VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1, 1995
Editorial
The Five Cs of the Local Coordinator
Michael G. Moore
Articles (for abstracts, click
here)
The Florida Teletraining Project: Military Training via Two-way Compressed
Video
William J. Bramble and Barbara L. Martin
A Heterogeneous Distributed Database System for Distance
Education Networks
Rory McGreal
Audio Teleconferencing and the Adult Learner: Strategies
for Effective Practice
Darcy Walsh Hardy and Donald Olcott, Jr.
Serving Students with Disabilities in Distance Education
Programs
Esther H. Paist
Interview
Speaking Personally with Roy McTarnaghan
Laurel Thomas
Book Reviews
Distance Education: New Perspectives
Edited by Keith Harry, Magnus John, and Desmond Keegan
Parker Rossman
The Oryx Guide to Distance Learning
by William E. Burgess
The Electronic University: A Guide to Distance Learning
Chère Campbell Gibson
Media Review
Public Broadcasting Goes Interactive and Online
John P. Witherspoon
Publications Received
EDITORIAL
The Five Cs of the Local Coordinator
Michael G. Moore
When a distance education program requires students to meet at distant sites, a local coordinator is needed for that site and those students. A coordinator is almost essential in programs using real-time interactive technologies, which is what I will have in mind during most of the following discussion. However, even programs designed for individual study and conducted primarily by correspondence, recorded audio or video, or by computer and modem will benefit from having local coordinators, especially if they hold group meetings at study centers, as is very common in open university systems.
When my class asked me recently to state the characteristics of a good coordinator, I listed five, all of which include a key word beginning with the letter "c." Here, then, are the "Five Cs" of the good coordinator.
1. Communication
The first requirement of a site coordinator is the ability to communicate
effectively with the instructor, the students, and the community in which
the course is offered.
Effective communication with the instructor is the first and principal requirement for a good coordinator. Even if communication between the coordinator and the students or the coordinator and the larger community breaks down temporarily (which, of course, should not happen), when the instructor can trust the coordinator to relate fully what is happening, he or she can then give appropriate advice and assistance, and action can be taken to rectify the situation. While a coordinator can be invaluable in helping to design and teach the course and in numerous other ways, above all this person must be willing and able to communicate effectively about problems. The last thing the instructor wants is the insecurity that results from not knowing what may be going on at a distant site; the instructor must be absolutely confident that the coordinator will provide full information promptly, even when the news is not good.
Next, the site coordinator must be able to communicate well with the students. Because the coordinator speaks on behalf of the instructor and acts as the instructor's eyes and ears to identify student problems and opportunities at a given site, he or she must be approachable and have the students' respect and confidence to be effective. Instructors need to be sure that students who wish to discuss a problem know how to contact the coordinator and feel sufficiently comfortable with the coordinator to do so. If the channel of communication between instructor and coordinator and between coordinator and students is equally effective, instructors can be sure that they will hear of individual student's needs as they arise.
The site coordinator must also have the ability to communicate well with the local community. The coordinator usually initiates contact with the local newspapers, radio stations, and bulletin boards to spread information about a forthcoming course, and the coordinator is often the one approached by potential students with inquiries about taking the course. When the course is being planned, the coordinator arranges with local resource people to undertake production activities such as copying printed materials or making videotapes for class projects. Coordinators will negotiate the availability of rooms and teleconference equipment with administrators; they also may communicate with administrators about receiving payment of fees from colleges or corporations that enroll students in the course, as is often the case with foreign sites. Thus, the coordinator must be ready to alert instructors not only of student problems, but also of any difficulty with local administrators; after consultation, the coordinator can then intervene on the instructor's behalf.
2. Competence
Coordinators should be competent in attending to technical needs at the
site, be competent in administration, and be competent instructional assistants.
Technical competence means being able to either install instructional
media or to negotiate and oversee the installation. With most media, no
technicians are present at the time of instruction; the coordinators must
set up the equipment, test it, and operate it. They must have sufficient
technical knowledge to recognize potential problems that may occur during
the course or during a particular session of the course in order to take
appropriate preventive or remedial action. An unexpected but uncorrected
technical failure can result in an abandoned session, loss of students'
confidence, and, ultimately, the collapse of an institution's presence
in a site, a city, or a nation. This result could stem from an initially
minor problem-perhaps just a loose telephone line-that could and should
have been easily dealt with by a competent coordinator. Technical competence
means being familiar with the hardware being used; helping to install,
monitor, and test it; and knowing the appropriate actions to take (including
calling for expert assistance) to deal with problems that may arise with
it.
A coordinator must also be competent in handling administrative procedures: receiving and distributing materials to students, keeping records and reporting them to the instructor, and undertaking the administrative requirements of the institution that hosts the local class. Administrative procedures become especially demanding when working with foreign sites; the coordinator has to send materials through Customs and arrange for payment in a foreign currency.
A coordinator also should have some instructional competence. The instructor wants a coordinator who is able to discuss the course during its design stage and give input based on local perspectives and local needs. The coordinator may undertake pre-course instruction of locally enrolled students in the use of the media employed; this service is especially necessary for students with no previous experience with computer conferencing. Coordinators are indispensable during the interactive stage of the course; for example, they ensure that instructions for the group discussions are properly understood and carried out. In this regard, the importance of the coordinator is most obvious when there are differences of language; even at English-speaking sites, coordinators must understand what the instructor is trying to do and be able to arrange local circumstances to ensure that the goal is achieved. In my teaching, after I have given directions to a local site, I do not ask the students if they understand the directions; rather, this question is addressed to the site coordinators. The coordinators know that they must review the local situation and tell me if the students understand what is required of them. The coordinators understand what I am trying to do and can best determine whether the students are in need of help. If help is needed, the coordinator can act as an intermediary or can give the help directly. If the instructor's directions have not been clear, students may be diffident about saying so; good coordinators will have no such reservations.
Finally, the coordinator should be relatively competent in the content being taught. When possible, persons who have previously taken the course as students should be appointed as coordinators; not only are they familiar with the instructional procedures and with the instructor, but they also know the subject matter better than do the newly enrolled students at their sites. This knowledge helps them to interpret the instructor's explanations or questions when the need arises and also to assist their students as they struggle to articulate their ideas.
3. Continuity
Distance teaching organizations and individual instructors, having recruited
good local coordinators, should care for them well (which includes paying
them well) to encourage them to continue in the role and to build up their
experience in the field. This continuity is important for several reasons.
First, considerable time and experience is needed to develop both the
effective working relationships with the instructor and community and
the competencies that have been described above. The course will progress
much more efficiently when the instructor can send materials to a coordinator
who has learned what to do with them in previous iterations of the course;
additionally, making plans for a weekly program or discussing a problem
student or an administrative difficulty is much easier with a colleague
who shares memories of similar events in previous courses. Although each
cohort of students consists of different individuals, their needs and
problems are usually similar to those of previous cohorts. An experienced
coordinator can identify problems and explain them to the instructor with
reference to previous experience or may even be able to solve them locally
without recourse to the instructor.
4. Control and Confidence
Good coordinators have control of events at the local site, and the students
should have a comfortable awareness of this situation. Control results
from the combining of the other characteristics described above. Equipment
is set up in advance of students' arrival at the site; administrative
work is done quietly and efficiently; the instructor's communication with
the coordinator reinforces the students' sense that the course is directed
by a team that works together effectively. The atmosphere at the site
should be relaxed and friendly, yet with a sense that events are well
planned, that the program is progressing smoothly, and that any problems
can and will be resolved. During class sessions, the site coordinators,
using a previously agreed-upon schedule, anticipate the instructor's directions;
both coordinators and instructor handle any unexpected issues or problems
calmly and competently. This sense of control is more important in a distant
learning environment than it might be in conventional settings, since
it is necessary to instill and reinforce confidence in the students, some
of whom may be unfamiliar with distance education. Many students initially
are fearful as a result of being separated from the instructor, while
others are skeptical about the seriousness of an educational environment
in which there is no instructor present. To overcome these emotional barriers
to learning, the site coordinators must project a sense of control, efficiency,
responsibility, and authority. The instructor should reinforce this perception
by doing what is necessary to encourage students' confidence in the coordinators.
Interaction between the coordinators and the instructor should communicate
to the students not only that any local problems can be solved, but also
that the instructor has confidence in the ability of the coordinators
to solve them, that there is immediate and continuous communication between
them, and that the coordinators will receive whatever help is necessary
to meet the needs of students at the distant sites.
5. Caring
Last, but not least in importance, the coordinator must be a person who
cares for the emotional comfort of the students as well as for their academic
success and achievement; the coordinator must also be able and willing
to communicate this concern. The educator at a distance, no matter how
skillful, will be unable to establish as good an affective relationship
with students as is possible in a face-to-face environment. In fact, the
instructor, being at a distance, is likely to be heavily burdened by students'
anxieties about teacher authority, an attitude that they have inherited
from their days at school. While the instructor should do everything possible
to establish the open, communicative, friendly, and caring environment
necessary for learning, the local coordinator must make up for what the
instructor is unable to do. The coordinator accomplishes this in numerous
ways: by greeting participants; by ensuring that everyone has freedom
to participate in discussions; by private conversation with anyone who
is "bruised" during an oral exchange; or by voicing appreciation,
approval, or congratulation for an individual's successes.
Caring, communicating, competent, confident, and continuing. Obviously, local coordinators are very valuable members of a distance education team.
The Florida Teletraining Project: Military Training
Via Two-Way Compressed Video
William J. Bramble and Barbara L. Martin
The Florida Teletraining Project tested the feasibility
of using community colleges as providers of various types of military
training to personnel in the Reserve Components (RC). Training was delivered
via the Army's TNET system, which employs two-way interactive video. Five
courses were produced, delivered, and evaluated during the project. Results
showed that effective military course reconfiguration can be accomplished
by civilian institutions, that the delivery system was technically reliable,
that students performed well using specially reconfigured courseware,
and that students rated the video teletraining approach as effective.
The project demonstrated the potential of two-way video teletraining for
a variety of military training applications for several different levels
of military personnel.
A Heterogeneous Distributed Database System
for Distance Education Networks
Rory McGreal
The exponential increase in the amount of information available makes the development of efficient information access systems essential. A heterogeneous distributed database system (HDDS) is an interconnected collection of logically related databases. Recent advances in database design, particularly the introduction of HDDSs, can offer distance education networks viable, simple, cost-effective and efficient database access systems. Telecommunications users are becoming more and more sophisticated, demanding interoperability in a flexible, user-friendly environment. The World Wide Web, Gopher, WAIS, and other Internet navigation tools are making access less difficult. Although implementing a heterogeneous distributed database system may add complexity, it would be consistent with present developments while providing a more efficient service to the students, teachers, researchers, and administrators who are using distance education networks. Implementing a HDDS can be an efficient way to manage the coordination of individual systems to provide up-to-date, easily accessible information on available courses, course design, registration procedures, hardware and software use and availability, library resources, and other topics of interest to those in the field of distance education.
This study examined the extent to which the topic
of library support for off-campus and distance education programs is represented
in the curriculum of schools of library and information science and the
attitudes of library school deans and directors regarding the issues and
problems associated with these programs. A questionnaire was mailed to
deans and directors of all American Library Association-accredited library
schools in the United States and Canada. Of the fifty-nine questionnaires
distributed, thirty-nine were completed and returned. Findings from the
survey provide baseline data on the current level of commitment to coursework
on library support for off-campus and distance education programs, and
indicate that the topic is minimally represented and of a low priority
for most deans and directors of library schools.
Audio Teleconferencing and the Adult Learner:
Strategies for Effective Practice
Darcy Walsh Hardy and Donald Olcott, Jr.
Audio teleconferencing is a distance learning delivery system that has often been overlooked by educational institutions and other organizations. However, the trend toward adoption of "high-end" (and high cost) delivery systems is giving way to a new trend toward appropriate selection of a delivery system based on course content, course design, and intended audience. This article takes a close look at audio teleconferencing as a viable option for many distance learning situations, discusses the importance of the audio component in distance learning, and suggests management and delivery strategies for organizations considering this medium. Theory driven, data-based, and empirical studies are needed to verify and solidify distance education's conceptual foundation. The project reported here had two main goals: 1) to empirically verify the concepts of transactional distance, structure, and dialogue, and 2) to develop a methodology for achieving the first goal. Drawing on three different fields-distance education, system dynamics, and discourse analysis-the project measured nine key variables in distance education. Results suggest that transactional distance varies by the rate of dialogue and structure, and demonstrate the value of system dynamics modeling for verifying theoretical concepts in distance education.
Serving Students with Disabilities in Distance
Education Programs
Esther H. Paist
Flexibility in location, scheduling, and delivery of courses and programs through distance education can provide disabled students with what may be their first real access to higher education. Distance educators must stay abreast of developments (particularly technological developments) that will improve future services; in this way, they can take a proactive stance in providing and delivering courses, instruction, and testing in accessible formats. This article states a philosophy for serving disabled learners and describes practical applications of that philosophy for distance education programs based on the experiences of the Independent Study program at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. Issues addressed include information dissemination, planning, instruction, testing, and faculty training and support.
