Towards a Framework for Technology Use in Distance Education

Question 1

________refers to suitability of the technology to the context in which it is used

Answer 1

Appropriateness

Question 2

_______refers to the extent to which stated educational goals and objectives are realized.

Answer 2

Effectiveness

Question 3

5 dimensions of sustainability

Answer 3

1. Economic - ability of a school to finance ICT
2. Social - community involvement
3. Political - policy making, visionary leadership, change management
4. Technological - choosing robust tech to meet demands for the long term
5. Educational - recognition and institutionalization of tech supported teaching-learning methods

Question 4

Without strong educational criteria, three decision-making scenarios are common for media and technology selection in education and training

Answer 4

1. The first is basically to do nothing.
2. The second is ‘sympathetic anarchy’ - teachers allowed to use whatever tech
3. The third is ‘monomedia mania’ - institution invests heavily on a single tech

Question 5

The factors important for selecting and using technology in open learning and distance education can be stated as a set of questions that each institution needs to answer.

Answer 5

ACTIONS Framework
1. Access of tech to targeted learners
2. Cost structure of tech
3. Kind of learning needed and instructional approach to meet need
4. Interaction enabled by tech
5. Organization requirements/changes needed
6. Technology novelty
7. Speed in mounting courses and changing materials with tech

Question 6

Mackenzie (2002) has suggested building technology selection around _________ (Gardner, 1983, 2006), following the following sequence of decisions: learner → teaching objective → intelligences → media choice.

Answer 6

Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory

Question 7

Of all the criteria in determining choice of technology, this is perhaps the most discriminating.

Answer 7

Access

Question 8

identifying dominant______ should then provide strong criteria for media and technology selection

Answer 8

learning styles

Question 9

A useful standard or criterion for the selection of course media or software is that ‘novice’ students (students who have never used the software before) should be studying within ________of logging on.

Answer 9

20 minutes

Question 10

The critical factor in making technology transparent is the design of the_______ between the user and the machine.

Answer 10

interface

Question 11

_________ can be a huge cost, not just in paying technical staff to deal with service calls, but also in lost time of students and teachers

Answer 11

Technical support

Question 12

_________ can be a huge cost, not just in paying technical staff to deal with service calls, but also in lost time of students and teachers

Answer 12

Technical support

Question 13

Thus the more expensive the course to develop, the greater the need to increase ___________to reduce the average cost per student.

Answer 13

student numbers

Question 14

Media such as an LMS can have __________ but much lower annual delivery and maintenance costs than face-to-face teaching, for instance

Answer 14

higher initial development costs

Question 15

2 types of learner interaction with learning materials.

Answer 15

‘reflective’, without any overt actions,
‘observable’, in the form of an assessed response,

Question 16

computer-managed learner interaction is particularly good for developing _________ of concepts and procedures, but it has limitations in developing the higher order learning skills of analysis, synthesis and critical thinking, without additional human intervention of some kind.

Answer 16

comprehension and understanding

Question 17

3 interactive characteristics of media and technology

Answer 17

1. Inherent interactivity - ‘push’ learners to respond (ex. adaptive learning)
2. Designed interactivity (ex. web page comment box)
3. User generated interaction - end users may still voluntarily interact with the medium

Question 18

Even if the technology is in place, such as a learning management system or a video production facility, because of the inertia in institutions, there is often a bias towards those technologies that can be introduced with the ________ although these may not be the technologies that would have maximum impact on learning.

Answer 18

minimum of organisational change,