| Tele-learning: Emerging Applications and
Opportunities in the Knowledge Economy September 28 and 29, 1998 |
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Monday, September 28 8:00 A.M. Registration and breakfast 10:00 AM Welcome Tom Hennebury, Vice President, Executive Development, Human Resources, Nortel 10:15 A.M. Session 1: Best Practices in Tele-Learning for K – 12/13 education Chairperson: Therese Laferriere, Laval University Session Overview This session will present an overview of ways in which tele-learning improves learning and teaching. Emerging possibilities and lessons learned will be pointed to by practitioners and academics on the effective uses of tele-learning tools and on communities of learners as a viable alternative to the assembly-line model often applied in high school classrooms and undergraduate education to deal with large numbers of students, and to the individual approaches to learning. PRESENTATION #1: Tele-learning Supports for Businesslike Interaction in Schools Speaker: John Thompson, Ontario Institute for Study in Education /University of Toronto Schools as they currently exist serve to prepare people to succeed primarily in the relational culture of schools. Schools don’t prepare students to succeed in the relational culture of business. An important factor in this preparation is the value given by the respective cultures to the learner’s ability to work independently. School success depends on the learner’s ability to work independently. Indeed, collaboration can sometimes called cheating, and can result in failure and punitive sanctions. In business, a different attitude is taken. Success depends on the ability to work and communicate well with a wide variety of others. Experience in communal knowledge-building as supported by Knowledge Forum gives students experience in "business-like" collaborative interactions, and thus better prepares them to succeed in the more collaborative culture of business. In the presentation, the culture of social interaction in schools and business will be contrasted. Using examples taken from Knowledge Forum databases, evidence will be presented to support the idea that Knowledge Forum, as a Tele-learning tool, supports and even requires learners to work together, as a team, and thus better prepares them to succeed in the relational culture of business. PRESENTATION 2: Networked communities of learners Speaker: Alain Breuleux, McGill University Computers linked to other computers precipitate and enable new learning and teaching practices as exemplified in tele-learning communities of learners. In the Tele-Learning Research Program, high school learners, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, teacher educators, and community members explore new collaborative ways of interacting with knowledge. Examples will be offered to illustrate how telelearning can be used to connect the experiences of diverse communities, from elementary school children to adult professionals in education and other knowledge sectors. PRESENTATION #3: The Virtual Classroom Program, Industry Canada Speaker: John Spence Learning technology represents a mega-market. Education has always been associated with individual success. However, in the knowledge-based global economy, a company's and even a nation's ability to survive now depends on the capability and capacity of its knowledge workers. The VirtualClassroom is a Communications Research Centre (CRC) program that leverages advanced communication technologies, learning models and quality partnerships to develop broadband applications that connect learners to the best learning opportunities the world has to offer. The goal of this program is to establish CRC and its partners as world leaders in the development and implementation of broadband communications technologies for interactive and collaborative learning. The uniqueness of theVirtual Classroom project will illustrate emerging possibilities for the K-12/13 educational sector. Presentation #4: SVETN: Backbone for a Region's Community Networks Speaker: Jean Luker, Coordinator of Technology Services, Southwest Virginia Education & Training Network, Virginia, U.S.A. Beginning with the support of Congressman Rick Boucher, a two-way interactive television network for instruction has reached beyond its 45 classrooms of southwest Virginia to spawn electronic villages and community partnerships. The presence of a large number of miles of fiber optic cabling has made it possible for Internet access in this remote mountainous region to include affordable digital subscriber lines, 56 Kilobit access, as well as conventional dial-up accounts. Nortel's ICN model has made it possible for southwest Virginia to position itself as a region where high tech industries can locate, finding pristine refuge from metropolitan areas in combination with the electronic resources to enable their business functions. PRESENTATION #5: Panel Discussion 1:30 – 3 P.M. Session 2: Best Practices in Tele-Learning for Higher Education Chairman: Larry Rosia, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Session Overview The emerging and converging technologies in today’s telecommunications industry has generated many solutions and opportunities for institutions in Higher Education wishing to respond to the needs of their learners. This session will include presentations from four leaders in the field of distributed learning. These experts will share their thoughts and best practices on the effective uses of distributed learning in higher education. PRESENTATION #1: "VIRTUAL REALITIES…VISIONS of the FUTURE" Convergence, Collaboration, and the Next Millennium Speaker: Don Foshee, CIO, Western Governors' University The merging of telecommunications technologies, platforms, and network services in recent years -- in conjunction with the establishment of standards -- have brought about a whole new generation of integrated technical solutions for education, training, and healthcare needs. This "convergence" of the video, voice, data, digital, analog, terrestrial, wireless, PC, multimedia, and telecomm worlds has been evolving for some time, and now offers unprecedented opportunities as we move into the next millennium. Despite much progress on the technology and connectivity side, however, the challenges and opportunities ahead now present new and complex "human" issues that must be understood and addressed if we are to reap the full benefits of our technical accomplishments. Nowhere is this more critical than in the areas of collaboration, organizational change, public/private partnerships, and the rapid proliferation of "virtual learning" communities. Don Foshee, recognized pioneer in distance education, technology-based learning, and telemedicine applications for nearly two decades, President and CEO of i3 , and current Project Manager and CIO for the Western Governors University (WGU), the largest virtual education initiative in the world, will bring his global perspective to bear regarding impacts and opportunities looming on the technology horizon, and beyond. Mr. Foshee will examine – through real-world experiences, innovative national models, and a good deal of humor -- the power (and limitations) of convergent technologies to break down traditional boundaries between institutions, communities, and public/private sectors. He will define technology’s role as facilitator for effecting true organizational and behavioral change, and for empowering learners of all ages with choices that just a few years ago would have seemed impossible. As the technical barriers continue to fall, however, we now confront the more difficult human challenges of bureaucracy, territorialism, confidentiality, funding, outdated policies, intellectual property, and resistance to change. Mr. Foshee will particularly focus on the explosive growth of "virtual universities" across the country, sharing realities, lessons learned from WGU and other virtual college initiatives, and critical success factors for effective planning and implementation of technologies that can assure longevity in a rapidly changing landscape. He will close with his vision of the technology future as we move into the next millennium – clearly differentiating between techno-fads, and long-term, sustainable applications that will have profound impacts on society as a whole. Participants will be challenged to step beyond their respective comfort levels, shift their thinking away from conventional learning and working paradigms, focus on convergent technologies as enabling tools for the future, and have a cuts benefit people with wheelchairs, roller blades and strollers, inclusive web design has broader applications, creating a user-friendly environment for all visitors. This presentation will include discussion of accessible web design, and it's implementation within the context of courses developed for the "SNOW" project at the Centre for Academic and Adaptive Technology, University of Toronto. PRESENTATION #4: Engineering Technologies, Learning at a distance Speaker: Cliff Bryanton, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alberta Throughout the last twenty years, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology had a made a continuous effort to modularize and apply computer managed learning to its curriculum. Now with the help of major contributors from industry, SAIT is investing heavily in a thrust into the cyber age. That requires a complete application of the expanding computer processing power, EPSS, ELSS and fast communication access. The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) has initiatives and a full investment strategy to expand the access from 65,000 to 100,000 learners (10,000 to 40,000 distance) to use computer technologies in support of teaching/learning strategies to provide lifelong learning through integration of customized training, trade, technology and applied degree curriculum Access Technologies is one of those initiatives. Access Technologies provides access to all of the 17 engineering technologies and 4000 hours of courseware for distributed learning. Mediated curriculum, accreditation as well as attaining laboratory and equipment competencies are enormous challenges. However, gaining acceptance, converting systems and changing paradigms is even more daunting. Access Technologies has attracted over 500 students in its first year. Several students have completed their first year of studies. You will see a presentation of our issues and demonstration of solutions to date. PRESENTATION 5: Panel Discussion 3:30 – 5:00 P.M. Session 3: Best Practices in Tele-Learning for Corporate Training & Continuing Education Chairperson: Ron Marteniuk, Simon Fraser University Session Overview: This session involves discussion of the experiences of three experts in Web-based training and education, two from the private sector and one from academia, in terms of their involvement in helping their institutions set up and run distance learning/training programs for their employees. While the specific needs in terms of content vary over these three institutions there are similarities including such issues as: a. The formulation of institutional strategies necessary to support the development of on-line learning; b. The kinds of education models used in the presentation of the content; c. The development of a platform for the development and presentation of content as well as specific tools for course authors and administrators; and, d. The kinds of research necessary to determine the effectiveness of instruction. How these general issues are expressed in concrete form within the speakers’ institutions will be instructive to organizations currently contemplating the development of on-line learning for their employees. PRESENTATION #1: From Distance Education To "Web-Based Training" Speaker: Gilbert Paquette, Tele-universite This presentation will summarize Tele-universite's 26 years of practice in workplace and continuing distance education. Tele-universite's technology transition plan will be presented. Different distance education models used or being used will be presented. Implementation methods will be outlined and generic tools being used or developed will be presented in the context of a Virtual Campus Model. Finally, principles to achieve significant Web-based Tele-learning will be discussed. PRESENTATION #2: Building Online Learning and Performance Support Solutions at Bank of Montreal. Speaker: Diane Blair, Bank of Montreal This presentation will present some of the strategies and approaches being developed at the Bank of Montreal's Institute for Learning that help to create a rich learning culture and help employees address the performance needs of a rapidly changing work environment. PRESENTATION #3: Employee Development and the On-line Environment - Bell Canada's Experiences Speaker: Donald MacNeil, Bell Canada This presentation will present on overview of Bell Canada’s recent experiences with the deployment on Technology Enabled Learning solutions to mission critical employee training and competency management needs. In early 1998 Bell conducted a pilot trial of four promising distance learning technologies. This presentation will report on the trial methodology and results. Based on the success of this trial Bell decided to implement a full scale roll out of distance learning courses on a departmental basis. Ten courses are currently on-line and available to 20,000 employees and an additional 20 courses will be added before year end. At the same time, a WEB based Employee Development Centre was created which also provides managers and employees with a fully integrated competency management and distance learning platform. This presentation will also provide an overview of the EDC project including the business case issues, technologies used and implementation issues. PRESENTATION #4: Panel Discussion 6:30 P.M. Dinner Faculty Club Technology Keynote Speaker: Bill St. Arnaud, CANARIE Tuesday, September 29 8:00 A.M. Registration and Breakfast 9:30 – 11:30 A.M. Session 4: Emerging Market: Learning Community for Professional & On-line Master Program Chairperson: Paul Guild, University of Waterloo Presentation #1: Recent Lessons Learned From On-Line Master's Program Offerings Speaker: Paul Guild, University of Waterloo This presentation addresses emerging trends by tracing a seven-year evolution of internet-based university graduate training in "Management of Technological innovation and change" (MOT). It describes lessons learned when moving from classroom-to-classroom configurations to desktop-to-desktop ones, especially factors facilitating and constraining change, and highlights some behavioural accommodation by users (students and instructor) to learning in the virtual classroom, and share recent experiences with a web-based master's degree offering in MOT. Presentation #2: A National Consortium Initiative for Knowledge-Building Speaker: Tom Carey, University of Waterloo/University of Guelph This presentation will describe an emerging national consortium for knowledge-building amongst professionals in human-computer interaction, the three markets we are addressing [entry, professional vitality, leadership], the experimental use of case studies for the entry foundation, online seminars linked to graduate courses for professional vitality, the proposed leadership program leading to a master's degree in HCI. Presentation #3: The Business of Tele-learning in North America Speaker: Joanne Curry, TeleLearning Network Centre of Excellence This presentation will overview the current state of play in the North American online learning industry and highlight the areas of growth in online offerings by universities and private sector organizations. Future trends in online learning models and approaches forecasted by Canadian tele-learning experts will be presented. Ms. Curry will also identify and discuss the emerging markets in professional training. Presentation #4: The Open University: from Postmaster to Webmaster. Speaker: Keith Williams, The Open University, United Kingdom The Open University developed as a large scale distance education institution during the early seventies. It now has in excess of 140,000 undergraduate students. It has widespread recognition for the quality of its use of a range of media in its teaching material and in the quality of its student support systems. Its objective of providing a system of Supported Open Learning to home based students has led to its concentration on the large scale effective use of domestic technologies rather than in pioneering leading edge technology. The networked PC is now a domestic technology and for 40,000 of the OU’s students its use is an integral part of their experience of the Open University. Communications technologies are changing the OU’s approach to teaching with impacts on teaching materials, the nature of the interactions between its students and between students and their tutors. In developing its international activities the Open University has to consider how best to exploit the potential of networked systems for materials delivery and student support without sacrificing the strong traditions of personal contact between student and tutor that have characterized its traditional UK based activity. As
a complex organization that displays the features of academic institution, media
production house, administrative and customer service organizations the challenges faced
are technical, organizational and cultural. |
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