EDER%20677%20Telecommunications%20in%20Education%20Different%20Modes%20of%20Telecommunication%20%20Systems%20:%20distance%20Education%20Implications%20-%20Linking%20to%20Learn%20-%20%20Kowch,%202003

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EDER 677 Telecommunications in
EducationDifferent Modes of Telecommunication
Systems distance Education Implications-
Linking to Learn - Kowch, 2003
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Goals of this Session

• Key Terms
• Linking Resources
• Linking Configurations
• Advantages of Linking to Learn
• Implementation Issues of Linking to Learn

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Key Terms

• Telecommunications - communication over a
  distance (time, place)
• through the use of transmission technologies
  to link learners and educational resources.
• Distributed Learning - a combination of distance
  education and constructivist learning principles
  online
• -integration of networking, computing, and
  multimedia technologies with learner-centered
  teaching approaches such as collaboration,
  discovery, and active learning

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Linking Resources

• Networks - common element to all linking
  resources
• Three basic components
• a) People who seek information

b) Source of information
c) Transmission technology that links
the two
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Linking Resources

• Transmission Technologies
• satellite
• microwave
• Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS)
• Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
• cable systems
• fiber optic systems
• Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) -
  carry all data types on the same line

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Linking Configurations

1. Audio Based Systems
2. Video Based Systems
3. Computer Based Systems

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1. Audio Based Systems

1. One way audio (e.g. radio broadcast) (RealAudio)
2. Audio conferencing (e.g. two-way audio
   (telephone)
3. Audio graphics (e.g. computer networking -
   computer interaction with real-time audio
   communication)

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2. Video Based Systems

1. One way video (e.g. TV broadcasting - live or
   tape delayed)
2. One way video, two way audio (e.g. TV broadcasts,
   videos which are followed by teacher-student
   discussion)
3. Interactive two way audio and video (e.g. link
   between two remote sites -room or desktop video
   conferencing

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3. Computer Based Systems

• microcomputer, modem, communications software,
  communication link (e.g. telephone line)
• provides access to
• Internet/WWW
• E-mail
• Chat Groups (MOO and MUD)
• Listservs
• Bulletin Boards

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Telecom and Distributed Learning Modes 10 Modes
for Distance Education
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10 Modes for linking and learning

1. Face to face (non telecom or part)
2. Print based (non telecom or part)
3. Telephone and Audio Conferencing
4. Broadcast TV
5. Satellite TV
6. Cable TV
7. Audio Graphic Conferencing
8. Computer Conferencing
9. Compressed Video
10. Multimedia

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• Some advantages disadvantages of linking to
  learn and using different telecom modes in
  distance delivered education

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Face to face Mode

• Characteristics
• Recreates institutional setting
• Promotes higher interaction
• Low resource requirement
• High costs
• Small numbers in classes

• Advantages
• Uses existing facilities
• Existing institutional staff
• Moderate retraining needed
• Low instructional development cost

• Disadvantages
• Not as cost effective in some cases
• Travel time and risk is high
• Can have few site support services
• Access to learning resources can be relatively
  limited

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Print Based Mode

• Characteristics
• Cost effective
• Learner controlled
• Time effective in development
• Easily available and inexpensive production
• Vicarious view of reality
• Dependent on literacy
• Easy to edit and revise
• Critical component of most distance ed programs
  (globally)

• Advantages
• Easy to use
• Use anytime anyplace
• No equipment needed
• Not intimidating
• Least expensive distance education resource
• Focus on content needed
• Easy to locate, store, reference and review
• Vast organized body of existing print resources
  exists

• Disadvantages
• Quickly out dated
• Vicarious view of reality
• Sound and motion are difficult to model
• High learner motivation
• Passive self directed
• Lacks feedback and interaction
• Dependent on literacy and reading skills

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Telephone and Audio Teleconferencing
STANDARD PHONE ONE TO ONE
SPEAKER PHONE ONE TO MANY
Audio Bridge
speakerphone
MULTIPOINT CONFERENCE BRIDGE
MANY TO MANY

• Disadvantages
• Long distance costs
• Ties up the phone
• Not able to share graphics, text, images
  interactively
• Maintaining audio quality can be tough
• Eliminates nonverbal cues
• Technical interruptions
• No visual contact
• Cell phones can be noisy

• Characteristics
• Point to point with self convened multiple sites
• Supports other media such as print, cassettes,
  slides
• Fully interactive
• Large area of coverage possible globally
• Use at home or institution

• Advantages
• Universally available
• Low cost training equipment
• Program easily taped for review and absentees
• Group or individual use
• Supports variety of teaching strategies panels,
  interviews, role playing, case studies
• Access from any telephone

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Broadcast AM / FM Radio or Shortwave

• Characteristics
• Point to multipoint
• Audio only
• Receivers are low cost and can be owned by almost
  anyone
• Reaches very large numbers
• Now available from satellite downlinks to local
  transmitters, globally.

• Advantages
• Extremely cost effective
• Does not require the same degree of literacy as
  print
• Network infrastructure is in place, globally

• Disadvantages
• One way communication only
• No visual component
• Language based, naturally.

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Broadcast Television
TELEPHONE AND FAX INTERACTION

• Characteristics
• Point to multipoint
• Quality production facilities
• Large transmission area
• Few available VHF channels
• UHF transmission is limited by line of sight

• Advantages
• Easy access to TV and receiver
• Easy VCR access for archives
• Accepted method of knowledge acquisition
• Facilitates understanding of abstractions and
  complex information

• Disadvantages
• Not flexible broadcast time
• Commercially oriented
• Open public viewing
• Expensive to produce
• Expensive to broadcast at prime viewer times

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Satellite Television
TELEPHONE AND FAX INTERACTION

• Characteristics
• Serve remote areas
• Pont to point or multipoint or bidirectional
• Receive only terminal equipment affordable on an
  individual basis
• Controlled viewer access
• Programming materials interchangeable with
  broadcast or cable TV
• Compatible with computers now

• Advantages
• Serves users in all areas
• VCR delay of programming
• Becoming more affordable with compressed video
• Mixes well with print, audio and video resources
• Bi directional transmission feedback is possible
• Local and international span - access

• Disadvantages\
• Terminal receive equipment relatively expensive
  compared to broadcast cable or TV
• Requires expensive uplink for broadcaster
• Satellite time can be expensive
• Requires special skill in negotiating satellite
  time
• Spectrum space is limited and highly controlled

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Cable Television

• Characteristics
• Can carry digital signals now
• Can carry interactive digital now
• Available in north america everywhere
• High digital bandwidth capacity
• Requires low power (cost) compared to airborne
  signals
• Universal standards exist.

• Advantages
• Relatively low cost
• High penetration in urban areas
• Multichannel
• Low cost to receive (devices are in the TV)
• Can be used in conjunction with digital phone
  service
• Education channels often legislated and dedicated

• Disadvantages
• Musty one-way
• Can be 2 way
• Originating education sites often not connected
  for sending signals
• Originating production equipment is expensive
• Training personnel is expensive
• Not feasible in low population areas without
  satellite to cable downlinks.

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Audio Graphic Teleconferencing (Centra, vClass)

• Characteristics
• Point to multipoint or point to point
• Fully interactive
• Two way video is very slow
• Merging audio, video and computer data technology
• Data files prepared ahead of time and
  modifications saved by computer ahead of session

• Advantages
• Uses standard phone lines
• Transmits graphics, data screens, and still
  images
• Possible to annotate graphics
• Cost less than two way video conferencing
• Analog or digital transmission

• Disadvantages
• Equipment compatibility (Mac, PC)
• Ties up phone line
• Requires institutional licensing and negotiation
• Requires training

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Computer Conferencing
Server

• Characteristics
• Point to point (email) or point to multipoint
  (web server) conferencing
• Synchronous
• Host links everyone (ACS1 and WebCT do this)
• Exchange voice, video, image and data

• Advantages
• Convenient, works well in asynchronous and
  synchronous modes
• Fairly reliable and getting better
• Can be institutionally supported
• Inexpensive to very expensive, depending on the
  software today

• Disadvantages
• Equipment incompatibility
• Operating system incompatibility
• Firewalls and security
• Operating system / host system upgrades
• Human resource support is required
• Complex negotiations with software vendors

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Compressed Video / Real Time or Distributed
Document Cam
C
codec (encoder/decoder box.. Often proprietary
technology)
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Multimedia / Interactive on CD Rom or DVD
One-stop Teaching and Learning, with Linkages
to the WWW As needed.
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Multimedia / Interactive on CD Rom or DVD
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Multimedia

• Advantages
• One workstation opens up the world of information
  and instruction possibilities for the learner.
• The learner can design his or her own approach to
  learning with a good design, and learning object
  management system links emerging from the WWW.
• Students can store vast amounts of data
• Combines all the advantages of audio or video
  teleconferencing as large plasma screens will
  play digital content

• Disadvantages
• Equipment is compiles and expensive
• Software not on the net is very fast, so video
  and sound are more clear, and faster than the
  other modes
• The point above means that the computer must be
  configured with a multitude of software, or the
  software must be on disc.
• Learning materials must be reconfigured, a
  process that requires far greater investment (and
  instructional design) than the cost of the
  equipment.

• Characteristics
• Convergence of digital technology
• All information mediums are on board
• The computer links the present and emerging
  technologies
• Multimedia makes us of remote and local data
  bases seamlessly (with good design)

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10 Modes for linking and learning

1. Face to face (non telecom or part)
2. Print based (non telecom or part)
3. Telephone and Audio Conferencing
4. Broadcast TV
5. Satellite TV
6. Cable TV
7. Audio Graphic Conferencing
8. Computer Conferencing
9. Compressed Video
10. Multimedia

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We often choose the medium before designing the
learning event. Think about mixing the modes
on the previous page There are great
implications for learner type, instructor type,
higher order learning, cost, leadership and
instructional design if we consider a mixture of
modes, the CMC strengths and weaknesses, and we
create learning situations for specific
distributed learning groups, for specific
learning outcomes just like in a regular
classroom (Kowch, 2003).
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Some advantages of Linking to Learn

1. Provide ready access to a variety of people and
   information (changing the physical learning
   environment)
2. Create opportunities for collaboration between
   classrooms (learning communities)
3. Support learner - initiated study (changing roles
   of teacher and learner)
4. Offer advanced and otherwise unavailable courses
5. Deliver staff development programs with minimal
   restrictions of time or place

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Some advantages of Linking to Learn

• Research Evidence (1954 to 2000)
• There is no significant difference between
  instruction delivered through traditional
  classroom methods and instruction delivered over
  one or more remote technologies in which a
  teacher and students are separated by distance.
• The quality and design of instruction, rather
  than the delivery mechanism, make learning more
  effective (Richard Clark).

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Some Implementation Issues when Linking to Learn

1. Top level policy/planning is needed (leadership
   and partnerships)
2. Teacher involvement and training is required (the
   voice of teachers and students must be heard)
3. Technical limitations (time, money, machine,
   software constraints and constant change are
   important variables)
4. Differentiated staffing (classroom and field
   assistants are required, paper and electronic
   systems require good tech staff, not just good
   teachers)
5. Assessment (accountability split, non-traditional
   learning models are questions, credentialism is
   an issue, transfer of credit is an issue Are
   there standards? (no)

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Some Implementation Issues when Linking to Learn

• We need curriculum design and development for new
  and emerging standards that consider time and
  distance manipulated teaching and learning
  (transition from classroom to on-line
  communication styles and nuances)
• Administrative support and leadership training
  is essential for the success of planning and
  supporting distributed learning teaching and
  learning environments (education and
  environmental (macro) issues)
• Common transmission and technology standards will
  continue to make the discussion difficult, and
  easy for technocrats to control or direct
  (incompatibility issues)
• Obtaining required resources - DL can be
  expensive if we use telecommunications (cost and
  sustainability)

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Some Implementation Issues when Linking to Learn

• Logistical problems fixed assets, human assets,
  contracts, infrastructure sharing contracts,
  shared systems shared support mean complex
  logistics and people capable of working with such
  a situation (DL leadership issues)
• Ethical issues (on-line behavior and content
  monitoring - and now issues exist where DL
  software is extremely intrusive onto personal
  systems)
• Equity and cultural issues abound (equal access,
  cultural communication bias, multicultural
  leveling versus appreciation).. Who can afford DL
  (we must design for our demographic by choosing
  the right telecom mode)

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Coming up on October 17th

1. Contribute to this weeks discussion forum on The
   Different Modes of Telecommunications and
   distributed education.
2. Work on your paper and web-based student
   portfolio.
3. Prepare for discussion next week on Centra that
   will allow us to synthesize our readings /
   discussions / learnings so far.
4. For now, Adieu from Calgary