CD 323

LECTURE 3
SELECTING AND USING TECHNOLOGIES IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
Outline

• Evolution of DE Technologies
• Elements of DE
• Decision to use technology in DE
 EVOLUTION OF DE TECHNOLOGIES

• The industrial revolution led to the need to expand the School and
university education, and broaden the curriculum in order to meet
the growing industrial and imperial nations.
• The industrial revolution did not change the basic structure of
education and had little impact on the technology of education.
• The introduction of the postal services stimulated the start of
correspondent education, later on the telephone was used to some
extent for distance education.
• On balance the technology of teaching remained almost the same
from the 15th Century to the 20th century.
Evolution of DE Technologies…

• Then came Radio. The first adult education talk was broadcasted on
October 6th 1924 by the BBC, entitled ‘Insects in relation to Man’
• 1926 BBC broadcasted the first schools Radio program.
• By 1981 BBC was broadcasting over 450 radio programs a year in the
continuing education area.
• Television
• Computers
• Internet
Elements of Distance Learning

• Physical distance between the student and the teacher – the most
obvious element
• An organization that provides the content – in contrast to purely
self-directed learning
• A curriculum – learning must have an objective and therefore must
have structure
• Measurement of learning – without which no learning can be
observed to have taken place
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

Broadcast (one-way) and communications (two-way) technologies

•Television and print, for example, are broadcast or one-way
technologies
•The telephone and video-conferencing are examples of two-way
technologies, in that users at both ends can communicate with each
other
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

Synchronous and asynchronous technology

•Synchronous technologies operate in real time. Synchronous teaching
has the benefit of spontaneity and immediacy, provided that it is
offered at times and places that are convenient for students.
•Video-conferencing is a good example of a synchronous technology.
Cont…

• The factors for selecting and using technology in distance

education are stated that each institution needs to answer:
• A Access: how accessible is a particular technology for the
targeted learners?
• C Costs: what is the cost structure of each technology? What is
the unit cost per learner?
• T Teaching and learning: what kinds of learning are needed? What
instructional approaches will best meet these needs? What are
the best technologies for supporting this teaching and learning?
• I Interactivity and user-friendliness: what kind of interaction does
this technology enable? How easy is it to use?
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

• O Organizational issues: What are the organizational requirements,

and the barriers to be removed, before this technology can be used
successfully?
• What changes in organization need to be made?
• N Novelty: how new is this technology?
• S Speed: how quickly can courses be mounted with this technology?
How quickly can materials be changed?
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

1. ACCESS
•No matter what the quality of teaching with technology, learning will
not occur if learners cannot access the technology.
•The first question to ask then is, ‘Who are students that we want to
reach?’ The answers to such a question will depend on the mandate of
the institution, and the type of programme to be delivered.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

The second question to be asked is, ‘What is the most appropriate

location to study for the intended learners?’
There are several possible answers, depending on the characteristics
of the target group:
i. On campus.
ii. At home.
iii. In a local center dedicated to open learning.
iv. At a local public education institution, with shared facilities for
campus based and distance students.
v. At work – which could be either at an individual workstation or in a
company learning center.
vi. At a commercial center, such as an Internet café.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

2. COSTS
a proper understanding and analysis of costs is essential for making
sensible decisions about the use of technology in education.
The main questions to be asked regarding costs of e-learning or
distance education technologies are as follows:
i. What are the main costs in developing and delivering programmes?
ii. What causes costs to increase or decrease?
iii. How do cost structures vary between different media and
technologies (including face-to-face teaching)?
iv. What needs to be included in a business plan, if costs are to be
covered or recovered?
v. How do you relate costs to benefits?
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

3. TEACHING AND LEARNING

There are three critical questions that need to be asked about
teaching and learning in order to identify appropriate
technologies:

What kinds of learning need to be developed?

i.(Behaviorism, Cognitive theories, Constructivism, Humanistic
psychology)
ii.What instructional strategies will be employed to enable the learning
needed?
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

4. INTERACTION AND EASE OF USE: THE LONELINESS OF THE

LONG-DISTANCE LEARNER

•Most theories of learning suggest that for learning to be effective it needs

to be active; in other words the learner must respond in some way to the
learning material.
•It is not enough merely to listen, view or read; learners have to do
something with the learning material.
•Feedback is considered an important component of interaction. Feedback
provides learners with knowledge of results that indicate whether they
have learned correctly.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

Two kinds of interaction are important in learning

1. Interaction with learning materials
• The difference is that for distance learners, opportunities for interaction have
to be consciously designed within the learning materials.
• The aim is to simulate a face-to-face conversation between teacher and
student.
 DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

2. Learning as a social activity

•Social interaction may be of three types in e-learning and
distance education:
1.Interaction between the learner and the originator of the
teaching material (often a tenured research professor).
2.Interaction between the learner and a tutor (often a
contracted instructor) who does not originate the learning
materials, but who mediates between the original material
and the learner, by providing guidance and/or assessment.
•Interaction between the learner and other learners.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

6. ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES
•Successful technology applications usually require more than
just the purchase and installation of equipment, hiring of
technical staff, and the training of teaching staff.
•Successful implementation also requires some major
structural or organizational changes within an institution.
•In addition, there are often powerful external factors
influencing the decision to use a particular technology, such
as government initiatives or high-profile marketing of services
by the commercial sector.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

The important questions then that need to be asked in this area are:
1. What opportunities or threats exist in the external environment that
may influence the choice of particular technologies?
2. What are the internal organizational requirements, and the barriers
to be removed, before this technology can be used successfully?
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

External factors
•The existing technological infrastructure within a country is a major
factor in influencing media selection.
•If Internet access is widespread in homes and the workplace, it can
much more easily be used for distance education
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

•Government initiatives, such as the development of a

state-wide education and training network, or commercial
vendors of services such as videoconferencing or fiber optic
networks, will also generate potential technology based
projects.
• However, institutions need to be proactive rather than reactive to
such initiatives.
•Developing a clear vision of the role of technology within an
organization, so that when particular initiatives come along,
there is a framework for project evaluation.
DECISION TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN DE

Internal restructuring
•The need to reorganize and restructure the teaching and
technology support services in order to exploit and use the
technology efficiently
• Too often technology is merely added onto an existing structure and
way of doing things.
• Reorganization and restructuring is disruptive and costly in the short
term, but usually essential for successful implementation of
technology-based teaching
•The need to exploit an already existing technological
infrastructure within an institution can be a major
conservative influence limiting the application of new
technologies.
End of Lecture Three
Assignments

• Lecture 4: Print Technology in DE

• Meaning and formats
• Access
• Teaching and learning
• Interaction and ease of use
• Costs
• Organizational issues
Date: 10/5/2021, GROUP ONE
Assignments

• Lecture 5: Television and Video in DE

• Meaning
• The Technology
• Access
• Teaching and Learning
• Costs
• Organizational issues
Date: 10/5/2021, GROUP TWO
Assignments

Lecture 6: Radio, audio cassettes and compact disc players in DE

• Meaning
• Access
• Interactivity and user friendliness
• Costs
• Organizational issues
Date: 10/5/2021, GROUP THREE
Assignments

• Lecture 7: Web-based learning:

Meaning
access and teaching issues
Date: 17/5/2021, GROUP FOUR
Assignments

• Lecture 8: Web-based learning:

costs and organizational issues
Date: 17/5/2021, GROUP FIVE
Assignments

• Lecture 9: Audio-, video- and Web-conferencing: access and teaching

issues
Date: 17/5/2021, GROUP SIX
Assignments

Lecture 10: Audio-, video- and Web-conferencing: costs and

organizational issues
Date: 17/5/2021, GROUP SEVEN