Tele-Learning Networks: New Opportunities in the Development of Lithuania’s Regions

Danguole Rutkauskiene, director, Kaunas Regional Distance Education Center, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, Baltic IT Review 1 '2000

The appearance of new technologies in the field of distance education may well contribute to significant improvements to the overall process of education in Lithuania. The main point of distance education is that it can provide equal learning opportunities to all of Lithuania’s citizens, irrespective of where they are located.
When it comes to regional development, the integration of local and rural communities into the Information Society is extremely important, and this can be achieved by improving on communications and information capacities.
Keeping in mind the traditional teaching processes that have been used in Lithuania, open and distance learning programs must be designed on the basis of the existing infrastructure at the country’s universities and colleges – computer networks, academic potential, etc. The need for DE courses must be evaluated realistically.
The Kaunas Regional Distance Education Center is implementing a nationwide project to develop distance education in Lithuania. The purpose of this project is to expand collaboration among educational institutions in creating a network for videoconference-based and synchronous distance education programs. Another nationwide project, focusing on methodological research in the area of distance education, is bringing together a number of educational institutions which have been involved in the development of distance education. Complex research is being done, and recommendations on how best to organize the distance learning process in order to deliver distance courses will have to be prepared.
One of the major tasks in promoting regional development is to integrate small towns and villages into the Information Society. Multifunctional services, including "telecottages" with advanced information and communications technologies that are available to entire communities for various kinds of purposes, are very much needed in these towns and villages.
There are some 3.8 million people in Lithuania, 80% of them Lithuanian, 9% Russian, 7% Polish and 4% of other nationalities. The capital city, Vilnius, has a population of approximately 600,000 people. Other major cities include Kaunas (430,000), Klaipeda (208,000), Siauliai (150,000) and Panevezys (130,000). 69% of Lithuania’s population lives in cities, the remainder – in the countryside. Lithuanian is the official language of the state.
Lithuania has, and will continue to have, many of the same problems as other European countries in terms of political, economic, intellectual and cultural considerations as Lithuania strives toward membership in the European Union. Developed countries over the last several decades have entered the stage of development which is known as the Information Society. It is replacing the Industrial Age. The creation of the Information Society involves the very rapid development of information and communications technologies. These, in turn, provide new opportunities if various social, cultural, economic and educational fields. Special attention should be devoted to the use of information and communications technologies in educational processes at all levels, including teacher training, external education and, especially, distance education.
Lithuania’s education reform program recognizes the establishment and development of a distance education system as one of the key national priorities in the modernization of education. Cooperation with the European distance education community and participation in international programs is very necessary in this process, and opportunities to do these things are always appreciated.

<big>Distance education in Lithuania</big>
Distance Education is of particular importance in Lithuania for a variety of reasons. Lithuanians are likely to remain in the job market for demographic reasons (Lithuania’s society is aging, and more than one-quarter of the population are 60 years old or older), but they are going to have to study and learn because of the ongoing improvement of job processes and technologies. If unemployment remains a problem, that, too, will encourage people to participate in distance education. Statistics show that the average Lithuanian changes jobs three or four times in his or her life, and retraining is a fairly common phenomenon. This is particularly true now, when socioeconomic reforms are taking place in Lithuania. There is a surplus of specialists in some areas and a distinct lack of personnel in others.
The Kaunas University of Technology currently teaches 2,670 distance learning students. Correspondence courses are available in electrical engineering, electronic engineering, food technology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, textile engineering, clothing technology and management. Students can pursue a bachelor’s degree or an engineering diploma.
Many university students these days are forced to work in addition to their studies, and distance education is perfect for them because it is so flexible. Students can develop their schedules so that time is used as effectively as possible. Advanced computer technologies have allowed the KTU to participate in various distance education schemes, and new projects are being developed.

<big>Communications technologies that are used for distance education in Lithuania</big>
Various kinds of distance education programs require a variety of communications technologies. Studies in the WWW environment require a simple modem connection, but if videoconferences are part of the mix, there has to be a high bandwidth data channel with stable parameters. This is why the ISDN network has been so popular throughout the world. Videoconferences usually use one or three ISDN lines.
Due to the recent process of very rapid Internet development Internet Protocol-based videoconferences are being developed, and the traditional Internet can be used for such events. Stable picture and sound quality, however, is almost impossible to guarantee at this time.
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technologies are the best for transferring distance education data. The major features of ATM technologies, which are not found in other technologies, are the following:
• The same technology can be used in local networks (Intranets) and in global networks (public communications, including telecoms systems);
• The ordered parameters for data transmission from the sender to the recipient are controlled and guaranteed throughout the network;
• Multicast technologies in which data for several recipients is transmitted in a single copy to the point of branching can be used to optimize large data flows.
The TEN 155 information highway, which connects 16 European countries, is the true backbone of the European Information Society. Most European universities, other educational institutions, libraries and government institutions are connected to this ATM network.
The Lithuanian academic computer network, LITNET, has prepared a project for the development of these technologies in Lithuania. This would allow LITNET to hook up to the European ATM network, and it is important to do this quickly in the context of European integration.
Digital satellite television has been developing very quickly recently. The DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard allows for transmission of the Internet Protocol, and it is expected that the two technologies will become closely integrated in the future. The access equipment is simple and not costly, and it can handle large volumes of data download. Interactivity can be ensured through traditional Internet connections.

<big>The Kaunas Regional Distance Education Study Center at the Kaunas University of Technology</big>
The Kaunas University of Technology is Lithuania’s leading educational institution in the field of engineering. Its Kaunas Regional Distance Education Study Center was established in March, 1996, under the framework of the "Multi-Country Cooperation in Distance Education" project of the PHARE program.
The goals of the KRDESC are the following:
• To develop distance education and to improve the quality of distance education services in Lithuania;
• To involve other Lithuanian educational institutions in these activities.
The Kaunas University of Technology is also implementing a project known as "Development of Distance Education in Lithuania". Three universities in four Lithuanian cities are involved in the implementation of this project. In 1999 an infrastructure for the synchronous, real time-based distance learning process was created. Four remote classrooms in Kaunas, Panevezys, Siauliai and Klaipeda, as well as a central teaching studio at the Kaunas University of Technology, were established. The study process is based on videoconferences.

The second stage of the project in 2000 and 2001 will involve the establishment of a second studio, at Vilnius University, as well as new remote classrooms in other parts of the country. A multimedia laboratory is also to be set up. Communications technologies such as ATM are to be used.
The LITNET computer network and PictureTel equipment that is IP protocol-based have been used for videoconferencing. LITNET uses 1 Mbps Frame Relay communications lines to the cities where remote classrooms are situated. Approximately 700 Kbps of the bandwidth are used for videoconference data. During a videoconference, the instructor can use application sharing capability, videotapes and a document camera. Because of the multimedia nature of the projection systems, students can see a shared application window and a video window in remote classrooms, which are automatically switched to a voice-activated remote site. Students who are at the studio can also take part in the process.
The Lithuanian government contributed LTL 1 million (USD 250,000) to the project in 1998. A request has been made for financing of LTL 4.7 million (USD 1.175 million) for the second phase of the project, to cover the period between 1999 and 2001.

<big>A Videoconferencing support system (VPS)</big>
We are presently developing software for our own use in the videoconference infrastructure of the distance education project, and in the future we may adapt the software so that it can be used with RealVideo, DVB or similar technologies. We are developing a videoconferencing support system (VPS), which will allow us to use interactive educational processes during a videoconference lecture. During such lectures, it will be possible to:
• Show presentations;
• Ask users to answer yes/no questions;
• Collaborate among remote users;
• Engage in synchronous testing through multiple-choice questions;
• Monitor remote users;
• Control the applications of remote students.
It is expected that the software will be appropriate for use in other countries, too.
In 1999 the Kaunas University of Technology joined in the Trans-European Tele-Education Network, which uses satellite technologies for videoconferencing The central studio for the network is located in Madrid, and it is connected to 11 remote classrooms all over Europe. Remote classrooms receive the lectures via satellite, and interaction with the instructor is possible via an ISDN connection.
In order to distribute satellite-delivered lectures to a broader audience, we are developing a technical solution for integrating distant classrooms in our project with the TEN network. Equipment will be installed early in 2000, and several pilot courses – "Electronic Commerce" and "Computer Graphics for the Creation of a Multimedia Environment" – will be developed. It is our hope that the E-commerce course will be interesting not only to students, but also various representatives of the Information Society and that in the future it will have a great influence on various aspects of our lives, our work and our businesses. Electronic commerce, of course is a very broad concept which can cover all forms of business, and it is used to underpin electronic trade, advertising and communications, electronic orders, supply of services, etc. In order to ensure that Lithuanian products and services become competitive on the international market, it is very important to introduce Lithuanian businesspeople to the principles of E-commerce.
Our network has recently allowed the Kaunas University of Technology to deliver courses on the fundamentals of European integration, the basics of distance studies, the fundamentals of pedagogical studies, and marketing – all to remote classrooms.
Another course, "Methodology and Practice of Distance Education: Cultural, Pedagogical and Technical Aspects", was delivered via ISDN videoconferences from Oulu University in Finland. Instructors, as well as master’s and doctoral students from the Kaunas University of Technology took that particular course.
The Kaunas Regional Distance Education Study Center is also providing Web-based DE courses known as Eurolaw and Euroli, as well as the Meba and Agripo courses, both of which are paper-based and were produced under the auspices of the PHARE Multi-Country Program in Distance Education. They were implemented by the European Training Foundation between 1997 and 1999.
The Kaunas center has also worked with the Open Society Fund of Lithuania to produce a distance course on basic computer skills (in Lithuanian). This course, known as "Informatics: Part 1", is aimed at correspondence course students who do not have regular access to instructors. Individual studying does not require constant supervision by instructors or course administrators, and it is a process in which people of many different ages can become involved.
The center is also involved in a number of international projects run by the PHARE program, the Leonardo da Vinci and Socrates programs, UNESCO and other entities which are all aimed at creating distance education courses on the Internet, as well as on CD and in other formats. The main aspect of the center’s work is creating the necessary infrastructure for various kinds of distance education courses.
Students most commonly attend classes at high schools or universities during the day and in person, but this is not possible for all residents. Some are disabled and cannot move around easily, others hold daytime jobs, still others lack the financing for full-time studies. These problems are resolved when various kinds of programs which allow people to study where and when they choose are created.
Indeed, these kinds of external studies are becoming more and more popular very quickly, and competition for slots is becoming more intense than is the case with full-time studies. The diagram shows the number of applicants for each available external studies slot at KTU between 1994 and 1999.
It is expected that the range of external study programs will increase in Lithuania, as has happened in other countries already. Unfortunately, many external study programs at this time are less than effective, and modern technologies and distance education methods must be put into place. When distance education is used, universities can collaborate more extensively, and the quality of external studies can be improved.
In the autumn of 1999 the Kaunas University of Technology began to offer a two-year program in professional pedagogical studies for teachers from Lithuania’s vocational schools. The lectures are transmitted through videoconferences to Panevezys, Siauliai and Klaipeda. A distance-based master’s degree program in public administration is also in the works.

<big>"Telecottages"</big>
Regional development is a process in which it is very important to integrate towns and villages into the Information Society.

They must be provided with information so that they can participate in full and equal measure in the social, cultural and economic life of the country. In order to allow for the use of modern information and telecommunications technologies for this purpose, an information network must be installed all across Lithuania. This network must enable electronic communications in every small town and village, and there must be appropriate professional consultations, a proper legal framework, and learning and development opportunities for children and teenagers. Other countries have developed entities known as "telecottages" for this purpose. These are facilities that are equipped with all necessary hardware and software, including Internet connections. There must be a special program to train staff for the "telecottages".
The bottom line is that modern information and communications technologies can be used to develop a wide variety of teaching and learning services, and this allows a country to create a harmonized and balanced society in which the individual capacities of every citizen are fostered.

<big>Conclusions</big>
1. It is crucially important to encourage every member of society to participate in the process of lifelong education. This involves specialization, as well as ongoing professional development in the context of cultural, social and economic changes. The most modern information technologies are used.
2. The introduction of new technologies in the process of distance education will improve Lithuania’s educational process. The main aim of such technologies is to provide equal opportunities for education to all of Lithuania’s residents, irrespective of where they are living. This means that:
• It is necessary to install LITNET communications in other Lithuanian towns so that all of the country’s educational institutions can be connected in a united computer network. Data flows must increase in order to justify the need to improve the penetrability of existing communications lines and to implement ATM technologies among the largest cities;
• Connections to international distance education networks must be provided through Internet, ISDN, ATM and satellite technologies, thus enabling the provision and reception of services in the international educational market;
• One of the priority fields in distance education is the creation of infrastructures which can underpin distance education services in Lithuania (business support centers, centers for continuous education, competence centers, telecottages, etc.).
3. Rapid transformations in Lithuania’s economic and social situation is forcing many specialists (teachers, government officials, industry specialists, bankers, customs officials, etc.) to improve their qualifications or to retrain for other jobs.
4. An analysis of learning motives gleaned from recent surveys suggests that there is a significant need for distance learning courses in Lithuania at this time.
5. The fact that society doesn’t fully understand these kinds of teaching processes, the fact that they require enormous initial investments, and the fact that it is not easy to provide objective calculations of the benefits that are derived from these programs – all of these make the development of distance education more difficult.

<big>References</big>
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3. Cizas, A., Normantas, E., Vengris, S. (1997). Correspondent Education in Lithuania.
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6. Development of Distance Education in Lithuania /LieDM project/. Governmental investments 1998 programme, /A.Targamadze, D.Rutkauskiene/, KTU, 1997.
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