from VCCA Journal, Volume 9, Number 2, Summer 1995, 6- 10
© Copyright 1995 VCCA Journal
In the summer of 1990, when Southwest Virginia Community College (SWVCC) leaders prepared planning documents for the decade of the 90's, three concerns appeared time and time again in the purpose-and-goals work sheets developed by each of the academic divisions. These were (1) providing accessibility for students to the college, particularly for minority and other disadvantaged groups; (2) insuring quality training in a time when diminishing budgets are forcing increased use of adjunct faculty; and (3) promoting the use of the latest technology in all college instruction and support services. A clear consensus emerged that a "distance education" program would be a very reasonable means by which to address each of these concerns.
Distance Education: Electronic Classroom
After several months of planning, the mechanism of how to deliver distance education emerged. The plan called for the development of electronic classrooms which would make use of existing high school sites and link them with the campus by T1 telephone service. The first classrooms were installed in 1992.
During the summer of 1994, the college became part of the Southwest Virginia Educational and Training Network, a 45 Mbps fiber optic system linking a consortium of 16 school divisions and 10 colleges and universities located in southwest Virginia. The use of fiber optic cable permits transmission of color video with natural motion and wide spectrum sound over a high speed digital network that can, as telephone technology matures, be dialed up and switched like a long-distance telephone call.
The electronic classroom looks like any other classroom. On closer inspection however, one begins to notice the movement of a robotic motion control camera as it focuses on instructor and students and the tilt of the graphics camera scanning the instructor's printed materials and slides. These well-equipped classrooms each have video tape players for commercially available video programs, a video tape recorder to record the class, and an audio system which picks up questions from the students in the electronic classroom.
Campus Produced Telecourses
In an effort to offer students options in delivery systems, SWVCC developed telecourses in American history with a few false starts over a ten-year period. Initially audio-visual services video taped both semesters of the American history survey courses by simply placing a camera in the classroom. The result was not a telecourse. However, students could use these tapes as part of independent study courses, and the experience helped audio-visual and the instructor understand the opportunities and problems of using video taped lessons. The professor soon understood the necessity of avoiding the infamous "talking head" on tape as much as possible.
With the previous experience in mind, the fearless professor and the brave personnel of audio-visual planned and taped one semester of the American history survey course during the summer of 1992. The project consisted of twenty-five lessons that included lecture, slides, films, and overheads. In the creation of the first course, the team taped the lectures and later added in the slides and graphics (preparing and taping lectures required twenty full work days followed by several weeks to add in the other material). To explain course requirements to students, audio-visual and the professor wrote a pamphlet and produced an introductory video.
After enjoying some success with the first semester, the same brave team that worked on the first course plunged ahead in the summer of 1994 to film the second semester of American history. While the personnel were the same, the procedures differed significantly.
All slides, pictures, overheads, and computer graphics went on the tape at the same time as the lecture. Taping occurred only after all material was ready which meant a lot of work up front. Both the professor and the audio-visual department selected materials and judged what would and would not work, unlike the first course where audio-visual taped slides separately and put them into the program. Audio-visual digitized the slides which allowed the instructor to call up the slides during the lesson and shift back and forth from one slide to another when needed.
How many people contributed to the product of two telecourses? The list includes one secretary to keep track of the production schedule and file materials; the director of audio-visual Services and four members of the audio-visual department to build the set, supervise the control room, operate the cameras, and search for materials; one typist to type a transcript of the lessons; and one naive historian trying to learn quickly the strategies of using television in education. Time proved to be the enemy. And we have a warning to all contemplating production of a telecourse: an instructor can expect to need about ten hours per twenty-five minute lesson. This time doesn't include the weeks of work by six people in AV services. Clearly, producing telecourses is not easy, nor is it a quick cure for anything.
While campus-produced courses are difficult to fabricate, they do represent an opportunity. Instructors have a sense of ownership and control of these courses that might not be true with licensed courses. In the future, instructors may alter, add to, or in some way adjust telecourses to meet student needs; indeed, based on student performance in the courses and their comments, instructors may improve the product each year without totally revamping. New lectures on different topics and interviews with other historians are part of plans to revise the current American history offerings. So far, students' work and evaluations have encouraged SWVCC to proceed with telecourses in psychology, math, business and engineering.
What can we learn from our experiences about teaching via telecourses? From the instructor's perspective, be aware of the need to boil down lecture topics to what a student may learn from the "talking head" as opposed to assigned reading or their course requirements. Without a doubt the most difficult adjustment involved teaching to a camera (a cold, unblinking fish eye) and not having students react to the material. Few professors fully understand how dependent they are on students' responses and questions. Another lesson is that telecourses are not for all students; hence, at SWVCC students in telecourses must be qualified to take transfer English classes and need to understand the importance of self-discipline.
In two years, American history telecourses have attracted students of varying schedules and backgrounds: some with work and family responsibilities that make it hard to meet regularly scheduled classes, some who solve schedule conflicts with a flexible telecourse, and finally those who prefer being able to set their own schedule.
What should we look forward to in telecourses? Let's develop teams of professors from several campuses to plan the second generation of telecourses and allow a pooling of materials, equipment, and talents. For American history professors, having the money and time in the budget to travel to different parts of the state to tape lessons at relevant sites such as Williamsburg, Washington, D.C., and Richmond would add excitement and vitality to subjects for students. When seen as part of varied efforts to serve the educational requirements of Virginia, telecourses now and in the future are a fascinating and challenging alternative for colleges and learners.
Distance Education: Pre-Packaged Video Programs
SWVCC has one foreign language instructor who teaches a full load of French and Spanish classes on campus as well as an occasional evening class, either on campus or at one of the remote sites. The institution serves an extensive four-county area in rural, southwestern Virginia, and there is no possible way that one instructor can physically be everywhere at once. Because of these limitations, the division chair and the audio-visual department asked the instructor to develop a video Spanish program to better reach students at remote communities in the service region.
For the instructor's first try at coordinating a Spanish language program via video, she chose to develop a program for Spanish 101 and Spanish 102, the two beginning-level courses. The instructor opted for a pre-packaged program for the following reasons.
1. The program chosen, Destinos, was designed for distance and independent learning.
2. The instructor uses it in her traditional classes.
3. The videos incorporate a story line that students can easily follow and which is the point of departure for the language and culture learning. This is a holistic approach to language, rather than just teaching isolated grammar. The videos and audiocassettes present language in context, which makes it more applicable, realistic and "user-friendly."
4. The program utilizes native speakers of Spanish from different countries, such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. The program exposes students to these different cultures and dialects through the videos and audiocassettes.
The enrolling students must pick up a course outline and an introductory packet from the audio-visual department. Materials for the course include a text, workbook, videos and audiocassettes. Students purchase texts at the campus bookstore, and check out videos and cassettes from the audio-visual department. The institution paid a licensing fee of $2500 for three years to offer and distribute the program in this manner. In addition to this fee, there is a $15 per student fee as well. Such fees in other discipline programs may vary. We know that one way to save costs might be to form a consortium effort with other schools to offer such pre-packaged programs.
The instructor of such a program is responsible for developing a cover letter, a course outline and assignments. In this program, for example, the students do text and workbook assignments to prepare for the four course tests. Students may take the tests in the audio-visual department, or they may have an approved proctor administer them at an off-campus location--many of our students are located at remote sites and rarely come to the main campus.
In addition to the tests, each student writes a research paper in English on any topic related to Hispanic culture, places, people, etc. This particular assignment allows students the freedom to choose a topic in which they have an interest, or one that they might be able to relate to their own curriculum and major. Some recent examples submitted by students were the following: "The Population Explosion in Mexico City," "The History of the Spanish Language," and "Hispanic Students in English-Speaking Schools."
Currently, Spanish courses enjoy high enrollment and have received a great deal of positive feedback. The distance education program exposes many more students to Spanish than was previously possible. Furthermore, it is a course that can be taken for transfer credit, personal interest or development, or simply for a Spanish review. However, experience suggests that this method is best for those students who are highly self-motivated and independent learners and for those whose schedule will not permit them to attend classes on campus. A video course cannot provide the class interaction and immediate feedback that one experiences in the traditional classroom or in a fully interactive audio and video electronic classroom.
Distance Education: Training
The audio-visual services department has coordinated the training of faculty for teaching in the electronic classroom as well as the production of telecourses and their delivery. Campus-wide faculty orientations, meetings and workshops have been held to inform faculty on matters ranging from materials distribution to teaching methods. Seasoned faculty discuss their experiences and offer support to other interested faculty.
The audio-visual services department provides faculty with many suggestions for successful teaching through telecourses and the electronic classroom, but most instructors quickly find their own most effective teaching style.
In conclusion, surveys find the college's distance education program an effective delivery system for quality higher education, especially for those who would not otherwise have easy access to college courses.
Robert Tomlinson is professor of history at Southwest Virginia Community College.
Elizabeth Dale is instructor of Spanish and French at Southwest Virginia.
Sylvia Dye is program support technician in Audio-Visual and Distance Education Services at Southwest Virginia.
Thomas A. Cash is coordinator of Audio-Visual and Distance Education Services at Southwest Virginia.