Contents

DISTANCE FEATURED ARTICLES LEARNING 1 A TALE OF TWO STATE SYSTEMS: MODELS OF HIGH SCHOOL COURSE COLUMNS DELIVERY Mark Hawkes and Jordan Terveen ENDS AND MEANS E-learning Study Skills and Strategies 32 7 AS THE USE OF VIDEOCONFERENCING —by Ryan Watkins TECHNOLOGY BOOMS, SO DOES THE NEED

SUSTAINABILITY FOR CREATIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORT Leveraging Knowledge Gary Brown Assets: Do Less and Accomplish More 35 —by Jonathon Levy 11 FIVE SMOOTH STONES: FIGHTING FOR THE SURVIVAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION NEW MEDIA, NEW LEARNING Steve Wheeler That’s Entrainment! 37 —by Craig Ullman 18 VIDEOCONFERENCING: THE TELEVISION PEDAGOGY CORNER CONNECTION Do You Chunk? Robert M. Starr You Should 39 —by David Graf 21 A DISTANT LEGACY: BLURRED VISIONS– AND FINALLY . . . RENEWED CHOICES FOR CAMPUS AND Distance Learning Leaders: Who are They? 48 DISTANCE EDUCATION —by Michael Simonson Don Olcott, Jr. Reports from USDLA 24 THE DISTANCE LEARNING LEADER: WHAT USDLA Launches New YOU DON’T KNOW COULD HURT YOU Distance Learning Accreditation Board . . . Tom Land and Tony Bright DLAB 41 —by John G. Flores USDLA: The Transformation 43 —by Darcy W. Hardy Women, Leadership, and Distance Education: A Brave New World or Darker Shades of the Glass Ceiling? 45 —by Don Olcott, Jr.

i Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 PURPOSE to the advancement of education DISTANCE LEARNING by serving as a resource for Distance Learning, an official practitioners and by supporting EDITOR publication of the United States them in their professional self Michael Simonson Distance Learning Association development. The school offers Program Professor Instructional Technology and Distance (USDLA), is sponsored by the alternative delivery systems that Education USDLA, by the Fischler Graduate are adaptable to practitioners’ Fischler Graduate School of Education School of Education and Human work schedules and locations. and Human Services Services at Nova Southeastern School programs anticipate and Nova Southeastern University University, and by Information Age reflect the needs of practitioners th 1750 NE 167 St. Publishing. Distance Learning is to become more effective in their North Miami Beach, FL 33162 published six times a year for current positions, to fill emerging (954) 262-8563 leaders, practitioners, and roles in education and related [email protected] decision makers in the fields of fields, and to be prepared to MANAGING EDITOR distance learning, e-learning, accept changing responsibilities Charles Schlosser telecommunications, and related within their own organizations. Program Professor areas. It is a professional FGSEHS—NSU Instructional Technology and Distance magazine with information for 1750 NE 167th St. Education those who provide instruction to Fischler Graduate School of Education North Miami Beach, FL 33162 all types of learners, of all ages, 800-986-3223 and Human Services using telecommunications Nova Southeastern University www.fgse.nova.edu th technologies of all types. Articles 1750 NE 167 St. Information Age Publishing, North Miami Beach, FL 33162 are written by practitioners for (541) 301-4833 practitioners with the intent of 80 Mason Street [email protected] providing usable information and Greenwich, CT 06830 ideas for readers. Articles are (203) 661-7602 COPY EDITOR accepted from authors with (203) 661-7952 Fax Margaret Crawford interesting and important www.infoagepub.com Information Specialist information about the effective John Adams Middle School practice of distance teaching and SUBSCRIPTIONS Mason City Public Schools Members of the United States Mason City, IA 50401 learning. [email protected] Distance Learning Association SPONSORS receive Distance Learning as part EDITORIAL ASSISTANT The United States Distance of their membership. Others may Anymir Orellana, Graduate Fellow Learning Association (USDLA) is subscribe to Distance Learning. Instructional Technology and Distance the professional organization for Individual Subscription: $60 Education those involved in distance Institutional Subscription: $150 Fischler Graduate School of Education teaching and learning. USDLA is Student Subscription: $40 and Human Services committed to being the leading Nova Southeastern University distance learning association in DISTANCE LEARNING MAGAZINE 1750 NE 167th St. the United States. USDLA serves RESOURCE INFORMATION: North Miami Beach, FL 33162 (954) 262-8396 the needs of the distance learning Visit http://www.usdla.org/html/ [email protected] community by providing advocacy, resources/dlmag/index.htm information, networking and ASSOCIATION EDITORS opportunity. www.usdla.org ADVERTISING RATES AND John G. Flores INFORMATION: Executive Director Contact: Contact K. Clemens at 800-275- United States Distance Learning Kathleen Clemens 5162 x 11 [email protected] Association Director of Marketing 8 Winter Street, Suite 508 United States Distance Learning SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Boston, MA 02108 Association Contact USDLA at 800-275-5162 800-275-5162 [email protected] [email protected] 8 Winter Street, Suite 508 Boston, MA 02108 and 800-275-5162 (617) 399-1771 Fax Denzil Edge President/CEO The Fischler Graduate School of The Learning House, Inc. Education and Human Services Nolan Building (FGSEHS) of Nova Southeastern 2100 Gardiner Lane, Suite 100C University is dedicated to the Louisville , KY 40205 enhancement and continuing (502) 456-6705 support of teachers, [email protected] administrators, trainers, and others working in related helping PUBLISHER professions throughout the world. Information Age Publishing 80 Mason Street The school fulfills its commitment Greenwich, CT 06830 (203) 661-7602 www.infoagepub.com

ii Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 PUBLICATION GUIDELINES

Articles are accepted from authors with TEXT Learning will be page enumerated interesting and important information Regular text: 12 point Times New when it is processed for printing. about the effective practice of distance Roman, left justified teaching and learning. No page costs GRAPHICS Paper title: 14 point TNR, centered are charged authors, nor are stipends We encourage you to use visuals— paid. Two copies of the issue with the Author listing: 12 point TNR, centered pictures, graphics, and charts—to help explain your article. Graphics images author’s article will be provided. Section headings: 12 point TNR, Reprints will also be available. (.jpg) should be included at the end of centered your paper. THE MANUSCRIPT Section sub-heading: 12 point TNR, left Include a cover sheet with the paper's To ensure uniformity of the printed justified title and the names, affiliations, and proceedings, authors should follow Do not type section headings or titles in addresses of all authors. these guidelines when preparing all-caps; only capitalize the first letter manuscripts for submission. Submit the paper on a clearly marked in each word. All type should be CD or 3½ inch floppy disk. The name WORD PROCESSOR FORMAT single-spaced. Allow one line of space of the manuscript file should reference Manuscripts should be written in before and after each heading. Indent, the author. In addition, submit two Microsoft Word for Windows. Do not ½ inch, the first sentence of each paper copies. Send the disk and a embed commands or unusual paragraph. printed copy to: formatting information in your paper. FIGURES AND TABLES Michael Simonson, Editor Save it as a .doc file and also as an .rtf Figures and tables should fit width of file. Distance Learning 6½ inches and be incorporated into Instructional Technology and Distance LENGTH the document. Education The maximum length of the body of the Nova Southeastern University PAGE NUMBERING paper should be about 3000 words. Fischler Graduate School of Education Do not include or refer to any page 1750 NE 167th Street LAYOUT numbers in your manuscript. Distance North Miami Beach, FL 33162 Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

IN UPCOMING ISSUES

A Model for Designing Online Collaborative Learning Anthony Artino, Jr.

A Sense of Place: The Role of Residency in Distance Education Michael Beaudoin, and Jaime Hylton

Electronic Portfolios Regina Bobak

Issues in Distance Learning Regina Bobak, Connie Cassarino, and Calvin Finley

Online & On-screen: Library Resources Come to the Desktop Marsha L. Burmeister

Motivating Students in Distance Education Todd A . Curless

Best Practices in Live Content Acquisitions by Distance Learning Alan Greenberg and Russ Colbert Organizations

Teaching Online: Hints from the Trenches Pat Kelley and Nancy Maushak

Online Case-based Learning: Components, Applications, and Hyeonjin Kim, Michael Hannafin, and Minchi Assessment Kim

Should Distance Education Constitute Different Rewards for Lisa O'Quinn and Michael Corry Faculty?

We Need a Plan: An Instructional Design Approach for Distance Michael Simonson and Charles Schlosser Education Courses

Selected Strategies for Instruction in a Web Based Course Annette Sherry and Shirley Yamashita

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning iii

A Tale of Two State Systems Models of High School Course Delivery

Mark Hawkes and Jordan Terveen

issouri and South the river is a major transportation Act, which means restoring the Mis- Dakota, though some- resource. souri to more natural high spring Mwhat geographically This recent year, managing the and low summer flows to encourage removed from each other, have river flow has put the two states at fish spawning and bird nesting by much in common. The most notable odds. Federal judicial activity has threatened and endangered species of their commonalities is the great the Army Corp of Engineers—who like the least turn, piping plover and Missouri River. The Missouri runs manages the flow of the river— pallid sturgeon. straight down the center of South scratching their heads. In 2002, a For South Dakotans, more water Dakota, serving as the border federal court in Nebraska ruled that upriver in the summer would benefit between Iowa and Nebraska before the river must have enough water fish and wildlife and the lake recre- entering Missouri. For both states for barges to navigate and power ation industry, but farmers and resi- the river is a rich resource of energy plants to operate. Last summer, dents along the lower reaches of the and commerce. For South Dakota, however, a federal court in Washing- river in Missouri worry a spring rise the river attracts recreation and ton, D.C. ordered the low flows to would flood homes and farmland wildlife enthusiasts. For Missouri, comply with the Endangered Species and low summer flows would cut into barge company revenues and require consumers along the River may pay more for power in the sum- mer. The events have all the makings of an old fashioned, old west water rights feud. There is another contrast devel- oping between the Missouri and South Dakota. This time, the object isn’t the river, it’s room-based inter- active video systems. The question isn’t who gets them; it’s how the sys- tems are used. Fortunately, these diverging approaches to I-TV use aren’t creating any hostilities between the states, but they are Mark Hawkes, Ph.D., Chair, Graduate Jordan Terveen, M.S., Dakota State defining what may be two very Studies in Educational Technology, University, 820 N. Washington Ave., interesting models of interactive Dakota State University, 820 N. Wash- Madison, SD 57042. video application in K-12 schools. ington, Ave., Madison, SD 57042. Tele- Telephone: (605) 270-4218. This article briefly profiles the I-TV phone: (605) 256-5274. E-mail: E-mail: [email protected] systems in the two states and ana- [email protected] lyzes the policy and demographic

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 1 environments that are encouraging and bracketing the state volleyball MISSOURI’S MORENET two different approaches to the tournaments. Regional consortia Missouri, like South Dakota, has delivery of high school instruction. meetings between school superinten- gathered state and federal funds to dents or project meetings for state or build its interactive video backbone. federally funded projects (i.e. tech- The Missouri I-TV infrastructure is nology challenge grants, state liter- THE DIGITAL DAKOTA dense but, unlike South Dakota’s, acy program) also take place on the the system does not encompass all NETWORK DDN. On occasion, the DDN is school districts in the state. The Mis- The Digital Dakota Network (DDN) used by community members for souri Research and Education Net- is South Dakota’s statewide commu- legislative cracker barrel sessions, or work (MOREnet), provides Internet nications network designed to by other agencies like mental health increase access to education and care professionals. The DDN also connectivity, technical support, and enhance learning throughout the hosts a number of teacher profes- videoconferencing services to Mis- state. The DDN has 246 fully inter- sional development events in the souri’s K-12 school, college and uni- active video sites, including all K-12 form of courses delivered to individ- versity I-TV resources. school districts, technical institutes, uals or small groups of teachers dur- MOREnet’s origin can be traced state universities, and select ing evening hours. These courses are to the mid 1980s. Its influence on non-educational sites. Through the delivered by higher education insti- Missouri’s education, library, and use of the DDN system, virtual tutions in the state and involve cre- research community accelerated in classrooms are created across the dentialing, certification, or the the mid 1990s as they began to see state, enabling South Dakota attainment of advanced degrees. increased funding from the National schools to connect with educational Some of the instructional uses of Science Foundation (NSF) and the institutions throughout the world. the DDN include a host of advanced Department of Elementary and Sec- South Dakota’s DDN started to placement, college, and other ondary Education (DESE). With this take form in 1996 when T-1 connec- courses that are delivered remotely increased funding, MOREnet began tions were placed in every public ele- to students. Enrichment experiences developing a statewide support mentary school and ATM T-1 like Dr. Seuss Day, or a symphonic structure to provide Internet connec- connections in every middle and high band or other dramatic or musical tivity to Missouri’s K-12 schools and school. In doing so, Janklow pro- performance, are bridged to elemen- universities. By 1999, the backbone vided a telecommunications back- tary students. School/agency collab- had been upgraded to speeds capa- bone to which schools could orations like the Earth Resources ble of 155 Mbps, enabling full-scale connect. In 1999, Qwest donated Observation Systems (EROS) Data interactive video services and addi- $17.1 million worth of two-way Center “Science to Kids” programs tional multimedia applications. video systems (V-TEL) to the state to that cover topics from spacecraft About three years ago, MOREnet pave the way for the creation of the construction to the effects of began to encourage the use of the statewide video network. man-induced landscape alterations statewide data infrastructure for vid- Every public high school and to the earth like deforestation and eoconferencing purposes. While free-standing middle school (not urban sprawl. Nationally delivered numbers have not been verified in adjacent to or part of a high school) programs like Aquatic Research the last year, it is known that more in South Dakota has its own DDN Interactive’s “Diving into Physics,” than half of_Missouri’s 524 school system. All six state-supported uni- which introduces the ABC’s of phys- districts have some form of video- versities are connected to the DDN ics and chemistry to upper elemen- conferencing capability. Of Mis- through a federally-funded Star tary students, are also instructional. souri’s public and independent Schools grant. Both Education and Within the state, schools have col- higher education institutions, some State agencies have unlimited access laborated on projects like Span- 90% receive data networking to the network, and the public is ish-speaking language practice and through MOREnet. As in South also encouraged to use it. culture studies between high school Dakota, Missouri I-TV use is Many South Dakota schools use students. Fourth-graders in the state diverse, with both logistical and their systems extensively, others do regularly study Native American instructional applications. For both not. When it is used, the DDN sup- themes and using the DDN and states, however, the primary use of ports a variety of activities. Those often compare their lives with the interactive video systems in terms of include activities of a logistical kind, lives and culture of Native American hours logged is the delivery of high like seeding wrestling tournaments tribes who reside in the state. school level courses.

2 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 COURSE DELIVERY year, 17 courses are in delivery on member-based entity whose mission either a year-long or semester basis. is to help K-12 schools all over the MODELS Figure 1 illustrates the statewide state of Missouri effectively use From a high school administrator in delivery model. The larger star rep- two-way interactive television tech- South Dakota came a telling testa- resents the state-designated course nologies. How GreaterNET works ment of I-TV use: “a school is only delivery center and the smaller stars is, rather than publish a schedule of as good as its curriculum.” A good represent instructional transmission courses available, schools contact percentage of schools, especially receiving sites. GreaterNET with their needs. Great- those in rural and small communi- In Missouri, I-TV use centers on erNET then identifies I-TV enabled ties, have embraced I-TV as a regional rather than statewide inter- resource for enhancing the school action. These consortia of schools schools with compatible calendars curriculum. In many circumstances, are groups of geographi- and bell schedules for a match. If a I-TV courses are delivered when cally-bounded school districts that match cannot be made, GreaterNET teaching positions cannot or will not have organized to address shared makes every attempt to locate a be filled due to budgetary con- needs and promote common inter- qualified teacher for the class(es) straints or teacher attrition. ests. Not all Missouri schools with requested. In both states, one by design and I-TV resources are consortia-affili- In its first semester of operation the other by default, a statewide ated. These schools have indepen- (Fall, 2001), GreaterNET was dently purchased or written grants approach to high school course involved in the sharing of eight for- delivery is in place. In South Dakota, to purchase I-TV equipment for eign language courses involving 15 one public university was designated their own use._ The difficulty with class sites and eight schools._ Great- by then-Governor Janklow as an those schools falling in the “inde- “E-learning Center.” The university, pendent” category is that there is no erNET is now beginning its third on the northern border of the state, mechanism for organizationally or year of operation, and continues to received a significant amount of seed administratively negotiating classes help match or broker I-TV classes money for funding for equipment to send and/or receive. Enter Great- across the state for those school and personnel to deliver high school erNET. without a regional consortia tie that courses. In the 2003-2004 school GreaterNET is an independent, have I-TV capabilities.

Figure 1

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 3 MOVING TO A REGIONAL generally within adjoining areas, South Dakota. This list is not meant meaning students may already be to be comprehensive, but it includes MODEL OF COURSE familiar with one another through contextual realities that encourage a DELIVERY their involvement in inter-school regional I-TV content distribution With South Dakota’s heavy invest- activities. Regionally produced I-TV approach over a statewide ments in a centralized, statewide courses also allow teachers to occa- approach. These elements, and their I-TV content-delivery model, and sionally travel to a bridging site to applicability to each state, are listed Missouri’s independently organized originate instruction. The locality of in Table 1. state brokerage for I-TV courses, a I-TV delivered courses also makes it With two notable exceptions, statewide presence for I-TV applica- easier to plan and work with remote Missouri and South Dakota are tion exists. However, schools in site supervisors. establishing I-TV consortia based on South Dakota are opting to develop Both states also have a long his- similar interests. For Missouri, that and deliver courses within regional tory of inter-district cooperation. exception is a growing teacher short- consortia affiliations as an alterna- These cooperatives were built on age that shared interactive video tive to the state system. As it is in common needs in educational ser- course delivery will address. For Missouri, the largest proportion of vices, insurance collectives, and/or South Dakota, the exception is a these developing consortia in South vocational-technical education. shift in demographics for over 90% Dakota involves rural and small With the infusion of interactive of the school districts in the state. school districts (see Figures 2 and 3). video technologies, new life is The shift is caused by the migration Why regional affiliation over a breathed into inactive and some- of families from rural area and small statewide connection? For starters, times stagnant consortia. Joining towns to larger communities. While regionality allows groups of schools forces around new curricular oppor- larger school district enrollments to determine course delivery times tunities has strengthened inter-dis- can sustain a varied curriculum pro- that are compatible with their bell trict ties and inter-faculty/class gram, small schools are turning to schedules. Consortia also have collaborations. I-TV solutions. greater flexibility to use other In consideration of the issues rele- An additional consideration that blended and distributed technologies vant to regional I-TV course delivery speaks to South Dakota’s capacity to (Web-based content, desktop video, affiliation, 11 key elements were quickly integrate I-TV is the state etc.) with which to engage students. identified. Of these elements, nine office of education supported “Dis- Also, schools in a consortium are are applicable to Missouri and tance Teaching and Learning”

Figure 2

4 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3

Figure 3

Table 1: Issues supporting participation in regional affiliation for I-TV collaborations. Element Supporting ITV Consortia Affiliation South Dakota Missouri •Bell and school schedule compatibility  •Flexibility of interaction technologies used  •Long established consortia affiliations  •Reasonable access to remote instructional sites  •Teacher shortages  • Demographic declines  • Shared cost of operation (technical support, etc.)  •Professional peer group collaborations (professional development, special  education, conferences, etc.) •Coordinate extra-curricular interactions (athletics, administrative, etc.)  •Existing I-TV operation expertise available  • Ability to attract participation of community partners and support 

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 5 (DTL) professional development where a statewide brokering service supporting I-TV course regionaliza- programs. DTL is a fairly compre- for I-TV courses emerged out of a tion focuses on community viability. hensive staff development academy need for non-consortia affiliated Regionalizing I-TV courses keeps that trains interested educators to schools to know what was available, the teachers in their communities. appropriately use the statewide it appears that GreaterNET will con- The current state model relocates video conferencing capabilities tinue to have clientele. This is espe- teachers to a central site. Rural com- located in the school districts. DTL’s cially true in a state with only partial munities, whose high schoolers are major emphasis is on the creation of access to interactive video systems, primary clients for I-TV courses, are high-quality interactive curricular where belonging to regional I-TV struggling to remain alive. Rural res- content. This program has been the consortia might not be logistically idents believe keeping teachers and starting base for the instructional and technically feasible. their families in their local schools is use of the Digital Dakota Network. In South Dakota, the state vendor a key to community viability. On To date, some 400 South Dakota has been spotted with enough this basis alone, rural and small teachers have been through the money to service current clients to communities will support regional two-week intensive program. These offer courses. But, the state delivery over state delivered courses when all teachers have taken their new skills system currently relies on supple- other variables of delivery are equal. and expertise back to their schools mental funding from the state public If a state model of I-TV high to apply and share with their peers. university regental system to support school course delivery successfully I-TV course delivery. If that revenue overlays the regional consortia stream ends or weakens, the current model, it will likely be because state- A TWO-TIER DELIVERY state model cannot be sustained wide services have evolved from unless it becomes a fee-for-service course delivery to course coordina- MODEL operation. The present climate of tion and brokerage, as is the case in Can a statewide course delivery state budget deficits and reduced tax Missouri. Where state-supported model be sustained in light of the revenue suggests sustainable course delivery does take place, it preferred and growing model of strength may be with I-TV regional will be limited to highly specialized regional I-TV consortia? The consortia delivery of courses. courses. It is an evolving issue that answers are varied. In Missouri, A final contextual consideration policymakers should study closely.

CALL FOR PAPERS

PUBLISH IN DISTANCE LEARNING

THE EDITORS OF DISTANCE LEARNING WOULD LIKE TO PUBLISH YOUR PAPER. WE ARE INTERESTED IN PAPERS DEALING WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS. CONTACT MICHAEL SIMONSON, EDITOR, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR IDEA (954-262-8563; [email protected]). GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING YOUR PAPER CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE ii OF THIS ISSUE.

6 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 As the Use of Videoconferencing Technology Booms, so Does the Need for Creative Technical Support

Gary Brown

INTRODUCTION would not otherwise be available country. Its 280,000 children from because of cost, time, and/or dis- over 164 countries communicate in ideoconferencing provides tance. The purpose of using video- 54 languages. The district’s operat- for the instantaneous, inter- conferencing is to provide greater ing budget is approximately $3.5 active, and collaborative V availability of learning opportunities billion with individual student sharing of information through to students over a broad geographi- expenditures around $4,750 per stu- face-to-face conferencing technol- cal area. Another application for this dent. The district employs 28,000 ogy. The information is transmitted technology is to provide a collabora- teachers, administrators, and sup- and received through multiple tive forum for discussions between port staff in more than 235 schools, high-speed phone lines via the PBX. many departments. centers, and adult vocational facili- The conferencing equipment pro- Videoconferencing encourages ties. Broward County is 1,196 vides educational opportunities that the transfer of information between square miles and approximately 25 participants locally, nationally, and miles north to south and 50 miles internationally. The customers that east to west, with the bulk of the use distance-learning delivery meth- population living within a 410 odologies in the Broward County square mile area in the east. The (Florida) School District include, but western two-thirds, approximately are not limited to: the superinten- 621 square miles, is comprised of dent, department heads, area offices, the Florida Everglades. The county principals, students, teachers, media has 29 municipalities that account specialists, the magnet program, for 88.4% of the population, with senior management, staff trainers, the balance of the population resid- human resource department, budget ing in unincorporated areas. department, Broward Education Between 1988 and 1997, the K-12 Communications Network student population exploded, (BECON), and collaborative col- increasing 57% in just 9 years. leges and universities. BECON is the Videoconferencing technology in main content developer and user of Broward County Schools has been Gary Brown, Video Support Opera- K-12 curriculum applications for expanding dramatically. The school tions, Broward County School District, distance learning classes that incor- district’s distance learning depart- 7720 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise, porate videoconferencing. ment (BECON) continues to grow FL 33351. The Broward County School Dis- and develop state-of-the art distance E-mail: [email protected] trict is the fifth largest public inde- learning programs that require pendent school district in the high-end technical support. While

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 7 distance education programs are able, reliable technical support to cal Support Network. The school very much in demand in Broward the district’s customers. I have been district began by purchasing dis- County, there are still many who the sole district employee perform- tance education videoconferencing have not yet discovered these impor- ing this function for Educational systems consisting of 26 units that tant educational or administrative Technology Support (ETS) for the cost approximately $30,000 each. benefits of videoconferencing. One past six years. As little as four years Once installed, the videoconferenc- of many such benefits includes mini- ago, the district’s distance education ing systems came with a one-year mizing travel for meetings, which program (BECON) had only 26 vid- warranty. A simple installation optimizes the workday’s productiv- eoconferencing systems, primarily required the scheduling of equip- ity time and money. However, adop- used to provide advanced placement ment installers and phone company tion of videoconferencing has been (AP) classes for schools with low AP services. Phone services were also slowed by a number of issues such enrollment, as well as special dis- required to install high-speed ISDN as scheduling conflicts, time con- tance learning programs. The use of line connections in order to connect flicts, technology awareness, or are videoconferencing as both an educa- videoconferencing sites. Sometimes intimidated with technology. tional and administrative tool has installations would require inordi- In the future, this application grown significantly. Many curricu- nate amounts of time to complete. It could also be used for disasters and lum programs have incorporated became obvious early on that there other unforeseen emergencies. The videoconferencing into their weekly was a more efficient way of handling Department of Homeland Security classes. the support and installation pro- has been rumored to be exploring During the 2002-2003 school cess. The reason for some ineffi- and funding applications for possi- year, videoconferencing was used in ciency was that sometimes the ble disaster scenarios. Broward more than 1,700 delivered pro- equipment needed to be tweaked by County Schools possibly has one of grams, affecting more than 60,000 the equipment manufacturer and at the most extensive videoconferenc- students. The district’s videoconfer- other times the phone lines and/or ing networks in the state and with encing/ distance learning network PBX software required work by our some creative research could yield has exploded to include approxi- service provider, BellSouth. In either many unexpected benefits. mately 150 systems located at case, it was not unusual for an school, administrative, and special equipment vendor/installer to point purpose locations, and a 32-port to the phone company as the cause TECHNICAL SUPPORT Lucent/Avaya videoconferencing of a problem, and the phone com- The most important thing to know bridge housed at ETS and scheduled pany would sometimes point to the about videoconferencing is that it is through BECON. The bridge con- equipment installer as the cause for a “system” that requires all of its nects multiple sites for student system failure. While the fin- components to work seamlessly for classes, administrative meetings, and ger-pointing continued, it increased a successful presentation. If there are staff training. It is important to note completion time of the work order. problems in network connectivity, here that the popularity and use of Another problem that surfaced early software, hardware, wiring, or even this technology is expanding, and on was that, once the videoconfer- operator error, the technology will close to 90 additional schools are in encing system was working, equip- fail. Therefore, it is essential to the midst of acquiring videoconfer- ment failures occurred, and this took deliver fast, efficient technical sup- encing systems. In addition to man- considerable time to diagnose and port to our customers. This is why aging the videoconferencing correct due to the involvement of the equipment requires continuous network, I design the installations, more than one vendor. and ongoing service via a preventive schedule repairs, supervise BellSouth The equipment repair tech person maintenance program that incorpo- video and network technicians, and would be dispatched. This required rates routine testing, proactive refor- provide assistance to principals and time and coordination with the ven- matting where applicable, software district administrators. BECON and dor company and the possibility of a upgrades, color-coding of intercon- ETS work in a close partnership pro- different vendor dispatch if the nections, labeling of equipment and viding their customers top-level ser- problem was traced to the phone patch panels to minimize service vices in the distance education lines. Additionally, waiting for parts interruption, continuity tests, and arena. to be shipped, received, and installed remote diagnostic applications. Starting in 1997 and continuing meant more down time for the sys- Since its inception, the responsi- through to the present, I developed tem. Meanwhile, the school would bility of managing the network has the program currently used for not have access to instruction, and included the provision of depend- SBBC’s Videoconferencing Techni- students and staff would be short-

8 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 changed as well as having to make multiple connections over IP. When As a result, the bridge was acquired schedule adjustments. To make mat- the initial infrastructure was and later expanded. Additionally, a ters even worse, after the first year, designed, nobody had envisioned the Lucent/Avaya Technologies bridge the warranties expired and each sys- use of videoconferencing on such a was acquired--at approximately tem required a costly service con- large district-wide level via shared $200,000 off the list price. A sched- tract/warranty amounting to network bandwidth. The concept of uling system for the bridge housed at hundreds of thousands of dollars. shared network access using a con- ETS was implemented, and my Therefore, besides the support ser- vergence of technologies is a current responsibilities include supervision vices being inefficient, the cost of and future mission-critical project. and maintenance of warranty and repair was high. Additionally, the district owns 49 support services for the bridge. It Understanding the technical sup- V-Tel videoconferencing systems must also be noted that, with expan- port problems, I worked with the that use the Windows 95 operating sion of videoconferencing locations, equipment vendors to develop more system and do not support the capacity of the bridge will soon be efficient methods to handle support H.323/IP standard. Early plans to maximized. Lucent/Avaya will no issues. In the end, I was sent for refresh some of the older, outdated longer provide support for the intensive technical training, attain- systems are underway. bridge within the next two years. ing the necessary expertise and certi- The current bridge is also limited to fications from the various H.320 technology. At the time of manufacturers. Classes were held in BRIDGING purchase, we knew the bridge would Austin Texas, Philadelphia, Denver, Videoconferencing can be used have to be replaced due to expan- San Jose California, and Reston, between two locations, which is sion and possible use of IP videocon- Virginia. After acquiring the neces- commonly called a point-to-point ferencing in the future. Plans are sary certifications and expertise, I call. However, when three or more already in the works to replace and was able to provide immediate ser- locations are in the same videocon- expand the current bridging capacity vice for district videoconferencing ference, a special piece of hardware as well as incorporate the IP and equipment, thereby closing the ser- is required to connect all the loca- ISDN bridging capabilities. vice time gap from equipment sys- tions simultaneously. This piece of In addition, the district imple- tem failure to repair. The most equipment is called a bridge. A key mented a program to convert the valuable skills were developed over component of the bridge is the phone lines from costly ISDN service a six-year period of on-the-job train- scheduling software known as to a more efficient technology. ing consisting of installation and CRCS. With this scheduling soft- Working with our phone service diagnosis of multiple systems and ware, the operator can pre-schedule provider, BellSouth, we were shown platforms. By gaining intimate one or multiple events, edit those how to provide even greater depend- knowledge of each system, location, events even while they are active, ability while providing the district contacts, and history, repair and allow 3 to 24 locations to confer- huge cost savings. If the district support became extremely efficient. ence simultaneously, and provide maintained dedicated ISDN service Remote diagnostics implementation real-time conferencing monitoring. to all of the more than 140 video- while in the start-up stages has This application is a key component conferencing systems, the cost for already demonstrated that it is a of distance education because multi- ISDN service would have easily valuable technical support resource. ple classrooms are provided with exceeded $500,000 per year for ded- It is important to note that, even simultaneous live interactive instruc- icated ISDN line connectivity. By though the district uses numerous tion. The CRCS scheduling compo- using resources already available on videoconferencing platforms, all of nent has been run from ETS, while school sites via PRI/PBX digital the systems are compatible and com- BECON’s distance learning center in phone switches, the use of ISDN ply with industry-based standards. Davie schedules all programming line-connected sites shrunk to a mere The district uses H.320 ISDN tele- and bridge scheduling with technical dozen locations. Because of the huge phony via the PBX for connectivity support from its partner, ETS. workload, compounded with the use for videoconferencing services. In the beginning, I was directed to of BellSouth supported school phone While many of the district videocon- produce an analysis of distance switches, the district requested and ferencing systems are capable of learning in Broward County Schools provided a BellSouth technician to using H.323 (“video over IP”), most as well as an implementation plan. provide additional support services, district locations currently do not This report included an in-depth thereby producing a team approach have sufficient bandwidth to sup- analysis of the bridging technology with the phone company on a dis- port one 384 connection, let alone available on the market at that time. trict-wide level.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 9 While installing the more than This year the district is using ing products will provide instanta- 150 videoconferencing systems, e-rate monies in a bid to acquire neous live videoconferencing for unique challenges surfaced and cre- additional videoconferencing sys- room systems, wall mounted flat ative solutions were developed. One tems. If the district is successful, screens, desktop systems, laptops, such challenge pertained to connec- approximately 82 more Tandberg and cell phones. Communication tivity between the videoconferencing Scholar videoconferencing systems infrastructures will be enhanced system and the PBX. When connec- will be added and supported. Addi- with a greater spectrum of wireless, tivity is attempted beyond the 1,000 tional per-system savings of $3,000 wire, and fiber backbones to sup- linear foot range, degradation of the (Tandberg 880) to $9,000 (Tandberg video signal makes communication Scholar System) are realized because port these key applications. impossible. In addition, many cam- I perform the warranty work and Integration of video, voice, and puses have limited capability of their installations myself. data will provide the district and its intra-building wiring. The solution customers with a greater variety of was to incorporate fiber optic multi- delivery methods, instruction, and plexers, which convert typical sig- FUTURE VISION communications, both synchro- nals traveling over copper lines to nously and asynchronously. While light pulses. These signals are trans- While it has taken the better part of all of these wonderful technology lated back onto copper at the termi- six years for numerous distance edu- enhancements are just a few steps nation point, thereby providing cation models to finally take hold in service to areas on district campuses the district, the next few years from our front door, none of this that would not otherwise be practi- should be amazing. Videoconferenc- can be brought to fruition unless the cal. It must be noted that these ing to the desktop is already being state’s Department of Education devices are not inexpensive, and tested through a variety of products. provides the school district with their use must be justified. Wired or wireless videoconferenc- appropriate funding.

10 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Five Smooth Stones Fighting for the Survival of Higher Education

Steve Wheeler

This paper argues that the influence of the traditional university is declining due to its inability to adapt quickly enough to the trenchant demands of the information society. Simultaneously, “new concept” universities are flourishing because they can offer flexible, “any time, any place” learning opportunities in a global economy. Distributed approaches to learning, particularly distance educa- tion, workplace training, technology-supported learning, and on-campus flexible open learning are in the ascendancy. These methods are set to gain prominence in this new millennium because they are best placed to meet the needs of both students and employers. This paper proposes a strategy for adopting flexible, technology-supported learning approaches, underlining the need for collabo- ration, diversification, investment in technology and staff skills development in new educational practices, and gives warning of some of the barriers that exist. The paper offers five key strategies that will help higher education to come of age in this information-hungry, technocratic society.

FIVE SMOOTH STONES the diminutive David to win against the huge and powerful Goliath, but Then he chose five smooth stones prevail he did, winning a famous out of the brook and [...] his sling battle that sealed the destiny of two was in his hand and he drew near entire nations. The names David and the Philistine. David [....] took a Goliath have since been synonymous stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his with unexpected victory and the forehead, and he fell on his face to struggle against all odds. In many the earth. (1 Samuel 17: 40 & 49, ways, traditional universities face Amplified Bible) similar problems to the biblical nation of Israel. They are now under threat from a looming giant of obso- urrounded on all sides by a lescence. They are stagnating in their powerful enemy, the small ivory towers whilst the world nation of Israel was in immi- S around them is moving forwards. nent danger of annihilation. When Steve Wheeler, Senior Lecturer, Faculty the young shepherd boy David Unless the giant of obsolescence is of Education, University of Plymouth, walked out to confront the giant challenged and defeated, this author Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, U.K. believes that the traditional univer- Telephone: +44 1752 232332. warrior Philistine Goliath, he took E-mail: [email protected]. just one primitive weapon with him. sity will simply not survive. This Web: http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/ The weapon was a sling; the ammu- paper offers a strategy of five key distancelearning/ nition—five smooth stones taken points—the five smooth stones— from a nearby stream. Few expected with which to defeat the threat of

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 11 obsolescence, enabling universities up to meet the needs of the indus- significant impact on higher educa- to change to meet the challenge and trial revolution, and is now hope- tion. Personal computers, for exam- demands of the information society. lessly outmoded. Sociologist Alvin ple, have changed the nature of the Toffler (1980), for example, argued teaching process and provided a new that our current education system focus for curriculum development. A CLIMATE OF CHANGE was established as a means to pre- Current debate now rightly focuses pare children for work in factories. on the extent of this impact (Watson We live in an age of change unparal- The industrial revolution demanded & Downes, 2000, p. 4). leled in history. Technological, eco- synchronization of human behavior Generally, ICT is already irrevo- nomic, and social upheavals have with machinery, and mass educa- cably changing the face of education impacted upon us with regularity tion was instrumental in preparing provision. This process has been and increasing ferocity, radically generations of regimented workers. slow but relentless, with technol- changing the way we live, work, and New and diverse modes of working ogy-supported distance education learn. These changes have been require new types of learning in and open learning now seen as effec- all-pervasive in education, plunging which active learners initiate, con- tive alternatives. Academic journals the traditional university system into trol, and apply learning for them- are replete with references to the crisis (Daniel, 1996; Taylor, 1998). selves (Knowles, 1975). More than impact ICT is exerting on higher Increasing numbers of academics 20 years ago, Botkin, et al. high- education, in terms of educational suspect that traditional approaches lighted the outmoded nature of edu- change: “The introduction of Infor- are no longer adequate and new cation provision in a searing attack mation and Communication Tech- approaches to pedagogy must be on the traditional system of educa- nology into the educational system found and practiced. Laurillard tion: has been hailed as a major catalyst highlights this concern: of the long dreamed-about educa- Learning processes are lagging tional revolution” (Katz, 2000). As The academic system must appallingly behind and are leaving Wisher and Priest (1998) noted, change. It works to some extent both individuals and societies but not well enough. Teachers “The widespread availability of sat- unprepared to meet the challenges ellite and terrestrial networks, as need to know more than just their posed by global issues. This failure well as the increased use of personal subject. They need to know the of learning means that human pre- ways it can come to be under- paredness remains underdevel- computers and the Internet has cata- stood, the ways it can be misun- oped on a global scale. Learning is pulted distance learning into the derstood, what counts as in this sense far more than just forefront of educational change.” understanding: they need to know another global problem: its fail- From the perspective of educa- how individuals experience the ure represents, in a fundamental tional trends and innovation, Wol- subject. But they are neither way, the issue of issues. (Botkin, et cott (1997) noted that “in this new required nor able to do these al., 1979, p. 9) things. Moreover, our system of era university teaching increasingly requires reaching across time and mass lectures and examination There are seven fundamental fac- ensures that they will never find distance through on-line courses and tors contributing to the decline of them out. (Laurillard, 1993, p. 3) ‘virtual universities.’” traditional university provision: And also regarding the foresee- Clearly, the traditional university able future of higher education, cannot continue in its present for- •technological innovation Dede (1996) wrote that “in a few mat, because global trends demand • adverse economic climate years, high performance computing alternative methods. One key trend, •mounting commercial competi- and communications will make technological advance, is already tion knowledge utilities, virtual commu- contributing to the demise of •demands for greater flexibility nities, shared synthetic environ- on-campus university education. •subject proliferation ments, and sensory immersion as Smith & Webster (1997) suggest •erosion of academic staff base routine a part of everyday existence that new technologies may contrib- • globalization as the telephone, television, radio ute to decreased demands for resi- and newspaper are today.” dential education. A growing number of graduates, There is also growing opinion TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION including this author, can claim to that the very fabric of traditional There can be no doubt that infor- have earned their first degree by education must change, purely mation and communication technol- studying completely at a distance. because it is a system originally set ogies (ICT) have already made a Most distance learners will confirm

12 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 this is not an easy route to a degree, on the fabric of traditional universi- academics and 250 local study cen- requiring great commitment, ties shows no signs of abating. ters in the UK alone (Rickwood & self-discipline and motivation. Nev- Universities are thus forced to Goodwin, 2000). Ten other nations, ertheless, distance education may be seek other means of regular, guaran- including Spain (UNED), France poised to supplant much of the tra- teed income. For some, this will (CNED) and Germany (FernUniver- ditional “set time, set place” educa- mean incorporating distance educa- sitat), have established similar tion provision. At the very least, if tion approaches and technol- mega-university systems operating the higher education system does not ogy-supported learning in order to on open distance education models. change, it will be “partially increase numbers. For those univer- In much the same way as the corner bypassed” in favor of other more sities that will not or cannot adapt shop met its demise with the advent flexible methods (Jarvis, 2000), to global trends and widespread of the supermarket, small cam- because it cannot respond quickly implementation of new technologies, pus-based universities are in danger enough to the rapacious demands of the future looks decidedly bleak. of being squeezed by the global non the information society. campus-based mega-universities. Privately funded universities such COMMERCIAL COMPETITION as the University of Phoenix are big AN ADVERSE ECONOMIC For the first time in the history of players in the huge part-time mature CLIMATE education, universities can enroll education market. Phoenix enjoys a For some time there has been an students anywhere on the globe, quarterly profit averaging 12.8 mil- unfavorable global economic cli- regardless of the geographical loca- lion US dollars, earned exclusively mate. Education has been particu- tion or time zone. Monash Univer- from distance education activities. It larly badly hit. The centralized sity in Melbourne, Southern enrolls only fully-employed funding universities once took for Australia, may be one of the first part-time mature students. The granted has been gradually dissipat- truly global distributed cam- industrial sector has also been quick ing. Generally, as governments with- pus-based universities. Already to capitalise on the huge demand for draw grant arrangements, boasting four campuses across the flexible open learning. Cisco Sys- prospective students are forced to continent of Australasia, and part- tems, for example, operating a net- borrow substantial amounts of nership campuses in Malaysia, work of bought-in locally-based money, and this creates a culture of Monash has now established tutors and classroom resources, reluctance for many. This is reflected another major campus in Johannes- awards accelerated diplomas in net- in recent UK trends, with applica- burg, South Africa. Similarly, by work engineering, software design, tions for undergraduate places at 1996, half of all Australian universi- and computer science. IBM has universities down for the third con- ties had established twinning recently approached the New secutive year (BBC Radio 4, April arrangements with private colleges Zealand government for permission 15, 2000). in Malaysia. The situation is similar to deliver degree level courses, again This presents many traditional in Singapore, where several UK uni- in direct competition to the estab- universities with an intractable versities are represented (THES, lished university system on the problem: reduced student numbers March 31, 2000). islands. Here are just a few other means reduced government fund- The mega-universities also have examples of recent commercial ing. Furthermore, universities now great impact. Mega-universities, as interest in higher education in the receive the income they “deserve,” identified by Daniel (1996), are run-up to the new millennium: rather than the income they need. institutes with more than 100,000 Whereas before, income was “col- students simultaneously enrolled in •1997—UK Company Nord lected” by universities, now it must higher education courses. One of the Anglia acquires Christchurch Art be “earned” (King, 1995). At the better known mega-universities, the and Design College, New same time, universities must attempt UK Open University (UKOU), has Zealand. to increase class sizes to compensate been a pioneer of modern distance •1999—Sylvan Learning Systems for the general shortfall in income. A education, revolutionizing higher purchases a 54 percent holding in vicious cycle ensues, as fewer stu- education provision for learners. a private Spanish University. dents are willing to attend residen- The UKOU enjoys an annual intake •1999—Commercial company De tial universities. There does not of more than 30,000 founda- Vry takes over Denver Technical appear to be a light at the end of the tion-level undergraduates. It has College and other higher educa- tunnel of this present economic achieved this impressive logistical tion institutes in the United stringency, and the sustained assault feat by utilizing over 7000 part-time States.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 13 •1999—University of Phoenix SUBJECT PROLIFERATION tenured faculty are sparse, whilst in (USA) opens a campus in Rotter- The demand for more knowledge the UK, permanent contracts for dam, Holland. The university is has resulted in a major upturn in junior academics are rare. There is planning to expand farther into university applications. Although uncertainty for the future of conven- Germany, Spain, and Ireland. university applications will have tional university education, because (THES, March 31, 2000) risen by 50% in 10 years, a high many academics are uncertain of proportion of these are from their own career futures. These trends reflect the realiza- part-time mature students, repre- Universities are also losing a great tion by commercial companies that senting a down turn of full-time deal of talented academics to com- higher education is a lucrative and enrollments in real terms (CBI, merce and industry (Shattock, expanding global market. Several 1994). 2001). Academics are being lured media companies, for example, have Comparison between a current away from university life into recently invested large sums in the prospectus and a 1990 version from research, development, and consul- development of online learning. the same university will reveal that tancy, because these areas not only These include News International’s there are big increases in the number promise more lucrative remunera- WorldWide Learning Ltd., Pearson of courses offered, indicating the tion, in many cases they also offer Group’s FT Knowledge, and Addi- diversity in range of subject matter more permanency and therefore son Wesley Longman Group (THES, created to meet demands. greater security. March 31, 2000). Diversification, however, may For universities to survive, tal- create problems. Universities may ented and innovative staff must be discover there are either not enough retained, and this may only be EMANDS FOR REATER D G specialized lecturers, or student/ achieved by the offer of more secu- FLEXIBILITY teacher ratios become too high to be rity, higher rewards, and greater job This sharing out of the global economically viable. Furthermore, satisfaction. It is ironic that the most education cake reflects growing subjects may become so specialized, valuable resource a university pos- demands for greater flexibility from with limited appeal, that the econ- sesses is also often the one that is both students and employers. Stu- omy of scale disappears. treated most disdainfully. dents who have previously been dis- Universities must either focus on enfranchised due to remote what they do best, delivering courses geographical location, lack of dis- that are economically viable and GLOBALIZATION posable resources, family commit- high in quality, or they must diver- The trend towards homogeneity ments, or work schedules, are sify using a strategy based on dis- of commercial products is a familiar recognizing that opportunities now tributed learning. It is a well known phenomenon for regular interna- exist for part-time study. Employers economic feature of online courses, tional travelers. Hotel chains, are demanding highly skilled, flexi- for instance, that many more stu- national airlines and hire car compa- ble, and responsive work forces. dents can be tutored individually nies, the ubiquitous fast food out- They are beginning to recognize the than in conventional face-to-face lets, soft drink and convenience benefits of “just-in-time” training, environments (Bunker, 1998). The products, and a multitude of other and are rejecting the “just in case” caveat to this strategy, however, is globally recognized commodities are model. They are discovering that that online course development can encountered everywhere one goes. flexible, part-time opportunities for be protracted. With the all-pervasive nature and staff training are not as onerous as rapid development of the Internet, sending them to universities to educational products could also receive professional updates and EROSION OF FACULTY BASE begin to trade as global commodi- training. Costs are cut because Universities are comprised not of ties. The “massification” of educa- employees can learn at home or in buildings, or resources, but of peo- tion provision will follow the same the workplace, using ICT and ple. The collective knowledge base route taken by the global informa- high-quality distributed learning of specialists and experts is the most tion and media companies, with materials. Smart universities are valuable asset of any institute. Yet institutions aggressively tapping the developing differentiated learning the practice of casualization by market for new student populations, curricula to respond to these many universities means that aca- opportunities for investment, and “just-in-time” demands, and are demic staff are increasingly being expansion. Borderless education will reformulating courses into modular, employed on fixed-term contracts, become a widespread reality and an flexible pathways. usually three years or less. In the US, international phenomenon, where

14 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 even the term “institution” may no INVESTING IN NEW ence of academics should be a prior- longer be an appropriate description TECHNOLOGY ity for any higher education (Scott, 1998). Technology on its own is not the institute. Without staff development, Universities that do not partici- solution to the problems of higher lecturers may be isolated in their pate in this global market will be in education (Ramsden, 1992) but it work, and unaware of new methods, danger of missing out on a huge can make a positive contribution. technologies, and applications. Some population of students and employ- Furthermore, distance education lecturers are particularly concerned ers demanding flexible “just-in- should never be seen as a means of about the challenges of new technol- time” learning. cutting operational costs in learning ogies on the traditional paradigm. delivery, although inevitably, this The changes affect the very essence will happen. Rather, it should be of the teaching process, from course STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL viewed as a means by which learning conceptualization through to its delivery and evaluation. Teaching Although the evidence for the threat opportunities can be enhanced and online, for example, requires the to traditional education may prove access widened. Investment in new teacher to relinquish the role of “lec- disturbing reading, there are survival educational technologies must be turer” and take the role of mentor or strategies. However, they inevitably undertaken with these factors in guide (Forsyth, 1996). Technology involve radical change. An examina- mind. Wheeler & Vranch (2000) influences the way teachers create tion of current trends and the mar- offer comprehensive guidelines for and develop courses, how they ket place suggests five key areas in benefits analysis of technology-sup- deliver, assess and evaluate, and which survival of the modern uni- ported learning and strategies for the most fundamentally, how they think versity lies. Unlike David, who only deployment of telematics in distance about these processes. used one stone to kill Goliath, it will education. be a mixture of these five key Some commentators are predict- All change brings uncertainty and approaches that will enable universi- ing that distance education and, in anxiety, and the management of this ties to survive and thrive: particular, technology-supported change must be sensitive. Without learning, will revolutionize the tradi- these changes, education may be in •Collaboration tional university. Peters suggests that danger of stagnation, but with them •Investing in new technology communications technologies, cou- practitioners and learners will be •Investing in people pled with the demands for lifelong expected to adapt quickly to new •Widening access learning, will cause “transformation knowledge, skills, and modes of • Specialization of the traditional university into an working. Understandably, these institution of self-study and dis- changes bring with them a culture of tance teaching” (Peters, 2000). uncertainty in which practitioners COLLABORATION University Websites are now constantly struggle to keep pace Collaboration has been a com- becoming popular first ports of call with the seemingly break-neck speed mon feature of university life for a for many enquirers, and act as of change. Staff developers have a long time. Now, however, universi- “shop windows” for higher educa- key role to play in assuaging these ties are collaborating in a distributed tion providers. Inevitably, new ser- fears by providing timely and rele- manner, networking to share vices will be offered by universities vant information on new develop- resources and expertise, to exploit through the Internet, including: ments and innovations, and how the growing part-time flexible learn- these will impact on teaching and ing market. The University of Wis- • virtual campus tours learning. consin was one of the first American •online enrolment and admission universities to exploit the potential •specialist keynote lectures via IDENING CCESS of distance learning, offering online Webcasting W A courses tutored by academics hired •individualized course delivery Instead of students going to uni- from other universities. Students • live links to special events versity, the successful university of enroll online from home, and are the future will go to the students. assigned a tutor and a “group” with The above list is by no means The mega-universities have already whom they correspond in electronic exhaustive. achieved considerable success in format. Similarly, the lecturer offering cost-effective access to all “teaches” online from his base uni- comers (Daniel, 1996). Many tradi- versity. Collaboration of this nature INVESTING IN PEOPLE tional universities have also started overcomes many logistical problems. Developing the skills and experi- this process, investing in computer

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 15 networks, developing human infra- provide themselves with a better Forsyth, I. (1996). Teaching and learning structures to support the process, chance of survival in a volatile and materials and the Internet, London: and creating new materials in prepa- highly competitive market place. Kogan Page. ration. Jarvis, P. (2000). The changing univer- sity: Meeting a need and needing to There are several existing guide- change. Higher Education Quarterly, lines on how to set up virtual and CONCLUSION 54(1), 43-67. distributed learning environments. The survival of higher education Katz, Y. J. (2000). The comparative suit- See, for example, Katholieke Univer- ability of three ICT distance learning into this next century is not in dis- siteit Leuven’s Blueprint for the methodologies for college level. Edu- Interactive Classroom (BIC) Project pute. What is less clear is the format cational Media International, 37(1), (Vanbuel, 1998). in which it will survive, and exactly 25-30. who will be the winners and losers King, C. (1995). Pay as you learn? Stu- in the global classroom. Radical dents in the changing university. In T. SPECIALIZATION changes in practice, management, Schuller (Ed.), The changing univer- Institutional specialization will and research will drive universities sity? Buckingham: Open University Press. emerge as a prime survival tech- in this new century. New ways of teaching and learning must be devel- Knowles, M. (1975). Self-directed learn- nique. Finding a market niche will ing: A guide for learners and teachers, offer universities a more sustainable oped and nurtured to meet the New York: Association Press. profile in the general mélange of demands of a society that is in a con- Laurillard, D. (1993). Rethinking uni- higher education. stant state of change and upheaval. versity teaching. London: Routledge. In 1999, for example, the Univer- Universities will need to diversify, Peters, O. (2000). The transformation of sity of Plymouth launched a new innovate, collaborate, and invest in the university into an institution of Bachelor of Science (Honours) human capital in order to survive. independent learning. In T. Evans & degree in Surf Science and Technol- Scenario planning, careful economic D. Nation (Eds.), Changing univer- ogy. The world-wide surfing indus- management, risk and benefits anal- sity teaching: Reflections on creating educational technologies, pp. 10-23. try is, of course, a multi-billion ysis, and quality assurance evalua- Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in dollar concern, and workers within tion will become essential activities. higher education. London: Rout- it are in need of training. To meet Doing nothing, however, will no ledge. these needs, the course consists of an longer be an option. Rickwood, P. & Goodwin, V. (2000). eclectic mix of manufacturing tech- Travellers’ tales: Reflections on the nology (materials, design, and fabri- way to learner autonomy, Open cation), ocean science (coastal zone REFERENCES Learning, 15(1), 47-55. management, marine pollution), bio- Shattock, M. (2001). The academic pro- logical science (human biology, Botkin, J., Elmandjra, M., & Malitza, fession in Britain: A study in the fail- sports performance), business man- M. (1979). No limits to learning: ure to adapt to change, Higher agement (event management, admin- Bridging the human gap: A report to Education, 41, 27-47. istration, and marketing) and studies the club of Rome. Oxford: Pergamon Smith, A., & Webster, F. (1997). The Press. postmodern university? Contested in “surf culture.” Due to its novelty Bunker, E. L. (1998). Gaining perspec- visions of higher education in society, value, the course attracted high Buckingham, UK: Open University media exposure. Subsequently, tive for the future of distance educa- tion from early leaders. The Press. worldwide applications were American Journal of Distance Educa- Taylor, P. G. (1998). Institutional received, and it is now a successful tion, 12(2), 46-53. Change in Uncertain Times: Lone program, attracting substantial ranging is not enough, Studies in CBI (1994). Thinking ahead: Ensuring funding for the university. Higher Education, 23(3), 269-278. the expansion of higher education The Times Higher Education Supple- To survive in the increasingly cut- into the 21st century. London: CBI. throat business of higher education, ment (2000, March 31). Act now, Daniel, J. S. (1996). Mega-universities these are borderless times, p. 9. smaller universities must aim to and knowledge media: Technology work to their strengths, unique char- Toffler, A. (1980). The Third Wave. Lon- strategies for higher education. Lon- don: Pan Books. acteristics and local cultures, and don: Kogan Page. Watson, D. M., & Downes, T. (2000). “in-house” expertise. By gathering Dede, C. (1996). The evolution of dis- Communications and networking in intelligence on market trends and tance education: Emerging technolo- education, Norwell, MA: Kluwer. demand, and then offering appropri- gies and distributed learning. The Vanbuel, M. (1998). Blueprint for the ate programs with unique selling American Journal of Distance Educa- interactive classroom. Educational points, universities may be able to tion, 10(2), 4-36. Media International, 35(1), 18-20.

16 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Wheeler, S., & Vranch, A. T. (2001). Wisher, R. A., & Priest, A. N. (1998). Wolcott, L. L. (1997). Tenure, promo- Building for the future of educational Cost-effectiveness of audio teletrain- tion, and distance education: Exam- telematics: Models, foundations and ing for the U.S. Army National ining the culture of faculty rewards. frameworks. International Journal of Guard. The American Journal of Dis- The American Journal of Distance Engineering Education, 17(2), tance Education, 12(1), 38-51. Education, 11(2), 3-18. 145-152.

ganizations in both the public and private sectors Distance Learning Leader are realizing the effectiveness and financial bene- Certificate Program “The program was fits of distance learning technologies.The October 8–9, 2004 extremely effective, and O Nova Southeastern the synergy among par- Distance Learning Leader Certificate Program will University ticipants was particular- prepare you to lead your organization through the chal- ly productive.” lenges and opportunities these new technologies will Fort Lauderdale, Florida “The mix of corporate present, and you can even earn continuing education Your $995 fee includes regis- and higher education units for your participation. tration and course materials. content was extremely valuable.” Benefits of the program include For more information and using your cutting-edge distance-learning leadership registration materials, “The program was skills call: 800-541-6682, ext. 8790, great! I would highly recommend it to others communicating more effectively your vision and email: [email protected], in the field.” strategy for distance learning or log on to www.fgse.nova. interacting with both business and higher education edu/tpd/certprog.htm. “The program was well- leaders who have a wide range of perspectives and designed and appro- priate to leaders in all insights aspects of the distance making sure your learning technology dollars are learning community.” invested wisely offered jointly by two of the most respected names in the industry The need for distance learning leaders has never been greater. Stay ahead of the curve by enrolling today. Nova Southeastern University admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin. I Nova Southeastern University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, Telephone number: 404-679-4501) to award associate’s, bachelor’s, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Boston, Massachusetts master’s, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees. 05-222/04 gjl

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 17 Videoconferencing The Television Connection

Robert M. Starr

or most of my 33 years in considered myself to be a student of improve interactive television. education, I have been the art and craft of television, albeit I recall a student making this Finvolved in some aspect of an advanced student on occasion. statement after receiving a low grade video production. From that first Upon retirement from my university on a commercial assignment in an encounter early in my career with a teaching position, I entered govern- advanced video production class reel-to-reel portable videotape ment service with the National many years ago: “You mean we are recorder and its hand-held Aeronautics and Space Administra- required to be creative in this televi- black-and-white camera to my cur- tion as a television producer and sion class?” I responded in the affir- rent familiarity with desktop video multimedia specialist. It was in this mative. The student dropped the editing systems and DV equipment, I capacity that I was introduced to course shortly thereafter. It also have remained fascinated with all videoconferencing and, after years became clear to me after a few years things video. For a number of years I of creating television for passive of teaching media arts that just taught classes in video production at audiences, the prospect of reaching because people watch television for a major university in Virginia and viewers who could actually interact most of their lives, the grammar and operated my own production busi- with presenters renewed my long- syntax of the video craft does not ness on the side. Even with such standing fascination with video tech- necessarily register in long-term long-term experience, I have always nology. memory. One of the metaphors I It became evident early on in my used back in those early days to experience with interactive television illustrate the need for video crafts- that the video production conven- manship was cabinet making. After tions and rules I tried hard to follow showing a picture of a well-made both in and out of the television stu- chest of drawers, I asked beginning dio were not necessarily followed production students what it would when it comes to videoconferencing. take for each of them to make such a It was clear that many of the people piece of fine furniture. Responses who were using interactive television generally ranged from selection and were not from the video side of use of appropriate tools to years of things. There seems to be a new experience. I tried to make the point breed of video practitioners who that television was just as much a have their roots firmly planted in the craft as cabinet making, and the best computer world. Although the video scripts or storyboards were mean- and computer worlds have con- ingless unless acceptable standards verged to a great extent, important were applied to the process of trans- aspects of television production forming ideas and words into effec- Robert M. Starr, Manager, Digital Media Lab, NASA Langley Research seem to be left out of the equation. tive television presentations. I Center, Office of Education MS400, For example, headroom, framing maintain that any videoconferencing Hampton, VA 23681. Telephone: considerations, and even placement environment can be improved with (757) 864-9492. Fax: (757) 864- of the camera to facilitate normal the application of a few simple rules 6521 eye contact are often disregarded. that, in the end, may serve to Creative video craftsmanship is stan- enhance the communication process dard television practice and can and thus provide a more meaningful

18 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 exchange among the participants. in the middle and slightly above the of view so that facial expressions bottom of the monitor’s display and gestures can be seen and accu- area. This seems to give the closest rately interpreted. Or the presenter CAMERA PLACEMENT approximation of normal eye con- can also take the initiative to direct operators to provide appropriate Of utmost importance is camera tact as the session participants look shots for this purpose. placement. Generally speaking, most at the people at other locations. In standard television, a long shot videoconferencing systems provide a Until technology development pro- is employed to establish the scene, small, remotely controlled camera vides us with a tiny camera embed- then medium and close-up shots are with pan and zoom capability. Typi- ded in the center of a monitor’s used to add detail and clarity to the cally, the camera is either placed to display area without obscuring established environment. Television the side or above the television mon- images on the screen, we will have to is a close-up medium that holds our itor that displays the other site(s). In work hard to place cameras in loca- attention on what we want to see standard television, if a presenter is tions that minimize eye contact and need to see during the course of not looking directly into the camera, problems. the presentation. This time-honored the viewer notices an immediate convention of television should not break in eye contact. Unless a news- be ignored, especially in distance caster, for example, looks down at LONG SHOT, MEDIUM learning situations where we are try- his or her script momentarily, eyes SHOT, CLOSE-UP ing to explain, clarify, and guide the are pointed straight into the lens of learning process. the live camera. If the shot is Have you ever made a presentation switched to another camera, a in a videoconference when the light- well-rehearsed shift to the new live ing was so poor that you could not camera occurs immediately and eye see the eyes of your audience? Under EFFECTIVE GRAPHICS contact is reestablished. We are all typical classroom lighting and with A third problem that seems to be familiar with the discomfort dis- a camera zoomed all the way out to prevalent in videoconferencing deals played when a newsperson fails to show the whole class, it is virtually with the use of graphics. PowerPoint turn when a new camera angle is impossible to distinguish individual has become the standard presenta- presented. We feel the embarrass- faces. They become little ovals punc- tion program for distance learning ment of the newscaster when he or tuated with three dark spots barely sessions, even though there are many she realizes that the wrong camera is recognizable as two eyes and a other excellent programs available being addressed. mouth. When making videoconfer- for displaying and controlling So why do we disregard eye con- ence presentations, do you have graphics. I have seen excellent tact in videoconferencing? If the trouble reading audience body lan- graphics presentations using word main cameras at all sites are not as guage? In normal face-to-face com- processor-generated documents. The close as possible to the center of the munication with students or arrangement, clarity, and composi- viewing monitors without obscur- workshop participants, we are able tion of elements within the visual ing the images on the screen, eye to see facial expressions, gestures, display make the difference, not the contact is lost or jeopardized. I and other body language that help program. We have become used to recently observed a videoconference us interact more effectively with our preparing computer graphics with in which the remote site camera was audiences. Unless attention is given templates and with default fonts for on a sidewall with a video projector to overcoming the inherent resolu- face-to-face sessions. With the use of displaying the presenter on the cen- tion limitations of videoconferencing a video projector, it is possible to ter wall. For almost an hour the pre- technology, we lose the ability to make use of the computer’s highest senter watched his class from the read our audiences. Systems that resolution, which can be 1600 X side. In Speech 101, we all learned employ automatic voice-activated 1200 pixels or greater. A presenter how important eye contact is, and cameras that zoom to the person can usually be confident that slides those of us who are experienced who uses the push-to-talk micro- will be seen by all in attendance. workshop presenters or teachers phone button help us overcome this Typically, resolutions used for such know that effective eye contact is problem. In many cases, however— presentations are either 800 X 600 imperative in our presentations. So especially in K-12 environments or 1024 X 768. It comes as no sur- what is the best camera placement? I where automatic zooming capabili- prise, therefore, that when such res- typically use a tripod for the main ties do not always exist—operators olutions are squeezed down to the camera and place it in front of the at remote locations should provide standard 640 X 480 resolution that monitor with the camera positioned the presenter with appropriate fields most closely approximates that

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 19 which is used in standard television, “I hope you can see the slides” dur- those that I produce. For the most something is lost in the translation. ing a session. If properly prepared part, when participants see the Add to this the further reduction in ahead of time, there will be no rea- results of simple applications of tele- resolution experienced as the televi- son to doubt the legibility of elec- vision standards, they get the point. tronic visuals used in sion signal is reduced to fit the avail- I am sure, however, that there are able bandwidth allocated for the videoconferencing. It is inconceiv- those who think otherwise, but no videoconferencing connection, usu- able that a television news or com- crusader has emerged from the pur- ally 384kbs or less. mercial producer would allow the suit of quality without some dents in In preparing graphics for use in display of graphics that the viewer videoconferencing, it is helpful to has difficulty seeing or reading. And his or her armor. attach a regular television monitor yet, all too often, graphics used for If videoconferencing used for to the output of the computer to test videoconferencing contain excessive educational purposes is to come of the graphics for videoconferencing. text, fonts that are not easily read, age, we as practitioners in the field Many laptops these days have a and insufficient contrast between need to observe standard television foreground and background. composite or s-video connector for practices. Our viewers are used to this purpose. In the absence of such high-quality, well-composed video a built-in converter, the use of an presentations every time they relax external scan converter will allow CONCLUSION in front of their home television sets. for display of the computer output I have now been involved in educa- It will only add to our credibility as on a television monitor. By seeing tional videoconferencing (distance instructional technology and dis- the display in this manner, it is easier education) for more than six years. I to compensate for the reduced reso- suppose I have become a crusader of tance education professionals if we lution that is a standard limitation sorts. I continually insist on using follow basic television production of videoconferencing systems. There acceptable television production conventions that have stood the test is no reason a presenter needs to say, standards in the sessions I present or of time.

For videoconferening, the main camera should be placed so as to Use layering to achieve depth and interest. maximize eye contact.

20 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 A Distant Legacy Blurred Visions–Renewed Choices for Campus and Distance Education

Don Olcott, Jr.

Where is the life we have lost in living Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge Where is the knowledge we have lost in information —T. S. Eliot

INTRODUCTION foreseen the accelerated technologi- confusion across the field. cal developments post-1984 that S. Eliot’s words ring true Olcott (2004) wrote: have led the world into the 21st cen- long after his passing in tury. If we have indeed lost our wis- 1965. He spoke from his That eminent scholar, Yogi Berra, T. dom to knowledge and our own observations of the profound has summed up the primary prob- knowledge to information, then per- technological advances that emerged lem with this erratic, moving tar- haps we have lost more to technol- during and after WWII. And yet, get definition game succinctly . . . ogy than we know. Where does neither he nor Orwell could have if you don’t know where you’re distance education fit into this pic- going, you’ll wind up somewhere ture of truth, knowledge, wisdom, else. In essence, this has been the and information? endemic and ubiquitous problem Distance education has arrived at for distance education the past a crossroads. A decade ago it was decade. Many passionate advo- the “new” technological panacea to cates argued that distance educa- solve many critical issues facing edu- tion, with a misguided emphasis cation. Today, we have a continuing on technology, would increase and misguided preoccupation with educational quality, reduce expenses, raise revenues, foster terminology such as distributed more interaction, enhance access, learning, e-learning, blended learn- lower your golf score, give faculty ing, and new variations soon to time for contemplation and come. Moreover, we have been research, and educate children on unwilling to take an objective look the value of educational learning at this evolution and acknowledge over video games. that perhaps our focus, our Don Olcott, Jr., Executive Director, And it is true, some people have approaches, and our philosophical Division of Extended Programs, West- lowered their golf scores with ern Oregon University, 345 N. Mon- bases of distance education were technology and educational access mouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR well intended, but misguided from has been enhanced. Our other 97361. Telephone: (503) 838-8483. the beginning. Is it a wonder our aspirations, regrettably, have Fax: (503) 838-8473. campus leaders and politicians are fallen well short of earlier advo- E-mail: [email protected] perplexed, given this level of internal cacy and promises. (p. 1)

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 21 Before we can suggest a new path reality and remove the term “dis- has a hard time with these subtle for distance education, lets take tance” (and its definitional and dys- truths. Olcott (2004) sums up the Yogi’s advice and examine where functional variations) from the reason for these unrealistic goals. He distance education has been. annals of humankind. writes: Third, from a philosophical per- spective we not only missed the The inherent reason for advocat- BLURRED VISIONS boat, the boat wasn’t even in the ing these unattainable goals was economic investment, or more First, our strategy for advocacy was water. As Will Rogers once said, precisely, return on economic blurred from the start. Distance edu- “even if you’re on the right track your going to get run over if you just investment. If campuses made cation advocates argued simulta- major capital expenditures for sit there.” And we sat there with neously how different these teaching technology, then the results of the and learning processes were and yet technology. Our obsessive delusions teaching and learning process bet- how important that they should be with the splendor of these innova- ter exceed all measures of aca- mainstreamed into the core aca- tions shifted our focus away from demic achievement, financial demic culture of the institution, a the primary focus of improving efficiencies, and instructional “separate but equal” philosophy teaching and learning. Yes, we quality than the old ways. Of (Olcott, 2004). Most institutions increased educational access but at course, campuses built new foot- opted for a different philosophy, exponential financial costs, dispro- ball stadiums, remodeled gymnasi- “separate but different.” And who portionate incentives for faculty, and ums, but never required sold this to our campus leaders and unrealistic expectations for revenue undefeated seasons as the new measure of quality. Perhaps if we faculty? The advocates of distance enhancement that were never could sell tickets to alumni to education. achieved in most cases. We refused to accept the fact that technology, in attend history, philosophy, art, Campuses today are embracing dance, and music classes, we and of itself, is simply a tool, and in all aspects of technology and tech- would have avoided these contra- nology infrastructure planning as most instances no better or worse dictions. Distance learning advo- part of their core mission to serve all than any other teaching strategy or cates got trapped by their own students of the institution. Paradoxi- approach. And amidst this evolu- misguided rhetoric rather than cally, some distance learning advo- tion, we are simply perplexed that arguing the merits of alternative cates are resistant to having their campus leaders, legislators, and the approaches to teaching, learning, domain (organizational entities) public could actually demand scheduling, and embracing the become a core function of the insti- accountability, assessment data, and variety of learning styles among tution. They have yet to realize that cost analyses from us. How dare students [that can be served by defending their distinctiveness was they question our prodigiouness res- technology] (p. 50) misguided from the beginning. Edu- ervoir of knowledge, wisdom and cation is education is education, information . . . or lack thereof? Is it conceivable that the use of edu- regardless of how, when, where, at C’est la vie, Mr. Eliot. cational technology must be defined what pace, and through which And finally, the field embraced by its value as a teaching and learn- medium it is delivered (Olcott, unrealistic and unnecessary goals. ing tool first and foremost. Perhaps 2004). Distance education technologies a plausible argument to consider. A second blurred vision has been were going to make teaching and the definition debacle. In 1990, dis- learning “better” than at any time in tance education’s defining character- human history, or so the story goes. RENEWED CHOICES FOR istic was “separation of teacher and Why didn’t we simply say that the ISTANCE DUCATION student.” Today, students take diverse and innovative uses of tech- D E courses online two hundred yards nology just make teaching and learn- Blurred visions are not necessarily from the professor’s office on-cam- ing more interesting, enjoyable, and fatal, which is fortunate for the dis- pus . . . fifteen thousand miles away fun with the same academic results. tance education advocates of the off-campus. Campus smart class- This is analogous to academics world. It does, however, underscore rooms, in fact, utilize all the technol- denying the fact that students are the importance of a renewed vision ogies that are used in distance “consumers” of education and that and purpose for the field. Indeed, if delivery. Indeed, it seems the separa- “convenience” is indeed a powerful hindsight is 20/20, then we must tion of teacher and learner concept motivating force for students in learn from the past and apply these has been altered forever. It may be choosing alternative modes of learn- to the future. It’s time to rock ’n’ roll most prudent for us to finally accept ing today. The academy sometimes into the future.

22 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 • Philosophy—distance education teachers and students alike. SUMMARY must center its core values on Attaining commensurate student Aldous Huxley wrote that “experi- diversifying teaching and learning academic performance using tech- for all students, campus and dis- nology is a realistic and worthy ence is not what happens to you, it is tance. It must abandon its adher- goal. what you do with what happens to ence to a “separate but equal” • Technology Planning—technol- you.” What will distance education philosophy, dispense with its past ogy investments must be holistic do with what has happened in the view of “distinctiveness,” and rather than individualistic. In oth- past decade? We have learned that embrace education as education erwords, campus leaders must information is not knowledge any- as education. make investments in technology more than knowledge is necessarily • Leadership—campus and dis- that create efficiencies for all wisdom. Today, we have access to tance are blurred concepts that institutional systems—adminis- infinite information that may or may have lost their relevancy. Institu- trative, instructional, and finan- not result in greater wisdom and tional leaders must build collabo- cial. Organizational entities such knowledge. The one thing that rative and seamless approaches to as academic colleges or informa- hasn’t changed is that we educators technology planning and imple- tion technology centers going it continue to have choices. mentation to serve all students. alone are self-serving, turf-driven, Distance education, despite its Today, nearly all services are fiscally redundant, and devoid of blurred visions of the past, has made available online to both campus the best interests of the institu- invaluable contributions to educa- and geographically dispersed stu- tion, its faculty, and its students. tional access, organizational efficien- dents. Campuses are using all • Access—the term “access” means technologies for campus and dis- different things to different peo- cies, and teaching and learning that tance instruction, and differentia- ple and institutions. To some is fun, challenging, and engaging. tion for protecting “separate but institutions it means serving Moreover, it has challenged colleges different” organizational entities everyone, to others it means and universities to define the role of is not only inefficient economi- clearly defining what “access” technology in macro institutional cally, but is redundant stupidity parameters are most important planning processes, to re-think what for serving our students. for an institution to serve. The and how technology investments • Terminology—we must respec- latter seems the most prudent serve the greatest number of people tively bury the enigmatic and con- choice and campus leaders need more effectively, and has opened the fusing distance learning to clarify “access” for their insti- doors of higher education to those dictionary. We embrace a new tution with and without the use previously without access. We now definition or name when the old of technology. have the information, the knowledge ones appear to deceivingly • Governance and Change—the and, hopefully, the wisdom to change. This is not scholarly wis- change process for the academy embrace education as education as dom, but rather our inability to has been described as one of education regardless of where, focus technology around the core deliberation, consensus, and when, how, and via what medium it of teaching and learning. incrementalism. More precisely, is delivered. The choice is ours. • Academic Performance—educa- this usually equates with a very tional technologies should not be slow response to change and expected to “increase” student innovation. Technology must be performance any more than new framed within the “mainstream” REFERENCE stadiums will improve the record academic governance structures Olcott, D. J. (2004). Revisiting distance of football teams. Technology (policy, financial, administrative, education’s symphonic legacy: Still does, and can, diversify the peda- instructional, etc.) if it is to crazy after all these years or getting gogical art and science of teach- become a seamless and integral better (all the time). The Journal of ing and make it more fun, part of the institution’s arsenal in Continuing Higher Education, 52(1), interesting, and enjoyable for meeting its mission. 49-50.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 23 The Distance Learning Leader: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You

Tom Land and Tony Bright

INTRODUCTION evidenced by the meteoric rise of grams is not without risks, as such DL pioneers as the University reflected by abandoned university n many ways, it is the best and of Phoenix, as the nation’s largest online ventures such as E-Cornell, worst of times for distance private university, with close to Virtual Temple, NYU Online, learning (DL) programs. It is I 100,000 students scattered among Fathom, E-MBA, and California estimated the e-learning sector will 134 satellite locations across 28 Virtual University. Despite these grow to $83.1 billion by 2006, even- states. Unfortunately, the increased risks, the growing widespread accep- tually swelling to over $212 billion growth and popularity of DL pro- tance of DL programs by the public, by 2011 (Greenspan, 2003). This is argues for the continued develop- ment of this facet of collegiate level instruction (Edelson, 2002). In order to succeed in this new environment, organizations must continually acquire new skills and new ways of managing knowledge and information; this requires DL leaders to be entrepreneurial while navigating the risks of new educa- tional technology. DL leaders must go beyond distance education (DE) technology to develop their vision, strategy, and business plan to guide their organization into the age of e- Tom Land , Dean, Training and Profes- Tony D. Bright, Program Professor Child learning. sional Development, Fischler School of and Youth Studies, Fischler School of John Flores, Executive Director Education and Human Services, Nova Education and Human Services, Nova of the United States Distance Learn- Southeastern University, 1750 NE Southeastern University, 1750 NE ing Association (USDLA), recog- 167th St., North Miami Beach, Florida 167th Street, North Miami Beach, FL nized the need for leadership 33162-3017. 33162-3017. capacity building in DL and engaged Telephone: (954) 262-7810. Telephone: (954) 262-8513. Nova Southeastern University’s Fis- Fax: (954) 262-3906 E-mail: [email protected] chler School of Education and E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.fgse.nova.edu/tpd Human Services to create a compe- tency-based leadership program for

24 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 DL leaders. The purpose of this arti- (1994) recognized the scant atten- expert workers included a self-rating cle is to describe a needs analysis tion given to research on DL compe- of level of expertise as a DL leader, developed to identify the duties and tencies, let alone research targeted to five or more years of experience, and responsibilities of DL leaders and a DL leaders. It is surprising then, current employment (in some capac- Distance Learning Leadership Cer- given the importance of leadership ity) as a DL leader. The group tificate Program developed to to the success of DL programs, how defined a DL leader as “responsible address these competencies. little research and programs exists to for leading the distance learning/e- build leadership capacity. Williams learning initiative in their organiza- (2003) noted institutions implement- tion.” The DL Leader Job Model REVIEW OF THE ing DE programs would benefit was then validated by 27 DL leaders from research defining necessary who were members of the United LITERATURE roles and competencies. Limiting his States Distance Learning Association It could be argued that the most research to higher education, Will- (USDLA) representing a cross sec- important ingredient for a successful iams utilized a Delphi study to iden- tion of K-12, higher education, and DL program is the vision and tify 13 distinct roles and corporate settings. approach developed by the DL competencies to manage DE. In his The DL Leader Job Model Online leader and how well this approach study, the role of the leader/change Validation Survey contained 91 aligns to the organizational strategy. agent emerged separate from the questions divided into three sections. Meister (2002) posited that one of administrative manager role. Build- Section one asked about demo- the pillars of e-learning success is for ing on the foundation established by graphics and backgrounds of the corporate learning practitioners to Williams, the rationale for the cur- respondents. Section two included a ensure that their staffs have the nec- rent study was based on the need to scale requiring respondents to rate essary e-learning skills and compe- further identify skills and competen- job task importance of a DL leader tencies. Edelson (2002) supported cies of DL leaders in higher educa- as well as value of training in major this notion when he suggested that tion. duties and tasks. Similarly, in section the success of higher education insti- three respondents rated specific skill tutions in the e-learning world is and knowledge competencies of a based on their infusion of DE leader- ETHODOLOGY DL leader. ship strategies such as creating a M vision and embracing an entrepre- This study used the DACUM pro- neurial organizational spirit. Like- cess, a quick, cost-efficient job anal- RESULTS wise, the Commission on ysis method used to identify DL Technology and Adult Learning leader competencies that “expert (2001) recommended that, in order workers” believe are essential for SECTION ONE: BACKGROUND to succeed in the e-learning arena, performing a specific job or occupa- individuals and organizations must tion. Initially, a focus group was OF THE RESPONDENTS continually acquire new skills and conducted with six DL leaders repre- Of the 27 respondents, 50% had ways of managing knowledge and senting both corporate and higher doctorates, 42% had master’s information. Despite this, Thach education settings. The criteria for degrees, and 8% had bachelors

Table 1 Table Major Duties and Competencies of a Distance Learning Leader DUTIES SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCIES Develop DL Business Strategy Foundations of DL Provide DL Leadership DL Technologies Manage DL Organization DL Tools and Technologies Manage DL Budget DL Curriculum and Instruction Promote DL DL Leadership Provide DL Technology Leadership Oversee DL Curriculum Manage Development of Student/Learner DL Services

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 25 Table 2 Table Major Tasks of a Distance Learning Leader DEVELOP DL BUSINESS STRATEGY PROVIDE DL TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP 1. Complete environmental scan to assess DL Pro- 1. Identify DL infrastructure system requirements gram needs 2. Develop a systems integration plan for required DL 2. Develop the business case for DL hardware, software, multimedia, and collaborative 3. Identify DL key success factors technologies 4. Develop long/short term operational plan 3. Inform leasers on DL access and technical compe- 5. Implement plan tence requirements 6. Manage DL projects 4. Develop DL Web site marketing strategy 7. Communicate DL strategy to stakeholders 5. Develop promotional materials 8. Update stakeholders on DL implementation 6. Explain DL systems functionality to stakeholders progress and issues 7. Maintain liaison with internal (IT and Media) and PROVIDE DL LEADERSHIP External (Vendors) on DL 1. Develop a DL vision for organization 8. Integrate DL with organization’s knowledge man- 2. Assess the readiness of organization for DL agement strategy 3. Implement change management plan to transition 9. Explore new DL delivery methods organization to DL 10. Maintain system requirements documentation 4. Establish and promote internal and external DL 11. Comply with DL industry standards collaborators 12. Create plan to keep technology infrastructure cur- 5. Benchmark best practices in DL rent 6. Promote innovative DL methodologies OVERSEE DL CURRICULUM 7. Model ethical behavior and comply with copyright 1. Develop plan to infuse technology across curricu- laws lum MANAGE DL ORGANIZATION 2. Implement DL course design process 1. Develop DL organization structure 3. Provide technical, design, and production support 2. Determine DL staffing requirements to faculty/instructors in DL course design and deliv- 3. Recruit Staff ery 4. Hire DL staff 4. Integrate blending DL technologies with conven- 5. Manage team tional learning 6. Project manage and monitor DL suppliers and part- 5. Program manage DL course design projects ners MANAGE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT/ 7. Develop staff LEARNER DL SERVICES MANAGE DL BUDGET 1. Identify DL student/learner service requirements 1. Develop DL financial model (e.g. advising, registering, library, financial aid, 2. Identify DL capital requirements bookstore services) 3. Monitor and revenue performance to budget plan 2. Develop DL service plan 4. Adjust financial plans to meet budget goals 3. Coordinate with student service providers to ensure 5. Demonstrate return on investment that DL students are aware of and receive same PROMOTE DL level of services as traditional students 1. Develop marketing plan 4. Provide resources to develop services 2. Promote DL concept to administrators and faculty/ 5. Assess student/learner services instructors 3. Inform leaders on DL access and technical compe- tence requirements 4. Develop DL Web site marketing strategy 5. Develop DL promotional materials

26 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 degrees. Most respondents described respondents identified from 5 to 12 value, Means and Standard Devia- their expertise as a DL leader as high major tasks (see Table 2). tions were calculated; results or very high. The respondents were For each of the skills/knowledge revealed a Mean of 3.1 and Stan- employed in Fortune 500 compa- competencies there were three to six dard Deviation of .3. A task was nies, federal government, K-12, domains identified by respondents rated as “most important” if the financial services, health care, and (See Table 3) overall ranking was 3.4 or higher for higher education. Most of the Quantitative methods were both importance and value of train- respondents had more than five employed for questions two and ing. years experience with ten years three. For question two, respon- experience as the average. dents were asked to rank the impor- tance of specific job tasks and QUESTION 2: HOW DO DL training value as related to their role ECTION WO ISTANCE LEADER EXPERTS RANK THE MOST S T : D as a DL leader. Similarly, in question IMPORTANT TASKS AND THE LEARNING LEADER JOB MODEL three, the importance of specific AND RELATED SKILLS/ competencies and training value VALUE OF TRAINING? KNOWLEDGE COMPETENCIES. related to job performance were DL leaders ranked those tasks Three questions were addressed ranked. Importance levels and train- aligned to executing their DL strat- in this section: ing values were ranked on a four- egy as the highest and most impor- point scale that included, 4 = Criti- tant tasks (see Table 4), including: cal, 3 = High, 2 = Moderate, and 1 = Question 1: What are the major implementing DL plans, managing Low. To clarify terminology, the fol- duties and responsibilities of the projects, managing the team, and lowing definitions were provided to DL leader? monitoring costs. Leadership behav- respondents prior to ranking the iors, including ethical modeling, Question 2: How do DL leader competencies: experts rank the most important visioning, and innovation, were also tasks and the value of training? ranked high, but lower than “hands- • Competency is an underlying on make it happen” approach. Sup- Question 3: How do the DL leader characteristic (knowledge, skills, experts rank the most important and traits) of an individual that is port and technology integration knowledge and skills? causally related to effective per- plans, though critically important to formance in a job. the success of DL programs, were ranked lower. Interestingly, several QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE THE •Knowledge is data, information, or concepts that you have in your DL programs have been derailed MAJOR DUTIES AND head in order to perform the task. because of shortcomings in these RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DL This knowledge may be used areas. LEADER? actively in carrying out the tasks, The DACUM panel identified or could be background informa- QUESTION 3: HOW DO THE DL eight major duties and five skill/ tion that helps you get started. knowledge competency areas for the • Skills are abilities that you have LEADER EXPERTS RANK THE MOST DL leader (see Table 1). The eight to be able to demonstrate in per- IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE AND major duties are a combination of forming the task. These differ SKILLS? leadership and managerial duties from knowledge items mainly in The highest-ranked skills and including: leading and developing that they usually involve doing knowledge competencies of DL lead- the business, technology, and curric- rather than just knowing. ers were related to content, and ulum strategies, managing the orga- • Tasks are underlying parts of nization, budget, marketing/promot- your personality that are consis- included: copyright, design, and ing and managing support services. tent responses to situations and learner differences. Ranked slightly The five skill/knowledge competen- information that task perfor- lower, leadership competencies of cies included the foundational mance relies on (Spencer & Spen- developing a vision and champion- knowledge of DL, learning delivery cer, 1993). ing DL in the organization are also technologies, tools and learning highly valued. The highest-ranked management technologies, and reit- To identify which task and com- skills and knowledge competencies erated DL leadership. petencies were deemed most impor- and training values are presented in For each of the eight duties, tant and had the highest training Table 5.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 27 Table 3 Table DL Leader Major Skills and Competencies FOUNDATIONS OF DL 1. Definitions of DE 2. History of DE 3. Theories of DE 4. Research in DE DL LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES 1. Self-directed Web-based training 2. Facilitated Web-based training 3. Web-conducted classroom course 4. Discussion group seminars 5. Telementoring and e-coaching 6. Videoconferencing DL TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES 1. DE software knowledge (e.g. Dreamweaver, Flash) 2. Understanding of video, audio, and post-production 3. Understanding of Learning Management Systems (LMS) (e.g. Docent, Pathlore) 4. Understanding of Content Management Systems (CMS) 5. Course authoring programs 6. Webpage authoring programs DL CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION 1. Instructional and curriculum differences for distance and traditional education 2. Unique learning requirements of the distant learner 3. Copyright and fair use guidelines in DE 4. Effective design of DL materials DL LEADERSHIP 1. Develop a DL vision 2. Champion DE 3. Partner and form alliances with other DE businesses and educators

THE DISTANCE LEARNING tion of DL leaders. The team devel- officers, higher education/university LEADER CERTIFICATE PROGRAM oped the K-D-M-L-V Distance DE directors, training directors and (DLLCP) Learning Leader Model to address managers, educational technology specific tasks and competencies. directors, and teachers who are cur- With the initial step of defining This model includes the following and validating the Distance Learning rently leading or interested in being Leader Job Model as well as identi- five competencies: (1) Knowing, (2) a leader of DL program. fying the most important tasks and Designing, (3) Managing, (4) Lead- duties and their associated compe- ing, and (5) Visioning. Competen- INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES tencies, Dr. Michael Simonson, Pro- cies and outcomes are presented in gram Professor of Instructional Table 6. The program combines two full Technology and Distance Education, The DLLCP is designed for pro- days of face-to-face instruction and led a design team to develop an fessionals in a wide range of posi- six weeks of part-time distance instructional strategy for certifica- tions including chief learning instruction. Distance instruction

28 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Table 4 Table Most Important DL Leader Tasks DL Leader Tasks Importance / Training Value 1. Manage DL projects 3.7/3.6 2. Implement plan 3.7/3.5 3. Develop DL vision 3.6/3.4 4. Develop organizational structure 3.7/3.3 5. Manage DL team 3.7/3.3 6. Develop long/short term operational DL plan 3.6/3.6 7. Role model ethical behavior and comply with copyright laws 3.6/3.3 8. Monitor cost and revenue performance 3.6/3.3 9. Promote innovative DL methodologies 3.5/3.4 10. Identify DL key success factors 3.4/3.5 11. Provide instructor/faculty support 3.5/3.4 12. Develop DL financial model 3.5/3.4 13. Implement DL course design process 3.5/3.3 14. Develop technology systems integration plan 3.5/3.2

Table 5 Table Most Important DL Leader Skills and Knowledge Competencies DL Leader Skills and Knowledge Competencies Importance / Training Value 1. Copyright and fair use guidelines in DE 3.8/3.6 2. Effective design of distant learning materials 3.8/3.6 3. Unique learning requirements of the distant learner 3.7/3.7 4. Instructional and curriculum differences for distance and tradi- 3.6/3.5 tional education 5. Develop a DL vision 3.6/3.2 6. Champion DE 3.5/3.2

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 29 Table 6 Table KDMLV Model DL Leader Competencies and Learning Outcomes Knowing DE Define and trace the chronology of DE definitions. Understand the terminology used by distance educators. Explain the technologies used for DE—synchronous and asynchronous. Apply appropriate copyright regulations to the practice of DE. Understand and apply the KDMLV model for DE leaders. Designing DE Explain the U-M-T Approach for designing DE. Name several important instructional design models used in DE. Understand the design structure of DE courses. Managing DE Explain important activities of the manager of a design team. Discuss the process of managing a distance learning project. Explain the components of a DE policy document. Understand the process of producing a DE policy statement. Discuss the process of working with clients and vendors. Leading DE Discuss the process of managing people through change. Understand and explain examples of leaders implementing a DE project. Discuss a business view with case studies for leading a DE/training organization. Visioning DE Understand an approach for and explain case studies of visioning for DE. Discuss distance learning today and tomorrow from a corporate perspective. Explain the characteristics of and a process of developing a vision statement. Write a vision statement for DE.

includes a six week follow-up deliv- tial pilot in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. municate DL vision and strategy ery to on-site instruction including One of the key design considerations more effectively; interaction with threaded discussion to review busi- for the program was to offer a businesses and higher education ness plans, discussion with DE lead- hybrid design of on-site instruction leaders with a wide range of per- ers, audio conferencing, and with online follow-up. This afforded spectives and insights; and ensuring respondent-led presentations of the leaders with an opportunity to learning technology dollars are organization vision and business network and share ideas across cor- invested wisely. plans. porate, higher education, and K-12 boundaries. Program benefits of the DL leader certification program rec- RESULTS OF PILOT ognized by respondents included: CONCLUSION In February 2004, 27 USDLA cutting-edge DL leadership skills This article described how the DL member DL leaders attended the ini- you can use today; ability to com- Leader Certificate Program was

30 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 developed by identifying the most REFERENCES Spencer, L. M., & Spencer, S. M. (1993). important competencies leaders of Competence at work: Models for Commission on Technology and Adult superior performance. New York: DL need for their programs to be Learning. (2001). A vision of e-learn- Wiley. successful. Leading DL programs is ing for America’s workforce. Thach, E. (1994). Perceptions of dis- not for the faint of heart. We are in Retrieved May 18, 2004 from, http:// tance education experts regarding the the early stages of fully realizing the www.nga.org/center/divisions/ roles, outputs, and competencies 1,1188,C_ISSUE_BRIEF^D_2128,00 needed in the field of distance educa- dramatic paradigm shift DL will .html tion. Unpublished doctoral disserta- have on the way education and Edelson, P. J. (2002, June). Strategy for- tion, Texas A&M University, College training programs are delivered. As mation in virtual education: The case Station. Williams, P. (2003) Roles and competen- of yet, there are no standards for of dynamic incrementalism. Paper cies for distance education programs presented at the Virtual Educa 2002 leaders of DL programs, yet it is per- in higher education Institutions. conference, Valencia, Spain. haps the most important success fac- American Journal of Distance Educa- tor. More research needs to be Greenspan, R. (2003). Reading, writing, tion, 17(1), 45-57. pointing-and-clicking. Retrieved June conducted in the important area of Meister, J. (Ed.). (2002). Corporate Uni- 22, 2004, from http:// versity’s pillars of e-learning success. identifying duties and responsibili- www.clickz.com/stats/markets/educa- New York: Corporate University ties of DL leaders. tion/article.php/2237481 Xchange.

WHAT IS A DISTANCE LEARNING LEADER?

A LEADER IS A VISIONARY CAPABLE OF ACTION WHO GUIDES AN ORGANIZATION’S FUTURE, ITS VISION, MISSION, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES. THE LEADER GUIDES THE ORGANIZATION AND ITS PEOPLE WHO HAVE FAITH IN THE LEADER, AND HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE ORGANIZATION’S WORTHWHILE AND SHARED VISION AND GOALS. A DISTANCE LEARNING LEADER HAS COMPETENCE IN KNOWING, DESIGNING, MANAGING, LEADING AND VISIONING DISTANCE EDUCATION.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 31 Ends and Means

E-learning Study Skills and Strategies

Ryan Watkins

he study skills and learn- that have been the foundation of sion to staying organized, we habit- ing strategies that most of our success in the past must be ually strive to exemplify the skills T us have developed updated or modified in order to that lead to success when working throughout our educational experi- have the same positive impact on with others. ences are our most valuable our learning when we move into a Yet, when the environment resource as we transition from the virtual environment. moves to online discussion boards traditional classroom to the As a result, for both instructors and chat rooms, many of these e-learning online classroom. Yet, and learners, two fundamental strategies we have developed for for instructors and learners alike, skills that a necessary for success in the face-to-face environment must success in traditional courses does e-learning are: (a) the ability to either be adapted for the technolo- not always translate into success in adapt traditional study skills into gies or new tactics must be online courses. Often, the same online success strategies, and (b) adopted. To make a good first study skills and learning strategies the capacity to adopt new tech- impression online, learners (and niques for learning and communi- instructors) should: cating effectively in the online environment. •Take a few extra minutes to For most of us, online success check, and recheck, the gram- does not come from applying the mar and spelling in their initial skills and strategies that we have e-mails. Proper grammar and developed through our previous spelling can go a long way experiences that were rooted in the toward making a good impres- traditional high school, college, or sion. training classroom. The new e-learning environment requires •Take time to personalize their that we reexamine the strategies we e-mails. Making a good first use to achieve success. impression typically requires a For example, through our previ- personal touch. ous experiences, most of us have •Provide fellow learners with formed many useful techniques for their contact information (i.e., developing positive working rela- the e-mail account you want Ryan Watkins, Assistant Professor, Edu- tionships with our fellow learners them use, your instant messen- cational Technology Leadership Pro- in the classroom, which typically ger name, or even your phone gram, George Washington University, translate to success when we are numbers if want them to call 2134 G Street, NW, Washington, DC you). Being able to contact each 20052. Telephone: (202) 994-1701. asked to work together as teams or Web: www.ryanwatkins.com when study groups are formed. other is a first step in developing From making a good first impres- positive relations.

32 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 • Make a conscious effort to substi- son, learners will want to use these ONLINE DISCUSSION tute for the non-verbal cues that unique opportunities to take advan- they regularly rely on for building tage of the matchless benefits of the BOARDS successful relationships in the tra- technology. Asynchronous discussions (nor- ditional classroom, by using com- mally in online bulletin or discussion mon emoticons, abbreviations, 4. Access the chat software the boards) offer the opportunity for and other online communication day before the synchronous learners and instructors to carry on techniques. discussion to verify that a conversation at convenient times. •Include specific information everything is working prop- Because each participant in the dis- regarding what should happen erly. Often, chat features in cussion may select a time to reply to next (for example, indicating online courses will require the latest addition to the conversa- when they will respond to an additional software (called tion, the flexibility in pace and email, proposing next steps to be plug-ins). If you do not have length of the conversation can vary taken, asking questions they access, by checking the day greatly. Learners can, however, use would like to have answered in before you will have time to this additional time to respond to the next communication). By contact technical support. messages to clarify their comments or questions to ensure that there are illustrating their organization and 5. Before the chat discussion, no miscommunications. planning, they can develop posi- prepare a list of questions tive relationships with their that you would like to ask online peers. during the chat, as well as 1. Determine how formal or informal your contributions any comments that you want to the discussion should be. As you can see from this limited to make in the discussion. While informal postings (like example, the strategies and skills for Write these in a word pro- those that you would write to online success are often a combina- cessing program first so you a friend) are common, most tion of adapting habits from the tra- can cut-and-paste from the often the clarity and precision ditional classroom, along with document during the discus- of formal communications adopting some new talents. sion. For long contributions, will be desired in order to The secret to our success, and the this will especially save you avoid miscommunications, as success of our learners, is therefore the time of typing and editing many of the non-verbal skills being able to develop effective study the comment before sending you rely on in the traditional skills and learning strategies for this it. In addition, this technique classroom are not present in new learning environment. For each will also help you avoid online discussion boards. new technology that we use to com- grammatical and spelling 2. Create a schedule for each municate online, there are a variety errors. day (or week, depending on of study skill and learning strategy 6. Create a good studying envi- considerations that instructors and the length of the e-learning ronment for the chat (for course) to participate in the learners should consider in prepar- example, turn off the televi- ing for success. Below are 10 essen- asynchronous discussions. sion, ask your family or Include in this schedule how tial study tips and learning strategies co-workers not to interrupt that can be used effectively by online much time you will spend you, turn off any instant mes- reading the postings of oth- learners when participating in online saging programs, turn off discussions: ers, as well as time for your e-mail, etc.) responding to those postings. 7. Review any rules, agenda, 3. Use the writing techniques and/or etiquette guides pro- (for example, paragraphs ONLINE REAL-TIME CHATS vided by the instructor. should have an introduction, Synchronous or real-time chats pro- 8. Each of the comments and supporting facts, and conclu- vide learners with one of the few questions posted in the dis- sion; correct spelling and online experiences in which they can cussion do not require your grammar; etc.) you have been receive immediate replies to their response. Respond only to taught since primary school, questions or comments, thereby those that address you specif- and at the same time don’t allowing for a conversation to ically or when your response write a book when a short, develop with the spontaneity of the will make a valuable contri- well-written paragraph or traditional classroom. For that rea- bution to the discussion. two will do.

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 33 4. Try not to read too much into Developing effective study skills STUDY AND TECHNOLOGY TIPS comments made by other and learning strategies for online ARE TAKEN FROM: learners; miscommunications courses is essential to the success of Watkins, R., & Corry, M. (2004). are common in online discus- learners. These are just a few of E-learning companion: A student’s sions. In addition, stay away many techniques that we should guide to online success. New York: from the use of sarcasm, idi- help learners develop on their path Houghton Mifflin. to success in e-learning. Study skills communication techniques Watkins, R. (2004). 20 essential study in time management, technical trou- that can easily result in mis- tips for E-learners. In Biech, E. (Ed.) communication. ble-shooting, e-research, online The 2004 Pfeiffer annual: Training. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass-Pfeiffer. 5. Cut-and-paste links to Web group dynamics, taking online sites into your postings in exams, as well as effective communi- order to reduce the number cations using email, listserves, and of inverted letters or missing online whiteboards are all critical to periods in links. the success of online learners.

34 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Sustainability

Leveraging Knowledge Assets Do Less and Accomplish More

Jonathon Levy

The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who can- not learn, unlearn, and relearn.

or many years I have used degree, go to work.” The knowl- conscious capacity to know. Toffler that quotation from Alvin edge you acquired on-campus was knew that in the late ’60s. FToffler’s Future Shock in pretty much all you needed for Recently I had the honor to most of my public speeches. No your entire career. Or so we present a lecture in Sao Paolo in the matter what the theme, I would try thought. Toffler was one of the few same venue where Toffler, now 76, to find a way to work it in, because futurists at the time who pointed to delivered an inspiring keynote to the quote is so powerful and appro- continuous immersion in the field 3000 Latin American managers. priate. of knowledge as a way to cope with His focus, as before, was on the In the late 1960s, the prevailing the unprecedented rate of change transformational need of our time, paradigm was “go to school, get a initiated by new technologies. He but now described in much finer played a major role in shaping my detail within the context of The lifelong quest to locate the spark Third Wave, which clarifies the where technology, knowledge, and original concept. According to Tof- awareness converge. fler, the First Wave of change was What prescience he must have launched by the agricultural revolu- had back then, to redefine literacy tion. The Second Wave—the Indus- not in terms of what you know and trial Revolution—gave rise to a new do, but rather in terms of what you factory-centered civilization that is can know and may do, in terms of still spreading in China, Mexico, pure potentiality. Dynamic learning and other parts of the world. “But and just-in-time knowledge are even as the Second Wave plays itself only now becoming widely recog- out on the global stage,” Toffler nized as requirements for corporate explained, “America and other learning in an age of rapid change. countries are already feeling the Today, “sustainability” means impact of a gigantic Third Wave Jonathon Levy, Senior Learning Strate- more than just providing informa- partly based on the substitution of gist, The Monitor Group, Two Canal tion and training; increasingly, it mental power for muscle power in Park, Cambridge, MA 02141. Tele- means developing a company’s the economy.” The Third Wave is phone: (617) 252-2201. E-mail: knowledge workers’ collective more than just technology and eco- Jonathon_Levy@Monitor. com. potential to learn and relearn, to nomics, more than just being “digi- Web: www.jonathonlevy.com develop their intuition and their tal” and “networked.” It marks our

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 35 transition from a brute force to a boundary has been reached, it is program are now available to “brain force” economy. likely that the next major wave in address companies’ very contempo- The Third Wave suggests a next human capital development will rary need to develop the full poten- stage in two evolving themes of involve the teaching of techniques to tial of knowledge workers. human history: leverage (doing less expand the conscious capacity of the This may well prove to be the but accomplishing more) and net- mind itself, enlivening the potential avant-garde in human resource working (employing the collective and thereby increasing the efficacy of development. The lawyers in a Buf- value of what we know). In the first knowledge workers. Even now, we falo, New York, law firm begin their instance, leverage and networking are starting to see companies intro- weekly meeting by meditating. “It’s were played out thousands of years duce mental technologies such as our universal experience here that ago with the advent of the first tools meditation in the workplace, to fur- much more can be accomplished in and the first villages. The tools lever- ther empower knowledge workers by the practice of law if we are doing it aged our physical power and the vil- decreasing stress and enhancing the in a thoughtful and quiet manner lages functioned as hubs of signal-to-noise ratio in human con- rather than in a frantic manner,” knowledge networks that gathered sciousness. says David Pfalzgraf, a partner at the and redistributed new information. The focus of these mental technol- firm. Business Week reports that In the 1900s labor-based economy, ogies, the technologies of expanded “There are no hard numbers on how businesses developed power tools to awareness, is on the extension of the many companies have added medita- leverage the muscle power of their container of knowledge—the human tion benefits, but the anecdotal evi- workers and assembly lines that mind—as the other side of the coin dence is mounting . . . (at) AOL Time relied not on a single worker but on of human potentiality. Investment in Warner Inc., where the sales and the collective efforts of many. The the knowledge workforce is extend- marketing group was reduced from evolution of that theme has given ing beyond the knowledge systems to 850 to 500 people three years ago, rise to today’s knowledge-based the users of those systems, the meditation classes were incorporated economy in which state-of-the-art knowledge workers themselves. This to help employees deal with the new knowledge systems converge both “next step” seems to yield very prac- 12-hour days.” tools and networks into a single tical results. For example, one of the Corporate blue-bloods such as powerful system that leverages the world’s leading pharmaceutical com- McKinsey, Deutsche Bank, and mental power and collective wisdom panies, AstraZeneca, has instituted Hughes Aircraft are joining tech out- of knowledge workers. the practice of group meditation for fits like Apple Computer, Yahoo!, It is the same evolutionary ten- a few minutes before important exec- and Google in offering meditation to dency displayed first with machines, utive meetings get underway, the the- their employees. “Companies then with electronic technology, now ory being that decision-makers increasingly are falling for the allure with ideas. At each stage, the intro- whose minds are clear and free from of meditation . . . offering free, duction of a subtler level of influence stress will make better decisions. on-site classes,” adds the Business has resulted in a more powerful level In a rapidly-changing field, it is Week report. “They’re being won of solution. Tools such as faster com- easier to “skate to where the puck over, in part, by findings at the puters and “smart,” portable tech- will be” if the trajectory of the National Institutes of Health, the nology are now wirelessly linked to change cycle can be seen clearly. University of Massachusetts, and the robust networked databases to Once we see the principles of doing Mind/Body Medical Institute at Har- broaden the scope of what the less and accomplishing more, of the vard University, that meditation knowledge worker can see in a single collective value of the network, then enhances the qualities companies instant. New technologies link the we are able to predict the next step need most from their knowledge knowledge workers with a field of of human resource development workers: increased brain-wave activ- collective knowledge and leverage when the technologies of knowledge ity, enhanced intuition, better con- their mental processes through intel- have taken us as far as they can go. centration.” ligent filtering, recognizing patterns, In ancient times, great masters like Twenty-three years ago IBM’s and accessing required knowledge in Aristotle and Plato facilitated the then Sr. VP for Human Resources, real time. expanded awareness of their disci- Walton Burdick, suggested that, in This new wave of technology, a ples, focusing less on what they the future, the best companies in the wave that was described in the last knew and more on their own world would be differentiated by the “Sustainability” column in Distance self-knowledge. We may be coming degree to which they relate to their Learning, will begin to define the full cycle; ancient technologies from employees holistically, as whole outer limits of digital technology ancient bodies of knowledge such as human beings. It seems that Walt’s knowledge systems. Once that the Transcendental Meditation (TM) prediction may be coming of age.

36 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 New Media, New Learning

That’s Entrainment!

Craig Ullman

here’s a handy little neolo- meanings, and sometimes they end elbow,” and no, I’m not bitter.) gism making the rounds up meaning completely the oppo- So why, you ask, would some- T these days, and I think it’s site of what they originally meant. one spending a fortune of someone key to understanding instructional This previously obscure word has else’s money going to grad school design for interactive media: taken on an exciting new obscure ruin a perfectly valid arm just to entrainment. meaning: entrainment, for interac- play with circles and gumdrops? Based on the Old French tive media, has come to mean “the Pac-man was an Uber-exercise in entrainer, which meant “to drag,” internal rhythm of an experience.” entrainment. You got a jolt of anxi- entrain has been used for some time Perhaps the purest example of ety as you ran from the ghosts, in English as a rather obscure verb entrainment I’ve seen is the old barely making it to a power pill, meaning “to pull or draw along video game, Pac-man. As you and then the table is briefly after itself.” The meaning of the might recall, Pac-man was a turned—relief—and you chase word was extended into chemistry: two-dimensional maze. A yellow them. The ebb and flow of tension, “to carry along in a current.” circle the user controlled had to go the entrainment of the game, made It’s one of the pesky complica- through the entire maze, appearing it utterly hypnotic. tions of civilization that words to eat all the dots that line the Perhaps the interchange between morph (like morph, for instance); maze. The ravenous little circle was relief and anxiety reaches some they change meanings, they drop chased by brightly colored gum- pre-historic memories locked in our drops called ghosts. If the gumdrop DNA: stalk the mastodon...stalk reached the yellow circle, the circle the mastodon...run away from the withered and died to a sad sound mastodon!.. RUN AWAY FROM effect. However, there were four THE MASTODON! large dots near each corner of the Perhaps that’s why a twitch maze called power pills. If the yel- game like Pac-man and its many low circle ran over a power pill, the descendants are played mainly by ghosts would turn blue, and the boys (or grad students). Whatever. yellow circle could then chase and Or perhaps not. eat them. The object of the game In any case, Pac-man holds a key was to survive long enough to clear to our conceptualization of interac- the maze and go to the next identi- tive educational content: not cal one. because it’s a game, but because it The anthropomorphism was hews so well to its entrainment. vague at best; while brightly col- The structure of any interactive ored, there was no suggestion of content needs to have a similar Craig Ullman, Partner, Networked depth, and no real purpose. flow of tension (answering ques- Politics, 49 West 27th St., Suite 901, Pac-man was an inordinately trivial tions and other kinds of user New York, NY 12401. Telephone: (212) 658-9929. Fax: (212) 504- game. And yet, a legion of fans actions) and relief (more passive 3091. E-mail: played the game to the point of ten- transfer of knowledge). Too much [email protected] dinitis (they called it “Pac-man tension causes frustration, too

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 37 much relief causes enervation. The Interactive educational content achieved. So, for educational con- trick is to find a balance that’s requires a more complicated entrain- tent, there are really two levels of appropriate to the affordances of the ment than a video game. Mere repe- entrainment: the moment to medium you’re using. Just as impor- tition is not a sufficient motivation moment flow and, just as in any nar- tantly, the end of the experience— for an educational experience. rative, the overall flow of beginning, what’s required to get there and Rather, the ebb and flow of tension middle, and end. what it is—needs to be clear from needs to have a direction, to mount, the start. until a culminating experience is

One distance learning leader had this collection of books about the field on his bookshelf.

Bates, A. (2000). Managing technological change. San Picciano, A. (2001). Distance learning: Making connec- Francisco: Jossey-Bass. tions across virtual space and time. Upper Saddle River, Boar, B. (2001). The art of strategic planning for instruc- NJ: Prentice Hall. tional technology. New York: Wiley. Reisman, S., Flores, J., & Edge, D. (2003). Electronic Chute, A., Thompson, M., & Hancock B. (1999). The learning communities: Issues and practices. Greenwich, McGraw-Hill handbook of distance learning. New CT: Information Age. York: McGraw-Hill. Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New Clark, R. (Ed.). (2001). Learning from media: Arguments, York: Free Press. analysis and evidence. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Schlosser, L., & Simonson, M. (2002). Distance education: Publishing. Definition and glossary of terms. Bloomington, IN: Corry, M., & Tu, C. (Eds.). (2003). Distance education: Association for Educational Communications and What works well. New York: Haworth Press. Technology. Cyrs. T. (1999). Engaging students in distance learning. Schreiber, D., & Berge, Z. (Eds.). (1998). Distance train- Las Cruces, NM: Center for Educational Development, ing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. New Mexico State University. Seels, B. B., & Richey, R. C. (1994). Instructional technol- Cyrs. T. (1997). Teaching at a distance with the merging ogy: The definition and domains of the field. Blooming- technologies. Las Cruces, NM: Center for Educational ton, IN: Association for Educational Communications Development, New Mexico State University. and Technology. Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. (2001). The systematic Simonson, M. (Ed.). (2004). Distance learning: A maga- design of instruction, (5th ed.). New York: Addison- zine for leaders. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Pub- Wesley. lishing. Holmberg B. (1986). Growth and structure of distance Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. education. London: Croom Helm. (2003). Teaching and learning at a distance: Founda- Keegan, D. (1996). Foundations of distance education, tions of distance education (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Knowles, M. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected spe- Simonson, M., & Schlosser, C. (Eds.). (2002). Quarterly cies (4th ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co. Review of Distance Education. Greenwich, CT: Infor- Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (2004). Teaching online: A practical mation Age. guide (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Vrasidas, C. & Glass, G. (2002). Distance education and Lynch, M. (2002). The online educator: A guide to creat- distributed learning. Greenwich, CT. Information Age. ing the virtual classroom. London: Routledge. Watkins, B., & Wright, S. (1991) Foundations of Ameri- Moore, M. (Ed.). The American Journal of Distance Edu- can distance education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt. cation. Watkins, R., & Corry, M. (2005). E-learning companion: Moore, M. G., & Anderson, W. G. (Eds.) (2003). Hand- A student’s guide to online success. Boston: Houghton book of distance education. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Mifflin. Nistor, N., English, S., Wheeler, S., & Jalobeanu, M. Wedemeyer, C. (1981). Learning at the back door: Reflec- (2003). Toward the virtual university. Greenwich, CT: tions on non-traditional learning in the lifespan. Madi- Information Age. son, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning commu- nities in cyberspace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

38 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Pedagogy Corner

Do You Chunk? You Should

David Graf

et’s face it, the problem bal content into easily absorbed with the task of transitioning an with many online courses is “bits” of information. existing face-to-face course to an Lthat we ask students to One way to begin is to look at online environment. Begin by read page after page of electroni- how the content of your online closely analyzing the content of the cally generated text. Faculty who course is structured. One of the course. Break it down (roughly at take the step of transitioning a more accepted structures follows a first) into manageable segments face-to-face course to an online unit-module-topic approach. Each that approach the module concept environment tend to take existing unit of the course would be the described above. Next, take a close, content and convert it into an elec- equivalent of one semester hour of critical look at each of the resulting tronic version of what they have content. And each unit would con- “modules” with the express pur- been doing in their classrooms. For tain 3-5 modules. Each of the mod- pose of breaking the information the most part, that simply does not ules would have 3-5 topics, with down even further, where possible. work. We need to move beyond each topic having a single learning Then begin the process of “build- feeding students page after page of outcome. Using this approach, a ing” the course in your online text. And to do that, we need to typical three credit-hour course learning environment. As you do find ways to change the delivery of might have 3 units, 12 modules this, ask yourself a series of ques- 50 minutes worth of primarily ver- (approximately one per week), 48 tions: topics, and 48 learning outcomes. This type of structure both •If your course has a textbook, assures and enables a designer and/ how will you make it a resource or faculty member to chunk course for students, as opposed to reit- content. The concept of chunking is erating its content? not new and has been applied to •What portions of the course con- instructional situations for quite tent can best be delivered elec- some time. Simply put, the concept tronically in text format? of chunking refers to breaking •What portions of the content information down into chewable might better be delivered using segments. Recent literature suggests various forms of multimedia? that a chunk is no more than 2 or 3 •What is it that you are asking “screens” of paged text. Given that students to do—and how does the smallest item in our course this affect the design and struc- structure is a “topic,” this would ture of course assignments? David Graf, Fischler Graduate School mean that each topic in the course •What Web-based resources are of Education and Human Services, might be considered to be a chunk. available to supplement the con- Nova Southeastern University, 1750 One rule of thumb is to limit your tent you are making available N. E. 167th St., North Miami Beach, chunk to things students can assim- within your online course? FL, 33162 Telephone: (954) 262- ilate in no more than 15 minutes. 8786. Fax: (954) 262-2713. There is much you can do to With conceptual answers to E-mail: [email protected] chunk course content. Let’s begin these questions in hand, you can

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 39 turn your attention to the actual • Assignment(s): those things your for Instructional Design: http:// structure of the course. While there students will do to earn points in www1.fccj.edu/ngardner/acid/acid/ are many course structure models your course. ID/chunking.htm available, you might find my “5 A’s” • Assessment: quizzes and tests. Content. Southern Cross University, model useful: Teaching and Learning Centre: http:// My suggestions are merely start- www.scu.edu.au/services/tl/sd_online/ content2.html • Aims: the learning outcome(s) for ing points. All I have written here— and everything you do as you transi- Chunking a Distance Learning Course. the topic. tion your course to an online learn- Northeast Texas Consortium: http:// • Advance Organizer: a preamble ing environment—has been with one www.netnet.org/instructors/ of sorts, that provides students thought in mind: what is best for the coursedev/chunking/ with information about what students who will take this course? Course Outline and Production Form. they are about to study. University of North Texas Center for • Activities: your content plus Distributed Learning: http:// www.unt.edu/cdl/services/ things students will do as they SELECTED REFERENCES prod_form.htm (Note: the produc- navigate their way through the Instructional Design Jargon Explained: tion form found at this link may be content. These are your Chunking. Florida Community Col- helpful to you in conceptualizing the “chunks.” lege at Jacksonville, Applied Center “chunks” of your course.)

40 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Reports from USDLA ...... Executive Director

USDLA Launches New Distance Learning Accreditation Board . . . DLAB

John Flores

or many years, those of us in ogy-driven distance learning was a level of change. At any rate, some the distance learning industry sound alternative to the physical changes are good and some merely Fstruggled for respect among classroom. I’m not sure how many mask endemic flaws in our pro- our more traditionally-based col- converts we won, but the figures at grams; hence, the need for a system- leagues. During that time, we were least kept the critics at bay and pre- atic approach to improvement. compelled to offer numbers and sta- vented us from being relegated to Probably the strongest impetus tistics to illustrate that technol- the backwaters of academia. for improvement comes when there All of that has changed now. No is a system of accountability. In this longer are numbers or justifications context, I’m obviously not alluding required. Distance learning has to surface questions recited from a come from the fringe to the fore- clipboard. Rather, I speak of an front of education. Indeed, distance insightful process designed by an learning has become almost as com- international group of experts in the mon among colleges as are email field of distance learning. The criti- accounts among our friends. Rarely cal element is having an understand- do you have to ask . . . it’s just there! ing of both technology and learning As a result, vast and untapped new processes—and knowing how the constituencies are now accessible to two can best combine to effect stu- the knowledge industry. dent achievement. There is not a Certainly the early pioneers wel- simple formula for doing this. It var- come this growth—vindication is so ies with the subject and varies with sweet! At the same time, though, the students. Yet, with all of the dif- these visionaries recognize that real ferences, our experience shows that growth not only consists of getting certain broad principles apply. bigger, but also of becoming better, The United States Distance John G. Flores, Executive Director, more focused . . . more effective. We Learning Association, founded in USDLA, 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, know that change is inevitable and 1987, was the first nonprofit dis- Boston, MA 02108. Telephone: 800 275-5162. that is especially true when one is tance learning association in the E-mail: [email protected] bound to a technical platform—the United States to support research, shifts in technology drive a certain development, and praxis across the

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 41 entire spectrum of education and involved because we recognized the with our own insights and practical training. Our consistent focus has magnitude and importance of this experience has led to a strong pro- been on quality approaches and pro- job. Yet, the need is great. Thus, in gram, one that addresses particular fessional growth. We have served as the last year we have begun a pro- needs in the academic and corporate a focal point and clearinghouse for gram to credential individual dis- areas of distance learning. Not only some of the great innovations in our tance learning practitioners. should this approach provide a basis field. It is fitting, then, that the Asso- As we take this step, it is impor- for recognizing equivalence between ciation should now engage its seg- tant to acknowledge the support we programs, but also should foster ment of the education industry in have received from friends with an communication and improvement the quality improvement process. affinity in this area. Chief among throughout the industry. To that The globalization of learning is these is Glenn R. Jones of Jones an inescapable trend that under- International, Ltd., who had under- end, we are quick to recognize that scores the need for standards of written the development of interna- our standards and procedures can- quality at the international level. tional quality standards for distance not be rigidly fixed but are them- Just as we saw in the US that dis- learning under GATE, the Global selves merely a strand within a tance learning allowed schools a Alliance for Transnational Educa- larger, dynamic process. natural expansion across state lines, tion. His generous gift of this If you are a member of a learning we now see a similar dynamic with well-developed material to our organization—pre-college, college, programs extending across national non-profit association came at a or corporate—we invite you to con- borders. And, just as the first surge strategic moment and made tact us about how we can help you of expansion raised issues of quality USDLA’s task far more manageable. further develop your program. The and equivalence, so does the sec- The Association owes Glenn Jones end product of a process such as this ond—but in ways perhaps more its deep gratitude for his vision and is not a certificate hung on the wall. challenging. Thus, USDLA’s growing support. Moreover, Jim Vautrot, That is only an artifact. Rather, our interest in connecting with its inter- CEO and President of BAF Satellite end product is students and institu- national counterparts to facilitate and Technology Corporation, has quality assurance in the global learn- contributed his company’s man- tions: better prepared, stronger, and ing community. power in helping USDLA move this more vibrant in their mission. The USDLA Board considered the opportunity forward. A debt of If a call to excellence resonates issue of accreditation and certifica- appreciation is due him, too, from with you, then I hope you will be in tion several times in the past. We all USDLA members. touch with us. Together we will were reticent to become directly Melding the GATE standards make a difference!

42 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 Reports from USDLA ...... President

USDLA The Transformation

Darcy W. Hardy

his month I want to talk changed my mind, and why I’m now talization effort, and new members about USDLA. As the cur- glad I did. have provided fresh and innovative T rent president, and someone For many years (from my perspec- ideas. I have seen a true transforma- who has been aware of the organiza- tive as someone involved in higher tion. We now have a much more tion for about 15 years, I’ll start by education), the USDLA represented equal distribution of corporate, being honest with you. At the time I corporate partners, particularly higher education, K-12, and mili- was elected to be a member of the videoteleconferencing partners. It tary/government members, both on USDLA Board of Directors, I was a wasn’t that this was a bad thing, but the Board and within our general former state chapter president who it didn’t seem to fit my reasons for membership. And what a wonderful had wanted to defect from USDLA joining the organization. And, at the set of new ideas and processes have during my presidency. Not just me, time (as it does now), the Texas Dis- come about as a result of that mem- but my whole state chapter. Let me tance Learning Association (TxDLA) bership. tell you why I felt that way, why I had a large number of members from I truly believe that USDLA is the higher education and we were work- premier organization for distance ing to build a strong K-12 member- learning professionals—regardless of ship as well. I felt that USDLA your job or career choice. Voices are represented the “training” side of heard from across our membership, distance learning, but not the “edu- members are invited to be part of cation” side as much as I would have committees usually reserved for liked. One could argue that training Board members only, and we are and educating are the same thing, but seeing continued growth in most people know there is a differ- state-affiliated chapters as well as ence. special interest groups, such as the When I was elected to the Board, American Council for Virtual Edu- I was hesitant to serve based on my cation, spearheaded by Mary Beth past perspective and experiences. Susman. The change is phenomenal. But I accepted the position and have Our colleagues in higher education been amazed at how much the orga- and particularly K-12 now look to nization has to offer—and how USDLA more than they have in the Darcy W. Hardy, University of Texas much it has changed. There has been past. Corporate sponsorships con- System, 210 W. Sixth St. Ste. 2.100, new leadership at the national level tinue to grow. Our military and gov- Austin, TX 78701. Telephone: (512) 499-4204. Fax: (512) 499-4735. since 1999. Members of the Board ernment representation is also on the E-mail: [email protected] who have been part of the organiza- rise. People are noticing a difference. tion for many years have led a revi- USDLA is the one organization that

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 43 embraces the various “silos” we find me wrong, I believe that solid the “glass ceiling” over the years— in the field and brings them all to the research is what leads us to this conference will address how same table. re-design, re-create, and evolve our women have risen above that glass I know that there are many field. But realistically, I also want ceiling in our field and why. It will national organizations that address and need to know what’s going on in also involve a great deal of mentor- distance learning in some way (and the real world today—while it’s hap- ing and networking, and an oppor- we all seem to belong to several). I pening. I want to hear about new tunity to share experiences. The have my own personal favorite orga- models that are being created and, speakers are outstanding! Space is nizations and conferences that deal probably more importantly, what limited to 200 participants, so regis- with distance learning. I’m sure each models my colleagues are copying. ter early. This event will be unlike of you has yours as well. But, I Who are the people taking risks and anything you’ve experienced. See would venture that whatever the trying new things? What are we www.usdla.org for details, and regis- organization or conference, it is learning from practical applications ter NOW! focused on your type of organiza- in distance learning? I believe that So, as president of USDLA, this is tion (corporate or public), your mis- USDLA, through this new publica- my pitch for you to become a full sion (training or education), or your tion, hits that niche. professional member if you aren’t technology (online, broadcast, vid- There are other things happening eoconferenceing, print-based, etc.). within USDLA that show forward already. I’m a practitioner and I can Okay, so what has USDLA done thinking, such as the International tell you this is a “new” organization, lately? Well, for starters, we’ve Forum for Women in E-Learning and it’s based on effecting change in launched this great new practitio- (IFWE) that will be held September the field, helping and mentoring ners’ magazine, and you’re reading it 13-15, 2004. The forum targets each other across the various areas now. Spread the word. This is one of women who are leaders in distance we represent, and then bringing the first magazines/journals about learning as well as those women together under one roof all the silos distance learning that I can and will who are up-and-coming leaders in that exist in distance learning. If you actually read cover to cover. Let’s the field. But IFWE is not going to aren’t a member of USDLA now, face it folks, while many of us tend be exclusively for women only. I think about joining. If you are, tell to think of ourselves as researchers encourage men who are interested in your friends. We are a for- or “academics,” how many of us women’s issues in distance learning ward-thinking organization. To- really have time to read heavy and their leadership roles to attend. gether, we can be the future of this research-based articles? Don’t get There have been many articles about ever-changing field.

44 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3 USDLA Viewpoint

Women, Leadership, and Distance Education A Brave New World or Darker Shades of the Glass Ceiling?

Don Olcott, Jr.

he information revolution while this emerging trend cannot be modern educational technologies. has precipitated one trans- attributed solely to distance educa- At first glance, it appears that a T formation after another tion, one can make a convincing brave new world has evolved for across colleges and universities. argument that distance education women in distance education and One emerging development is the has been a catalyst for attracting information technology profes- increasing number of women in more and more women into the sions. Or has it? As Mark Twain technology-related positions. And, technology-related professions. once remarked, “of course truth is What is less apparent is whether stranger than fiction . . . fiction has this trend has resulted in more to make sense.” women assuming high-level leader- The contemporary truth that ship positions or whether we are doesn’t make sense is this: there is seeing new manifestations of the still a disproportionate number of glass ceiling. Perhaps both perspec- men in engineering, business, and tives are valid, with the latter being science faculties and even fewer somewhat perplexing. female deans, vice presidents, Today, on nearly every univer- CIO’s, provosts, and presidents on sity and college campus, you will the majority of campuses. These see more women in positions that disturbing facts are accentuated directly or indirectly support the further when one considers the gap application of information technol- between white males in top leader- ogy in teaching and learning. There ship positions and their minority are more women serving as instruc- male and female counterparts. This tional designers, evaluation special- brave new world isn’t quite as Don Olcott, Jr., Executive Director, ists, online program developers, brave and things are not all-white Division of Extended Programs, West- distance education marketing spe- (all right) in the hallowed halls of ern Oregon University, 345 N. Mon- cialists, directors of technology the academy. mouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR partnerships and campus centers, Given we cannot fix the aggre- 97361. Telephone: (503) 838-8483. Fax: (503) 838-8473. and certainly many more women gate socio-ethnic-gender disparity E-mail: [email protected] teaching with the vast arsenal of in American colleges and universi-

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 45 ties with one silver bullet solution, • None of these have anything to institutional level to make real lets focus on distance education and do with visionary and empower- change. information technology. Let’s start ing leadership. The primary rea- • Scope out professional develop- with some guiding assumptions for son that there is a leadership void ment opportunities that focus on women to consider in opening the in higher education, and society women and leadership (USDLA leadership doors for themselves: in general, is that our male lead- 2004 IFWE Conference in Phoe- ers still believe the art of leader- nix). The traditional male models •American higher education’s his- ship lies in the past. Women have are obsolete, so all of us, men and toric culture, governance, and figured out that visionary leader- women, must create new models policy infrastructure was created, ship lies in the future. of leadership that work in an reinforced, and sustained by information society. males. Given that women are So, ladies, for those of you in dis- commonly labeled as the emo- tance education, engineering, sci- •If you work in the distance educa- tional gender, it is ironic that the ence, business, and the information tion profession, use this as a persistent dysfunctions of the technology professions, here’s what springboard to discuss all career academy historically are the cre- you need to do. Send your male possibilities with young women, ations of males. counterparts shopping and try these your daughters and, yes, the men •Males make the rules and when on for size: in your life. In an age in which we the rules don’t work, men break are in desperate need of new role the rules or create short-term sta- •Recognize first and foremost, that models, you can begin being a tus quo protection strategies that the female attributes of empower- role model for those in your life. don’t work either. Why? Because ment, collaboration, and relation- the system that has sustained ship-building are invaluable So it’s up to you to create new their careers and rewarded them attributes for creating distance leadership opportunities for women is broken; severely broken, as a education and information tech- in distance education and the tech- matter of fact, and the only nology partnerships. Colleges and nology-related professions. Are you answers they have are embedded universities with viable and thriv- going to wait for males to do this for in the past. Boys will be boys and ing technology programs are you? If we are to relegate the glass there is not one male on the characteristically build around ceiling into the history books, then planet who doesn’t hope that his partnerships. daughter will be given every •Network, network, and network your choices, your networks, and opportunity to shine in her career some more. Women in the acad- your visions have to be heard. and personal life. emy across all professions need to Silence is only golden for protecting • The only thing more fragile than build professional networks the status quo, no matter how anti- quicksand is the male ego, and among themselves. Professional quated and obsolete the status quo when men don’t have the right associations provide periodic may be. Remember, history does answers, fear sets in and aca- renewal and opportunities to net- not, in fact, repeat itself: foolish peo- demic paralysis is pervasive work with other women, but col- ple repeat history. A brave new across the academy. Retrench- lective influence and leadership world is waiting for you. The choice ment replaces leadership. must emerge and solidify at the is yours.

46 Distance Learning Volume 1, Issue 3

And Finally . . .

Distance Learning Leaders— Who Are They? ecently, a program of and goals. A distance learning will produce a new leader. Cer- study leading to a certifi- leader has competence in know- tainly the idea of certification pro- Rcate as a distance learning ing, designing, managing, leading grams to prepare leaders is leader was held at Nova Southeast- and visioning distance education. becoming wide spread, and if the ern University. At the core of the marketplace decides, then these The whole idea of training to six week long program was the def- many and varied programs must be develop leaders is an interesting inition offered of a leader. doing something right. We at the one. The military trains its officers Distance Learning Magazine would A distance learning leader is a to be leaders during intensive ses- love to hear from our subscribers visionary capable of action who sions such as the U.S. Marine and readers about his topic—are guides an organization’s future, Corps’ Basic School, a six month leaders trained or do they emerge? its vision, mission, goals, and immersion in all that one could Let us know your thoughts, and if objectives. The leader guides the imagine for the new junior Marine organization and its people who you have specific insights or experi- Officer. The Navy has the Surface have faith in the leader, and have ences, write an article. a clear understanding and accep- Warfare Officers School in New- tance of the organization’s port, RI, which is a series of worthwhile and shared vision schools for officers of various ranks AND FINALLY, as Walter Lipp- who attend several times during mann said “the final test of a leader their naval careers. Without excep- is that [the leader leaves behind] in tion these schools are months long, others the conviction and the will and totally dominate the time and to carry on…the genius of a good the of those in attendance. Then, leader is to leave behind a situation we have West Point, Annapolis, which common sense, without the and the Air Force Academy—cer- grace of genius, can deal with suc- tainly colleges, but also designed to cessfully.” If distance education – produce military leaders. distance teaching and distance Are we naïve to think we can learning—is to become main- prepare leaders of distance educa- stream, then many leaders in a mul- tion organizations in two days and titude of locations will be needed. six weeks of online follow up? Or, Informed leaders who believe in are there a common core of skills, high quality and in the rigorous competencies, and ideas that can be application of sound teaching prin- Michael Simonson, Editor, Distance taught, shared, and learned that ciples to the learning process. Learning, and Program Professor, Pro- grams in Instructional Technology and Distance Education, Fischler Graduate School of Education, Nova Southeast- ern University, 1750 NE 167 St., North Miami Beach, FL 33162. Telephone: (954) 262-8563. Fax: (954) 262-3905. E-mail: [email protected]

Volume 1, Issue 3 Distance Learning 48