Chapter 5 is titled "Technologies and Media". In this chapter, Moore and Kearsley discussed the various technologies and delivery media available for distance education. Different media types are used to deliver information. Each medium and each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses. Many factors control these media technologies. How a medium is used is more important than what particular technologies are selected. The use of the medium is part of the design of the distance education program itself.
The following World Wide Web sites are resources that may provide a better understanding of the different perspectives of the distance education learner:
Print medium:
Print is the most common medium used in distance education. Forms of print are textbooks, manuals, course notes, and study guides. Print materials are relatively inexpensive to develop or distribute (Moore, p78). Print is used in some form by almost all distance education courses, regardless of what other media they employ.
http://www.utexas.edu/cc/cit/de/deprimer/technology.html#printmedia
This site describes the meaning of print media. It lists the advantages and disadvantages of this medium. Print media is used here in an "asynchronous way" by the learner. The site defines "asynchronous medium" as "Communication characterized by time-independence. That is, the sender and receiver do not communicate at the same time."
Audio- and Videocassettes
materials is generally expensive and involves specialized skills (recording, editing, directing). Some distance learning provide what's called "video-based instruction". In such program, video tapes are the main medium of delivery of information to the learner. The site below provides a definition for video-based instruction and lists a success story about a man who completed a degree in clinical calculations by video tapes.
http://www-test.asdl.peachnet.edu/dlearn/dl_videobased.html
Radio and Television
Radio and television broadcasting has been used for educational purposes for many years (Moore, 85). There are different types of broadcast: public, cable, and satellite. Some of the advantages of radio and television broadcasting is that they Audio- and videotapes have come to play an increasingly important role as media for distance education. These technologies are convenient and cost-effective. Most people have VCRs in their homes, and videotapes are easy and inexpensive to distribute. These media can be used to present the views of experts, which would increase the credibility of and interest in the materials. Materials that cannot be communicated by print could be communicated this way. Video is a powerful medium in terms of capturing attention, and conveying a lot of information quickly.
Producing audio- or videotape helps keeping students in track, and get people in the community involved, and may recruit new learners to the institute. Broadcast may be provided to learners through cable television network or satellite broadcast. Those channels can provide good quality broadcast and dedicated channels for educational purposes.
The site below defines television broadcast as "one-way asynchronous communication medium". An important disadvantage of television broadcast that this site lists is that broadcast delivery encourages passive viewing rather than active participation. Students lack control over the medium and are unable to stop the flow of information to ask questions and enhance understanding.
http://www.uzevakfi.org.tr/tec.html
Teleconferencing
Moore and Kearsley define teleconferencing in terms of describing "the interaction of students and instructors via some form of telecommunications technology. There are four different types of teleconferencing.: audio, audiographics, video, and computer."
http://www-distlearn.pp.asu.edu/dlt_info/text/dlt_info/tele-text.html
This site above introduces the teleconferencing technologies used in the Distance Education Technology Department at Arizona State University. Teleconferencing is provided using a variety of communication technologies such as satellite, microwave, and Instructional Television Fixed Service(ITFS). Services include producing, hosting, or broadcasting satellite downlinks, uplinks, or 2-way teleconferences to a number of locations. In this system, teleconferences are typically scheduled in one of four studio classrooms located on the main campus and or at ASU West. Seating is available for 36-62 participants. The studio classrooms have 3-camera production capability, an audio distribution system connecting remote locations and the studio on campus, and A-V equipment such as slide projectors, an overhead graphics camera and pad suitable for showing visual aids, 3/4" or SVHS videotape recorders, computers etc. Computers can interface with the TV system for showing graphics or other visual aids and the Internet.
Audioconferencing is most common and least expensive form of teleconferencing. Supported with audio samples, the site below lists the different formats of audioconferencing, beside providing advantages and disadvantages of this technology. A fact given here is that the basis for audio conferencing is always the telephone.
http://www.utexas.edu/cc/cit/de/deprimer/tech-audio.html
Audiographic teleconferencing systems involve the use of computer or facsimile technology to transmit visuals to support the audio. Some computer systems allow the transmission of graphics, programs, and data, where each site sees anything on the instructor computer screen, besides hearing the audio. Audigraphic systems are good for classes that involve a lot of illustration, such as equations, or computer applications. Videoconferencing can be transmitted via satellite, cable, or standard telephone lines. It requires compressing the videos and several equipment.
Videoconferencing allows learners and instructors to interact face-to-face. The site below is a site for a class that is being taught by videoconferencing. The site answers questions about videoconferencing technology, why, when, and how to use it. Using high-quality compressed video and audio technology, this videoconference/distance education classroom is networked with all the University of California and California State campuses. This videoconference/distance education classroom is also capable of connecting with other sites across the state, the nation and the world.
http://media.ucsc.edu/VideoConf/distedinfo.html
Computer Conferencing allows students and instructors to interact via a computer network. This interaction can be through e-mail messages, file transfer, chat rooms, real audio and video, and others. With the fast progress in computer technology, computer conferencing is taking its place in educational technology. Computer conferencing provides good quality, easy to use, and cost-efficient way of interaction.
Computer-Based Instruction
According to Moore, Computer-Based Instruction (CBI) refers to instructional programs that the student uses alone on a personal computer. The program is usually provided on CD-ROM, in multimedia format (graphics, text, sound, and video). Even though CD-ROM-based instruction provides effective presentations and cost-effective medium, it is not commonly used in distance education programs, since it does not provide dynamic content and needed interaction between the learner and the instructor. The site below has a slide show about using computer technology in distance education. It divides computer-based instruction into Multimedia-based (like CD-ROM) and Internet-based (like email and WWW).
http://www.cs.uwyo.edu/~rex/virtualu/sld003.htm
One-way and Two-way asynchronous communication
http://www.uzevakfi.org.tr/tec.html
These terms were given to a collection of media used in distance education by the Distance Education Foundation in Turkey. One-way communication includes broadcast, videotapes, and multimedia. Two-way communication includes teleconferencing, satellite broadcast, and Cable television. The site provides technical definitions of these technologies, besides brief definitions of communication tools like Telnet, e-mail, DVD.
Web-Based Conferencing
While many on-line resources mention this medium, Moore and Kearsley does not. An example of web-based conferencing is CU-SeeMe, the best-known web-based conferencing tool. It is a new tool that replaces long-distance phone calls over the web and escapes long distance charges. The educational applications for this technology seems limited, and with the bandwidth limitations of the World Wide Web it is not a promising technology. The site below provides a definition, advantages and disadvantages of this technology.
http://www.utexas.edu/cc/cit/de/deprimer/tech-web.html
Web-Based Instruction:
With the fast growth of the Internet, and the fast progress of communication, the world wide web is a new promising medium for distance learning. With the enormous number of resources available online, and the increasing number of people who have access to the Internet, web-based instruction is considered one of the fastest media for teaching and learning. The world wide web provides a cost-effective, technology rich, and interactive medium. Even though she did not introduce web-based instruction as a medium for distance learning, Shirley Alexander discusses the relationship between the evolution of educational technology and teaching and learning on the world wide web, in a paper presented in Australia Web 97 conference. The paper is available on the site below, and it provides a deep look at the history of technology development and the rise of the world wide web as an instructional medium.
http://elmo.scu.edu.au/sponsored/ausweb/ausweb95/papers/education2/alexander/
Media Selection Issues
There is a large number of technologies available for the delivery of distance education course. Selecting the medium is an important part of the efficiency of that course. Each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses, and these should be matched to the nature of the learning setting. The medium selection process should be undertaken for each course and each program, since they all have different requirements depending on the objectives, learners, and learning environment. The site below sets the criteria for selecting media for distance education. It divides media into three categories: print-based, Audio-visual or technology based, and human interaction. Through using technologies classification diagram by Eijkelenburg, Heeren & Vermeulen, 1992*. This site provides criteria for selecting the appropriate media for the distance education course. This site is also rich with information about different media and technologies, besides information about distance learning theories and modules.
http://www.pit.ktu.lt/HP/coper/kiev.new/cit/ap_ch4/act25.htm
* This diagram can be found at
http://www.pit.ktu.lt/HP/coper/kiev.new/cit/ap_ch4/act25.htm