FACETS OF DISTANCE LEARNING
Draft – comments appreciated
Alfred Bork
Educational Technology Center
Information and Computer Science
Universty of California
Irvine, CA 92697-3425
January 25, 2000
OVERVIEW
Recently considerable attention has been given to the concept of distance learning. It is an important direction for the new century. But like many terms in our vocabulary, this term is used in many different, even contradictory, ways. Many usages reflect only a limited view of what is possible.
I begin this essay by reviewing the many variables distinguishing various types of distance leaning that have been suggested or tried. Then I consider examples of distance learning. Many kinds of distance learning now being promoted are not adequate to our needs.
In the final section I present a new possibility for distance learning that I believe has great potential for the future of learning in the world.
FACTORS OF DISTANCE LEARNING
Many different factors can determine just what kinds of distance learning are to be found. All these factors are spectra, not just a simple yes/no choice.
Learning paradigm
The choice of learning paradigm is seldom made by the developer or deliverer of distance learning units. Like paradigms generally the choice is almost always an unconsciousness decision, made on the basis of the current dominant paradigm. Our concern here is with paradigms for distance learning.
Almost all the current learning efforts for centuries have followed a paradigm that I have called the information transfer paradigm. It sees the learning activity as involving transferring information for a knowledgeable individual to a student, often through intervening media. In schools and universities lectures and print material are the dominant media for information transfer. Verification of leaning is based usually on testing of memory of either information or procedures.
I have argued that this paradigm is entirely inadequate of learning in the new century. Learning today has many needs that can not be met by information transfer, including problem solving and creativity. Further many of the students using information transfer do not learn fully. Memory is not enough.
The new paradigm that seems desirable, for both distance learning and all learning, is one that I call tutorial learning. Perhaps the most famous example of tutorial learning is 2500 years ago, with Socrates. Many other examples can be sited, but mostly for the offspring of the wealthy. Tutorial learning with skilled tutors is often effective, but it is very expensive. But modern digital and communications technologies now make tutorial learning available for all for distance learning. We will return to this possibility at the end of this paper.
StudentLocations
Distance learning implies that the ‘students’ who are learning are not at the formal institutions of learning, such as schools, universities, and corporate training centers. This still leaves many possibilities as to the locations of the students.
One or many locations
The remote students may all be at one location, perhaps a classroom in another institution. They are still together, as they would have been at the offering institution. On the other hand, there may be several such groups. At the other extreme, very large numbers of individuals may be working at individual locations, perhaps in their homes or in public environments.
Close or far
Often the distance learning locations are close together. The other extreme is that that can be widely separated geographically. They might even be worldwide, although there are few examples of this kind so far.
Time Constraints
Beginning time
In formal institutions ‘classes’ often begin at fixed times. This comes from a period before computers when management practices demanded this.
The other extreme is that a learning segment can begin at any time: on any day, twenty four fours of the day.
Pacing
Again formal institutions differ from the possibilities in distance learning. In traditional activities the learning time is fixed. Distance learning, in some forms, allows the pacing to depend on each student.
Size of Learning Segments
In our schools and universities, the usual length of a learning segment is a course or a year. The actual learning material included may depend on the schedule of the institution – the length of the year, quarters or semesters. But in the world learning can be a continuous activity for birth to death. Distance learning can follow either strategy.
Learning Media
A wide variety of media can be used in distance learning, including print, lectures, conference sections, tutors, pictures, video, sound, and computer. Any one instance of distance learning will make choices among these media, perhaps using several. Each can occur in a wide variety of forms. For example, with video we have broadcast video, tape, CD, and through the Internet.
Student support
Different types of support may be available for the distance learning student. Traditionally in the formal institutions this has come through office hours (usually limited) and discussion sections. More recently email has been of increasingly importance.
Email can also be used in distance learning, with small numbers of students. Chat rooms are also limited in numbers if they are to be effective. Listservs are also used. Remote tutorial centers have been important in the United Kingdom Open University. Tutorial learning, already mentioned as a new paradigm, offers detailed student assistance as part of the learning materials.
Another important kind of student support comes from other students. Peer learning, between students at the same point in learning activities, is a valuable aid to learning. A distance learning activity can encourage such peer learning, creating learning circles of students, both physically and electronically.
Teachers or No Teachers
It is often assumed that teachers are essential for learning. But it is clear that much learning occurs without teachers. In childhood marvelous early learning occurs, such as the learning of an initial language. Much adult learning is without teachers.
So distance learning may or may not involve teachers. As the number of students increases to the thousands or beyond, the concept of ‘teacher’ becomes vague.
Numbers of Students
A recent online discussion asked about the ‘ideal’ numbers of students in distance learning environments. Several people on the list recommended 20 or 25 students. On the other hand, some of the foundation courses in the United Kingdom Open University have over 10,000 students. So a wide range of numbers is possible, with different forms of distance learning.
The problems of education are worldwide, in a world with six billion people. Distance learning may be the best possibility for reaching everyone, at all ages. So we would need a form of distance learning suitable for very large numbers.
Level of Interaction
In a lecture environment there is often very little time for each student to ask questions. The activity is very one-way, with the instructor talking most of the time. When a small group of students (perhaps four) work together in a peer learning environment the interaction is high; it could be called conversational. These groups could be close together physically, or could be remote groups connected through the technology. A given example of distance learning can be evaluated in terms of the interaction possible for each student.
Grading or Mastery
In schools and universities almost all performances in a course are given a grade. Several grading systems are available, but in each case students are spread over a spectrum from good to bad. These grades are determined primarily by examinations. In large courses they are, unfortunately, often multiple choice (called multiple guess by students. These grades are taken as a clear indication that some students have not learned the material, although such cases as Albert Einstein lead us to question this. Many distance learning environments are based on this grading strategy.
Benjamin Bloom suggested another approach. He noted, in experiments in the Chicago public school, that with a tutorial approach all students could learn. This is mastery learning; all students learn everything. The problem, he thought, was how to accomplish this in a way that worked economically for the large numbers of students we now have.
A major difference between grades and mastery is the role of examinations. As noted, they are typically used to assign grades in approaches that require grades. But in mastery courses evaluation is used to determine what new learning material is needed next for each student. Student learning problems must be found, and assistance offered.
Motivation and Attitudes toward Future Learning
We hope that students will enjoy learning. Learning today should be lifelong. So we need people who want to learn. The whole society should value learning.
Success, as in mastery learning, is an important factor in increasing desire for future learning.
In distance learning, without the usual threats of the classroom, motivation becomes particularly important.
Cost Factors
We cannot ignore the costs associated with distance learning.
Cost of Development
A learning segment, to be delivered at a distance, involves some costs of development. As with the other factors discussed here, there can be a wide range of expenses. Often, even commercially, there is not a clear view of the total costs involved; my experiences are that even textbook publishers often not have a complete view of the expenses involved.
Courses in traditional institutes often cost very little to develop; most of this cost is in the time the instructor devotes to the course, both before and during the course development. The major consideration is often the selection of a textbook. When these same individuals work on distance learning, the costs are still small.
We had major curriculum developments in the United States in the period immediately following the USSR Sputnik, over a wide range of subjects and levels. Although these were not distance learning courses, the costs involved indicate what is necessary for high-level curriculum creation. These courses each cost millions of dollars to develop.
A more recent data point with regard to distance learning is the United Kingdom Open University. Again, development of a course costs millions of pounds.
Spending large amounts on development will not guarantee that the learning will be of very high quality. But, conversely, good leaning units for distance learning will be costly.
Cost for a student hour
Costs of development are not the most critical costs in considering distance learning. From the standpoint of both the individual and the society (the country or the world) the most important factor is the cost for a student hour, including development, delivery, and administrative costs.
Expensive development can lead to low costs per hour, if the delivery system is inexpensive and if large numbers of students are to be involved. So when we think of the problems of the world, large-scale distance learning is likely to be very important.
Evaluation
Learning material should be evaluated. Evaluation can occur at various levels, both formative and summative evaluation.
Delivery Method
Many delivery methods are possible, including mail, email, CD ROM, DVD ROM, Internet, local wireless delivery, and satellite. A given product may be delivered in several ways. The nature of the learning units may determine delivery procedure.
Scenarios of Distance Learning
These factors can be put together in many ways to produce a distance learning system. I review a few of the existing possibilities here.
Correspondence Learning
The use of ordinary mail is one of the oldest ways to distribute learning units, in print, for distance learning. Examinations were also often distributed in this fashion.
Remote Sound and Video
Many years ago in the United States there was a program called Sunrise Semester. The use of radio and video to deliver learning has a long history. Major projects in Africa by the World Bank and others used battery-driven radios.
Perhaps the most extensive television learning activity was and is the Chinese TV University, now with over a million students. When I saw this activity about a dozen years ago the cameras recorded live lectures, often only a little ahead of their broadcast to students. The students were in classroom environments, with the TV set replacing an instructor at the front of the room. Occasionally someone came to answer student questions. I do not know if this is still the procedure followed.
In the United States one of the longest and best known efforts of this kind is the Stanford University engineering program, bringing courses to groups in technical companies in the area, via video. The students in this situation were highly motivated, as the material was useful to their future success. They were already also experienced students. They could ask questions via a phone connection to Stanford.
Initially Jones University proceeded with video delivered via the television cable, owned by Jones. Video tape and CD Rom allowed a more flexible approach, as the student could stop the tape and review a section of the material. Some programs used two-way video, relatively expensive.
In all these situations, the video was very similar to a lecture, perhaps identical. So the dominant paradigm was information transfer. In all feedback to the individual student was limited.
Remote Versions of Standard Courses
Another scenario for distance learning, growing rapidly in the United States at present is to imitate current courses in universities on the Internet, through the World Wide Web. This is called ‘online learning.’ The vehicle for delivery is usually a browser, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. The typical beginning is to place the course syllabus and related information on a web site. Usually a textbook is involved, and homework may be submitted electronically. If the person involved is writing a textbook, this may be online.
Materials may also be distributed by mail or by CD Rom, in some cases. Minimal resources, such as a part time programmer to assist in constructing the web page, may be provided, but developmental costs are low.
The learning paradigm is almost always information transfer. There is an instructor, just as with the standard courses. Email and list servers are the most common way to provide feedback. Groups of 20 or 30 are common with this approach.
In some places administrators encourage such efforts. They apparently see this as a cheap way to offer distance learning courses. A number of organizations have formed to provide lists of such sites. Some, such as the California Virtual University, have already come and gone.
United Kingdom Open University
The most successful example of distance learning today is the United Kingdom Open University. It has influenced many other institutions. They describe ten other universities that are called mega universities that mostly follow their directions; interestingly, although these institutions are scattered over the world, none is in North or South America. The Open University now has alliances and centers in the United States, at Florida State University and with the Western Governor's University.
The Open University, starting in 1969, offers a full range of degrees, and many adult education programs not leading to degrees. They have over 200,000 students, in a country much smaller than the United States. The following points are important in understanding the Open University.
- They have a careful system for producing their courses, developed over many years.
- Several years and millions of dollars go into developing each course.
- A course is redone in seven years. In rapidly changing areas updates may be sooner.
- Evaluations of the courses are part of the developmental process.
- The first courses were primarily print material and video.
- Testing showed that the video was not very effective in assisting learning, so it is now less used.
- Recent courses use more technology.
- Tutors in centers provide individualized help all over the country.
- The cost per student is much less than that of traditional universities.
- The Open University graduates are very competitive with those from traditional universities.
The reader will note, I hope, the striking differences between these last two approaches. Distance learning, as we have seen, can mean many different things.
But we have some very interesting new possibilities, based on the fully interactive capabilities of the computer. I conclude this paper with one such new form of distance learning, one that I believe have great future potential.
Tutorial Computer-based Distance Learning
A primary problem in learning is that many students do not learn, either in conventional learning environments or in the distance learning environments we have just observed. But this does not need to be the case. We have examples all through history of marvelous learning in which everyone learns. Some involved excellent teachers. Many of these teachers were called tutors.