Full HTML for

Basic foilset Remarks on Distance Learning

Given by Marek Podgorny (Geoffrey C. Fox) at NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools on Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. Foils prepared 24 Nov 97
Outside Index Summary of Material

We review approaches to distance learning including
Traditional Video Conferencing
The now relatively well understood asynchronous learning systems which will clearly become Web based
We discuss systems built around collaborative environments like Tango

Table of Contents for full HTML of Remarks on Distance Learning

 Denote Foils where HTML is sufficient
1 TANGO for Distance Learning
2 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning
3 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning
4 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning
5 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning
6 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning
7 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning
8 Vendors and Projects
9 Synchronous Distance Learning
10 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
11 Rationale for Web-based Distance Learning Systems
12 The Challenge
13 TANGO Interactive - a new software paradigm
14 TANGO Interactive - What It Does?
15 TANGO Interactive - What I Can Do?
16 TANGO Interactive - Extensibility

Outside Index Summary of Material

HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 1 TANGO for Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Marek Podgorny
NPAC
Syracuse University
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 2 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Video conferencing (room), satellite broadcast
  • Poor instructor control (none for satellite)
  • Low interaction between students and instructor
    • Limited student verification
    • classroom atmosphere does not foster student activity
  • Little multimedia interaction
  • Low content retention
    • no associated textual material, visuals not even as good as blackboard
  • Very expensive to install and maintain
    • classroom adaptations costs >$50K (actual data)
    • high network link costs
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 3 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Desktop videoconferencing
  • Poor instructor control
    • Difficult to accommodate multiple video windows on teacher's console
    • Hence, limited student verification
  • Low content retention
    • no associated textual material
  • Little or none multimedia interaction
  • Limited to a small number of students
  • Poor quality for software-only solutions, expensive for hardware solutions
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 4 Traditional Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
CD-ROM - based distance learning
  • Non-interactive
    • Interaction with computer ? Interaction with instructor
    • Without instructor, it leads to low completion rates
    • Does not support student's group interactions
    • No real-time student verification
    • Difficult effectiveness assessment, hence not suitable for certificate courses
  • Contents is expensive to develop
  • CD-ROM technology is a good add-on to Web-based training, but it isn't very useful stand-alone for DL applications
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 5 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Web-based asynchronous training
  • Shares many drawbacks of CD-ROM - based learning due to non-interactive nature
  • Adds performance problems (downloading time)
  • Advantage: courseware easier to update and develop
  • Very popular approach at many universities in USA as stationary class enhancement
    • This is probably the right model
  • The trend to call every class syllabus published to the Web "distance learning" is somewhat dangerous
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 6 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Client-server desktop learning systems
  • correctly recognize that mix of technologies is necessary to effectively support distance learning
  • support interactivity
    • synchronous communication tools
    • dynamic floor control
  • support access to rich multimedia resources
  • enable verification and assessment
    • interactive quizzes
  • support multiple authoring systems
  • But: platform-specific, require installation and maintenance, not customer-extensible, expensive
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 7 Recent Approaches to Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Web-based synchronous learning systems
  • Offer all advantages of the client-based learning systems
  • Fused with Web fabrics, extend browser functionality
  • Implemented in Java/Javascript, hence entirely open and programmable
  • Downloadable software with zero maintenance
  • Courseware repository is Web hence self-paced asynchronous training mode is automatically supported
  • Offer security via digital signatures and encryption as Internet commerce software
  • Web standards allow support for arbitrarily distributed contents and SW tools to avoid performance problems
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 8 Vendors and Projects

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Client-server systems:
  • LearnLinc from Interactive Learning Int. Corp. - www.ilinc.com - fully featured DL system
Web-based systems:
  • Symphony from Centra - www.centra.com - fully featured DL system, Java
  • Itinerary from Contigo - www.contigo.com - more a presentation package, Java
  • TANGO Interactive from NPAC, SU - tango.npac.syr.edu - fully featured DL system, Java
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 9 Synchronous Distance Learning

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
A process of direct, real-time contents delivery and teacher-student interaction mediated by a computer and the digital network
  • Multimedia delivery: audio/video, high quality visuals, shared access to knowledge repositories, shared access to indexed streaming audio/video, instructor-controlled simulations, interactive data visualization
  • Interactivity: audio, public and private textual channels, "Raise Hand", dynamic floor control
  • Assessment: real-time interaction, students' activity monitoring, real-time monitoring of understanding level
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 10 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Contents is delivered from courseware repositories that are also accessible in asynchronous fashion
  • actually, students should have latitude for some private browsing
Entire software functionality also available for self-paced learning
Synchronous learning is built on top of asynchronous knowledge repositories and is meant to complement them
Synchronous delivery is an authoring tool for asynchronous repositories
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 11 Rationale for Web-based Distance Learning Systems

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Web is the most natural vehicle for asynchronous courseware distribution
Web provides on-line access to huge amounts of first-class reference material
Web infrastructure is pervasive and inexpensive
Web software is a truly open and extensible system
Web browser is rapidly becoming a socially acceptable human-computer interface
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 12 The Challenge

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Expand Web infrastructure and instrumentation from information retrieval framework to a human-human communication medium
  • turn the Web browser into a tool for communication and collaboration
  • do not limit is any way current functionality
  • seamlessly merge communication and database access
  • remotely provide tools for not only sending data but also tools for their display and manipulation
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 13 TANGO Interactive - a new software paradigm

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
What is it?
  • Technically, it is a multiparty, multi-session, multiplatform, multimedia collaboratory system
  • It is also a software integration framework
  • It supports any kind of CSCW, but it is particularly well suited for distance learning applications
  • It is fused with Web infrastructure
  • It provides dozens of multimedia collaboratory tools
  • It does not require any expensive infrastructure beyond a standard PC or Unix workstation and a browser
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 14 TANGO Interactive - What It Does?

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
With few mouse clicks, TANGO Interactive builds for you a conference room, or a classroom, using tools from a long list of collaboratory modules
When you have your tools, with another mouse click you send them to your partners' machines
Anybody can join any of the application sessions, grab control, leave, open a private channel, create another chat room, send a private or public message, play a video other people see, or start and share any "legacy" application....
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 15 TANGO Interactive - What I Can Do?

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
Audio/video, multiparty, multiplatform conference
Chat rooms - text, 2D, 3D
Shared web browsers (automatic page conversion)
Shared whiteboards/drawing programs
Shared database access
Curricula delivery agents for diverse authoring systems (Persuasion, PowerPoint, HTML)
MS Office shared applications (shared display)
Shared audio/video on demand
Domain-specific educational applets
Much more..... Please, see the demonstration setup
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared 24 Nov 97

Foil 16 TANGO Interactive - Extensibility

From Remarks on Distance Learning NCSA Visit and SU teaching Tools -- Sept 25 and Nov 6 97. *
Full HTML Index
TANGO system is arbitrarily extensible via set of APIs
  • Java applets
  • Java applications
  • JavaScript (collaborative web pages!)
  • C/C++
  • LISP (GNU software)
http://trurl.npac.syr.edu/tango
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