US: Low-tech lecture goes the distance for IT prof

In the era of complex electronic meeting systems for distance education, a simple live-streaming of a lecture can be an effective learning tool, says Andrew Wasser (pictured), associate dean of the school of information systems and management at Carnegie Mellon University. He will be speaking at a conference next month on using technology efficiently in the classroom.

There may be no substitute for the real thing when it comes to lecturing and class delivery, but judicious use of this kind of delivery - which Wasser and colleagues have spent 10 years perfecting - has made the distance learning experience almost as good for students in the master of science in information technology programme, he says.

The programme was originally developed to provide a qualification for the auto giant GM's IT employees. Today, it caters to other industry practitioners with at least three years experience in the field. Explains Wasser: "This is a programme for those working IT professionals who are taught something today that can be applied tomorrow."

And it is probably because of its industry origins that the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) model is different to most of the other distance learning providers like Apollo Group or Strayer. Indeed, the university believes it has found an optimal balance in leveraging the best features of online and face-to-face instructional approaches.

As a result, students have never needed to negotiate course content through avatars or seek support from impersonal call centres.

Instead, actual campus-based lectures are video-captured; they are then posted online with a fully searchable transcript and distributed as DVDs to students around the world.

Instructors and students liaise directly through a virtual learning environment known as Blackboard. Here, essays are submitted, additional course materials downloaded and discussion threads developed - many of which are often "more dynamic than some in-class conversations," says Wasser.

The goal is to make the experience as close to being on campus as possible. Anything more would distract from CMU's main goal: its teaching outputs.

Explaining why this instructional model has been embraced, Wasser uses the analogy of a big-budget Hollywood film where content is often sacrificed to form: "I liken it to a focusing on learning rather than on the special effects."

Ironically, it is that inimitable lack of polish found in live audio-visual recordings of lectures that appeals to many distance students: again and again, they remember more of the quotidian details captured in the videos that reference the experience of the lecture theatre, like tripping over cables or sneezing. "It makes them feel more part of the classroom environment," he says.

Close as it may be, however, the students are not in the classroom. "The interpersonal interactions are undoubtedly lost in distance learning," says Wasser. "These little details are very hard to replicate in an environment where collaborations can't be collocated."

But, in reality, this has not been an issue - like the concern that the programme could have become a watered down version of the campus-based degree. In fact, Wasser and his colleagues have found that these students often actually perform better.

Moreover, the low-tech approach does offer greater scope for accommodating a range of learning styles and lifestyle exigencies, and this adds to both the appeal and success of the programme.

* Wasser will be addressing this subject in a workshop at the Next Generation Education Summit in Pasedena, California, in early March. A forum will explore the pros and cons of different delivery strategies, both on campus and for distance learning.