Distance Education for Teacher Training: Modes, Models ...

1 Distance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsMary BurnsEducation Development Center, , DCAcknowledgments iDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsAcknowledgmentsThanks to the following Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), colleagues for their review of and feedback on this guide:Steve Anzalone, Director of Asian Center, International Development Division at EDCC ornelia Brunner, Senior Research Scientist, Center for Children and Technology at EDCTom Haferd, Senior Research Associate, Learning and Teaching Division at EDCC raig Hoyle, Senior Research Scientist, Learning and Teaching Division at EDCB arbara Treacy, Director, EdTech Leaders Online, Learning and Teaching Division at EDCP articular thanks to Andrea Osborne-Smith, International Technical Advisor, International Development Division at EDC for her careful edits to this , my thanks to the Creative Services team at EDC for their expertise in designing and copyediting this the AuthorMary Burns is a Senior Technology Specialist at EDC just outside Boston, Massachusetts.

2 A former Teacher in the United States, M xico, and Jamaica for 10 years, she has worked in the area of technology-enabled professional development since 1997, instructing in, designing, and evaluating both Distance -based and face-to-face professional development. She has authored over 30 articles, books, and monographs about Teacher professional development and technology and works primarily in the United States, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. She can be reached at of Contents iiiDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ..iAbout the Author ..iForeword ..1 About This Guide ..2 Caveats ..4 Section I: Distance Education : Modes and Models ..7 Distance Education : Modes and Models .

3 9 Chapter 1: Print-based Distance Education ..12 Overview ..12 Examples of Print-based Distance Learning for Upgrading Teachers Qualifications ..12 Considerations: Print as a Distance Learning Tool ..14 Summary of Print-based Correspondence Model ..15 Chapter 2: Audio-based Distance Education ..18 Overview ..18 Two-Way Audio ..18 Broadcast Radio ..19 Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) ..21 Interactive Audio Instruction (IAI) ..23 Other Forms of Audio-based Distance Education ..25 Phones and Audio Conferencing ..26 Considerations: Audio as a Distance Learning of Audio-based Distance Education ..29 Chapter 3: Televisually-based Distance Education ..32 Overview ..32 Television ..32 Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) ..37 Video ..39 Videoconferencing ..42 Considerations: Television and Video as Distance Learning Tools ..44 Summary of Televisually-based Distance Education ..46 Chapter 4: Multimedia-based Distance Learning.

4 49 Overview ..49CD-ROMs, DVDs, and VCDs ..50 Group Teaching and Learning Software (GTLS) ..52iv Table of ContentsDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsComputer-Aided Instruction (CAI)..53 Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) ..54 Digital Learning Games ..55 Other Forms of Multimedia ..59 Considerations: Multimedia as a Distance Learning Tool ..59 Summary of Computer-based Multimedia Distance Learning ..60 Chapter 5: Established Web-based Models for Distance Learning ..63 Overview ..63 What Is Online Learning? ..64 Why Online Learning? ..65 Online Courses ..68 Blended Learning ..70 Computer-Mediated Communication ..72 Online Coaching and Mentoring ..74 Virtual Schools ..74 Online Tutoring and Schools of One ..76 Teleresearch and Telecollaboration ..78 Online Learning Communities ..80 Webcasts and Webinars ..81 Portals ..83 Real Simple Syndication (RSS) ..85 Considerations: Web-based Learning as a Distance Learning Tool.

5 86 Summary of Web-based Distance Learning ..88 Chapter 6: Emerging Web-based Models for Distance Learning ..90 Overview ..90 Web Applications ..90 Immersive Environments ..98 Virtual Worlds ..100 Multi-User Virtual Environments ..101 Considerations: Emerging Web Technologies as a Distance Learning Tool ..103 Summary of Emerging Web-based Technologies ..104 Chapter 7: Mobile Technologies for Distance Learning ..10 7 Mobile Phones ..107 Smart Phones ..110 Hand-held Devices ..112 Portable Media Players ..113 Digital Tablets ..114E-Readers ..116 Other Portable Devices ..117 Considerations: Mobile Technologies as Distance Learning Tools ..118 Summary of Mobile Technologies ..120 Chapter 8: Section I Summary ..123 Table of Contents vDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsSection II: Methods: What Leads to Successful Teaching and Learning in a Distance Environment?

6 127 Chapter 9: Developing Good ..129 What Constitutes a Good Teacher ? ..130 Good Teaching .. 10: Professional Development ..134 Overview ..134 High-Quality Professional Development .. 11: Instructional Design ..138 Overview ..138 Characteristics of Good Instructional Design ..138 Instructional Design Approaches .. 12: Instruction ..151 Overview ..151 Learner-Centered Instruction .. 13: Assessing Distance Learners ..157 Overview ..157 Strengthening Assessment Within a Distance Education System .. 14: Preparing Distance Instructors ..176 Overview ..176 Preparation for Distance Skills Do Distance Instructors Need? ..177 Preparing Online Instructors ..180 Preparing to Teach in Virtual Schools .. 15: Preparing Distance Learners ..184 Overview ..184 What Qualities Define Successful Distance Learners? ..184E-Readiness ..185 Preparing Teachers to Be Distance Learners .. Table of ContentsDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsChapter 16: Building Community.

7 19 0 Overview ..190 Communities of Practice ..190 Developing Communities of Practice .. 17: Supporting Distance Learners ..197 Overview ..197 Why Do Teachers Need Support? Understanding Change ..198 Defining Support ..204 Strategies for Support ..205 Programmatic Supports ..205 School-based Supports ..214 Supporting New Teachers ..216 Teacher Induction ..217 Mentoring ..219 Building the Capacity of Support Providers .. 18: Developing Content ..222 Overview ..222 Constraints Associated with Developing Distance Learning Content ..222 Strategies for Developing Distance Learning Content ..225 Open Educational Resources ..233 Considerations .. 19: Assuring Quality ..242 Overview ..242 Developing and Maintaining a System of Quality Assurance ..242 Accreditation .. 20: Evaluating Distance Programs ..252 Overview ..252 Formative Versus Summative Evaluations ..253 Evaluation Designs ..254 Quantitative Evaluations.

8 255 Qualitative Evaluations ..256 Mixed-Method Evaluations ..258 Evaluating Professional Development .. 21: Technology .. of Contents viiDistance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsAppendix 1: Glossary of Terms ..275 Appendix 2: Annotated List of Open and Distance Learning Resources ..296 Appendix 3: List of Countries Referenced in This Guide ..300 Appendix 4: References ..301 Appendix 5: 1 Distance Education for Teacher training : Modes, Models , and MethodsForewordIt is 1939 and Margaret Fitzsimons, a 17-year-old farm girl in County Cavan, Ireland, practices the glyphs and strokes of Pitman shorthand by candlelight.

9 Though she dreams of working in an office, Margaret s school offers only cooking and sewing classes. Margaret has managed to enroll in a course in Pitman shorthand through a London-based correspondence school. After several months of self-study, Margaret will sit the exam that tests her mastery of Pitman shorthand, and her results will be sent to London for marking. Hundreds of miles away in Ireland, Margaret will wait for the results that will determine whether she attains or falls short of her professional 1: Correspondence School Diploma The above scene is as time-bound as it is timeless. Decades later, in the remotest parts of Ireland, a formerly impoverished nation, studying alone by candlelight even in the most rural and remote parts of the island is a quaint memory of times past. Today, learners on Ireland s westernmost islands tap into high-speed Internet portals, such as ScoilNet,1 which offers learning opportunities for teachers and students via rich media, video and text.

10 The story is similar across much of the globe where Distance learning options have proliferated from print-based correspondence courses to learning via satellite, video, television, radio and the Internet. Because of advances in communications technologies, learners like Margaret no longer need to study in isolation or learn exclusively from a book or wait months for exam results. Instead, they can interact with a variety of media, collaborate with peers as needed, and receive almost instantaneous assessment the above scene is also timeless. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where hundreds of millions of people lack electricity, Distance learners like Margaret still sit by candlelight or by fire studying mathematics or pedagogical techniques from a book. Content may come via the post or the Internet, but these Distance learners study and struggle alone. Like Margaret, they sit their exams and wait perhaps months for results that determine whether their dream of professional self-improvement has been realized or deferred.