Then my husband returned, and I heard for the first time how he
too had been wounded in the arm, and how very ill he also had been
before I arrived.
From there we went to Maggersfontein and then to the village of
Jacobsdaal. I had so longed to see my son’s grave, but when I came
there I found only a mound of earth. Yet, knowing that his dust was
resting there, it did me good to see it.
Then I went to the hospital. I thought, “If only I could find the
clothes which he was wearing the last day!” They brought me to the
room where the clothes of the dead were lying. His father found the
trousers. We could tell them by the hole that the bullet had made. I
saw the nurse who had looked after him; she said how patient and
contented he had been.
There were many of our wounded lying there.
I went back to Maggersfontein. A little way from it was an empty
house; I went into it as I did not wish to live in the laager. Every
morning we could hear the firing at Maggersfontein.
 Christmas was drawing near. From all sides people sent us
dainties and anything that they thought would give us pleasure. I
used often to go to General Cronje’s laager.
In the beginning of the new year 1900 General De la Rey had to
retire to Colesberg. I went with him to Bloemfontein, and the evening
we arrived there he had to go on to Colesberg. I went back home,
where I found our children safe and well.
Every day we kept hearing of battles. I went on with my work on
the farm, and that made the time pass less slowly. Two months later
I went to Kroonstad and found my husband there. All the week he
had not been well, but he got better quickly and started anew on
commando.
I went home again, and had not been there long when General De
la Rey was sent to Mafeking; but while on his way the siege of
Mafeking was raised.
Then all the commandoes were ordered to Pretoria. My husband
came home on the 23rd of May, and on the 25th of May the march to
Pretoria began. That was a hurried trek, for the enemy were in great
force.
We did not know now what their next movements would be, so the
best thing for me to do was to wait for the coming of the enemy.
Five days after the Boers had left the district the Kaffirs came in
such numbers that they stripped the whole border of cattle, and
acted abominably towards the women and children.
A week after the Boers left Lichtenburg the troops[2] entered the
village. I was then on my farm, which lies a quarter-of-an-hour’s
distance outside.
[2] Troops.—When an Afrikander speaks of “troops” he always
means those of the English, probably from having heard so much
about “troopers.”
Seven horsemen came to my house. I was then in the garden, but
on seeing them I hastened to the house. Four armed men stood
outside; the other three had come in and were turning everything
upside down.
When I was at the door one of them came towards me with the
question, “Whose place is this?”
I answered, “De la Rey’s.”
“The General’s?” he asked.
I said, “Yes.”
Then he told me that I must bring my husband out of the house.
I answered, “You have been inside, why don’t you bring him out
yourself? I cannot do so, because he is on commando.”
“When did he go from here?” he asked me.
“A week since,” I answered.
After asking a few more questions and taking whatever he wanted
he went away.
I went to the village; I could not remain on the farm alone with the
children.
From that moment the troops did whatever they liked. I had two
horses; the Kaffirs had taken all the cattle. I saw now that they were
taking the horses out of the stable and were going to ride away on
them. The hardest thing was that one of the horses had belonged to
my dead son, and I could not bear to part with it. I asked to see
General Hunter, and I told him about the farm and about my horses.
He said he knew nothing about the horses, but would make inquiries.
The next day my two horses were brought back, and I was told that
no damage would be done to the farm; but all the same they did
whatever they liked there, and I had to put a good face upon
everything.
Every day more troops came past, and the only news I could get
from them about my people was that they had driven General De la
Rey into such a tight corner that he would never be able to escape.
 I used to say to them then, “Very well. I hope that when you have
got hold of him you will treat him kindly. Remember, he is only
fighting for his lawful rights and property.”

General De la Rey and his staff.

Then again I heard that no, he had not been taken prisoner. (This
was in June 1902.)
When General De la Rey and his staff were in the east, after they
had been driven out of Pretoria by the superior numbers of the
enemy, the people in the west country had a terrible time. The
women were for the greater part alone on their farms, and their cattle
were at the mercy of the cruel Kaffirs, who used to come and steal
them away, generally at night. They would burst into the houses and
make their way to the women, and tell them that they must have their
money, using such threats and such violence that many a one fled in
the night with her children, and often wandered for hours before she
could find shelter. It was bitter enough for them then; but little could
they think that all this was but a drop in the cup of their suffering.
Many of the burghers returned home on this account to see what
they could do to save their families. Three burghers from this
neighbourhood were killed during the war—Adriaan Mussman,
Adrian De la Rey and Petrus Biel. All three were still young, but they
fought like the bravest for freedom and the right.
Adriaan Mussman was only twenty-two; he did not know the name
of fear. In the thick of a fierce fight he saw that our guns were in
danger. He rushed forward with the others who tried to save them.
Bullets were raining all round him, but nothing could keep him back
but death. He drew his last breath like a brave hero.

“Rude storms may wage round me

And darkness prevail,
God’s grace shall surround me,
His help shall not fail.
How long I may suffer
His love still shines bright,
And leads me through darkness
To live in His light.”

“The darker the night may be, the more do we pant for the
sunshine;
The denser the mist may close, the more do we yearn for
brightness;
The deeper the chasm before me, the more do I sigh for the
plains;
The darker the future may seem, the greater shall be my
redemption.”

As each day drew to a close I was dreading what should happen

on the next.