Abstract: Distance education offers a new format for teaching and learning. In this field, technology offers many promises, but the actual implementation of distance education programs has been fraught with difficulties. Nevertheless, the main challenge is not with content, or method of delivery but with the need for a new pedagogy that takes full advantage of the new media.

INTRODUCTION

The world is changing rapidly and the world of higher education faster still. These changes affect all aspects of the University. This can be seen by reading John Cardinal Newman’s classic, The Idea of a University, or Eric Ashby, Adapting Universities to a Technological Society, with the recent, The Fall of the Ivory Tower by George Roche. Nothing is changing more rapidly, in the university environment, than distance education. Our ability to sense the future and react to it and even to create alternative futures more attuned to our goals, is essential to our ability to survive and prosper in the new environment.

The impetus to write this review was the opportunity to convert a traditional class (TMAN 671, the capstone class for the Management of Technology M. S. program) into a web-based distributed learning format. Distributed learning or distance education is a teaching/learning format where teacher and students are not in immediate contact. No mechanical difficulties were encountered, but the instructor felt the need to rethink and entirely redesign the content and the format to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by the new media and method of delivery.

What is different about distance education (DE)? Some of the physical differences between distance education and traditional education (TE) are obvious (Table I) others will become apparent throughout the discussion. My interest is to investigate pedagogical differences (from the teacher and the student points of view) that transcend the technological aspect of distributed learning (DL). Before I proceed with designing an effective distance learning system, I provide my views on higher education.

LEARNING, TEACHING, AND TRAINING

First, I must distinguish between teaching and training. Teaching is oriented toward the acquisition of skills that are applicable and transferable to many future situations and new domains. Essay questions are usually used to gauge the level of understanding. Training, on the other hand, focuses on the development of skills for one unique situation. Multiple choice tests are the appropriate method to measure progress.

Learning centers on the integration of principles into practice. Actually, most of what we learn in life is from experience. Humans have the adaptability to learn new behaviors that enable them to cope effectively with a changing environment. Learning is relatively permanent and shapes our thoughts and actions. Conditioning demonstrates learning by association but it is not the only learning method. Learning by observation and imitation is another such method where scanning the environment provides material for the learning process in a trial-and-error method. Whatever can be learned can be potentially taught.

Learning is an interactive process that requires continuous feedback. Intrinsic motivation is the most successful approach to learning. Fostering intrinsic motivation is better achieved extrinsically by providing evaluative feedback (different than grade) in the form of coaching and assessment (all without reward and punishment). The best learning environment is the one that matches the student needs.

Different learning styles call for different methods of information and instruction delivery. There needs to be a match between the student's needs and the teacher’s approach. There are many styles of learning that students prefer and each must be incorporated in the instructor's program. The advent of distributed learning not only brings into question teaching methods but also the very structure and social organization of the University as a teaching institution. Distributed learning requires that the student and instructor apply to new domains, knowledge, and methods that were developed in a different domain.

Let us review, first, the technological elements that makes this domain different in quantity if not in quality from the traditional classroom.

THE PROMISES OF TECHNOLOGY

Computer, telecommunication, and information technology offer many solutions but are still plagued with sometime severe limitations, especially, in terms of man-machine interface. Hardware improvements always lead the race; software struggles to make effective use of smaller, faster, and more intricate hardware; and people are lagging far behind in understanding, utilizing and exploiting the marvels of technology.

Convergence in computer speed, storage capacity and communication bandwidth (Intranet, Internet, Externet) and software (GroupWare, platform-independent software) allow one to create a robust environment for teaching and learning. A palette of capabilities in multimedia (defined as the intersection of texts, images, graphics, audio, video and creativity and imagination) permits one to address several senses simultaneously, multiplying the information and improving understanding and retention.

The new environment is resources-based and rich in data and information and promotes learning through active task performance rather than more or less passive attendance at lectures. The open-ended access to information, the ability to tailor the paths to learning, and the possibility of continuous and instantaneous performance assessment, offer a great deal of flexibility both in the design of courseware as well as in the method of delivery.

The virtual environment creation and use of visual communication, such as multimedia files and PC-based video conferencing introduce powerful methods to minimize some of the major drawbacks associated with distributed learning and the total lack of face-to-face communication. Face-to-face and eye-to-eye is often used by teachers to assess the level of receptivity and comprehension of the students and is used by students to identify important aspects of the lesson through displayed body language.

Students at a half dozen high schools in Maryland were asked to collaborate over the Internet to identify the epicenter of a simulated earthquake. None of the student groups had enough data to make such a determination. Through data exchange and collaboration among the school teams, they were successful in identifying the epicenter [1]. This is an example of the virtual classroom, a concept that will revolutionize teaching and learning. Science and other technical subjects are easier learned by doing than by reading or listening. This is why most science classes include substantial laboratory hands-on time to conduct authentic science inquiries using the tools and methods of professional practicing scientists. Further, the Internet allows students to practice team work and team research, which is the model for most science establishments today. Any process of self-discovery helps to form a student critical ability rather than accepting incomplete or contradictory authority pronouncements, which is characteristic of listening to lectures or reading books. Internet working has grown among students as well as among instructors allowing them to hone their pedagogic skills.

Many concepts and processes are not directly observable. Because of the ability of computer hardware and software to create worlds unseen, this need not be a limitation in teaching and learning. Clearly, computer technology can create a paradigm shift in the teaching world, comparable to the paradigm change associated with the scientific method in the Renaissance, and bring these new insights into a workplace being defined by technology changes.

Note that in all these cases, the computer is only a catalytic agent to experiment with new pedagogic methods that emphasize communication (in a multimedia mode), exchange, teaming, collaboration, experimentation, and a better match between student knowledge and needs and the depth and complexity of the material with which they interact. Lastly, and more important, the individualization of instruction cannot be far behind, creating an intimate match between teacher and student. The good news is that these types of experiments are being repeated in many schools today and will eventually lead to sustainable educational reforms.

Illustrations play a role in capturing the student attention and maintaining the student interest in the material; but they also have a cognitive purpose in helping the student better understand the concepts discussed. Because of that, illustrations, graphics, pictures, diagrams, flow charts, etc should be fully integrated in the class text. The primacy of text over illustration in the design of courses is more historical (tradition, costs, availability) than based on sound teaching practices. The mere presence of illustrations randomly sprinkled in the text does very little. They must be clearly and intimately correlated with other teaching material to be effective [2]. Through the use of hyperlinks, illustrations can be especially enlightening since multi layers of illustration; definitions and captions can be used.

The availability of audio, video and graphic cards and the greater use of graphic-user interface (GUI) have opened the door to an almost limitless range of audio, visual, and interactive capabilities for desktop computers. There is a growing body of evidence that indicates that performance improves with the number of senses interacting with the material and ideas presented through the activation of different mental processes [3]. Animated computer graphics and video clips provide users with additional visual information that can only enhance learning.

Group decision support system (GDSS), also referred to as electronic meeting system, or computer-supported collaborative work, or GroupWare, has been used extensively in the industry to combine communication, computation, and decision support to facilitate the formulation and solution of poorly structured problems by a group [4]. The technique is now making an appearance as part of distributed learning systems. All indications are that the tool fosters greater collaboration, enhanced communication, effective negotiation, and gains in productivity. Some of the reasons for these benefits are the anonymity of the participants, the use of parallel communication by opposition to the more traditional sequential mode, the automation of the process and the data, and a more structured environment for discussion, report preparation and brainstorming. While the method is demonstrated to improve performance and lead to greater participant satisfaction, it is not without limitation. Not the least is the loss of the human contact and body language. that are an integral part of communication, and the loss of camaraderie that usually develops among team members [4].

Guidance notes, reference materials, programmed access to materials as well as browsing of materials and hyperlink (hypertext-based authoring) and multimedia, open the possibility that learning need not be sequential but that the learning program can be tailored to the student experience, interest and psychological peculiarities. In other words, within a rigid context, the student can move between class modules, based on his interest and his view of the order and logic of the material. Or said differently, the new technology supports many different learners and learning styles within a single class program.

Lectures will remain for a long time the standard teaching and learning activity. Improvements in computer and other electronic technologies open a large vista in terms of technological solutions to the problem of imparting knowledge to a heterogeneous group of learners. Electronic text, electronic slides, electronic workbooks, models and simulation software are all tools that can be effectively integrated in a distance learning program. It is relatively easy to add computerized support for students, teachers, and administrators, and develop tools such as guidelines, glossaries of terms, definitions, formats and forms, models, examples, and cases, providing a very complete and reusable toolbox for the instructor. Using computers in a more traditional mode, the University can today create web pages that allow course description, instructor biographies, on-line registration, scheduling of classes, and photos of instructors (using digital photography). Going further, data systems can be used to administer tests (without ever repeating a question), store grades, measure and track progress and performance, and report extensively. Current technology allows the design of databases to automatically track student progress (study, tests, and reports throughout a course of study). For the students this can be an invaluable "aide-memoire". For the teacher this allows one to track and measure progress and identifies potential difficulties with students not keeping-up with the schedule, and permit directed and focused actions to prevent catastrophic failure.

Some of the features we have found useful are the use of voice to supplement text (like a slide show) through software like Shockwave and the use of a PDF writer to prepare more professional looking documents (since Adobe Acrobat reader is available free for download by anyone). Oral enhancement of textual and graphical material is not a luxury since most students have substantial experience in listening to lessons and lectures. Also, the PDF format with its column presentation (with limited words per line) and figures inserted in the text can only improve understanding.

Audio conferencing (defined as the simultaneous connection through the phone of a number of people at different locations, enabling them to communicate among themselves in a manner similar to traditional classrooms), using an audio bridge is a very useful, simple, readily available technology to introduce a certain amount of synchronous communication among students, instructors, and peers. It is my contention that distance education without a healthy dose of synchronous communication creates technical difficulties for the students and creates a sense of separation rather than participation which is central to learning. Such audio conferences are useful if special care is given to developing an agenda and ensuring participation by all involved. Such an environment can be used to explain methods and procedures discuss material that does not require visual support, answer questions from the students, and allow the sharing of information among peers, and the development of camaraderie and a sense of cooperation. This mode of communication is especially important at the beginning of any class when the class members are confused about the programs, assignments, etc. It is also invaluable in the later part of the class when invited speakers are presenting on a unique area of interest to the course. This is probably the most underutilized technology to achieve synchronous interaction in distance education classes, while at the same time being the most easily available, in which all students can participate, at minimal costs.

Some of the benefits of electronic communication are just beginning to be realized. Among the most useful are links to remediation material for students failing to keep up with the progress of the class; the use of infinite branching in tests (such that the same question is not repeated), avoiding cheating on tests through security features; and the access to a large mass of diversified resources. The assumption here is that learners know how to do research. A system with many paths and the ability to bypass material and go back to previous sections is important. Easy navigation is an aspect that the student demands.

A distance education program cannot be limited by the lowest common denominator hardware and software configuration. This approach would lead any program to be many years behind the state of the art. The counter argument is that the university cannot demand that all students have access to the latest technology. A compromise between what is critical and what is incremental gain must be forged.

The quantity, quality and accessibility of data and information sources have undergone a complete metamorphosis with the advent of the World Wide Web, giving, in theory, unlimited access to multimedia documents, search engines, databases and other material, creating a user-centered open-ended learning environment. We are only now discovering some of the severe limitations, including the absence of any quality control, the lack of embedded pedagogy, ignorance about system architecture, and lack of awareness of ones own cognitive processes [5].

Some of the difficulties with computer hardware and software are the nagging inability for programs to convert easily from one form or version to another, delays and slowness in accessing the Internet during prime time, and limitations in transporting large objects.

Progresses in windowing, multitasking, client/ server, peer-to-peer communication, local area network, wide area network, relational and object-oriented programming, platform-independent software all combine to create a more or less seamless environment toward the day when instructors and students would not have to worry about technical issues. This is a dream which is thwarted by the fact that hardware improvements are moving at a faster pace than the software utilizing these improvements; and people's attitude and abilities are lagging still further behind.

There is a naive belief that technology solves all problems. Technology also creates new challenges and opportunities. Our eyes look at a computer screen differently than at a book. The span of attention is different with a computer and the method for making notes is also different. All these factors must be taken into account in developing online courses.

One of the major difficulties in the distance learning environment is the development of an alternative to laboratory experiment. The development and production of multimedia substitutes and the use of simulation and modeling can replace a great deal of the traditional laboratory experiment curricula. This is especially acute in biology, with required microscope and dissecting classes, and in engineering, physics, and chemistry, where actual demonstration of principles is a large part of the curriculum. Actually, all microscopic slides can be shown as images, and web sites abound with biological images including human anatomy. In the harder sciences, graphic programs exists that can assemble, disassemble, rotate, and move all sorts of objects, allowing experiments to be performed in a three-dimensional environment.

Convenience and cost to student are not trivial issues. How many students have ready access to a computer with infinite storage, CD-ROM, sound card, scanner for image input, zip drive for backup, and with a collection of software ranging from sound playing to graphic handling. We might be pushed into a two-tier approach; where the first tier defines the minimum capability to access all relevant material needed to communicate effectively. A second tier might expand existing capability with newer technologies. For example, all students should have access to a set of slides in Power Point, but only student with the appropriate technology could access these same slides with voiced-over presentation and discussion.

I have not addressed so far the most valuable commodity, time. All these technological solutions require substantial time investment from the class designer, the instructor and the students. This is probably the most important limitation. In recent surveys, the amount of time spent by instructors in web-based classes was substantial above the amount of time spent in the same live class. Students, who have saved time by not driving to a campus for class, found that they must invest more time in careful communication.

Computer technology is changing very rapidly. Computers are becoming more affordable, with faster processing time, larger storage capacity and many hardware and software features and capabilities that satisfy user needs (see table II). We foresee a future technology that will require less technological ability from the user for better results. This technology will take advantages of more senses simultaneously, for example to ability to read text as well as hear it spoken; the ability to interface with other users not only in a textual mode but in a visual as well as auditory modes.

Most distributed learning programs emphasize the benefits of technology. And these are many. Unfortunately, technology has been shown to be only a small part of the solution. One of the basic reasons is that electronic (especially web-based) solutions are based on text while most people are visual-oriented. This leads us to review pedagogic issues associated with the brave new world of teaching and learning.

NEW ROLES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Teachers everywhere are faced with learning and developing new roles and approaches to teaching a changing student population. Nowhere is this need more acute than in distance learning. Education can be thought of in terms of a social system (as derived from systems theory). It is an open system with all the unique characteristics of dissipative structures, non-linearity, emergent properties, and self-organization. This approach is important since the inability to think of education as a system has been identified as a major factor in explaining the poor performance of American education at all levels [6]. Figure 1 is a depiction of education as a system. This system major entities or elements are the students with their goals, needs, and wishes; the peers with which they interact and team on projects; the instructors with their unique

experience; the tutors and other support organizations; the curriculum, subject matter, and methods of delivery [7]. This system can be decomposed into elements, and mappings or relationships. In the field of education, the system is usually called the learning space.

The learning space includes the student, the instructor, fellow students, the educational material, administrative information; domain specific sources and references to external sources. The teacher must orchestrate all of these elements. This is a multidimensional space. It is sometimes referred to as context. Technological developments and progresses in other fields are continuously enlarging this learning space. The role of context in learning is increasingly being recognized as significant. Context is defined as a multilevel (student, immediate environment, organization environment) set of factors (orienting, instructional and transfer), in which learning experience is embedded. Context can facilitate and/or inhibit learning. Orienting factors refer to the pre-learning experience including education, attitudes, expectation, experience, etc. The instructional factors cover both physical and psychosocial factors, and the transfer context refers to the application of the learned skills to the workplace and the continued maintenance of acquired behaviors [8]. It is important for the instructor to understand in some detail the set of factors as it applies to all the students. Survey, interview and observation are some of the obvious methods to gather relevant information applicable to each new class population and incorporating it in the course design and redesign. Orienting activities, like providing learners with objectives for a lesson or introductory material, help students to focus their attention and incorporate the new information within existing schema. Studies show that the presentation of clear objectives enhances performance because of an intimate linkage between expectancy for learning and incentives for learning. Further orientation activities had a significant impact on task group performance, improving cooperation among group members [9].

The major metaphor in use in distance education is that simply computerizing the teacher’s notes, in essence, creates the web-based course. This is a very inappropriate metaphor. Developing a course for distance learning is more comparable to writing a book than to teaching live. Thus a different pedagogic approach must be used. From the author’s point of view, writing a book is a highly iterative process. This means that chapters have to be written and rewritten to meet the criteria and to be congruent with other chapters. Also, with few exceptions, it is not necessarily a linear and sequential process—this means that chapters are not written in the order they appear in the book. Mediocrity is the price of looking for a common denominator. Great books avoid that problem by visualizing an audience or a collection of readers and stretching their capabilities and firing their imagination. Books are efforts of organization and synthesis presenting complex issues using the Russian doll model (a large doll contains a smaller doll within it that contains a still smaller doll within it…). Textbooks are different than novels. They contain questions and answers, test materials, references and sources. They are strong in graphic elements and use structured text (such as outlined boxes, sidebars, etc) to emphasize important points. I suggest we focus on the book metaphor for distance education. From the reader point of view, a book is a medium where you can dog-ear the pages, write your reactions in the margin, and underline, in yellow, important passages. While these physical activities cannot be totally replicated on a computer, we need to develop techniques that converge more and more on the student behavior pattern.

Distance learning must support a multitude of pedagogical approaches since some students learn better by self directed study (working at their own preferred pace), while others need to be engaged in a dialogue, and still others require step-by-step guidance. In any technical subject a certain amount of automaticity (for example the ability to perform computation or know the multiplication tables) is required before concepts are assimilated [10]. This requires careful planning of the lesson sequence. No matter which pedagogical vantage point is favored, scholars in the field of education all emphasize sound motivation, clear information, thoughtful practices, immediate feedback, the elucidation of action and reaction, the provision of guidance, coaching and mentoring, and the assessment of performance as required for active learning. The convergence of sound pedagogical insights and technological innovations provide a more robust educational model than before [11].

Tasks that create curiosity and foster further investigation from the student are critical. This gets to the point that the major role of the teacher is to teach students how to teach themselves. It is an often-stated paradox that a good leader is one step behind the people he leads. The same concept applies to the teacher that should be always available to guide, rather than direct the learning process. Under this model, the crucial interaction between the teacher and the student should be in the area of the teacher informing the student of his progress rather than controlling the student learning. In this new model both students and teachers have new demanding responsibilities. The instructor must move away from pedagogic imperialism to individualize the instruction, the assessment and the guidance; and the student must become an active learner exploiting a diversity of resources above and beyond the instructor and the course material.

Students also must change. Students need to plan and define the expected outcomes from their course of study, plan the method to achieve the goals, implement the plan in terms of regular activities, and review progress with the aim of making required corrections. A number of students need assistance in mastering this process. The modern teacher must play a variety of roles (table III) for different students, at different stages of their education and depending on the course material and goals to be achieved [12]. The teacher must be a tutor helping the student in developing appropriate priorities, developing a learning plan, and resolving areas that are unclear. The teacher must also be a mentor. A good example of mentoring is what is happening in the industry, where some 40 percent of industrial organizations have mentors that help professional, during apprenticeship, when joining a new organization, facilitating adaptation to the new environment, work rules, and procedures. The mentor offers general help rather than skill-specific support. The teacher must be an assessor. Without regular and detailed feedback, learning is more difficult. Assessing progress, performance and learning from mistakes and victories are all part of learning. Finally, the teacher must teach. This means developing appropriate teaching material, illuminating it with examples, cases, and stories, and reacting to class dynamics to meet students needs within the envelope of the course description. As can be seen from the above, the role of teachers is changing and is being extended more than ever. Traditionally, teachers were seen as controlling the class (its contents and student behavior). The new culture emphasizes the role of the teacher as creating a learning environment that offers problem solutions, guidance and support to the learner. The absolute requirement is to know the student well enough to address unique needs. This is hardly achieved by asking the student to submit a resume. The teacher needs to understand the student’s personal experience, academic achievement, skill base, learning style, and communication preference in order to incorporate them in the teaching material as well as defining the interaction mode and intensity required. Put a little differently, the teacher needs to know the whole person not only the student.

The previous teaching paradigm (akin to linear activities on an assembly line) blinded us to the opportunities (flexibility, options, and choices) that exist both in the environment and the student body universe. This means leveraging not only the teachers capabilities but also other capabilities as well as through open-ended dialogues. Now, dialogue means openness and trust. It means shedding artificial barriers without impacting the core system, which has served so well. We are not suggesting discarding the older mode, but expanding it the same way Einstein's theory of relativity expanded Newton's mechanics.

Students in accessing the source materials and directions can now work serially (step-by-step based on a logic or time sequence), in parallel (following several paths simultaneously), recursively (cycling back and forth between activities, data sources depending on findings) or in an hypertext mode (following links of increasingly finer details) (Table IV). The hyperlink concept is central to the new mode of learning and may represent the future of all books and other material publishing. Sequential thinking in hierarchical, compartmentalized formats leads to fragmentation, isolation and a lack of global view and ability to react to constraints or opportunities. The alternate concept favors parallel thinking, networking, peer-to-peer communication, dynamic teaming and integration [13]. The new distributed learning (where both space and time -- the great historical organizational principles -- become irrelevant) will create new architectures and structures patterned after open systems and ecological models.

Institutions have a role as well in this process. This means real commitment to provide support pre- and during enrollment, during class, and after class completion. Students need help to deal with the bureaucracy. More importantly they need access to resources such as library, computer labs, textbooks, and remedial programs. Finally, at least from the student’s perspective, they need more individual help addressing their unique concerns rather than generic support

Learning does not stand alone as a process but must be enriched with relearning paths and unlearning exercises. New knowledge can replace old knowledge, expand existing knowledge, or be added to the knowledge database. Unlearning is important, it means erasing, discarding or replacing old concepts, idea, and practices with better and improved ones. One example of unlearning is to complement existing spirits of competitiveness with cooperation attitudes. Next, I address how these concepts can be incorporated effectively in distance education classes.

Design Many instructional development models exist; they all includes analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation and revision of course material (contents and direction) as major elements. Borrowing from the software field, experiments have been made in rapid prototyping to minimize time and costs associated with design and redesign of course plans and materials.

Students learn by observation, practice, and problem solving and generally by being engaged in a community of knowledge seekers. They key word is active engagement. Reading a book or reviewing videotape or listening to a lecture provides only limited stimulus. This is why these traditional methods must be complemented with discussion groups, modeling and simulation efforts, joint activities (like debate or joint report preparation) and project-based learning [14]. This is not to say that the same principles do not apply to all forms of teaching. But, teaching in the virtual environment requires additional performance support systems beside those traditionally used in the classroom. On-line help databases completed examples, case studies, demonstrations, and reference sources are among the tools used to support or supplement traditional training.

With the advent of distributed learning, homogeneity in terms of academic background, social status, age, etc. can no longer be assured. But this is not substantially different than the situation that has existed for many years in the continuing and adult education centers. Actually, this diversity of student’s background, education, and real world experience is one of the most tangible assets where students can effectively become co-instructors. One of the greatest challenges is to foster interaction between instructors and learners and among the learners (fellow students) as individuals and as a group. The student is rapidly becoming a vast untapped resource of data and experiences, tutoring skills, and challenges. The new environment is said to tend to reduce student and instructor contacts and build upon the expectation that the learners will engage in independent learning. Limited data indicate that the students respond well to the new technology, such as e-mail and groupware such that student and instructor contact hours are enlarged. Being exposed to a variety and a wealth of sources of data and prior experiences does not guarantee that this amorphous material will be used constructively by the student without guidance and assistance. An interesting metaphor is a tailor that can rapidly and cost effectively design suits for a very homogeneous group of customers, while a very disparate group of customers might demand a large variety of suits to be produced, spelling greater cost and greater time investments for a better fitting suit (in terms of physical as well as social fit).

Feedback In Greek mythology, Mentor was Odysseus' trusted counselor. Teachers must become mentors. From the collaboration between student and mentor arise new avenues of learning. Interaction (between the instructor and the students and between the students individually and as a group) has to be the first and foremost issue to be resolved. Interaction is an essential part of learning. Many techniques have been tested in an on-line environment. Among the most common methods to achieve the goals are questions and answers, polling of students on a specific subject, the use of chat room (for real time discussion), conference room (for posting and critiquing items), and brainstorming. Assessment is an important part of learning. Feedback in the form of grading and coaching is essential to learning. Grading provides a measure of the ability to capture, memorize and understand the material. Assessment goes beyond grading by providing guidance and direction, identifying weaknesses and strengths and focusing attention and effort. New methods of assessments are needed to better support and guide the student effort.

Evaluation is an important part of learning. Evaluation takes many forms. One aspect is quality control. Under this rubric I incorporate the identification of common problems and difficulties encountered by a student group with the aim of making corrections to the materials to eliminate the systematic problem. Evaluation cannot be limited to reviewing and commenting on products. Evaluation must include context, input, process, and products. It is probably more important to evaluate how a student thinks, accesses information, uses tools, and methods rather than making sure he obtains the right answer. Since most assessments are based on answers to essay questions, culture and prior experience might taint the answer and obscure the skill sets of the student.

Clearly, the instructor needs a certain amount of control over the students and the learning process. This is better achieved by a careful balance between synchronous activities (when the students and instructors interact via live voice and/or video) and asynchronous activities (when the student operates on his own or follows direction). On-line or web-based or distributed learning forces additional structure and discipline both in terms of the material content as well as the learning method. Also, distributed students need to communicate much more explicitly with fewer assumptions made and clearer direction from the program. This is because they cannot rely on extrinsic knowledge and information such as the instructors body language and the communal knowledge of groups. Experiences show that remotely located students communicate more often and more extensively than on-site students do. While this is useful, without proper control, it can consume all available time.

Teaming Since one of our goals is to create a new generation of business managers better equipped for the future, it makes sense to borrow concepts and practices from the business world. Businesses today emphasize teaming by redefining the role of the individual in a team environment. Corporations tend to benchmark themselves (by comparison with reference groups) and identify best practices. Businesses are very sensitive to their culture (norms, ownership, and shared beliefs) and the presumption that new learning must fit in that culture and be congruent with the strategic plan and direction in order to survive and be practiced. Businesses try to facilitate the integration of new employees within the existing culture through mentoring and other indoctrination methods [15].

It is rare to find in one individual all the talent and experience necessary to design an effective distributed learning site. Because of that, sites tend to be designed by teams including subject matter experts, multimedia creators, curriculum development specialists and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) technicians.

Since a substantial part of teaching goes beyond principles and includes anecdotes, stories, and situations, it is important for teachers to refresh their store of narrative information through interaction and collaboration with other teachers and through capitalizing on the range of experiences of class participants. Teachers should be experimenters and test new practices, concepts, languages and materials based on a growing repertoire rather than repeating the same ideas from class to class. The same applies to interaction between students [16].

Team teaching has been used in higher education with reported benefits for the students and teachers [17]. Students can experience different approaches and methods to information delivery, can realize that teachers might have different views or perspectives on a subject, and are exposed to a greater diversity of cases and examples. Instructors can learn from each other and focus more deeply on assigned areas and can dedicate more time and attention to a smaller group of students. Team teaching can take many forms: a lead instructor with supplemental instructor, an instructor with guest speakers, and two or more instructors with shared responsibilities (co-teaching). There is an interesting analogy here with journalistic reporting, where the print media tends to be an individual effort, while television tends to be a collaborative effort. This is probably associated with both the increased complexities of the technology and the demands for a faster response. The content of the course should drive and define the method of delivery. Eventually, successful universities will create first class teams with subject matter experts, software innovators, systems integrators, logisticians, etc to offer a cradle to grave service.

The Practice of Distance Learning Distance learning is now a well established practice that utilize satellite TV, compressed video and the Internet and the World Wide Web as aids to traditional course delivery. Distance learning forces the university to focus on new models of learning, new markets to explore, new populations to serve, and new alliances with formerly alien groups.

The university offers a single model to education—the batch model. Students register at a given point in time (enrollment season) and progress through a finite number of weeks and classes forming a semester. When the class is full, new sections are opened or registration is denied. Distance learning can be freed from the tyranny of this rigid model. There is no reason why a course should not be offered continuously with registration allowed at any point in time. This is the concept where the student is allowed to plan (with the assistance of a mentor) a course of study and to fit it with other time-consuming activities in life. There are obvious implications to this model having to do with planning, staffing, budgeting, and pricing; but none are impossible to solve [18]. For example, under this continuous model, synchronous activities and team efforts cannot be effectively implemented, constraining the set of choices available to the instructor.

The other implicit model used by the university is that students are attending places of higher learning in order to secure a degree. While this is basically true, many students are more interested in the knowledge and the practice than in securing a parchment. The traditional university offers only two modes for attending classes: a strict regimen leading to a degree, or auditing classes. Continuing education departments expand on this model offering certification programs and short courses. It is expected that this model will develop into a continuum between these extreme poles, with a variety of programs suiting the students rather than the university administration.

Originally, distance learning was seen as a complement and a competition (depending on the vantage point) to traditional education. But, distance learning can serve many more markets and specialized populations than the traditional university. Learning is and should be addictive [19]. Surveys support the contention that participation rate in education is related to educational attainment. The U. S. National Center for Education Statistics conducted a survey, in 1995, on the prevalence of distance education offered by Higher Education Institutions. Findings indicate that a third of the institutions offered distance education courses, and another quarter planned to offer such courses in the next 3 years [20]. A vast majority of the positive respondents were associated more with undergraduate programs (80 percent) than with graduate programs (34 percent). A spectrum of technology, including one-way and two-way recorded and interactive video, audio and on-line interaction, as well as web-based technology was in use.

Distance learning is ideally constructed to meet the varying needs of adult education. A large number of potential students, employed in the work force, are interested in completing their interrupted formal education. Distance learning can adapt to the time availability of this student group better than any other model of education.

Continuing education as a lifetime process is becoming accepted as the norm not only by specialized populations but also by most educated people. Continuing education has been the hallmark of the professions. Physicians, lawyers, engineers, real estate specialists and many other professional groups are actively involved in refresher courses and in learning new technologies and concepts over their entire professional career. It is a small step to extend this concept to all educated people in a world characterized by rapid changes, increase in knowledge, progress, discoveries and advancements.

More than 2 million disabled Americans could easily avail themselves of distance learning as the primary learning tool. Their special challenges almost but disappears when the new technology appears on the scene. Many physically challenged potential students lack mobility and require special reading, writing, video and audio tools to perform all the learning activities. Properly designed web-based programs can take into account special requirements like emphasis on video and audio rather than text as the prime teaching/learning vehicle.

Specialized technologies are now available to facilitate access by the physically challenged segment of the population with options such as voice input and Braille input/output devices. This technology was first developed for "talking books", which are now available from many manufacturers and libraries. Approximately 5.6 million teens and youths (age 3 to 21) are disabled under the definition of the American with Disabilities Act. Several million disabled adults are engaged in university education. People who are deaf, blind or visually impaired, orthopedically impaired because of injury or illness, or with speech impediment are restricted in their access to traditional education. Computers and technologies, such as speech recognition systems, joysticks, tactile output, Braille printers, scanners with optical recognition, tactile graphic devices, voice synthesizers, and embossing of equations, can create an environment that facilitates alternative access paths. [21].

American corporations probably invest more, on an annual basis, in training and professional development than all the university budgets combined. Most corporations would be willing to surrender this teaching and training function to professional groups that can offer training in a professional, consistent and quality format to their employees. Further, corporations must change continually to adapt to rapidly changing markets, consumer demands, and competitors actions. The ability to structure a distance learning course by assembling different elements to satisfy changing needs would go a long way toward meeting corporate requirements.

In 1995, thirty-two percent of employed workers participated in skill improvement training for their current job [22]. Executives and technical (fifty percent) and those who where college graduates (forty-seven percent) where the most likely to avail themselves of this training. This represents about 76 million adults [23]. Work related courses having to do with job, career, license or certification, and personal development courses, such as health related or computer related classes were the two most popular categories. This is to be contrasted with the 21 to 23 percent of the adult population, based on the National Literacy Survey, that lack proficiency in reading prose, understanding and interpreting documents, and performing quantitative tasks [24].

Many people and organizations are more interested in certifications than in degrees. Distance learning can offer a variety of professional certificates upon completing the program. Many technical fields required certification; for example the environment science fields require certificates in environmental auditing, environmental sciences, industrial hygiene, etc. The same applies to many computers, engineering, technical, accounting and financial disciplines. As the US is moving away from a manufacturing base to a knowledge worker base, a huge market for training in a rapidly changing environment is growing with each new technology wave demanding a more educated workforce that ranges from competency training to vocational training to certification training rather than just academic education [25]. There is a strong movement in the government to use outsourcing for all non-mission critical activities. Training is obviously one such mission. It does not require military personnel to teach DOD employees about software or management. However, it was quickly discovered that outsourcing the training function to commercial organizations provided very little financial gain. The prime reason is that most costs associated with training have to do with travel, per-diem, and opportunity cost of not being available). But, when distributed learning is applied, substantial financial gains are secured.

The elderly population is the fastest growing population in the United States. The senior citizens have a lesser income than most other groups but they have a larger disposable income, because they have discharged themselves of their traditional obligations such as children, education, home acquisition, etc. Many older citizens are interested in acquiring new knowledge for the sake of the knowledge and to occupy idle time. Here again, great possibilities exist for an education provider able to meet the needs and wants of a specialized population.

Immigrants represent a large group in need of acquiring skills that most of us acquire just through the process of growing up. Language proficiency is at the forefront of their needs. Great progress has been made in computer-based language learning that incorporates audio and video beside the traditional text displayed on a screen. To be fully effective, such programs need to be interactive and this is what the Internet can provide best.

In order to survive and thrive the University of the future will be required to forge a variety of strategic alliances with groups that are foreign to it. These alliances must start at home within and between traditionally partitioned departments and between universities. Eventually, alliances must be nurtured with community groups and corporations.

First of all, cooperation within department will be required to take advantage of the spectrum of skills and experience available in existing departments. Second, walls between departments will need to be lowered if not destroyed. As our knowledge base increases, many of the important discoveries and activities are being performed at the interface between traditional fields such as between computer sciences and biology; sociology and economics; anthropology and business, etc. Great progress is being made in mathematical biology, biophysics, neuro-science, geography, mathematical physics, etc. Third, the university will no longer serve only a limited geographical area but will need to develop working relationships with other universities in the same geographical area as well as world-wide, based on specialties, unique programs, areas of interest, capabilities, etc.

The university exists within a community and will be required to work closely with community groups with interest in education, from lower level schools, to community service organizations, to economic development authorities. Each of these groups has unique needs in terms of education and training.

Corporate America is increasingly participating in the university life, mostly through the funding of research, the establishment of programs, the endowment of chairs, and the participation of individual researchers in new corporate ventures. These relationships will need to be extended for the university to fulfill its role in professional development of employees and the utilization of research and development.

The dichotomy of the concept of the university as a cloistered center of learning and as a modern corporation is now well established. That the university must be the guardian, defender, and promoter of knowledge is not in question. That the university must adapt to the economic reality of a competitive market place is the central theme. With this realization comes the need to serve many populations with diverse needs and wants.

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Distance education (DE) is available today in a primitive state, at many Universities, and in its current incarnation requires extensive time from instructors and a great deal of motivation from the students. Lots of problems (in terms of contents, pedagogy, and delivery) are apparent as soon as one visits such a DE web site. The cold reality is that technology can both be a solution and a problem and that technology without pedagogy is more a hindrance that anything else. How should the university approach this potential Eden of education? What kind of infrastructure, training, development, etc, is needed to take full advantage of this opportunity? The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) has an aggressive program to answer these questions based on the practice of distance education.

The University of Maryland University College is a multicultural environment. Studies have shown that there are substantial differences in attitudes between genders and different ethnic groups in terms of technology in general and computer technology in particular [26]. Further, all indications are that students of different ethnic groups display different attitudes and behaviors in terms of communication patterns and learning processes [26]. One of the hidden benefits is the opportunity for students of different ethnicity’s; cultures, languages origins and experiences to share a greater understanding of similarities and differences between them than would have been possible before the advent of distributed learning [26].

The UMUC has a sophisticated Webtycho system (based on IBM’s Lotus Notes) to implement distance education. A large number of classes in finance, marketing, strategic planning, human resources and other subjects are offered live and on-line (Figure 2). Typically our students, at University of Maryland University College, Graduate School of Management of Technology are in their mid thirties and are fully employed in a technology company (mostly in engineering, information technology, environment, biotechnology). Their motivations for studying for a Master of Science degree in the Management of Technology include moving up the management ladder or effecting a career change. They, typically, have a Bachelor degree in science (a few have more advanced degrees) or technology but have very little management or business formal training. Further they are somewhat hampered by a gap of several years in their formal education. They often need to relearn to learn. On the other hand they are highly motivated to learn and put in practice what they learn.

Science and technology teaching is largely based on teaching facts and principles that can repeatedly be applied to new situations. Business teaching emphasizes the case study approach. With a library of such cases, the manager can always find an applicable case, to the situation at hand, or interpolate between cases. In the management of technology we attempt to use both pedagogic approaches to learning. Management of technology is somewhat similar to a traditional MBA with two exceptions. It focuses on technology and on practical applications.

The issue before us is then how to translate these principles and ideas into practice. Since I teach in the Graduate School of Management of Technology, Technology and Engineering Department, I will attempt this translation for this specialized area of continuing education.

The pedagogic principles I select for this teaching and learning application includes discovery (asking question), analysis (solving problems), application (case studies) and design (application to new problems). These principles are translated into practice through the following activity associated with each weekly lecture (figure 3).

1. Learning objectives. The objectives that should be accomplished by the students are listed in terms of subject areas to master or questions that should be resolved by the end of the session. The goal is to achieve in each session a balance of theoretical concepts and practical applications.
   
   
2. Chapter reading. The students are directed to read selected chapters from the textbook, using the PQRST method, (PQRST is an active reading method summarized thus: P: Preview the material, Q: Raise questions that you need answer, R: Read and reread the material, S: Study the material, T: Test yourself on what you learned). Systems thinking is familiar to most technology students and is used as an introduction and orientation to the class material. Using an overall system diagram, depicting entities and relationships, it is possible to draw enlightening inferences from the structure and the relationships. The overall system diagram is used as a recurring motif for every class, providing context for each lesson. Actually, each lesson is used to populate black boxes that are already well understood.
   
   
3. Supplemental reading. The world is changing fast enough that no textbook can provide all the necessary coverage. Each student is required to read, weekly, one of a selected group of articles (relevant to the weekly subject) and applicable to technology companies and issues.
   
   
4. Power Point slides. Slides emphasizing graphic presentation, are offered to the student. These slides summarized the key points in the chapter assignment. When possible, voice over the slides is provided to help the student discover some of the ideas embedded in the slides.
   
   
5. Internet activities. Students are required to perform an internet-based research project on a weekly basis as a practice for the lecture material. The activity might include issues of pricing, competition, planning, etc. My use of the Internet to solve practical problems facing technology managers is based on the idea of learning by problem solving. No matter whether the problem has to do with marketing research, pricing methods, or ethics, one tends to remember better what is being discovered rather than taught.
   
   
6. Case studies. Students learn more from analyzing case studies that reading theoretical material. I focus on multimedia case studies (written and graphical material supported by audio and video clips). When possible, I use computerized models and simulation to increase interactivity between the student and the teaching material. While technology shies from unfolding theories, hypotheses and conjectures (this is more the world of the sciences), it thrives on applications and problems solving. Technology is dynamic. Teaching technology-oriented students allows emphasizing the real world. For example, field trips can be taken on-line. Environmental clean-up sites, biotechnology fermentation models are obvious examples. Authentic cases help students to focus on process skills, understanding concepts, and applying these concepts later in new situations. Opportunities to review case studies in group, rather than individually are sought in order to instill and practice the team approach.
   
   
7. Focus question. To ensure that the students are mastering the class material and progressing at the expected rate, they must provide a short (< 250 words) answer to a focused question for the session. Under the concept of the teacher being more a coach than an instructor, feedback should be immediate and detailed. Feedback should address not only the technical adequacy of the answer but also the student’s conceptual understanding, and ability to research material and write interestingly about it. Other opportunities for feedback (from peers), leading ideally to self-assessment, are available through conference room activities.
   
   
8. Interactivity. Certain educators subscribe to the philosophy that distance education should be tailored to what computers do best: searching vast quantities of information, using multiple windows simultaneous and using the material in a non-linear fashion. I believe in using the technology but not totally divorcing it from the human dimension. This is the reason why I support some synchronous teaching. A certain percentage of the student’s work must include synchronous communication and activities with and between students, peers, and instructors. Two mechanisms have been tested. UMUC has access to an audio bridge (a large party line). A conference call can be arranged to discuss issues of concern to the students. It is useful to do this at least at the beginning of the semester. The chat room should be used for two one- hour sessions every week. I found that without a plan, the discussion disintegrates to personal issues or current events. To avoid this I prepare a subject matter list for discussion for each session. In order to create a more human dimension, I place marketing or other anecdotal stories on the web at least once a week. A list of web sites (URLs) has been developed and made accessible to the students. This list includes a variety of commercial and government sites with interesting material relevant to the class. Guest lecturers also are brought on-line to discuss a specialized area or a domain of actuality.

CONCLUSION

We are clearly on the threshold of a paradigm shift in education. Optimist souls, we see this growing distance learning technology as part and parcel of the evolution of education and as an opportunity for renewal. Distributed learning will revolutionize not only the delivery of knowledge but its very definition. The roles of teacher and instructor are likely to be stretched in new dimensions, and the students will play a more active role in managing their studies. All of these changes are likely to put major stress on an already ossified structure. We are not referring to incremental gains for adult learners but to rewriting the rules of teaching and learning.

Michel de Montaigne in his essay on the education of Children said, "If, as is our custom, the teachers undertake to regulate many minds of such different capacities and forms with the same lesson and a similar measure of guidance, it is no wonder if in a whole race of children they find barely two or three who reap any proper fruit from their teaching" [27]. Clearly, our goal is to do better than asserted by Montaigne. However, we do not wish to create two education cultures: an on-line culture versus a traditional culture. This can be resolved by providing all students with computer access and by using the computer ability to store and manipulate information in both environments.

With the arriving of the new millenium, I can venture to make a few predictions:

• Distance learning will co-evolve with traditional learning, each finding its own niche and working together synergistically
• Many forces are driving profound changes in higher education. Distance learning is one such force

• While the campus probably will remain the basis for most basic education, the World Wide Web will become the center for life-long learning.

• We see a growing encroachment on what has been traditionally been considered to be the domain of the university

• Distance education can be an important molding force in shaping education and the university for good or evil and a social imperative in modifying the fabric of society. It can be a democratizing force as well as a force of commodification. The choice is ours.

• The tyranny of the normal distribution is that any teacher is expecting a range of capability in the student population. That range appears to have expanded dramatically through distributed learning and will continue to grow as society evolves and the role of the university is reshapen.

• We expect a renewed fervor in theorizing and experimenting in education and a more acid debate.

All these changes create new challenges: Who owns the raw data and the information? Who has access and how is it controlled? Who manages and maintains the information? Who steers the dynamics of the enterprise, integrating communication? What is the role of quality management? What new ethical problems lurk out there? Like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, we must run very fast just to stay in place because the landscape is moving as well.

REFERENCES

[1] National Science Foundation (1998) Using Technology to Reform Teaching and Learning, Synergy: April 1998:1-2.

[2] Lowe, R. (1995) Using instructional illustrations for distance learning, In Lookwood, F. (ED), Open and Distance Learning Today, London: Routledge.

[3] Rieber, L.P. (1996). Animation as feedback in a computer-based simulation: representation matter, ETR&D 44 (1): 5-22.

[4] Aiken, M.,Vanjani, M., Krosp, J. (1995) Group decision support systems, Review of Business (Jamaica) 16(3): 38.

[5] Hill, J. R. and Hannafin, M. J. (1997) Cognitive strategies and learning from the World Wide Web, ETR&D 45(4): 37-64.

[6] Sarason, Seymour B. (1998) Some features of a flawed education system, Daedalus 127(4): 1-12.

[7] Holmberg, B. (1995) (2^nd Edition) Theory and practice of distance education, London: Routledge.

[8] Tessner, M. and Richey, R. (1997) The role of context in learning and instructional design. ETR&D 45(2): 85-115.

[9] Cavalier, J.C. and Klein, J.D, (1998) Effects of cooperative versus individual learning and orienting activities during computer-based instruction, ETR&D 46(1): 5-17.

[10] Geary, D. C. (1995) Reflections on evolution and culture in children's cognition. American Psychologist, 50: 24-37.

[11] Wilson, J. (1997) Distance learning for continuous education. Education Review: March-april:12-16.

[12] Lewis, R. (1995) Support for the in-company learner. In Lockwood, F. (ed) Open and Distance Learning Today, London: Rutledge.

[13] Savage, C.M. (1996) 5^th Generation Management: Co-creating through virtual enterprising, dynamic teaming, and knowledge networking, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

[14] Laffey, J., Tupper, T., Musser, D. and Wedman, J. (1998) A computer-mediated support system for project-based learning, ETR&D 46(1): 73-86.

[15] Schein, E.H. (1998) Kurt Lewin's change theory in the field and in the classroom: Notes toward a model of managed learning. http://learning.mit.edu/res/wp/10006.html (June 9, 1998).

[16] Marx, R.W., Blumenfeld, P.C., Krajcik, J.S. (1998) New technologies for teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education 14(1): 33-52.

[17] Collins, C.C., Hemmeter, M.L., Schuster, J.W. and Stevens, K.B. (1996) Using team teaching to deliver coursework via distance learning technology, Teacher Education and Special Education 19(1): 49-58.

[17] Freedman. K. and Liu, M. (1996). The importance of computer experience, learning processes, and communication patterns in multicultural networking. ETR&D 44(1): 43-59. (p. 43.)

[18] Butler, B. (1997). Continuous education: A model for WWW based education. http://www.umuc.edu/iuc/cmc96/papers/butler-p.html (July 1998).

[19] Cross, K.P. (1984) Adults as Learners: San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

[20] U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics (1998) Distance Education in Higher Education Institutions: Incidence, Audiences, and Plans to Expand, NCES 98-132.

[22] The National Center for Education Statistics (1998) The condition of Education 1997, p. 74 [23] National Center for Education Statistics (1998). Statistics in Brief Nocvember 1995. Forty Percent of Adults Participate in Adult education Activities: 1994-1995, http://nces.ed.gov/pibs/9823.html.

[24] Kirsch, I.S., Jungeblutt, A., Jemkins, L. and Kolstad, A. (1993) Adult literacy in America: A first look at the results of the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Education., National Center for Education Statistics.

[25] Bates, A.W. (1995). Creating the future. Developing vision in open and distance learning. In Lockwood, F. (Ed.) Open and distance learning today. London: Routledge.

[26] Freedman. K. and Liu, M. (1996) The importance of computer experience, learning processes, and communication patterns in multicultural networking, ETR&D 44(1): 43-59.

[27] Montaigne, Michel de (1979). Essays. Book one Franklin Center, PA: The Franklin Library. Originally published in French in 1580.

Table I The Differences Between Distance Learning and Traditional Learning

Table II Some available technologies

Table III Roles

Table IV Modes of Study

Figure 1. Education as a system

Figure 2. Growth in distance education classes

Figure 3. Matching pedagogic principles and implementation methods