Demystifying Goals

1
Demystifying Goals

• Broadband and New Applications
• Telecommunications Business
• Systems Approach
• Teaching and Learning Research Base Applied as
  Bandwidth Increases
• Practical Approaches to Maximize Effectiveness

2
Myths and Realties

• There is a single model versus synthesizing
  components of many educational telecommunications
  systems.
• There is a single responsible organization
  managing technology versus a network of
  relationships introducing and sustaining programs

3
Myths and Realities

• Planning is rational -logically driven versus
  planning driven by political pressures and
  possibilities
• Change may be incremental or framebreaking
• Quality as arising from traditional instructional
  standards/assessment versus measures of quality
  reflecting new relationships with learners

4
Important Concepts

• Equity
• Climate
• Autonomy
• Relationships
• Reciprocity
• Consensus
• Inclusiveness

5
Media Attributes

• Distinguishing Characteristics
• Time
• Space
• Information Flows
• Colors
• Emotions
• Cognition - Logic
• Touch and Feel

6
What Do We Know About

• Synchronous - Asynchronous
• One to One - One to Many
• Myth of Many to Many
• The Words and Music - Emotional Meaning
• Non-Verbal Behavior and Interpretation
• Visualization
• Multiple Meaning

7
What Do We Know About

• Integration of writing, verbalization,
  visualization, lighting, aspect ratio, movement
  and meaning
• Learner Engagement
• Cultural Differences
• Authenticity
• Trust
• Enhanced Learning with Media

8
Learners

• Salience of message - not the carrier
• Motivation
• Learner Maturity
• Experiential Learning
• Performing
• Modeling
• Respect

9
Research Findings Repeated

• No Significant Difference
• Two-Way Video Relatively Unimportant
• Audio Makes A Difference
• Visual Planning and Reinforcement Required
• Collaborative Work Environments in Their Infancy
  (ergonomically poor, artificial and contrived)

10
Sources

• ADEC Webpage
• CREW - University of Michigan
• American Journal of Distance Education
• Wisconsin Clearinghouse
• Studies from 1960s focused on media attributes

11
ADEC the Distant Learner

• Consortium of 60 state universities
• Includes HSIs, HBCUs Tribal Colleges
• NSF Project Advanced Internet Satellite
  Extension Project
• USDA Rural Remote Education and Business
  Enterprises
• Hybrid Networking, Applications, Learning
  Effectiveness

12
Myths

• Promises, Promises in the last mile
• Edges of the net have nothing to offer
• Its mostly about technology - if we cant easily
  get there it isnt important
• Distance learning is about bandwidth and video
  lectures
• The Internet is about teen-agers
• All knowledge resides in U.S. cities, on campus
  and in government buildings

13
Myths (cont.)

• We are manufacturing tools to fit the hand
• Distance education is not as good as learning on
  campus
• Regulation is benign

14
ADEC Experience

• The Internet best thing to happen in the
  technology sphere in my lifetime
• Access to spectrum has been limited to rich,
  powerful and to the customers of the rich and
  powerful
• Incredible amount of confusion and nonsense
  disseminated from those who would protect status
  quo and those who would speak for the public

15
ADEC Experience

• Consumers (all types) getting smarter
• Research agenda becoming focused on ubiquitous
  cyberinfrastructure
• Every person in the world is potentially an
  internet user - learner
• Auctions and Beauty Contests have been a disaster
• Set standards and regulate devices - we know how
  to do this

16
Realities

• World is full of rural scattered populations -
  distance learners
• People are constantly on the move - need to learn
  from anyplace
• Very interesting people, environmental
  laboratories, cultures, customs at the edges of
  the network
• Much knowledge resides in global and local
  communities of interest

17
Realities (cont.)

• The hand is contorted to fit the tools
• Ergonomics are generally disregarded
• Todays networks are artifacts of monopolistic
  era - narrowband
• Its mostly about money and who makes it -
  dangerous business picking winners and losers
• More women than men learn by distance - do the
  shopping

18
Realities (cont.)

• Distance Education is as good or better than
  campus based (no significant difference)
• Distance Education is about learning -
  educational designs can be adjusted to fit the
  delivery modes - continuous access is more
  important than speed
• Integration and interoperability key complexity
  and high cost will kill innovation

19
Possibilities

• No strings attached - wireless local loop, use
  of satellite - only game for rural/remote
• Design backwards from the edges of the network
• Focus on hybrid networking - standards and
  interoperability
• Cyberinfrastructure must extend everywhere

20
Possibilities (Cont.)

• It has to be global - value of the net far
  greater with greater reach
• Collaborative virtual environments require
  mutual understanding, sharing, trust development
  - its about people, organizations and
  applications
• Intellectual property, regulatory and spectrum
  issues are critical

21
Will We Change?

• How we do business?
• Our organizations?
• Our ways of learning?
• Our ways of socially networking?
• Our ways of conducting education and research?
• Improve our abilities for breadth (global) and
  depth (local)?

22
Wireless

• Key to inclusion
• Key to innovation
• Key to connectedness - we have gone from counting
  PCs to measuring BW to ability to be connected
  24/7
• Must build better applications and appliances