Article in Telektronikk 3, 1996. Oslo: Telenor
This article discusses the theoretical background and practical reasons behind the decision of one specific institution, NKI, to research on and develop distance education based on computer mediated communication, and reports experiences from teaching through electronic communication for nearly 10 years . Thus, perhaps a more correct title of this article could have been 'From correspondence teaching to organising individual and group learning on the Internet', as our decision to direct our efforts to develop a distance education system based on electronic communication, was taken as a result of our continuous experiments on developing the NKI distance education system. Computer mediated communication was in this connection considered to be a medium qualitatively different from all other technological developments of media for distance education because of its flexibility and its potential of integrating presentation of learning material in different forms and capacity for individual, small group and large group communication.
NKI is a multiform teaching institution offering full-time and part-time programmes on secondary and tertiary level. NKI courses and programmes are offered on-campus, by distance education or as decentralised courses. The distance education programmes may be supplemented by local face-to-face classes or seminars. NKI Distance Education offers a number of programmes at university and college level. Some of these are organised in co-operation with Norwegian universities or our own "Polytechnic College" (Den Polytekniske høgskolen). The majority of the NKI distance education programmes are secondary level studies preparing for public or internal exams.
During the last 25 years distance education nationally and internationally has generally changed from organising individual learning based on printed material and two-way communication via the ordinary postal system to multi-media learning based on an integration of print based media and new media and communication technology. NKI has followed these developments closely and tried to develop and modernise the distance education system along different lines:
The individual adult learner has generally great need for support to be able to cope with the studies normally in competition with other demands from job and/or family responsibilities. Research has shown that distance education systems should develop administrative and teaching support systems to help the students adapt to the demands of part-time studies to succeed and complete. In this connection we have researched on follow-up systems, initial and continuous counselling, training in distance learning study techniques, turn-round time involved in two-way communication and specific training for distance tutors (see e.g. Rekkedal 1985).
The correspondence teaching system of the 60ies has gradually been changed into a multi-media distance teaching system by the introduction of videotapes (both video-taped lectures and complete learning programmes) audio-tapes, computer soft-ware and laboratory kits, as well as, in some cases, video-conferences, radio and TV-programmes. Some of our research projects in this area have been carried out in co-operation with other distance teaching institutions and Telenor. Supported by and in co-operation with Telenor we have carried out experiments on telephone tutoring (Rekkedal 1989), telefax as a medium for individual tutoring and guidance (Rekkedal 1992), audiographics (Rekkedal & Vigander 1990), video, local cable television, satellite distribution and video conferencing (Holden 1992, 1993).
Computer mediated communication has been one specific priority branch of the media research since 1986. NKI launched the so-called "EKKO Project" in 1986. The acronym, EKKO, denoted "Electronic Combined Education" (in Norwegian the combination of distance education and local face-to-face classes) a name that signified that the computer software should constitute a virtual school or classroom substituting the need for physical presence in a local class. The aim was to develop what we called the "Electronic College", a teaching system offering study programmes independent of time and space and facilitating flexible communication for administrative, social and teaching/learning purposes. Our understanding was that the developments within computer communication would constitute teaching and learning possibilities which really could change distance education dramatically. This article accounts mainly for this research, experiences and achievements (see e.g. Paulsen 1990, 1992, Paulsen & Rekkedal 1990, 1996).
The rapid developments concerning new media and communication technologies constitute both new possibilities and possible dangers for distance teaching institutions. The new media create, at least in theory, new possibilities for preparing better and more cost-effective learning. At the same time these developments have resulted in new types of institutions entering the market of education, and have incited traditional schools, colleges and universities to offer media based teaching. Thus, distance teaching institutions and universities have encountered, sometimes unexpected, competition on the educational market. This situation was stated in extreme form by Tony Bates in an introductory article in an issue of "Open Praxis" focusing on technology under the title: "Hello technology! Goodbye, distance teaching institutions?" (Bates 1994). The changes in distance education caused by the emerging technologies has made some writers describe the new initiatives as 'third generation' distance education (Nipper 1989), the first being correspondence education and the second multi-media teaching. Bates foresee that the technological developments require new types of organisations, these new types can either develop from distance education institutions, universities and colleges or new institutions created from scratch. Until now, it seems that distance education institutions have not changed dramatically concerning the organisation of their teaching and their application of new media. For instance, Bates (1990, p. 20) states:
"There is more talk than action about the use of technology in distance education. Even in the most technologically advanced of our member (EADTU) institutions, print, correspondence and face-to-face teaching still predominate. For most European distance learners, these are still the only media currently that really matter."There is reason to believe that this is the situation also today, even after the explosion of interest in the Internet since 1993. According to Bates (Ibid.) there are good reasons why the technological development has been so slow in the distance education institutions. One is, obviously, that distance teaching institutions have long traditions and investments bound up in the 'old' technologies and the natural inertia of large institutions acts against rapid changes. However, there are also rational reasons for the slow technological developments. Print, correspondence and face-to-face are well tried methods. As Bates (Ibid. p. 21) puts it:
"The use of more advanced technology can be justified only if it meets one or more of the following criteria: lower costs; greater teaching effectiveness; increased accessibility to students. These are proving hard criteria to meet, so it is not surprising that there is still major academic and management resistance to the use of new technologies in most of our member institutions."
We shall briefly comment on two other writers who have discussed the options available for distance education providers to be able to compete in the new technological environments, one representing the distance teaching universities, the other representing secondary education. John S. Daniel (1995), vice-chancellor of the British Open University, concluded in his analysis of the competitive advantages of the 'mega-universities' that:
"...networking students from their home computers should reinforce the competitive advantage of the mega-universities. Distance education has already evolved through two generations, correspondence courses and multi-media packages. The knowledge media ('the coming together of telecommunications, television and computing is producing a media environment for distance education that is more than the sum of its component elements' (p. 11)) represent a third generation of supported open learning that enriches distance education by giving students rapid communication with the people and learning resources of the academic community."
(Daniel 1995)
Margaret Gamlin (1995) of the New Zealand Correspondence School discusses the transition of distance teaching institutions from print and postal-based delivery of traditional correspondence education to a more immediate interactive technology-based delivery. She points out that the drive in many countries today to a competitive education system encourage conventional providers to use technology for innovative delivery of courses. However, most current technologies (such as audio and video conferencing, including audio graphics) tend to support the replication of the conventional classroom - the extended classroom model. She stresses the 'openness' of the correspondence education model and stimulated among others by Bates' (1994) article, she foresees a development in her institution, which builds on this openness and flexibility and learner centred focus, and changes the school's teaching into a 'multi-media' model.
The above considerations are the reasons behind NKI's decision to go in for the development of computer-based communication and the development of 'The Electronic College'.
In one of our early papers on computer conferencing titled 'Computer conferencing - A breakthrough in distance learning or just another technological gadget?' (Paulsen & Rekkedal 1988) we discussed developments of media and technology and concluded that computer conferencing or computer-mediated communication constituted a development qualitatively different from all other media with exceptional possibilities for developing flexible and open distance teaching of high quality. After 10 years of experiences we believe that we may conclude that computer mediated communication in some form will become an important technology in distance teaching and learning and over time change the whole concept of what distance education is. On the other hand, this has not at all happened so far.
The basis of our ideas for establishing the 'electronic college' was largely taken from Hilz (1986) as introducing computer conferencing as a means to establish a 'virtual classroom' with computer-based communication structures similar to those normally taking place in the normal classroom. The 'virtual school' as, we conceived our aim, should not only emulate the classroom activities, but all other places and activities within the school system.
Morten F. Paulsen (1989), the manager of the EKKO project, pointed out the following requirements for the virtual school:
Based on NKI experiences and information from other sources (e.g. McCreary and Van Duren 1987) some important functions for the computer conferencing system in distance education was identified:
Distribution of information: Distance teaching systems have a large need for increased efficiency in updating and distributing information to the students, full-time and part-time teachers and administrators.
Examples: Information about courses, seminars, student associations, examinations and updating of learning material.
Two-way communication between tutor/counsellor/administration and student: In most distance teaching systems, submission of assignments for correction and comments, is an important element. It has been demonstrated that long turn-around times may have destructive effects on course completion (Rekkedal 1983). It also takes a long time for students to receive answers from their tutors when they really encounter problems in their studies. To some extent, the telephone has been applied as a means of communication. Electronic mail is independent of both time and space.
Examples: The student may ask questions at any time, without the time delay of mail services. In principle, draft solutions may be submitted and commented on, thus introducing a more flexible organisation of tutoring and assessment. If desired, student answers may be made available to other students, before or after the submission of their work. Included in the system can also be on-line computer-scored tests, as a substitute for off-line testing which we have seen in some distance learning systems. On a higher level, the two-way communication may serve as a guidance for individual student projects.
A substitute for face-to-face teaching, introduction of group discussions and project work: A number of distance learning systems include the possibility of face-to-face meetings with tutors and/or fellow students. For many distance learners, the possibilities of taking part in such activities are restricted. Some theorists have argued that direct teaching may have disruptive results on student autonomy and ability for self-study.
Examples: While face-to-face teaching in distance learning systems often seems to have developed into lecturing/presentation of subject matter, computer conferencing concerns information exchange and discussion. Discussions taking place in the classroom can develop into exciting experiences of group learning. The discussion is time and space independent, the medium seems to foster equality of status between students, and between students and tutor. Specifically designed group learning methods may be applied, such as group submission of assignments, group learning and presentations, group seminars and project work.
The public tutorial: Student questions of a general academic or administrative nature may be accessible to all students, as a question from one student normally will be of interest to others. Pre-produced comments on general aspects of a course can now be distributed on-line, and the tutor is given an opportunity to expand on the pre-produced learning material.
Peer counselling: As peer counselling and informal co-operation is a natural part of the on-campus activities of any teaching institution, the possibilities in computer conferencing are obvious. It has been demonstrated that computer conferencing in general may give peer help in solving problems - often from an "unknown friend". In large-scale systems, where hundreds of students are studying the same subject, peer help may be of particular importance.
Free-flow discussion: A number of educational conferencing systems has formally established informal meeting places for continuing discussions such as the "Cafeteria", or "Local Pub". Through the computer, informal discussions and student association activities may be included.
The Library: A collective database can be developed within the conferencing system, to facilitate the availability of relevant articles, short lectures etc. to the distance learner.
Registration, administration, teacher conferences etc.: Modern distance learning systems have developed complex administrative systems for student monitoring. These systems can and should be integrated with the conferencing facilities.
Development of teaching material: The system may efficiently be used for co-operative development of printed material - both within the institution and between institutions.
User directory: The system contains information on its users, e.g. where one may find fellow students with common interests. Phone numbers and addresses can be made available. The information actually increases possibilities for direct communication and via other media.
The aim of the project was to: Develop a computer based conferencing system for distance learning and apply the system for experiments in different contexts to gain pedagogical and administrative/organisational experiences within distance education based on computer conferencing - in order to install conferencing as a standard option for NKI distance students.
The project followed these stages:
The first version of EKKO - the computer conferencing software emulating the 'Electronic College' - was designed and implemented during 1986. During autumn 1986 we carried out the first pilot experiments with on-campus students, autumn 1987 the first distance education course was delivered to a small group of 4 students. The next semester, spring 1987 two additional courses were offered. From the spring semester 1990 NKI Distance Education has offered a complete college programme (equivalent to one year of full-time studies) based on computer mediated communication. This programme in 'Administrative computing' includes 10 different courses totally. In addition, from the same semester, NKI offered its distance training programme for distance tutors through the same system.
During its most intensive period EKKO served more that 3000 users, including on-campus students, prospective students, active distance students, former students, tutors and administrative staff. The system included an e-mail system, closed and open conferences for administrative, teaching and social purposes, and bulletin boards. During the first generation period the 'Electronic College' delivered more than 1000 courses with an average completion rate of above 80%.
The following were some of the effects and experiences of the first generation of the 'Electronic College' at NKI:
From 1990 NKI was one of few institutions world wide delivering a complete study programme based on electronic communication. Prospective distance tutors could qualify for their work through distance education based on computer communication. The system was applied also for administrative communication and discussions. Full-time staff members had been qualified to teach through the conferencing system, and a part-time staff of competent computer conferencing tutors has been built up.
Computer conferencing had been applied in subjects with different didactic solutions; subjects emphasising individual study, subjects with emphasis on group discussion and in project work. To be able to exploit the possibilities for discussion, group learning and peer support, most of the initial courses required the students to start at the same time and follow a fixed common progression during the semester towards the exams. This made the computer conferencing courses less 'open and flexible' than the 'correspondence type distance courses'. Many students express clearly that they prefer - or demand - the freedom known from un-paced individual study. Thus, courses where the students can start whenever they wish and study at their own pace has also been offered. The students who have experienced this individual freedom in their studies have also been generally positive, and we see a great challenge in developing didactic arrangements combining the flexibility of individual un-paced study with the possibilities for social interaction in the virtual school environment.
We also learned during the first generation experiments that teaching via computer conferencing often becomes "labour intensive" on the part of the tutor. Originally we had a hypothesis that the supposed increase in learning quality in the "virtual school" could be compensated by less emphasis on the development of learning material. So far, our experiences have not supported this assumption. Thus, it seems that investments in preproduced learning material will be approximately the same as in other large scale systems if the total quality is to be satisfying.
The tutors have reported that teaching via EKKO has been very stimulating, however, very demanding concerning the number of hours used and the "continuous" attention needed. We see a challenge in developing teaching/learning strategies that stimulates student-student communication without putting unrealistic demands on tutor resources.
Concerning student participation, NKI experiences and experiences in other settings, such as the British OU (Mason 1990), prove that conferences may become too small or too large. The users fall into groups of 'active', 'less active' and 'passive users'. There must be a sufficient number, or 'a critical mass' of active users to make the conferences attractive.
It seems necessary to have an active conference moderator in the conference. The tutor (or another person) must take the role as organiser, active contributor, and/or social integrator. After we formally engaged one student as host of the 'on-line cafe', the social activity and student satisfaction and motivation seemed to increase considerably.
The teaching/learning and administrative functions which can be handled by the system, and the quality and quantity of contributions depend on whether participation in the system is voluntary or obligatory. Voluntary participation may result in low activity which may become a self-fulfilling circle of diminishing interest.
In our computer conferencing courses we have experienced a somewhat higher number of non-starters than in comparable correspondence courses, probably due to initial technical difficulties, and higher completion rates among the starters. Students having completed courses based on computer conferencing, achieved better at exams than both correspondence students and face-to-face students. We do not have data to make certain whether these differences are a result of characteristics of the media/methods or by differences in recruitment.
In general, the students report favourable attitudes to computer conferencing as a form of study. They seem to be more active in the social conferences than in the academic conferences. This may be a result of the fact that most NKI courses depend highly on individual work and assignments for submission rather than group discussions. Most students state that the mail system is the most important subsystem of the first generation of EKKO. This may indicate that the optimal way of organising the studies is not found so far. On the other hand, it seems that many part-time distance learners have to find time efficient study strategies to be able to cope with the demands of study beside job and family demands. This means that many would not give priority to social or academic interaction relative to individual study and exercises in preparation for their exams. These experiences seem to be in line with other findings indicating that part-time distance learners often adopt time saving techniques in their approach to learning to survive the demands of study beside job, family and society pressures (Lockwood 1992, Marland et al. 1990).
NKI considered the first generation of the electronic college to be quite a success - both as a computer system, as such, and also concerning how we managed to organise the distance learning system. We continuously followed other developments in teaching/learning methods and software on the market and examined different products, such as CoSy, PortaCom and FirstClass, with the aim of developing an improved 'second generation' system. When we had to introduce new solutions because of retirement of the old host computer, the requirements were that the system should:
From January 1st 1994 the new 'open' Electronic College was introduced. This second generation system was based on a philosophy of being as open as possible to other networks and services. Accordingly, it was based on Internet, e-mail and the Listserv conferencing system. From the beginning the user interface for modem users was text-based. From January 1995 modem users were offered communication software developed for MS-Windows and SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol). The second generation stimulated the development of many new courses and study programmes, such as a complete programme on Information Networks and courses in the use of Internet, WWW-presentations, Java-programming etc.
All the courses and programmes developed after the introduction of the second generation system are unpaced and put no limits on times for enrolment. This solution has been chosen as a consequence of our conclusions from an interview survey among EKKO students on recruitment and study barriers:
"...it is a major challenge to develop methods and organisations in distance education based on computer conferencing systems which take care of the students' need for autonomy and flexibility." (Rekkedal 1990, p 92)
As mentioned, for the second generation system NKI decided to use Internet focusing on SLIP, e-mail and ListProcessor (a Unix version of the Listserv conferencing system). Listserv offers an advanced distribution system, that may be explained as a conferencing system based on e-mail. Such systems can support more users than any other conferencing system because they communicate with the system via e-mail. The lists can be configured as open or closed, for instance open to members of the whole electronic college (such as the 'on-line cafe'), a class or a specific group (such as teachers). Lists can further be configured as one-to-many (information and bulletin boards) or many-to-many (conferences/class discussions) lists. Each list is managed by a 'list owner' via e-mail. In addition to the lists directly related to teaching, social and administrative purposes of the electronic college, the system includes some international lists: 'Andrea', an open one-to-many list for distance educators in Europe, 'Norwaves' an open, one-to-many list for distribution of 'News from Norway', and 'Norweave', open, many-to-many list for 'International friends of Norway'.
The first semester with the new generation was marked by transitions and adjustments to the new system. In some ways, the old system was felt more to emulate an 'image' of a virtual school. The open system introduced new problems due to lack of standard interpretations among e-mail systems. However, students and staff seem to have adjusted and become familiar with the new system. The general access to Internet resources outside the NKI realm seems to be an advantage appreciated by the students. Access to Internet is offered to all students at tertiary level and at the NKI Technical College and consequently application of Internet resources can be integrated in some of the study programmes.
Recently, NKI introduced the first course based completely on electronic distribution and communication, Java programming. We have just started to adapt the course for distance tutors for presentation on the World Wide Web with links to internal and external national and international resources.
We consider the decision to base the electronic college on Internet, public available software and with 'open' solutions, to be a sound conclusion. There is reason to believe that more efficient and user friendly software adapted for teaching and learning will be introduced and available for our purposes.
Access to Internet and use of Internet are appreciated by students and tutors and open opportunities for sharing of experiences, learning from others and new possibilities for arranging effective learning situations.
Designing attractive and effective learning is no easy task. To repeat what we have said many times, there is a long way to go before we know how to design for learning adapted to the ever changing possibilities of computer mediated presentation and communication.
Adapting organisational and administrative procedures and systems to the activities of the electronic college is not a trivial matter. It may include major changes in organisational systems, working styles and administrative computer systems.
Computer based communication is demanding and time consuming both for administrators, student counsellors and tutors.
There are still many questions that remain unanswered or that are only partially answered. For instance, how will students generally accept electronic communication in distance education? Today, after nearly 10 years of delivering the NKI computer science programme via computer mediated communication and the same study by correspondence methods, two thirds of the students (who study computer science, who have to apply computers and software as part of their studies) prefer correspondence education rather than computer mediated communication. One reason might, of course, be the differences between these two options concerning flexibility and freedom.
An important question remains: How can this technology be applied to represent a more attractive and efficient learning environment for distance students, and how can we design the courses and tutoring and administrative systems to make distance education based on computer mediated communication really cost-effective?
Sometimes it seems that educators believe that presenting the students to Internet as a resource of information and means of communication solves the problem of offering effective and efficient education at a distance. Our conclusion is that this is not at all the situation. The challenge for distance teaching institutions is to find ways of planning, organising and carrying out teaching in ways who help students learn according to individual needs independent of time and place restrictions. This means that the medium itself does not solve any problems (Clark 1994). We must learn how to design instructional programmes including student learning activities based on this new medium to achieve optimal outcomes for different kinds of learners in different subjects having different aims and objectives.
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