Distance Education A New Educational Paradigm

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Distance EducationA New Educational Paradigm

• Sha Li
• School of Education

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An Exciting Development

• A renovation of education in information
  technology-assisted environment
• Expanded educational market
• Increased self-image
• Improved instructional style and methods
• Deeper understanding and experiencing of new
  educational concepts

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The E-Learning Needs and markets

• Who enroll for distance education classes
• (The market)
• Who are interested in DE (high dropout rate)
• Who want to meet their time, work schedule, and
  geographic needs (low dropout rate)
• Who have limited access to the traditional
  classes
• International market (rich or poor countries)
• Others

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The Current Facilities We Have on Campus

• Internet
• Teachers web site for classes (Internet based)
• Blackboard (Internet based)
• Email or listserv (Internet based)
• Fiber optical teleconferencing (on campus / off
  campus)
• Internet web video conferencing (Net Meeting,
  Messenger)
• Telephone and voice mail
• Mailing correspondence
• New --- Integrity equipment for distance education

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Internet Video Conferencing

• Video audio conference
• Live talk
• Text chat
• Call people instantly
• File transfer
• Program sharing
• Desk top sharing
• White board sharing
• Inviting

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Tegrity Instructor Setups
Teach
Serve
Learn
Build your own in any room
Desktop for all instructors
Turnkey Studios
Now one platform can meet all instructors
multimedia e-learning needs!
Onsite training for instructors!
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Any Teaching Style ? E-learning
Teach
Serve
Learn
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Fiber Optical Teleconferencing

• Cost Savings, Time effective. Gain immediate
  access to visual class, Keep people in locations
  where they are.
• It enables you to see , hear , and speak as well
  as share documents with students, and teachers in
  various locations in real time meeting
  environments between two or more locations.

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A Changed Educational Paradigm

• From traditional classroom instruction to a
  virtual learning format
• In a physically-unseen classroom
• Teaching by going online or appear in
  videoconferencing
• Working with unseen learners
• Diversity in students, cultures, locations,
  learning styles, backgrounds or even languages

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A New Type of Instructional Interaction and
Supporters

• Networked Interaction Online instruction,
  asynchronous synchronous interaction,
  Text-Based, visual-based, sound-based,
  graphic-based, video-based, (Distance learning
  center, Slow-Ragland 372-5793)
• Blackboard (Demitry Norwood 372-4125)
• Teleconference (fiber optical teleconference,
  Michael Morns 372-4088)
• EITS technical support (Chris 372-5220)
• Internet conference (Net Meeting, messenger, QQ.
  MSN)

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Advantages of Distance Education

• Learning and teaching anytime and anywhere
• Asynchronous and synchronous interaction
• Written communication and also the seeing ,
  hearing , and speaking enabled
• Learn at the students own pace
• Cost effective (save travel, rental and time)
• Time effective

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Disadvantages of Distance Education

• Lost face-to-face interaction
• Lost tone, emotion, gesture, and facial prompts
• Loose control of students learning discipline
• Plagiarism in assignments and tests
• Unforeseen and unperceived problems could often
  happen
• Hard to motivate students participation and
  provide models
• Students feel it sterile and isolated to learn
• Dropout rates could be high

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Who could be the best distance learners

• Who have good technology background
• Who have persistency in learning
• Who could adjust themselves to the new learning
  paradigm
• Who have the tendency to be active and skillful
  in e-communication (e.g. open email and log on to
  the Blackboard on a regular base)
• The friendly learner who builds understanding,
  rapport and friendship in the e-learning
  communication.

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Who could be the best distance teachers

• Who have good technology background (typing
  skills, quick to learn the useful technology
  tools)
• Who could adjust themselves to the new teaching
  paradigm.
• Who have persistency in learning the new methods
  and techniques to teach.
• Who have the tendency to be active and skillful
  in e-communication (Frequently use email, willing
  to post friendly talk in email and discussion
  board. The language is polite, kind, inviting,
  informing, caring, and possibly detailed).

The teacher who could make him/herself seen,
known, felt, and touched. Who could well
anticipate, predict, probe and analyze learning
on the students side. Who could creatively
design, perform and evaluate in online
educational environment.
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What need our attention

• A Threshold Period of adjustment (training,
  adjustment and accumulating experiences)
• Dont know what to do, when to do and how to do
• Dont know how to do to meet the class
  requirement. Everything is abstract.
• Online retardation forget having a class online,
• forget checking announcement, due dates, no
  show ups and participation. Hurried projects and
  assignments could be low quality.
• Expect models and directions (prefer concrete to
  abstract)
• Conflicts and Misunderstandings between student
  and teacher in virtual class

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What we need to care about

• Be patient and careful with students
• Communicate digitally on a regular base
• Typing swiftly and respond promptly to
  email/discussion
• Keep scheduled work in the virtual plac
• Prompt participation.
• Probe responses and feedback
• Anticipate, predict, and analyze problems wisely
  during the instructional process, know about
  learners mood changes.
• Your involvement and showing up are important
• Show rewards and punishment clearly and fairly
• Manipulate diversity issues warmly
• Teachers mutual support

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Technical Needs from Teachers

1. Be able to access all facilities available
   (secure Internet, Blackboard, Internet
   conferencing cameras, teleconferencing room, good
   computers, laptops)
2. Have Trainings
3. Have a full time technician to support, to call,
   and to fix all possible computer problems
4. Form a cooperative teacher team to help and
   communicate with each other about the current
   teaching issues
5. Have laptop, computer camera, digital camera,
   scanner

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Need Administrative Support

1. Course schedule arrangement
2. Contact EITS for Blackboard, web space for each
   faculty
3. Purchase equipment
4. Assign work study students, GAs and TAs to help
   the teacher
5. Hire technician
6. Contact and provide trainings
7. Fair work load and payment issues

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Any Questions