A New Approach in the Use of Multimedia for Technology Enhanced Learning

in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Florida as we offer an Online MS degree in Electrical Engineering and as we proceed with the development of major components of a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. In particular we describe the implementation of the "lectures on demand" method using multimedia streaming technologies within the now widely accepted Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) model. Each class in the program is delivered on campus via the traditional face to face lecture mode. However, the classes make explicit use of computer and communication technology to facilitate an asynchronous mode of learning for both on-campus as well as distance education students. The lecture and in class interactions including computer demonstrations are captured as video or computer animations. This digital video is compressed and broadcast 'live' via the Internet so that students who cannot attend the class can join the lecture. After the class, a student assistant is engaged to generate high quality image and graphical copy of material developed spontaneously in the class by the Instructor. These are then integrated with class notes into a synchronized multimedia presentation. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Traditional campus-based engineering education involves a combination of several basic components which serve as sources of knowledge and experience. These include learning media such as textbooks or laboratory manuals, interactions with experts in the field (the instructor or teaching assistant), interactions with fellow learners (student-student interchange), as well as, in some cases, engineering experience such as in laboratory or real world projects. The model of learning which features synchronous interactions between learners, information and experiential sources as well as subject matter experts namely the traditional campus-based face-to-face education has served well and endured the test of a great deal of time. More recently, there have been many attempts to offer engineering and other educational experiences at a distance using written or printed correspondence via regular or courier mail, video and audio tapes, and even one-way and/or two-way video and audio transmissions. While these 0-7803-5519-9•00 $10.00 © 2000 AACC 3449 'distance learning' strategies have served to provide efffective delivery of educational materials and some interaction, the delays incurred and slowness in communication have severely inhibited the success of these methods in capturing the essence of effective learning. The development and maturing of computer and communication technology have now made it possible to provide all the basic components of the tradition classroom-based learning experience using local computer networks for onand near-campus access, or the Internet for global access, to these educational resources. Now, instead of sending the printed, audio or video media, we transmit the information -appropriately digitized and compressed and provide immediate interactive and collaborative channels and tools for student-student and studentinstructor dialogue. In this paper we describe the implementation of the "lectures on demand" method using multimedia streaming technologies with the now widely accepted Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) model. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: We provide in the next section a discussion of Asynchrnonous Learning Networks (ALNs) and then we show in Section 3 how the Lectures on Demand approach complements ALNs by introducing the class-room experience in the form of synchronized streaming audio and video. The paper concludes in Section 4 with some comments on the prospects for further developments in this area. 2.0 A S Y N C H R O N O U S LEARNING NETWORKS As suggested by the term Asynchronous, ALNs cater largely to learners who are not in the same place or time as each other, or with the instructor, but effective Learning is facilitated by the ALN. While it is tempting to imagine that the Network in ALN has reference to the underlying network communication and interconnected computers, the important network in ALNs is rather the network or community of learners, who interact at their time and from their location. Of course the basic idea of learning asynchronously has been around for quite some time. Clearly, learning is asynchronous when one learns from books, audiotapes and videotapes. However, the idea of coupling independent learners separated by distance and time constraints has been much more feasible in the past decade, with the emergence of Internet-based communication technologies. Now instead of sending the physical media (such as printed material, magnetic or optical media) through regular mail or courier services, it is now merely necessary to send the digital content, appropriately encoded, to the user. In addition, the learner can now have access to a network of fellow students via Email, mailing lists, bulletin boards and electronic conferencing systems. The World Wide Web has truly revolutionized student access from any place and at any time, to a wealth of multimedia information sources, which can greatly enhance the learning process. The combination of convenient and appealing content delivery with seamless and easy to use interactive mechanisms for collaboration and mentoring using online communication tools, enable ALNs to imitate some important aspects of ideal learning environments such as found, for example, in the early learning experiences of infants and kindergartners. We find that collaborative, active learning and discovery of new information teaching yourself, and teaching as well as learning from others are key characteristics of this very successful teaching/learning environment. It must however be admitted that both instructors and students alike have become very comfortable with the non-interactive one way transmission information transfer with limited feedback, mostly in periodic written examinations. In these settings, the instructor appears to be a 'sage on the stage' expounding gospel truths to a passive audience. On the other hand, in an active learning environment, the teacher is more of a 'guide by the side' encouraging and exciting the students with the thrill of discovery. Our intent is not to promote the replacement of conventional face-to-face teaching and learning with ALNs. Rather, we argue that that ALNs, when well designed, can in fact replicate many of the desirable features of effective face-to-face learning in promoting and facilitating interaction between students and with the instructor by more convenient and often more acceptable asynchronous means. We firmly believe that the first choice for learning now and in the foreseeable future will be the traditional method: attending a great institution of learning, with learned professors and dedicated graduate and undergraduate students studying and conducting research under the watchful eyes of these academic sages. Nonetheless, it is clear that ALNs can be used as an appropriate complement for such traditional on-campus classes. On the other hand, for that significant segment of the population who cannot attend face-to-face lectures and oncampus programs, ALNs provide a vastly superior learning experience than study-it-yourself distance education. For example, ALNs provide for immediate feedback, on online quizzes, online shared calendar of events, WWW home pages for each student, customized search and study tools, access to grades and progress reports and online assignment submissions. In addition, online WWW resources, course syllabi, class materials, assignments and solutions as well as access to an online community of peers and instructors 3450 make for a very desirable learning environment. Indeed, such features in ALNs as bulletin boards and mailing lists which archive the discussion threads, or more sophisticated electronic conferencing systems and chat systems, serve to build an interactive community of learners which looks very much like the active and collaborative learning scenario we painted earlier. At the University of Florida we initially experimented with a home grown ALN interface to provide conferencing and discussion lists. We used a majordomo mailing list server to which each class member would subscribe at the beginning of the class (with no further instructor intervention), as well as a hypermail interface which archives the mailing list and sorts the discussion by subject and date. We also used a PERL script-based tool, webchat, for online 'live' discussions. We also decided that we should use a common interface for all our online classes to give a consistent look and feel. Online students would use the standard ALN interface appearing on the main class page and from here they would visit the key areas of the online course. The bulletin board is used to post announcements such as information about the course, the ALN method and the course outline etc. A key element on the bulletin board will also be a class schedule showing what is expected to be covered as the semester progresses, the associated lectures and topical content as well as the assigned reading materials and exercises. The students can then use this as a guide to gauge their progress. The lounge provides various facilities, such as E-mail , mailing lists and electronic chat rooms for interaction between students as well as with the instructor and the teaching assistants (TAs). The Lab is a forum which allows the students to display their own work on a personal web page and to present interim reports as well as final project reports from which the entire class can benefit. It is in the classroom that the online lecture takes place and homework assignments, solutions and class notes are given. The interested reader is referred to [1] for a demonstration of these elements online. As the development and delivery of online courses progressed, we decided to use a commercial course management tool as an umbrella for hosting our online courses. WebCT [2] was selected although we are now considering several other options. The individual courses are password protected via WebCT and the standard course template is now integrated with WebCT tools by links to such built in functions as bulletin boards and java-based chat clients. Students can also create their own web pages in WebCT and can check on their grades online as well as take some tests online. In the next section we describe various considerations in the integration under the ALN umbrella of audio and video from traditional lecture style classes, now repackaged for online course delivery. 3.0 Lectures on Demand Streaming Video and Audio