March 1998 — Features
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Sustaining Two-Way Interaction and Communication in Distance Learning
Although distance education is an effective delivery method for students lacking convenient access to face-to-face instruction,[1] the missing pieces inevitably seem to be the student-teacher / student-student interactions and communications. Grambling State University's (GSU) distance learning program was no different. GSU had the technical and human resources to produce and deliver quality telecourses and teleworkshops over distance to regional and national markets. Generally, these programs used one-way video (satellite) and two-way audio (toll-free telephone connected to studio speakers), which somewhat limited interaction and communication.
Technology to increase interactivity and communication is available. For a number of years large corporations and government agencies (e.g., Aetna Life & Casualty, AT Network Operations and Engineering Training, Digital Equipment Corp., Ford Motor Company, Xerox, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) have used response systems to encourage interaction and bi-directional communication between students and instructors.
A response system is an interactive network that uses phone lines and modems to facilitate communication. The benefits found in corporate America include enhanced learning, systematic evaluation and validation of courses and instructors, and real-time tabulation of viewer responses, which enabled the instructor to better pace the instructional delivery.[2]
A few educational institutions have used response systems, and preliminary research by Wayne State University indicates that more students were served, more content was covered, and students using the response pads performed better on proctored examinations. Other research suggests that interactive instruction enhances learning[3,4,5,6] and improves adult problem-solving abilities.[7] Although effective, response systems are expensive. For example, just one viewer response keypad costs over $200, and keypads do not operate in isolation. Keypads are connected to a remote site controller which communicates with a host system.
GSU, however, was able to write a grant to fund the purchase of a One Touch system for 10 remote sites with 60 viewer response keypads. Although there are many manufacturers of response systems, GSU selected One Touch because the instructor's tool kit was "user friendly" and the viewer keypads had integrated audio capabilities built into each student's keypad. In addition, the remote site technology was portable, an important factor because GSU's remote sites changed depending on the program delivered and the geographic dispersion of the students enrolled.
The One Touch System
The One Touch Viewer Response System includes hardware and software to operate one host site and multiple remote sites. The host site includes equipment and software to support an instructor's toolkit and a phone controller. Instructor's toolkit. The instructor's toolkit is an easy-to-use Microsoft Windows-based authoring system. It allows the instructor to design interactive scripts which are loaded into the host computer to guide an instructor through a presentation. For example, the instructor can place questions strategically within the lecture to confirm that students have understood the material presented.
