Guide to Online Education Programs

Audio conferencing is a learning environment in which students and instructor can communicate in real time. Because participants can only hear each other and aren't able to see one another, this type of instruction typically is supplemented with handouts that are either printed or are in an electronic format. 

With audio conferencing, individuals are connected to one another either by telephone or by equipment specifically designed for audio conferencing.

Audiographics is one of several ways in which instructional media can be delivered to students who participate in distance learning. Audiographics is actually a combination of two separate delivery systems - audio conferencing and a personal computer. Audio conferencing enables two-way communication between students and instructor while the addition of the personal computer offers students the ability to view relevant instructional material on screen.

With audiographics, students listen to the instructor using either specifically-designed audio conferencing equipment or the telephone. The student's personal computer monitor acts as a blank screen on which the student can see additional instructional materials that the instructor sends electronically to the student. The monitor acts somewhat like a white board, displaying the text and still images that the instructor deems is appropriate for the lesson.

Audiographics facilitates a high degree of interactivity between students and instructor at the time the learning is taking place. The exchange of information is two-way. When students have questions about the material, they are able to ask the instructor for clarification and the instructor is able to respond in real time. That's why audiographics is considered a synchronous learning environment.

Anyone who has ever participated in an audio conferencing session knows however that merely listening to instruction can become mundane. That can cause students to lose interest in the material being presented. The personal computer 'white board' can help to enhance a student's retention capability as well as the student's attention span by giving the student something to look at while listening. This is a tremendously important advantage of audiographics. In a sense, it picks up where audio conferencing leaves off. 

Another advantage of audiographics is that it is relatively simple to set up and to use. It is also a very inexpensive way to reach out to a large group of remote sites. This cost-savings becomes especially apparent when it is necessary to provide updates and modifications to course materials. Audiographics then is one of the more cost-effective instructional delivery methods.

With audiographics, although interaction between instructor and students is possible, it is possible only orally. This can limit the effectiveness of some instruction. And since it is not possible to control remote site bandwidth, the graphics capabilities are limited to still images. And even with this limitation, it still is not possible to guarantee the resolution or the quality of the images being presented.

Audiographics, or electronic white boards, is effective for the delivery of several types of instruction. The most obvious is lecture materials. This instructional delivery method is also effective for discussing the topics that have been presented and/or for brainstorming sessions. Because distant learning students also have the ability to view data that is transmitted electronically, this method of instruction is effective for presenting illustrations that are relevant to the material being taught.
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In the world of distance learning the instructional media labeled 'correspondence' refers to any material given to students that is in a printed format. Correspondence is most effective when used in an asynchronous learning environment, or in other words, an environment in which back-and-forth communication is not necessary.

Correspondence is still the most commonly used medium in distance learning simply because students can read the materials they are given at any time and because the materials can be read anywhere. There is no need to turn on a computer, access special software, dial a phone number or hook up to the internet.

Oftentimes correspondence will be combined with another type of learning media such as video tape, audio tape, DVD, CD-ROM because doing so is usually effective at enhancing the printed material.

Correspondence involves quite a bit of preparation. Someone has to assemble a document and then that document must be sent out to all class participants. The person preparing the correspondence is responsible for conducting the research and then assembling the research into a document, chart or image.

Once the material is finalized, it must also be duplicated as necessary, packaged and then prepared for delivery. When it's all ready, the package is sent to the student who then uses the assembled information as instructional media.

Probably the biggest advantage of correspondence is that it enables students who do not have access to computers and networks to participate in a learning environment. Another advantage of correspondence is that it can be used to supplement another type of learning media.

And finally, there are no time or location constraints involved with correspondence. Students are able to review the printed materials over and over again, at their convenience, as often as is necessary.

Of course, the limitations are that once correspondence is produced, it is not possible to update the information without repeating the entire preparation, packaging and delivery cycle. In addition to the difficulty involved in updating printed information, the time and materials that are needed to fulfill all of the above steps can sometimes add up to a considerable amount.

Correspondence is considered an asynchronous medium and as such it will limit the amount of learning strategies that instructors can implement.

Correspondence is an effective learning method to implement when the material being presented is not likely to change. A good example of this is a case study. Since the event already took place, there is virtually no chance that the details of the case will in any way change. The case itself might move forward, which would require that the materials be updated, however, that is a different scenario.

Correspondence is also effective when used for narration or when describing a topic. It's also very effective when students need to practice something they have learned over and over again like a math problem or the words to a famous speech.
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If you've ever watched an educational program on a public broadcasting channel, local cable channel, satellite TV or other telecommunications channel administered by the FCC such as Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS), you have seen instructional television. It is one of the most efficient methods of instructional delivery as students can both see and hear what is happening as it is happening.

With this delivery method, transmission of instructional material is one-way. However, when instructional television is accompanied by an audio responding system and/or keypad capability, students are able to fully participate in the instructional session.

Remote students are usually able to interact with the classroom instructor by using a land-based telephone system that has incorporated an audio bridge. Transmission of instructional television occurs via microwave towers. Advancements in satellite internet protocol enable satellite broadcasts to travel across wide and local area networks.

With the proper equipment, students are able to fully interact with a learning session. Students can ask the instructors questions and they can interact with other students. In other words, students can feel like they are actually part of the class even though they are not physically present in the classroom. Instructional television supports a synchronous learning environment meaning that students are able to get timely responses to their questions. 

With satellite, there are no bandwidth limitations and therefore the instructor is in no way limited by the number or type of instructional media that can be incorporated into a lesson. Satellite also facilitates the timely transmission of instructional material to a large number of students regardless of students' physical locations. In addition, the number of remote sites that can be supported by satellite is virtually limitless.

Because of the amount of equipment needed to record and deliver the instructional material, instructional television is very expensive to operate and maintain. A designated classroom must be outfitted with the equipment necessary to record the session. A skilled broadcast technician must also be present to do all the work that is involved in this type of instruction. The instructor also needs to have specialized training. All of these issues add to the total costs of instructional television.

Another limitation of instructional television is that it removes the flexibility in scheduling class work. The ability to study when it is convenient is one of the most important reasons why students choose distance learning. Therefore, although this method of instruction is very beneficial, some students will not be able to take part simply because they cannot tune into instructional television at the required time.

Instructional television is used for many different types of lesson. Instructors can deliver their lectures via instructional television and they're able to do so using descriptive narration. They can transmit guided instruction and they can use it for brainstorming and for presenting case studies. Instructional television is great for role playing, panel discussions, simulations, demonstrations and lesson practicing and drilling.
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Recorded audio and recorded video is information that has been recorded onto some type of media. Both are frequently used in distance learning. In the case of instructional recorded audio, the most common media include podcasts, tapes and CD-ROMs. When it comes to recorded video, this category generally consists of vodcasting, DVDs and tapes. 

Audio and video content that has been recorded can be delivered via the media onto which it was recorded or it can be delivered electronically. Instructors can choose to supply students solely with the pre-recorded instruction or they can incorporate the recorded portion in with some other learning method. Students are able to view recorded video and/or listen to recorded audio on demand. In other words they can listen/view as often as is necessary to digest the subject matter.

Recorded audio and video has several advantages. First of all, recorded audio and video can be played over and over again for as long as it takes a student to comprehend the material.

Recorded video can be very elaborate and descriptive. This type of instruction is frequently used to capture a newsworthy or other type of event that is relative to the subject being taught. Using high-impact visual content and full-motion video adds a lot of interest to the subject matter and as such, can help to keep a student better focused on the material.

When students are more attentive to the learning material being presented, they are more likely to grasp the subject matter more quickly. But if they do not, that's no problem because recorded video can be replayed as needed.

One of the benefits of recorded audio is that it is fairly inexpensive to produce. When material needs to be updated, all an instructor has to do is re-record another audio file. Besides low production costs, the costs of disbursing this type of media to large numbers of students located all around the world are not that high either.

Recorded audio, because it is strictly aural, is not as effective a learning tool as is recorded video. When students just sit and listen to some distant person speaking, with no other opportunity for interaction, it can be difficult for some to continue paying attention throughout the entire lesson. The lack of interaction with the instructor is a big limitation of recorded audio.

One of the big limitations of recorded video is that production costs can be very high. And depending on the subject matter, it is often necessary to update recorded video so that the content remains current. Maintenance costs also are high. And although recorded audio can be more interesting, with its high-resolution images and flashy graphics, it too does not allow for interaction with the instructor. 

The only good use of recorded audio is lecture-style narration and description. Good uses for recorded video include case studies, illustrations and lecture-style narration and description. 
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The ability to transmit an actual classroom lesson to remote locations is what satellite e-learning is all about. The remote classroom can be either an individual's desktop computer or another (offsite) classroom full of students.

Satellite e-learning provides a synchronous learning environment. Sometimes referred to as BTV/IP (Business Television/Internet Protocol), satellite e-learning has brought distributed media into the 21st century.

Satellite e-learning utilizes internet protocol (IP) for networking and distribution. IP makes it possible to utilize high bandwidths for video streaming because it bypasses the wide area network.
 
Students located at remote locations are able to communicate with the instructor via audio teleconferencing or by using a combination of audio and keypad technology.

With satellite e-learning, students can participate in class along with the instructor and the other students. The only real difference is that some students are not sitting in the same location as the instructor. With satellite e-learning, instructors are able to incorporate all of the different media into their lessons.
 
Transmission to remote students is consistent and occurs faster than other methods of transmission. Satellite e-learning makes synchronous oral interaction possible which can greatly benefit students since they are able to ask questions and receive answers in moments. 

Satellite e-learning utilizes internet protocol which bypasses wide area networks and the Internet. What this means in simple terms is that the problems often associated with bandwidth (distorted images, slow transmission) are eliminated.

Very large-sized web-based training modules and multi-media-rich transmissions can easily be transmitted using satellite technology. There is virtually no limit to the number of remote locations that can receive satellite transmission, provided the remote locations maintain the necessary equipment.

The technology and infrastructure needed to support e-learning is extremely expensive. The infrastructure also requires a high degree of maintenance which adds to the overall costs. Logistically, satellite e-learning can be difficult to set up. A designated classroom outfitted with the equipment needed to broadcast classroom instruction must be identified.

In addition to the equipment, an individual trained in the area of broadcasting must always be present to operate the equipment and prepare the broadcast. Instructors also need training in this method of instruction.

Satellite downlinks, which are the locations that receive the satellite broadcast, also must be outfitted with the equipment necessary to receive the broadcast. Because the transmission will travel across the local area network before it can be received by the remote location, it is at this point that recipients sometimes experience problems.

Another limitation of satellite e-learning is that it doesn't allow for flexibility in scheduling. Students do not have the option of learning at a time that is convenient. They must participate in the satellite broadcast as it actually is taking place.

This type of instructional media is perfect for role playing, guided and/or panel discussions, simulations, demonstrations, case studies, traditional lecture-style narration, brainstorming, practicing and drilling.
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