AT/IT

1
AT/IT Distance Learning

• ADA Symposium 2002
• May 8, 2002
• David Klein David Dawson
• Law, Health Policy Disability Center

2
Overview

• Distance learning concepts and principles
• Web-based distance learning
• Design of distance learning
• Employment Services Training project
• Our findings
• Design of Web-based distance learning
• Designing for people with disabilities

3
Definition of distance learning

• Students separated from instructor by distance
• Technology used to bridge the gap

4
Principles of Learning

• Learning is an active process
• Student has to DO something
• Learning takes effort
• More effort makes better learning
• Learning comes about by interaction with a
  community or environment
• Learning requires external guidance
• Remember that the focus is people, not technology

5
Distance learning vs. standup/classroom learning

• Similarities
• Learning can be active
• Learning takes effort
• Students interact with an environment that
  includes a knowledge community

6
Distance learning vs. standup/classroom learning

• Differences
• Asynchronous learning common
• Students and instructor are not working at the
  same time
• Technologies
• Examples
• Independent/guided study
• E-mail
• Bulletin boards

7
Distance learning Media

• Paper
• Audio/Videotape
• CD-ROM
• Web
• Broadcast/Fiber optic television (ICN)
• Electronic media are potentially the most
  accessible

8
Distance learning for people with disabilities

• Technology can be a mitigating factor to reduce
  dependence on one sensory modality (e.g.,
  hearing)
• Asynchronous learning can help those who might
  communicate slowly or with effort
• Mobility can be less of an issue

9
Distance Learning

• Web-based distance learning
• Tools for Web-based distance learning
• The design of Web-based distance learning
• Employment Services Training Project
• ES Services What we learned
• DL and people with disabilities
• ES Services Student comments

10
Types of Web-based distance learning

• Static Web pages (mostly linear)
• Like reading a book
• Hyperlinked Web pages (nonlinear)
• Will students read every page?
• Activities
• How do you provide good feedback?
• Instructor-led
• How does an instructor interact with students?
• Autonomous
• Difficult and expensive to develop

11
Tools for Web-based distance learning activities

• E-mail!
• Telephone (thats right)
• Bulletin board/Listserv
• Chat/Instant messaging
• Calendar
• Whiteboard
• Audio/Video (live or archived)

12
Accommodations tools for distance learning
Software

• Screen readers
• JAWS
• Windows Eyes
• outSPOKEN
• Talking Web browsers
• Home Page Reader
• WeMedia Browser
• Voice recognition
• Dragon Naturally Speaking (Dragon Dictate)
• ViaVoice

13
Accommodations tools for distance learning
System Tools

• Windows Control Panel-gtAccessories-gtAccessibilit
  y
• Macintosh Control Panels (Mouse, Monitors)
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Microsofthttp//www.microsoft.com/enable/products
  /keyboard/keyboardsearch.asp
• Netscapehttp//www.netscape.com/browsers/using/ie
  users/browsing/shortcuts.html
• StickyKeys
• BounceKeys
• SlowKeys

14
Accommodations tools for distance learning
System Tools

• Mouse
• Slow mouse movement
• Double-click speed or single click
• Change the size of mouse arrow/animations
• Monitor screen
• Screen density
• Colors black white, high contrast
• Magnifier

15
Accommodations tools for distance learning
Devices

• Trackball
• Ergonomic keyboard
• Braille reader

16
Instructional design for distance learning

• Design
• Develop
• Evaluate
• Deploy

Design
Develop
Deploy
Evaluate
17
Why design?

• Start with effective instruction
• Lack of immediate access to a live instructor,
  so problems can escalate quickly
• Can get the delivery system out of the way and
  put the content to the front
• Can address the widest audience under the widest
  conditions (human factors)
• Not a guarantee for success, but increases the
  chances for it

18
Instructional design Design

• Needs analysis
• Audience/Resources analysis
• Content analysis
• Task analysis
• Results parameters defined

Instructional Design
19
Instructional design Development

• Write content
• Produce text materials (Web pages)
• Develop dynamic components
• Quizzes
• Evaluations
• Hypertext links
• Interface
• Produce graphics and other multimedia components
• Integrate
• Develop instructor tools

Instructional Design
20
Instructional design Evaluation

• Formative evaluations
• Evaluate analyses in design phase
• Evaluate content subject matter experts
• Evaluate interactive/dynamic components
  instructional designers
• Evaluate interface elements designers
• Evaluate for accessibility people with
  disabilities
• Evaluate the integrated instruction
  instructors, students
• Pilot
• Summative evaluation

Instructional Design
21
Instructional design Evaluation for people with
disabilities

• Text-based browser (Lynx)
• Turn off frames, images, stylesheets, sounds
• Use keyboard only
• Use accommodations tools
• Include people with disabilities in evaluations

22
Instructional design Deployment

• Pilot
• Develop student packet
• Login and site use instructions
• Minimum requirements (hardware, software)
• Contact information
• Calendar
• E-mail, paper, CD
• First course
• Modifications

Instructional Design
23
Employment Services Training Project (Region VII
CRP-RCEP)

• Demo
• Design
• Development decisions
• Features
• What we learned

24
ES Training Demo

• Can view demo
• http//www.its.uiowa.edu/law/crprcep7/es/
• Click on Already have a password
• Type User
• Password Demo
• Click on the Help link in the sidebar (on the
  left) and click on Course Tour for details about
  how students interact with the Web-based
  instruction

ES Training
25
ES Training Design

• Needs
• Covers a 4-state region, in place of a 2-day
  standup training in Kansas City
• Can be offered more than twice a year
• Must be accessible

ES Training
26
ES Training Design

• Audience/Resources
• Employment counselors and job coaches who work
  with people with disabilities
• High school education
• High turnover probably about 9 month average
• People people (prefer to work with people rather
  than technology)
• Technological resources relatively low older
  computers and slow Internet connections (phone
  lines)
• Usually training during work hours

ES Training
27
ES Training Design

• Content
• Basic skills for employment counseling
• Basic concepts, such as values and
  person-centered language
• Getting to know the customer, how to support the
  customer
• Problem-solving
• Customer satisfaction

ES Training
28
ES Training Design

• Tasks
• Periodic assessments (quizzes) and course
  evaluations
• Writing projects that help trainees organize and
  document their work activities

ES Training
29
ES Training Development Decisions

• Web-based training
• Saves traveling
• Allows for interactive instructor-student
  feedback with writing projects as well as
  immediate, computer feedback on quizzes
• Quick turnaround possible on feedback
• Can be instructor led (good for interpersonal
  contact)

ES Training
30
ES Training Development Decisions

• Active Server Pages with database - Pros
• Student work saved online
• Dont have to print work
• Can work from any computer with Web access
• Students can return to any page and view their
  last save (like a word processor)
• Students can log on
• Work privately
• Keeps track of student work
• Provides instructors with student usage
  information
• Communication can be immediate
• Very flexible
• Very accessible

ES Training
31
ES Training Development Decisions

• Active Server Pages - Cons
• Long development time includes time for
  debugging
• Requires developer with knowledge of ASP (we
  learned on our own)
• Puts a load on the server, which could be an
  issue for a large class (e.g., hundreds of
  trainees)

ES Training
32
ES Training Features

• Internal e-mail
• Internal bulletin board
• Guided instruction
• Students click Next button to move to next page
• Application keeps track of where students have
  left off students cant skip pages
• Instructors can require that students not advance
  until they receive feedback on assignments
• Students can skip back to any previous page at
  any time

ES Training
33
ES Training Features

• Participants can post personal information (e.g.,
  autobiographies, employment details)
• Glossary
• File Cabinet resources and references referred
  to often during training
• Instructor tools

ES Training
34
ES Training Evaluations What We Learned

• Important to start with good instruction
• Our writers were good trainers with a lot of
  experience and the high quality of the content is
  reflected in the evaluations
• E-mail is vital, both internal and external
• We require that students have e-mail before
  signing up
• Bulletin board hasnt been well used
• Tends to be time-consuming for the instructors

35
ES Training Evaluations What We Learned

• Carefully crafted information that students
  receive prior to training is essential
• A calendar with due dates for assignments
• Times when instructor will provide feedback
• Detailed instructions on how access the site, log
  in, and how to troubleshoot should be provided in
  multiple formats (e.g., paper, e-mail, online)
• Training should be done on how to use the site
  before students start content (make it required)

36
ES Training Evaluations What We Learned

• Instructors
• Need training mentoring with experienced
  instructor works best
• Using the interface
• Responding to student needs
• Content
• Technical proficiency, such as knowing how to get
  on the Internet from a hotel room or knowing how
  to use e-mail
• Instructor tools need to have a lot of options
  but also be speedy (repeated complaint)

37
ES Training Evaluations What We Learned

• Students wanted feedback from instructors
  immediately
• Most students would prefer standup training, but
  online was an acceptable alternative
• Testing for accessibility should be done with
  accommodations tools piloting should include
  people with disabilities
• Trainees with disabilities really like it

38
ES Training Results

• Number of students registered so far 114
• Number completed 88
• Percentage completed 77
• Target percentage completed 60

39
ES Training Exit Survey Questions

• I have learned something new about being an
  Employment Specialist in this training. 100
  strongly agree or agree
• This training was satisfying. 100 strongly
  agree or agree
• I would take another distance learning course
  like this one if it were offered. 81 agree or
  strongly agree, 19 not sure

40
ES Training Types of Attrition

• Students dont complete course and no notice to
  instructor
• Students leaving employment or getting
  transferred/promoted
• Some supervisors take the course to view the
  content and then stop when satisfied

41
Distance Learning that Includes People with
Disabilities

• Know Web accessibility guidelines
• Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines
  www.w3.org/WAI/
• Bobby www.cast.org/bobby/
• Use technologies in electronic text format
• HTML and text (.txt) files
• Minimize multimedia
• Have a text alternative planned and available for
  multimedia technologies
• Provide a fallback procedure when technology
  doesnt work

42
Distance Learning that Includes People with
Disabilities

• Think simplicity
• Navigation
• Provide guidance
• If instruction is designed for student
  exploration, consider allowing students to take a
  guided path
• Make directions clear and brief
• Reduce decision making and student options when
  it isnt called for in the content
• Minimize number of fonts, font sizes, colors,
  and focal points on a page
• Use plain language

43
Distance Learning that Includes People with
Disabilities

• Selective redundancy
• Navigation should be consistent
• Page layout should be the same or similar from
  one page to the next
• Similar tasks should use similar procedures, when
  possible
• Playoff between making the instruction smart
  versus speed and development time

44
Distance Learning that Includes People with
Disabilities

• Provide opportunity for communication
  (student-student-instructor)
• E-mail
• Bulletin boards
• Yet avoid distractions
• Links to offsite Web pages
• Bulletin board emoticons -)

45
Distance Learning that Includes People with
Disabilities

• If possible, select students
• Self-starters
• Motivated learners
• Independent workers
• Instructors need as much design and development
  consideration as students

46
ES Training Sample student comments

• Student exit comments are overall positive.
• Most praise the instructors for the quality of
  the content and the feedback they provided.
• Some note that theyd prefer standup training but
  that this was a good alternative.
• Negative comments tend to focus on specifics such
  as how a button works or to avoid scheduling the
  course with a timeout for a conference in the
  middle.

47
ES Training Sample student comments

• From my perspective as a person with severe
  hearing impairment. This training has been
  affective for me, because I'm able to participate
  more. I learn more by using technology as a
  delivery system, and would be interested in
  learning more about your on line accredited
  courses.

48
ES Training Sample student comments

• Although this training was beneficial and I feel
  I have learned something, I think I would have
  gained more from interacting with others and
  hearing about their experiences. The computer
  just doesn't capture that.
• I spent more than the three to four hours per
  week working on lessons and not because I had
  trouble managing my own time, feedback was not
  happening quick enough for me.

49
ES Training Sample student comments

• This is the first on-line course I've taken. I
  loved it because it was well designed for on-line
  presentation and because it felt like a good use
  of the time and money provided by my employer.
  The only down side of the class I can think of is
  that we as classmates don't really get well
  acquainted.
• Once I started this class it was hard for me to
  stop.