Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 11:00:21 +0100
From: Richard Bear <rbear@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU>
Subject: Re: 13.0158 bodies and minds
On distance education, some remarks which I have made elsewhere:
"Distributed learning" is possibly a better term for Web-based education
than "distance education." Distributed learning replaces the earlier
model, where we envisioned the program as a concession to the needs of
students who for whatever reason cannot reach the campus, with a model
that envisions students choosing their own "teachable moment" -- be it
three o'clock in the morning -- to tackle the course content. Most
University of Oregon "distance learning" students (nearly 70 percent)
are in fact on, not off, campus, and have chosen the option for
convenience. The advantages of the format are such that it is popular
even when there are no distances involved.
Distributed learning is evolving rapidly with the development of the
World Wide Web, and is becoming synonymous with "Web-Based Instruction,"
which typically consists of a core set of web pages containing the
instructor's syllabus, lectures and other course content, and a
selection of other Internet technologies such as email, a listserv,
chatroom, or perhaps multimedia presentations such as streaming video,
along with some more traditional support such as a textbook or course
packet mailed from the campus bookstore.
There are advantages to Web-based distributed learning.
You need no longer measure your reach by the available quantity of
brick, stone, and ivy. Students may enroll from anywhere in the world,
rather than from campus alone or from specified sites.
Students interact with one another and with the professor whenever
they wish, revising their messages as much as they like before sending
them, and having the opportunity to check sources and external
authorities as needed to back up their points.
A variety of learning styles can be addressed through the wide palette
of available solutions.
Search engines, dictionaries, databases and other resources are
available either institutionally through a server (typically provided by
the library) or, increasingly, on the World Wide Web, so that students
may hold open any of thousands of resources in one window of their
computer monitor while interacting with the course materials in another,
and writing a class paper in still another.
Students with such access to relatively unlimited materials often wind
up teaching the instructor new knowledge, rather than the other way
round, resulting in a better informed instructor and students with high
self-esteem.
Students interested in a particular topic or technique can gather
together to master it without having to commit years to a specific
university or program halfway around the planet in order to do so.
Knowledge created during a course can be made readily available to the
class, the institution, or the world.
There are also concerns.
Some faculty may not be comfortable with the technology, or have
access to suitable equipment.
Some students may not be comfortable with the technology, or have
access to suitable equipment.
Some faculty may not find the culture of distributed learning to their
liking.
Some students may find it difficult to stay motivated in an
asynchronous setting, with no one close at hand to remind them of
deadlines.
There may be concerns about the value and authenticity of easily
accessed information sources external to the course material.
There may be concerns about the rapidly evolving state of intellectual
property rights.
Assuming we like the advantages enough to try this, how shall we address
the concerns?
Some students may not be comfortable with the technology, or have
access to suitable equipment. Distance education is not necessarily for
everyone. But with access to skills and equipment increasing all the
time, the option is increasingly attractive to a wider constituency.
Assistance is now available in mastering the technology from most
university computing centers, schools, departments, or programs.
There may be concerns about the value and authenticity of easily
accessed information sources external to the course material. As the
Internet matures, reliable resources are improving both in quality and
quantity. (As a case in point, this is the very issue that the Spenser
Project <http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/project.html> has been initiated
to adddress.) A professor who feels that many students have not yet
learned to discern useful knowledge databases from "popular" materials
may choose to provide a pre-approved webliography.
There may be concerns about the rapidly evolving state of intellectual
property rights. In general, online classes and materials used in them,
that are only accessible to registered students via password, are
protected by fair use. For specifics consult frequently updated
copyright-watch sites such as that provided by the University of Oregon
Library <http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/cweb.htm> or Indiana
University's excellent Copyright Management Center.
<http://www.iupui.edu/~copyinfo/home.html>.
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