Evolution Before Revolution: Simplifying the Recording and Streaming of Instructor-Led Presentations
True eLearning (as opposed to the sparse and re-purposed content delivered
through many of today's online courses) is a complex and expensive instructional
design and content delivery process that relies on building learning objects
often with time-consuming visual and multimedia files. Most university faculties
do not have the requisite expertise to design, build, and deliver courses this
way, and instructional support teams are often overextended. A number of institutions
have discovered that their faculties and students are better served if, instead
of trying to completely re-create a new learning experience for remote learners,
they simply replicate the proven, instructor-led style of lectures of traditional,
classroom-based courses and make them available online.
Demand for Online Learning Grows
As of late, distance education is generating a great deal of interest and reaching
out to extended audiences, but it certainly isn't new. In fact, it's been around
for decades; ranging from correspondence courses to instructional radio- and
television-based courses to video conferenced delivery. Each new generation
of technology attempts to address previous limitations and indeed has brought
improvements to the learner's experience. However, distance education has remained
on the fringes of the education community, and in many cases has lacked the
credibility and scope of traditional, classroom-based learning. This is changing,
as advances in technology, from high-speed Internet to sophisticated streaming
devices, have enabled the market to evolve to a largely Web-based delivery,
providing a richer, more dynamic medium for the growing number of students learning
remotely.
The Sloan Consortium outlined just how popular online learning has become in
its November 2004 report Entering the Mainstream--The Quality and Extent
of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004. According to the
Sloan report, higher education institutions project a 25 percent annual growth
rate for online learning, with online enrollment rates outpacing that of the
overall student body. Likewise, a majority of the 1,100-plus colleges and universities
surveyed believe online education is critical to their long-term strategy.
Although these numbers indicate "distance education" has established
itself as a legitimate way to earn a degree or receive advanced training, they
also present many challenges for the institutions that must find a way to make
it possible. Faculty resistance, overtaxed IT and AV departments, and, of course,
determining which technologies can best help achieve the desired results must
be considered. Return on investment and low total cost of ownership are institutional
requirements as well, particularly when examined in context with today's restricted
equipment and operating budgets.
Online Learning at the Crossroads
While the percentage of institutions that offer online distance-learning and
hybrid courses is impressive, dig deeper and you will find that the vast majority
only offer five to 10 percent of courses in this manner. The reason for this
low penetration rate on campuses may be traced to the complex processes germane
to traditional eLearning, which create entire new cost centers in terms of people
(instructional designers, media specialists), time (two to six man hours per
session) and resources (learning object repositories and a robust infrastructure).
In addition to the technical and economic barriers, eLearning, in its strictest
sense, is a rather rigid, instructional methodology that forces educators to
teach within an entirely new paradigm that some feel diminishes their importance,
specialized knowledge, and pedagogical skill.
An alternate method of delivering distance education has proved successful at
a number of institutions--a Web-enabled rich media approach that digitally records
traditional, classroom-based courses and makes them available online. This approach
of essentially exporting the classroom experience to students learning remotely,
removes many of the complex issues of eLearning, and makes the teaching and
learning processes much more transparent.
Although perhaps not as "revolutionary" as eLearning, this style
of online learning more quickly and easily satisfies student demand for distance
education courses, and could later motivate an evolution toward incorporating
online components into established curricula. In addition, transparently recording
and streaming courses removes many of the adoption barriers by allowing professors
to teach as they always have, using all the instructional materials and tools
they use for their in-class learners. Recording what already is occurring in
the classroom carries economic benefits because institutions are simply broadening
access to instructors who are already paid for classroom delivery. Further,
it maximizes infrastructure investments universities have made to create "the
smart classroom" while providing the flexibility for modular additions,
as budgets permit.
For these reasons, many now believe that a Web-based rich media approach, which
has fewer technical, economic, and emotional hurdles to clear, represents our
best hope for reaching online education's tipping point. Indeed, today's rich
media streaming technology has matured to the point that it provides remote
students with an exceptional online representation of the classroom experience,
complete with audio, video, and synchronized instructional materials. A rich
media delivery also works well with hybrid courses, which combine elements of
online and face-to-face interaction.
Best Practices in Rich Media
A Web-enabled rich media approach to delivering course content takes into account
how professors teach, what students want, and the learning processes and educational
outcomes that connect them online. This method of delivery also easily integrates
with other Web-based learning applications, such as course management systems
or campus portals, and provides students with a convenient index of classes
so they can quickly locate the exact material they need. Capturing, archiving,
and indexing classroom lectures allows students to make up missed classes or
review specific material before an exam, ultimately improving student learning
outcomes. In fact, institutions that provide this review service as an adjunct
to traditional classroom-based learning often report a spike in on-demand viewing
during midterms and finals.
To fully appreciate the benefits of rich media, consider what Villanova University's
College of Engineering (C'E) has accomplished in a short amount of time. In
the fall of 2003, following an infrastructure upgrade that included an integrated
systems design for both Web-based and video teleconferencing delivery for synchronous
and asynchronous learners, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
offered Villanova's first fully online master's degree. Since then, the C'E
has added an additional degree every year and by Fall 2007 will have at least
five fully online master's degree programs in engineering, as well as a number
of Web-based certificate programs. It will continue to provide traditional,
classroom-based courses in line with its online program offerings.
Not only has Villanova's C'E scaled its program to meet student demand for
educational flexibility without overburdening faculty, this year the graduate
program grossed more than $500,000 in tuition revenues from distance education
students alone. With the technology now paid for, and additional classes coming
online each year, C'E expects additional revenue growth in the future.
"As we developed our distance education program, one of the criteria was
that it not only supports, but strengthens Villanova University's strong tradition
of academic excellence," said Seán O'Donnell, director of distance
education for Villanova's College of Engineering. "By integrating the Sonic
Foundry Mediasite recorders with our WebCT course management and academic enterprise
system tools, we have created an online learning experience that is of the highest
quality. It's an approach that our faculty has embraced because it leverages
their core strengths as educators, while providing the C'E with a sustainable
and replicable model for distributing learning content."
As higher ed institutions grapple with the technical challenges of online learning,
they should consider starting with their strengths--an accomplished faculty
comfortable standing at the front of a classroom. This tried-and-true educational
experience now can be exported via streaming media and archived into easily
accessible segments for the benefits of both the remote and traditional audiences.
Translating these existing competencies is a fast, culturally supported way
to serve the distance education student while strengthening the on-campus learning
community.