Distance Learning New Approaches in Old Environments

Not what you think…. Oldsmobile reminded us a few years ago that they were no longer “…our fathers’ Oldsmobile.” –Oldsmobile doesn’t say that their “older” models were bad or even that the newer models are better –They were talking to a new audience

Not what you think…. Education can take a lesson from Oldsmobile’s advertisement. –We need to revisit what we are doing in schools today that we were not doing years ago. –What we teach today might not seem that far removed from what our fathers and mothers were taught, but how we teach and who we teach have changed

Not what you think… Can education afford NOT to attract a new audience? What has changed in the last 25 years in education? Some things, of course, have not changed?

Not what you think… Negative concepts: –DL will replace the classroom –Teachers won’t be teaching – we will need fewer teachers –Students will not learn what they need to learn –Accountability is harder to maintain Positive concepts: –Students need a school with which to identify and socialize –Teachers must be allowed to be in control of the class –Standards can be met and supported –Accountability can be maintained

What we do next…. We must identify the REAL needs of our students and our schools –Students need to have access to education –We need to maintain budgets and support our personnel

What we do next…. The bottom line is PLANNING –Counseling for the future –Budgeting for the future –Believing in the PLAN

Accepting is not Believing… We accept certain events to be inevitable –Technology will change every couple of years –Some teachers will want to use technology in their classes – some won’t –Students will be more adept at using technology than we are

Accepting is not Believing… Accepting these as truths does not make us believe we can affect the necessary changes –Budgets have a higher priority and directly effect on our actions –Student profiles change every year or so –But “The truth is out there.”

What does it all mean… Technology is just neat stuff with lots of bells and whistles that herald in promises Technology is first and foremost a tool The promises are in our heads and in our will to fulfill them

How are we doing… Arkansas is doing things --- in the classroom and among the schools We have gotten innovative in how we educate, and how we solve our problems

At North Arkansas College… “Fiber-optic” networks –We deliver 11 daytime sections of 6 college courses for concurrent credit to high schools –This same network allows high schools to share teachers and class hours with each other We also provide 5 evening courses that can be taken by high school students and adult learners

At North Arkansas College… Web-based learning –We can deliver 7 courses using the internet Tele- or tele-web courses –These courses use pre-produced video tapes as the lecture portion of the class –We use telecourses to augment 4 of our web- based courses

At North Arkansas College… Combing resources –When two or more institutions form partnerships or alliances – Northwest Arkansas CC and Northark – we can increase the course offerings to allow students to complete full programs such as the AAT degree –When colleges and high schools form partnerships, both get new weapons in their arsenals

IDEAS BIG AND SMALL… Any idea you might have on how to use technology to solve a problem or create a new opportunity for your school or students, you should share. Questions and open discussion

THANK YOU FOR COMING. HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME.