library education at a distance

Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE)

Library Education at a DistanceAuthor(s): Peter Liebscher and Nancy McCaffreySource: Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Fall, 1996),pp. 384-388Published by: Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40324248 .

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"The Visible College" LING HWEYJENG, EDITOR

Library Education at a Distance

Peter Liebscher and Nancy McCaffrey

The rapid change in information technology is forcing library and information professionals to consider continuous education and training in order to maintain an edge in the workplace. Many of the skills that were at the cutting edge only a few years ago are now obsolete, and the pace of change is quickening. Participation of librarians in a globally networked information environment is beginning to have a profound effect on the services offered. Indeed this global connectivity may well change the very nature of the library and of professional library work.

The needs of all information professionals to keep up with technological change are so great that library educators must look beyond their current traditional continuing education programs toward programs that provide "continuous" education. As the term suggests, this means the availability of professional education and training throughout the year, in places and at times convenient to the professional. Traditional classroom offerings do not meet these needs. Librarians and other information professionals are dis- persed - many are nowhere near library schools. Fortunately the technology that is driving the very changes that require continuous education also provides solutions to the problem of reaching working professionals.

Two-way video/audio, transmitted between learning centers over data communication lines, promises to bring librarians at scattered and possibly remote centers together in a virtual classroom. Physically, the learner can be in an educational institution, in a library (his or her place of work), or at a personal-computer workstation in the home. The instructor can be anywhere. With communications technologies linking students with instructors, with other experts, and with distributed information resources, a rich learning environment can be created and delivered to librarians at locations that best meet their needs.

Besides convenience to students and instructors, two other factors make this an attractive environment.

1. Distance-learning technology is also information delivery technology and as such fits well in a program for library and information professionals who are examining a range of information technologies.

2. Technological components, such as access to Internet resources, can be interwoven with other course components, including lectures, in a more seamless manner. Since remote students view each session through a television monitor, inter- weaving other materials becomes quite natural.

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About the Authors

Peter Liebscher is Associate Professor and Nancy McCaffrey is Instructor, Palmer School of Library and Information Science, Long Island Univer- sity, Brooksville, New York.

There are many reasons for the popularity of distance-learning classes. For individual professionals, time constraints play an important role in deter- mining the amount of learning in which they are willing to participate. Distance learning provides a potentially better match between the time constraints of professional learners and the fulfill- ment of educational needs. For institu- tions, the struggle to maintain quality education in periods of budgetary re- straint is also a powerful factor. Dis- tance-learning courses can relieve some of these pressures by reaching more students at lower costs.

Creating a distance-learning environment is not easy. A vital factor in its success is the provision of adequate support services, such as library and computing facilities. Both students and instructors depend heavily on sophisti- cated technical support to help manage the equipment and assist with the design and implementation of programs. This is particularly true of library education, with its very high reliance on first-rate reference collections and computing facilities.

Distance learning goes beyond col- leges and universities. The corporate sector has adopted it to provide both education and training. Corporations are using this type of learning to stay competitive and abreast of technology. With corporations adopting a philoso- phy congenial to distance learning and incorporating the necessary technology, opportunities arise for library educators to reach new populations in their places of work. Library schools can potentially

educate and train not only corporate librarians but also other corporate con- sumers of information and do so in their place of work.

As technology changes and ex- pands, so do the requirements to participate in innovative programs. New skills must be learned by faculty in order for distance learning to be successful. The planning of the course must evolve around these new skills. Design- ing graphics, managing peripheral technical equipment, organizing files, choosing the right kind of delivery sys- tem for a particular class, and anticipat- ing financial resources for the program are some of the new responsibilities that faculty members must adopt.

The Technology

Two-way interactive video/audio units are typically used for distance-learning programs. Two-way interactive video/ audio over a leased T-l (1.54 megabytes) data communication line provides ex- cellent pictures and sound quality, al- though reasonable results can be achieved in some course offerings with a lesser bandwidth. This technology transmits and displays compressed video images at a rate of fifteen screens per second. While broadcast-quality video has a refresh rate of thirty screens per second, the reduced rate is sufficient for most purposes that do not in- clude a great deal of motion - e.g., not for a dance class. Unless there is a great deal of motion, a refresh rate of fifteen screens per second is almost indistin-

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guishable from broadcast television. Each unit typically has multiple cameras (only one camera at each location is active at a time) and two large television screens. On one screen students see the image of the cameras at their own location; on the other screen, the images of the cameras at the remote location. The instructor has a similar view, being able to see and hear both the local environment and the remote class.

Each unit typically incorporates a graphics tablet that allows students and instructors at both sites to create and edit images simultaneously - e.g., instructors can place a prerecorded graphic such as a systems diagram on the screen, and the instructor and students at the remote site can use electronic pens to make changes in real time. Units typically also have the capability of interfacing with a VCR, so that sessions can be recorded for later viewing by students unable to attend the class at either location. Using a stand- ard camcorder, course materials can be recorded elsewhere and can then be in- tegrated with the rest of the class pres- entation in a seamless fashion.

Units can incorporate peripheral devices such as fax boards, providing the capability to send fax messages between sites during a class. They can also be connected to a local area network so that electronic resources residing on local servers may be included in the instruction. If the local area network is connected to the outside world, access to wide area networks, such as the Internet, is possible. The range of resources that can be brought into the remote classroom is potentially limitless.

Some Hurdles

In a learning environment that relies heavily on technological support, technical problems will occur. Good plan-

ning and prudent selection of equipment will minimize the risk of such problems. However, problems cannot be eliminated altogether. When technical problems occur, flexibility and adaptability on the part of the instructor are essential components in distance- learning programs. In a study of distance learning reported by Wolcott, instructors found technical problems to be very disruptive.1 The flow of planned instruction was broken, and it was difficult for the students and the instructor to get back on track. Conse- quently, they tended to rely on more traditional means of instruction, un- derutilizing the technical equipment. Technical glitches can frustrate teacher and students in a distance-learning environment.

Instructors have control over a great deal of equipment during a typical class session. To operate all of this equipment, while at the same time engaging one or more groups of students in instruction, is extremely difficult. Many distance-learning projects utilize stu- dios where technicians are responsible for camera control, lighting, audio lev- els, etc. This eases the load on the instructor considerably, but makes the course more complex and expensive. One possible solution is to have the students exercise control over the technical environment. As units are equipped with remote-control devices (similar to units used to control TVs and VCRs in the home), students at each site can control cameras and peripherals themselves. In general, when students are able to control the technological environment, they feel much more en- gaged in the classroom interaction. Delegating control of some of the technology in the classroom to students ap- pears to benefit both students and instructor. However, to be successful, a set of protocols needs to be developed that encompasses not only a single

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course but the program as a whole. Stu- dents and instructors will then have similar expectations.

An essential component of distance learning is making remote students feel part of a class. This is a difficult balanc- ing act. If a class incorporates students at several sites, instructors may get so involved in trying to engage one group that other groups are forgotten. Instruc- tors must possess sufficient communication skills to engender a feeling of belonging among their students. Provid- ing guest lecturers at one site, while the instructor visits the remote site, in- creases the personal contact with the off-campus students and allows the instructor to evaluate the experience from their vantage point. Communication often improves after such a visit. With- out a doubt, students engage more in debate when the instructor is physically at their location. As pointed out by Ful- mer et al., the presence of guest speak- ers at the remote site can have the same effect.2 The most lively sessions may occur when a guest speaker is at one site and the instructor at another, each act- ing as a catalyst for discussion.

Instructors must ensure that they don't present relatively unchanging images on a television screen for long periods of time. Such static viewing is unlike normal social interaction and tends to depersonalize the process. As pointed out by Fulmer et al., distance learning must be personalized to be effective.3 To help overcome this, a sense of "motion" or frequent change must be built into the interaction. Use of multiple cameras and frequent change of camera angles can help create a feeling of action and in- volvement. For example, rather than have a single camera focus on students in the classroom, multiple cameras provide multiple views of the classrooms, juxta- posing close-up views of individuals with views of the class as a whole.

When students from several loca-

tions are brought together in one distance-learning class, a common obser- vation of students and instructors is that there is a feeling of lack of interaction among the class members as a whole. This may be due partly to equipment limitations, such as size of the TV screens through which students view each other and the instructor. Introduc- tion of very large screens (i.e., life-size), so that an illusion can be created that the groups are in adjoining rooms and see each other through an archway, may help considerably. Encouraging students to communicate with one another outside the classroom through channels such as electronic mail will also help. This supposes, however, that all students have convenient access to electronic mail outside the classroom. Such support may well be necessary for the successful intro- duction of distance learning.

A missing component, yet one vital for graduate-level instruction, is out-of- class interaction between students and instructors for ongoing discussions of student research projects. It is important that students have easy access to the instructor to share ideas as projects are developed. While electronic mail is useful, it cannot replace a face-to-face interaction. Visits to the remote site that go beyond the regular scheduled class time to supplement electronic mail and telephone communications are one approach. However, if the distances are great, this is not a reasonable solution. Here, too, technology can be introduced to facilitate communication at a distance. Two-way video/audio using PCs and small digital cameras mounted on the PCs can provide for personal interaction between students and instructor.

Conclusion

The process of developing distance- education programs of excellence is, of

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course, an ongoing one. Both instructors and the institution must be wholly committed to the concept and be willing to provide the support required. Both the technology and the pedagogy must be stretched and stretched again to find ever more innovative ways of educational delivery. If this is accom- plished, distance-education offerings will go beyond educating library school students to providing the continuous education needed by working library and other information professionals.

References

1. Linda L. Wolcott, "A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Planning of Instruction for Adult Learners in a Telecommunications- Based Distance Education Environment" (working paper for the Association for Educational Communications and Tech- nology, Washington, D.C., 1991), 2-21.

2. Joe Fulmer and others, "Distance Learn- ing: An Innovative Approach to Nursing Education," Journal of Professional Nurs- ing 8 (1992): 289-95.

3. Ibid.

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library education at a distance

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