Vol 7.5 DEOSNEWS

DEOSNEWS Vol. 7 No. 5, ISSN 1062-9416.

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EDITORIAL

Periodically we publish book reviews that have appeared in recent

issues of _The American Journal of Distance Education_ as a way to

keep our readers informed of useful and important publications in the

field of distance education. This issue of DEOSNEWS includes

reviews of two books: _Why the Information Highway?_, which

deals with issues in Canadian distance education, and _The Virtual

Classroom_, which introduces important perspectives on on-line

education. Reviewers Tony Bates and Zane Berge offer thoughtful

analyses of these works that DEOSNEWS readers can use in

assessing the value of these publications for their own study or

practice.

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_Why the Information Highway? Lessons from Open and

Distance Learning_. Judy Roberts and Erin Keough, eds. (Toronto,

Ontario: Trifolium Books, 1995, 276 pp., $32.95).

_Why the Information Highway?_ is a useful and timely

addition to the growing literature on Canadian distance

education, complementing earlier collections of papers such as

those of Mugridge and Kaufman (1986) and Sweet (1989). In his

preface to this book, Sir John Daniel, Vice-Chancellor of the

British Open University, comments:

In the mid-1980s the term "distance education" was

practically unheard of in the United States . . . . This has now

changed . . . . distance education is suddenly at the centre of

public discourse about the electronic future. Canadian

distance education is particularly rich in lessons and

experience that can help us assess the likely fate of new

mutations. The Canadian experience will be very relevant to

institutions around the world that are assessing the

implications of the information superhighway for their

institutions.

The editors have assembled a collection of thirteen chapters

from experienced Canadian distance educators on different

aspects of open and distance learning. Part 1 is concerned with

emerging issues in open and distance learning. Margaret

Haughey of the University of Alberta provides a thoughtful

discussion of the meaning of distance in education. Lucille Pacey

of the Open Learning Agency and Wayne Penney, a

management consultant (both from British Columbia),

challenge distance educators to think strategically by developing

models of teaching and learning that meet the emerging needs

of learners in the 21st century.

Part 2 is a collection of case studies, each of which describes a

specific context and identifies issues arising from these

applications. Anna Stahmer, co-publisher of The Training

Technology Monitor, describes five case studies of open and

distance learning in the training sector; Norman McKinnon, a

private consultant from Ontario, describes three case studies of

open and distance learning in the K-12 sector; Athabasca

University's Barbara Spronk provides seven case studies on the

application of open and distance learning for aboriginal

education; Jane Brindley, former Director of Student Services at

Athabasca University, makes an impassioned argument for

high-quality student support services for distance learners;

Laurentian University president Ross Paul takes a hard look at

the reality, as distinct from the myths and "hype," of technology

applications in distance education; and Therese Lamy (private

consultant), Pierre Pelletier (Director of Continuing Education at

the University of Ottawa), Denise Pacquette-Frenette and Daniel

Laroque (private consultants), Noel Thomas (president of an

Ottawa-based company that provides on-line educational

services), and Don McDonell (Director of Distance Education at

the University of Ottawa) provide case studies and perspectives

of francophone applications of distance education.

Part 3, concerned with analysis, includes stimulating chapters

on research and evaluation (Judith Tobin, TVOntario),

internationalization (Ian Mugridge, Commonwealth of

Learning), and government policies regarding distance

education (Erin Keough, Director of the Open Learning and

Information Network of Newfoundland and Labrador and Judy

Roberts, an Ontario-based private consultant).

Several of the contributors emphasize the point that there is

now a great deal of experience in teaching distance learners, and

that many of the lessons derived from this experience will apply

to new applications of the information highway. In particular,

teaching needs to be learner-centered and characterized by good

instructional design, appropriate choice and use of technologies,

and, above all, strong student support services including

counseling, group work, interaction between teacher and

student, peer-group interaction, and links with local

communities.

-Why the Information Highway?_ is comprehensively

Canadian in terms of geography, culture, and experience.

However, the book does not include contributions from some of

those Canadians--such as Linda Harasim and Gerry Sinclair

from Simon Fraser University and Terry Anderson from the

University of Alberta--who have pioneered the use of the

Internet for teaching or from those using videoconferencing at

Calgary, Queens, Guelph, Waterloo, and MacMaster universities.

These new "players" reflect a range of differing philosophies and

contexts for technology-based distance learning. Their potential

contributions are missed, especially in the context of the

inherent conservatism of Canadian distance education and the

need for it to adapt to a rapidly changing technological and social

environment, which is noted by several of the contributors.

Pacey and Penney for example, question whether Canadian

distance educators have changed their thinking to take account

of the changing world around them. Tobin also notes that,

despite nearly twenty years of research in distance education, the

research is still fragmented and repetitive, failing to address the

wider issues of what learners need and how best to meet those

needs in a world where distance education and campus-based

teaching are rapidly converging through the use of technology.

The absence of perspectives on these issues highlights my

main disappointment with this book. With a few exceptions, the

authors do not address the central issue of how the information

highway will change the nature of both distance teaching and

campus-based institutions. As a result, issues specific to the

application of technologies such as the World Wide Web,

computer conferencing, and videoconferencing are not discussed

in any depth. The "missing" contributors named earlier are

experimenting with these new delivery forms in new contexts

and are coming up with solutions that extend both the campus-

based and distance education paradigms.

Thus, while the book will be useful for faculty members who

are interested in using multimedia and the information

highway for their teaching, it will not provide answers to some

of the critical issues that they are having to address: the

difference between on-campus and off-campus use of

technologies, faculty development, and technology

infrastructure support, for example. Despite these limitations,

_Why the Information Highway?_ can provide educators with

much needed guidance about many of the critical aspects of

teaching distance learners, whether over the Information

Highway or in other ways.

REFERENCES

Mugridge, I., and D. Kaufman, eds. 1986. _Distance Education in

Canada_. London: Croom Helm.

Sweet, R., ed. 1989. _Post-Secondary Distance Education in

Canada_. Athabasca: Athabasca University/Canadian Society

for Studies in Education.

Reviewed by Tony Bates, Director of Distance Education and

Technology, Continuing Studies, University of British Columbia,

Room 1170 University Services Building, 2329 West Mall,

Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. This review appeared in Vol. 10

No. 2 of The American Journal of Distance Education.

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_The Virtual Classroom: Learning without Limits via Computer

Networks_. Starr Roxanne Hiltz. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1994, 406

pp., $69.50 cloth/25.50 paper.

One of the first "names" in the field of computer-mediated

communication (CMC) of whom I became aware was Starr

Roxanne Hiltz, who has been researching and writing on this

topic for twenty years (see Hiltz and Turoff 1978). It is with this

long-time knowledge of the field that Hiltz has crafted a book to

summarize her work. In The Virtual Classroom, Hiltz describes

a "virtual classroom" as a teaching and learning environment

within, and mediated by, a computer system. The Virtual

Classroom (TM) computer-conferencing program originated at the

New Jersey Institute of Technology; it "brings the university into

the homes and work places of students through the use of

computers" (p. xvii).

One goal of this book is to make Hiltz's many years of

research and technical reports understandable to several target

audiences, especially to teachers and students who might use

CMC in their courses. Additionally, Hiltz hopes to reach scholars

and the general public interested in technology, society, and

"new communication technologies and in issues of evaluation

research related to computer, communications, and pedagogical

innovations" (p. xviii).

When the original research reported in this book was

conducted, justification had to be made for the use of CMC for

teaching and learning. The comparison with the "traditional

classroom," however, does a disservice to this powerful

environment. The traditional classroom, in most cases, is not

the shining standard to which we should hold all learning

environments, and I am somewhat concerned by the

overarching comparisons made. It is difficult to describe in text

the flavor of vanilla ice cream, and equally difficult to explain

the "flavor" of a learning environment, especially to someone

who has never experienced any virtual classroom. To her credit,

Hiltz clearly states that while a computer-mediated learning

environment can support some activities that are difficult or

impossible in face-to-face environments, both face-to-face and

CMC have strengths and shortcomings. Clearly, unless we are

concerned only with issues of access to high-quality education, a

challenge to educators is to find the "mixed mode

environment" using all tools at our disposal to deliver what

we know at any time is the highest quality education.

Chapter 1 states two basic research questions guiding the

Virtual Classroom project:

*Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational

delivery?

*What variables are associated with especially good and

especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and

learning environment?

As mentioned above, I would suggest that we now have moved

significantly beyond the first question, thanks in large part to the

already published research on this project. However, the second

question is the more important one.

Hiltz does an excellent job presenting the case for using the

virtual classroom to provide improved access through flexibility

of place, flexibility of time, and absence of travel requirements.

She also recognizes the limitations of CMC in providing access:

limited course offerings, equipment requirements, and skills

requirements. Hiltz summarizes the more important features of

CMC by contrasting them with the traditional classroom, an

approach which, as I mentioned earlier, has its limitations.

Some important philosophical foundations are articulated in

Chapter 2. After providing an appropriately concise summary of

the "no significant difference" outcome in media comparison

studies, Hiltz reviews (in a somewhat abbreviated fashion) the

literature relating to active learning, collaborative learning, and

selected aspects of CMC .

Hiltz does a good job of describing the features of the virtual

classroom software, and these descriptions are generalizable

across many conferencing systems. She then outlines eleven

hypotheses that she and her colleagues have been studying over

the years. The first hypothesis deals with the comparative

effectiveness of virtual classrooms versus traditional classrooms.

In general, I think the field is well past having to justify CMC as

a viable channel for learning to take place. With this exception,

the hypotheses seem valuable: they explore a causal model for

the virtual classroom and begin to explain under what

conditions and to whom on-line learning is most useful.

Chapter 5 covers "basics" and has dozens of useful practice

tips, obviously gleaned from years of experience. Chapter 6

addresses the moderation of computer conferences, and Chapter

7 involves collaborative learning. Chapter 8 describes some of

the problems faced in implementing the on-line classroom.

Topics such as recruiting sufficient numbers of students for

experimental on-line sections, faculty opposition, inadequate

access to equipment, and deliberate misbehavior by some

students are among the many issues discussed. This section of

the book is rich in practical advice, exhibits, and lists, making it

valuable reading for any on-line teacher, whether veteran or

novice.

Chapters 9 through 14 describe the quasi-experimental design

and results of full-scale field trials conducted on a prototype of

the system in 1986-87. While a researcher wishing to replicate or

extend the author's work may find them useful in their entirety,

the summaries are well done and probably stand alone for

practitioners and scholars not actively engaged in research.

Taken together, these chapters are useful for all readers in

understanding what happened in the early Virtual Classrooms.

Topics covered include results based on sample transcripts and

interactions, variations in student ability, access problems,

students perceptions, motivation, and dropouts.

In Chapter 15, "Learning Without Limits," Hiltz describes

current and future developments in the virtual classroom and

her view of the future of CMC in elementary to postgraduate-

level education. While I agree with most of what she says, I have

some reservations about the extent to which students can choose

to learn whenever and wherever they wish, especially in K-12

contexts.

Hiltz states that the work described in this book focuses on

university-level learning, but that it can and is being applied at

the K-12 level. She goes on to describe a project to provide

"freedom for the [K-12] learner" (p. 256). Given the severe

constraints and limitations on the use and employment of

effective educational processes that the author lists, the idea is to

implement a program "whereby each student can progress

through each course according to his or her level of ability and

motivation. Learning can occur around the clock and

throughout the year" (p. 257). However, factors outside of

learning and teaching will reinforce the status quo and mitigate

against the type of radical changes that a focus on pedagogical

factors alone would seem to call us to.

As the author suggests "the most important changes over the

next decade or two will not be in technological advances, but in

institutional change" (p. 259). Yet it is the changes to the roles

and functions of students and teachers highlighted in

summaries of the "faculty perspectives" and the "student

perspectives" that are more likely to immediately affect on-line

learning.

Because the theoretical perspective in _The Virtual Classroom _

is weaker than the practical guidance offered, it cannot be said to

be the one book about CMC that readers should have. (A better all-

purpose choice would be either _Learning Networks_[Harasim et al.

1995], of which Hiltz is a co-author, or _Alone but Together_

[Eastmond 1995]). However, _The Virtual Classroom_ is a valuable

book for teachers using CMC and for researchers and scholars

working in this field. The author's long experience with computer

conferences adds great credibility to her conclusions. Overall it is

clearly written and contains valuable references in the field prior to

the copyright date.

REFERENCES

Eastmond, D. V. 1995. _Alone but Together: Adult Distance Study

through Computer Conferencing_. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton

Press.

Harasim, L., S. R. Hiltz, L. Teles, and M. Turoff. 1995. _Learning

Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online_.

Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Hiltz, S. R., and M. Turoff. 1978. _The Network Nation: Human

Communication via Computer_. Reading, MA: Addison-

Wesley.

Reviewed by Zane L. Berge, Director, Training Systems, ISD

Graduate Programs, University of Maryland Baltimore County,

5401 Wilkens Ave., Baltimore, MD 21228-5398. This review appeared

in Vol. 10 No. 3 of The American Jouranl of Distance Education.

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