Techknowlogia Journal 2002 April June

TM
Volume 4, Issue 2 April - June 2002
This issue is co-sponsored by:

Academy for Educational Development and
USAID's Global Bureau, Human Capacity Development Center (G/HDC), under an Indefinite Quantities
Contract (No. HNE-I-00-96-00018-00) to AED/LearnLink.
The contents of this Issue do not necessarily reflect the policies or the views of the co-sponsors or their affiliates
Thematic Focus: Virtual Systems of Education
5 Virtual Education: Between Virtuality and Reality

Wadi D. Haddad, Editor
The challenge is to integrate all modes of delivery into one paradigm wherein education is not a location
anymore but a teaching/learning activity that can take place in different contexts, locations and times for
different objectives, clienteles and occasions.
7 The Brave New World of Virtual Schooling in the U.S.: Challenges and Issues
Kathleen Fulton, Director, Reinventing Schools for the 21st Century, National Commission on Teaching and
America's Future
This article focuses on the establishment of online high schools in U.S. education, suggests some of
the reasons why they have been developed, and discusses some critical issues related to quality,
governance, and further expansion of virtual schooling.
10 The Evolution of Virtual Education

Glen Farrell, Study Team Leader, Commonwealth of Learning
There are several trends emerging that are likely to bring about radical changes to the way we think about the
concepts of campus, curriculum, courses, teaching/learning processes, credentials/awards and the way ICTs
can be utilized to enable and support learning.
14 Global Change and the Online Learning Community

Japie Heydenrych, Educational Developer, Bureau for University Teaching, University of South Africa
Globalization and the knowledge society are placing new demands on higher education institutions,
which are being forced to explore new delivery modes that accommodate learner needs in the global
village.
! 1 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

18 TechKnowNews
Electronic Distance Training on Sustainability in African Local Governments ♦ Virtual Labs to Link Arab
Scientists ♦ European Commission Published Interim Report on eLearning ♦ New Web Portal on ICTs
and Development to be Launched in May 2002 ♦ Western Governors University Continues Expansion
20 Faculdade Pitágoras: When Classroom Education Borrows from Virtual Education

Claudio de Moura Castro, President, Advisory Board of Faculdade Pitágoras
This article is about the creating of a new private college in Brazil - Faculdade Pitágoras - that has taken a
very innovative approach to teaching including a “virtual classroom,” styled after web-based courses.
23 The African Virtual University: The Challenge of Higher Education Development in Sub-
Saharan Africa
Laurence Wolff, Inter-American Development Bank
The African Virtual University was established in 1997. This article reviews the University's successes and
failures as a virtual university within the sub-Saharan African context. It also discusses the University's new
mission and goals, which have resulted from lessons learned.
26 Virtual Education at the Tertiary Level: The Experience of Korea

Insung Jung, Ewha Womans University
This article reports Korean national experiences in integrating virtual education into higher education
through self standing virtual universities and introducing virtual education in conventional universities.
31 The Burden of Dreams: Scaling Up Online Executive Education for Innovation and Reform
Winthrop Carty, Assoc. Director, Global Innovators' Network, Harvard University
Good design, smart strategy, and attentiveness to what we continue to learn in pedagogy and human
and social psychology can enable scaled up distributed learning to further reform and the dissemination
of innovations.
36 Virtual High Schools: Development, Trends, and Issues

Anthony Lizardi, Master's Degree Student, International Education Program, Graduate School of
Education, The George Washington University
Are virtual high schools a reality or still just a cyber dream? This article provides an overview of recent
developments, emerging models, student experiences, and key issues facing virtual high schools.
40 Government Support of Edtech Research and Development: An International Overview

Marianne Bakia, Federation of American Scientists
Despite the billions spent on implementing educational technologies, relatively little is spent on
researching and developing how, when, where, with whom, and with what, these projects should be
carried out. This article summarizes the total estimated investment in the R&D of educational
technologies in 7 countries/regions.

44 Mediating E-Discussions with WAP Technology: The Experience of the National Institute
of Education (Singapore)
Lim Cher Ping and Lee Chwee Beng, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore
Based on an exploratory study on the use of WAP technology to mediate e-discussions in a course at the
National Institute of Education, this article discusses the opportunities and limitations of WAP technology for
supporting a learning community.
48 Live TV for Support of Student Exam Preparation: A Pilot Study at Anadolu

University's Distance Education System
Dr. Ugur Demriay, Dr. Ozden Cademir and Dr. Ayse Inceelli, Anadolu University, Turkey
This article explores a study of Anadolu University's Open Education Faculty's Live TV Programs and
discusses findings and implications derived from the study.
51 Virtual Learning: Between Imagination and Challenges

Stephen Ruth, Professor, School of Public Policy, George Mason University
The author discusses four challenges that confront any effort to deliver virtual learning to developing
countries and suggests how each might become an opportunity.
57 Engaging Students through ICTs: A Multiliteracies Approach

Maureen O'Rourke, Australian National Schools Network
How can Information and Communication Technologies be utilized to both engage students and better
prepare them to face the challenges they will meet in the world of work, social citizenship and family life?
60 Analyzing Cost/Benefits for Distance Education Programs

Greville Rumble, Professor, Distance Education Management, The Open University, UK
This article offers a succinct step-by-step blueprint for conducting a cost/benefit analysis of distance
education.
65 Bridging the Generation Gap: The Move Towards a 3G Wireless World

Tressa Steffen Gipe
3G - the third generation in wireless technology - has important implications in the seamless
convergence of Internet, high-speed broadband, and the convenience of mobility. It also has potential
uses in promoting efficiency, interoperability and unprecedented information-sharing on a mobile basis.
67 Uruguay's "Aulas Galileo:" Heresy or Innovation?

Soledad MacKinnon and Aimee Verdisco, Education Unit, Inter-American Development Bank
This article describes the "Aulas Galileo" and how the use of lower-end technologies has had a higher-
end impact on the nature and profile of technical education in Uruguay.

69 WorthWhileWebs
Tressa Steffen Gipe
This edition of WorthWhileWebs lists a selection of Internet sites and portals from around the world, which
bring virtual education to your desktop whether you're a child or adult, student, teacher or parent.
72 Bridging the Digital Divide……..A Vision

Trevor Schofield, Teacher/Librarian, School District 41 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
What is web caching, how is it being utilized in developing countries, and what are its implications for
education?
75 Rethinking Technology Pathways: Morocco's CATT-PILOTE Teacher Training Project

Jeffrey A. Coupe and ElHoucine Haichour
The CATT-PILOTE project is a case study in the use of education technology to improve pre-service teacher
training within a national education reform.
78 Computer-Mediated Professional Development (CMPD): An Approach for the Knowledge Age

Mary Fontaine, Academy for Educational Development
CMPD has the potential to help improve professional development opportunities for large numbers of
people more quickly and at lower cost than traditional delivery means.
Year 2002 Editorial Calendar
July - September 2002 Technology for All - Issues of Equity
October - December 2002 Technologies for Teacher Training
Year 2003 Editorial Calendar
January - March 2003 Technologies and Learning
April - June 2003 Public/Private Partnership for Technology
July - September 2002 Technologies for the Advancement of Knowledge
October - December 2002 Technologies for Labor Productivity

Wadi D. Haddad, Editor
Virtual Education: Between Virtuality and Reality

Virtual education is with us and expanding. What started in and preparation than a reform of a conventional system.
the business world and in tertiary education is now spreading Experience has shown that effective introduction of virtual
into secondary education, lifelong learning and home education and learning systems is not instantaneous; it takes
schooling. sustained hard and deliberate effort, keeping in mind three
considerations:
The Pressures
• Virtual education, like any educational activity or
The pressures to experiment with virtual systems are high. reform, requires a long gestation period. Therefore,
The demands for providing educational opportunities are commitments, efforts, investments, and implementation
escalating. Modern economic, social, political, and schemes must be sustained over a long period of time.
technological requirements demand that all members of For instance, let us keep in mind that we have been
society have a minimum level of basic education; no country experimenting with Web-based learning for far less time
can afford to leave anyone behind. But the biggest challenge than it takes one cohort of students to go through school.
continues to be reaching individuals and groups that are
historically underserved with educational services that are • Integration of ICTs into education is a radical innovation
physically feasible, economically viable and socially and and should be treated as such. Innovations require
culturally acceptable. Similar pressures are coming from the building a solid base of knowledge and commitment,
workplace and the population at large for continuous learning interacting with interest groups, generating and testing
to update existing knowledge and skills and stay en courante different options, experimentation, planning for large-
with advancements in knowledge and developments in scale implementation, critical mass application, and a
technologies. mind open to modification and adjustment.
Meanwhile, decision makers are under pressure from public
• Learners in a virtual system need a new set of learning
opinion to be fashionable and adopt the latest educational
tools. They need to know how to use the technologies,
innovations, from vendors to apply the most advanced
how to manipulate the applications, how to access
technologies and from technologists to harness the potential
information and how to assess and assimilate
of ICTs that have revolutionized the worlds of business and
information.
entertainment. Under these pressures, the temptation is to
limit virtual mode to the Internet and exclude other
technologies such as radio, television and print. These A Replica or a Prototype
technologies use reception equipment that is readily available Virtual education should not be a poor replica of
in homes, have proven to be effective and inexpensive in conventional education. With the potential of technology it
packaging high quality educational materials, reach could be a prototype of a more exciting and effective model.
“unreachable clientele,” and overcome geographical and Classrooms are constrained environments, and conventional
cultural hurdles. instructional materials are static. If virtual education
programs are taped classrooms, digital texts, and PowerPoint
No Shortcut transparencies, then we are missing out on the tremendous
potential of technologies that can animate, simulate, capture
Virtual education is not about technology; it is about
reality, add movement to static concepts, and extend our
education. So, opting for a virtual e-learning mode does not
touch to the whole universe. Movies and TV programs are
provide a shortcut around the necessary elements that make
not replicas of theater—packaged theaters; they tell the same
ANY education relevant, responsive and effective. In story in a more dramatic and multifaceted manner. So should
planning for virtual education, the temptation is to focus on
virtual education.
the technologies and ignore the important educational policy
and strategy issues. This practice has led to virtual programs
In October 2001, the Organisation for Economic Co-
that are technologically exciting but educationally ineffective
operation and Development (OECD) issued Learning to
– bad education at a distance. In fact, the introduction of
Change, the results of a study of how information and
virtual education systems requires more thinking, planning
communication technologies (ICTs) are being put to use in

the most advanced countries. Essentially, according to the
report, they are being used to do traditional things in TechKnowLogia™
different ways. Examples include “putting on screen what Published by
can be found on the page of a book,” using material from the Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
Internet to “support conventional teaching practices,” and
employing didactic software to rehearse basic skills. This
merely replicates existing learning methods in technological
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
form. If ICTs are to fulfill their potential, “innovation and Wadi D. Haddad, President, Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
change are called for at all levels of the school environment.”
And that requires “a far-reaching review of teaching policies
and methods.” INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD:
Jarl Bengtsson, Head, CERI, OEDC
Claudio Castro, Pres., Advisory Bd., Faculdade Pitágoras
The challenge, therefore, is to align learning technologies Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President & CEO,
with sound pedagogy and instructional design and to try to The Commonwealth of Learning
do with virtual systems of delivery what could not be done Dee Dickenson, CEO, New Horizons for Learning
Alexandra Draxler, Director, Task force on Education for
with conventional modes. the Twenty-first Century (UNESCO)
Pedro Paulo Poppovic, Secretary of Distance Education,
Constraints Federal Ministry of Education, Brazil
Nicholas Veliotes, President Emeritus,
Virtual education is not a panacea. Many of the factors that Association of American Publishers
constrain the expansion and effectiveness of on-site
education work against virtual education – sometimes more ADVISORY EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:
intensely. These factors include availability of affordable Joanne Capper, Sr. Education Specialist, World Bank
physical infrastructure, quality contentware, and financial Sam Carlson, Executive Director, WorldLinks
Mary Fontaine, LearnLink, AED
resources. In addition is the question of acceptability by the
Kathleen Fulton, Director, Reinventing Schools for the 21st
educational establishment, parents and teachers. Century
Gregg Jackson, Assoc. Prof., George Washington Univ.
In many countries the main hurdle is the legal framework. Sonia Jurich, Consultant
Frank Method, Consultant, Former Director, UNESCO
Virtual systems with their ability to reach beyond political
Washington
boundaries, defy many of the national and international legal Kurt Moses, Vice President, AED
frameworks that were created for a world with frontiers. Harry Patrinos, Sr. Education Economist, World Bank
Solutions, albeit necessary, have been difficult to find and Laurence Wolff, Sr. Consultant, IDB
slow to implement. Providers of virtual education have to
deal with telecommunication monopolies and restrictive MANAGING EDITOR:
regulations, accreditation and certification, and intellectual Sandra Semaan
property.
GENERAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
FEEDBACK ON ARTICLES
A Substitute or an Alternative EDITORIAL MATTERS:
TechKnowLogia@KnowledgeEnterprise.org
Are virtual programs a substitute for educational institutions?
Are airplanes a substitute for cars? ( We drive a car to the SPONSORSHIP
airport!) Just as both modes of transportation belong to one Sandra@KnowledgeEnterprise.org
system, so should virtual and on-site modes belong to one ADDRESS AND FAX
educational infrastructure. They should be complementary; Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
each can admirably serve a specific need that the other could P.O. Box 3027
not begin to serve, and neither could substitute for the other. Oakton, VA 22124
U.S.A.
Virtual programs try to serve a clientele whose needs are Fax: 703-242-2279
difficult or impossible to meet through on-site learning. On-
site institutions that are vibrant with research, exploration,
and intellectual discourse are irreplaceable. The challenge is This Issue is Co-Sponsored By:
Academy for Educational Development (AED),
to integrate all modes of delivery into one paradigm wherein and
education is not a location anymore but a teaching/learning USAID's Global Bureau, Human Capacity Development
activity that can take place in different contexts, locations Center (G/HDC), under an Indefinite Quantities
and times for different objectives, clienteles and occasions. Contract (No. HNE-I-00-96-00018-00) to
AED/LearnLink.
Wadi D. Haddad

The Brave New World of Virtual Schooling in the U.S.:
Challenges and Is
Issues
!"#$%&&'()*%#+'
Director, Reinventing Schools for the 21st Century
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Setting the Context for Virtual Schooling that offers K-12 courses through Internet or web-based
methods.” Using this definition, this network lists, as of Feb-
The Internet has made its mark on business, agriculture, ruary, 2002, eighty-six such virtual schools operated in the
medicine, and all forms of communication throughout our U.S. These entities are run by a variety of providers, in-
society, but its educational impact is just beginning to be cluding states, local school districts, consortia or regional
recognized. The Web-based Education Commission, institutions, public profit and nonprofit charter entities, col-
charged by the U.S. Congress to assess the potential of the leges and universities, and the private sector. Another six-
Internet for learning, said “…the Internet is bringing us teen private, for-profit companies offer curriculum, content
closer than we ever thought possible to make learning of all and services for customers seeking online courses.
kinds, at all levels, any time, any place, any pace—a practical
reality for every man, woman, and child.” 1 This report, Online schooling can be either synchronous (with interac-
based on Congressional hearings held around the country and tions happening live or in “real time”) or, as is more com-
via online “e-testimony,” details how the Internet has af- monly the case, especially with courses offered across time
fected training at all educational levels, as online education zones, asynchronous. They can be scheduled to be com-
has moved from a cottage industry to global phenomenon. pleted during a common time frame (e.g., a standard school
semester) or be self-paced, with students completing a course
Business and industry have been the largest users of online when content mastery has been achieved. In the U.S., most,
learning, recognizing its value for expediting and advancing but not all, virtual schools have courses begin and end at a
corporate training. As an indication of the rapid growth that common timeframe.
has occurred in corporate online learning, in 1998 corpora-
tions spent approximately $550 million in web-based corpo- It has been estimated that 30,000 U.S. students have taken an
rate learning, but by 2003 this figure is expected to reach online course.5 More telling is the estimate that, this aca-
$11.4 billion.2 Post-secondary institutions are not far behind; demic year alone, 40,000-50,000 students will be enrolled in
the post-secondary online market, estimated at $1.2 billion in online courses.6 This has led some to estimate that, by the
2000, is expected to grow to $7 billion by 2003.3 Both the year 2006, a majority of American’s high school students
number of distance education courses offered by post- will have participated in online courses before graduating.7
secondary institutions and the number of enrollments of stu-
dents in these courses almost doubled in the span of just Why Has Virtual Schooling
three academic years (from 1994-95 to 1997-98). 4 Expanded So Rapidly?
What is particularly dramatic, given the local nature of pre- There are a number of reasons that account for this phe-
college education in the United States, is the growth of on- nomenal growth. The technology that is now in place in
line courses and even online schools in elementary and sec- America’s schools makes online learning a possibility and
ondary (K12) schools throughout the U.S. This article fo- the economics make it feasible. In the past, distance learning
cuses on the establishment of online high schools in U.S. required expensive equipment and specialized rooms for stu-
education, suggests some of the reasons why they have been dents to gather to take courses sent over satellite, microwave,
developed, and discusses some critical issues related to qual- cable and broadcast television. Today’s multimedia comput-
ity, governance, and further expansion of virtual schooling. ers and Internet access have brought down the cost and en-
hanced the opportunities for interactivity. Recent estimates
What is a “Virtual School”? indicate that virtually every public school in the U.S. has
some access to the internet; more importantly, over three
The term “virtual school” means different things to different fourths of all U.S. classrooms have Internet access. Further-
audiences, but, as defined by the Distance Learning Resource more, increasing numbers of students have computers and
Network (www.dlrn.org), a project sponsored by the U.S. Internet access at home, extending the opportunities for
Department of Education, it is “an educational organization “anytime, anywhere” learning.

of online materials that can be made available in an online
The educational reasons are equally compelling. Online course, trying to cover too much material can be a real prob-
courses make it possible for a student in a small rural school lem. Courses should reflect the research on learning which
to take courses not offered locally, either because there are suggests that students learn best when they have the opportu-
not enough students to support such a course, or there is no nity to build knowledge around their interests, previous expe-
certified teacher available to offer the course. They offer new rience and learning pace and style. This is a challenge for
flexibility when a student cannot take a regularly scheduled any course, but it should be considered a central design op-
course at the home school because of scheduling conflicts. portunity for online learning.
Online courses provide educational access to specialized
groups of students, including the homebound, children of Role of the Online Teacher
migrant workers or others who travel regularly (actors, ath- Like any teacher, those who teach online must be well
letes, etc.), incarcerated students, or others who, for whatever grounded in the subject matter and the best teaching and as-
reasons, have not been able to participate in site-based sessment techniques for that content area. But just because a
schooling. Home schoolers (children whose parents teach teacher is effective in a face-to-face classroom, this is no
them at home) have also become a large segment of the on- guarantee that he or she is well prepared to teach online.
line student population. But there is more that drives online Online teachers need training in the specialized area of on-
schooling today. Increasingly, online schooling is no longer line teaching, so they will be best able to design teaching
seen as filling a “deficit gap;” rather, it has become a model around this new environment. Effective teaching online re-
for the development of 21st century learning skills of working quires understanding the technology –specifically the soft-
and collaborating with others at a distance. ware that supports the course and various media options that
can enhance it (e.g. positing video, audio, use of online chats
How Can the Quality of and discussion spaces, groupware for common work on
Virtual Schooling Be Assured? documents, etc.). It also requires an understanding of how to
build opportunities for student interaction with peers and the
Concerns come with these new opportunities. The National teacher, and how to engage the “student at the back of the
Education Association (NEA), the largest teacher union in class” who may not be contributing or interacting appropri-
the U.S., is in the process of developing a set of standards for ately in the online class. The online teacher must be more
online learning, to guide educators, policymakers, develop- than the “stage on the stage” who lectures via text online. He
ers, and consumers who develop, adopt, teach or participate or she must find ways to engage students or they will tune
in online learning opportunities. The NEA notes that, while out by leaving the online learning space.
virtual schools can remove economic or geographic barriers
to learning opportunities, it is essential to assure that the Becoming a learner in an online class is one of the best ways
quality of those opportunities is either maintained or en- to appreciate this environment, and often the best training for
hanced. Content and teaching approaches that work in a face those who will be teaching online; it involves taking an on-
to face classroom cannot be “double-clicked” into an online line professional development course that focuses on these
learning environment.8 new course designs and teaching skills. Another area where
training is important is learning how to address the needs of
Among the concerns they and others note9 are the following: learners who may be very different from those the teacher
has been accustomed to working with in a home school. The
Content and Instructional Design Issues online teacher may be faced with learners from a variety of
In the U.S., most States have developed content standards ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds, and ones with a
and, often, statewide tests in reading, math, and other cur- range of learning styles. It can be like teaching twenty dif-
ricular areas. Therefore, it is important in the U.S. that an ferent schools at once!
online course meets these state, and, in some cases, local
district standards. Courses also should have a variety of Role of the Student
assessment methods that assure student mastery of the skills Students also must take on new roles in online learning.
and understandings in that curricular area. The syllabus of Without the daily physical presence of a teacher and peers,
an online course should go beyond what a standard textbook an individual student in an online class needs to shoulder far
could provide, using primary source materials, access to ex- more responsibility than may be expected in a face-to-face
perts who can contribute to the leaning, and other “value class. Due to the asynchronous nature of most online courses,
added” aspects of online learning. Ideally, assignments and time and workload management skills become essential.
coursework should involve a mix of online and offline ac- While some online schools insist that local school facilitators
tivities. Often online courses, like some face-to-face survey (often teachers) help oversee the work of the online student,
courses, try to cover the field, without giving students the much of the self-discipline must rest with the student. Be-
opportunity to study a topic area in depth. With the wealth cause these responsibilities require a certain maturity level,

some feel that online courses are best suited for high school dents for examinations offered in the home school system.
students, or in some cases and with greater supervision, mid- Other issues include whether a local coordinator will be re-
dle school students. Careful guidance on the part of the quired, and how student discipline problems will be handled.
school helps assure that students who participate in online Funding and credit issuance are also major issues: who pays
courses are equipped to succeed. the tuition for an online student? How will a limited number
of online “seats” be prioritized? Will other schools, colleges,
Management and Support Systems and employers accept online courses for credit? Is it better
Online courses require a great deal of upfront management for a school system to develop its own courses (and, eventu-
and support in order to succeed. As noted above, students ally, recoup development expenses by selling the course to
need guidance and screening to assure they are ready to suc- other schools) or buy them “prepackaged” from another sys-
ceed in the course. Schools need information about the tem?
course, scheduling information, how it has been evaluated in
the past, student completion rates, how student behavior or Concluding Comments
other problems will be handled, and other special require-
ments. All course materials, whether online or provided in While virtual schooling is still in its infancy in the U.S., it is
traditional ways (e.g. textbooks) must be made available as a phenomenon that may challenge many of our long-held
needed. Teachers need support in terms of class lists, school assumptions about “local control” of education. Because it
schedules, grading and other administrative requirements. offers parents and students a greater opportunity to select the
Parents, students, teachers, and school administrators must education they need, when and from whom and in what form,
know how and when to contact each other if questions about it may bring new competition to the educational marketplace.
the course arise. In general, teachers, students, and parents While few believe that virtual schooling will replace tradi-
should have access to support systems comparable to what tional face-to-face schooling, it does offer an option that
they would find in a traditional school environment, along should encourage broader public debate on what constitutes a
with special services required by the unique circumstances of quality educational experience, what we value most in the
the online environment. social and cultural aspects of schooling, and how we can
bring the best opportunities to all learners. It is, indeed, a
Technical Infrastructure brave new world.
Obviously, technical infrastructure is the backbone of an 1
online course. The system that supports the course should Web-based Education Commission. The Power of the Internet for
provide all the necessary software and tools needed for in- Learning: Moving from Promise to Practice. Washington, D.C.
December, 2000. www.webcommission.org
struction, communication, and interactivity. These tools and 2
Moe, Michael and Henry Blodgett. The Knowledge Web. Merrill
technical resources should be user friendly and work reliably Lynch & Co., Global Securities Research & Economics Group,
and effectively. If technical support is needed, it should be Global Fundamental Equity Research Department, 2000, p. 229.
available quickly and when needed by teachers and students. 3
Ibid, p. 171.
4
Schools need to assure that their students have regular com- Op. cit, footnote 1, p. 5.
5
puter and Internet access necessary to participate in the Molly Ball, “For an Online High School, the Future Draws Near,”
course, whether at home or, if necessary, at school at a time The Washington Post, August 23, 2001, p. HO19.
6
convenient for the student. Tom Clark. “Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues. A Study of Vir-
tual Schools in the United States." October, 2001. Commissioned
by Distance Learning Resource Network, WestED and The Center
What Kinds of Policy Issues Does for the Application of Information Technologies. Western Illinois
Virtual Schooling Raise? University. (p.i.)
7
Ray Rose, Director, Concord Consortium, presentation to “Link-
In the United States, with a system of state and local control ing Leadership to Learning: Putting PT3 Results to Work,” Vander-
of education, a number of policy issues are raised by the fact bilt University, October 20-22, 2001.
8
that virtual schooling means that students may today take National Education Association, Online Education Standards for
courses offered by schools and teachers in another state. Secondary Education (working title, draft in progress). Washington,
(These issues would also have bearing for cross-national DC, publication expected 2002.
9
adoption of online courses.) While some states still require See, for example, Southern Regional Education Board, Educa-
tional Technology Cooperative. Essential Principles of Quality:
that teachers must be certified to teach in the state in which Guidelines for Web-based Courses for Middle and High School.
the instruction takes place, many are seeing the difficulty this www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/pubs/EssentialPrincipals/Essential
creates, and accepting teaching from those certified by an- Principals.asp.
other state. The virtual school must clarify who is responsi-
ble for evaluating the course and supervising the teacher.
Curriculum and assessment concerns must assure that the
course meets state standards and adequately prepares stu-

The of Virtual Education
Glen Farrell
Study Team Leader, Commonwealth of Learning
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) issued in July 2001 The Changing Faces of Virtual
Education, a study of the latest “macro developments” in virtual education. This article
summarizes the main results and observations of the study.1
Macro Developments
make them more accessible, affordable and relevant to the
needs of online learners. In this regard, the “customer rela-
tionship management systems” that are emerging in the busi-
ness world are providing some useful insights.
Learning Objects: The Emergence of Standardized
Instructional Design Processes The Development of New Organizational Arrange-
Learning objects can be described as the competencies to be ments
achieved, skill and knowledge outcomes, lesson plans, as- Over the last two years there has been an explosion of new
sessment items and learning resources. They can exist in a organizational forms in education, particularly at the post-
variety of forms such as books, articles, people, Web sites, secondary level and in the area of company staff training.
images, audio and video pieces. They can be stored in data- These new organizational forms are the result of partnerships
bases and used, reused, aggregated as desired or re-purposed between businesses and institutions, joint venture initiatives
by learners, teachers and course designers for their own par- between and among institutions and organizations, new con-
ticular purposes, thus moving us towards a “learning-on- sortia arrangements and a huge increase in the number of
demand” environment. And they can be accommodated new “for profit” education and training organizations. They
within various delivery models such as print, CD-ROM or are developing for a variety of reasons: to gain market share
Web-based. The use of common standards will make these in a globalized educational world, to take advantage of value-
learning objects databases accessible to any organization that added partnership opportunities, to reduce costs and share
shares the same standards. risk and to profit from a burgeoning demand for lifelong
learning.
The Provision of Learner Support Services Online
Access to services such as career counseling/advising, as- These new organizational arrangements have an impact not
sessment of current skills and knowledge, development of only on learners, but also on the management of human re-
learning plans, content quality assurance, credit transfer and sources. Primarily, this concerns the role, rights and working
the provision of credit banking and personal records of environment of faculty. This issue is not ignored in the lit-
learning are critical to the evolution of online content deliv- erature; however, there has not been a comprehensive look at
ery. However, the literature of virtual education largely ig- what strategies are being implemented to deal with such is-
nores them, perhaps because it is assumed that these support sues as copyright, tutoring loads, tenure issues, job security,
services will be provided through the historical processes. etc. The assumption appears to have been that the extant hu-
However, there are emerging examples of technology-based man resource policies can be transposed to the online educa-
strategies for providing these support services that promise to tion environment. The number of virtual education initiatives

that seem to have failed because of an inability to deal with hancing classroom-based learning, at all levels of edu-
these issues would suggest otherwise. cation, as they are with learning that occurs in “off-
campus” venues.
Quality Assurance
One of the consequences of the growth in popularity of dis- • Systems will be more “learner centered” or “customer-
tance education has been increased concern about an erosion aware,” in the sense that they will
of academic quality. In the face-to face teaching environment
of the institutional classroom, quality is supposedly assured • enable learners to interact with content, teachers,
by managing the qualifications of the teacher who, in turn, administrative and service resources in ways that fit
has total control of the pedagogical process. As the applica- their circumstances;
tion of learning technologies has served to decrease the • provide learners and teachers with access to online
teacher’s ability to directly monitor and control the learning resources such as text, video and audio learning re-
environment, these traditional quality assurance strategies sources, lesson plans and assessment strategies that
have broken down. This has led to a growing concern within are qualitatively equivalent or superior to those
institutions about the quality of learning that is provided at a available in the traditional learning environment.
“distance.” While some argue that this concern is really a This will enable models of “resource-based learn-
mask for the perception that distance learning will threaten ing” to become more prevalent; and
jobs in the academy, others admit that, in the brave new • give learners increased choice in the mode of deliv-
world of e-learning, there is a need to have valid and reliable ery of their learning experience. This will enable
measures of content and pedagogical quality that are appro- them to tailor the learning experience to their needs.
priate – both to assist learners in their choice of provider as
well as to ensure the validity of competencies implied in the • Learners will be able to access educational programs
granting of credentials. New models for addressing this need from anywhere, thus saving substantially on relocation
for quality monitoring and assurance are emerging and, in the costs.
process, are changing both the concept of educational quality
as well as the processes by which it is adjudicated. • Learners can have existing skills and knowledge as-
sessed and credited towards future program credentials
The Continuing Evolution of ICT Capacity and, if required competency standards are demonstrated,
they will be able to obtain credentials from a variety of
Some of the forces that were identified in a 1999 COL study2
accredited institutions that have developed specialized
as constraining the development of virtual education were the
assessment and credit-banking services.
lack of access to technology appliances, Internet connectivity
and a lack of bandwidth to permit full multimedia use of the
• Indigenous expertise and knowledge can be incorporated
Internet. Developments on the horizon such as wireless net-
to add value to learning resources acquired from else-
works, fiber optics, voice recognition and infrastructure de-
where.
velopment will lessen these constraints. These will allow the
use of online education in ways that will beg the imagination
of instructional designers - and the caution of policy-makers! • Learners will be able to choose to meet their educational
Educational leaders must be able to justify the cost of in- needs from a “quality-assured” list of providing institu-
vestments in information and communications technology tions.
(ICT) in terms of the benefits to be gained, and weigh those
costs against other needs such as building more schools, hir- • Greater “dis-intermediation” of the teaching/learning
ing more teachers, etc. process will be possible in the sense that
• individual learners will be able to go directly to

An Emerging Vision learning object databases and interact with the con-
tent as they wish, and
Taken together, the macro developments described above
• peer-to-peer interactions will enable learners to es-
suggest the possibility that some or all of the following char-
tablish their own learning groups focused on content
acteristics will mark educational systems:
they have created.
• Future models of virtual education will be more “Web-
• Program planners and instructional designers can aggre-
centric” in that they will be ICT enabled and will make
gate and sequence content according to the needs of par-
increasing use of the Web. But these systems will not be
ticular groups of learners by selecting learning objects
exclusively online or used only to serve learners “at a
from large content databases and selecting the appropri-
distance.” They will be as much concerned with en-
ate mode of delivery.

General Observations eral partners. The emergence of learning objects databases is
enabled by the evolving technologies, but it also creates new
Firstly, the role of virtual education in society is almost ex-
issues related to cost, quality, intellectual property ownership
clusively thought of in the context of “distance education.”
and the potential fragmentation of the learning process.
This tends to limit thinking about how ICT might enhance
and enable education in a more general way because it ex-
The macro developments enable a comprehensive disaggre-
cludes the educational activities that occur in schools and on
gation of educational processes. For example:
campuses that typically involve some face-to-face teaching.
Decisions about applications of technology are better made
when the total context of the learners is kept in mind – their • The development of learning centers in communities and
goals, their learning venue, their learning skills and experi- the work place allows for more decentralization of the
ence, their learning styles and their level of motivation. venues where learning opportunities can be organized.
The virtual education agenda has changed as well. It is no • The applications of ICT enable the unbundling of many
longer solely, or even primarily, about technology. The focus functions that historically have been carried out within
now is about whether or not it is appropriate to the institu- individual institutions. This enables new organizational
tional vision and values, what operational issues will it create arrangements to emerge, which spread the responsibility
for the organization, and how can the costs be managed. for some educational processes across several organiza-
This changing agenda is partly due to the fact that there is tions rather than one.
generally more experience with results of ICT use in educa-
tion. However, it also reflects the fact that the debate has • The emerging ability to access large content databases
become of more concern to the mainstream decision-making consisting of learning objects will enable not only sepa-
process within institutions, rather than being isolated to a ration between content and the format of its delivery, but
specific, and more peripheral, part of the organization such also the selection and sequencing of content to suit par-
the “distance education” unit. ticular learner profiles.
The reasons for the increasing interest in virtual education As the ability to ensure the educational quality of the pro-
distill down to the achievement of one or more of three basic grams and services of these new organizational models im-
objectives. They are as follows: proves, we can expect the pace of this unbundling or disag-
gregation of institutional functions to increase.
• To increase access to learning opportunities by enhanc-
ing the flexibility of delivery modes or by eliminating However, there is nothing inherently good about the disag-
geographic barriers to participation. gregation of institutional functions. The fact that it can en-
able new forms of inter-institutional collaboration simply
• To enhance the quality of the learning experience in provides more choice for educational leaders. For example,
terms of content or pedagogy. they can select ICT applications solely on the basis of their
ability to add value to the “on-campus” learning environ-
• To enhance institutional efficiency by reducing costs, ment. Or, they can create a new virtual organization, with
increasing productivity or increasing market share. functions distributed among several partners, with technolo-
gies selected to provide learning opportunities and support
The debate about how, or whether, institutions should go services to learners in a variety of learning venues spread
about achieving these goals is what constitutes the new over large geographical areas. In other words, decisions
agenda. about the elements that should make up a virtual learning
environment in the future will need, more than ever, to be
The macro developments and the forces acting on them are based on the vision an organization has for its mandate and
highly interactive in terms of cause and effect. For example, for the learners it intends to serve.
the increased attention being given to quality monitoring and
learner support services reflects the realization that these The costs related to establishing a virtual learning initiative
concerns must be addressed if virtual education models are to are already high. The development of learning objects data-
continue to grow and be effective. The growth of learning bases and more online services will likely drive costs even
centers is occurring because of the lack of access to ICT ap- higher. As a result, it is becoming more difficult for individ-
pliances and connectivity. The development of new organi- ual institutions to “go it alone.” In this context, partnerships
zation models is due not only to the fact that new technolo- and joint venturing become more attractive as a means of
gies enable functions to be disaggregated, but also to the sharing investment costs and in-kind resources.
need to bypass traditional models of cumbersome manage-
ment as well as the need to share costs and risks among sev- Not much seems to be happening in developing countries by

way of partnerships, consortia or private/public sector alli- programs most frequently developed for delivery by virtual
ances. Institutions in developing countries seem more in- education methods are the ones most likely to generate a
clined to act separately. However, because of the costs and profit, such as those related to business processes and tech-
expertise required to develop virtual education systems, there nology. This tends to leave the non-cost recovery programs
may be significant advantages to be obtained by using some to the public sector, without the ability to cross-subsidize
of these new organization models. them from profits resulting from the higher demand pro-
grams. Another concern with the “business” view of virtual
The respective roles of the public and private sectors in the education is that it may lead to processes that reflect business
development of virtual education are converging in an un- operations rather than those that enable the types of social
precedented way in the context of virtual education. There interactions so important to the learning process.
are several reasons for this:
It is clear that the prospect of significant revenue generation
• The private sector is becoming more involved in such potential that is driving much of the excitement about virtual
core educational functions as the development and de- education is causing the environment to become increasingly
livery of content, tuition and assessment, awarding of competitive. Many of the initiatives underway are all after
credentials and the provision of the ICT infrastructure that same “low-hanging fruit!”
through which virtual education is enabled.
Whether or not the assumptions being made about the profit-
• The globalization of infrastructure makes it more diffi- ability of virtual education are valid remains to be seen.
cult to manage communications policy at the level of the However, it is worth noting that the early successes are in the
nation state. content areas of business and technology and mostly aimed
at the staff training and development market.
• The increasing ability for institutions to unbundle func-
tions and distribute them among several partners. The The growth of virtual education is tending to erode the
policy issue this raises is that of deciding what aspects of historic distinctions that have existed within education sys-
distance education can and should be under the purview tems. Distinctions such as training and education, credit and
of the public sector. non-credit, and formal and non-formal are much more diffi-
cult to sustain in an environment in which content is no
A variety of socio-political realities will determine the roles longer linked to pre-defined programs and courses or to any
of the public and private sectors. However, what we see particular mode of delivery. These distinctions are being
emerging is a perception that virtual education is part of the further eroded by the development of competency-based as-
broader e-commerce revolution. This encourages the view sessment models, the assessment and accreditation of prior
that virtual education activities are synonymous with a busi- learning and the development of credit banking organizations
ness model in that they are expected to be self-sustaining, if with the authority to award credentials.
not profit-making! But, more importantly, it implies that
virtual education is still an add-on to mainstream public sec- Perhaps the most important observation arising from the
tor education models. As a result, virtual education is, by and analysis and discussion of these macro developments is the
large, not getting the attention it should be from policy- application that has begun to occur at the K-12 level. Vir-
makers. tual education applications have, up to this point, primarily
been occurring at the post-secondary level and in the context
The view that virtual education is essentially a “business of continuing professional education and corporate training.
operation” may result in the adoption of more business-like However, it is beginning to happen across all levels of edu-
management practices and lead to better management of cational endeavor.
public sector institutions. However, from a program market-
ing perspective, it is also resulting in the phenomenon of
“picking the low-hanging fruit." For example, the types of
1
The entire study is available on-line on the web site: http://www.col.org/virtualed/index2.htm
2
The Development of Virtual Education: A global perspective. Available at: http://www.col.org/virtualed/index.htm

Global Change and the Online Learning Commu
Community
Japie Heydenrych*
Introduction • increasing demands for educational institution account-

Universities are facing the pressures from globalization and ability
the knowledge society, which demand experience with tech- • increasing sophistication of higher education consumers
nology, different skills, and a different learning experience. • increasing interests in partnerships between business and
These demands place higher education institutions in a diffi- education
cult position, and to a certain extent they are forced to ex- • continuing growth of knowledge
plore new delivery modes that accommodate learner needs in • new ideas about teaching and learning
the global village. • the aging of university faculties
• a growing interest in educational institutions as commu-
Global pressures nities
All countries are forced to contend with unprecedented • restructuring and new patterns of decision-making in
change driven by globalization of business and education, the higher education
impact of information technologies, and a communication
revolution deriving from pressures to use new electronic me- Such unprecedented rapid change impacts on the activities of
dia. Kovel-Jarboe (1996) and Inglis and others (1999: 13) higher education institutions, as they will have to reconsider
summarized some of the factors contributing to rapid global their services and delivery mechanisms. With the competi-
change: tion faced from private institutions, there is not much cer-
tainty in a statutory existence anymore.
• globalization which is leading to increased emphasis on
internationalization of curricula Adapting the university
• changing demographics deriving from longer lives, Higher education institutions are facing pressures from
longer work days, larger urban areas, more diverse within and from outside to adapt to a different role in global
populations and more frequent moves society. Kathy Tiano (Australian Vice Chancellor’s Com-
• restructuring of employment, as future workers may mittee) in Inglis and others (1999: 9) makes a valuable com-
have to contend with 6 or 7 different sequential careers parison between the old paradigm higher education needs
• accelerating technological change and the perceived new one:
Old Paradigm for Higher Educa

Education New Paradigm for Higher Educa
Education
Take what you can get Courses on demand

Academic calendar Year-round operations
University as a city University as an idea
Terminal degree Lifelong learning
University as ivory tower University as partner in society
Student 18 to 25 years old Cradle to grave
Books are primary medium Information on demand
Tenure Market value
Single product Information reuse/info exhaust
Student as a ‘pain’ Student as a customer
Delivery in classroom Delivery anywhere
Multicultural Global
Bricks and mortar Bits and bytes
Single discipline Multi-discipline
Institution-centric Market centric
Government funded Market funded
Technology as an expense Technology as differentiator

Going online with teaching and learning in the higher educational principles from constructivism:
tion environment is to some extent the result of a push from
the fast development of information communication tech- • Anchor all learning activities to a larger task or problem,
nologies in the commercial market. In addition, global eco- moving beyond the simple “it is assigned” rationale for
nomic markets are changing fast and there are very specific assignments.
skills and information needs that need to be addressed. As a • Support the learner in developing ownership of the over-
result, most higher education institutions now feel the pres- all problem or task, rather than simply focusing on
sure of being seen online with their goods and wares, where passing the test.
they will face stiff competition from the virtual and the ham- • Design authentic learning tasks, ones that reflect the
burger universities. kinds of cognitive challenges faced in similar real-world
situations.
The privatization of higher education and the setup of virtual • Consistent with cognitive apprenticeship theory, design
campuses outside of public higher education became a reality the task and learning environment that students must
with the promise that whoever gets content online fast function in at the end of the learning experience.
enough will reap the financial benefits. The virtual universi- • Give learners ownership of the process used to develop a
ties are mimicking the traditional higher education provider, solution.
while the ‘hamburger university’ is a phenomenon that rises • Design the learning environment to support and chal-
within large multinationals to address skills needs from lenge the learner’s thinking.
within – the right training at just the right time. Institutions
• Encourage the testing of ideas against alternative views
employing tired and old pedagogies should be concerned
and alternative contexts. Since knowledge is socially ne-
about surviving the onslaught of globalization, and accom- gotiated, depth of understanding can only be accom-
modating the push from information communication tech-
plished in a social environment where individual views
nologies, to provide learning in an acceptable format.
were measured against the ideas of others. This can be
effectively done in the context of collaborative learning
New skills, competencies and attitudes groups or learning communities.
Bates (2000: 11) lists new skills for an age of regionalism, • Provide opportunities for student reflection on both
globalization and continuing change, and these are supported content and the learning process.
by Rowley ea. (1998: 10-11), when he warns higher educa-
tion providers to adapt in order to provide learners, or future The university can no longer claim to be the ultimate source
workers, with: of knowledge and remain with a content transmission ap-
proach. Knowledge building is the result of a process of con-
• good communication skills struction from many sources. The learner should no longer
• independent and lifelong learning receive information, but construct knowledge (Inglis and
• social and teamwork skills others, 1999: 27). A multitude of information sources is
• critical thinking skills available, and a tutor’s responsibility is to facilitate this al-
• knowledge navigation skills most ‘subjectivist’ construction of knowledge relevant to
• the ability to accommodate change learners’ professional needs and contexts. The delivery mode
• a responsible attitude that is adopted should accommodate the requirements of a
constructivist learning experience in a collaborative envi-
Whichever mode of education we adopt will demand a sys- ronment.
tem able to facilitate knowledge construction and refinement
of these needed skills in an environment that resembles the A history of convergence
global village that we are living in. The use of computer mediated communication and the World
Wide Web through Internet connectivity to deliver courses,
The new learning experience was not a unique effort but part of the drive towards en-
The constructivist learning experience is one “in which the hancing communication with technology in order to elimi-
learner is building an internal representation of knowledge, a nate distance and to enhance mobility. In reality these efforts
personal interpretation of experience. This representation is saw a convergence of three social and technical develop-
constantly open to change, its structure and linkages forming ments: distance education (DE), computer conveyed educa-
the foundation to which other knowledge structures are ap- tion and Internet technologies (Horton, 2000: 2). It draws on
pended...” (Bednar ea., 1992: 21). Through this approach, the technologies, traditions, and techniques of all three areas.
learners are constructing their own knowledge by reflective With the establishment of the Internet in the 1990’s, the ex-
assimilation. Savery and Duffy (1995) derive eight instruc- pertise from distance education through various technologies
since the 1840’s, and results of computer conveyed education

since the 1960's were married. By 1999, online learning was • Improve responsibility, attitude and emotional intelli-
standing on its own (Horton, 2000: 5). gence in a group context.
We have to consider the attributes that make communication Authors like Harasim and others (1995), Kearsley (2000),
within the online learning community (OLC) different from and Paloff and Pratt (1999) point towards the different role of
traditional learning environments before we design and im- the facilitator, and the human side of the OLC. The teacher’s
plement (Harasim, 1995: 138): role encompasses stimulation of dialogue, and maintenance
of a conversation towards decreasing the transactional dis-
• Many-to-many (group communication) tance between the facilitator and learners. With the help of
• Anyplace (place independence) Internet technologies (like asynchronous Computer-Mediated
• Anytime (asynchronicity, time independence) Communication and the WWW) the facilitator encourages
• Text-based (and increasingly multimedia) participation, collaboration (teamwork) and general social
• Computer mediated messaging interaction (Harasim, 1995: 128; and Paloff and Pratt, 1999:
• Multiple resources (WWW) 30). Isolation for both learner and facilitator will be difficult
in the OLC although sufficient opportunity is allowed for
The approach for the OLC is collaborative learning. If simi- autonomy or self-directedness.
lar courses are already presented in face-to-face classes or
correspondence, they need to be reconceptualized. The tech- In addition, we see psychological factors coming to the fore;
nologies and media that are used in the online learning com- it is no more an issue of the learner’s feelings and emotions
munity need to be understood before it can be conceptualized just being administered away. Praloff and Pratt (1999: 41)
and designed as an educational environment. The OLC is recount how they dealt with loss of a family member within
delivered asynchronously for the most part and it is advisable the OLC by hosting a memorial service, and in this way
to keep synchronous activities optional as they are affecting helped the learner to come to grips with the loss and to con-
the time and place advantage of DE. For effective communi- tinue with the learning process. If we look at the connected-
cation we need to set clear technology standards for the ness and involvement of members of such a community, we
course. Indicating which browser software will work best, get a feeling that compassion needs to be generated so that
which word processors are acceptable, what level of band- learners assist one another, the facilitator, and those in their
width connectivity and personal computing facilities will be environment to overcome problems and thereby to contribute
needed. to a quality learning experience. Terms like sharing, in-
volvement, support, encouragement, shared goals, mutually
negotiated, buy-in, socially constructed meaning, and con-
Defining the online learning community
nectedness are descriptive of this learning experience.
(OLC)
The online learning community, exploiting the above con- Conclusion
vergence, is one suggested delivery mode that can address In general, online systems can improve learning by exposing
the education needs of global learners. Learning communities learners to real-world examples and cases, by enabling col-
can be defined as “small subgroups of students… character- laboration and cooperation with distant partners, by encour-
ized by a common sense of purpose… that can be used to aging reflection instead of mere reaction, and by emphasiz-
build a sense of group identity, cohesiveness, and uniqueness ing results rather than attendance (Horton, 2000: 57).
that encourage continuity and the integration of diverse cur- Through communication, learning becomes an active process
ricular and co-curricular experiences" (Kellogg, 1999). An where everybody involved in the learning experience has to
adaptation from Lin and others (1995) summarizes the nature constantly contribute to the learning process by posting his or
of efficient online learning communities as environments that her thoughts and ideas to the online discussion. Critical
provide students with opportunities to: thinking and collaborative knowledge construction creates an
empowering learning process.
• Plan and execute independent research towards problem
solving and identify resources. The online learning community meets the needs of learners
• Work collaboratively and take advantage of distributed in the 21st century, and facilitates a learning experience that
expertise from the community. equips learners with the necessary skills and attitudes for a
• Use various technologies to build their own knowledge global village. Higher education institutions can therefore
rather than using the technologies as “knowledge tell- justify investment in this delivery mode.
ers.”
• Gain exposure to continuous feedback and criticism so
that they can revise their own thoughts, assumptions,
and arguments.

References
Bates, A. W. (2000) Managing Technological Change: Strategies for College and University Leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Bednar, A. K., Cunningham, D., Duffy, T. M. & Perry, J. D. (1992) Theory into Practice: How Do We Link? In T. M. Duffy &
D. H. Jonassen (Eds.), Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associ-
ates.
Harasim, L., Hiltz, S. R., Teles, L. & Turoff, M. (1995) Learning networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press.
Horton, W. (2000) Designing web-based training. New York: Wiley.
Inglis, A., Ling, P. & Joosten, V. (1999) Delivering digitally: Managing the transition to the knowledge media. London: Kogan
Page.
Kearsley, G. (2000) Online education: Learning and teaching in cyberspace. Stamford: Wadsworth.
Kellogg, K. (1999) Learning Communities. ERIC Digest. http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed430512.html
Kovel-Jarboe, P. (1996) The changing context of higher education and four possible futures for distance education. Horizon.
http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/kovel.asp
Lin, X., Bransford, J. D., Hmelo, C. E., Kantor, R. J., Hickey, D. T., Secules, T., Petrosino, A. J., Goldman, S. R., and The
Cognition and technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1995) Instructional design and development of learning communities: An in-
vitation to a dialogue. Educational Technology, Sept-Oct, 1995.
Paloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (1999) Building learning communities in cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rowley, D.J., Lujan, H.D. & Dolence, M.G. (1998) Strategic choices for the academy: How demand for lifelong learning will
recreate higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Savery, J. R. & Duffy, T. M. (1995) Problem-based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educa-
tional Technology, Sept-Oct, 1995, 31 – 38.
*
Japie Heydenrych is an educational developer at the Bureau for University Teaching at the University of South Africa. He is
currently pursuing an Ed. D. at Deakin University in Australia.

TechKnowNews
Electronic Distance Training on Virtual Labs to Link Arab
Sustainability in African Local Scientists
Governments
Arab researchers are aiming to help revive science in the
Iconnect Online reported the following on March 5, 2002: Middle East by setting up a computer network linking
universities, governments and businesses. They plan to use
IICD (International Institute for Communication and technology to create a virtual lab, where scientists from
Development) has joined 8 other partners from Africa and across the region can meet, work together and share ideas. It
Europe in an EU-funded project to build knowledge and is hoped that the network will increase co-operation and the
human resource capacities for local governments in the sharing of ideas not only within the Arab world but beyond.
global information society.
Whereas Arab science was leading the world a thousand
The 'EDITOSIA' project aims to years ago, now Arab nations spend barely 0.15% of their
GDP on R & D compared to the world average of 1.4%.
• create and manage a network of European and African
partners who will jointly explore and support the use of Realizing that money from oil will not last forever, rich Arab
opportunities provided by the information society and nations are supporting and driving the knowledge network
ICT for local sustainable development for senior out of economic necessity. Dr Ali Assam, managing director
officials in African local governments; of KnowledgeView, the UK-based company behind the idea
• assess the current situation in Africa concerning the said: "Pressure for economic integration across the world and
training needs of local government officials concerning the importance of the Internet in this has forced many
local sustainable development, and the potential uses of governments to open up their societies to the Internet."
electronic technologies for vocational training in Africa
with focus on local governments; Another key role of the network is to enable Arab science
• document, evaluate and compare past and current students to learn without having to leave their countries.
(electronic) distance training projects for vocational Currently many Arab students spend at least some of their
training in Africa and for local government training in time studying in the West. But some believe that it may be
Europe; more difficult for scientists from Muslim countries to find
university places in Europe and the US following the 11
• determine adequate training methods and technologies
September attacks. "The network will cross geographical
for meeting different needs;
boundaries," said Dr Assam.
• identify policy options to support adequate innovative
electronic distance approaches in African local
Source: BBC News Online (March 28, 2002)
governments; and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1894000/18
• disseminate and transfer the project findings to national, 94523.stm
regional and local governments, municipal associations,
inter-governmental bodies, the education sector,
business, donors and other relevant actors. European Commission Published
Interim Report on eLearning
The project is led by the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Other partners are: In March of 2000, the European Commission launched an "e-
ICLEI-Africa (Zimbabwe), Open University (UK), the Learning" initiative to speed up the adjustment of education
European Distance Education Network (Hungary), the and training in Europe to the digital age. This initiative has
African Training and Research Centre in Administration for four components: to equip schools with multimedia
Development (CAFRAD, Morocco), the Polytechnic of computers, to train European teachers in digital
Namibia and SANGONeT (South Africa). technologies, to develop European educational services
and software and to speed up the networking of schools
Source: http://www.iconnect-online.org and teachers.

• Digital Opportunity Channel
The Commission published online, in late February 2002, its (http://www.digitalopportunity.org )
Interim Report titled "Commission Staff Working Paper -
eLearning: Designing Tomorrow's Education, Interim Source: UNESCO Webworld Portal
Report." The report covers all community activities linked to http://www.unesco.org/webworld/news/2002/020320_portal.
the eLearning Initiative. It can be found online in English at: shtml
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/doc_en.html
Western Governors University
Source: EU Portal Site http://europa.eu.int/ (WGU) Continues Expansion
New Web Portal on ICTs and In its annual status report, released in February 2002,
Development to be Launched in Western Governors University stated that it is achieving its
May 2002 goal to expand access to higher education. Established two
and a half years ago by 19 western governors, the Salt Lake
As reported by UNESCO's Webworld on March 20, 2002: City, Utah private non-profit university is now widely
recognized and is expanding is student base, financial
The promotion of digital opportunities worldwide is the support, partnerships and national influence.
objective of a new Web portal that has recently been
announced by UNESCO's partner OneWorld, the online Speaking about its distance education program, Bob
sustainable development and human rights network, and the Mendenhall, the university's president said: “The constraints
Benton Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to on time due to work and family commitments are access
realize the social benefits made possible by the public issues just as real as those imposed by geography, so the
interest use of ICTs. The new "Digital Opportunity Channel" flexibility provided by WGU's online, competency-based
at http://www.digitalopportunity.org will focus on the use of model is very appealing to a broad spectrum of students."
ICTs for sustainable development, with a special emphasis
on developing countries. The university currently has almost 2,500 students enrolled,
up from 500 students one year ago. The average WGU
The site is expected to be launched publicly the week of 17 student is 40 years old and over 90% work full-time. The
May 2002 to coincide with UN World Telecommunications University has students enrolled from 46 states and 9
Day, which this year is celebrated under the theme, "ICT for countries. WGU graduated its first five students in 2001.
all: empowering people to cross the digital divide". Students in Alaska, Utah and Washington were among these
first graduates. Each student had a unique reason to enroll in
Digital Opportunity Channel will build on Benton WGU, but they all shared a common desire to study at their
Foundation's Digital Divide Network (DDN) and own pace and time, and to receive validation for the
OneWorld's seven years experience in ICT for development. knowledge they had previously earned.
The site will present content from OneWorld's partnership of
over 1000 NGOs around the world and DDN's network of In June 2001, the university received national accreditation
practitioners and policymakers. Other civil society actors, from the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).
international organizations, governments and businesses Partnerships announced in 2001 with the National Urban
engaged in harnessing the full potential of ICT for League, state governments, and Sitting Bull College in North
sustainable development will also be involved in the Dakota, provide new educational opportunities to
initiative. underserved populations. Of the nearly 2500 enrolled
students, 2050 are taking courses through the university,
Digital Opportunity Channel will be coordinated from India, while 450 are enrolled in WGU degree or certificate
which has one of the largest populations of the poorest and programs. The university now offers 8 competency-based
marginalized in the world - and at the same time shows the degree programs including associate's, bachelor's and
biggest potential in ICT for development. The portal will master's degrees in three areas: information technology,
also act as an online community and innovation lab for business and education. WGU offers over 1000 courses in its
people working in the field of ICT for development both in online catalog from 45 colleges, universities and commercial
the developing and developed world. providers. Since launching its website, WGU has had over
1.5 million users and logged over 30 million hits.
Related Links
• One World (http://www.oneworld.net ) Source and more information: http://www.wgu.edu
• Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org )

When classroom education borrows from virtual edu
education
Claudio de Moura Castro

President of the Advisory Board of Faculdade Pitágoras
is on classroom practices, it is also worth mentioning the

changes in the content of the teaching, lest some of the inno-
vations fail to make much sense.
Higher education tends to be one of the areas least touched
by innovation and, in particular, by new instructional tech-
nologies. While most such innovations are created in univer-
sities, they are the last customers to adopt them.
Very instructive of this resistance to change was the creation Close to three fourths of Brazilian higher education is pri-
of the Open University. While it was originally conceived as vate. This private sector is composed of sedimentary layers
a program to be executed by existing institutions, they de- with different cultures and backgrounds. The oldest layers
murred and procrastinated. Eventually, a new institution had comprise mostly religious institutions and tend to be conser-
to be created. Since then, distance education just about eve- vative. Newer layers include a share of disguised for-profit
rywhere has remained as isolated enclaves within existing institutions run by businessmen who see the money in edu-
institutions or as totally independent institutions. cation and little else. But there is a third and newer category
that is also profit-driven but more professional in manage-
The first generation of technology in education imitated con- ment and convinced that investing in quality pays better than
ventional classrooms. Television was no more than broad- offering shoddy education.
casting regular classrooms. Computers tried to teach, almost
like teachers. But after all these years, distance education has Some of the latter institutions started as cramming courses
come of age and boasts significant developments on many for elite universities. This is not a coincidence, since cram-
fronts. ming courses work in a very competitive market, have clear
and public performance indicators (how many students
Innovations accumulating in the practice of distance educa- passed the university entrance test) and, therefore, have to
tion are very impressive. We may be approaching an era offer better teaching and pricing than their competitors. This
where these innovations might migrate back to regular face- initial screening means that those who survive tend to be
to-face education. In other words, technology is finishing a competent businessmen. The most successful courses grew
cycle in which it started borrowing from conventional edu- and eventually became competent in the art of running multi-
cation and now it is beginning to change this same education. campus programs. In addition, the best of them early on mi-
grated to K12 education and, sooner or later, to higher edu-
This article reports on the creation of a new private college in cation.
Brazil – Faculdade Pitágoras – that has taken a very innova-
tive approach to teaching. While the emphasis of the article

which the Ministry of Education allowed postponing the
choice of a “major" for two years.
But it parts company with the American liberal arts schools

The thirty-five-year old Pitágoras School is counted among
in many respects. The first two years offer no elective
the most successful of this breed, both as a cramming course
courses to the students – at least for the time being. This
and as K12 school – enrolling 23,000 students. Twenty years
saves costs and allows a very ambitious scheme to integrate
ago it began operating overseas and presently has six schools
different subjects in a matrix formula. For instance, Mathe-
in Japan, catering to Japanese-Brazilians who work there. It
matics uses Economics examples and forces the students to
also operates a franchise-styled operation, with close to 300
use spreadsheets for all practical work. English and Spanish
associated schools. Overall, Pitágoras is the fourth largest
are woven into the other courses that must contain readings
educational group in the country. But for a number of rea-
in those languages.
sons, Pitágoras delayed its transition to higher education.
Considering the high occupational turnover of graduates of
Three years ago, Pitágoras asked the author of this article to
social science programs, writing turns out to be one of the
prepare a project to usher it into higher education. After the
most widely used skills. Thus a system has been introduced
broad outlines of the project were ready, it was discovered
by which all papers turned in by the students (in any course
that the executives of Apollo Group, the parent corporation
and in any year) will be automatically copied (electronically)
of the University of Phoenix, were interested in moving to
both to the teacher of the course and to a Portuguese lan-
Brazil, as part of a policy to go international. A joint venture
guage correction center. This is a clearinghouse of Portu-
was forged, with equal participation of each institution. The
guese teachers experienced in grading essays from the point
system that was created borrows to some degree from the
of view of language and style. This correction produces a
University of Phoenix, but is not at all the same. After all, the
grade that is channeled to the student's academic records and
countries are different and so are the clienteles.
is independent from the grade the student gets from the
teacher of the course. It is hoped that coupled with courses
Pitágoras targets a clientele that is somewhat above the aver-
targeted to help students write better, the feedback and the
age in socio-economic status for higher education (even
grades will definitely give an added incentive for the effort to
though many students already work, which is typical in Bra-
write better.
zilian business courses). At this moment, it cannot compete
with the costly and tuition-free public universities that get the
The American liberal arts schools depend heavily on the high
top candidates. But it fights for the next best crop of students.
level of initiative and competence of individual teachers – a
Therefore, it enters a fiercely competitive market, both in
reasonable choice for a country that does not have a shortage
terms of quality and tuition levels. Yet, it follows the tradi-
of Ph.D.s. In Brazil, being in Belo Horizonte and Curitiba –
tion of both parent institutions in not aiming to be a small
the two cities where Pitágoras has started operations – poses
boutique but rather a scalable model, designed for growth.
no problems in finding high caliber teachers. However, once
The plans for the next several years include 50 campuses and
Pitágoras goes to smaller and less advanced areas, the supply
possible operations in other Latin American countries. It of-
shrinks dramatically.
fers, at present, a four-year business degree, classes having
already started last August.
To deal with this gradient in quality of teachers, Pitágoras
borrows again from both parent institutions in adopting what
The conception of the program is sometimes called structured, or highly-scripted, learning.
The conception of the program runs against the grain of Bra- In practical terms, there is a detailed description of learning
zilian education traditions. sequences, reminiscent of what is found in the materials of
the Open University. There are touches of mastery learning
In terms of content, Pitágoras parts company with the Euro- with fully spelled out procedures, content and outcomes,
pean style of professionally oriented courses, universally session by session. There is central planning of each course
adopted in Brazil. In fact, it borrows heavily from the Ameri- and the most eminent Brazilian scholars are invited to design
can tradition of liberal arts, with a broad range of courses in the broad outlines of the courses and choose the readings.
the first two years, including physical sciences and liberal Staff trained in such techniques fills in the complex details.
arts (reading the classics is taken seriously). The program
also puts much emphasis on the development of basic skills Some of the courses, beginning with Brazilian Society and
(reading, writing, speaking, foreign languages, computer Culture, use segments of videos at the beginning of each
literacy and applied math). Thus, in contrast to Latin Ameri- unit, in order to motivate the students to read the classics –
can tradition, professionalization is lighter and comes later, books that often intimidate or discourage students. The
only in the last two years. This is also the first course in wealth of videos available from the ubiquitous Brazilian

television provide fertile grounds to pick materials of excel- students and have to develop – based on suggestions and
lent quality and interest. By the same token, in the course on guidelines – interesting applications, examples and projects
ethics, segments of Brazilian soap operas will be used to il- for the groups to work on (the best cases are beginning to be
lustrate the moral dilemmas that are discussed in the lofty collected and put on the teachers’ homepage). The mantra of
readings. “contextualization” is repeated to them over and over again.
The “virtual classroom” Into the future

Students have to frequently log into a “virtual classroom,” The first crop of students is in. Their reactions to the innova-
styled after web-based courses, in addition to attending tive classroom have been very positive. In fact, all students
classes. This is included both for its intrinsic value and to but one indicated that they would suggest the course to their
force students to use computers every day. This virtual class- friends. But, as a new institution, it has been the image of
room is the essence of modern e-learning and is slowly mi- Pitágoras that has served as the single most important factor
grating to conventional classrooms, as an adjunct to the proc- in attracting good students in Belo Horizonte.
ess of teaching. At first, as observed in mainstream American
Universities, it is an alternative to the printed syllabi or There are challenges ahead. How good will the students be in
course contents. But slowly it acquires new uses. In the case localities where Pitágoras is not known? How well can
of Pitágoras, the virtual classroom already starts with a full Pitágoras compete in a market that is very competitive (40%
range of services, from chat rooms to access to virtual li- of applications to open new higher education programs are in
braries and to the students’ records. Business Administration)? How will students react to having
to read the Great Books and take courses on Physics in their
The classroom borrows from Phoenix, but had to be adapted first two years, when students at other schools are struggling
to Brazilian legislation that forces 20 hours a week of contact with cash flows and break-even points? So far, students un-
with teachers. Four courses are taken simultaneously. During derstand the rationale for general education. The survey at
the week, there is one single lecture per course, offered in the end of the first semester indicated that. But in sites
classes with 100 students. This is followed by discussion where the academic level of the clientele may be lower, this
sessions with 25 students. The class is then broken down into may not be the case. The delivery methods are designed to
groups of five who receive practical tasks and projects to compensate for teachers who are less than ideal. But the acid
work on. The School is considering allowing evening stu- tests have not been passed, given the high quality of present
dents to use class time to read the materials, since many do teachers.
not have more free time than what is spent in classes. Fridays
are spent on evaluation and assessment of the week’s work. Faculdades Pitágoras chose a model that requires very heavy
upfront investments in courseware. To break even, it needs to
The teachers go to scale, replicating several times the relatively small in-
dividual campuses. Thus far, the program has proven to
Teachers are selected for their performance in classroom, please middle-of-the-road students. Going upscale should not
their willingness to accept the new model and are trained for be a problem. This is always easy. The model has also been
two weeks on content and methods. While the centrally designed to accommodate lower aptitude students but the
planned syllabus and detailed delivery strategies could have present clienteles are still on the higher end of the mean.
scared teachers away, this has not happened. The number of
qualified candidates to teach the courses far outstrips the To sum up, Faculdade Pitágoras is far more than a dream. It
hiring targets of Pitágoras. Teachers like not having to spend is working quite well and the owners intend to replicate the
time planning classes and delivering the same lecture time model at a much higher scale. So far, so good.
after time. Instead, they spend ample time in discussions with
Innovations accumulating in the practice of distance education are very impressive. We may be apa p-
proaching an era where these innovations might migrate back to regular face-to-face education. In
other words, technology is finishing a cycle in which it started borrowing from conventional education
and now it is beginning to change this same education.

The African Virtual University:
The Challenge of Higher Education Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Laurence Wolff *
Potential Role of ICTs While the use of ICT could increase access to current knowl-
edge, ICT by itself will not resolve the problems of higher
Higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) education in SSA. Within the region, the state continues to
countries are looking to the possibilities offered by informa- fund most of the costs of higher education, but, with short-
tion and communications technologies (ICTs) to improve ages of funding brought about by economic downturns, pub-
their higher education systems. The potential uses of ICTs lic institutions have been increasing enrollments with no
in SSA, as in the rest of the world, include: commensurate funding increases. As a result, teachers are
underpaid and demoralized and facilities are decaying.
• Quality improvement through connections to There are few post secondary non-university programs linked
the world for professors and for students, with the productive sector. Private institutions are growing
including development of virtual libraries.
Internet access is fundamental for any research center rapidly, especially in Anglophone countries, but still consti-
that wishes to stay at the cutting edge, but is equally as tute only 5% of enrolment, and are poorly regulated. Stu-
important for professors, who, while they may not pri- dents continue to flock to higher education institutions be-
marily be researchers, need to impart to their students cause, no matter how low the quality, a degree will at least
the most up-to-date knowledge. Both students and pro- give them a better chance in the “lottery” of job opportuni-
fessors need Internet access to undertake research or ties.
even to keep up with current research. With the Internet In addition, SSA is far from being a digitized continent.
there is a decreased need for building bricks and mortar While South Africa has about 650,000 Internet users, there
libraries with print materials. This is particularly im- are probably a total of 150,000 regular Internet users in the
portant in regions, such as SSA, where traditional li- rest of the region (Jensen). Hardware, software, and com-
braries have deteriorated. In addition, conventional in- munication cost more in SSA than in the rest of the world
struction can be enhanced through internal communica- because of shipping distances and lack of a business infra-
tion, student to student communication, and partial on- structure. For example, the cost of a local dial up Internet
line teaching. In-person classes can be technology- account (five hours per month) is about $50 per month (us-
enhanced, including simulations, Power Point, and direct age fees, telephone time included, but not telephone line
Internet connections. rental). Internet Service Provider (ISP) charges vary from
$50 to $100 per month, depending on country policies and
• Reaching new clienteles through technology-
based distance learning, including secondary levels of monopoly and competition (Jensen). This com-
school graduates who cannot find places in pares with per capita income in 1999 of $490. SSA spends
traditional universities and working adults about $1000 per higher education student, compared to ten or
seeking to upgrade their skills. New short more times that figure in developed countries. An invest-
courses can provide two-year post secondary training as ment of, say, $500 per student in ICT in SSA would there-
well as training services to the private sector. Current fore increase unit costs by 50%, compared to 10% in a de-
distance education programs, most of which rely on print veloped country; and university graduates earn far less than
and face to face instruction, are expected to increasingly their counterparts in the rest of the world. Therefore, ICT
use electronic media and communication. Distance edu- programs that are cost-effective in the rest of the world could
cation, whether print or technology-based, when prop- well be inappropriate in SSA. Finally research throughout
erly managed and planned, can be less expensive than the world has shown that how technology is used, rather than
residential higher education, and, if properly structured, technology itself, determines success in improving learning.
can improve quality. Using ICT in higher education requires levels of manage-
ment and training that are not readily available in Africa.
• Computer- based management information sys-
tems that can be a tool for overall higher Nonetheless there is a base upon which ICT can have an im-
education reform. pact in the region. In the first place, the desire for Internet
access is powerful among students and increasingly in urban
areas of politically stable countries. For example, 2000 out

of 8000 students at the University of Lome are paying for
Internet access (RESAFAD, Bulletin no. 6, In spite of these successes, in retrospect it is clear that AVU
http://www.lid.jussieu.fr/resafad). This desire for Internet did not recognize the full extent of the complexity, cost and
access could well be harnessed as a tool for higher education human resources required to becoming a degree granting
reform. There are, however, exceptions; students at Kenyatta international distance learning institution in Africa. The ini-
University went on strike when they were asked to pay for tial enthusiasm may well have been a by-product of the stock
Internet access (Amutabi). market’s "dot.com" boom when huge investments were made
in start-ups with dubious business prospects. For a compari-
In addition, the estimated 143 distance higher education pro- son, the British Open University had thirty years of experi-
grams in SSA offer a base upon which to build. Most are ence and British government support and is only now ex-
recent, of small size, and usually provide skills upgrading for panding internationally. The Technological Institute of
practicing primary and secondary school teachers. The Uni- Monterey, Mexico (ITESM) also had many years of success-
versity of South Africa (UNISA) is one of the ten largest ful conventional instruction and very close relationships with
distance education institutions in the world, and currently industry before it began to establish its distance learning fa-
enrolls 117,000 students. Up to now these institutions have cilities, which it was initially able to subsidize with tuition
been mainly print-and classroom-based (Saint, Roberts). from conventional students. Furthermore, the Open Univer-
An increasing number of them are moving into ICT based sity and other developed country virtual programs depend on
distance learning, a notable example being the University of an existing digital infrastructure in homes, businesses, and
Pretoria. With the increased international trade in higher institutions that does not yet exist in Africa.
education, the numbers of private entrepreneurial groups
offering on-line distance education in the region is sure to AVU’s choice of technology -- satellite based broadcast TV -
grow as it has elsewhere. - while perhaps justifiable in 1997, has been relatively ex-
pensive and inflexible. Asynchronous on-line learning is
The African Virtual University (AVU) now considered the technology of choice for virtual distance
learning. The costs of wide band satellite-based Internet con-
Start-up Phase nections are decreasing rapidly, and it is also possible to use
The African Virtual University (AVU), (www.avu.org) es- "proxy" servers and CD's to mimic much of the interactivity
tablished in 1997, with funding from the World Bank, was of the Internet. AVU also decided to start with courses from
envisioned as a means of using ICT to improve the quality of elite US and other developed country universities to broad-
higher education, especially in science and engineering, and cast to Africa. This resulted, rightly or wrongly, in an im-
business education, and of providing increased opportunity pression of “colonization” from the north. AVU centers
to secondary school leavers for whom spaces were not avail- were inadequately integrated into universities where they
able in public institutions. In its initial plan, AVU was to were located. Not enough attention was paid to governance,
become a degree granting institution, utilizing the best multi- training and maintenance, and many of the centers have had
media teaching materials available in the world. Eventually, technical and management problems.
AVU was to transition from a World Bank project to a free-
standing, self-financing, virtual education institution. It New Goals and Missions
hoped to “leap-frog” over the debilitating problems of de- By early 2001, it was clear that AVU needed to rethink its
clining quality and inadequate higher education access in the vision, content, delivery modes and business plan. A strate-
region. gic review was completed in mid 2001 and is now being im-
plemented. AVU will no longer aspire to be a freestanding
The AVU has had a number of successes. A total of 31 university, but rather will become a technology and content
learning centers (LCs) have been established in 17 countries. broker and advisor for participating institutions, serving as a
The AVU teaching-learning model, during the pilot phase, technical resource and catalyst for ICT investments. AVU’s
consisted of a mixture of videotaped and live lectures deliv- services will include: assisting partner African institutions in
ered by one-way video, 2-way audio digital satellite broad- upgrading their access to high-speed Internet connectivity
cast (MPEG-2 DVB) and e-mail interaction between students and in other technology improvements; building the capacity
and instructors, supplemented by textbooks, course notes, of partner universities to develop and deliver ICT-enhanced
and learner support in the classroom by local facilitators. distance education programs; facilitating delivery of on-line
Through 2001, AVU had delivered over 3,500 hours of accredited programs; developing a web-based portal for the
courses and seminars in both English and French to about African educational community to share information and find
18,000 students and seminar participants. Typical subjects new distance learning products; and providing expanded
taught included C++, export development, business admini- digital library services. The main technology to be used will
stration, and foreign language. AVU also offered a digital be asynchronous Internet connectivity rather than satellite
library with 1,000 full-text journals and a catalogue of sub- television.
ject related Web links.

AVU has already begun to implement this new mission. By The digital library will be strengthened to include access to
mid 2002, it will complete its transference from Washington, more full text journals and e-books in areas covered by AVU
DC to Nairobi and its establishment as an NGO fully inde- educational programs. During a trial period of one year,
pendent of the World Bank. A new Chief Executive has AVU will access learning material from Elsevier, an interna-
been identified and will begin work shortly. With funds tional publisher of scientific books and journals. Finally,
recently secured from the Australian Government’s “Virtual AVU is planning to establish an educational portal that pro-
Colombo Plan,” (see TechKnowNews in TechKnowLogia, vides an avenue for African institutions to identify global
November/December 2001) Australian higher education in- educational resources, as well as to offer courses to the
stitutions will assist a small number of African institutions to broader international community.
strengthen capacity for instructional design of technology-
enhanced distance learning, with an initial focus on business AVU has also become more realistic with regard to financ-
education. Discussions are underway with other bilateral ing. It now expects to take ten years before reaching a break-
agencies to assist in upgrading francophone universities’ even point in its financing. During the next ten years it ex-
capacity for technology enhanced distance learning, begin- pects to get most of its finances from international and bilat-
ning with computer science. With grant funds from the eral funding agencies, and only gradually to build up recov-
World Bank, associated Learning Centers are receiving a ery of costs from beneficiaries.
new set of computers and networking equipment. Connec-
tivity will be upgraded in two stages. In Stage 1, high-speed In short the new vision of the AVU has a far greater empha-
downlinks will be provided directly via satellite but the sis on local institution building, and is more grounded in the
uplinks will be through local providers. In Stage 2, VSAT reality of the financial and human resources in SSA. With
technology will be gradually introduced, starting with insti- strong management, over the next five to ten years, the AVU
tutions with the potential to be content providers for the could well have a significant impact in the difficult task of
AVU network. setting the region on the path of increased higher level hu-
man resource development.
Bibliography and Sites and Documents of Interest

Amutabi, Maurice N., “African Virtual University (AVU) and the Paradox of the World Bank in Kenya,” University of Illinois, Urbana-
Champaign, IL, 2000.
Association of African Universities, “Revitalizing Universities in Africa,” World Bank, 1997.
Jensen, Mike, “African Internet Status,” www3.wn.apc.org/africa/afstat.htm, November 2000.
Kelly, M.J., “Challenging the Challenger: Understanding and Expanding the Response of Universities in Africa to HIV/AIDS,” 2001, World
Bank.
Roberts and Associates, “Tertiary Distance Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Overview and Directory to Programs,” World Bank, 1998.
Saint, William, “Tertiary Distance Education and Technology in sub-Saharan Africa,” World Bank, September 1999.
Salmi, Jamil, “Tertiary Education in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges and Opportunities," World Bank, June 2000.
World Bank and UNESCO, Task Force on Higher Education, “Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise,” World Bank,
2000.
African Virtual University www.avu.org On-line Computer Library Center www.oclc.org

Agence Intergouvernmental de la Francophonie, formation a dis- Phoenix University www.phoenix.com
tance www.francophonie.org Reseau Africain de Formation a Distance www.lid.jussieu.fr/resafad
Association for the Development of Education in Africa Southern African Non-Governmental Organizational Network
www.adeanet.org www.sn.apc.org
Broad Logic Network Technologies www.broadlogic.com Technological Institute of Monterrey www.itesm.mx
Commonwealth of Learning www.col.org World Bank distance education network www.worldbank.org/disted
Global Development Learning Network www.gdln.org World Bank education statistics www.worldbank.org/data
International Virtual Education Network www.rived.org Task Force on Higher Education www.tfhe.net.
Jones International University www.jonesinternational.edu World Links www.world-links.org
National Technological University www.ntu.edu
*
Laurence Wolff is an educational consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank. The opinions expressed in this paper are the
author’s only and do not necessarily reflect official policies of the IDB or the AVU.

Virtual Education at the Tertiary Level:
The Experience of Korea
Insung Jung1
Ewha Womans University, S. Korea
Background Establishing Single-Mode

Until recently, Korea had only one distance teaching univer-
Virtual Universities
sity, the Korea National Open University. In 1998, the Ko-
rean government established a two-year Virtual University During its two-year trial period, the Ministry of Education
Trial Project (VUTP),2 which was designed to: revised the Lifelong Education Law to accept private virtual
universities as part of the formal higher education system.
After this period ended in the year 2000 and detailed criteria3
• create a cost-effective virtual education system without
for establishing a virtual university were specified in the
diminishing quality;
Law, nine "cyber-universities" approved by the Korean gov-
• develop and implement Web-based or other types of
ernment started operating in March 2001. Six more virtual
distance education courses;
universities are expected to open in March 2002. Table 1
• identify appropriate policies and standards for running a shows the list of those fifteen virtual universities.
virtual university; and
• share experiences during the trial period, ending Febru- Table 1 shows that these institutions focus on lifelong learn-
ary 2000(Jung, 2000; Ministry of Education, 1998). ing and vocational education rather than replacing or com-
peting with traditional colleges. The average enrollment rate
Sixty-five universities and five companies had participated in in the first semester, 2001, was 83.9% of the admission pro-
the VUTP; eight conventional universities participated inde- jections. It was shown that more students prefer certificate-
pendently without forming a consortium, and 57 universities related and computer-based curriculum to law, administra-
and five companies had formed seven consortia. Three major tion, and other social sciences. Sixty-four percent of the stu-
implementation strategies have been found to help reduce dents were male. Forty-six and a third percent were in their
costs for institutions offering virtual education programs: 20’s, 32.0% in their 30’s and 13.5% in their 40’s. Eighty-one
maximizing the use of existing ICTs, sharing physical and and a half percent were high school graduates, 8.9% gradu-
human resources, and providing extensive faculty training ates from 2-yr. colleges, and 5.0% were graduates from 4-yr.
(Jung & Rha, 2000a). universities. Seventy-five and a half percent of the students
had jobs: 28.6% office workers, 7.6% in service fields, 6.6%
All the institutions involved in the VUTP had taken on the in manufacturing, and 5.3% in public sectors (Ministry of
task to expand distance education throughout the country Education, 2001). Around 70% of the students came from
using interactive technologies. The VUTP had stimulated Seoul and Kyunggi area. Seventy-two percent used ADSL,
new experiments with various advanced technologies such as 23% LAN and only 5% used modems to access online
satellite broadcasting, videoconferencing, video-on-demand, courses (Cho, 2001).
the Internet and an Intranet in delivering distance education.
Issues of quality of distance education had been raised and The information above indicates that the single-mode virtual
explored. VUTP helped integrate virtual education more universities in Korea have provided working adults with an
firmly into the formal higher education system and upgrade opportunity for flexible and open access to practical training
the status of virtual education. This article reports Korean courses at the higher education level. While these descriptive
national experiences in integrating virtual education into statistics are useful in providing a general overview of the
higher education. initial impacts of virtual universities on adult learning, in-
depth studies need to be conducted to assess the effectiveness
of virtual education in these institutions in providing quality
higher education to adult learners.

Table 1. Fifteen Virtual Universities in Korea (2002)
Projected
University Name & URL Areas of Study Establishing Body
enrollment
1. Korea Cyber University Venture Management, Digital Multimedia Consortium of 36
1,650
http://www.kcu.or.kr Design, Entertainment universities
2. Korea Digital University Digital Education, Digital Information, Media Consortium of 7 univer-
1,800
http://www.koreadu.ac.kr Design, Practical Languages sities
3. Kunghee Cyber University Media Literature, E-Business, Cyber NGO,
1,600 Conventional university
http://www.khcu.ac.kr Hotel and Tourism Management
4. Open Cyber University Internet Management, Computer Design, Consortium of 14
1,400
http://www.ocu.ac.kr Digital Contents universities
5. Sejong Cyber University Hotel and Tourism Management, E-
http://www.cybersejong.ac.kr Business, the Internet, Cartoon Animation
English Translation, Hotel and Convention
6. SeMin Digital College
Management, Digital Media, Game & 450 2-yr. community college
http://www.kcc.ac.kr
Animation
Schools of Social Science, Information
7. Seoul Cyber University Non-profit
Technology, and 1,800
http://www.iscu.ac.kr corporation
E-Commerce
Law and Police Administration, E-
8. Seoul Digital University Consortium of 14
Business, Multimedia, Animation and Game 1,600
http://www.sdu.ac.kr universities
Design, China and Japan Studies
9. World Cyber University Social Welfare, Hotel Foods, Health Foods Conventional theologica
1,300
http://www.world.ac.kr E-Business, Theology school
10. Dongseo Cyber University
Internet Contents, Digital Multimedia Desig 400 Conventional university
http://www.dongseo.ac.kr/
11. Asia Digital University Lifelong Education Digital Move Production Non-profit
1,000
http://www.adu.ac.kr Image Art corporation
12. Hanyang Cyber University E-Business, Management Information,
http://www.hanyangcyber.ac.kr Educational Contents, Digital Design
13. Cyber Game University Game Design, Game Software, Game
700 Conventional university
http://www.cybergame.ac.kr Audio, Game Graphics
Internet, IT Design,
14. Saegil Digital University
E-management, 800 Conventional university
http://www.sgdu.ac.kr
Integrated Education
15. Youngjin Cyber College Computer Programming, Community
400
http://www.ycc.ac.kr Computer Media, E-Business college
Total 17,200
drug prevention courses, in-service teacher training courses,

Introducing Virtual Education in and courses in Korean and women’s studies.
Conventional Universi
Universities In April 2001, the Korean University Alliance for Cyber
Education (KUACE: http://www.kuace.org) was formed to
share knowledge and experiences in developing and manag-
Online education has emerged as an increasingly important ing virtual education programs among those institutions
component of conventional universities. Besides independ- which have or will have virtual education programs. Over
ent virtual universities in Korea, it is reported that more than eighty higher education institutions have joined in this Alli-
one hundred conventional higher education institutions have ance. A preliminary report of a survey which is now being
introduced internet-based virtual courses into their curricu- conducted by this Alliance shows that around 40% of Ko-
lum at the institutional level (Jung, 2001). For example, as a rea’s higher education institutions (151 institutions out of
conventional university in Korea, Ewha Womans University 374) are integrating Internet-based distance courses into their
has provided virtual education programs to its students, other teaching and learning system. Two examples of implement-
universities’ students, working adults including teachers, and ing virtual education in conventional universities will be re-
foreign students. (http://cyber.ewha.ac.kr) Such programs ported.
include: language courses, e-learning professional courses,

International Cyber University: An online educa- Ajou University’s Business School has operated a Cy-
tion program for foreign students berMBA program in collaboration with several business
partners such as Korea Telecom, Joongang Daily News, and
Building on five years of experience in online education, Samsung SDS since March 2000. The program offers a gen-
Ewha has created online education courses in Korean and eral MBA, e-business strategic MBA, and an AICPA &
women's studies to be provided to people all around the MBA combination as major study fields and adopts a model
world. International Cyber University (ICU: of on-demand distance education on the Inter-
http://icu.ewha.ac.kr ) was established to provide the global net.(http://www.ajoumba.ac.kr/ )
population with college-level virtual courses in Korean and
women's studies. Those interested in Korean studies and/or The CyberMBA at Ajou was the first online MBA program
women's studies can log onto ICU at their convenience, in the country. All the courses in the program are delivered
wherever they are and whenever they can, to participate in through the Internet. The quality of the courses is assured by
these virtual courses. Students of schools that have exchange using the same curriculum and faculty members as Ajou
program arrangements with Ewha may use ICU without ad- University, adopting instructional design strategies in devel-
ditional tuition fees and may have the credits earned at ICU oping online courses, and combining online interaction with
transferred to their school. Other students including working offline tutoring sessions.
adults have to pay $ 150 USD per credit.
Four hundred thirty students have been admitted to the pro-
ICU courses were first offered in the fall semester of 2001 gram since March 2000. More than 92% are male and
and thus no student evaluation has been conducted yet. around 75% are in their 20’s and 30’s. The dropout rate is
However, informal interviews with the instructors indicate less than 10%. Several of the students are those who work
that the ICU’s online education system needs some im- abroad (Japan, USA, Germany, Moroco, Indonesia, etc.).
provement to help students actively participate in virtual dis-
cussions and that initial orientation is essential both for in- Evaluations by several newspapers reported that the Cy-
structors and students. berMBA program has shown a successful online education
business model by creating a high-quality MBA program,
While the 6 courses4 currently offered are at the undergradu- providing individualized student support, and attracting Ko-
ate level, in a few years more sophisticated courses corre- rean workers working abroad. But we need more objective
sponding to master's and/or doctoral level courses will also data to prove the effectiveness and educational quality of the
be offered. World experts in Korean studies and women's program. The CyberMBA is trying to expand its services to
studies will be encouraged to participate in the development more students as online education demand increases.
of these courses.
Lessons Learned
CyberMBA: A online MBA program for working
adults With the expansion of online education programs nation-
wide, issues of quality have been seriously discussed and
It was reported that approximately ten educational institu- pedagogical models for distance education have been sought.
tions are offering online MBA programs for working adults In addition, ways of reducing the cost of distance education
in Korea (Digital Times, 2001.5.29). Among them, Ajou using advanced technologies without a decline in quality
University’s CyberMBA was first to be offered. UNext Ko- have been explored. Allowing more flexibility and openness
rea, a branch of UNext, also provides an MBA program de- in distance education will be key issues for distance educa-
veloped by the Cardean University (http://www.unext.co.kr). tors and policy-makers. The Korean experience suggests
KAIST is also offering an MBA program through CyberKaist several major implications for future development of online
(http://www.cyberkaist.ac.kr). Other online education pro- education for university students and adult learners.
viders such as Credu (http://www.credu.com) and
Baeoom.com (http://www.baeoom.com) have offered online Establishing a Quality Management System
MBA programs in collaboration with business schools either
in Korea or abroad. In addition, the Federation of Korean A regular system to monitor and evaluate the development
Industries offers eMBA (http://www.imi.or.kr) which com- and implementation of online education will be required to
bines 8 months of online learning and 5 months of residential ensure the quality of the educational services. This requires
learning opportunity at Boston University. The Institute of major investments in building research capacity in online
Industrial Policy Studies provides an online MBA program education institutions. Quality management systems through
(http://www.ips.or.kr) combined with classroom meetings in continuous monitoring and evaluation will help identify
collaboration with a university in Finland. problems in training programs and support services and sug-

gest possible solutions. In particular, feedback from adult structure their programs to include online teaching and
learners who often have just-in-time training needs must be learning as future initiatives.
sought and used to revise programs and improve services.
Also, external evaluation will help online education institu- Improving Accessibility
tions compare their performance with campus-based institu-
tions. Access to ICT is virtually a prerequisite for successful im-
plementation of online education. The Korean government’s
Requiring Organized Training Programs strong will to be a leader in an information society, deregula-
tion of policies regarding ICT, introduction of e-rate in tele-
Korea’s experience tells us that organized sessions to facili- communication fees, private sectors’ investment in nation-
tate self-directed learning are necessary to help learners de- wide ADSL establishment and anonymous support from peo-
velop and strengthen competencies in managing the inde- ple in building the ICT-based society have improved access
pendent learning process at the very beginning of their study. to ICT in education and training in a rather short period of
In addition, staff development is very important to success- time (Jung, 2001). Even though ICT is becoming more and
fully implement online education. Continuous staff develop- more pervasive in society, this does not mean that all adult
ment programs that emphasize educational effectiveness, learners have equal ease in accessing and using ICT in their
design and interaction strategies of courses, and technical teaching or professional development. The government or
skills need to be integrated into the distance education system institutions should make the policy decisions on access to
in order to improve the educational quality. ICT at the outset of a project if it chooses to use ICT in edu-
cation and training.
Implementing Cost-Saving Policies
Considering Factors Affecting Effective ICT Use
Institutional partnerships are important for online education for Adult Learning
institutions in that they reduce the cost of introducing new
technologies and also improve the quality of developing pro- Recent studies in the effectiveness of online instruction re-
grams. Partnerships with business sectors may help reduce veal certain factors affecting learning process, satisfaction
investment costs in hardware systems (such as a computer and achievement in online instruction. Instructional design,
network), recruit students and obtain advanced technical and social and learners’ personal factors have been identified
skills. Online education institutions also need to find ways of as three major factors contributing to success in online
reducing the cost per graduate by improving the gradua- learning (Jung & Rha, 2000b). Instructional design factors
tion/course completion rate. Several cases show that per stu- such as flexible course structure, quick and frequent feed-
dent costs in distance teaching institutions were lower than in back, visual layouts, and multiple zones of content knowl-
campus-based institutions (Perraton 1994). Yet per graduate edge influenced online interaction and learner satisfaction.
costs were not necessarily lower because of the lower Interpersonal interaction among learners and social integra-
graduation rate in distance teaching institutions. tion were among the most influential social factors. Stu-
dents’ personal factors such as students’ prior knowledge,
Implementing Open Policies self-sufficiency, and cognitive styles also play an important
role in online learning.
An online education institution is not necessarily an open
system. Even if an online education institution accepts The strategies suggested above need to be considered when
working adults as students once they have high school developing and implementing flexible, effective and efficient
graduation certificates regardless of their age, this institution virtual education at the tertiary level. It is being said that
may not be open in its curriculum. To be an effective online virtual education has changed the nature of learning. Greater
education institution for working adults, open policies to- and timelier access to information has been achieved and
wards access, curriculum, methods, and learning processes wider cooperation in knowledge-building among people has
have to be institutionalized. In addition, providing the ap- become possible. More and more education institutions are
propriate legal foundation is necessary for promoting online now integrating ICT into their teaching and learning activi-
education in various fields. Learning from our experiences in ties. But it has to be emphasized that interactive technologies
online education, the government should provide legal in- such as the Internet can provide a real and timely service to
centives and policies for online education institutions to re- distance learners only if quality and effectiveness outweigh
the costs involved.

References
Cho, S.H. (2001.8.17.). Success in cyber education. Proceedings of First Symposium on Cyber Education (pp. 139-152). Seoul,
Korea: Korea University Alliance for Cyber Education.
Jung, I. S. (2001). Promises and challenges in virtual education: Korea’s experience. Proceedings of International Symposium
on How can IT help Universities to Globalize? Chiba, Japan: National Institute of Multimedia Education.
Jung, I. S. (2000). Korea’s experiments with virtual education. Technical Notes Series, 5(2), Washington, DC: World Bank
Human Development Network.
Jung, I. S. (1999). A report on current status of the virtual university trial project. Internal Report. Seoul, Korea: Korea Na-
tional Open University.
Jung, I. S., & Choi, S. W. (1998). Open and distance learning and advanced technologies. Korean Journal of Educational Tech-
nology, 14(1), 163-186.
Jung, I. S., & Rha, I. (2000a). A virtual university trial project: Its impact on higher education in South Korea. Innovations in
Education and Teaching International, 38(1), 31-41.
Jung, I. S. & Rha, I. (2000b). Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of online education: a review of literature. Education Tech-
nology, 40(5), 57-60.
Lee, S. K. (2001). A scheme to promote web-based education and training for human resource development. Internal report.
Seoul, Korea: Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.
Ministry of Education (2001). Statistics for virtual universities. Bureau of Lifelong and Vocational Education. Korea.
Ministry of Education (1998). A report on the virtual university trial project. Bureau of Educational Technology. Korea.
Perraton, H. (1994). Comparative cost of distance teaching in higher education: scale and quality. In G. Dhanarajan, P.K. Ip,
K.S. Yuen and C. Swales (Eds.), Economics of distance education: Recent experience. Hong Kong: Open Learning Institute
Press.
Presidential Commission on Education Reform (1997). Education reform for the 21st century. Korea.
1
Dr. Insung Jung is an associate professor of the Dept. of Educational Technology at Ewha Womans University and serves as
the director of the Multimedia Education Center. She is currently the president of the Korean University Alliance for Cyber
Education
Homepage: http://home.ewha.ac.kr/~isjung Email: isjung@ewha.ac.kr
2
Jung, I.S. (2000). Korea: Virtual University Trial Project. TechKnowLogia, 2(1), 29-31.
3
Main evaluation criteria for the establishment of a cyber university include: Hardware and Network Establishment, Course
Development System, Interaction System, Student Support Services, Quality Assurance Mechanism and Administration.
4
Cultural and Social History of Korea, Themes and Forms in Korean Art, Geography of Korea, Introduction to Korean Society
& Literature, Introduction to Women’s Studies in Korea, and Sex/Gender/Sexuality in Korean Culture

The Burden of Dreams:1
Scaling Up Online Executive Education for Innovation and Reform
Winthrop Carty 2
The long list of fantasies to emerge during the Internet’s recently concluded “irrational exuberance” stage included the dream
of infinitely scalable education “any where any place.” “Moore’s Law Solutions” are what authors John Seely Brown and Paul
Duguid called this scalability applied to practically any online endeavor in “The Social Life of Information,”3 their harbinger of
the bubble’s burst. As we know, “any time any where learning” often translates into “no time for learning” while “build the
networks and they will follow” often resulted in costly fiasco. The good news, however, is that this irrational exuberance has
been replaced with more mature approaches, reflecting a marriage of sounder pedagogy with technology, supported by a more
strategic and people-centered understanding of educational design and delivery.
Although the fantasy of de facto scalability may be over, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water! Well designed online
distributed learning can and must be harnessed by those interested in promoting reform and dissemination of innovation
through executive education programs directed at public and non-profit institutions, especially in the developing world, where
the knowledge gap is a widely acknowledged barrier to better government and governance.4
This article shares the experiences of such an effort to scale up online executive education aimed at strategically promoting
reform and disseminating innovation.
Five Seminars Delivered in Three Models: 1998- and selection process of participants into three distinct mod-
2001 els. The Fulbright Program sponsored the first two seminars,
delivered in 1998 and 1999, for recently graduated Latin
In 1997, LASPAU,5 an academic exchange organization American Fulbright post-graduate scholars; these participants
based at Harvard University, began developing and deliver- were chosen through an open competition process from
ing seminars on “Strategic Use of Information and Commu- among a large group of recent alumni of the Fulbright-
nications Technologies” for middle to top level faculty and LASPAU Faculty Development Program. This “competi-
administrators of universities in Latin America. Between tive” model was followed by two seminars in 2000 using an
1998 and 2001, over 200 university representatives partici- open, tuition-based, enrollment; virtually all of these partici-
pated in five seminars on the strategic aspects of harnessing pants were middle to high level administrators and faculty of
technology for institutional change. Latin American universities who identified for themselves
the value of the training and lobbied their organizations for
Here is a bit about the delivery formats and curriculum of support to participate.
these seminars. All seminars included online work organized
in a set of discrete learning modules over time periods rang- Finally, in early 2001, a fifth seminar was developed using
ing from three to eight weeks, followed a week later by a essentially the same curriculum and mix of delivery modes
three-day face-to-face seminar. As access, bandwidth, soft- as its two immediate (“self-selected”) predecessors in 2000,
ware, and computing skills progressed in Latin America, but with a different scale and enrollment process. Through its
delivery methods diversified from interactivity through sim- MECESUP World Bank program for the reform of Chilean
ple email distribution lists supported by mailed reading Higher Education,6 the Chilean Ministry of Education spon-
packets into multiple and complementary access to online sored delivery of the seminar for Chile’s 32 leading univer-
information in text, video, and audio formats to support in- sities and technology institutes. Each of these 32 institutions
teraction through both moderated chats and asynchronous nominated three representatives for a total of 108 partici-
lists. Participants read, viewed, and analyzed a mix of mate- pants. Thus, the first major difference in this program from
rials on organizational change, public policy, and IT applied its predecessors was its scale, which grew nearly four fold in
to management and education. In addition to instructor-lead participant enrollment. This presented a daunting design
peer interaction, each online module included assignments challenge in order to ensure the same quantity and quality of
leading to a final “technology action plan” for implementa- online interaction, guidance, and support as had been accom-
tion by the participants’ home universities. plished in the smaller, more intimate seminars. A pyramid
approach, as shown in Figure 1, was developed to address
Although the curriculum and participant demographics re- this challenge.
mained fairly consistent across time, we can group the size

As Figure 1 illustrates, a second layer of instruction and country’s universities to participate and they all, without ex-
leadership was inserted between the original instructor and ception, “accepted” by each nominating three individuals to
the participants. The 108 participants were broken down into the seminar. Thus, for the purposes of this article, let’s call
nine groups. Each group consisted of four university teams this third model “scaled up - strategic.” Strategic models, at
comprising three individuals nominated by the university. least in this context, should not necessarily be confused with
Each of the resulting nine groups of 12 people was guided an “authoritarian” top-down approach to education. What’s
and supported by an assistant instructor. These nine assistant being discussed here instead is using online executive educa-
instructors were recruited from among the best and brightest tion to further a specific reform or innovation agenda, re-
of previous seminars. The head instructor and nine assistant gardless of whether it is pursued top-down or bottom-up or a
instructors also formed an online “instructor group” for mu- combination thereof. Table 1 briefly summarizes the three
tual support on curriculum, strategy, and ad hoc trouble- participation models.
shooting. Separate chat rooms and distribution lists were
established for the instructor group and the nine participant A Tale of Two Online Seminars
groups. The head instructor was enrolled in all nine partici-
pant groups to “listen” to discussions as part of the faculty Now let’s turn to what actually happened in Chile and con-
support process and to submit one weekly plenary feedback- trast that experience with data from the previous self-selected
wrap-up message to all 108 students; all other interaction model.7 With all 108 Chilean university participants enrolled
took place among the 12 participants within each group and their access to the site and systems activated, on March
guided and supported by its assistant instructor. 19, 2001, the online seminar was officially launched. In
contrast to earlier seminars and despite our clarion call to
The second feature distinguishing the Chile seminar from its participation, this seminar concluded its first preparatory
predecessors was its means of participant selection. In con- week8 resembling more of a virtual ghost town than a virtual
trast to the earlier “competitive” and “self-selected” models seminar..
the Ministry, as part of its reform agenda, “encouraged” the
Figure 1. Scaled Triangle
•Lead Instructor
•Plenary Feedback
•Administrative Support
•Technical Support 1 Lead Instructor
Intense Instructor
•1 Assistant Instructor per Group Peer Support
Added Layer for Scaling
•Leadership & Motivation
•Curricular Guidance 9 Assistant Instructors
•Feedback and Support
Leadership/Motivation
9 Groups
•108 Participants Each Group has 12 People
•32 Universities Each Group = 4 University Teams
•Group Interaction Each University Team = 3 People
•Assignments
Table 1. Summary of Participation Models in LASPAU Online Strategic IT Seminars
SPONSOR: Fulbright Program Tuition Based Chilean Government

DATES: April – June 1998 May – June 200 April – May 2001
May – June 1999 Nov – Dec 2000
PARTICIPATION MODEL: Competitive Self-Selected Scaled Up – Strategic

The alarm bell was sounded. Instructors wrote individualized than the self-selected group’s, they “showed up for class”
emails to the participants in their groups to ascertain their (instructor-moderated synchronous chats) and “turned in
“whereabouts” and encourage their participation. Our col- their homework” to a proportionately higher degree than
leagues in the Ministry embarked on a Herculean effort to their engagement in the more innovative asynchronous
cajole all of the institutions to get the participants they nomi- communications, where peer-to-peer and group constructivist
nated to, in fact, participate. It was, frankly, thanks to this learning around module topics was emphasized. A corollary
major collective effort that seminar participation built up difference in predisposition between the two groups was also
over time to the point that virtually all university teams did, found in their familiarity with the technologies used, with the
in fact, ultimately submit the final assignment and that a self-selected people generally more technophile than the
critical level of participation and interaction was achieved scaled up strategic participants. This learning curve problem
within most of the nine groups. was, in fact, anticipated: for the Chilean program a full “pre-
liminary week” was included prior to the three week seminar
Table 2 lays out the aggregate participation levels for the to familiarize and trouble shoot the various online elements.9
Chile program alongside those for its immediate predecessor,
the self-selected group from November – December 2000. These issues beg the question of why the universities didn’t
Two things stand out from comparing these numbers. First, nominate representatives who were more appropriate or pre-
all categories of participation were lower for the scaled-up disposed to the online, distributed format and perhaps also to
strategic model than for those in the self-selected seminar. the topic itself.
Furthermore, while this difference is significant for the chats
and assignment submissions, the difference is especially big Fox Guarding the Chicken Coop: In the Chilean experience,
for the asynchronous postings: the self-selected participants we were shielded, for understandable reasons, from each
posted over three times as many messages to each other than institution’s internal process for naming the three representa-
was done by the Chilean university representatives. Based on tives to participate in the program. However, as part of the
these findings as well as on anecdotal information gathered initial invitation to participate, the rectors (presidents) of the
from instructors, administrators, and the participants them- universities were given a description of the seminar, which
selves, we can make a number of assumptions with respect to explained the seminar’s emphasis on innovation and reform
both strategic approaches as well as large scale online train- in the context of technology and distance learning and also
ing design: specified the (fairly basic) Internet literacy required to com-
plete the seminar. We observed, however, noticeable differ-
Love at First Sight: The self-selected participants were, by ences in attitude, predisposition, and aptitude across the 32
definition, much more inclined to be attracted to both the university teams. To what extent did the university leader-
seminar’s content and its philosophy of organizational ship pick the most appropriate people in terms of motivation
change facilitated by technology as well as to its distributed and skills? Some rectors may not have understood the crite-
learning format. This was evidenced in two differences be- ria, despite our efforts to be as clear and explicit as possible.
tween the groups. First, with respect to the distributed learn- However, it’s also possible that many of them understood the
ing format of the seminars, the Chileans were comparatively seminar’s goals and selection criteria perfectly. And they
more “traditionalist” in their approach to the course than the were threatened by it. After all, the reform agenda behind
self-selected students. While the Chileans’ chat participation this type of strategic training often calls for changes directly
and assignment completion rates were substantially lower linked, explicitly or implicitly, to institutional leadership.
Table 2. Participation Levels
SELF-SELECTED MODEL STRATEGIC SCALED UP MODEL

1 Instructor : 25 Participants 1 Lead Instructor : 9 Group Leaders : 108 Participants
4.33 Average Postings per Participant 1.32

63% Chat Attendance Rates 46%
75% Assignment Submission Rates 66%

Did the scaled-up design impact participation? To what Lessons Learned
extent did the pyramid design impact participation levels? At
first blush, it should have enhanced participation: the in- One of the great powers of distributed learning across net-
structor-to-participant ratio more than doubled, meaning par- works is the ability, as we demonstrated in Chile, to scale-up
ticipants received more individualized attention. On the other an online curriculum. In this particular experience we believe
hand, it’s also possible that participants felt less “significant” that, insofar as active participation is a prerequisite to learn-
as part of 108 instead of part of 25. ing12 -- that is to say we can be sure that individuals will not
learn if they don’t actively engage in interaction with each
Context, or, on the Internet sometimes they do know you’re a other and the courses materials – the scaled up model deliv-
dog:10 Another factor which probably contributed to dimin- ered satisfactory to good results for most participants. Al-
ished interaction by the strategic group was their lack of ano- though aggregate levels of participation were below those of
nymity relative to the self selected participants who hailed the self-selected model, which we believe to have been good
from many different institutions throughout Latin America to excellent, all of us involved in the design, organization,
and who, for the most part, did not know each other or have and delivery of the Chile program were confident that with
formal personal or institutional relationships prior to the proper adjustment, the model could be made to work as ef-
seminar. Delivering the program within one sub-sector fectively as its self-selected predecessor. This leads to my
(Chilean higher education) made up of competing institutions recommendations for designing scaled up distributed learn-
may have had an important silencing impact. Furthermore, ing programs as part of a strategic reform or innovations dis-
it’s hard to know without further research, whether behind- semination agenda.
the-scenes dynamics among the three team members played a
net negative influence on participation levels. My guess is Invest time and resources to win over and subsequently
that it was a net plus at institutions where team-member se- orient: Especially for those not in the “love-at-first-sight”
lection took into account motivation, availability, and appro- category, what can be done to promote the concepts of the
priateness to the topic resulting in poorer participation where course and orient and train, not only regarding the technol-
these factors weren’t considered. ogy platforms but also regarding a more learner-centered
approach? For example, in the Chile program, despite add-
Scaling Up and Critical Mass: If one assumes that motivation ing an extra orientation week to the program, a minority of
drives participation and that this motivation is influenced by participants, especially those who most needed it, took ad-
predisposition to the topic and format: what, upon scaling up, vantage of the opportunity. Had we invested in an additional
is the critical mass point of motivated people needed to en- face-to-face orientation prior to the online program, learning
sure strong interactivity? This is especially important if we’re curves would have been climbed, self-confidence built, and
considering scaled up strategic executive education for inno- appropriate expectations established.
vation and reform, which doesn’t capture inherently large-
scale audiences. In our case, I would argue that the semi- Work closely with target institutions: In retrospect, we
nar’s topic, despite the hype associated with “technology” in should have been more closely involved with the Chilean
its title, was fundamentally an innovative idea in its early institutions that nominated participants. As is often the case,
stage of diffusion within the Latin American educational political sensibilities dictated we respect their autonomy.
context and therefore only intrinsically appealing at that time However, we could have reserved the right to review and
to a reduced population. (Appealing as demonstrated by accept, or not accept, nominees based on their performance
willingness to invest money or significant amounts of time during the preliminary week. Alternatively, as was in fact the
and effort.) If we use Everett Roger’s seminal work, “Diffu- case with the Fulbright “competitive” model discussed ear-
sion of Innovations,” as a reference, only a small minority of lier, we could have injected some level of competition into
our target population would fall in our innovator or early the process. For example, selecting from a broader pool of
adopter categories.11 Above that critical mass point, we move nominees based on a more detailed “application.” While this
more from preaching to (and empowering) the choir to a issue may already be fairly prevalent in executive education,
game of winning hearts and minds and overcoming resis- online it’s even easier for unmotivated people to sleep
tance which is very difficult to accomplish in an online envi- through the program.
ronment. Therefore, is it possible we surpassed the critical
mass point of individuals most motivated to embrace the Consider leveraging the online environment’s capacity for
seminar’s topic and actively engage in its learning style? My anonymity, avatars, and altered context to enhance interac-
instinct tells me, given the seminar’s scale relative to the tion: Masking individuals with stage names or, if the scale of
total potential population and the possibly skewed nomina- the seminar permits it, intentionally matching people with
tion-selection process, that this did not occur in the Chilean strangers (say from other countries) for some or all of their
case. Nevertheless, it is a matter to consider when developing online interaction may free people from some of the institu-
scaled up strategic online executive education. tional, cultural, or political baggage which hinders interac-

tivity. Anonymity and working with strangers aren’t the only Be strategic: Innovative ideas can be more quickly adopted
alternatives. In his course on distributed learning at Harvard, if individuals learn about them and relate them to their con-
Professor Chris Dede asks his students, as part of deepening text. However, lying within the different strata of the organi-
their understanding of the online learning environment, to zations or sectors targeted for training are people who clearly
complete a portion of their online interaction using avatars (a don’t agree with what the innovation represents. Who are
person’s alter ego in cyber space) which include identity- these resistors? How do you mitigate problems such as the
revealing descriptors. Professor Dede has observed that, one we suspect we had of “fox guarding the chicken coop?"
analogous to a costume party, “avatars, digital artifacts, vir- Clearly, distributed online learning represents a new “Trojan
tual contexts, and a communal culture shape learning in a Horse” to penetrate institutions in need of reform. First,
setting different than conventional face-to-face environ- however, you should learn where your innovators are and,
ments. The unfamiliarity of this context provides psycho- likewise, where the resistance is and build your design and
logical distance that enhances students' abilities to try new delivery strategy with them in mind.
styles of interaction.”13
Concluding Remarks
Ensure very strong support and interactivity for group lead-
ers: If using a pyramid approach to scaled up online educa- The Moore’s Law solution to education is an illusion. But
tion, as was done for Chile, the mutual support and brain- even if education online were infinitely scalable, the very
storming that can occur behind the scenes provides a very nature of people and organizations would negate its useful-
powerful synergy which reverberates back into each instruc- ness for strategic online executive education. Nevertheless,
tor’s group. In the Chile model, our nine assistant instructors good design, smart strategy, and attentiveness to what we
were located in seven different countries and were equally continue to learn in pedagogy and human and social psy-
diverse in their areas of expertise and educational philoso- chology can enable scaled up distributed learning to further
phies, all of which was richly brought to bear on the seminar reform and the dissemination of innovations. This is the bur-
leadership and instruction. den of our dreams.
1
Burden of Dreams. Title of the 1982 documentary by Les Blank about the making of “Fitzcarraldo,” by German filmmaker Werner Herzog.
Fitzcarraldo depicts a man’s maniacal quest to build an opera house in the heart of the Amazon jungle in the early 1900s. As the documen-
tary’s title implies, the making of the movie was equally maniacal.
2
The author is Associate Director for the Global Innovators' Network at the Institute for Government Innovation, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu ; e-mail: winthrop_carty@harvard.edu
3
Seely Brown, J. and Duguid, P. “Social Life of Information” Harvard Business School Press, Boston. 2000
4
The World Bank 1999 World Development Report, is one of several comprehensive documents on the subject of knowledge and socio-
economic development.
5
LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas, Affiliated with Harvard University. http://www.laspau.harvard.edu
6
MECESUP Project website: http://www.mineduc.cl/superior/mecesup/
7
The two earliest Fulbright “competitive” seminars are not contrasted here, since their duration (longer, up to eight weeks, and different set
of delivery technologies), added too many different variables.
8
The Chilean seminar added a full week long “preparatory week” to get participants acclimated to the tools and format and to build partici-
pation and group identity prior to the three week “real” curriculum.
9
Participation during the Chile seminar’s “participatory week” was not included in the tabulations; only each seminar’s three-week main
programs were compared.
10
This refers to an oft cited cartoon from The New Yorker magazine which depicts two dogs in front of a computer; one of the dogs tells the
other: “On the Internet they can’t tell you’re a dog.”
11
“Innovators” represent only 2.5%, or 2 s.d. from the mean as measured against average time of an innovation’s adoption, while “early
adopters” are 13.5%, or 1 s.d. From: Rogers, E. “Diffusion of Innovations.” Fourth Edition. Free Press, New York. 1995.
12
The scope of the research for this paper is limited to participation levels. Ultimately, of course, we will need to answer the more important
question of the learning and its impact on systemic change.
13
Quote to author by Chris Dede, the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
His website is an excellent resource for the evolving understanding of online learning environments:
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/%7Ededech/502/

Virtual High Schools::
Development, Trends, and Issues
1
Anthony Lizardi
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Distance education, in which students earn a high school diploma via correspondence courses, goes back almost to the estab-
lishment of postal systems in the 19th century [1]. Paulson defines a virtual school as an information system that accomplishes
all the tasks of a physical school, but does not use typical classrooms or teachers [2]. This article focuses on high schools that
use the Internet as their primary means of delivering instruction.
Research for this article identified about 80 virtual high schools. The most extensive on-line database of virtual high schools is
at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsis/onlinevir.html. Although most of the identified schools are in the United States, the
purposes being served by the schools are applicable throughout the world. These purposes are to serve students who find it
difficult or impossible to attend regular schools, to deliver needed basic courses in schools without teachers competent to teach
them, to provide enrichment for gifted students, and to provide a large range of educational choices for parents.
PPuurrppoosseess ooff VViirrttuuaall HHiigghh SScchhoooollss (http://www.aohs.state.al.us/) began offering on-line courses
in 1999 to help prevent the closing of small rural high
Virtual high schools are providing opportunities to students schools that have enrollments of less than 50 students [3].
who are unable to attend regular schools because of a wide
range of reasons including travel, medical conditions, or ca- Several virtual high schools have been established to provide
reers. They are serving students with disabilities that make college-bound and gifted students with Advance Placement
regular classrooms dysfunctional, such as some students with (A.P.) and enriched courses. Such courses are commonly
Attention Deficit Disorder. They are also offering opportu- available within schools that serve affluent neighborhoods,
nities to students who have been suspended from their regu- but are less commonly available in other schools. This ineq-
lar schools for long periods because of serious violation of uity is becoming quite contentious in California, and the
the rules. American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of
four low-income students in 1999 on the grounds that they
Several virtual high schools have been established to provide did not have access to A.P. courses [5]. The University of
courses that small rural or low-income schools cannot offer California Prep (UCCP) initiative (http://uccp.ucsc.edu/ ), is
to their students because it is difficult for them to recruit and attempting to level the playing field for students from low-
retain teachers, particularly to teach mathematics, science, income neighborhoods by providing A.P. courses by dis-
and foreign languages [3, 4]. Schools that don’t need a full- tance. Although the director of the UCCP, Elaine Wheeler,
time physics or French teacher can use distance instruction, admits that on-line course cannot replace the quality of good
sharing one teacher among several schools. Alternatively, classroom teaching, the program is providing an alternative
retired or part-time teachers who live hundreds of miles away were in the past there was none [4].
can be used to teach the online course [7]. For example, the
Alabama On-Line High School (AOHS)

Virtual high schools are providing choice to parents who available, or to offer special interest and vocational career-
desire schools of a particular educational philosophy, or orientated courses. Students currently enrolled in a public or
theme, or pedagogy. There are a few public “charter” vir- private high school are allowed to enroll in these state virtual
tual high schools that provide distinctive educational pro- schools for free. Students enrolling from outside the state are
grams. There are also some private virtual high schools normally charged tuition. Generally students need to make
offering distinctive programs. Finally, there is a growing arrangements through the counselor at their school to take
“home schooling” movement in the U.S., and those parents courses for credit and have them applied to their diploma.
are sometimes using virtual high schools to provide part or
all of the instruction for their children. Several universities throughout the U.S. also administer vir-
tual high schools. As mentioned earlier, the UCCP program
O
Oppeerraattoorrss ooff VViirrttuuaall HHiigghh SScchhoooollss provides California students access to A.P. courses. A Policy
Committee comprised of nominees provided by UC Chan-
A wide array of entities operates virtual high schools. These cellors and the UC Academic Senate spearheads this initia-
include a nationwide consortia, statewide initiatives, univer- tive. UCCP online courses have either been developed by
sity-initiated programs, charter schools, and private for-profit UC faculty or by high school faculty in consultation with UC
enterprises. faculty. Tuition is not charged for eligible California students
who come primarily from rural, remote, small, or financially
One of the most successful models for a virtual high school disadvantaged schools, or schools with a large percentage of
is Concord Consortium’s Virtual High School (VHS) economically disadvantaged students and that do not have a
(http://www.govhs.org/website.nsf ). It was established with complete offering of courses to meet the admission require-
funding from the U.S. Department of Education and operates ments for UC campuses.
under the authority of the Hudson, MA Public School Dis-
trict in the United States [6]. The courses are taught by Other universities that manage virtual high schools usually
teachers and taken by students scattered throughout the charge fees. The Indiana University High School Diploma
country. Each school that provides a teacher to develop and Program (http://scs.indiana.edu/hs/hsd.html) charges in-state
teach an online course is allowed to enroll 20 of its own stu- students a modest tuition fee and allows students to earn a
dents in any course offered by the Virtual High School. For high school diploma. The Stanford University program
each additional teacher provided, another 20 students can be ‘Education Program for Gifted Youth’ (EPGY) (http://www-
enrolled in the Virtual High School. epgy.stanford.edu/) is tailored to provide gifted students
challenging education experiences via the Internet. The
The consortium coordinates the offerings, provides the serv- EPGY program offers a limited curriculum in six subject
ers used for the instruction, trains the teachers in online areas of Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, English,
course development and delivery, and arranges for the grade Political Science and Music. Tuition for this program runs
reports to the students’ home schools. Prior to teaching a students $450 per class each quarter. Finally, the University
class, a teacher must complete a 26-week online graduate- of Nebraska has created a commercial spin-off company
level course in distance instruction that is provided through called Class.com (http://www.Class.com) , which provides
the Consortium [7]. A local school coordinator works with school administrators with off the shelf virtual high school
the Consortium to facilitate the barter system. For the 2000- software operating systems for virtual schools systems.
01 school year, the VHS boosts a catalogue of 156 online
courses, with an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students Some local school districts that offer parents the choice of
from about 200 high schools. Now that federal funding is enrolling their children in charter schools are now offering
ending, the Consortium is charging schools an annual fee of the option of virtual high schools. The Perris Union High
$6,000 to participate. School District in California operates a virtual charter school
called Choice 2000 (http://www.choice2000.org/). It not
Statewide virtual high school initiatives have begun in Ala- only serves that district but also a few other districts in Cali-
bama, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisi- fornia that permit charter schools. Choice 2000 provides a
ana, Michigan, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and West full curriculum, so students can earn a high school diploma.
Virginia. The Distance Learning Resource Network has Choice 2000 requires students to log on the school’s server
compiled a list of links for these state initiatives to participate in synchronous classes that have a set schedule
(http://www.dlrn.org/virtual.html). Clark prepared a de- [3]. The state of California funds Choice 2000 like a normal
tailed summary report for state initiatives in Florida, Ken- high school, so students living within the five county limits
tucky, Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah [5]. Most state- are not charged tuition. Students outside of California are
wide virtual high school programs have been started in re- charged tuition of $175 per class, per 9-week semester, plus
sponse to the need to expand the curriculum at rural schools textbooks and school materials [3].
or small schools, to offer A.P. classes where they are not

Private entities, both non-profit and for-profit operate some site. After hanging out with his snowboarding buddies and
virtual high schools. Some of these institutions even adver- eating dinner, Alex spends the rest of his evening watching a
tise one-on-one instruction for core courses, A.P. courses, short film on the Apollo space mission he downloaded from
and SAT test preparation. The tuitions sometimes approach the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum using Window’s Me-
those of traditional “Prep” schools, costing $10,000-$15,000. dia Player. After getting some additional background mate-
A listing of some of these private schools can be found on rial on Apollo 11, he finishes his essay and e-mails the final
The Distance Learning Resource Network web site version to his English teacher.
(http://www.dlrn.org/virtual.html).
KKeeyy IIssssuueess FFaacciinngg VViirrttuuaall HHiigghh
VViirrttuuaall HHiigghh SScchhoooollss oouuttssiiddee tthhee
SScchhoooollss
UU..SS.. Virtual high schools can serve important purposes, but there
Most virtual high schools outside of the U.S. appear to be in are also several difficulties associated with them. These in-
Canada and Australia. In Canada, virtual schools are popular clude their substantial costs, instruction that is often time-
in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The Al- consuming for teachers, insufficient self-discipline on the
berta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC) part of students, and potential for fraud.
(http://www.adlc.ca/home) provides online courses that lead
to a high school diploma. The ADLC uses both asynchro- The costs are substantial, although they may be less than
nous and synchronous learning methods. The Open School in school-based education. Class.com charges about $10,000 to
British Columbia (http://www.openschool.bc.ca/) provides create a virtual school campus without the courses [9]. The
asynchronous learning opportunities to high school students cost to train a teacher to prepare and facilitate an online
in the province. In Australia, the only full-service virtual course for the Concord Consortium requires $4,000-$8,000
school is the Virtual School Service plus the teacher’s salary during training [8]. The costs of
(http://education.qld.gov.au/virtualschool/html/index.htm). training and frequently retaining a technical staff can be sub-
The Department of Education in Queensland [13] adminis- stantial, especially because such personnel are often eager to
ters this. The Virtual School Service provides online classes take their expertise to better paying positions in a tight job
to Queensland’s high school students in subject areas that market [7].
regular high schools have difficulty offering. These subjects
include Economics, Mathematics, Japanese, Modern History, Online instruction is time-consuming. The Concord Consor-
Information Processing and Technology, and Physics. tium prepares its already normally certified teachers with a
26-week graduate-level course on online instruction [7].
AA SSttuuddeenntt’’ss DDaayy O
Onnlliinnee Those teachers may need 300 to 500 hours to bring a full-
year course online [7]. Online instruction is widely per-
Alex is a hotdog snowboarder with the potential to win ceived to be more time-consuming by the teachers. On top
Olympic gold. Last year, half way through his senior year, of normal teaching responsibilities, e-mail and phone com-
he convinced his parents to let him spend his last semester of munication with students can require substantial time [10].
high school in a northern Canada training camp. In order to Also, some teachers have difficulty making the transition to
fulfill his requirements to earn his diploma, he needs to com- teaching online, feeling uncomfortable about the lack of vis-
plete three core classes in English, Math, and U.S. Govern- ual feedback from student [7].
ment. Alex enrolled in his local school district’s virtual
charter school to earn enough credits to obtain his diploma. The teacher unions are still figuring out how to ensure ade-
A typical day for Alex begins with some early runs on the quate compensation, copy-right ownership, and collective-
slopes, breaking for lunch to look at his e-mail from his bargaining agreement provisions for online teaching [7]. The
English teacher who has given him feedback on his essay on National Education Association (NEA) has not taken a stance
the novel The Right Stuff. After a few more runs on the on virtual high schools, but has produced quality assurance
slopes in the afternoon, Alex hustles back to his dorm room guidelines that can be found at:
to log onto the school’s server to attend his Algebra2 class. http://www.nea.org/cet/briefs/16.html.
Alex participates in the class discussion via a synchronous
direct audio link, getting immediate feedback on solving an For students, taking an online course is not an easy task.
equation using an electronic ‘white board.’ After math class, Many teenagers may not be able to handle responsibility and
Alex logs onto the student’s chat room using ICQ-type tech- self-discipline required to learn independently online without
nology to discuss his collaborative U.S. government project direct supervision [11]. Students may have difficulty not
with his partner. Alex pastes the web page links on how a bill receiving immediate feedback, having to rely on asynchro-
becomes a law he found while surfing a Congressional web nous e-mail comments from instructors. Students may also

miss the socializing with fellow students that occurs during a the school’s enrollment accounting practices [12]. For stu-
normal school day. dents receiving credit towards graduation from online
courses, it is mandatory that they coordinate with their
Most virtual high school staffs are credentialed teachers school counselors.
holding state certificates, and those virtual schools offering
diplomas are subject to local school district requirements.
Although some virtual high schools span state boundaries
CCoonncclluussiioonn
and the federal government is responsible for regulating in- While virtual high schools can serve several purposes, they
ter-state commerce, there is little federal oversight of virtual are not a panacea for education in the U.S. or elsewhere.
high schools that serve students in multiple states. Parents They are unlikely to replace traditional high schools for more
have been advised to check out virtual high schools carefully than a small percentage of students, but they offer consider-
before relying on them. In Ohio, state auditors have uncov- able potential for supplementing the course offerings in iso-
ered serious problems with its first virtual school, eCOT lated and impoverished areas.
[12]. State auditors have discovered discrepancies regarding
References
[1] Kirby, E. (1998). Strategies to support effective distance education programs in high schools. Technology and Teacher
Education Annual, 175-178. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education.
[2] Russell, G., and Russell, N. (1999). Cyberspace and school education. Westminster Studies in Education, 22, 7-17.
[3] Brown, M.D. (2000, Nov.). Virtual high schools: part 1 & 2. Technology in the Classroom [On-line serial]. Available:
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech052.shtml
[4] Carr, S., and Young, J. (1999, Oct., 20). As distance-learning boom spreads, colleges help set up virtual high schools. The
Chronicle of Higher Education, 46, (9), A55-A58.
[5] Clark, T. (2000, March). Virtual High Schools: State of States. Macomb, IL: Western Illinois University, Center for the
Application of Information Technologies - College of Education and Human Services. Available:
http://www.cait.org/shared_resource_docs/vhs_files/vhs_study.pdf
[6] Espanzo, C., Dove, T., Zucker, A., and Kozma, R. (1999, Nov.). An Evaluation of the Virtual High School after Two Years
of Operation (SRI Project 7289). Arlington, VA: SRI International.
[7] Harrington-Lueker, D. (1997, Sept.). Web-high: Move over, distance learning – here comes the virtual high school. Elec-
tronic School.
[8] Smith, W. (2000, March) Web Courses for High School Students: Potential and Issues. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional
Education Board.
[9] Keegan, D. (2000, Aug., 7). Cyberschool. Civic.com. Available: http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2000/august/civ-

cybersch-08-00.asp.
[10] Johnston, S., and Mitchell, M. (2000, Sept.). Teaching the FHS way. Multimedia Schools, 7, (4), 52-55.
[11] Smith, B. (1998, Sept.). High school goes the distance. Converge magazine, 1. Available:
http://www.convergemag.com/Publications/CNVGSept98/distlearning/distlearning.shtm.
[12] Trotter, A. (2001, Dec., 5). Ohio audit reveals difficulties of tracking online students. Education Week, 21, (14), 14.
[13] Russell, G. (2001, Spring). Virtual schooling ’01. EQ Australia. Available:

http://www.curriculum.edu.au/curriculum/eqaust/eq_01/russell.htm.
1
Anthony Lizardi is a master's degree student in the International Education Program in the Graduate School of Education and
Human Development at The George Washington University. He can be reached at alizardi@gwu.edu

Government Support of Edtech Research & Develop
Development:
An International Overview
Marianne Bakia
Federation of American Scientists http://www.fas.org/learn
Introduction around the world. The Learning Technology Project at the

Educational policymakers have invested heavily in computer Federation of American Scientists conducted a Survey of
technologies for schools. The Organization of Economic International Investment in Educational Technology Re-
Coordination and Development (OECD) estimates that ap- search and Development, funded by the Spencer Foundation.
proximately US$16 billion was invested in information and (http://fas.org/learn/intl_rev/intlsurvey.pdf )
computing technologies in 1999 (the most recent year this
statistic was available), accounting for between 1 – 2% of The study:
overall education spending. Most of this investment was in
hardware and networking infrastructure (OECD 1999). Un- • identifies government-funded programs of research re-
derstandably, governments, and schools, are beginning to ask lated to educational technology,
serious questions about the return on this investment. What • analyzes investment characteristics,
have schools gained? How can these resources be maxi- • encourages international awareness of educational tech-
mized? Answering these questions requires an investment in nology research efforts, and
research and development, and the public sector should be • sets a baseline for future analysis of investment priorities
supporting the endeavor since it will ultimately capture many and trends.
of the gains that individual firms cannot.
The project has documented research and development
funding in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the European
The Need for Government Commission, Ireland, South Africa, Korea, Singapore, Japan,
Leader
Leadership and Australia.1 An on-line searchable database is available
An extensive literature suggests that government investment in addition to individual country profiles at
in research and development activities is an important driver http://fas.org/learn/intl_rev/index.html.
of innovation (Branscomb and Keller 1998 and Council of
Economic Advisors 1995). Government support is particu- In spite of the efforts made to be comprehensive, the infor-
larly important for education research, including research on mation provided by the survey must be considered prelimi-
educational technology (see PCAST 1997). Private invest- nary. No formal reporting requirements for educational
ment in these areas is expected to be sub-optimal for several technology research and development are in place in any
reasons. The near-term market for education technology country. Further, there is no agreement on how to define
products is extremely uncertain, early-stage research is in- basic or applied research and much of what is called research
herently risky, and few firms have been sufficiently profit- is in fact used to help school systems acquire hardware and
able to finance activities that don’t immediately and posi- off-the-shelf software to demonstrate use of existing technol-
tively affect the “bottom line.” The role of government is to ogy. In addition, response rates in some countries were con-
balance the private-sector’s short-term profit interests with a siderably higher than in others, and in many cases we cannot
longer-term perspective. Further, given the positive spill- state with certainty that we have identified every relevant
over effects of education (lower recidivism rates, better program. Nevertheless, this is an important step in docu-
health, higher wages), the public-sector stands poised to menting worldwide activity that has thus far gone largely
benefit from a high rate of return. Therefore, government overlooked. We continue to collect information regarding
investment in high-quality education research and the devel- 2000 and 2001 investments, and we encourage policymakers
opment of educational technologies is clearly justified. and researchers around the world to provide comment and
additional information to ensure that the work presented here
Understanding Current Gov
Gov- is as comprehensive as possible.
ern
ernment Role
Given the importance of government investment in educa- With these limitations in mind, the results offered here can
tional technology research and development (Edtech R&D), serve several purposes. They can be used by policymakers to
relatively little has been done to document, analyze or com- assess priorities and programs both across agencies within
pare government Edtech R&D programs in the countries federal governments and across federal governments, and to

identify peers internationally who might be grappling with Despite these sizable investments in activities related to edu-
similar issues. The results should also be of interest to re- cational technology in FY2000, the federal government only
searchers interested in identifying peers, collaborators, and designated about $196 million to the research and develop-
funding opportunities internationally. ment of educational technologies, the vast majority funded
by the Department of Defense. Examining many of these
The following table summaries the total estimated invest- specific projects suggests a very unique focus of immediate
ment in the research and development of educational tech- interest only on the military. If military investments are ex-
nologies in each of the countries studied. cluded, the federal government only designated $8 million to
basic research, nothing to applied research, and about $25
Table 1: Overview of International Investment million to development, for a total of $33 million designated
Edtech R&D InIn- to the research and development of educational technologies
Country vestment, Fiscal in FY2000. U.S. designated investments are scattered across
Year 2000 four government departments or agencies, including the De-
United States $285,000,000 partment of Education, the National Science Foundation
Canada 12,000,000
European Commission 65,000,000
(NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration
South Africa 230,000 (NASA), and Department of Defense.
Korea 330,000
Japan 11,420,000 Canada
Australia 737,000
Canada uses educational technologies actively, principally
The United States is the largest investor in the study, al- for distance education across Canada’s vast, and often
though most of the investment ($160 million) was invested sparsely populated, terrain. However, the federal government
for specialized training in the military. Only $40 million was in Canada has a very limited role in education. In fact, Can-
clearly designated specifically for educational technology ada does not have a centralized Ministry of Education
research and development, and this was scattered across charged with overseeing educational initiatives and funding
many programs in several agencies. By contrast, the Euro- education-related research. Instead, each of the ten provinces
pean Commission plan was well-coordinated, multidisciplin- and three territories within Canada has at least one ministry
ary, and longer term. Korean representatives were rather of education whose responsibilities include developing and
explicit in suggesting that the government did not view re- maintaining educational services and developing and over-
search and development of educational technologies as a seeing distance learning programs. Therefore, most activity
priority. Rather, the MOE has adopted off the shelf products is being funded at the provincial rather than the federal level.
and focused on implementation issues. With the exception
of Korea, representatives from all countries indicated that As in other countries the emphasis is on implementation, and
their respective governments intended to invest more in edu- Canada has placed particular emphasis on distance learning.
cational technology research and development in the future. Most programs support the achievement of structured, rele-
vant web-based instruction and build upon existing models
Summabanry of Findings per of web-based tools and late-stage development. Two depart-
ments in the Canadian federal government fund educational
Country technology programs: Industry Canada and Human Re-
sources Development Canada. In FY2000, the Office of
The United States of America Learning Technology (OLT) and Social Science and Hu-
The United States (U.S.) is a special case in the educational manities Research Council (SSHRC) maintained total budg-
technology research and development arena because of the ets of $10.7 million and $84.9 million respectively for a total
scope, scale and continued commitment of the federal gov- of $95.6 million.
ernment to the use of educational technologies. Education in
the United States is a large enterprise, accounting for more European Commission
than a third of the global education and training market European countries support the research and development of
(Software Information Industry Association 2001). Public learning technologies with financial and intellectual leader-
and private entities in the United States invested nearly $800 ship coming from the European Commission (EC). The EC
billion dollars on education and training in FY2000, and is somewhat analogous to the executive branch of the United
technology-related investments were also sizeable. The Fed- States federal government. Its general mission is to "embody
eral government alone invested over $3 billion on technology and uphold the general interests of the European Union." The
for education in FY2000, including the e-rate program, and EC organizes its activities within multiple "directorates gen-
the private sector invested approximately $2.5 billion. eral," (DGs) which are specific either to a function (i.e.
budgeting or external affairs) or policy area (i.e. agriculture,

education and culture, or environment). Several of these DGs and development of educational technologies. In FY2000, it
touch on the research, development, or implementation of is estimated that educational technology R&D funding to-
educational technologies, including: Education and Culture, taled $299,600. The primary funding agency for these initia-
Information Society, and Research, although the bulk of Ed- tives is the Department of Arts, Culture, Science, and Tech-
tech research and development activities have been managed nology.
by the Technology Program in the Information Society.
Korea
The EC has set out its research, technological development
and demonstration (RTD) goals in a series of five-year As manifested in CYBER KOREA 21 policy initiative, Ko-
"Framework Programs." The most recent, the Fifth Frame- rea hopes to become one of the top ten nations in the world
work Program (FP5), covers the years 1998 - 2002. FP5 has with the most advanced information infrastructure and in-
a budget of about $13.5 billion. The thrust is on solving so- dustry. Government policy includes educational adoption of
cial problems, with a focus on a limited number of research technologies as an important cornerstone of this initiative,
areas directly related to one of six thematic areas, which although the research and development of educational tech-
combine technological, industrial, economic, social and cul- nology applications is not included.
tural aspects. The six thematic areas of FP5 are:
Since 1997, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been pur-
• Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, suing a policy for adapting information and communication
• User-Friendly Information Society, technologies in education systems for the primary school and
• Competitive and Sustainable Growth, university system. The MOE has conducted an aggressive
• Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development - campaign to build the information infrastructure, to develop
Euratom, and the educational multimedia contents, and teacher training.
• Increasing Human Research Potential and the Socio- The goals of the infrastructure policy were to:
Economic Knowledge Base.
• place at least one computer lab with multimedia PCs at
Each thematic area is associated with several "Key Actions." every K-12 school,
FP5 has a total of 23 Key Actions. Key Actions are intended • place at least one PC and a large monitor in every class-
to mobilize the wide range of scientific and technical disci- room,
plines, both fundamental and applied, required to address • provide each teacher with a PC,
specific problems. This has the effect of not only encourag- • have all PCs and servers connected into a campus net-
ing trans-disciplinary research but also bridging activities work and a high-speed internet line.
across programs and organizations. The third Key Action:
Multimedia Content and Tools (KA3) is by far the largest Between 1997 and 2000, the MOE spent $1.4 billion dollars
funder of Edtech research and development, although other on the building Korea's educational system's ICT infrastruc-
key actions also designate or allocate funds for this purpose. ture.
South Africa The MOE is very serious about integrating educational tech-
nologies in their school system, but does not believe it is
South Africa is committed to providing distance education necessary to invest heavily in educational technology R&D.
via Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to Rather, the MOE feels comfortable using off-the-self tech-
meet it lifelong learning needs, and it has a considerable nology currently in the market. Consequently, the MOE con-
foundation already in place. It has the most advanced infor- centrates on utilizing the latest technologies currently avail-
mation technology infrastructure in southern Africa, which able on the market, rather than investing heavily in educa-
places it in an excellent position to take advantage of the tional technology R&D.
latest educational technologies. For example, the Universities
Network (UniNet), provides an Internet backbone that con- The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC)
nects an estimated 500,000 students and staff at 21 universi- funds the small amount of educational technology R&D
ties and 15 technikons (Farrell, 1999). Further, South Africa funded by the government. In FY2000, $330,000 was allo-
has extensive experience providing distance learning with a cated to educational technology R&D projects related to
variety of information technologies, including print, radio, multimedia content, developing tools, remote learning, and
and more recently computers. The University of South Africa educational databases.
(UNISA) (est. in 1875) is one of the earliest universities
based on distance education strategies. Japan
Japan was surprisingly slow in implementing educational
Although the emphasis has been on implementation, South technologies into the K-12 system in the 1990s, but the
Africa is also beginning to allocate resources to the research country is aggressively changing course. The Japanese gov-

ernment anticipates that all classrooms will have Internet
access by 2005. There are also many projects that are de- While the FY2000 numbers may appear low considering the
signed to bring the latest multimedia technologies to school- considerable activity related to educational technologies in
children. For example the "Regional Model Project for Ad- Australia, it is important to note that Australia has stepped up
vanced Educational - Networking" is planning to join 1076 its activity in FY2001 with an innovative, new program.
schools in 30 districts via the latest high-speed telecommuni-
cations network. Additionally, the "Project Promoting The Commonwealth government is sponsoring a new initia-
Alignment between Schools for Using Multimedia" is going tive that focuses on the effective utilization of software-based
to provide the latest distance education applications to 600 learning technologies under the Backing Australia’s Ability
schools. action plan, called the Le@rning Federation Schools Online
Curriculum Content Initiative (SOCCI, see
Japanese investment in Edtech research and development is http://socci.edna.edu.au/suppliers/pdf/SOCCI_info.pdf ).
somewhat unique internationally, particularly because of the Beginning in 2001 and running until 2006, the SOCCI bene-
coherent and systematic approach by the National Institute of fits from a $17.6 million government effort, which includes
Media Education (NIME). NIME is one of three agencies matching funds from Commonwealth states. Total budget
supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sci- over the next five years is expected to climb to $65 million.
ence and Technology (MEXT) to conduct educational tech- Under the management of the e-Learning section, the
nology research and development. In FY2000, MEXT in- SOCCI’s main objective is to generate high-quality, re-
vested nearly $7.5 million in education technology R&D searched and evaluated, online curriculum content for Aus-
through these three agencies. tralia’s schools. This collaborative and government coordi-
nated program, expects to reduce potential duplication, in-
Australia crease cost efficiencies, and stimulate market and private
investment in development.
Australia has a long and extensive history of integrating
technology in education, particularly for distance education Looking Forward
in rural, isolated communities. Under the guidance of the
Despite the billions spent on implementing educational tech-
Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST),
nologies, relatively little is spent on researching and devel-
Australia has been developing innovative uses of ICTs in
oping how, when, where, with whom, and with what, these
their distance education initiatives. DEST's main priorities
projects should be carried out. Perhaps as a result, and de-
are to implement the education and training policy of the spite the extraordinary talents and dedication of the many
Prime Minister, Parliament, and the Commonwealth com-
teachers and software developers who have produced ingen-
munity.
ious products that are already contributing to educational
practices worldwide, a considerable gap separates the educa-
In FY2000, the Commonwealth of Australia spent approxi-
tional technology now in use from the incredible potential
mately $736,589 on educational technology research and
offered by these technologies. Efforts must be made within
development. Australian Commonwealth programs that sup- and across governments to standardize definitions of research
port the research and development of educational technology
and development and classifications of research and devel-
are not managed by DEST, but are the responsibility of two
opment, support high-risk, interdisciplinary research with
primary agencies of the Australian Research Council (ARC),
potential for high public-payoff, and set long-term objectives
and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).
akin to “a man on the moon” for education. With these and
Although funding allocations for educational technology other supports in place, governments should examine closely
research and development is not very great in Australia, it is opportunities to increase funding in this grossly neglected
expected that ARC will continue to increase its funding for
field.
ED TECH R&D in FY2001.
Bibliography
Branscomb, L. and Keller, J., eds. (1998). Investing in Innovation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Council of Economic Advisors. (November 1995). Supporting Research and Development to Promote Economic Growth: The Federal Gov-
ernment’s Role. Washington, DC: Author.
Farrell, G.M. The Development of Virtual Education: A global perspective. The Commonwealth of Learning: Vancouver Canada
OECD (1999). Education Policy Analysis, Paris: Author.
President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology: Panel on Educational Technology (March 1997). Report to the President on
the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States, New York: Author.
1
These countries were selected because a review of the academic literature and World Wide Web revealed evidence that these were the most
active globally. Attempts were also made to collect data from Russia, China, New Zealand, and India, but these countries proved difficult to
obtain necessary information about their programs and investment levels.

Mediating E-Discussions with WAP Technology:
The Experience of the National Institute of Education (Singapore)
Cher Ping, Lim (cplim@nie.edu.sg ) and Chwee Beng, Lee

National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Introduction ties and limitations of WAP technology for supporting a

learning community.
The knowledge economy of the new millennium requires

workers who are lifelong learners and collaborative problem WAP Technology in the PED513 Course
solvers. This calls for a fundamental redesign of the learning
environment in education institutions, away from the tradi- Instructional Technology (PED 513) is one of the core mod-
tional didactic, teachers-as-fountain-of-knowledge model of ules in the PGDE program at NIE. In this course, students
instruction, and towards the social constructivist perspective learn how to integrate instructional technology effectively
of learning. Educational practices derived from this per- into their classroom practices. There are eight face-to-face
spective emphasize active, intentional learning where knowl- tutorial lessons and four online discussions. NIE has adopted
edge construction occurs collaboratively through human in- Blackboard (www.blackboard.com), an online learning de-
teraction and negotiation in learning communities (Bednar, livery and management system that allows students to learn
Cunningham, Duffy, & Perry, 1992). independently and tutors to customize the online learning
package according to their students’ needs. A class of
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) facilitates the twenty students was selected and equipped with WAP-
development of such learning communities. In the broadest enabled mobile phones to participate in the e-discussions.
sense, CMC refers to any communication via computers; Mobile (One) Asia, a mobile telecommunication service pro-
common applications include e-mail, online bulletin board, vider in Singapore, provided the mobile phones and the
and online chat. The most important educational affordance WAP services subscriptions. The rest of the students in the
of CMC lies in its connectivity: it connects learners at differ- course participated in the e-discussion forum via Blackboard
ent geographical locations beyond the boundaries of class- from their personal computers.
rooms; allows learners to exchange information within a
short period of time synchronously or asynchronously; and All e-discussions took place at the class level, consisting of
provides the flexibility for one-to-one, one-to-many and 20-24 students and a tutor. The software developers of the
many-to-many communication. Connectivity among learn- Centre for Information and Technology in Education (CITE),
ers is critical for a learning community, without which social NIE, developed a WAP-based e-discussion application to
construction of collective knowledge would be greatly im- allow the students in the study to access the e-discussion
peded. forums via their WAP-enabled phones. In this application,
the tutor was able to do the administrative function, namely
New technologies such as Wireless Application Protocol to manage the forums and his group, and to carry the discus-
(WAP), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and 3G (3rd sion with his students via the WAP-enabled phones. Stu-
Generation) technologies further augment the educational dents logged on to the e-discussion via their phones to dis-
potential of CMC by allowing learners and tutors access to cuss with other classmates and the tutor. They created new
the Internet, anywhere and anytime, via the micro browser threads, viewed threads, replied to and deleted messages.
equipped mobile phone. (See 3G article in this Issue of There were altogether 5 forums. The first one was the pilot
TechKnowLogia) Based on an exploratory study on the use study. The second and fifth forums were discussions on
of WAP technology to mediate e-discussions brainstorming questions, and the third and fourth forums
(http://eduweb.nie.edu.sg/projects/WAP) in a Postgraduate were discussions on case studies. Examples of a brain-
Diploma in Education (PGDE) course at the National Insti- storming question and case study are presented in Table 1.
tute of Education (NIE), this article discusses the opportuni-

Table 1: Forum Discussion Questions
(Note: These are the original questions from the class instructor)
Title of
forum Questions
Type
of forum
Forum2: Share your micro Lessons idea with your classmates. Create the thread by topic
Ideas for Final Project area, e.g. balancing equation, redox reactions. Under each thread, describe your
(Brainstorming) ideas by stating only the following: Topic, objectives, context (scenario, case,
stories), activity and supporting tools. Review and give suggestions to your
friends.
Forum 3: Jeremy Tan is a high school chemistry teacher who likes innovative instructional
Integration Strategies strategy. Not surprisingly, he is fascinated with using e-learning in teaching.
(Case Study)
This was what happened in the previous year. Jeremy chanced upon the web-
site below on Acid and Base,
http://www.science.ubc.ca/~chem/tutorials/pH/launch.html
He thought it would be a good e-learning program for his Secondary 4 students.
Even though the materials were meant for JC level, but he thought that his stu-
dents are rather strong academically; they should be able to cope.
So, Jeremy tried his e-learning strategy during the June Holiday. He asked his
students to go through the website as a holiday assignment and he gave them a
test the first thing in the new semester. He thought it would be a good way to
help students to become independent learners. To his disappointment, the test
results were poor. He blamed it on students’ lack of effort and procrastination
and he thought the next batch of students would be better.
This year, Jeremy is going to try his e-learning strategy again. What do you think
went wrong last year? What would you advise him to do and why?
During the pilot test, it was observed that students experi-

enced difficulties in using the WAP-enabled phones as a re-
Opportunities of WAP Technology for E-
sult of slow transmission speed, navigational problems and discussions
short battery life. A WEB-based forum was created at the The findings suggest that WAP technology offers opportuni-
end of forum two to allow participants the flexibility to ac- ties for e-discussions in a learning community. Seventy-five
cess either the WAP-based forum or the WEB-based forum. percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed that WAP
Students were able to locate the exact forum or thread or technology had helped to build a learning community. They
message using their own personal computers, and reply or believed that WAP technology had mediated the formation of
start a new thread accordingly. a closely-knit group where everyone was able to participate
and learn from one another. Its mobility had afforded the
To explore the opportunities and limitations of WAP tech- tutor and students anytime-anywhere participation in the e-
nology for e-discussions, both qualitative and quantitative discussion forums. In the focus group interview, two stu-
methods were adopted. They included a face-to-face inter- dents commented that the WAP-enabled phones allowed
view with the tutor, a focus group interview with 6 students, them to browse and reply to messages when they were on
a questionnaire survey for all the students in the study, and a their way to or from campus, hence “making full use of our
discourse analysis of postings in the WAP-based and WEB- commuting time.” This opportunity for anytime-anywhere
based forums. participation might motivate students to participate in the e-
discussion forums as suggested by the tutor during the inter-
view.

After the introduction of the WEB-based discussion board, According to the tutor, technical problems were not the most
the average percentage of WAP-based messages per discus- critical, but the first, hurdle that must be crossed. Improving
sion forum was about 25%; that is, students were still posting the technical capabilities of the WAP-enabled phones would
messages via their WAP-enabled phones even after they encourage more participation in the WAP-based forums, and
were given the option of participating via their personal might even enhance the quality of WAP-based messages.
computers. The percentage of redundant messages (not re- From the analysis of the WAP-based and WEB-based fo-
lated to the forums) for WAP-based and WEB-based forums rums, it was found that there was a larger proportion of high
was low at about 2% and 1.5% respectively. The students in quality messages in the WEB-based forums than the WAP-
the focus group interview felt that WAP-technology was a based ones.
complement to WEB-technology, rather than a replacement.
One student elaborated that the WAP-enabled phones should Jonassen’s (2000) rubrics for quality messages in the catego-
be used together with the networked computers to tap into ries of accuracy, coherence and relevance were used in the
the advantages of both tools for e-discussions or learning. analysis. To qualify as a high-quality message, it must, first,
According to him, WAP technology allowed him to “discuss be clear, accurate and supported by evidence and theories.
on the move” whereas WEB technology provided him “a Second, it must show coherency, meaning that the issues and
better overview of the discussion.” comments are clearly explained and well elaborated. Third,
if it is responding to a message, it must clearly elaborate,
Based on the WAP-based and WEB-based messages posted, contradict, modify or relate specifically to that message.
the average number of words posted for the former was 16 Two students in the focus group stated that, due to the tech-
and the latter 50. The students in the focus group com- nical constraints of the WAP-enabled phones, they “just
mented that WEB-based messages were lengthier than WAP- wanted to go straight to the point and get our messages
based messages due to the constraints of the WAP-enabled across.” Such a mindset might explain the lower quality
phones and the opportunities provided by the personal com- messages (relative to WEB-based messages) found in the
puters to address these constraints. There were also more WAP-based forums.
perspective-taking and description of context in the WEB-
based messages than the WAP-based ones. WAP-based From the WAP-based messages that were analyzed, the stu-
messages were usually straight to the point with very little dents in the study appeared to have developed a language of
elaboration and perspective-taking. Hence, WAP technology their own to work around the technical constraints of the
has supported and has been supported by WEB technology to WAP-enabled phones. Students developed their own ver-
mediate e-discussion and build a learning community. Al- sions of short forms such as “stu” for “students,” “cher” for
though there may be technical limitations to WAP technol- “teacher,” “n” for “and,” “chem” for “chemistry,” and “2”
ogy (to be discussed in the next section), they may be over- for “to.” Also, there were omissions of subjects, such as “I”,
come when WAP technology is used to complement WEB and improper use of grammar, punctuation and tenses. For
technology. example, a student wrote: “he needs to find out what q his
stud cant ans n r those q too diff 4 them."
Limitations of WAP Technologies The language that was used in the WAP-based forum discus-
sion is a unique one. It is not a feature in formal writing nor
The main limitation of WAP technology according to the does it resemble the messages found in the WEB-based fo-
students in the study was the technical problems of using the rum. Table 2 provides a comparison of a WAP-based and
WAP-enabled phones. These problems included short life WEB-based message. According to the students in the focus
span of the phone battery, difficulties in logging into the group interview, they adopted such a language to save time
WAP-based forums, slow transmission, failure to send and and effort when using the WAP-enabled phones. When the
the need to re-send messages, and navigational problems. In students were asked how they could comprehend this form of
the survey, all students agreed or strongly agreed that it was language, they claimed that they had learned it from one an-
difficult to read and browse the messages on the small screen other when using the short message system (SMS) feature.
of the phone. Eighty-five percent of them felt that it was And since most of them were very familiar with SMS before
difficult to key in messages using the WAP-enabled phones. the study, they actually transferred this “skill” to WAP-based
In fact, there were 6 students who did not take part in the e- discussions and engaged in constructive sharing of ideas and
discussions until the WEB-based forums were introduced. knowledge.

Table 2: An Abstract of WAP and WEB Messages
(Note: This is an original transcript from the forums)
WAP messages WEB messages
“how abt ask stud 2 present wat hav ben “Perhaps what he can do is to tell them to focus
learnt in gps,b4 test.stud learn thru inter- on certain parts of the website, give them the
actn,1 mtd of social constru?” SIOs.. so that they know they have achieved
something! And then make them do discussion
on the topic in groups, come back to school and
do the experiments so that they can digest the
information better! and then he can test them.
Not possible to just make them study a totally
new topic without proper guidance. students will
be students.”
Conclusion To make WAP-based discussions a more successful online

communication technology for education, we must continu-
The study has explored the opportunities and limitations of ously refine our research plans and explore future areas of
WAP technology in mediating e-discussions to build a research. More studies may be conducted to explore the pos-
learning community. Although WAP technology offered sible ways to make WAP technology a successful social and
anywhere-anytime discussions, the technical problems en- cognitive tool for facilitating individual learning and en-
countered when using the WAP-enabled phones hindered hancing the social construction of knowledge. The technical
participation in the e-discussions. The complementary use of aspects of the WAP-enabled phones may also need to be
WAP technology with WEB technology may address some considered seriously in the future development of WAP
of these problems. The use of a language that is informal, technology with respect to e-discussions and/or learning.
conversational, and free from grammatical rules also helps to These will then help to establish guidelines for integrating
address the problems of keying in messages when using the emerging technologies into education.
WAP-enabled phones and the short battery life span.
References
Bednar, A.K., Cunningham, D., Duffy, T.M. & Perry, J.D. (1992), ‘Theory into practice: How do we link?’ In T.M. Duffy &
D. Jonassen (Eds.), Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction: A Conversation. Hillsdale, New Jersey, Lawrence Erl-
baum Associates.
Jonassen, D.H. (2000), Computers as Mindtools for Schools: Engaging Critical Thinking. Columbus, OH, Prentice-Hall.
More studies may be conducted to explore the possible ways to make

WAP technology a successful social and cognitive tool for facilitating
individual learning and enhancing the social construction of knowledge.

Live TV for Support of Student Exam Preparation:
A Pilot Study at Anadolu University’s Distance Education System
Prof. Dr. Ugur Demiray

Asst. Prof. Dr. Ozden Cademir
Asst. Prof. Dr. Ayse Inceelli
The Open Education Faculty, Anadolu University, Eskisehir-Turkey
This article tries to explain the benefits of the Open Educa- The Study
tion Faculty’s (OEF) Live TV Programs for Students during
The purpose of this study was to find out viewing conditions,
their preparing for examinations. These programs broadcast
user habits, perceptions and expectations from participants
just one week before the midterm, final and make-up exams.
using PELTB. The study tested the assumption that PELTB
The survey is administered by a questionnaire applied via
can help students find answers to their questions and gain
Internet for 2580 OEF students. 578 responses were gathered.
better understanding. A questionnaire was created, delivered
and collected via email and included five open-ended and 36
Introduction multiple choice questions.
Since 1982, Anadolu University has been one of the top
leading institutions to use every possible technological ca- All in all, 2580 registered e-mail addresses were used with
pacity for its wide scale target audience (Demiray, 1998, the help of Anadolu University Computer Based Education
p.14). The Anadolu University Open Education Faculty Unit and OEF Public Relations Center. Answers from these
(OEF) established four main services (Acıkogretim Fakultesi, addresses were collected until June 10, 2000. In total, 578
2000, p.2): answers were gathered of which 464 were scientifically cor-
rect. Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet.
• Course Books
• Academic Counseling Services Findings
• Computer-based Academic Counseling Services The sample group is mainly male, 21-30 age group, sopho-
• Television Education Programs more, enrolled in OEF in the last five years, working, and
living mainly in 3 big cities. They reported their employment
Besides published materials, (Demiray, U, 2000, p.148) tele- areas computer, management or free.
vision plays an important supportive role. Every year Ana-
dolu University, refreshes its TV programs and creates ap- Watching Levels and Conditions
proximately 300 new ones. Between 1983 and 1996, 2098
TV course programs were produced by 354 directors and
! TRT TV4 broadcasts were not watched clearly by sam-
anchored by 794 staff. (Hakan et al, 1996, p.4) To date there
ple group throughout the year; and 62.2 % of sample did
are about 3000 TV programs. Each program is no more than
not watch OEF TV courses at all.
20 minutes to maintain student motivation.
! Those watching were mainly males.
In cooperation with Turkish Radio Television (TRT), Ana-
dolu University broadcasts its own educational programs
! Hours and dates on TRT TV4 through the year were not
from TRT TV4 Channel. (Demiray, E. et al, 2000, p.2)
convenient for almost fifty percent of the sample.
Meanwhile, students use the Internet to find out their TV
course schedule.
! People watching PELTB were mainly males
Live broadcasts play an important role. Right before the
! Male respondents believe that PELTB is useful in com-
exam period, "Preparation for Exams Live Television Broad-
parison to female respondents.
casts" programs (PELTB) take place for the OEF Economics
and Business Administration Faculties students. (Ozgur,
! PELTB hours and dates were mainly inconvenient for
2000, p.5) Specialists in each course answer students live
sample.
questions. Students may also use fax as well as toll free tele-
phone calls to pose their questions.

! There is not a big difference between males and females tive thoughts for better communication between students
who found dates for PELTB inconvenient. and the specialist.
! Those who did not find hours for PELTB convenient ! Respondents who thought number of questions not
were in the older age group. enough or not sure found live broadcast generally posi-
tive.
! Sample group suggested PELTB to be 2, 3 or 4 weeks
before the exams and to be between 19-22 hours. ! One fifth of respondents who did not find the number of
questions enough thought that they must have a chance
! Telephone numbers or lines, live broadcast hours, and to discuss them at a place like the classroom. Respon-
number of courses were found to be insufficient. dents finding the number of questions enough thought
the presentation should remain unchanged.
! Males preferred PELTB to be more than one week com-
pared to females. ! Respondents who did not find the number of questions
enough on PELTB thought that if the presentation style
! Both males and females preferred longer hours for each changes, they would be more active. This number is
course, generally more than one hour. more than the number of respondents who found the
number of questions is enough.
! Males preferred a greater number of courses for PELTB
compared to females. ! Respondents who found the number of questions are
enough are mainly male.
PELTB Content and Presentation
! One-tenth of respondents who found the number of
! Students preferred questions to cover all the subjects. questions were not enough were ready to pay for and be
active in the live program.
! The group declared that questions at PELTB were not
covering all the subjects and half of them tried to ask a ! Questions on PELTB were considered helpful for an
question but could not reach those responsible. understanding of the subjects by 50% of students; 25%
were not sure.
! Ten percent of respondents who thought questions cov-
ered all the subjects and 30% of respondents who ! Almost all students tried to reach specialists responsible
thought questions didn’t cover all the subjects thought for answering questions, but they were unable to do so.
that their exams were affected because of that.
PELTB’s support for Exams and Students' Ex
Ex-
! One third of respondents who thought questions didn’t pectations
cover all subjects on PELTB found the broadcast posi-
tive. ! Respondents found PELTB effective for exam results.
! Four-tenths of respondents who thought questions didn’t ! Respondents who found PELTB effective for exam re-
cover all subjects on PELTB found themselves to be ac- sults found live broadcast positive.
tive in the programs.
! Fifty percent of respondents who watched PELTB
! Respondents who thought PELTB covered subjects were somehow found PELTB effective.
mainly male.
! Respondents who found PELTB effective were male.
! Respondents who thought courses on PELTB were not
enough also thought that questions by students and spe- ! Respondents who found PELTB effective think it should
cialists were not enough. have been in a live TV classroom for discussion.
! Respondents thought that specialists were dependable ! Respondents found PELTB effective in terms of com-
and good on subjects of questions. munication between specialist and students. This was
one of the most serious findings of the study.
! One fifth of respondents though that number of ques-
tions were not enough on PELTB and did not have posi-

! Respondents who found that PELTB created better program’s conditions, content, presentation and effectiveness
communication between specialist and students were on exam performance. For this reason, to make PELTB more
mainly males. effective, some suggestions can be concluded as follows:
! Respondents who found that PELTB created better ! The quality of the OEF’s broadcast channel should be
communication between specialist and students also improved.
found PELTB positive.
! TRT TV4 broadcast throughout the year should be con-
! When PELTB was considered in a wider perspective, it venient for students. They must be clearly informed
was found to be positive. about dates and hours of broadcasts. The same is true for
PELTB.
! People finding PELTB positive were mainly males.
! An hour for each course is not enough and must be in-
! One fourth of respondents who found PELTB positive creased. It may not be true for all courses but for most.
think that if its presentation is modified they will be ac- Content of the courses must cover a wider spectrum.
tive in the program. Broadcasts could be more than one each week and stu-
dents prefer 2-4 week periods. And, students’ thoughts
! Forty percent of respondents thought PELTB should on broadcasting of all courses must be pursued.
continue the way it is. 34% of them preferred discussion
and 26.2% of them are not sure. ! The number of phone and fax lines must be increased to
let more students join courses actively.
! If the presentation style is changed to classroom plat-
form for PELTB, more males than females would vol- ! Although PELTB is considered to be a good communi-
unteer. cation channel between students and specialist, other
options should be explored to develop new communica-
Main Implications and Conclusions tion skills for the students’ benefit.
To make PELTB more effective depends on the target audi- ! New presentation styles for the PELTB should be pur-
ence’s capability to receive that broadcast clearly and on the sued for the students' benefit.
REFERENCES
Acıkogretim Fakültesi Dekanligi 1999-2000 Kayit Yenileme Formlari [The Open Education Faculty's 1999-2000 Re-registration Forms],
Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
Acıkogretim Fakültesi 2000-2001 Radyo ve Televizyon Yayin Kitapcigi [1999-2000 Radio and TV Broadcasting Booklet of The Open Edu-
cation Faculty], Publications of Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
Demiray, E., Curabay, S. and Capar, B. (2000) 2000-2001 Radyo ve Televizyon Yayin Kitapcigi [2000-2001 Radio an TV Broadcasting
Booklet of The Open Education Faculty], Publications of Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
Demiray, U. (1998) A Review of the Literature on the Open Education Faculty in Turkey(1982-1997), Anadolu University Publications,
No:1015/558, Eskisehir, Turkey.
Demiray, Uğur. (2000) “Positions of Distance Education Graduates: A Case of the Open Education Faculty in Turkey”, Quarterly Review of
Distance Education, AECT Publications,1(2), 145-156, 2000, Publishing Information Age, Miami, USA.
Hakan, A., Sezgin, K., Gultekin, M. and Ozcubay, S. (1996) Acıkogretim Yayin Katalogu [Katolog of The Open Education Faculty], Ana-
dolu University Publications, No: 914/493, Eskisehir, Turkey.
Ozgur, Aydin Ziya. (2000) "TV Egitim Programlarinda Ogrenci ve Ogretici Arasindaki Etkilesime Yonelik Olarak Canli Yayinlarin Kul-
lanilmasi ve Acıkogretim Fakültesi Uygulamasi [Using Live TV Programs and Evaluation of the Interaction on Educational TV Pro-
grams Between Students and Teachers: A case Study of OEF]", A presented Paper at BTIE 2000 Education under the Informatics Te-
chologies, 15-17 May, 2000, Middle East Technical University (METU) Culture and Kongre Center, Ankara, Turkey.
Useful Internet Addresses

http://www.anadolu.edu.tr ; http://www.aof.anadolu.edu.tr

Virtual Learning: Between Imagination and Challenges
Stephen Ruth
Professor at the School of Public Policy, George Mason University
The concept of a virtual school or university is one that excites the imagination—a linkage of the best in teaching with the
newest and most powerful information and communication technology (ICT) interventions. When the vision of online
education is linked to the extensive global efforts to alleviate the “Digital Divide,” the case is more urgent: to deliver a crucial
capability to those in desperate need. The most popular textbook used in Electronic Commerce courses worldwide describes
the vision vividly:
People in the Third World countries and rural areas are now
able to enjoy ….opportunities to learn skilled professions or
earn a college degree. 1
But that noble vision is very difficult to bring to fruition. In this article I cite some challenges that confront any effort to
deliver virtual learning to developing countries and suggest how each challenge can be an opportunity.
Challenge 1:
interpret these figures. On one hand there has been a
The Bandwidth significant percentage rise in all continents—yet the base
Divide numbers for Africa are so low to begin with that it would
take a massive infusion of capacity to improve standing
No matter what definition of distance learning is used, it is relative to the other regions. If Latin American growth
usually assumed that there is a significant component that continues at the same very high rate, there could be some
involves ICT intervention. Unfortunately, many developing major changes in the balance shown in Table 1. Also, the
countries have low levels of diffusion of the most basic amount of capacity should not be confused with utilization.
components of ICT: telephones, dependable electricity, Many providers have accumulated large amounts of capacity,
personal computers, etc. and in some cases relatively low waiting for propitious times to deploy it.
availability of TV, VCR and even radio. So to assert that
bandwidth is a challenge is to state the obvious. The UNDP
Human Development report for 2001 gives an example of the Table 1: Bandwidth by Region for 2000 and 2001
bandwidth divide: Region 2000 Mbps 2001 Mbps % Growth
Africa has less international bandwidth than the Africa 649.2 1,230.8 89.6%
city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Latin America’s
international bandwidth, in turn, is roughly Asia 22,965.1 52,661.9 129.3%
equal to that of Seoul, Republic of Korea.2
Europe 232,316.7 675,637.3 190.8%
It is instructive to look at the gross bandwidth statistics by
continent to appreciate the magnitude of the divide. Table 1 Latin Am. 2,785.2 16,132.5 479.2%
gives summary data on bandwidth by continent. Africa and
Latin America combined represent less than two tenths of U.S. & Can. 112,222.0 274,184.9 144.3%
one percent of the world’s bandwidth capacity.3 Table 2 Sources: (March 1, 2002) http://www.telegeography.com
describes interregional bandwidth4 showing that developed and http://www.band-x.com/show_news.cfm?itemid=13327
regions have significant advantage. There are many ways to

Table 2: Interregional Internet Bandwidth 2001
Country Country Bandwidth (Mbps) %
Asia & Pacific Europe 1172.4 0.53
L. America &Caribbean Europe 68 0.03
United States Europe 162,250.1 73.53
Africa Europe 444.8 0.20
United States Africa 766.6 0.34
United States L. America &Caribbean 14,139.9 6.40
United States Asia & Pacific 41,820.1 18.95
220,661.9 100
Source: Packet Geography 2002. (March 2, 2002)
http://www.telegeography.com/pubs/books/pg/interregional_figure.html.
Does low national bandwidth mean low probability is vital to have a way to estimate speed, direction and desired
of success in deploying virtual learning? destination.
The implication of the bandwidth divide is not that virtual
learning is impossible in poor countries. It is often feasible Everett Rogers’ studies of technology diffusion have a direct
to use simpler, equally effective approaches that do not application to the examination of Internet use. He describes
depend as much on bandwidth. China’s trajectory in the time-phased movement of adoption and adaptation in
leveraging ICT over the 1980’s and ‘90’s has been terms of an “S-curve,” which describes a slow initial rise
exemplary. The national strategy was to begin by over time, followed by a more rapid acceleration and finally
emphasizing the simplest, most reliable form of distance a slowing toward steady state.5 Figure 1 shows S curves for
learning: correspondence courses. Gradually, they adoption of six technologies in the US, beginning with
implemented approaches that made increasing use of radio, telephone, followed by radio, television, cable television,
then TV, then VCR, then combinations of TV/VCR and VCR, Personal Computers and Internet.
CDROM, and during the past five years, extensive
application of web-based distance learning, with particular
emphasis on programs in business and engineering. By
migrating from low to higher bandwidth approaches and
leveraging technologies only when they were appropriate,
China has become a very successful user of virtual learning
technologies. This lesson can be useful for any developing
nation, and is equally applicable in more technologically
sophisticated countries.
Challenge 2: Understanding the

Trajectory of Technology Diffusion
Each country or region follows a different path in the

development and spread of technology. For one nation
technology diffusion takes place at a pace determined by
education or health policy. For another, there may be a direct
relationship between openness of government and the spread
of technology. Whatever the trajectory of technology use, it

Each of the S curves has its own special characteristics. apparent. First, few of the countries, even early deployers of
Telephone rises slowly. Radio, TV, VCR and Internet rise technology, achieve the high percentages of use reached by
very steeply. TV seems to have risen fastest, and, like phones the wealthier group. Second, there is considerable
and radio, has achieved almost 100% diffusion. (Internet is unevenness in the diffusion levels reached. While
unlikely to achieve this 100% saturation as rapidly since normalization assumes a uniform (and high) percentage of
about half the remaining non-users in the US have declared technology use, stratification is characterized by wide swings
themselves uninterested in joining the Internet.) at generally low levels, even after many years. If one accepts
the determinism inherent in Rogers’ approach, it can easily
The US example, which is roughly similar to what is lead to accepting the inevitability of poor nations having long
experienced in the other wealthy nations of the world, fits term deficits of ICT-- continuing digital divides.
into the “normalization” model of diffusion, shown in figure
2. Normalization refers to the idea that eventually all The comparison between stratification and normalization is
countries with a high level of development will rise to rough helpful in examining the potential for the success of virtual
parity in technology with one another. These nations, universities in developing nations. As in the bandwidth
regardless of when they begin to deploy the technology, can divide challenge described above, the stratification model of
expect that eventually they will have roughly equal virtual learning deployment should not lead to pessimism or
deployment percentages—to be normalized with one another. frustration in a developing nation. The assumption that
In practical terms, most of Western Western Europe, Japan, technology levels will not rise steeply does not mean that
Australia, Canada and some of the "tiger economies" in the technology cannot be leveraged to great advantage—quite
Pacific will match Figure 1 for America in a few years. In the opposite. Admitting a priori that technology levels will
fact, several of these nations have comparable or higher grow slowly can lead to much more discriminating and
percentages in these categories already. A small group of careful selections among competing ICT approaches. For
about twenty “developed” nations, representing roughly example, assume that a country will have $USD 20 million
about one fourth of the world’s population, can expect this to invest in distance learning. Among the options are:
normalization process to predict diffusion of ICT and other
technologies in the foreseeable future. • Major investments in infrastructure, like African Virtual
University (see article by Wolff in this issue of
TechKnowLogia);
• Establishment of learning centers with good equipment
and bandwidth, as in Vietnam;
• Prioritizing disciplines like business and engineering and
offering higher levels of support in these areas, as
described above in China.
The stratification model can be a sentinel or monitor for ICT

policy in a developing nation - a reminder that decisions
must be made among competing approaches and that
efficiencies can lead to results that are more valuable than
those for nations that try to do too many different things with
ICT learning resources.
Challenge 3: Striking a Balance

between High Tech and High Touch
The concept of a virtual learning environment often conjures

up the image of a person sitting comfortably at home or in
the office and achieving an educational experience that is
Stratification: The Inevitable Fate of a Poor similar to, or even superior to, being in a classroom.
Country’s Diffusion Process? Evaluating the success of such an experience has become the
But what model predicts the poorer nations’ trajectories in subject of a vast literature with as many optimists as
ICT diffusion? The most appropriate from my perspective is pessimists. The optimists use course evaluation
Rogers’ stratification model. Figure 2 shows stratification comparisons of students trained in traditional classroom
and depicts three poorer nations that embark on ICT environments and those at distance and claim that there is no
deployment at different times. Two significant differences significant difference between the treatments. So frequent
between the normalization and stratification models are

are these claims for parity that the term “No Significant Low tech/low touch examples are correspondence centers at
Difference Phenomenon” (NSDP) has been devised and a Australian Correspondence Schools
web site has been tracking new NSDP claims for several (http://www.acs.edu.au/21century/) and the University of
years.6 The pessimists respond that there is no sound Nairobi (http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/). When programs of
statistical evidence to make any claims—positive or distance learning are classified in this way it becomes easier
negative. They argue that the self selection of student to appreciate the “low band width” approaches that are
groups, lack of randomizing of the populations and other legitimate options to traditional teaching. And these
statistical problems render the results hopelessly flawed.7 simpler, more focused approaches can often have very high
One significant experiment in the United States examined utility in a poorer region, since they do not force a
twenty-five different courses and allowed the same professor technology into inappropriate surroundings, but instead
to teach the online and traditional versions of each, reducing encourage solutions that are fitted to the region’s culture and
some of the potential statistical comparison error. This traditions.
study also found no significant difference but showed that
Challenge 4: More Realistic Accounting

nearly half of the students undergoing the distance
experience were not very positive about taking another
course online.8 for the Total Cost and Yield of Virtual Learning
The differences between the optimists and the pessimists on Perhaps the most difficult problem in considering the use of
assessment of distance learning have important ramifications Virtual Learning is determining the true cost for donors and
in evaluating the effectiveness of virtual approaches in providers and true yield to customers/clients. In an article
developing nations. Many of the multilateral organizations in this journal last year, my colleague and I suggested that
(World Bank, UNDP, etc.) that sponsor distance learning both cost and yield were relatively easy to measure, if one is
seem to lean toward the optimists in their approach to willing to accept the results of the measurement.10 The yield
implementing programs of distance learning. There is a can be presented in very practical terms, like number of
general sense that this approach must be better than graduates, number of those finding jobs after training,
traditional classroom learning, since the content, learning improvements in attitudes and behaviors, salary levels before
approaches and educational tools are far superior to what is and after learning, etc. One metric not mentioned on my
currently employed. There is an implicit acceptance of the yield criteria is the students’ perception of the course’s value
idea that a technology-mediated solution is part of a nations’ or the satisfaction with the instruction. It is a well-accepted
destiny - so why not get on with it? principle of course evaluation that initial course satisfaction
predicts little. What really matters is changes in attitudes,
Changing the evaluation paradigm—a middle changes in behaviors and ultimately changes in the value of
ground for tech and touch the trained person to the organization. This Kirkpatrick
approach11 has been widely used in US businesses and is
I think that the evaluation question needs to be approached in
now being employed by World Bank and other multinational
a different way. Most of the comparisons are between
organizations. Its premise is simple—learning is supposed to
traditional classroom teaching where the teacher is face-to-
change a person; so to find out if learning is successful, the
face with the student —“high touch/no tech”—and the
change must be measured.
diametrically opposite case where the teacher is either far
away on the Internet or embedded in the courseware—“no
Cost of virtual learning is also relatively easy to compute, but
touch/high tech.” It is possible to consider many options that
true and accurate measurement demands a very disciplined
are in the middle ground between high and low tech and high
adherence to principles of accounting, including micro-
and low touch. A recent study compared hundreds of
costing and activity-based costing principles. Sponsored by
programs around the world and found that most of them
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Dr. John Milam of the
easily fitted into one of nine types –three levels of tech and
University of Virginia has developed a cost model for US
three of touch.9 For example, Stanford University’s on line
universities that literally counts every penny associated with
Electrical Engineering master’s degree
both distance and traditional approaches.12 When all the
(http://scpd.stanford.edu/scpd/programs/mastersHCP/msee.ht
costs are taken into consideration, virtual learning is
m) is the embodiment of high tech/high touch, with high
invariably more expensive than traditional approaches. The
bandwidth, high quality student services and content (and
result is not surprising. During the past twelve months there
very high cost). Graduate School of Management, Indira
have been many articles in the Chronicle of Higher
Gandhi National Open University
Education, Wall Street Journal and other publications
(http://www.ignou.com/info.htm), and Korean National
describing the decisions of universities like Columbia,
Open University (http://www.knou.ac.kr/) are low
Princeton and Duke, among many others, to cut back on
tech/moderate touch programs, offering adequate content
some distance learning activities because they were not
and relatively high levels of student interaction on Internet.
financially viable. Two systems that are viable are Britain’s

Open University and the US’s University of Phoenix, both some data points that look like Table 3. The rough estimates
highly successful financially and academically. of cost and yield are based on my examination of the open
literature, and are open to reinterpretation and review. Yet
Counting all the costs leads to a different the basic idea is that the decision process must offer options
paradigm for deployment of this type. What decision-maker would have difficulty
If we can count all the costs properly and measure the yield choosing between approaches that are high in cost and low in
with reasonable precision, how does it change the way we yield and others that are high in yield and lower in cost?
look at distance learning? First, it forces a comparison of Public policy decisions can be framed in this way for virtual
cost and yield for various alternative delivery methods. I learning as they are for other types of strategic planning.
believe such a comparison of costs and yields might result in
Table 3: Examples of Cost/Yield Comparisons for Different Distance Learning Approaches

Method Example Unit Cost Unit
Yield
Correspondence courses University of Nairobi http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/ Low Moderate
Highly developed, globally deployed DL Open University; http://www.open.ac.uk/ Moderate Very high
universities
University of Phoenix
http://online.uophx.edu/Default.asp
Traditional Teaching Standard classroom approach Moderate Moderate
Moderate tech/moderate touch Tennessee Board of Regents program (US) Moderate High
Continent-specific African Virtual University; http://www.avu.org High Low
Summary: Needed - A Willingness to Be

better to insist that Distance Learning be completely Internet
–based, or instead use occasional Internet and high levels of
Open to a More Realistic Paradigm VCRs, CD-ROMs and even correspondence courses as the
modality of choice. The latter would be low in cost and high
I have cited four challenges that are daunting in terms of in yield—an ideal combination if the government and donor
public policy options that must be considered in the context policies were so aligned.
of virtual learning. Each can be a cause for frustration and
despair, but the recommended perspective is positive and Meeting these four challenges frontally can lead to much
goal-oriented. Each of the four challenges can become a wiser allocation of scarce funds for virtual learning in
basis for strategic focus, belt-tightening and significant developing nations. A much more focused decision process
improvement. Bandwidth deficiency will be a serious is necessary, one than recognizes that the glamour of very
problem in most developing nations for a decade or more— sophisticated distance learning interventions is fleeting, even
but that does not mean that virtual learning must languish. If in the most highly endowed universities. If Columbia,
governments are able to examine the cost and yield of Princeton and Duke have become more circumspect about
various technology investments in more practical terms, the the economics of virtual learning, it behooves donors and
results can be very successful, even near term. For example, developing nations to be on guard against programs that
the World Bank’s Enlances program13 in Chile, a high emphasize short term goals and relatively gentle
tech/moderate touch approach, resulted in yield measurement standards. It is difficult to subordinate ICT
measurements that were exceptional. In this case, a structure (short-term infusions of learning software,
bandwidth deficiency was alleviated in a region for a specific hardware and programmatic assistance) to long term strategic
purpose and application—rural school children. vision. This long term view will often give surprisingly
successful cost vs. yield opportunities that can begin to be
The advantage of the tech/touch analysis is that it forces experienced early in the cycle, and continue long term
decisions that are centered on users, not donors. For success, like a gift that keeps on giving.
example, in Kampala, Uganda, at Makerere University, is it

1
Turban, Efraim, et al. Electronic Commerce 2002. Prentice Hall 2002, p 27.
2
UNDP Human Development Report 2001. Making New Technologies Work for Human Development.
http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/ (March 1, 2002), p 3.
3
http://www.telegeography.com and http://www.band-x.com/show_news.cfm?itemid=13327 (March 1, 2002).
4
Packet Geography 2002. Retrieved on February 21, 2002 from
http://www.telegeography.com/pubs/books/pg/interregional_figure.html (March 2, 2002).
5
Rogers, Everett, 1995, Diffusion of Innovations, New York 1995, Free Press.
6
Russell, Thomas L., “The No Significant Difference Phenomenon" http://teleeducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifference/.
7
Phipps, R. & Merisotis, J., What’s the Difference? A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance
Learning in Higher Education. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers, 1999.
http://www.nea.org/achievement/student/details/02.html (March 1, 2002).
8
PROJECT 25: First Semester Assessment: A Report on the Implementation of Courses Offered on the Internet as Part of
Project 25 in the Fall Semester, 1997; January 1998. http://courses.ncsu.edu/info/f97_assessment.html#fsr (March 2, 2002).
9
Ruth, S. and Giri, J., “The Distance Learning Playing Field: Do We Need Different Hash Marks?,” Technology Source,
September October 2001. http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=889 (March 2, 2002).
10
Ruth, S. and Shi, M., "Distance Learning in Developing Countries: Is Anyone Measuring Cost-Benefits", TechKnowLogia,
Volume 3, Issue 3, 2001, pp 35-38.
11
Kirkpatrick, D., Evaluating Training Processes. Second Edition. San Francisco, Berett, Kohler, 1998.
12
Ehrmann, Stephen C. and John H. Milam Jr. (1999). Flashlight Cost Analysis Handbook: Modeling Re-source Use in
Teaching and Learning with Technology. Washington, D.C.: The TLT Group.
13
http://www.redenlaces.cl/ (March 1, 2002).
There is an implicit acceptance of the idea that a

technology-mediated solution is part of a nations’
destiny - so why not get on with it?

Maureen O’Rourke
Australian National Schools Network
How can Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) be utilized to both engage students and better prepare them to
face the challenges they will meet in the world of work, social citizenship and family life? Engagement is often the easy part of
the equation when working with ICTs, as teachers around the world report students’ attraction to using this medium. Harness-
ing that engagement, developing a teaching and learning environment that genuinely prepares students for the future, and
thinking critically about the direction technology is shaping our society and social relationships are challenges that we cur-
rently face in education.
“Rules of Engagement” nectedness. If we are to prepare students so that they operate

in the world in a “multiliterate” manner, we must provide
them with opportunities to both express themselves and
It can be helpful to think about engagement from three per- make sense of the world through multiple modes of commu-
spectives: technical, practical and critical. When students nication (linguistic/textual, visual/graphical, musical/audio,
engage with ICTs at a technical level, the learning focus is spatial, gestural) sometimes all operating simultaneously.
generally on how to use specific software and hardware - the
technical possibilities. This is a necessary stage of engage- A critical level of engagement also provides students with
ment but alone will not prepare students for the challenge of opportunities to develop their understandings about the way
living in an increasingly technologized world. A practical we construct and communicate information in our society, to
level of engagement adds another dimension to the use of learn how this might differ in other societies, and to gain
ICTs as we appropriate its use to accomplish a particular control over such media themselves to the extent that they
purpose. Technical knowledge is applied when ICTs are used can make informed decisions about its use. We must teach
for practical intents such as: authoring and expression of students the language of design - principles that can be util-
ideas or feelings (e.g. publishing, presentation, visual im- ized to guide effective representation of a particular message
agery, music and sound effects); research and organization of - if students are to genuinely develop their facility to com-
information so that we can see relationships, make connec- municate with and “read” multimedia. At the critical level,
tions, predictions and recommendations; and communicating students critique the effectiveness of the communication
and collaborating with others. Schools are confidently mov- modes they have chosen to use, the appropriateness for par-
ing forward by providing a broad range of opportunities for ticular audiences, and the content of the message that has
students to engage with ICTs at a practical level. However, it actually been delivered.
is only when we couple technical and practical engagement
with a critical perspective that we genuinely prepare students Robin Williams (1994, 1998) provides budding authors in
for the future. both print and multimedia mediums with 4 simple principles
(contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity) to consider as
A critical level of engagement prepares students to “read the they design their publications. These can be used as a starting
world” as well as “read the word.” The New London Group point for critique as we encourage students to make creative
(1996) coined the term “multiliteracies” to address a need for judgments and evaluations of their own work and other
literacy learning—always inextricably connected to available communications they observe every day in the world. Being
technologies of the time—to acknowledge that new commu- literate means seeing beyond the surface, being able to make
nications media are reshaping the way we use language. This meaning in more complex ways, drawing upon life experi-
goes hand in hand with broad changes in the world that are ences, context and knowledge of the world to make sense of
increasingly characterized by local diversity and global con- what we see. A critical level of engagement must bring these

together so that ICTs are considered in terms of their role in the schooling, or
human communication and effectiveness in message trans- whether such pur- Being literate in a
mission. poses have rele- multiliteracies sense,
vance and connec-
means that students
From the Field tion to life beyond
the school. will draw on a range
At Ascot Vale Primary School in Australia, a group of teach- of knowledge and
As teachers, we
ers have begun exploring the notion of multiliteracies must also engage contexts from many
through the use of animation with their students. After pro- with ICTs at a disciplines, as well as
viding time for students to come to terms with the technical
aspects of animation, teachers at Ascot Vale begin by asking
critical level in on multiple modes of
terms of our peda-
what issues are important to students. Responses to date have gogy. This means communication.
centered on environmental concerns and global issues such examining the edu-
as child poverty. Animation is essentially about well- cational intention
constructed narrative so before harnessing the use of tech- of the tasks we set our students. For example, are we aiming
nology, students must draw on their understandings of the simply at a technical level of engagement or are we provid-
world to tease out ideas and establish a concept they want to ing opportunities for critical engagement where students are
develop. encouraged to use higher order thinking and develop deep
understandings? Do we encourage students to reflect on the
Once a concept or idea is established, students are then as- content of their work, its relevance at a local and global
sisted to devise the best way to communicate their concept to level, as well as the appropriateness of the mode of commu-
a particular audience. A script that accounts for dialogue, nication they have used to exhibit what they know, under-
movement and sound effects is developed, followed by stand and can do? We therefore must also examine our role
storyboarding of visual images that will be used. The crea- in the design of the learning environment itself and how this
tion of the animation set and props provides students with impacts the social and learning relationships that develop in
opportunities for individual expression and creativity. At this our classrooms.
point the language of design assists students to critique their
own and each other’s work, thus increasing their ability to Australian teachers, currently participating in a study on
control and manipulate the media effectively. As students Technology and Educational Change, have found that their
generally work in teams to construct animations, they de- use of ICTs has changed as they focus more on issues of
velop skills in a broad range of organizational, time man- pedagogy than on the technology itself. This is not to dis-
agement, decision-making, communication and problem count the need to learn the technical. But significant change
solving skills. There is a clear link between such skills and in student learning outcomes was not in evidence until
preparation for the world of work, citizenship and family life. change in pedagogy occurred. Early in the project, for exam-
ple, the Internet was used for research during “Literacy
The Big Picture Blocks” wherein students were asked to identify facts or
summarize from Web sites. Although students found this
more enjoyable than worksheets, academic outcomes were
This example is used in order to illustrate that what matters
often limited to students copying or slightly modifying the
in terms of students’ use of ICTs are the contexts: thinking
information they found by putting it into their own words.
and learning opportunities that teachers situate around such
use. Students need opportunities to engage in rich tasks that Teachers identified ‘regurgitation of information’ as prob-
enable them to simultaneously develop a broad range of lematic and explored this issue further with students. They
skills, knowledge and understandings about their world. Be- discovered that students felt that other authors had explained
the information better than they could. This caused teachers
ing literate in a multiliteracies sense, means that students will
to examine the way they presented tasks to students, to ex-
draw on a range of knowledge and contexts from many dis-
plore relevance, and to work out ways to make sure students’
ciplines, as well as on multiple modes of communication.
ideas, concepts and conclusions were valued in the framing
A bigger picture than a broad range of technical capacities of the task. Now teachers work to ensure that students apply
must therefore determine what students do with ICTs. Ulti- information in some way and encourage the generation of
new thinking and ideas.
mately, whether or not they can use PowerPoint, create a
Web page or make an animation is irrelevant if we don’t
consider what human purpose is accomplished by doing so. The Whole Person
In particular we must ask ourselves if such purposes are
‘school purposes' that only have meaning in the context of Use of ICTs to provide students with greater opportunities

for communication, collaboration, thinking and creativity and
also provides us with challenges in terms of authentic as- • rich, authentic tasks providing evidence of learning in
sessment. The Australian National Schools Network has re- multiple domains.
cently launched a national Authentic Learning and Digital
Portfolios project. Beginning with a focus on the whole per-
son, school communities are clarifying what young people Conclusion
should know, understand and be able to do at particular
stages of their education. They have conceived broad do- Use of ICTs in these ways leads to change in both teaching
mains, such as “Effective Communicator,” “Thinker and and learning structures, which ensure that learning is mean-
Learner,” “Creator and Designer,” “Problem Solver” etc., as ingful for students, connected to their interests and under-
cross-curricular goals that shift the focus of learning and as- standings about the world, and caters to a range of learning
sessment to the whole person. The use of digital portfolios, styles and levels of intelligence. If we are to extract maxi-
where evidence can be represented in multiple modes of mum benefit from ICTs, both in terms of engagement and
communication, is being explored as a way of capturing a learning, a futures oriented approach that prepares students to
richer picture of individual students. The project aims to ‘read’ the world and communicate through multiple modes of
bring learning and assessment together with communication is necessary preparation for functioning in an
increasingly technologized society. As students become
• students having significant control in the construction of multiliterate, constructing meaning as they simultaneously
their portfolios; draw on contextual, experiential and disciplinary knowledge
• the portfolio structure providing opportunities for feed- they have developed about the world, they increase their
back, questioning and reflection; ability to shape their own futures. Thoughtful, responsive
• assessment moving to a more central part of the learning and futures oriented teaching is a vital link in this process.
process, conducted with students rather than on them;
References and Further Reading

New London Group. 1996. A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures, Harvard Educational Review 66: 60-92.
Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (Eds). 2000. Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures. London: Rout-
ledge.
Luke, A., Matters, G., Herschell, P., Grace, N., Barrett, R., & Land, R. (2000). New Basics Project Technical Paper, [Online].
Education Queensland. Available: http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/ [2000, October 5].
Williams, R. 1994. The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice. Berkeley:
Peachpit Press.
Williams, R. and Tollett, J. 1998. The Non-Designer's Web Book: An Easy Guide to Creating, Designing, and Posting your
own Web Site. Berkeley, Peachpit Press.
If we are to extract maximum benefit from ICTs, both in terms of engagement and learn-
ing, a futures oriented approach that prepares students to ‘read’ the world and commu-
nicate through multiple modes of communication is necessary preparation for function-
ing in an increasingly technologized society.

ANALYZING COST/BENEFITS
for Distance Education Programs*
By Greville Rumble
Professor of Distance Education Management
The Open University, UK
INTRODUCTION Analysts need to understand how particular systems are

structured and work before analyzing costs.
Through cost analysis you can find out how much something
actually costs, set a budget, determine a price and compare
Types of resources used
the costs of different options. In distance education, the main
areas are
• Human resources: staff salaries and wages, the on-costs
• correspondence systems based around text (print-based), of employing staff (e.g. employment taxes, insurance
• educational/instructional television and radio systems, payments, and staff benefits).
possibly supported by audio and video cassette programs
or involving radio, telephone and e-mail feedback loops, • Premises and accommodation: purchase of land, con-
• multi-media systems (text, audio, video, and computer- struction of new buildings and their infrastructure.
based materials), and ° Buying existing premises and adapting/renovating
• e-education systems, delivering computer-based multi it.
media materials and communications synchronously and ° Renting accommodation.
asynchronously. ° Running costs of buildings and grounds (e.g. utili-
ties, repairs and maintenance).
COSTING DISTANCE EDUCATION • Equipment and furniture: note, small durable items
such as staplers and hole-punches are consumables.
Cost analysis has its basis in cost accounting, with rules and
recommended practice. The analyst must identify • Stocks, supplies, consumables and expenses:
• the activities to be costed, ° Stocks (inventory) are holdings of raw materials,

• the resources used, and how they behave, components and goods, including work-in-progress
• where necessary, overhead costs, and finished goods (paper, audiocassettes, and
• where necessary, joint product costs, texts).
• where appropriate, annualize capital costs, and ° Supplies are materials for which it is impossible, or
• the factors that drive costs (cost drivers). not worth the trouble, determining a cost per unit of
production (e.g. lubricants for machinery).
Activities in distance education systems ° Consumables are materials used by the organization
but not incorporated into its products (e.g. office
• Creating or acquiring, producing and delivering learning stationery).
materials ° Expenses are the cost of something other than
• Providing administrative and pedagogic student support stocks, supplies, and consumables (travel, postage,
services fees to non-payroll consultants).
• Providing institutional management to support the
above. Cost analysis places a money value on the resources used. It
may be difficult however to relate the cost of activities to

either the budget (a statement of expected expenditure over a The intermediate products (lectures, materials) are a joint
period, normally a year), or the accounts (a statement of what product cost, supporting both courses offered on-campus and
has been spent over a period, normally a year). Generally it is at a distance. How much of the cost of the intermediate prod-
better to use information from the accounts, since these re- ucts should be allocated to each?
flect what has actually been spent. Bear in mind the follow-
ing: • Give one of the end products a "free-ride."
• Share the costs equally.
• The structure of budgets and accounts may have little to • Apportion the costs, usually according to the number of
do with how activities are structured. students per program.
• Budgets and accounts may reflect traditional organiza-
tional structures, rather than the products and services Recurrent versus non-recurrent costs
arising from expenditure.
• Activities may run over the budget or accounting finan- Recurrent costs occur yearly; non-recurrent costs are incurred
cial years. for a fixed period only. Permanent, salaried staff is a recur-
• It can be difficult to estimate how much time staff rent cost; short-term consultants are a non-recurrent cost.
worked on a project.
• Some data – for example, personal salary details – may Capital costs
not be available to analysts. They may need to use stan-
dard costs.
Many expenditures are consumed as they are paid for
• Accommodation costs may be unclear. Analysts may
(monthly salary bill, expenses), or are treated as if they will
have to work out a standard accommodation cost per
be consumed (consumables, supplies). These are revenue
square meter/foot, and apply this to the floor area occu-
costs. Expenditures such as equipment, furniture and build-
pied by the work group. Alternatively, use commercial
ings have an ongoing value, collectively referred to as capital
rental rates per square meter/foot of office accommoda-
expenditure.
tion.
• Any assumptions must be clearly described.
Because capital items last for several years, it arguably gives
a fairer picture of the financial situation to spread costs over
Direct versus overhead costs their lifetime. For example:
Developing, producing and delivering a product or service • Permanent buildings: usually over 50 years (Tempo-
involves direct costs, which result directly from offering the rary buildings are spread over their expected life).
product or service. The cost of a course involves the salaries, • Furniture: usually over 10 years.
expenses, and accommodation of staff involved in its devel- • Equipment: vehicles are usually over eight to 10 years,
opment; the distribution of course materials involves the cost computers over three to five years (five being the com-
of packaging and postage/delivery. However, many activities mon, but in my view, excessively long, period), central
(management, finance, personnel, estate management) are not servers over three to four years, network electronics over
directly related to offering a product or service. These are five to six years.
true overhead costs, sometimes called non-value-added ac- • Distance education courseware: over the expected
tivities. Some activities, such as basic student administrative lifetime of a course.
processes (enrollment, advising, examinations), are effec- • Systems development (for example, the cost of devel-
tively overhead costs because they have not been linked as a oping a new suite of computerized student administrative
direct cost to a product or service. support systems): over its expected lifetime.
Joint product costs A fair comparison between traditional and distance forms of
education, or between different kinds of distance education,
Products and services in a distance education system are usu- requires measuring the opportunity cost of capital. The as-
ally solely for its own benefit. The main exceptions are sumption is that, had the money not been spent on capital
items, it could have been lent at the prevailing interest rate to
• instructional television and radio systems that broadcast generate income. Economists annualize the capital costs to
(or record) traditional classroom lectures for distance find their "true" cost. There is a formula for doing this (see
education use, and Rumble, 1997: 45-6). There are also animalization tables for
• on-campus flexible learning approaches that use materi- given capital lifetimes and interest rates.
als developed for distance education to support inde-
pendent study by on-campus students.

Cost drivers, fixed costs and variable costs of these macro-level studies assume a particular mix of media
and technologies, without questioning whether a different
Cost drivers are factors that influence the total level of costs mix might result in a lower costing system. Factors affecting
– for example, the number of courses, the volume of materi- the cost of face-to-face education include whether small tuto-
als used and services offered. Unchanging costs are fixed rials, seminars, lectures, or independent and resource-based
costs; for example, an institution needs only one Chief Ex- learning strategies are adopted.
ecutive Officer. Costs that fluctuate directly with the level of
activity that drives them are variable costs; for example, Each technology used also has a different cost structure. Take
every extra applicant generates additional paperwork. Semi- audio. The cost of delivering a radio program is totally inde-
variable costs are fixed within a relevant range, but an in- pendent of the number of students that listen to it, mainly
crease in expenditure is triggered when activity levels pass a involving a fixed cost and no institutionally carried variable
threshold. The triggering mechanism may be automatic, or costs (unless you have to provide listeners with radios). With
subject to some latitude. For example, the institutional norm audiocassettes, there is an immediate variable cost per stu-
may be one tutor for every 20 students. An additional tutor dent (or learning group) to cover the costs of the cassette, its
may not be appointed if there are 21 students, but will be as packaging and postage. There may also be a reception cost –
student numbers move towards 40. the cost of audiocassette players, assuming you provide
these. Analyzing the break-even point (in number of users)
One of the tenets of activity costing is accurate identification will help establish the number of students at which audiocas-
of factors driving costs. Crude models emphasizing just a few sette delivery becomes more expensive than radio transmis-
variables (e.g. registered students, courses in development sion.
and courses in presentation) are all right for "back-of-the-
envelope" costing, but can seriously distort resource alloca- Most of these comparisons focus only on the relative cost-
tion and cost analysis. They do not allow managers to iden- efficiency of systems, institutions or technologies. A system
tify likely costs in sufficient detail, to manage budgets or is more cost-efficient than another is if the unit cost of its
analyze costs usefully. output is lower than the unit cost of the system with which it
is being compared. Most cost-efficiency studies assume that
The concepts of fixed and variable costs are central to budg- the quality of the output is constant, and that it is just effi-
eting and cost analysis, in particular to understanding the ciency that varies. However, as there are usually differences
behavior of average costs and to cost/volume/profit analysis. in output quality, you should also measure effectiveness and
When teaching small numbers of students, face-to-face relate this to cost.
teaching almost invariably has a lower average cost per stu-
dent. At high activity levels, distance education tends to have Measuring cost-efficiency
the lower average cost (see Figure 1). The Basic Cost Func-
tion and the Average Cost Function (see Rumble, 1997: 35), The cost-efficiency of two or more educational systems is
usually measured by comparing:
Average cost per student, by dividing the total annual cost

of the institution by the number of registered students in that
year. This assumes that within an institution, the teaching-
learning experience of all students is similar. However:
• The cost of educating someone in a laboratory subject

may be much higher than the cost of educating someone
in the social sciences.
• Some students are full-time, others part-time. The cost
per student may need to be adjusted to a standard, usu-
ally the cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) student,
capture this relationship. equated to a notional course load (credit points/course
hours per year).
COMPARING SYSTEM COSTS
Average cost per graduate. Consider the following:
What comparisons are made
• Variances in the cost of different subjects will affect the
costs per graduate.
The commonest comparison is the costs of a distance educa-
tion system with a traditional classroom-based system. Many

• The length of a course (in years) may vary. Medical dent performance in four areas, applying weighting to each
training takes longer to complete than an arts degree. score to derive an overall score (Table 1).
Also, there are jurisdictional differences – a Bachelor’s
degree takes three years in Wales, but four years in
Scotland.
It is not enough to multiply the cost per student by the num-

ber of years that it takes to graduate; not all students gradu-
ate. The dropout cost needs to be considered, by taking ac-
count of the regulations governing student progress in par-
ticular cases (see Rumble, 1997: 125 for an example).
Cost per Student Learning Hour (SLH). Hülsmann (2000)

provides a useful framework for looking at the relative costs
of media. To establish the number of SLHs studied by stu-
dents, you take the number of SLHs course developers be-
lieve are required (this approach is usually related to credit
hours). The drawback is that the resulting cost per SLH
(course) measure is unrelated to the costs of materials devel-
oped to support the course. To deal with this, Hülsmann uses
the cost per SLH (media) to analyze the develop- Attaching a cost to learning gain. In Wagner (1982: 43-
ment/production, delivery/reception and costs of courses by 4), University X spends UK£5,000 on teaching 25 students
media, with different measures for each (print, video, etc.). economics (Table 2).
The total cost for each media is then divided by the number
of SLHs that the media gives rise to.
Measuring cost-effectiveness
Measurement against a standard: the ratio of the actual to

the possible or ideal outcome. If the ideal is that 100% of
students pass, and the effectiveness of the program is 82%,
then out of every 100 candidates, 82 have passed.
Measurement of relative effectiveness: compares the effec-

tiveness of distance education against traditional education
by comparing graduation rates within a period.
Measurement of learning gain looks at the improvement in

students’ performance over the period of their studies. This The learning gain is 25% (the difference between an average
compares their qualifications on entry (or by a pre-test) with entry test score of 30% and an average exit score of 55%).
their final examination results. This can be difficult when University Z spends £10,000 teaching 60 students economics,
students enter with a variety of qualifications, or because of with a learning gain of 15%. University Z is the most expen-
the diverse units of measurement used to measure teaching sive in total cost, but its average cost per student is less than
and learning effectiveness. Comparisons between institutions University X (i.e. it is more cost-efficient). However, Univer-
are also more difficult if the standard of the end qualification sity X is more cost effective. It has an average learning gain
(say, a degree) varies from one institution to another. Cowan of 25% against University Z’s 15%, and if we divide the av-
(1985) suggests working with components of the process of erage cost per student by the average percentage point learn-
education, rather than with the whole course. ing gain in each university, we find that University X spends
£8.00 per learning point gain against £11.13 at University Z.
Measuring overall effectiveness across a number of vari-
ables. Nielsen and Tatto (1993: 121) report on the effective-
ness of the Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia’s teacher training MEASURING THE BENEFITS OF
program in terms of student scores on exit tests, compared DISTANCE EDUCATION
with comparable face-to-face programs. They measured stu-

Quantitative access: Distance education can increase enrol- Cost-efficiency: Distance education may have a lower cost
ment at all levels of formal education, in non-formal settings, per student/per graduate than traditional approaches (Rumble,
and for training. Measure its contribution by establishing a 1997: 134-160), but as dropout rates tend to be higher in dis-
proportion of total national places provided through distance tance education, the average cost per graduate tends to be
means at an institution. higher than the average cost per student. However, e-
education approaches have different economies of scale from
Equal access: Distance education can meet the needs of re- other forms of distance education (see Rumble, 2001).
mote communities, those whose jobs prevent them from at-
tending regular classes, or those who are tied to the home. Economies of scale and scope: Distance education provides
Survey students and potential learners to find out how many economies of scale at the early stages of program expansion,
cannot study by traditional means. as fixed costs are spread across more and more students.
Thereafter, economies tend to come from economies of
Quality of the educational experience: Distance education scope.
students may have access to teaching materials and lecturers
not otherwise available, and student support services can Benefits to students: A little researched area. Are the life-
provide high quality advice and support. The major drawback time earnings of distance students the same, more, or less
is the lack of opportunity for teacher-student or student-to- than their counterparts from traditional institutions? Distance
student dialogue, but electronic conferencing systems (email, education students can earn as they study but may start their
computer conferencing and computer-based video education later in life, when they have fewer years to earn at
conferencing) make e-education increasingly attractive. Dis- a higher level. The ability of distance education institutions
tance education learning materials may seem limited without to garner higher paid jobs for their graduates has been ques-
access to a library, but e-libraries can help with this. tioned. What studies exist, however, suggest that distance
students do benefit financially.
REFERENCES
Bates, A. W. (1995) Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education, London, Routledge.
Cowan, J. (1985) "Effectiveness and efficiency in higher education," Higher Education, 14, pp. 235-9.
Eicher, J.C., Hawkridge, D., McAnany, E., Mariet, F. and Orivel, F. (1982) The Economics of New Educational Media, Volume
3: Cost and Effectiveness Overview and Synthesis, Paris, The UNESCO Press.
Hülsmann, T. (2000) The Costs of Open Learning: a Handbook, Oldenburg, Bibliotheks- und Informationssystem der Univer-
sität Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.
Jamison, D., Klees, S. J., and Wells, S.J. (1976) The Costs of Educational Media. Guidelines for Planning and Evaluation,
Washington, D.C., US Agency for International Development.
Jamison, D., Klees, S. J., and Wells, S.J. (1978) The Costs of Educational Media. Guidelines for Planning and Evaluation,
Beverly Hills, Sage Publications.
Neilsen, H. D. and Tatto, M. T. (1993) "Teacher upgrading in Sri Lanka and Indonesia," in Perraton, H. (Ed.) (1993) Distance
Teaching for Teacher Training, London, Routledge.
Rumble, G. (1997) The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page.
Rumble, G. (2001) "The Costs and Costing of Networked Learning," Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5 (2), Oc-
tober 2001, pp.75-96. http://www.aln.org/
Scott, P. (1997) "The postmodern university?," in Smith, A. and Webster, F. (Eds.) (1997) The Postmodern University? Con-
tested visions of higher education in society, Buckingham, Open University Press.
UNESCO (1977) The Economics of New Educational Media, Paris, The UNESCO Press.
UNESCO (1980) The Economics of New Educational Media, Volume 2: Cost and Effectiveness, Paris,
The UNESCO Press.
Wagner, L. (1982) The Economics of Educational Media, London, The Macmillan Press.
*
Adapted from http://www.col.org/Knowledge/ks_costs.htm by permission of The Commonwealth of Learning

Bridging the Generation Gap:
The Move Towards a 3G Wireless World
Tressa Stephen Gipe
It wasn’t long ago that wireless mobile phones made their • 144kb/sec-2 megabits (mb)/sec speed for packet and
debut, but already the original analog models of the 80s and circuit data
early 90s seem primitive – no data, no multimedia, just • always-online data availability
voice. In the 1990s, analog wireless, which is referred to as • global roaming
the first generation (1G) of wireless applications, was sup- • high-speed Internet
planted by the second and current generation (2G) of wire- • videoconferencing
less, which allows for digital voice services, one-way data • navigation/mapping systems
transmissions, enhanced calling features (caller ID, etc.), and • high-capacity email (send and receive)
speeds of about 10 kilobits (kb)/sec. The second generation
• phone calls/fax
has begun to yield to 2.5G devices that feature enhanced ca-
• video and television streaming
pacity to receive phone calls/fax and email; send/receive
large messages; enable Internet browsing, updates, and navi- • high quality voice transmission
gation information; and run speeds between 64 and • common billing/user profiles
144kb/sec. 2.5G has proven particularly popular in Europe
and Asia, where mobile telephony penetration rates have Most important is the fact that, in theory, users can take ad-
grown exponentially in recent years. vantage of all these features simultaneously in a mobile envi-
ronment. For example, while sitting on a train during a vid-
To many in the wireless business, the past is but a prelude to eoconference, an executive could check a fact on the Internet
the most impressive version of wireless applications yet: and receive an update presentation by email, all at the same
third generation (3G). 3G is a concept that lingers between time. A student could view homework assignments, send
reality – countries like Japan have already begun imple- emails to friends, check movie times at the local cinema, and
menting some 3G-based prototype systems – and fantasy even make reservations at a favorite restaurant, all from the
because so many of the applications, connections, and inter- same device. 3G systems could also allow a person making
faces have yet to be realized as practically marketable de- calls using a local carrier in France to receive the same bill-
vices. 3G not only has important implications in promoting ing and call detail information as they would in Brazil.
the seamless convergence of Internet, high-speed broadband,
and the convenience of mobility, it also has potential uses in In the foreseeable future, possible applications for wireless
promoting efficiency, interoperability, and unprecedented devices include the obvious customization of laptops, tablets,
information-sharing on a mobile basis. personal digital assistants (PDAs), voice, ruggedized de-
vices,* and wearable computers. However, many analysts
predict a phasing out of single-use devices in favor of multi-
Features and Applications functional products. So far, companies like Fujitsu, Nokia,
Alcatel, and DoCoMo are still showing concept devices that
The movement towards 3G is highly competitive in the resemble slick hybrid phones and PDAs, but the future could
wireless industries. Many of the large mobile and telephone bring anything as science and technology advance towards
carriers, including Verizon, SprintPCS, Vodafone, SK (South more efficient and miniaturized device components. For ex-
Korea) Telecom, and DoCoMo, are allotting considerable amples of concept designs, see:
resources to the preparation of 3G products and implementa- http://www.3gnewsroom.com/html/images/index.shtml.
tion. The 3G allure is obvious because it has vast potential
for creative configurations of nearly every type of mobile
application. Key features of 3G include or will include:

Clearly, 3G wireless devices also have potential applications lightweight device? Is the keyboard built-in or attached?
in nearly all economic sectors. Strong growth is predicted What kind of screen would be most readable? What kind of
for 3G services and products in such areas as educational battery can accommodate multiple energy-hungry applica-
services (wireless university systems and long-distance edu- tions? Regardless of the impressive capabilities afforded by
cation), health care (emergency systems, record keeping, 3G, average users are still leery of tiny keyboards, miniature
billing), retail (inventory, promotional, warehousing), field screens, batteries that add extra weight, and devices requiring
services (maintenance and repair of telecommunications too many attachments. Broader physical limitations also ex-
networks), transport (shipping, logistics, cargo management), ist. For example, spectrum availability is currently con-
and military (battlefield logistics, data tracking, equipment strained by the fact that the physical theoretical maximum
maintenance). has a finite capacity, putting some applications out of reach
for the time being.
Challenges to Implementation Companies must also consider that in an age of cyber attacks
The implementation of 3G is complicated by the fact that and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, many businesses
wireless standards are not necessarily the same in every and customers are rightfully concerned about adequate secu-
country, particularly the United States where rity for 3G devices that transmit large amounts of data. Many
the move to 3G has been impeded by political of these complex security concerns are being
issues with incumbent users and spectrum re- addressed or will be addressed by the combined ef-
allocation. Even though some analysts have forts of individual companies, industry groups,
touted 3G as a way to create harmonized global government authorities, and multinational organi-
wireless standards, irregularities will continue zations like the International Telecommunications
to pose problems in the near term. In fact, Union (ITU) as 3G gains greater worldwide pres-
there are three main types of 3G systems at ence over the next three to five years.
present: Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000, and EDGE
(Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution), all A Bright Future
of which are designed to allow easy switching For 3G wireless, it is not a question of if, but a
between standards. Despite these variations, the question of when and how implementation will
similar base of all 3G standards is a major step occur. Around the world in countries like
in facilitating the primary goal of a smoother Switzerland, Australia, Slovenia, Malaysia, Korea,
global wireless network that allows for more and Greece, 3G mobile auctions have been held in
diverse, but consistent services for customers order to begin implementing the proper
and businesses. infrastructure for 3G wireless. Many plans aim for
full implementation by 2005 or 2006, with some countries,
Carriers are also challenged to develop products that are such as Japan and many in the European Union, already
compelling, yet profitable in 3G systems, which are ex- gaining a head start on the process. Although recent global
tremely expensive to implement and maintain. The age-old economic downturn has forced some modification of 3G
problem of sheer physics (also known as the “form factor”) rollouts and product development schedules, the future of 3G
remains a barrier in creating useful, yet portable products. remains bright because of the fundamental technological
For example, how do you fit all the necessary equipment for drive toward converging wireless media into one seamless
high-speed video, voice, and computing into one small, experience.
Resources:
DoCoMo Research: http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/corporate/rd/tech_e/mult01_e.html
Fujitsu Design Concepts for 3G Devices
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/3G/resources/future/Fujitsu%20IMT-2000%20HANDSETS%20PICS.pdf
International Telecommunications Union – About 3G: http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/3G/index.html
Mobile3G.com: http://www.mobile3G.com
National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) - 3G Introduction
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/threeg/3gintro.htm
3Gnewsroom: http://www.3gnewsroom.com
3G Newsroom (Future Terminal Designs): http://www.3gnewsroom.com/html/images/index.shtml
*
Portable devices designed to withstand high impact, extreme weather, or other unusual circumstances.

Uru y’s “Aulas Galileo ”
Heresy or Innovation?
Soledad MacKinnon
Aimee Verdisco
Education Unit
Inter-American Development Bank
The line separating innovation from heresy can be thin. The It is within this context that traditional technical tracks be-
novelty of technology in education may have worn off. Yet came the “basic technological cycle” (BTC) in grades 7-9
unless conditions are right – from the policy context, to the (the last cycle of obligatory education), and the “bachillera-
pedagogic model, to the training of the teaching and admin- tos” in industrial trades became technological bachilleratos.3
istrative staff and sequencing of the technology in the teach- The key word is technological. To wit, the technical schools
ing-learning process –novelty and innovation can quickly across the country were the first to be endowed with comput-
turn to heresy. Numerous examples exist, e.g., computers in ers.
schools that serve as little more than word processors, and
CD-ROMS and other curricular supports tangentially related Thus, with the stroke of a pen, technical education regained
to learning goals. After all, there is little to justify the in- much of its long-lost prestige, attracting students from socio-
vestments in educational technology for the sake of the tech- economic strata previously shunning this educational option.
nology. In the end, it is the educational side of the equation And its evolution is telling. No longer the option for those
that matters. who lag behind, or for those who come from the lowest
quintiles of the population, the BTC has become an option
This article1 speaks to some of these issues. Drawing on the for all, enrolling, to date, more than 13,000 urban students.
example of the “Aulas Galileo” in Uruguay, it describes how Not bad in a small, overwhelmingly urban country.
the use of lower-end technologies has had a higher-end im-
pact on the nature and profile of technical education in Uru- On the more concrete
guay. Named after the Italian heretic/innovator/scientific side of things, the Au- The Aulas Galileo are
revolutionary, the “aulas” embody the ideal of real-world las Galileo have where the “technical” of
experimentation and inquiry. brought a new and
completely different the old-style, hands-on
Policy Context meaning to vocational technical education
education. From a cur- meets the “technologi-
ricular standpoint, the
Technical education in many countries, and Uruguay is no basic technological cal” and solid skills
exception, has long suffered from a lack of prestige. Seen as cycle parallels the gen- formation of the new
the dead-end educational option for poor or academically less eral cycle in most
gifted students, technical education in many instances has every way but one. In curriculum.
been doubly plagued: poor academic preparation and poor addition to the four
occupational training. In Uruguay, overall sector reforms areas of knowledge
(initiated in 1996) have led to the transformation and mod- present in this cycle, the BTC offers a fifth area: technology4
ernization of all levels of education, technical education in- (which, in the general cycle, is substituted by art and music).
cluded, with an emphasis on good academics and solid skills The Aulas Galileo are where the “technical” of the old-style,
formation throughout.2 hands-on technical education meets the “technological” and
solid skills formation of the new curriculum. Heresy? Far

from it. The “aulas” are particularly innovative, providing a school in Maldonado take as their starting point a suspension
hands-on and experimentally based learning method to drive bridge recognized as a local “patrimony,” replicate it, simu-
home important principles and foundations of the national late movement across it, etc.
curricula.
Physically, an Aulas Galileo are located in large, open
spaces, such as remodeled and adapted warehouses or work-
The Aulas shops formally used for the older-style technical education.
In these areas, students find all the equipment required for all
The Aulas Galileo are workshops. They stand in stark con- phases of their projects. Although the general themes of an
trast to the workshops reminiscent of technical education aula can vary, the inputs remain quite the same. For example,
tracks of times past. The aulas provide the inputs - from ca- in the Nutrition Workshop, taught in the first year, the stu-
bles, to semiconductors, to electrical panels and switches - dents learn about diets, illnesses related to eating, and the
for a multiplicity of projects specifically dimensioned to characteristics of the food industry (processing, bottling,
connect theories with experiments, promote teamwork, and commercialization, and costs). In most all instances, these
allow for the hands-on exploration and understanding of core experimental activities are complemented by site-visits to
curricular principles. The focus is on the acquisition of different industries.
knowledge and performance of activities, “learning by do-
ing,” often contextualized to the realities of the school and/or With regard to evaluation, in the last census it was found that
regional context. Nothing is repaired or manufactured in the students in technical schools lag behind those that attend the
truest senses of the terms. regular basic education cycle in the four areas: mathematics,
language, experimental sciences, and social sciences. These
In the Aulas Galileo, the idea is to put students in contact are the basic skills being reinforced throughout the country,
with a variety of processes, productive and otherwise, in- regardless of curriculum followed. And, insofar as the Aulas
stilling in them the value of work as a basic and necessary serve to reinforce core principles, expectations are that the
activity. Three teachers work together in any given aula. performance gap will narrow.
Their role is more one of guiding students through the proc-
ess of project formulation, design, and implementation. The Innovative? Absolutely- technologically, technically and
choice of the different projects derives from the students’ academically.
interests and/or environment. For example, students in a
References
Salvo Paysse, M.T. (redactora) (1998) Estado de avance de la reforma educativa de la formación técnico profesional en Uru-
guay. Educacion y Trabajo: OEI. http://campus-oei.org/oeivirt/fp/cuad05.htm
De Moura Castro, C. Los grandes temas de la formación profesional: ¿ Cómo se ubica el Uruguay? Mimeo.
1
The authors would like to thank Germán Rama (Inter-American Development Bank) and Daniel Martinez (ANEP, Uruguay)
for their contributions.
2
For more information, see http://www.anep.edu.uy/
3
It should be noted that there are no dead-end “tracks” in the system. Students successfully completing either the BTC or the
general education cycle can move on to a technological bachillerato or the pre-university track (grades 10-12). Those choosing
the technological track and successfully completing it can continue studying at the university level.
4
The four areas are: INSTRUMENTAL (mathematics, IT, Spanish, English), NATURAL SCIENCES (biology, physics, and
chemistry), SOCIAL SCIENCES (history, geography, civic education), and EXPRESSION (Physical education and draw). The
technological area includes: an introduction to technology; and workshops on: nutrition (1st year), design and construction
technologies (2nd year), and administration (3rd year).

This edition of WorthWhileWebs
lists a selection of Internet
sites and portals
from around the world,
which bring virtual
education to your
desktop whether you're a child or adult, student,
teacher or parent.
Selected by Tressa Steffen Gipe
Academee.com
http://www.academee.com
Academee is a European leader in business education and e-learning using integrated learning techniques and
technologies. Academee’s paid services are generally meant to serve as supplements and enhancements to business training in
areas such as “e-coaching,” management development, customer relations management, leadership and team development, co-
sourcing, and organizational design. The web site also offers some free materials such as business-related articles, expert inter-
views, and case studies in many areas of business. Samples of Academee’s e-learning courses can be viewed for free in the
demo section of the web site.
AOL@School
http://school.aol.com
AOL@School offers tailored homework solutions by subject to children from kindergarten to high school. Sub-
jects include world cultures, social studies, history, math, and language arts. The site also offers basic learning resources such
as dictionaries, encyclopedic entries, a calculator, a thesaurus, a personalized toolbar, and other educational links. For teachers,
AOL@School provides lesson plans, online projects, technology help, professional development, teaching and testing stan-
dards by (U.S.) state, etc.
Blackboard.com
http://www.blackboard.com/
Blackboard.com brings together a number of education products and services into one well-designed web site.
Blackboard.com has become a leading provider in Internet software and e-learning at all levels, offering such products as the
Community Portal System, which assists in creating local portals for educators, students, and communities; the Blackboard
Transaction System, which brings together systems for student identification, dining services, campus commerce, building ac-
cess, etc.; and the Blackboard Learning System, which assists in course management using integrated system management and
architecture.
EdGate: The Copernicus Education Gateway

http://www.edgate.com
EdGate (the Copernicus Education Gateway) offers educational resources for teachers, students, and parents. The
site features SchoolNotes, which is a free system for posting and accessing homework assignments; a GeoBee geography
challenge; a daily USAToday news lesson; a special section on building practical money skills; a Daily Almanac; plus Discov-

ery Adventures, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. The site is fairly comprehensive and has received the support of the
National Honor Society, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Learning
Network, and others.
Fathom.com
http://www.fathom.com
Fathom.com is one of the premiere online learning portals and boasts prestigious member institutions and partners
such as Cambridge University, Columbia University, the London School of Economics, Sun Microsystems, Amazon.com, the
Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum of New York, and others. Fathom’s site offers lectures, interviews,
articles, performances, and exhibits by faculty, researchers, artists, and curators from member institutions. It also offers refer-
ence materials from a wide variety of disciplines, online courses, recommended readings, and “Trails,” which use visual con-
tent to organize knowledge thematically by topic. Along with its paid courses, Fathom draws off the expertise of contributors
such as Madeleine Albright, Fouad Ajami, Noam Chomsky, Eric Kandel, and many more, through free online features by or
about the contributor. Note: Although prices range widely, some Fathom.com courses have real university fees of up to $800.
HomeworkHelp.com
http://service.homeworkhelp.com/guests/index.php
HomeworkHelp.com offers learning resources for children in middle school through college (and some adult
learning). To access most resources students and teachers must pay a fee, but prices are quite reasonable for six-month and
one-year subscriptions. With a subscription, students gain access to the gamut of HomeworkHelp resources in all major sub-
jects, test prep materials (ACT, SAT, etc.), study skills seminars, and (coming soon) English as a second language. A free tour
is available for those wishing to sample the basic HomeworkHelp materials.
Kids Web Japan

http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/index.html
Kids Web Japan is a specialized learning portal for teaching children about Japanese culture, news, language,
foods, environment, economy, and more. Sections offers free Japanese culture lessons, a language lab, a cooking book, a sec-
tion on folk legends of Japan, and news links. All of this is available in Japanese, English, French, Swedish, Finnish, Norwe-
gian, Dutch, Spanish, German, and Korean.
National Geographic Xpeditions

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions
and
National Geographic Education

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/
The National Geographic Xpeditions portal offers interactive learning opportunities for students and teachers. In the National
Geographic tradition, the site offers cultural, historical, and scientific links and games from every part of the globe. For exam-
ple, students can participate in retracing the steps of the famous explorer Marco Polo by using maps and “blue ribbon” sites
known for quality materials on geography and culture. There are also suggested activities for parents and lesson plans for
teachers. National Geographic Education, which is the other branch of the National Geographic education portal, offers a wide
range of materials to educators on subjects such as the National Geographic Bee, maps, geography learning, television pro-
gramming, cable in the classroom, and more.
The New York Times Student Connections

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/index.html
This site, which is designed for grades 6-12, offers interpretations of current events for students. The site features a
word of the day, science Q&A, student letters to the editor, news summaries, a news quiz, ask a reporter, and the test prep
question of the day. It also addresses issues in-depth with special links to historical articles in former New York Times editions,

links, and quizzes. The site offers lesson plans for teachers, topical links, and education news. For parents, there are conversa-
tion starters, lists of discussion topics, and other family-oriented educational resources.
Riverdeep
http://www.riverdeep.net
Riverdeep is a learning portal with a wide variety of resources for teachers, parents, and students. The site features
a daily magazine called “Riverdeep Current,” which looks at current events for students. Riverdeep has partnerships with CNN,
NASA, the Learning Company, edConnect (software for teachers), and various companies offering free educational demos on
the site. The Living Library offers hundreds of learning resources including the Oxford University Press, Bartlett’s Quotations,
Corbis Photos, Time.com, plus almanacs, encyclopedic resources, video clips, and educational links. Riverdeep also has special
products devoted to children with special needs.
TestU
http://www.testu.com/frameset.asp
TestU’s mission is to provide “…Internet-based tutorial programs that are universally acceptable and affordable.”
The site was named as one of Curriculum Administrator magazine’s top one hundred. The site features relatively cheap materi-
als and online courses for pre-college (ACT, SAT), high school exit, and TOEFEL exams. Prices range from $49-149. Materi-
als include practice tests, skills micro-courses, and test-taking strategies.
Washington Post “Kids Post”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/kidspost
The Washington Post “Kids Post” web site introduces young readers to a variety of current issues in ways that are
easy for children to understand. The site offers daily news analysis of current events, and also offers a polling booth, transcripts
of online interviews, and web resources to games and other educational sites.
YouAchieve
http://www.youachieve.com/
YouAchieve is devoted to building business skills for individuals and groups. The educational materials and re-
sources it offers require paid subscription. YouAchieve covers a wide range of critical skills for success in the business world,
including negotiations, team-building, ethics, etiquette, marketing, customer service, management, interviewing, and more.
Subscribers can choose from online sessions of varying length hosted by business leaders with experience in a topic or field. A
large business library is also available for reference and intensive training.
ZeeLearn.com
http://www.zeelearn.com
ZeeLearn.com is an interactive learning portal based in India. The site features information on Indian schools, ex-
ams, scholarships, and studying abroad. There are sections devoted to Indian history, celebrations, languages, flora and fauna,
and culture. There is also a special section devoted to the needs of women in education. ZeeLearn.com also features student
chat rooms, entrance exam resources, and career information.

Bridging the Digital Divide………A
Divide………A Vision
Trevor Schofield,
Teacher-Librarian, School District 41 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
bandwidth, are beginning to find that they are experiencing

The Vision excessive slow downs in delivery times. For the schools in
rural and remote areas, it is almost impossible to meet this
Imagine a perfect Internet world for Education, where web growing bandwidth demand, because of the lack of avail-
pages arrive on the screen almost instantaneously. The inability and expense.
formation displayed is accurate and accountable to the
schools’ curriculum in whatever part of the world -- whether The approach taken by Advanced Interactive to address this
one is in the middle of the Sahara or high up on Mount Ever- problem is to use a caching server located at the school Local
est -- without the traditional connection to the Internet. Area Network (LAN). Caching is a technique that exploits
the fact that in a school, many users tend to access the same
Today, this scenario is a reality. It had been a dream for sev- web-based content. In such a caching environment, a request
eral years for Karim Lakhani, the President and Chief Tech- for a web page is forwarded to a cache system. If the page is
nical Officer of Advanced Interactive, Inc. Born and raised already in the cache, the user's request can be retrieved lo-
in Uganda, Mr. Lakhani spent several years seeking ways to cally, and at the user's LAN speed. This process eliminates
deliver the Internet to Africa, where the telecommunication the slow speed of the Internet connection.
infrastructure is relatively poor, and the Internet access too
expensive for most schools. Caching at the school level is not unique in itself. However,
what places Advanced Interactive Inc. at the forefront of this
type of delivery of the Internet to schools, is its combination
The Technology
of proprietary Broadcast caching techniques using cable TV,
RF Terrestrial TV broadcast, or satellite; and the ability to
order, categorize and refresh a site (Figure 1) and search the
In 2000, Advanced Interactive, Inc. applied for, and received, cache locally (SchoolWeb Librarian - Figure 2).
a research grant from Industry Canada (Canarie), and support
from the British Columbia Ministry of Education and the Advanced Interactive’s caching server uses two kinds of
Open Learning Agency of British Columbia, to study the use caching techniques:
of caching Internet content at the local school level. Nine-
teen schools in British Columbia were chosen, ranging from • “Dynamic caching:” This operates by fetching and
small elementary to large secondary, in both urban and rural storing the pages as they are requested. A second re-
settings. Through the technology of broadcast caching, and a quest for a particular page is retrieved from the cache.
separate server for ordering web sites, the Advanced Interac-
tive system provides a Virtual Internet Library at the school. • "Policy-based:" This is a method of pre-caching sites
A graphical user interface (GUI) screen allows teachers and that is the most useful in the school environment. This
students, using the local search engine, to search the cache, technique allows sites chosen by teachers to be pre-
just as they would in searching for books in the school’s li- ordered and delivered by satellite (or other means), to
brary collection. the server for instant access by students. The teacher
logs onto Advance Interactive’s host server, and orders
The use of the Internet in education is growing at a spec- the site through a screen. The result is that the files that
tacular rate. This is putting more and more demand on students need are there when they need them, at a sub-
bandwidth as school labs with Internet access are pulling in stantial reduction in wait time, and bandwidth is con-
web sites that contain increasing amounts of animated served for accessing the Internet for new content,
graphics. Schools in urban areas, even with access to high thereby saving on Internet access costs.

Figure 1
This technology has given schools the power to control the D.C., USA, a satellite radio/multimedia broadcasting com-
use of the Internet by pre-selecting the content that students pany originally dedicated to the vision of using direct audio
require thus keeping them on task. The content is fully ap- broadcast via satellite to inform the public about the hazards
propriate as it is chosen and vetted by the teacher, and it is of the spread of AIDS in Africa through the AfriStar satellite
complimentary to the curriculum. In addition, the school’s system and satellite receivers. (See article in the January -
very limited resources are saved by not having to continually March 2002 Issue of TechKnowLogia) One of the receiver
scale up bandwidth. products is a PCI-based satellite receiver, PC-card (Figure 3)
that can be plugged into a PC for simultaneous audio and
From the statistics gathered during the project, all the nine- data reception. WorldSpace system, in conjunction with
teen schools have benefited tremendously from having the Advanced Interactive’s Broadcast caching technology, can
SchoolWeb server in the school. One rural elementary now be used as a powerful tool for spreading any type of
school showed seventy times increase in delivery speed when knowledge.
1 Mb of content was delivered from the cache compared to 1
Mb delivered from the Internet; a large urban high school Traditional distance education platforms rely on books, tapes
with a high bandwidth connection showed gains of 10 times. and other materials that are expensive to produce and diffi-
If these performance improvements can be achieved in Brit- cult to deliver. Internet-dependent approaches involve high
ish Columbia with an excellent telecommunications infra- costs of preparing Internet-ready materials, and depend on
structure, imagine the benefits to a developing country? Internet access for delivery. Video conferencing involves
very costly equipment. Broadcast caching technology offers
a solution whereby content creation and delivery are merged
The Vision Real
Realized and made cost-effective. Instructor-led lectures and accom-
panying PowerPoint presentations can be broadcast directly
Advanced Interactive has forged a strategic partnership with to the SchoolWeb Server, via the WorldSpace satellite. Stu-
WorldSpace (http://www.worldspace.com) in Washington,

Figure 2
dents can play back the lectures off the SchoolWeb server at ware solution, and utilizing a satellite to provide the down-
their own time. link capabilities. The system allows remote communities to
deliver fast Internet access, regardless of the community’s
This solution provides the tools to enable the Digital Divide location. It was adapted to serve the community needs of the
to be conquered. Advanced Interactive Inc. has set up two Heiltsuk First Nation (http://www.heiltsuk.com) in Waglisla
test SchoolWeb systems in schools in Kenya, which receive (Bella-Bella, BC, Canada). The system serves both the edu-
information via WorldSpace’s AfriStar satellite. cational access needs, as well as allowing the Band Council
Office to become a community Internet service provider
The Digital Divide is certainly not confined to the develop- through their existing limited telephone access grid. The
ing countries. In Canada there are remote communities system also provides dedicated access to the local Royal Ca-
without Internet access; or have access with an unaffordable nadian Mounted Police (RCMP) division and the community
price tag. Many of these are First Nations (indigenous) Hospital - at reasonable cost.
communities. They are constantly looking for enhanced
ways to educate their young people - in their own communi- Web catching, in conjunction with related technologies, can
ties, and are trying to find ways to market some of their address the problem of the “Digital Divide” even in places
products to the world. with no telephone connection. The
Figure 3 information is downloaded from a
Advanced Interactive Inc., through a central “knowledge bank” via a
strategic alliance with Hewlett–Pack- WorldSpace satellite and the PC-card
ard Canada is providing a solution for receiver into the SchoolWeb server.
First Nation communities called All personal computers linked to the
1NterLink. The 1NterLink package is SchoolWeb server can now access that
designed for remote and rural commu- information at high speed – without
nities in Canada - with HP Canada even going on to the Internet. Infor-
being the hardware provider, Ad- mation can also be delivered via TV or
vanced Interactive providing the soft- Cable.

Rethinking Technology Pathways:
Morocco's CATT-PILOTE Teacher Training Project
Jeffrey A. Coupe and ElHoucine Haichour
termine how
Introduction: Digital and Constructivist Divides far one can
travel along
The field of education technology as a whole is preoccupied these path-
with two concurrent agendas: education reform and effective ways. Teach-
integration of technology. The education reform agenda be- ers are a key
comes paramount because research suggests that technology determinant
provides value-added in educational settings that are con- of capacity in
structivist, learner-centered and inquiry-based in nature.1 But education –
as Jeffrey Archer indicates in the U.S., a constructivist divide their non-
accompanies the digital divide. Some schools use computer participation
technology primarily for drill and exercise, whereas others and non-
use computers for inquiry, projects and activities that de- mobilization
velop contextual and meaningful higher-order thinking. Pre- often means
liminary evidence suggests the returns on drill and exercise little move-
diminish after lower primary education. And unsurprisingly, ment off the
one constructivist fault line lies along socio-economic status point of ori-
of schools and communities. The U.S. data equally suggest gin. Previous technology decisions (about technology assets)
that cultural variables may explain some variation in educa- and reform decisions influence future ability to sustain mo-
tion technology use across regions.2 Closing the digital di- mentum down a path, and the flexibility for moving between
vide may not mean closing the constructivist divide. paths.3
The scenarios of a reform path and of an integration path are
Briefly, it might be worthwhile to consider education devel- not atypical of situations in various school systems. On the
opment as involving a relationship between human and one hand, many districts begin by adopting and adapting
physical capital on the one hand (including organization), technology without making the institutional context condu-
and institutions and their reform on the other. Some combi- cive to inquiry-based instructional practice (supply-side). On
nations of institutional reform and human/organizational- the other, the pressures for educational improvement prompt
capital relationships provide better use of scarce resources reform efforts, after which technology's potential role as the
and allow greater future returns on education dollars. These connections between inquiry-based instructional practice and
combinations and their sequencing may in part determine technology's utility become clearer (demand-side).
relative development pathways that build capacity for
achieving gains in educational quality. So how do or might developing countries mount their educa-
tion technology programs? What pathways are being fol-
Figure 1 presents such an interaction between educational
lowed and with what results? How does one design training
reform associated with movement towards inquiry-based
to build capacity for reform and effective (integrated) tech-
learning (Y-axis) and technology integration associated with
nology use in developing countries? Do relative pathways
the effective use of digital technologies among others (X-
matter? Are the next digital miles more important than the
axis). A forty-five degree angle between the two suggests a
next constructivist miles?
path on which reform and integration are proceeding apace.
Above this line, we enter a region in which reform appears to
Inquiry and Technology: CATT-PILOTE
outpace (and perhaps drive) technology integration, while
below the 45 degree line, we find ourselves on paths where
technology is being adopted and integrated at rates exceeding The Computer-Assisted Teacher Training Pilot Project
the pace of inquiry-inspired reform in the school or system as (CATT-PILOTE), financed by the U.S. Agency for Interna-
a whole. Organizational capacity and efficient use of scarce tional Development in the Kingdom of Morocco provides an
resources – a premium in many developing countries - de- opportunity for reflection on the use of education technology

to improve pre-service teacher training within a national edu- struction of their own community. Multimedia centers were
cation reform. to be staffed by computer programmers rather than technol-
ogy coaches, pedagogy and technology were to be divided,
The USAID education program and the reforms of the Min-
and pedagogical topics were to be “advanced” topics. And
istry of National Education in Morocco recognized the need
for improvements in quality education in rural underserved for all this, the Internet was deemed non-essential.
communities of the country, where illiteracy rates and gender
The CATT program, at its core, attempted to move well into
disparities in school enrollment and retention are problem-
the upper inquiry- or reform-portion of the quadrant through
atic. The ministry and various donor agencies targeted at-
its four essential dimensions.
risk provinces and regions with programs to improve access
to quality primary education. CATT-PILOTE worked in 1. The constitution of core training teams that were hetero-
conjunction with the Morocco Education for Girls (MEG) geneous (student-teachers, teachers, techni-
Project to prepare young teachers in student-centered pri- cian/coordinators and college instructors), capable of
mary education. In 2000-2001, CATT-PILOTE delivered having a highly large multiplicative effect, and able to
education technology training in seven training colleges, catalyze community creation, collaborative learning and
equipped each college with local area networks of six com- problem-solving.
puters each, and established Internet connections in order to
facilitate the exchange of information and best practices 2. A participatory approach to project implementation that
across the educational community. mobilized core groups of teacher trainers and techni-
cian/coordinators in order that they not only adopt tech-
CATT-PILOTE was signed months after the 1999 publica- nology but also own the education project itself.
tion by the Belfikh Commission of the draft National Charter 3. The selection of quality network equipment and inex-
on Education. The National Charter spelled out a number of pensive fixed assets that allowed stability, ease of ad-
initiatives and planned interventions for redressing the per- ministration and off-hours flexibility in training and self-
ceived quality declines in the educational system. Although study.5
the reform agenda was not completely articulated, decentrali-
zation was a main cornerstone – seven semi-autonomous 4. A seven-module training series that married skill devel-
regional academies were to be created. Following in the opment to constructivist educational principles in in-
shadow of the charter, the Ministry of National Education structional design.
developed a series of quality improvement plans (twelve in
total) of which one focused principally on an ambitious roll- In regards to the training series itself, CEO Forum StaR
out of education technology. Under “Plan 2008 – Un centre Charts6 inspired the training framework. The CEO Forum
– multimedia – Internet,” all schools would receive comput- notes that teachers and their schools go through a multi-stage
ers and connectivity within eight years. The priorities in process of technology transfer: from the stages of entry,
Year 1 were the teacher training institutions for primary and adoption, adaptation, to the final stages of appropriation and
secondary education, and larger primary schools of signifi- invention. As they do so, schools as well travel from low-
cant size, because continuing professional development op- technology to high-technology and target technology envi-
portunities and greater access to information were among the ronments (along multiple dimensions such as type of net-
National Charter’s priorities served by technology.4 work support, pedagogical uses, to student-to-computer ra-
tios). Where the CEO Forum fixed the pedagogical end-point
CATT-PILOTE was a very modest experiment in attempting for "target" technology to be inquiry and project-based cur-
to introduce teachers to education technology in ways that ricular and instructional designs, in effect, CATT-PILOTE
leveraged inquiry-based learning and that foreshadowed na- chose it as a beginning point for framing technology training,
tional education reform. This it did on a modest budget of and as an end-point for the introductory training program.
under one million dollars, working in seven Teacher Training The training program itself was then planned backwards
Colleges for primary educators: Sidi Kacem, Al-Hoceima, from these outcomes. All materials were developed in the
Errachidia, Essaouira, Ouarzazate, Tiznit and Taroudant. Arabic language, and the training program, “Ibtikar,” the
From the outset, few stakeholders and partners shared this Arabic word for “invention” was born.
vision of education technology and its integration. The na-
tional teacher training programs had not yet reflected their Conclusions and Preliminary Observations
new reform dimensions, and the prevalent views were paro-
chial: keyboarding, computer programming, or CD-ROM The CATT-PILOTE project required planning, coordinated
development in line with computer-assisted training. Nor did implementation and consensus/trust-building in its first year.
many high-level decision-makers see a necessity for involv- By the end of its second year, the seven colleges had oper-
ing student teachers, teachers and college instructors in the ated their multimedia centers for about 11 months, and six of
design of their proper technology projects, or in the con- seven had mounted a second consecutive training program

but had not yet used the full complement of modules. One and involved in the process from the outset. Not only is it
center had benefited from Internet connectivity for over a essential that educators appropriate the technology, but ap-
year, and the six remaining centers just received connectivity propriate the larger project – improving educational quality.
two months before project closing. In terms of relative pathways, the more teachers are mobi-
lized for national reform, the greater the likelihood that they
Nonetheless, the project – Ibtikar – was quickly appreciated will sustain the course, and become empowered to make ju-
and appropriated by the training college communities. In six dicious technology choices as a result. This is indeed an
cases, the quality investment in the colleges and teachers authentic path worth pursuing.
themselves was appreciated. The multimedia centers became
a hub of activity. Three of the seven advisors developed
solid competencies as coaches and facilitators for their com- 1
For progression of discussions on the link between reform and
munities, and three others provided the necessary technical technology, see the following: U.S. Department of Education, Of-
support to maintain center functioning. The equipment fice of Educational Research and Improvement. 1993. Using Tech-
proved to require low maintenance. In the majority, college nology to Support Education Reform. Washington, D.C. U.S. Gov-
facilities remained open until the early hours of the evening – ernment Printing Office; Congress of the United States Office of
unprecedented for these public institutions. The heterogene- Technology Assessment. 1995. Future Visions: Education and
ous nature of the core trainer groups appeared in itself to Technology. U.S. Government Printing Office. September, 1995;
contribute to a culture of collaborative learning and problem- Judith Sandholtz, Cathy Ringstaff and David Dwyer. 1997. Teach-
solving. ing with Technology: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms.
New York. Teachers’ College Press; CEO Forum on Education and
The multiplicative effect of the training was substantial, with Technology, Professional Development: A Link to Better Learning.
Washington D.C. February 1999, at
much of the credit owed to the college directors, the multi-
http://www.ceoforum.org/reports.cfm; National Science Founda-
media center advisors and trainers. Where the CATT con- tion, 2000. Inquiry: Thoughts, Views and Strategies for the K-5
tract called for some 420 teachers and student teachers to be Classroom, Foundations: a monograph for professionals in science,
trained, the project succeeded in extending training from the mathematics, and technology education, Volume 2; National Re-
7 advisors and 42 total trainers to over 3,000 participants.7 search Council, 2000. How We Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and
In the case of Tiznit and elsewhere, project personnel devel- School. Washington, D.C. National Research Council.
oped programs of community outreach, and concluded ar- 2
See Jeffrey Archer, 2001. “The Link to Higher Scores,” in Jossey-
rangements with other community organizations to train their Bass ed. Technology and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
personnel. Educators held the training program in high es- 112-123.
teem. For example, in Ouarzazate, local labor unions al- 3
This interaction model draws on institutional political economy.
lowed teachers on strike to cross the picket line in order to On path dependency and technology, see Douglass North, 1990.
attend Ibtikar training workshops in 2002. Certain teachers, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance
who were techno phobic at the outset, became highly profi- (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press); on interaction model
cient in computer use, have published reflections on their between political and economic liberalization see, Stephan Haggard
college websites, and now count themselves among the and Robert Kaufman. 1992. “Economic Adjustment and the Pros-
emerging technology champions grappling with issues of pects for Democracy,” in S. Haggard and R. Kaufman (eds.) The
Politics of Economic Adjustment. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
technology integration. sity Press, 319-350.
4
External evaluation of CATT-PILOTE did not cover an ob- See Libération, “La Charte nationale pour l’éducation et la forma-
jective evaluation of technology competencies gained tion,” (1999). Kingdom of Morocco, Ministry of National Educa-
through the Ibtikar training. Nonetheless, some strong indi- tion, 1999. “The School and New Information and Communication
Technologies, Plan 2008: A Class, Multimedia, Internet.”
cators of “adoption” are worth noting. First, project partici- 5
pants “own” the project and have taken responsibility for its The CATT-PILOTE project selected equipment proposed by Mo-
well being. Second, the Ministry of National Education has rocco Trade and Development Services (MTDS), a company with
extensive IT experience in developing countries.
adopted the profile of instructional personnel for its technol-
6
ogy coordinators of the future.8 Third, the Ministry has See CEO Forum on Education and Technology, Professional De-
voiced its interest in using the Ibtikar training series for velopment: A Link to Better Learning. Washington D.C. February
1999, at http://www.ceoforum.org/reports.cfm
teacher training beyond the target provinces and beyond pri-
7
mary education. Fourth, the Ibtikar web site – although still Mohammed Dahbi, Technologies Educatives aux Centres de For-
a planned shell – gave rise to five college web sites that are mation des Instituteurs: Evalution de l’Experience CATT-
developing interesting pedagogical content after only months PILOTE, a report for the U.S. Agency for International Develop-
ment (August 6, 2001).
of having connectivity.
8
The profiles and job descriptions were adapted from those used to
The fundamental lesson to be drawn is that reform-cum- define the instructional technology coordinators in Fairfax County
technology can work provided that educators are mobilized and Arlington County, Virginia.

Computer-Mediated Professional Development (CMPD):
An Approach for the Knowledge Age1
Mary Fontaine
Nothing has promised so much and has been so frustratingly wasteful as

the thousands of workshops and conferences that led to no significant
change in practice when the teachers returned to their classrooms.
Fullen 1991
While this may be too broad and bold a conclusion to apply universally, it contains far more than a kernel of truth for most
countries, applying equally to workers and offices as well as teachers and classrooms.
Increasingly, more effective and efficient opportunities for professional development are needed to strengthen the skills of
teachers and of the labor force in every sector. Yet such opportunities, especially in developing countries, remain limited and
largely reliant upon traditional methods that often do not produce optimum results. Indeed, short and infrequent training
programs, in which individuals gather at a central location for lectures from experts, can result in a net loss for human resource
development budgets, costing more in travel and absence from work than they produce in improved practice on the job.
Fortunately, new opportunities for improving professional development and teacher training—through the use of information and
communication technologies (ICTs)—are becoming increasingly available and affordable.
The premise of this article is that, when applied to education and training, ICTs present opportunities for significantly upgrading
knowledge and skills. The purpose is to propose that, through computer-mediation, ICTs have the potential to help improve
professional development opportunities for large numbers of people more quickly and, over time, at a lower cost than traditional
delivery means. In this way, Computer-Mediated Professional Development (CMPD) could help to improve the quality of education
and training on a scale heretofore unimaginable.
WHAT IS CMPD, AND HOW CAN IT HELP? returning them to the administrator for evaluation. In many
cases, students may not receive much direct feedback on
Computer-mediated professional development (CMPD), also assignments beyond an overall grade for the course.
called "distributed learning," can be described as training,
seminars, course work, communication, and networking that In CMPD, by contrast, there is opportunity for a high level of
takes place using the computer as a principal vehicle or an interaction among students, the instructor, and the computer-
adjunct for the activities. CMPD differs from other forms of mediated material. Training is flexible because it can be
computer use for education such as computer-aided conducted both synchronously or asynchronously, contact is
instruction (CAI), computer-aided learning (CAL), and dynamic and can be as variable as the trainee or trainer
computer-based training (CBT), which, at their most basic desires, and communication can take place through a variety
level, are used to tutor students through programmed of modes, such as email, listserv, chat rooms, bulletin boards,
instruction and information. CMPD is a form of distance and desktop conferencing, all facilitated by the computer.
education or distance learning but goes beyond them.
CMPD often takes place where instructors and students are
In the traditional distance learning scenario, administrators separated by physical distance and technology is used to
deliver print-, audio- or video-based correspondence courses bridge the gap, though this is not always the case. Instructors
to remote students who, in turn, digest and feed back the can be scattered in homes, schools, or training centers
information, one hopes with some synthesis involved. In this throughout a country, or they may be grouped together in the
traditional approach, students' "interaction" with the course same room. For example, a master teacher may be in the
administrator typically has been limited to reading course room with in-service teachers who are using a computer
materials, completing the required assignments, and application to explore new methodologies, create curriculum

materials, or look for classroom teaching resources on the convenient and desirable. The mediation aspect of
World Wide Web. CMPD, as well as its use of the Internet, the World Wide
Web, and email, adds a vital dimension to learning that
CMPD requires a different approach from that taken with is above and beyond that offered through computer-
traditional distance education tools. For example, when based training (CBT) and computer-assisted learning
satellite teleconferencing was introduced, educators (CAL), in which individuals work independently with
immediately saw that classrooms could be recreated virtually material provided via computer programs.
by broadcasting one teacher to many groups of students. • The Guide on the side: In CMPD models, instructors take
Little deviation from the instructor-led model of classroom- on a very different role, facilitating their students'
based learning was required. Other examples of this same learning but not dominating it from above. As a result
principle were the use of interactive radio, instructional of experiencing student-centered learning firsthand,
television, and audio and videocassettes for content delivery. teachers undertaking the training receive a student's eye
In all of these models, media initially tended to play the role view of the approach, which helps prepare them to use
of instructor as information disseminator. the same process in their own classrooms.
• Learning by doing: Computer-mediated training allows
Introducing CMPD to the learning environment brings an participants to gain hands-on familiarity with the
entirely different set of capabilities to teachers and learners. information technology tools they will need to master
While it can still be used as an information delivery tool, for participation in the modern information age. After
innovative uses of CMPD capitalize on its communication such an experience, they will be more comfortable using
exchange capability. As a result, CMPD programs typically computers, which makes it more likely that they will
do not look like familiar instructor-led teacher training incorporate computers and their by-products into their
courses. Indeed, it is desirable to move away from trying to work when given the opportunity. Moreover, because
recreate traditional classrooms with CMPD, which is better participants acquire computer skills by using the
suited and more useful for collaboration and information- technology in the course of their own professional
sharing. development and not through a computer class per se,
they are more likely to understand the application
A CMPD "course" may revolve around a series of readings benefits of the technology.
and exercises that all participants are required to complete. It • Individualized interactivity (Osin 1998): The
may be preceded and/or supplemented by face-to-face communication and networking advantages of
gatherings, where trainees meet their fellow "students" and computers enable trainees to participate in real-time
instructors. But the major portion of the process involves discussions with peers and instructors and to present
interacting with each other via computer-mediated their own ideas for consideration. This provides
communication channels. For this reason, CMPD can occur opportunities for regular feedback from instructors
anywhere and anytime participants have access to an beyond the simple grading of assignments, as well as a
appropriately equipped computer that will facilitate chance to share ideas with others regardless of space and
connecting to web sites, listservs, and other Internet- time. Indeed, CMPD offers interactive learning
facilitated forums dedicated to disseminating subject matter experiences that, in some ways, exceed those offered by
information. The CMPD hallmark, however, is the traditional classroom-based instruction, especially where
opportunity for ongoing follow-up through communication, classes are large. While the interaction may be virtual or
cooperation, and collaboration with course instructors and a combination of virtual and personal, as when CMPD is
other colleagues wherever they may be. combined with face-to-face meetings, the computer can
facilitate more equitable interactivity for all participants
BENEFITS OF CMPD than is sometimes the case in classroom situations.
Communicating online can promote a democratizing,
CMPD presents significant, potential advantages for egalitarian, and less hierarchical form of interaction that
professional development. Some of these benefits are
offers everyone the opportunity for meaningful
summarized below: engagement. As one trainee noted, "everybody has a
chance to participate. This is staff development where
• Freedom to learn: CMPD models are based on new adult everyone can raise their hands" (Bradley 1999). Of
learning theories that respect the learner and permit course, this change in communication culture or protocol
greater learner control over pace, content, sequence, does not occur automatically but requires thoughtful
depth of study, and schedule. This enables students to attention and preparation by planners.
learn at their own pace and in a manner that is most • Networking online: A related benefit of CMPD is the
comfortable for them, to explore topics above and creation of online networks in which participants are
beyond those required, and to prepare assignments, able to share information, ideas, and experiences,
consult databases, and communicate with others when

collaborate on projects, exchange materials, or even just classroom-based training. As one provider of teacher
chat with colleagues. Models of these "virtual training materials observes, "This is the most exciting
communities" are springing up throughout the world, thing happening in education. We can double the
geared to individuals who share common interests, and amount of teacher professional development we offer for
many of them offer not only effective guidance and the same dollars nationwide by going on-line. We can
facilitation but opportunities for unlimited access to offer special information and specialty materials that no
information, knowledge, and expertise as well. For the school could possibly afford."
most part, the extent to which this online networking
adds value to practice has not yet been measured, though In classrooms and workplaces around the world, CMPD
the proliferation of email, computer-mediated applications are starting to achieve substantial results. Four
conferencing, bulletin boards, and discussion groups approaches stand out as particularly promising:
worldwide suggests they provide more than just a novel
experience for the participant. CMPD to Stimulate Pedagogical Change: One way to teach new
• Immediate application: CMPD makes it possible to link ways of teaching is through mentoring and networking. In
participants’ learning experiences directly and this approach, in-service teachers and master teachers share
simultaneously with the work underway in their own and compare their experiences through email or via a
offices or classrooms. After a session online, computer-mediated discussion group. Teachers learn about
participants can apply the new techniques or use the new new teaching methodologies, discuss teaching strategies and
materials immediately, discussing the results with the problems with each other and their mentor, and learn ways to
instructor and fellow trainees while the experience is adjust, adapt, or adopt new pedagogy to their particular
still fresh. This helps to ensure that the instruction teaching situations. This is sometimes supported by audio or
remains relevant to what participants are doing at a videotape distribution or through occasional gatherings,
given time. meetings, and traditional classroom-based training.
• Disseminating almost anything: CMPD also provides a
means for trainees to disseminate their own work for Via the computer, master mentors provide feedback to in-
peer review at any time as well as to collaborate on service teachers on style and teaching methods according to
projects with others, regardless of their location. teacher’s needs, customizing it to the classroom
• Beyond lectures: CMPD supports simulation, role environment, time constraints, and the technological
playing, and decision-making exercises for training capabilities of the computer and the network available.
participants. If the computer is equipped with features
enabling audio and video, participants also can view CMPD to Enhance Subject Matter: Many teachers in developing
examples of effective and not-so-effective work countries have received only very basic teacher training and
practices. lack a strong disciplinary background in the subjects they
• Beyond "dittos": For teachers, high-quality learning teach. The deficit is particularly acute in the sciences and
materials, teaching aids, and other resources can be mathematics, areas in which more students need to excel if
disseminated widely and used as is or adapted for they are to have access to the higher education necessary to
printing and using in the classroom. meet the professional manpower needs of their countries.
• Assessing success: By documenting protocols, course
materials, and electronic discussions, facilitators can CMPD to Produce Learning Materials: A serious problem for
obtain quantitative and qualitative information that is teachers in poor schools and communities is teaching without
essential for monitoring and evaluating CMPD efforts. benefit of material support, including such items as lesson
plans, curriculum guides, and other materials for teachers as
• Staying organized: Due to the ease with which
well as activity sheets, workbooks, and other interesting and
information and data can be manipulated with
inspiring instructional aids for students. Through CMPD
computers, CMPD facilitates better management and
programs and the Internet and World Wide Web, however,
administration of instruction, which can free more time
access to such materials is greatly increased. Some programs
for professional development.
are designed specifically to disseminate previously prepared
• Reaching anyone anywhere: CMPD can be accessed by
learning materials that can be downloaded and printed or
anyone with a properly configured computer, and it can
easily adapted to new classroom situations while others
reach large numbers of participants regardless of their
provide the hardware and authoring software to create
location. For formal education in particular, this means
original materials.
that, for the first time, it is possible to provide ongoing
professional development on the scale required to meet
CMPD to Promote Networking and Virtual Communities: Perhaps
the growing demand for effective teachers.
the greatest advantage of CMPD for teachers is the
• Costs: Last but not least, carefully designed CMPD
opportunity for networking that online communication tools
programs can dramatically reduce the high cost of provide. Communicating and collaborating with

counterparts at home or around the world to share literacy training, participants can become comfortable with
information, ideas, insights, and resources can be a powerful the equipment.
source of inspiration and education for teachers, especially Sufficient and fully operational equipment is essential.
those in isolated or remote areas. Computer-mediated Donations of a few old computers with limited capabilities
communication can be both structured, through moderated for large numbers of participants is a recipe for failure. An
discussion fora or listservs, or free flowing, as through email investment in appropriate hardware and software is needed.
and chat rooms. Unlike conventional groups of networks,
electronic networking and the “virtual communities” that If participants are expected to use web sites, the sites must be
grow out of them are not limited by geography. In designed to be user-friendly, with easy navigation and
asynchronous communication, time is not a factor, either, as architecture, useful features, substantive content, prompt
individuals can participate whenever it is convenient for response mechanisms, interesting, intriguing, and inviting
them. options, and regular updating. Expert technical support must
be available as well to fix inevitable glitches fast.
Communication culture
To the extent possible, participants should have
Both instructors and participants in CMPD programs need a unfettered access to knowledge and information
sensitive introduction to communicating online, including the
importance of participation and interaction and the protocols Effective professional development should open doors for
and etiquette that are best suited to this means of participants to the knowledge and information age, enabling
communication. They also need opportunities to practice them to understand and appreciate its implications for the
what they are taught. The equitable sharing of information is world at large and for themselves.
not a hallmark of traditional communication. Indeed, the
"knowledge is power" adage applies enthusiastically to Through professional development programs, participants
conventional forms of communication based on social, should be able to gain access to new sources of knowledge
cultural, economic, and professional hierarchies. The and information that are relevant to their particular fields and
democratizing and egalitarian approach of widespread useful for their own personal and professional growth.
information sharing is a major hurdle to maximizing the
effectiveness of CMPD. In CMPD programs for teachers, they should be provided
with opportunities to discuss and debate the changing role of
Traditional protocol requires that students approach education in the information age and come to understand the
teachers—and teachers approach superiors—in a manner importance of their role in facilitating access to knowledge
marked by deference. Communication is often one-way, and information for their students.
with the experts bestowing their knowledge upon students,
who are silent note-takers. If communication with experts is
to be valuable, both parties will need help in adjusting to new LOOKING FORWARD
forms of communication without fear of reprisal. Early media, for example, were used as tools to supplement
teacher presentations or to facilitate permanent information
Because interaction is critical to the success of CMPD, storage. Today's use of computers and educational
appropriate feedback from instructors or experts is essential. technology is informed by advances in cognitive learning
Harsh, dismissive words can make or break a participant’s theory and influenced by the emergence of personal
will while constructive, instructive guidance can stimulate computers, authoring software, expanded capabilities of
enthusiasm for learning. rapid access to information and communication via the
Internet and the World Wide Web, and creation of effective
Merely creating a communications mechanism does not interactive multimedia products, such as CD-ROMs. These
guarantee that teachers will use it. Efforts to introduce breakthroughs empower learners by putting control of
participants to the opportunities and potential benefits of learning in their hands, allowing them to range freely through
networking, and to induce them to take advantage of it, may information space and multiply opportunities for more
be needed. intelligent teacher and learner interaction.
Provide an enabling technical environment This paper suggests that, in addition to relying on individual
initiative and donor programs to incorporate technology into
The mystique of technology needs to be removed so the classroom or workplace, it is useful for developing
participants feel comfortable manipulating machines. By countries to do so according to a carefully designed plan so
preceding CMPD with short, basic, hands-on computer that critical development sectors can benefit from the
extraordinary advantages that CMPD can provide. Though it

requires careful planning and monitoring, CMPD in community to help equip its partners with CMPD tools for
developing countries is not "pie in the sky." Indeed, it is teaching, training, and lifelong learning. A sufficient level of
already happening in countries throughout the world. What natural curiosity and desire to learn among students of all
is needed is the will of those who make resource allocation ages, in all countries, is already there.
decisions nationally and the commitment of the international
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1
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Volume 4, Issue 2 April - June 2002

This issue is co-sponsored by:

Thematic Focus: Virtual Systems of Education

5 Virtual Education: Between Virtuality and Reality

10 The Evolution of Virtual Education

14 Global Change and the Online Learning Community

! 1 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

20 Faculdade Pitágoras: When Classroom Education Borrows from Virtual Education

26 Virtual Education at the Tertiary Level: The Experience of Korea

36 Virtual High Schools: Development, Trends, and Issues

40 Government Support of Edtech Research and Development: An International Overview

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48 Live TV for Support of Student Exam Preparation: A Pilot Study at Anadolu

51 Virtual Learning: Between Imagination and Challenges

57 Engaging Students through ICTs: A Multiliteracies Approach

60 Analyzing Cost/Benefits for Distance Education Programs

65 Bridging the Generation Gap: The Move Towards a 3G Wireless World

67 Uruguay's "Aulas Galileo:" Heresy or Innovation?

! 3 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

72 Bridging the Digital Divide……..A Vision

75 Rethinking Technology Pathways: Morocco's CATT-PILOTE Teacher Training Project

78 Computer-Mediated Professional Development (CMPD): An Approach for the Knowledge Age

Year 2002 Editorial Calendar

July - September 2002 Technology for All - Issues of Equity

October - December 2002 Technologies for Teacher Training

Year 2003 Editorial Calendar

January - March 2003 Technologies and Learning

April - June 2003 Public/Private Partnership for Technology

July - September 2002 Technologies for the Advancement of Knowledge

October - December 2002 Technologies for Labor Productivity

! 4 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Virtual Education: Between Virtuality and Reality

! 5 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 6 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 7 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 8 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 9 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 10 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

• individual learners will be able to go directly to

! 11 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 12 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 13 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Introduction • increasing demands for educational institution account-

Old Paradigm for Higher Educa

Take what you can get Courses on demand

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! 15 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 16 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Horton, W. (2000) Designing web-based training. New York: Wiley.

Kellogg, K. (1999) Learning Communities. ERIC Digest. http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed430512.html

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Claudio de Moura Castro

is on classroom practices, it is also worth mentioning the

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But it parts company with the American liberal arts schools

! 21 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

The “virtual classroom” Into the future

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! 24 ! TechKnowLogia, April - June 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org