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Distance Education A Systems View (Moore & Kearsley) By Nusrat…
Distance Education
A Systems View
(Moore & Kearsley)
By Nusrat Raisa Kabir
Communication of Information
Communication between a teacher/teaching team and learners.
Through via some form of technology
The technology may produce:
Printed Media (Books, study guides)
Programs on audio/video-cassettes
Radio or television broadcasts
Computer software
Audio/ Audio Graphic
Video Conferencing (computer networks/ computer mediated communication.)
Interaction via technologies
Carry the messages of teachers and students rather than face to face discussions
Distinguishing Technology and Media
Machines that distribute messages
Organisations and people who make them work
Technologies that distribute messages
Postal systems
Radio
Television broadcasting companies
Telephone
Satellite
Cable
Computer networks
What is distributed through technology are mediated messages or symbol systems - which we refer to as 'media'
The symbol systems (media) carry the messages through distribution systems(the technology)
The distributions systems consist of:
Books
Study Guides
Sound in audio tapes
Pictures in video tapes
Text/sound/pictures that form the teleconference
Examples of media distributed:
The internet - organised network of big/small computers linked by telephone lines of several types, messages sent can be in text/audio/video
media
Mail- distributes media of printed words/images, audiotapes/videotapes on computer discs.
Radio and television - distributes messages by sound/pictures through air.
Satellite, cable, telephones, computer networks allows us to distribute text/sound/pictures from point to point or from point to multi-points.
Messages may be aimed at particular groups or individuals
Each technology can support the use of a variety of media. Each medium has different characteristics (abstractness, concreteness, social presence, intimacy) which vary according to the technology that distributes it.
Each media supports varying degrees of structure in teaching programs.
Different degrees of dialog between teachers, learners and among learners.
Different degrees of self-directedness of the learners.
Interaction: The role of Instructors
Nature and extent of the interaction varies according to:
Organisational and designers' teaching philosophy
Nature of the subject matter
Maturity if the students and their location
Media used in course
It is pedagogically important to have interaction between learners
Important to have sufficient interaction between instructors and students to exchange ideas and information.
Once the course has been designed and delivered, students are allocated by the teaching organisation to instructors (tutors) who interact with them to provide individual instruction.
Interactions are conducted through means of teleconference technologies providing fast interaction in a group setting.
Interaction is most commonly achieved through written communications with a tutor through the mail.
Course design team sets assignments based on the content of each unit of course. Assignments completed by students send them to their personal tutors by mail.
Tutors read/comment and return assignments through mail to their students
Pace of interaction by mail maybe slow - but it is inexpensive and allows for a high degree of individualised attention for each student.
The future highlights more use of desktop work stations that combine both textual interaction and audio/video communication simultaneously
Students may also interact with counsellors who make suggestions about study techniques and help solve academic/personal problems
Students also interact with admin staff for registration and progress reports.
students interact with each other synchronously by teleconferences as they would in a traditional classroom setting and also asynchronously.
Correspondence based distance education courses sometimes include special face-to-face meetings to provide group interaction when designers determine that such interaction is necessary.
Key difference between distance and conventional education:
In distance education it is common for the interaction of a course to be conducted by an instructor who is not one of the designers or content experts of the course - because of:
Large number of students
cost
Instruction requires a special set of skills, different from designers and subject experts.