+*****************************************************************+ * * * International Journal of * * * * Educational Telecommunications * * * * * * ABSTRACTS OF VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1 * * * * * * Published by * * Association for the Advancement of * * Computing in Education (AACE) * +*****************************************************************+ INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 1, Number 1 1995 -------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS -------- From the Editor................................................... 3 Articles -------- An Assessment of Training Needs in the Use of Distance Education for Instruction Lorraine C. Sherry and Richard A. Morse....................... 5 The Learning Web: A System View and an Agent-Oriented Model D.H. Norrie and B.R. Gaines................................... 23 Perceptions of Proximate and Distant Learners Enrolled in University- Level Communication Courses: A Significant Nonsignificant Finding Michael Z. Hackman and Kim B. Walker.......................... 43 Teachers Using Technology: Barriers and Breakthroughs Sandra R. Levin............................................... 53 Can University Faculty Affect Student Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail? Cheryl A. Wissick, Tracy Dubay, Neal Helman, and Dennis L.Cates............................................ 71 An Inter-Cultural Approach to Literature: E-Mail in the Literature Classroom Per Mehus..................................................... 85 Problems and Issues in Distance Learning Using Interactive Video Between the U.S. and Selected African Countries Larry M. Dooley............................................... 93 Columns ------- Inside Educational Networking Introduction: K-12 Publishing on the Upswing Andy Carvin...................................................105 Educational Telecommunications Abstracts edited by Susan Tucker........................................111 EDITOR, ASSOCIATE EDITORS, EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD ------------------------------------------------- Editor ------ Gary H. Marks, AACE, USA Associate Editors ----------------- Glen Bull, Univ. of Virginia, USA Tak-Wai Chan, National Central Univ., Taiwan Betty Collis, Univ. of Twente, The Netherlands Editorial Review Board ---------------------- David Ayerman, Mary Washington College Tony Bates, The Open Learning Agency, Canada Shihong Chen, Purdue Univ., USA Gordon Davies, The Open Univ., UK Niki Davis, Exeter Univ., UK Tony Dean, Univ. of Wollongong, Australia Chere Campbell Gibson, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, USA Arturo Grunstein, Mexico Lani Gunawardena, Univ. of New Mexico, USA Keith Harry, The Open Univ., UK Linda Harasim, Simon Fraser Univ., Canada Bill Hunter, Univ. of Calgary, USA Sally Johnstone, Western Coop. for Ed. Telecommun., USA F. Geoffrey Jones, Univ. of Technology, New Guinea Vladimir Kashitsin, Moscow Inst. of Electronics, Russia Greg Kearsley, George Washington Univ., USA Robin Mason, The Open Univ., UK Hermann Maurer, Graz Univ. of Technology, Austria Marina Stock McIsaac, Arizona State Univ., USA Karen Murphy, Texas A&M Univ., USA Christine Olgren, Univ. of Wisconsin, USA Valery Petrushin, Glushkov Inst. of Cybernetics, Ukraine W. Michael Reed, West Virginia Univ., USA Landra Rezabek, Univ. of Wyoming, USA Art St. George, National Science Foundation, USA Chee Yam San, National Univ. of Singapore, Singapore Alan Tait, The Open Univ., UK Lucio Teles, The Open Learning Agency, Canada Bob Threlkeld, California State Univ., USA Steve Tilson, Front Range Community College, USA Ellen Wagner, DLS Group Inc., USA JOHN G. Wells, West Virginia Univ. Jan Wibe, Univ. of Trondheim, Norway FROM THE EDITOR --------------- Welcome to the International Journal of Educational Telecommunications (IJET), a new scholarly, refereed, quarterly journal published by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Led by an Editorial Review Board of leading scholars in the fields of educational telecommunications, IJET is initially distributed to individual and institutional subscribers in print form. Future plans include electronic access. Advances in technology and the growth of telecommunications networks and projects are providing educators and trainers with unique opportunities to enhance learning and teaching. As a contribution toward the advancement of this field, the IJET serves as a forum to facilitate the international exchange of information on the current theory, research, development, and practice of telecommunications in education and training. The Journal is designed for the following audiences: researchers, developers, and practitioners in schools, colleges, and universities; administrators, policy decision-makers, professional trainers, adult educators, and other specialists in education, industry, and the government. IJET's scope includes the research, development, and practice of educational telecommunications related to the following: - Artificial intelligence and telecommunications - Collaboration (university/school/industry) - Cooperative/collaborative learning - Connectivity and implementation strategies - Designing distance learning systems - Distance education and telelearning - Evaluation - Funding sources, costs, and benefits - Global education - Instructional telecommunications models - Integrated development environments - Multimedia and telecommunications - Online and networked education - Pedagogical foundations - Policy, ethics, standards, and legal issues - Rural, developing, and remote areas of the world - Social and cultural issues - Teaching/learning strategies - Teleconferencing (audio, audiographics, computer, video) - User/student modeling in distance education Articles within the following themes are of particular interest and may be grouped either as a section within an issue or as an entire issue: - Interaction: its value to students and implications for teachers - Collaborative Learning: case studies and evaluation of applications - Design of Telecommunications Courses: integration with other course elements - Use of Internet Resources in Learning and Teaching We appreciate your article contributions to this new journal and ask that you encourage others to become IJET contributors and subscribers. Gary H. Marks Editor E-mail: aace@virginia.edu gopher: //aace.virginia.edu ----------------- ARTICLE ABSTRACTS ----------------- An Assessment of Training Needs in the Use of Distance Education for Instruction LORRAINE C. SHERRY AND RICHARD A. MORSE School of Education University of Colorado at Denver P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA A needs assessment was performed to identify the training needs of teachers, site facilitators, and other team members involved in distance learning projects. Rossett's (1991) model was used for the initial research design. Additional considerations such as unintended outcomes and alternative viewpoints were included as the study progressed. Lack of familiarity with distance education technologies, lack of access to phone lines, and lack of training in methods and strategies for using telecommunications media are major problem areas. Appropriate training is desired by most teachers and site facilitators and by some support personnel and administrators. In response to these identified needs, a Professional Development Certificate in Distance Education is now being developed by the University of Colorado in cooperation with the Technology Academy of Denver Public Schools. The Learning Web A System View and an Agent-Oriented Model D.H. NORRIE AND B.R. GAINES Faculty of Engineering University of Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, CANADA The notion of a learning society has long been promoted as the next stage of evolution of the educational system, from the inculation of skills and knowledge to the development of capacities which enable people to learn continuously for the rest of their lives. This evolutionary step is vital to the continued health of human societies in a post-modern age of rapid and unceasing change where the certainties of the past have been replaced by the uncertainties of a future that requires continuous learning. The move to a learning society requires changes in personal attitudes and the educational infrastructure. It also requires major technological support to provide open access to a learning environment for all people, in all places at all times. This paper presents progress in the development of the Learning Web, an agent-oriented network supporting knowledge access, collaboration, and simulation, in order to provide a widely accessible learning environment. The essence of the Learning Web is an open architecture supporting integration of heterogeneous subsystems in which there is a natural symbiosis between human and computer agents. Perceptions of Proximate and Distant Learners Enrolled in University- Level Communication Courses: A Significant Nonsignificant Finding MICHAEL Z. HACKMAN AND KIM B. WALKER Department of Communication University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80933-1750, USA In the information age, telecommunications is replacing face-to-face contact at an accelerating rate. Much of the adoption of new technologies is based on assumptions among users that mediated communication is as effective as communication in physically proximate contexts. This study examined system design factors and communication norms which combined to affect perceptions of televised instruction. Participants receiving the same instruction in two modes--face-to-face and at a distance--were compared. No significant differences were discovered in the two groups' perceptions of the same instructional events, delivered by trained instructors. Teachers Using Technology: Barriers and Breakthroughs SANDRA R. LEVIN National Center for Supercomputing Applications University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 152 Computing Applications Building, Champaign, IL 61820, USA During the 1992-93 school year, a Southern California school district began building a telecommunication infrastructure to connect its 150 elementary, middle, and high schools to the Internet. Two federally funded research projects aided the district in training some of its high school science and mathematics teachers in the use of telecommunications, providing modems for some schools, and providing a server with Internet connectivity for the school district. In January 1994, a technology and telecommunication survey was sent to all high school science teachers to examine the extent to which computers and computer networks were being used by teachers and students in high school science classrooms. Fifty-three percent of the surveys were returned. The findings suggest that although some money is available to build a telecommunications infrastructure throughout a school district, installing hardware is only the first step in a complicated process of integrating telecommunication use into the high school science curriculum. Even when teachers have gone through extensive telecommunication training and some networking hardware is in place, other barriers such as network access, financial and technical support, time, teachers' perceptions, teacher communication, and curriculum integration continue to inhibit the widespread use of telecommunications in high school science classrooms. Can University Faculty Affect Student Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail? CHERYL A. WISSICK, TRACY DUBAY, NEAL HELMAN, AND DENNIS L. CATES Department of Educational Psychology University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA This study investigated the extent to which the number of assignments and number of faculty interactions with students using electronic mail affected students' attitudes and proficiencies in using electronic mail. Students enrolled in three special education courses participated in the study. Pre and post surveys were completed by all participants covering electronic mail attitudes and proficiencies. Electronic mail activities using the Pegasus Mail communication program were completed by each of the three classes. The level of faculty involvement, as well as number of required electronic mail activities, varied in each of the classes; therefore, they were categorized as high, medium, and low involvement. Results indicate that the level of faculty involvement does not affect student attitudes and proficiencies using electronic mail; however, it does affect the student's relationship with the professor. Implications for teacher education, in both special and regular education classes, are presented regarding implementation of electronic mail activities. An Inter-Cultural Approach to Literature: E-Mail in the Literature Classroom PER MEHUS Adolf Oien's School Bispegt. 20, N-7012, Troudheim, Norway This article calls for projects of a sound educational nature on the net. While hundreds of projects of sorts are being carried out right now on the Internet, very few of them are really worthwhile apart from the initial excitement of being on the net. The author is enthusiastic about using short fiction as a basis for cross-cultural networking, and refers to a recently concluded 2-year project under the auspices of the European Council, linking schools in Norway, Denmark, Estonia, and the U.S.A. Problems and Issues in Distance Learning Using Interactive Video Between the U.S. and Selected African Countries LARRY M. DOOLEY Educational Human Resource Development Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3256, USA With the recent growth and development of distance learning, where courses can be literally "beamed" throughout the nation and even beyond, the possibilities of intercommunications and educational endeavors between organizations and institutions are becoming endless. On April 11-14, 1994, Texas A&M University hosted a historical exchange of information between the United States of America and the African nations of Zimbabwe and Kenya. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate the feasiblilty of using new digital satellite technology to economically deliver interactive instruction over great distances and even between continents. The project is of special significance due to not only the use of digital compression technology, but also the three-way interactive trans-continental link. Digital compression technology promises to increase the amount of available bandwidth on existing and new satellites, which in turn should reduce overall user costs. The reduction in costs will make what was once a cost prohibitive technology an affordable and useful alternative for all. The project was very successful in meeting the objectives and opens the door for future collaboration between American institutions of higher education and others around the world. COLUMNS ------- Inside Educational Networking ANDY CARVIN The Corporation for Public Broadcasting 901 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20004-2037, USA Introduction: K-12 Publishing on the Upswing Inside Educational Networking is a new column that will appear in each issue of The International Journal of Educational Telecommunications. Its focus will be to serve as a forum for recent developments in all aspects of educational networking, most notably Internet (World-Wide Web, gopher, etc.), distance education, networked multimedia, and other related forms of on-line learning. In a typical IEN column, I will focus on two or three current examples of educational networking in action. The discussion, however, will not be limited to the structure and uses of these individual sites. Other issues, such as policy and political ramifications, ethical considerations, and the general effect of technology on teaching, learning, and assessment will also be addressed. Essentially, IEN will present and address examples of how individuals and institutions are attempting to integrate networking technology into the curriculum, as well as articulate what lessons might be learned from each example in order to further the advancement of education technology. In this introductory column, I will focus my efforts on a general discussion of recent trends in World-Wide Web publishing by primary and secondary school communities. As the manager of the EdWeb Project (http://k12.cnidr.org:90), an on-line tutorial for K-12 educators interested in the role of telecommunications in teaching, I feel it is appropriate to begin the discussion in this area, for most of my recent research efforts have been centered around the general topic of educational electronic publishing. And to further facilitate reader access to each article's subject matter, IEN topics will be catalogued into the EdWeb server as well as the AACE gopher (gopher://aace.virginia.edu) so readers can connect to that site and have prepared links to on-line data when available. Finally, because IEN is designed to be a forum for the discussion of educational networking, readers are encouraged to offer their suggestions and comments for future issues. IEN's format will remain stylistically malleable so that many different issues and approaches can be addressed within the column. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Educational Telecommunications Abstracts EDITED BY SUSAN TUCKER University of South Alabama UCOM 3100, Mobile, AL 36688 The International Journal of Educational Telecommunications Abstracts section is designed to assist readers to identify important recently published material in the multi-disciplinary fields related to educational telecommunications. The section reviews and extracts noteworthy research and theoretical work appearing in major international journals, databases, and dissertations. The focus is to provide an overview of writings for possible application and a starting point for in-depth research. Most abstracts are quoted from the authors' works, MEDLINE, PSYCHLIT, or ERIC data base records and are accompanied by detailed bibliographic citations. The hard copy issue includes reviews and extracts of the following literature: Computer-Mediated Communication for Distance Education: An International Review of Design, Teaching, and Institutional Issues. Wells, R. (1992). (ACSDE Research Monograph Number 6). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 351 997) (Contains 181 references.) 80 pp. Achieving Educational Excellence by Increasing Access to Knowledge: Discussion Document. National Goals Panel, U.S. Department of Education. (1993). (Report of the Task Force on Education Network Technology). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 368 35 1) 47 pp. New Partnerships: People, Technology, and Organizations. Proceedings of the International ADCIS Conference (35th, Nashville, TN, Feb. 15-19, 1994). Orey, M. (Ed.). (1994). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED 371 734) 254 pp. International Academic Joint Ventures: Using Telecommunications and Travel in a Distributed Work Environment. Acker, S.R., et al. (1993). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 365 293) (Contains 17 references.) 17 pp. The Architecture of a Massive1y Distributed Hypermedia System. Kappe, F., et al. (1993). INTERNET Research, 3(l), 10-24. (Contains 26 references.) 14 pp. Teacher Education On-Line: What Gets Lost in Electronic Communication? Myrdal, S. (I 994). Educational Media International, 3](1), 46-52. 8 pp. From Data to Action: Information Systems in Educational Planning. Chapman, D.W., & Mahlck, L.O. (Eds.). (1993). Oxford, England: Pergamon Press. (Also available from ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 372 495) 269 pp. Schools, Teachers, Students and Computers: A Cross-National Perspective. Pelgrum, W.J. (Ed.). (1993). (lEA-COMPED Study Stage 2).(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 372 734) (Contains 56 references.) 238 pp. Case Study: The Creation of a Computer Learning Environment as an Alternative to Traditional Lecturing Methods in Chemistry. Waddick, J. (1994). Educational and Training Technology International, 31(2),98-103. (Contains 14 references.) 6 pp. The Application of Videoconferencing to the Advancement of Independent Group Learning for Professional Development. Abbott, L., et al. (1994). Educational and Training Technology International, 3](2), 85-92. (Contains 13 references.) 7 pp. Smart Valley Infrastructure. Maule,R.W. (1994).INTERNETResearch,4(2),48-58. (Contains 42 references.) 10 pp. The Use of Participatory Design in the Implementation of INTERNET- Based Collaborative Learning Activities in K-12 Classrooms. Marcos, S., & Breuleux, A. (1994). Interpersonal Computing and Technology Journal, 2(3), 99-128, (Contains 80 references.) 29 pp. Outreach and Technical Assistance Network. Four Year Evaluation Report, December 1, 1989-January 31, 1994. An Education 2000 Project. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 369 971) 55 pp. Rural Partnerships: Working Together. Proceedings of the Annual National Conference of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) (14th, Austin, TX, March 23-26, 1994). Montgomery, D. (Ed.). (1994). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED 369 587) Collaborative Learning Through Teletutorials. Idrus, R (1993). British Journal of Educational Technology, 24(3), 179-184. (Contains 18 references.) 5 pp. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FURTHER INFORMATION ------------------- A subscription to the quarterly International Journal of Educational Telecommunications is $65 (U.S.) and $75 (non-U.S.) and includes the added benefits of membership in AACE, publication/conference discounts, and a subscription to Educational Technology Review, the member periodical of AACE. To receive subscription information or Author Guidelines, contact AACE at: AACE, P.O. Box 2966, Charlottesville, VA 22902, USA E-mail: AACE@virginia.edu; Ph: 804-973-3987, Fax: 804-978-7449 Gopher: AACE.virginia.edu ======================================================================= .