| Description of good practice: |
According to IITE Analytical Survey Distance Education for the Information Society: Policies, Pedagogy, and Professional Development (UNESCO IITE, 2000), one way of looking at the history and successive developments in distance education has been to describe them as belonging to different generations. Garrison (1985) and Nipper (1989) were among the first to use this term to describe three phases of distance education, “which are linked historically to the development of production, distribution, and communication technologies”.
The medium for the first generation was written and printed material. While writing had been in use for centuries, the introduction of new printing techniques enabled low-cost production of textbooks.
The beginning of the second generation was marked by the Open University of the UK set up in 1969. This was the first time when a deliberately integrated multiple media approach was used for distance education, even though the dominating medium remained the print.
The third generation of distance education uses information and communication technologies as its basis, offering two way communication in various forms (text, graphics, sound, moving pictures), either synchronous (‘at the same time’, such as videoconferencing and audio-graphics; both popular in North American institutions) or asynchronous (‘not at
the same time’, such as electronic mail, the Internet and computer conferencing). ICTs can be implanted in the courses characteristic of earlier generations or used as they are. In both cases they can facilitate greater interactivity between a tutor and a student, between a student and a student, and between a student and learning resources of various kinds.
Discounting the initial costs of the technologies, this model may generate lower up-front fixed costs but higher variable costs (e.g. for a student) than the second generation model.
ICT-based technologies can effectively support the DE of students with SEN in three main areas:
• Interactive communication between educators and learners.
• Delivery of resources.
• Access to learning resources.
There are groups of people who are unable to undertake traditional forms of learning, as they cannot go to college or university in the usual way. Many of them are unable to travel between home and campus, and/or sit in classrooms. In this connection, the interactive and asynchronous nature of ICTs provides useful options for the target group of students. The combination of distance-based methods and personal support is more accessible than traditional forms of study for most people with SEN.
People responsible for providing DE for students with disabilities must clearly understand the basic principles of a progressive DE program and a model of categorizing the strategies employed in DE. The model developed by Johansen et al. (1991) gives a categorization of various technologies, which includes both individual and group applications. ‘The 4-Square Map of Groupware Options’ states that all interaction is:
• Same Time/Same Place.
• Different Time/Same Place.
• Same Time/Different Place.
• Different time/Different Place.
The four categories are used to illustrate the technologies which currently support distance teaching and learning. However, nowadays the most popular way of describing
the DE technology to support materials’ delivery and interaction is to divide it in two main types: synchronous and asynchronous. The asynchronous and synchronous
teaching/learning processes can be accomplished in a place-dependent or in a place-independent manner.
Examples of synchronous DE technologies are described below:
Instant messaging services:
Instant messaging services offer the opportunity to identify people Messaging who are online at the same time and exchange information in near real-time. Some instant messenger Service programs include voice chat, file transfer, and other applications which can be essential for persons with SEN.
Chat room:
Chat rooms are synchronous communication tools which allow the users to have a discussion via typed text in real-time without a need to be in the same place. In chat rooms the participants must type their comments and questions. Chat rooms are a component in every major course management system and are available for free on many web sites, where the instructors can create their own classroom area.
Whiteboard:
The whiteboard, as a graphical chat tool, allows users to draw, paint, and share existing graphical files in real time with a help of a mouse or specially designed pen, which has become a significant plus for those who cannot manipulate a mouse or see the learning material.
Audio conferencing:
Audio conferencing can be done via phones or the Internet. This way of interaction includes two or more participants collaborating via oral speech in real-time. Telephone-based audio conferences are the oldest and simplest form of interactive DE. A learner can access DE opportunities, interact with experts, receive information updates, as well as share ideas with other participants. With the advent of the mobile (cellular) telephone the number of locations to be reached has increased. Telephone may serve as an audio component of other distance learning technologies, such as video conferencing.
When used alone, audio technology presents critical verbal information: a visual component missing, facial expressions, gestures, and demonstrations do not help speakers make some points or enhance understanding of their listeners.
An important step forward is application of Text Telephones. These devices are popular
among people with hearing, speech, and language impairments. TTY is a combination of telephone, keyboard and display facilitating the direct, point-to-point, text-based communication between the participants. However, such system is appropriate for one-to-one conversations with the instructor but cannot be used by a group of students.
Video conferencing:
Video conferencing allows two or more users to interact in real time via video and audio
transmissions. Advances in video technology have dramatically expanded the technology’s use and access to DE. When learners and teachers see each other, new levels of interaction are achieved. Video enhances all types of interactive teaching and learning. Hence, the DE based on modern technology employ practices integral to all face-to-face class interactions – collaborative problem-solving, demonstrations, behavior and skill modeling.
DE applications with video technology fall in two general categories: one-way broadcast video and two-way interactive video. One-way broadcast video means that video signals are transmitted in one direction: from teacher to learners. Components of a broadcast system include a facility to produce programs and a site for learners to view the programs on a standard television. Two-way interactive video provides for video and audio communication in both directions between learners and teachers. It may include two-way-video and audio or one-way video/two-way audio transmission.
Now there exists a variety of video conferencing technologies: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), satellite and cable broadcast, and Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS). It is important to be aware of Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS) and Video Relay Services (VRS) which support telecommunication between non-hearing and hearing people. TRS implements two way translation between speech and text. The hearing user communicates orally, the non-hearing user communicates by typing on a TTY; a relay operator serves a liaison, responding by voice to the hearing party and by text to the non-hearing party. VRS is a similar service, except for the non-hearing user converses with the relay operator in the sign language.
Multi-user domain Object Oriented Environments:
MOOs are virtual online environments designed for problem-solving, live interaction, and
collaboration. A MOO is a synchronous text-based tool which gives the user a control over
‘avatars’ (computer-generated actors) moving through the virtual world, interacting and
communicating via speech generated by user-typed instructions. The tool helps engage students in (MOOs) role-playing, critical thinking, and problem-solving activities. In order to be accessible, a text description of the virtual world and a real-time text transcript are required. |
