CCUMC: The Consortium of College and University Media Centers

College & University Media Review:
A Look at Practices, Trends & Research
Fall 1999 Volume 6, Number 1

• Through the editor's lens
  Distance learning--Lessons from the "distant" past
  Richard Post, Ohio University; Beverly Teach, Indiana University
• Creating an Internet-based pathophysiology course: Entry to exit,
  Sharon P. Pitt and Miriam E. Guthrie, James Madison University

  In 1998, the application of new distance learning technology transformed and enhanced the study of audiology in an externship setting at James Madison University (JMU). Audiology of the Hearing Mechanism (CSD 619) had traditionally involved students in a form of independent study, working at field sties without direct interaction with instructor and peers. The introduction of Symposium™ software allowed the course to be restructured as an online distance learning experience--adding all the benefits of continuous interaction and access to study resources on the World Wide Web. This article describes how the partnership of JMU's Center for Instructional Technology and a faculty member of the Department of Communication Science and Disorders used this course to develop an effective model for distance delivered courses.

• Bridging miles and instructional paradigms: A videoconferencing course team-taught by instructors 325 miles apart,
  David A. Tiedemann, Syracuse University; Charles A. Bragg, Bentley College

  A collaborative effort with compressed video conferencing between Bentley College, Waltham, MA, and Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, grew from testing and faculty development into a non-credit continuing education course before evolving into a graduate credit course.  The authors team-taught these courses, using the medium to teach it.  The article describes the developmental, political, marketing, implementation, technology, and instructional challenges of team teaching a synchronous video conferencing course from institutions 325 miles apart.

• Teaching through the peephole: The challenges of interactive television,
  Lynda T. Harkins and Mark Carter, Southwest Texas State University

  Interactive television (ITV) is a popular medium for the delivery of distance learning programs.  ITV provides two-way, real-time interaction between faculty and students who are geographically separated.  While ITV has revolutionized distance education, faculty and students will encounter challenges inherent to the nature of videoconferencing systems.  This article examines barriers that may jeopardize the success of an interactive program.  Potential solutions to minimize the impact of each barrier are discussed.  Interactive television can be an effective transmission medium if faculty, administrators, and students recognize its benefits and limitations.

• OhioLINK's Digital Media Center,
  Richard Post, Ohio University

  Established to support higher education in Ohio, including the distance learning student, the OhioLINK Digital Media Center will offer both commercial and locally produced online image, text, and multimedia databases and resources.  Early plans for content and standards are described.

• Center Focus: Instructional Communications Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Extension,
  Bruce Dewey and Rosemary Lehman, University of Wisconsin-Extension
• Center Focus: Instruction and technology support at William Paterson University,
  Jane Hutchison and Robert Murphy, William Paterson University
• Three Waves of Serf, a Web-based teaching and learning environment,
  Fred T. Hofstetter, University of Delaware

  Serf was invented at the University of Delaware during the summer of 1997.  Initially used to deliver the nation’s first PBS TeleWEBcourse on the topic of Internet Literacy, Serf is now delivering hundreds of courses across the curriculum.  As the content areas diversified, faculty and students requested new features, which have been added to Serf to broaden and enrich the teaching and learning environment.  This article chronicles the development of the Serf feature set.  It describes how Serf began as a self-paced multimedia learning environment that enabled students to navigate a syllabus, access instructional resources, communicate, and submit assignments over the Web.  At the request of many faculty, version 2 added to Serf a testing system that can administer and grade objective test questions in a traditional exam style, or present competency-based tests according to Bloom’s mastery learning model.  Version 3, released in the summer of 1999, added support for surveys, diagnostic assessments, and tutorial strands of instruction.  Version 3 also made it possible for the author to go beyond the default look-and-feel of a traditional course and, without needing to know any HTML codes, create screens with any conceivable combination of text, graphics, links, and branching.

• Juggling Hot Potatoes: Decisions and compromises in creating authoring tools for the Web,
  Stewart Arneil and Martin Holmes, University of Victoria

  This discussion paper outlines some of the decisions and issues involved in creating and using authoring tools for language-learning through the World Wide Web. The development of Hot Potatoes, a suite of authoring tools, is outlined. Conclusions from these experiences will be useful not only to other developers but also to evaluators and users of authoring software.  Areas addressed include exercise design, ability to customize and control the output, support for different browser versions, user-interface design, ancillary technology, and technical support.

• Review: Web Course in a Box,
  John Grozik, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee