Modern distance learning (DL) is usually either computer-based or TV-based.
Let me share what I learned so far about the Internet-based DL systems.
Some of it can be significant for our ASCII-only phys-L list.
The most important component of a DL system is the bulletin board. Just
imagin that you can create several e-mail lists for your virtual class.
The main list is like phys-L, it is "public" (acessible to you and your
students), while additional lists, as many as you want, are "private".
A private list is accessible to you and to a selected group of students
only, typically for a group of students working together. You can also
have more that one public list.
The name forum (plural -->fora) is often used as a synonym of the e-mail
list. Unlike on phys-L, messages posted on a forum can have files attached
to them. Posted messages form a convenient data base. One can ask for
messages from a specific author only (to be displayed sequentially), for
messages belonging to a specific thread, or for messages containing a
specified string of words in its content or its subject line. It is about
time for us to have this on phys-L. Can somebody with webCT on their
server create a phys-L class? The owner of our list, Richard Smith, did
write (last year) that he has retired and whould be happy if a younger
person took over. The only negative aspect of this modernization is that
all subscribers would be expected to have a modern browser, such as
Netscape or I.E. A survay would be necessesary to check how many would
not be able to benefit from the new possibilities.
The second component of a DL program (residing on a server and accessed
via a browser) is a set of virtual chat rooms. A teacher can ask a group
of students to enter a chat room at a specific time to, "talk" about
something. Virtual talking consists of typing and virtual listening
consists of reading what is on the screen. You will see your own sentences
and sentences of other participants; all authors are identified. This mode
of communication is called synchronous (fora are asynchronous).
The third component is the e-mail system through which each participant
can send a message, with an attached file (if desired), to another class
participant. As far as I know (please correct me) these are the only ways
of DL interacting with students over the internet. In the future there may
be another mode based on a recording microphone, and a camera, at each
terminal.
In addition to two-way interactions, a DL program offers "content delivery"
tools. This is not very different from having a well structured web site.
Some teachers may ignore the interactive components and use the delivery
components to post lecture contents. The "sage on a statge" mode is a poor
simulation of a traditional textbook. In my opinion the "virtual textbook"
apprach would not be useful where real textbooks are available, except in
some cases. Traditional textbooks are much more convenient for learning
from. But one-way communication is very appropriate for the distribution
of comments and questions based on the current textbook assignments. It
is also very appropriate for a course description and for its syllabus.
References and clickable links to specific web sites, may be part of
"lecture materials" distributed in the one-way mode.
It is clear that a DL system, such as webCT, topClass or FirstClass, can
be used as an enhanement of the face-to-face classes. It can also be used
to reduce the number of class meetings, rather than to eliminate them all
together. As I mentioned in another posting, many textbook publishers are
already supporting DL programs. But the one which I saw is very primitive
at this time. From another list I learned that webCT was tentatively chosen
by McGraw Hill, Prentice Hall, Wiley and SGI. Schools without a server, or
with limited technical staff to support a DL program, may benefit from a
possibility of using a system supported by another institution.
Please share what you know and think about DL, especially the innovative
ways of using it to teach math and science courses.
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Physical reality does not have to agree with our ideas. But in physics
our ideas should agree with that reality.
Ludwik Kowalski kowalskiL@alpha.montclair.edu, MS at MSU, New Jersey
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