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Guided practice
The more familiar teachers are with the instructional design and delivery process, the more effective their presentations will be. On a practical note, they need training in instructional message design, strategies for delivering instruction on-camera, methods of diversifying types of presentation, selecting various mixes of student-teacher activities and interactions, choosing situations and examples which are relevant to their students, and assessing the level of learning by distant students. They also need plenty of guided, hands-on practice developing and delivering courseware using audio, full-motion video, graphics, and text, in front of a live audience, yet still in a non-threatening situation. Strategies such as using fewer overheads and more moving video, interspersing "talking heads" with videos of sites, using hands-on experiments, incorporating text and graphic art, and other guidelines for effective video production are also valuable (see Willis, 1993, for a synopsis of distance education strategies).
Site facilitators, too, benefit from training programs which emphasize hands-on practice with the equipment they are expected to use. Sherry and Morse (1995) found that those who had participated in structured training programs felt comfortable using the equipment, were able to engage their students in the learning process, and had mastered classroom management in a high-tech classroom.
Media-based challenges
Foreign language instruction presents special instructional challenges, not only because of the lack of immediate 2-way interaction that characterizes many distance education programs, but also because of the loss of visual detail in videoconferences due to signal compressionÑ-especially detailed lip movements. This can be overcome by providing students with oral practice and feedback through telephone conversations with the instructor, and by instructional strategies that encourage frequent student-teacher and teacher-student dialogue (Clifford, 1990; see also Bruce & Shade, 1994).
Effective distance learning requires extensive preparation, as well as adapting traditional teaching strategies to a new learning environment which often lacks visual cues. Porter (1994) speaks of the triad consisting of the student, the teacher, and the site facilitator, all of whom must function as a team. Students must quickly become aware of and comfortable with new patterns of communication, learn to manage their time, and take responsibility for their own learning. Teachers must enable students to establish contact with them, as well as interact among themselves. Site facilitators can act as the on-site "eyes" and "ears" of the teacher, stimulating interaction when distant students are hesitant to ask questions or participate in discussions.
Willis (1993) describes the strategies which are effective in distance learning: namely, developing appropriate methods of feedback and reinforcement, optimizing content and pace, adapting to different student learning styles, using case studies and examples which are relevant to the target audience, being concise, supplementing courseware with print information, and personalizing instruction.
The variety of available media, too, presents a formidable research problem. One cannot compare print-based independent study courses, electronic projects on the Internet, classroom BBS postings, audioconferences, and live, two-way interactive television, and expect that these comparisons will be valid. To add to this dilemma, media selection is often a question of media assignment. Teachers and site facilitators need training in those technologies which they are expected to use (Sherry & Morse, 1995).
McNabb(1994) notes that more experimental studies are needed in the area of media selection, where researchers can compare the effectiveness of different technologies which deliver similar content to similar audiences. It would be useful to analyze the content of a learning module, the goals of the students, teacher, and the school itself, implement some different technologies, and determine what factors influence successful delivery.
Inquiry learning
Inquiry learning is a new technique to many teachers. No longer is the teacher "the sage on the stage" Ñ the deliverer of a fixed body of information; she becomes the facilitator of discovery learning for her students, through progressive discourse. Thus, even if a teacher is well-practiced and at ease with the equipment in the classroom, she still requires training in order to integrate new teaching strategies with the technology.
The Office of Technology Assessment (US. Congress, 1988) notes that inquiry teaching promotes an environment that tolerates ambiguity and encourages students' questions. In their studies of classrooms using the "Voyage of the Mimi" multimedia program, OTA researchers observed that teachers tended to ask the majority of the questions, rewarded students for guessing correctly, and required continual help in maintaining a classroom climate that emphasized reasoning rather than right answers. Only those teachers who had experience in inquiry-based instruction used the materials in open-ended ways. They found that it was important not only to provide training in the scientific concepts covered in the materials, but also to give participating teachers rich and varied suggestions for classroom activities (p. 58).
Distance educators in the Far View Project have developed several inquiry learning modules. Collaborative groups of young distance learners participated in self-discovery activities, using manipulatives and conducting experiments under the guidance of the site facilitator, and then discussed their experiences with the studio teacher. Evidence of success is shown in the PMN video series (Pacific Mountain Network, 1994) through the enthusiastic responses of both teachers and students during and after the instructional sessions.
Teamwork
Progressive teachers who are early adapters of technology can become change agents for their peers (Pacific Mountain Network, 1994). They can support other teachers by planning ahead as a group, and by working with the learning modules and equipment before using them in the classroom. Facilitators can try out learning modules as videotapes, building in interactivity as it suits the learning styles of their particular students, and then integrate real-time satellite programs into their schedule later on.
Technology providers, too, are available to answer questions from new users. The Satellite Educational Resource Consortium (SERC), for example, provides a contact person who visits the site, answers telephone calls, or provides printed support material. Studio teachers are available between sessions to reply to FAX messages or telephone calls. The process of adapting new learning resources to the classroom, such as instructional television and videoconferencing, is not immediately transparent. Administrators cannot expect teachers to feel comfortable with the technology, to use it effectively, and to maintain it as well, without giving them extra resources and time. Instructors need access to data links and E-mail, as well as video links. They need to download and upload resources and lesson plans, consult with other teachers, and try out new learning modules.
Apple Computer (Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, 1992) has found that it takes up to two years for instructors to adjust to and work with the tools, to implement them successfully, and to integrate them into their curriculum.
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