RATIO - A Framework for Open & Distance Learning:
Modes, Methods and Issues.
Steve Wheeler
RATIO Project
University of Plymouth, UK
Key Words: Distributed
environments, rural development and remote areas, further vocational, training,
pedagogy.
Paper presented at the CAL97 Conference, Exeter University, UK, 23-26 March, 1997.
Abstract
RATIO is a part European funded economic regeneration programme delivering training and business opportunities into the rural areas of West Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. RATIO's main objective is to develop a network of 40 centres throughout the region, delivering training programmes to upskill the work force, and providing information to small business enterprises in order to improve their business opportunities. RATIO will call upon a wide range of leading edge technology including digital satellite TV and data transmission, video teleconferencing, electronic mail and Internet access to deliver these services.
This paper investigates some of the pedagogical issues emerging from the early stages of the implementation of the project, and focuses on user perceptions of technological threat, and the contribution of personal tuition delivered at a distance. Technological and human issues are discussed, particularly in relation to the use of computer mediated interaction between student and teacher, and between students using technology based peer support networks. Early impressions of RATIO's activities are presented and recommendations are made for the future development of the framework.
1. Introduction and background
For many years the traditional frameworks of teaching and training have been challenged, and in some cases supplanted by the new paradigms of distance learning and flexible or open learning methodologies. The need to advance training delivery beyond the boundaries of the classroom has emerged due to a number of factors. These include economic stringency, political initiatives involving deregulation, the resultant widening of catchment areas for educational providers and the rapid and continual development of new technologies. In particular, the downcosting and convergence of the information technologies in recent years has galvanised many teaching institutes into increasing their activities and developing open and distance learning (ODL) methods further. It should come as no surprise that the product of the convergence of telecommunications and informatics, 'telematics', is to be found at the heart of many new ODL projects.
2. The RATIO project
One such project, RATIO (Rural Area Training and Information Opportunities), arose out of a collaboration between several key players within the South West of England, including the HE and FE providers, TECs, local government and private business sectors. The need was identified for a concerted effort to maximise the training opportunities for socially isolated and economically disadvantaged rural residents. Furthermore, the need to support and develop business opportunities for the region's small businesses was also seen as a priority. A successful bid to the European Union's Regional Challenge Fund secured substantial ERDF and ESF cash provisions. This enabled the partnership to appoint a project team and begin the task of setting up 40 innovations centres within the Objective 5b area of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset.
The South West is a predominantly rural area, with poor travel infrastructures set against a declining industrial backdrop. As Stevens (1994) has pointed out, rural residents are doubly disadvantaged: they are isolated from the rest of the world and they are isolated from each other. Individuals wishing to undertake a vocational training course, either to improve chances of employment, or in order to re-train to enhance career prospects, are often unable to achieve their goals due to the distances they are required to travel to reach their nearest training provider. Other reasons for non-achievement of lifelong learning include child care responsibilities, poor public transport provision, lack of finance, disability, and work commitments.
3. Technological framework
Technological innovations and methodological advances have served to create a new framework for learning which incorporates and expands upon the more conventional educational methods. Whether or not higher quality learning is achieved by the new open and distance learning technologies is difficult to quantify. Several factors play a part in the success rate, including the quality of learning materials, the motivational levels and transferable life skills of individual students, the presentation skills of the tutorial staff and other less definable factors such as environmental influences and cultural backgrounds. One thing is certain, however. RATIO's built in delivery flexibility in terms of location, course completion timescales, enrolment opportunities and access facilities serve to open the door wide to just about anyone wishing to further their education.
There are no boundaries in terms of the distances involved, and there are few barriers to age, gender, physical disability and economic status. Users of the network need travel no more than 15 kilometres to their nearest centre, which will be served by a major public transport route, and many of the courses on offer are free of charge or heavily subsidised through RATIO funds. Disabled access provision and child care facilities were key criteria in centre selection, and some funding has been made available to facilitate these. As MacFarlane (1995) contends, distance learning technology is set to revolutionise the way people train and work.
Moreover, the technological framework RATIO operates within provides a broad highway upon which a variety of vehicles may travel. Vocational and professional courses sit easily together, and the choice is overwhelming, not just in terms of subject matter, but also in the modes of delivery available.
4. Modes of training delivery
Currently the most prevalent ODL tutorial method enables students to participate in weekly live transmissions from the University of Plymouth's TV studio. Participants can learn from studio experts and have the option to receive data simultaneously, directly from the decoder through a data capture card, on to the hard disk of a PC. Up to the minute paper based materials such as handouts, programme notes and business updates can thereby be received at sites. Users at the centres can print out the transmitted material as and when they need it. If required, encryption facilities ensure confidentiality of the contents of a transmission.
Should training providers wish to promote interaction between the studio and students at receiving sites, they have a number of means at their disposal:
Synchronous audio conferencing - this can be achieved by the use of an audio bridge. Students call in at pre-arranged times using conventional telephone equipment during or after a live satellite transmission. Synchronous electronic mail can also be used to achieve the same objective of encouraging student participation during a live TV transmission.
Asynchronous E-mail conferencing - using this method students can form a virtual discussion group, exchanging open messages and ideas relating to learning material or TV transmissions. As other students join in with the discussion, dialogue can continue for several days, or even weeks beyond the TV transmission. This is not as potentially threatening as live audio conferencing for obvious reasons.
Synchronous video conferencing - this method, although the most expensive option, enables studio presenters to see their remote student groups. Video conferencing is achieved by the use of PC based conference equipment, connected by direct line to the TV studio. The studio director can insert video pictures from the centres into the main transmission picture and transmit this back out live to all receive sites.
Students are also encouraged to use the Internet facilities available at each centre, and to facilitate this approach, the RATIO team are developing a web site home page. Using web based resources, students can conduct their own research, and through the RATIO web page they will be able to access menu driven course materials and associated business information. For example, a small business owner may wish to discover what European grants may be available. Users logging on to a software application known as Ecufinder will be presented with a series of questions about their business, including location, activities, annual turnover and number of staff. Once the on-line questionnaire is completed, the program quickly displays information on all the appropriate European grants matching the business profile. Users can also contact their remotely located peers to share views and news.
Hybrid versions of the above delivery modes also exist, as a result of training providers mixing and matching the most appropriate technologies to meet their requirements.
5. Pedagogical and psychological issues
The delivery of learning programmes to distributed groupings of students is often problematic. This is due in part to the many potential technical problems that can, and sometimes do surface during distance tutorial sessions. Tutors cannot physically be everywhere at once, and must rely on technology to achieve a virtual presence. A system breakdown during a tutorial session due to lack of testing, inappropriate use or machine failure can cause great frustration to users leading to rejection of the facility as too problematic to be of any real use (Neumann, 1988).
Although operational and technical difficulties are an issue, greater problems arguably reside in the minds of users. This represents a psychological dimension, and is often centred on a perception of technological threat. Several major studies (see for example Rafaeli, 1986; Breakwell et al, 1987; Gattiker & Hlavka, 1992; Brock & Sulsky, 1994) have been conducted to investigate the psychological effects of technology on individuals, and user attitudes towards computers, as they continue to be vital factors in the success or failure of ODL.
Arguably, proponents of ODL can only facilitate learning for their students if they can successfully promote the use of the technology and use it effectively themselves. The development of interactional patterns between students and tutors is vital, as if they are absent the student will be denied quality learning support. As Maslow (1954) has argued, if students feel threatened by their environment, quality learning will simply not take place. This is due not only to lack of psychological safety and perceived loss of control (Zoltan & Chapanis, 1982), but also more fundamentally because the technology which delivers the training has been rejected. Within the ODL context in particular, anxiety must be reduced if meaningful learning is to take place (Jegede & Kirkwood, 1994).
Computer 'phobia' exists in a variety of shades, from the mildly reticent student to the absolutely terrified. There are also the disinterested individuals, and the convinced sceptics who argue that technological advances are merely diverting attention away from the more important societal issues of the day. Moreover, it has been argued that the single most common cause of computer systems failure is user rejection (Bair, 1979). This factor in mind, the remainder of this paper will concentrate on those students who wish to use the technology constructively, but for one reason or another experience problems using it.
Telematics enables tutors to support the learning of students they may never meet face to face. It is here that the problem of technological threat is exemplified. Although tutorials can be achieved virtually, the psychological differences between electronically mediated tutorials and traditional face to face interaction have to be acknowledged and investigated. For example, some tutors using satellite TV to reach distributed audiences have reported a sense of social isolation (Wheeler, 1992). They are not fully certain that they are actually being listened to by anyone, and if responses are not immediately forthcoming from a distant audience, they may wrongly adapt their presentation style, often to the detriment of the training session (Wheeler, 1993). This problem is greatly ameliorated where two way satellite video conferencing is used, but the costs of this technology are at present highly prohibitive to many educational institutes. The less expensive option of video conferencing back into the TV studio from remote sites is presently being investigated by RATIO.
Lack of eye contact between teacher and student can cause problems of misunderstanding, and it is important that presenters using ODL technologies are aware of the implications of this, so that they can modify their presentation techniques accordingly (Wheeler, 1992). Pausing to allow students at remote sites to ask questions and clarify points is also a practice to be encouraged during presentations. During live video conferencing, small time lags between seeing and hearing occur, and confusion can sometimes result if this factor is not managed effectively by the use of 'turn taking'.
If lack of eye contact during one way video teleconferencing is itself problematic, the sudden visual cues that become available due to video cameras positioned on top of one's desktop computer can be positively disconcerting (Hilton, 1996). Being seen at a distance by others who may be strangers may be perceived as an intrusion into personal space. Social cues such as an untidy desk, unkempt appearance or inappropriate dress can send erroneous or involuntary social messages to the distant viewer (Oborne, 1996).
From the student perspective it is important that potential feelings of social isolation or technological threat are negated. Oborne (1993) argues that it is essential for users of telematics to be provided with social support. Cullen & McNieve (1993) and McConnell (1991) agree that the social presence function of telematics is essential in facilitating working and learning at a distance. Social support may be forthcoming as a direct result of using telematics. Hiltz and Turoff (1978), Kleiner and Davis (1979) and Theobald (1980) all offer findings to suggest that electronically mediated communication increases rather than decreases the personal sense of social interaction and support across distances. Social support can of course be achieved by traditional face to face contact with staff and other users at the RATIO centre, but users will spend more time interacting with student peer groups at other centres, and tutors at a distance. The latter two groupings can offer social support only through telematics mediated communications, and this can present difficulties.
For example, the use of computer conferencing to promote distributed group discussions suffers obvious limitations when some group members are reluctant to use the technology. Salmon & Giles (1996) identified several different types of non-users, notably the 'browsers' and 'lurkers' who are happy to read all of the interactions, but who are unwilling or unable to participate themselves. Further, they have coined the term 'netiquette' to describe the social behaviour and language expected of network users. Socialisation of users into an electronically mediated culture is apparently of vital importance to the success of ODL technology.
6. Conclusions
Offering any firm recommendations at such an early stage of the project is premature, but already several features are emerging which may be valuable to the task. The early adoption of technology is accelerated if knowledgeable, friendly and helpful staff are available in person to assist and advise. The less problematic a training session appears, the better will be the quality of learning outcomes (Wheeler, 1996). Consequently, the better the experience, the more students will be likely to return to participate in further training. If they are welcomed as valued clients, students feel happier about using technology which may at first be unfamiliar and threatening. Rowntree's (1981) argument that students should participate in the planning of their own learning, and Roger's (1983) notions of student centred learning are entirely relevant here: Empowering students to make their own choices and facilitating opportunities for ownership of learning will encourage them to adopt learning using distance technology as a worthwhile activity.
Centre facilitators - staff at receive centres specifically tasked to manage day to day operations - are a vital component. They are in the position to moderate the impact of technical problems, and can often provide quick solutions to ensure seamless delivery of training programmes. An early priority in implementing any telematics project should therefore be the appointment and training of appropriate staff to act as centre facilitators.
Another area requiring careful consideration is the learning support offered to remote groups of students. Tutors should endeavour to be at their station when scheduled and should consider the importance of the impact of virtual as opposed to physical presence at tutorials. Finally, it is important that ODL should provide a 'social presence' by electronically representing visual and verbal cues and other elements of normal human interaction.
The measure of RATIO's success in terms of the delivery of training to rural communities will become evident as the project proceeds. Several training and information targets have been imposed which the team are confident can be met and exceeded. Evaluative studies will be presently conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of the project and these will be published in due course.
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Glossary of Terms
ERDF - European Regional Development Fund.
ESF - European Social Fund.
FE - Further Education (usually vocational).
HE - Higher Education (usually academic).
Internet - International Network of computer based
information systems.
ISDN2 - Integrated Services Digital Network 2. Two
digital telecommunications lines providing a combined data transmission speed
of 64 Kilobits per second.
Kilobit - A measurement of data, 'kilo' meaning
thousand, and 'bit' deriving from Binary digIT, the smallest unit of data: 8
bits equal one byte or character: A Kilobit is therefore 1000 binary digits, or
approximately 125 characters of information.
Objective 5b Areas - Rural areas designated by the
European Union for grant-giving purposes.
ODL - Open and Distance Learning.
RATIO - Rural Areas Training and Information
Opportunities. The South West of England's economic regeneration
telematics project.
TEC - Training and Enterprise Council.
Telematics - The convergence of telecommunications and
computing (informatics) technologies.
Web - The World Wide Web: A graphics based tool for
use on the Internet.