A Theory Of Development And Evaluation Of Distance Education Technologies

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

A theory of development and evaluation of distance education technologies Dr. Alaa Sadik, Sultan Qaboos University [email protected]

The review of distance education technologies shows that the development in technologies has focused on production and distribution of instruction using audio-and video to reach a wide range of learners. This development began with no or minimum interaction, less possibility to access instruction and low cost, allowing it to be more accessible (e.g., radio and television, audio- and video-cassettes). Accordingly, technologies were developed to enrich presentations, individualise instruction, speed transmission and provide multimedial content. Examples of these technologies are audio-graphic systems, audio-video conferencing and computer programs. These technologies enhanced learner-control over instruction and allowed real-time interaction between the tutor and students and, for the first time, between the learner and others on the course. More recently, a dramatic development in computing and networking has occurred. This development in computing and networking technology has shaped a unique paradigm of access to instruction, characterised by easy and unlimited access to information, real-time or delayed interaction, flexible learning and learner-based instruction. The development in distance education media and technologies is characterised by three models: the correspondence model, the tele-learning model and the information and networking model.

The correspondence model (1890s-1960s) This is the earliest model of distance education and used to package and deliver instruction for isolated students. Basically, ‘correspondence study has meant the exchange of lessons by mail. […] however, there are many new approaches to course work and although the mails are still the prime means of exchanging lessons, technological advances are being introduced’(The Dominion Bureau of Statistics, 1971, p. 287). However, the correspondence model does not mean simply delivering textbooks with other media. Perraton (1982) indicated 1

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

that correspondence education is distinguished by three features: the use of a variety of different media, its structure and its system for feedback. In this model, ‘two-way communication between students and teachers separated by distance only became practicable with the advent or railways, and a relatively fast and efficient postal service ’ (Powell et al., 1999, p. 86). Mail was used by students to send their questions and assignments and receive feedback and comments from the tutor. Due to the low speed of interaction, particularly for students at a long distance, interaction between the tutor and students was scarified in many cases.

The Tele-learning model (1960s-1980s) In the correspondence model, the aim is to make instruction easily accessible in a lowcost and efficient manner. However, distance education is ‘more than an efficient method of making information available to learners’ (Garrison, 1989, p. 64). Therefore, the tele-learning model aims to distribute on-campus instruction using one-way media (e.g., broadcasting radio and

television)

with

two-way

communication

technologies

(e.g.,

telephone

and

teleconferencing). Radio was the first technology that characterised this model. Following radio, television broadcasting brought about a revolution in distance education by transmitting face-to-face style of instruction to homes and schools. In addition, the availability of satellite has increased accessibility and reached far locations in a costeffective way (Wisher and Priest, 1998). Although broadcasting is a very popular and appropriate technology for developing countries (Keegan, 1988), the most important problem of broadcasting, as realised by the Planning Committee of the British Open University, is that ‘the amount of learning materials required to meet the needs of a full range of degree courses would be too great to cover by broadcasting alone’ (Bates, 1988, p. 228). The real development in this model occurred when communication, as the ‘second element’ of distance education, was enhanced by using audio and video tele-conferencing (Holmberg, 1990).

2

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

The information and networking model (1990s-) The lack of convenient and effective interaction for independent learners has always been a weakness of the tele-learning model of distance education (Bates, 1991) while access to course-related information and resources is a common problem facing distance students in the model (Kirkwood, 1998). The potential of information and networking technologies is that they combine media (e.g., text, hypertext, images, video, etc.) and technologies (e.g., interactive CD-ROMs and the WWW) to represent knowledge and facilitate interaction effectively between the learner and the content and with others (Westera, 1999). This model implies ‘a more generic approach to teaching and learning, in contrast to the largely one-way flow of packaged knowledge and instruction from teachers to learners’ (Kirkwood, 1998, p. 231). For example, interactive CD-ROMs have the power to individualise learning as they allow the learner to explore, search and interact with the content and user-interface effectively. Moreover, the Internet provides access to a vast amount of upto-date information, offers the ultimate interactive learning experience and encourages collaboration and discussion among distance students (Rose, 1999). The WWW, specifically, has become the most popular and easy to use service of the Internet and provides access to most Internet services (e.g., e-mail, desk-top conferencing, FTP, etc) and resources (e.g., text databases, multimedia and hypermedia archives, etc.) with no limit to the number of students. Currently, the WWW is increasingly used in distance education for communication, conducting discussion, delivery of courses, searching for course-related information and evaluation of students. Considering the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of distance education models, it can be said that many key features have been driven the development and success of media and technologies. These features are categorised into five categories with their contribution to distance education (see the table below).

3

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

A framework for describing the features of distance education technologies Criteria Time of communication

Feature - Asynchronous - Synchronous

Type of interaction

-

Learning style

Studentteacher - Studentstudent - Studentcontent - Studenttechnology - Individualised - Group-based

Instructional

-

Multimedia Stand-alone

Cost

-

Cost effectiveness

Organisational issues

-

Ease of delivery Ease of access Ease of use Speed Flexibility

-

Contribution to distance education Distance education can be time-independent (e.g., video-cassettes) or time-dependent (e.g., broadcasting television). Both of these two types are useful and required to deliver instruction and motivate and support students. The ideal distance education technology should facilitate two-way interaction between the tutor and learners, among learners, between the learner and the learning materials and between the learner and the machine or technology that delivers instruction.

Often, distance education happens in individual settings. However, recent trends in distance education encourage social and group-based learning using on-line discussions and collaborative projects. Distance education media need to support both of these two styles. Traditional media whether visual only (e.g., printed materials) or audio-visual (e.g., videoconferencing and TV) have many limitations in presenting knowledge. Recent technologies integrate text, audio, animation and video (e.g., computer-based multimedia applications and the WWW) to enhance the learning experience, allowing them to be used without need for the support of other types of media. The unit cost of a medium is affected by its fixed cost, variable cost, capital cost, recurrent cots, marginal cost, etc. High variable costs for a medium, for example, increase the unit cots per hour and discourage decision-makers from selecting it and learners from continuing in their learning. At the same time, stand-alone media (e.g., the Internet) avoid both the course provider and the learner having to pay for communication, sending and receiving feedback and access to learning resources. Media, whether old or new, should be simple enough and available to access at homes or schools, easy to use by educators and students to deliver and receive instruction, fast enough in terms of transmission and updating of content, etc. 4

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

Applying the above model to evaluate radio, for example, shows that radio: 1. Supports synchronous learning only since students have to attend the class at a specific time to listen to the programme. 2. Does not support student-student, student-teacher, student-content or studentmachine interaction. 3. Is not suitable for group-based learning. 4. Can be accessed at any place. 5. Is characterised by the speed of development and transmission of programmes. However, questions and feedback require a long time to be sent. 6. Has very high fixed, capital and recurrent costs. However, variable cost is very low. At the same time, receiving instruction is less costly. 7. Uses audio only to deliver instruction. 8. Is not a stand-alone medium and should be used with other media (e.g., print and post). 9. Is not student-centred and students have no control over the transmission of the programme. 10. Is easy to be installed and used at home or school. 11. Is easy to access at home or schools, since it requires nothing more than a radio receiver. This evaluation shows that radio gets 6 points out of 17. This means radio fulfils only 35 per cent of the features that should characterise distance education technology. In addition, the majority of media (11 out of the 15 revised) meet less than 50% of the features. However, print and post as traditional media get a relatively high score (53%) in comparison with recent media. Lastly, this framework shows that the Internet and the WWW meet all the criteria that should be available in distance education media and technology to be used successfully at a distance. This simple analysis reflects that the majority of technologies used in distance education do not satisfy many of the criteria of distance education technologies, as reflected in the literature. These media and their characterises are graphed below.

5

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

Features of DE technologies

Characteristics of media and technologies used in distance education 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 Networks & Internet

Computer

Interactive TV

Print and post

Telephon

Video-ca

Audio-cassettes

Television

Interactive radio

Video-conferencing

Radio

CYCLOPS

Teletext

Audio-graphics

Audio-conferencing

2

Media used in DE

This graph shows that: 1. A dramatic development happened in distance education media and technologies to fulfil the requirements of distance education. This development is not time-based but depends on the features of media and technologies. 2. Although most of the recent media may seem to be perfect solutions for distance education or ‘third generation’ technologies, they do not possess most of the characteristics required of distance education (e.g., flexibility and cost-effectiveness). At the same time, approaches that are considered as traditional (e.g., print and post) can be used successfully, since they fulfil more than 50% of these criteria. 3. There is no one medium better than other; every medium and its technology has its own features and these media should be selected and used according to the need of the programme, tutors and students (e.g., the needed type of interaction, costs, etc.). For example, although video-conferencing, in comparison with print and post, is a two-way interactive medium, encourages interaction between the learner and the tutor and between the learners and others, is suitable for group-based and collaborative learning and fast in sending and receiving feedback, it does not facilitate student-content and studenttechnology interaction, is not easy to be used by all tutors and students, is not easily to 6

TECH4101: Distance Education & the Internet [Document #6]

accessed at any time and from any place, needs to be supported by other types of media and is not cost effective. Similarly, although the development in computers and CD-ROMs has offered learnercentred, self-paced and sophisticated multimedial solutions for learners using flexible storage solutions, a common drawback is the isolation of learners from human tutoring. Therefore, an important breakthrough in computing has been shaped by the networking and computermediated communications concepts. The unprecedented growth in networking technology has yielded a wide range of powerful and wide networks and has led to the world-wide international network known as the Internet. As the earlier breakthrough in computing has yielded the Internet, the second remarkable breakthrough in the Internet was the World Wide Web protocol. The World Wide Web has evolved new channels of delivery that have encouraged educators to present materials in ways that did not exist a few years ago. In addition, it has offered many tools to conduct asynchronous/synchronous interaction between the tutor and learners and among learners themselves.

7