Altilab2005 - Distance Education Blog

Chapter Four   Technologies and Media  -  Moore & Kearsley

There were several issues that came up in this chapter that were of interest to me. Reading that print was the most common medium used in distance education, at least when this book was written, was an obscure fact to me. Since I am usually thinking in terms of videos, webcams, etc. print didn’t even cross my mind (see audio-conferencing comment below). Another interesting issue was the use of audio media. I have had a statistics class that would have an audio component to the PowerPoint, but I’ve never thought that I could learn something just from listening. For me, audio learning alone is not very successful. I’m more of a visual learner.

The section about audio-conferencing was a revelation. The fact that the “technology remains available, but neglected by educators who are locked into a concept of distance education that is entirely dependent on computer-based technology” rung true with my thinking. Why do I only think that distance learning is via the computer and not by any other means? Why can’t learning occur if there is an audio-conference? This type of conference might just help the “back and forth” dialog that goes on in a face-to-face classroom.

The computer conference section stated a “golden rule” for teaching using any technology is that the technology must be reliable and the sound quality must be good enough so that it will not interfere with the message. In just this semester, I have not seen or heard a totally reliable “class”.

Is the Internet2 available “widely” yet?

A key statement in the chapter is that educators tend to fixate on a particular technology and try to deliver all the different components of their course on that technology. This is SO true. It is as if one-size fits all! That is not true for students, so it should not be true for the delivery of a course.

The ACTIONS model for making decisions about the use of technology helps those thinking about using technology in their courses. The “N” I particularly like since it discusses the novelty or “trendiness” of the technology. This is a way to get money – the trendier the better as far as getting money.

The final analysis of the chapter is so very true. You can make sure that online materials are well documented, designed as learning objects, and developed in a common format, but that does NOT mean that the administrators or managers of the educational programs will use them!