ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing

Distance Learning in Urban Schools.

ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 150.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

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Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE Digest,

Number 150................................................................... 1

PROGRAM PLANNING........................................................2

PROGRAM DESIGN........................................................... 3

EXEMPLARY PROGRAMS................................................... 4

TECHNOLOGY................................................................. 5

SUPPORT........................................................................6

REFERENCES.................................................................. 6

ERIC Identifier: ED438338

Publication Date: 1999-12-00

Author: Majdalany, Gibran - Guiney, Susan

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY.

Implementing Distance Learning in Urban

Schools. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 150.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

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ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.

Page 1 of 8
One of the greatest challenges confronting large urban school districts is the ability to

provide students with low-cost high quality educational services. In addition, urban

schools often face large numbers of adult learners with a plethora of educational needs,

from basic literacy to career planning, training, and placement. Constricted by a

shortage of resources, lack of public transportation, and questionable street safety,

these schools are increasingly turning to distance education as a means of service

delivery (Harrington-Leuker, 1999).

Distance learning can be defined simply as an instruction and learning practice utilizing

technology and involving students and teachers who are separated by time and space.

It can occur between schools, between schools and colleges and universities, and even

within school buildings and districts. Distance education first emerged as a concept in

the nineteenth century, when it was characterized as a correspondence course. It

reappeared as the open universities of the 1970s, and then as the videotape, broadcast,

satellite, and cable productions of the 1980s. Today, distance education commonly

refers to the use of audio, video, and computer videoconferencing technologies as

delivery modes (Steiner, forthcoming).

This digest discusses how urban schools can implement effective distance learning

programs through customized development of the three elements crucial to a successful

distance education program: a sound instructional design; appropriate technology

applications; and support for teachers, students, and collaborative partners (Steiner,

1999).

PROGRAM PLANNING

1. Initial Steps

Overall, a distance learning program must meet, and preferably enrich, the educational

goals of the institution and the needs of the students. To do so most effectively, it is

important to establish the policy, procedures, and programming components prior to

beginning the program. Urban districts, in particular, confronted with limited resources of

all types, need to build capacity and support within schools from the onset by involving

administrators and teachers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Early decisions determine whether distance learning includes one school building or

several within one or more districts. They also establish budgeting and program

scheduling arrangements. Additional initial planning includes the creation of new forms

for assessing students and providing feedback on their work; the selection,

development, and technology training of program staff; and the development of effective

instructional designs. Relationships with business, government, and other educational

institutions, such as colleges and universities, are considered as possible future support

for the program. Finally, contingency plans for teachers and students are prepared to

deal with technical problems.

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Page 2 of 8 ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.
2. Goals and Benefits

Distance learning encourages students to be creative, to participate actively in their own

learning, to experience others, and to prepare for the kind of world that they will enter as

adults. Further, computer learning activities that employ multiple interactive media

(sound and video) encourage active listening, focused attention, and the ability to work

independently (Schlosser & Anderson, 1997). Specifically, effective urban distance

learning programs enable some of the following (Reed & Woodruff, 1995):

*Student participation in honors and enrichment classes with low enrollment.

*Links to enrichment activities, such as an arts program in New York City involving

Lincoln Center and New York City schools.

*Teaming with businesses, community colleges, and tutors, and participation of remote

guest speakers and experts to augment learning.

*Shared resources and participation in multi-school projects.

*Participation in college level courses, English as a Second Language instruction,

alternate education, and special education, which allows children to participate in

regular education classes as well.

Student benefits include these (New York State Distance Learning Consortium, 1999):

*The breakdown of prejudices that divide communities, resulting from students'

experiences working with diverse populations in many locations.

*The opportunity for at-risk, special education, English language learners, bilingual

students, and alternative education students to participate in a variety of settings that

are manageable for them, including regular education classes, without the stresses of

the regular classroom and with the ongoing option to take time out.

*The achievement of the Hawthorne Effect, whereby the performance and behavior of

children in distance learning classrooms exceed expectations.

PROGRAM DESIGN

1. Design Elements

Implementing a distance learning program requires time, people, funding, and careful

planning. The following factors have been identified as essential to successful program

development (Pearson, 1989):

*Identified need (perceived or real) for the program.

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ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.

Page 3 of 8
*Faculty support, given incentives for motivation.

*Funds for capital costs, production, equipment, facilities, and ongoing operations.

*High quality educational content.

*Adequate staffing.

*Equal learning experiences and educational outcomes (i.e., credits, degrees) for all

students.

*Enthusiasm for, and belief by, the institution in the overall program.

*Identification of a visible, spirited key leader/administrator initiating the program.

*Adequate facilities and staff at the receiving sites.

*Available equipment to deliver programming.

*Sufficient time for careful analysis of learner needs and demographics, the optimum

service range, and the most appropriate types of courses.

*Instructional design and TV production: the interactive components, length, and

frequency.

*A marketing plan for the network or program, and a public relations plan for the public.

*Cost effectiveness: feasibility and justification for delivery system to students and

institution.

*Program support or partnerships enlisted from the public and private sectors.

*Ensured continued credibility of the program with the public, faculty, students, and

supporters.

*Administrator, teacher, and staff knowledge of what distance education is and how to

teach and use it effectively.

*Ability to accredit courses and to offer or transfer credits across states or institutions.

EXEMPLARY PROGRAMS

Several urban schools have implemented effective distance learning programs. For

example, the TEAMS Project (Los Angeles, CA), for K-8 students, was chosen as a

STAR School Project in telecommunications partnerships by the U.S. Department of

Education. It provides instruction through a distributed learning system that allows

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Digest, Number 150.
students, teachers, and parents in more than ten states to access information via

satellite, television, multimedia, and the Internet. Participating schools have access to a

variety of instructional programming that includes hands-on science and higher

mathematics, workplace skills, and life skills programs. Learners served surpass the K-8

intended audience, encompassing K-12 students, adult learners, limited English

proficient students and disabled students.

The Learning Cafe is the home of a set of four 30-seat computer laboratories in four

Brooklyn, NY, high schools connected by a T1 line to the Internet established through a

grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Brooklyn College, and The College

Board. Catering to at-risk students, the Cafe offers web-based pre-college and college

level courses to students who are demographically less likely to pursue higher

education. Students are able to learn new technologies and explore career options in

addition to pursuing their college careers. Early college core courses are offered to

students at no cost. Students who successfully complete the Cafe courses are

automatically admitted to Brooklyn College. Engaging, easy to use, and nonthreatening personalized software is used to welcome students to online distance

learning. A database component was created to link students to work as well as to

evaluate and to monitor student access and performance (Case Studies, 1999).

TECHNOLOGY

Connectivity standards are key to implementing a distance learning program.

Connections must be widely and easily available, reliable, and predictable. The most

common ways to transmit a videoconference today are these:

*Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS, which are expensive but can transmit TV-quality

broadcasts (30 video frames per second).

*Digital T1 or ISDN telecommunications lines, which offer the best value and

performance (25 video frames per second with ISDN) and have recently become a

more affordable option and by far the most common mode of videoconferencing

technology.

*POTS, which offers videoconferencing over regular phone lines or a local Ethernet

network. Quick movements are blurry, but facial expressions are visible (5-15 video

frames per second).

*The Internet, which offers the slowest option (5-6 video frames per second). Cable

modems that are utilized to deliver TV channels to 90 percent of American homes offer

tremendous potential for high-speed data connections through the Internet, however.

Basic hardware components for a videoconferencing system include a camera, a

microphone, a monitor for viewing, a CODEC (COmpressor/DECompressor) to code

and decode video signals for transmission, and a device that sends and receives the

signals over a phone line or network connection. Based on budget and need,

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ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.

Page 5 of 8
videoconferencing systems can be permanent (classroom or boardroom), portable

(group systems on a wheeled cart), compact (videophones), desktop- or LAN based, or

Internet-available (Heines, 1997).

SUPPORT

A distance learning facilitator is needed to assist student learning and ensure

technology maintenance. Support for staff participants is also an important factor in the

success of a program, since the introduction of distance learning can be intimidating,

even for experienced teachers. Online mentoring systems that match teachers with

experienced distance learning staff provide support and advice to new members. To be

effective distance educators, teachers become involved in the program's organization,

collaborative planning, and decision-making, and must be able to do the following

(Schlosser & Anderson, 1997):

*Understand the nature, philosophy, and goals of distance education.

*Identify the characteristics of learners at distance sites.

*Design and develop interactive courseware to suit each new technology.

*Adapt teaching strategies to deliver instruction at a distance and ensure participation in

on-air discussions of students at the remote site.

*Format instructional resources for independent study.

*Use telecommunications systems knowledgeably and skillfully.

*Evaluate student achievement, attitudes, and perceptions at distant sites.

*Deal with copyright issues.

Finally, in urban settings, additional fiscal and individual support of the program can be

secured from community distance learning events, such as sessions covering public

health or senior interests.

REFERENCES

Case studies. (1999). Syllabus, 12(10), 48-49.

Harrington-Leuker, D. (1999). Urban tech. The American School Board Journal, 186(7),

25-28.

Heines, Scott. (1997, April). Videoconferencing. Presentations, 11(4), 34-36, 38, 40-41,

43-45.

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Page 6 of 8 ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.
Los Angeles County Office of Education. (1999). TEAMS distance learning for all K-12

educators. Available: http://TEAMS.lacoe.edu/

New York State Distance Learning Consortium. (1999). NYSDLC discussion paper.

Available: http://www.nysdlc.org/whiteppr.shtml

Pearson, V.W. (1989). Critical factors considered in the planning for the administration

and implementation of long-distance interactive video instruction. Doctoral Dissertation,

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.

Reed, J., & Woodruff, M. (1995, Fall). Using compressed video for distance learning.

Distance Educator, 1(3), 2, 6-10. (EJ 518 481)

Schlosser, C.A., & Anderson, M.L. (1997). Distance education: review of the literature

(2nd Ed.). Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and

Technology.

Sherry, L. (1996). Issues in distance learning. International Journal of Educational

Telecommunications, 1(4), 337-65.

Steiner, Virginia. (Forthcoming.) What is distance education? Distance learning

resource guide. San Francisco: WestEd.

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This Digest was developed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, with

funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of

Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0035. The opinions in this Digest do not

necesarily reflect the position or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.

Title: Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number

150.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and

Minority Education, Teachers College, Box 40, Columbia University, New York, NY

10027. For full text: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu

Descriptors: Curriculum Development, Distance Education, Educational Technology,

Elementary Secondary Education, Program Development, Program Implementation,

Urban Schools

Identifiers: ERIC Digests

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ED438338 1999-12-00 Implementing Distance Learning in Urban Schools. ERIC/CUE

Digest, Number 150.

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