1. Overview of Distance
Learning Technologies
Timothy K. Shih

2. Outline
• History of Technology for Learning
• The Rise of a Web-Based Learning Industry
• E-Learning Defined and its Benefits
• The Big Picture of e-Learning
• Distance Learning Technologies
– Asynchronized/Synchronized Distance Learning
– Software Systems
– Standards
– Intelligent Tutoring
– Adaptive Testing/Assessment
– Mobile Learning
– Game-Based Learning, Virtual Reality
– Human-Computer Interaction
– Digital TV, Interactive TV

3. Historical Changes
• Printing press (1436)
– Mass duplication and distribution of information
– Eventually lead to schooling
• Telegraph, telephone, radio, film
– mid-1800s and early 1900s
• Television + Satellite
– Just 40 years later (i.e., 196x)
– Global village
• Today, Web represent the latest restructuring
technology
Original: C. T. Chang

4. History of Technology for Learning
• In 1922, Thomas Edison predicted that
the motion picture would replace
textbooks (and perhaps teachers).
• Film was the first true modern learning
technology
– Used in World War II for military training
– U.S. military is regarded as a pioneering and
leading organization in e-learning

5. History of Technology for Learning
• The military partnered with leading universities
• Bring in behavioral and cognitive psychology
• Teaching machines, programmed text
• Commercial educational film
• It was television that really got educators
excited
– Learning off the tube
– Sesame street

6. History of Technology for Learning
• However, educational television did not bring
about a learning utopia. Why?
– Technology was easier to justify then the
programming. No money, no staff to create the
program.
– We really didn't know how to make instructional
television
• Most students found instructional “show” too boring to watch.
• Most programs were devoid of instructional design, and
teachers didn't know how to integrate the learning into the
classroom activities.
– The main reason – it lacked the very essential quality
of teaching: the ability to interact with the learner,
provide feedback, and alter the presentation to meet
the learner’s need.

7. History of Technology for Learning
• In the seventies and eighties
– Computer-based training (CBT)
• interactivity
– Problems
• Differences in hardware, software, programming languages,
and other technical barriers, incompatibilities, lack of
standards
• Many of the programs were boring and unauthentic.
• Rapidly changing knowledge base
• The limitations and problems associated with computer
technology as well as a lack of awareness of current
instructional design approaches

8. History of Technology for Learning
• Learning technologies have gone through
repeated “cycles of failure.”
– Film、television、CBT
– Will Internet break the cycles of failure?
– It might, only if we are careful about how we
view and use the Web.

9. The Rise of a Web-Based
Learning Industry
• Traditional university that offers online
curricula
– Penn State Univ.
– Florida State Univ.
– Univ. of Maryland

10. E-Learning Industry
• For-profit University
– University of Phoenix
– Jones International University
– Walden University

11. E-Learning Industry
• Dotcom e-learning companies
– Eduprise
– Blackboard+WebCT
– Knowledge Planet
– DigitalThink

12. E-Learning Industry
• Learning Portals
– Click2learn
– Ehow
– Headlight
– Smartforce
– learnitonline

13. E-learning Industry
• Three keys to e-learning market segments
– Content
– Technology
– Services
• Businesses are adding learning to their web
sites to provide more value for their customers
and to create increased site loyalty. Examples:
Kodak, Dow Jones, etc.

14. Summary of History
• 1922: Thomas Edison predicted that the motion picture would
replace textbook
• W.W.II: Army training film (efficiency was the consideration)
• After W.W.II: Television/Video Tape for Learning, but no
interaction
• 70’s and 80’s: Computer Based Training (CBT) increases
interactivity (limited to the drill and practice strategies).
Stability is the concern to build CBT programs due to the rapid
change of hardware and O.S.
• 80’s: Satellite TV learning
• Early 90’s: Multimedia presentations, CD ROM titles (CAI),
Internet
• Mid 90’s: Intelligent/individualized tutoring, WWW
• Late 90’s: Distance Learning/Virtual University
• The New Millennium and the Beyond: synchronized distance
learning, mobile learning, virtual university, adaptive content
development, remote lab, computer aided assessment, and …

15. What We Have Learned
from the History
• Efficiency
– Trains a large number of students in a short period
– Example: army training film
• Stability
– The change of technology and subjects (hot subjects, new
technologies, software and hardware systems)
• Suitable for subjects that are not changed for a longer period of time
• Example: English grammar, mathematics
• Time consuming to develop contents
• Lack of Interactions
• Three Players: Students, Instructors, Computers
(Contents)

16. What We Can Improve
• Efficiency and Flexibility: Global Internet, Instant
Content
• Stability: Reusable courseware (i.e. SCORM)
• Interaction: Real-time communication
• And More …
– Any time and anywhere: Convenience and Flexibility of VoD or
LoD
– Lower cost for students: less travel expense and less travel
time
– Content is more timely: Efficiency, Precision
• Large number of students: Scalability
• Business opportunity: knowledge is for sale
• Builds virtual community: make friends, E-Commerce

17. E-Learning Defined
• E-learning refers to the use of Internet
technologies to deliver a broad array of
solutions that enhance knowledge and
performance.
Source: C. T. Chang
As one of the many definitions

18. E-Learning Defined
• 1. E-Learning is networked, which makes
it capable of instant updating,
storage/retrieval, distribution and sharing
of instruction or information.
– CD-ROM(DVD) lack the networkability, so
they should not be classified as e-learning.

19. E-Learning Defined
• 2. It is delivered to the end-user via a computer
using standard Internet technology.
– The definition of just what is a computer is
constantly changing.
• WebTV、cell phone、PDA、PalmPilot
– Key characteristic is the use of standard internet
technologies, such as TCP/IP and Browsers that
create a universal delivery platform.

20. E-Learning Defined
• 3. It focuses on the broadest view of learning –
learning solutions that go beyond the traditional
paradigms of training .
– The delivery of information
– Tools that improve performance
• E-learning is a form of distance learning, but
distance learning is not necessarily e-learning.
– e-learning distance learning
– E.g., traditional open university may not use e-
learning, but use distance learning

21. Benefits of E-Learning
• 1. E-learning lowers cost
• 2. E-learning enhances business
responsiveness
• 3. Messages are consistent or customized,
depending on need
• 4. Content is more timely and dependable
• 5. Learning is 24/7
• 6. No user “ramp-up” time

22. Benefits of E-Learning
• 7. Universality
• 8. Builds community
• 9. Scalability
• 10. Leverages the corporate investment in
the web
• 11. Provides an increasingly valuable
customer service

23. The Big Picture
Elements of
Distance
Education Policy
People
Technology
• Criteria for Diploma or Degree
• Standard (e.g., SCORM)
• Intellectual Property (IP)
• Classification of Virtual Universities
• People/Sociological Considerations
• Educational Professional
• Administrator
• Engineer
• Artiste
• Student/Customer
• Internet/Internet II
• WWW
• Educational Theory
• Intelligent Methods
• Software Engineering

24. Policies for Distance
Education
• Approval and Trusty
• Evaluation Standard of Distance
Education Programs
• Courseware/Platform Standard
• Intellectual Property and Legal Issues
• Internet Propriety and Culture of Virtual
Society

25. Human Issues of Distance
Education
• Motivation of Students
• Drop/Sustentation Rate
• Instructor load in e-mail Q and A
• Instructor load in content development
• Instructor Suffering in Video Recording
• The threat from “the big professor” and “the
super university”
• Awareness from others at a regular interval
• Tutor and Mentor
• Sociological Behavior of Students

26. Technology Needs of
Distance Education
• Broadband and real-time communication
• Efficient courseware development tools
• Unbiased exam and student assessment
• FAQ summarization and auto reply
• Intelligent tutoring
• Universal and mobile accessibility
• Computer-assisted lab and simulation
• Scalability
• Effective & efficient administration system

27. Questions in DL Panel
Discussions
• 18 questions
• List of Answers from International Researchers
– [Shih]: Timothy K. Shih, Tamkang University, Taiwan
– [Dow]: Chyi-Ren Dow, Feng Chia University, Taiwan
– [Li]: Sheng-Tun Li, National Kaohsiung 1st U. of Sci. and Tech.,
Taiwan
– [Lin]: Fuhua Oscar Lin, Athabasca University, Canada
– [CYS]: Yam San Chee, National University of Singapore, Singapore
– [Jin]: Qun Jin, Waseda University, Japan
– [Jung]: Insung Jung, Ewha Women's University, Korea
– [David]: David Asirvatham, Multimedia University, Malaysia
– [Leong]: Hong Va Leong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong
Kong
– [Sala]: Nicoletta Sala, University of Italian Switzerland, Switzerland
– [Antoni]: Gianni Degli Antoni Institute for Educational Technology,
Italy
– [Arndt]:Timothy Arndt, Cleveland State University, USA

28. Policy Issues
• What levels of distance programs are realistic (e.g., colleague
education vs. elementary education)?
– College level is suitable [Shih, Li, Lin, CYS, Jin, David, Leong, Arndt]
– K-12 [Shih, Jin, Arndt]
– Adults and job training [Jin]
• Is the classification of virtual universities (i.e., university ranking for
different purposes) necessary?
– Virtual universities may have different missions and focuses [Shih, Li,
CYS, Jin, David, Leong, Arndt]
• What about the intellectual property of the course material?
Should the copyright belong to the instructor, or to the
university (and for how long)?
– Belong to the instructor, but commercial profit should be shared
with the university [Dow, David]
– Belong to the university [Li, Lin]
– To be decided by different government and institutes [CYS, Jin,
Arndt]

29. Policy Issues (Continue)
• Does student need grade in a virtual university?
– Need grade to gain a trust from the society [Shih, Lin, CYS,
David, Leong]
– Need grade to enforce and encourage students [Dow, Li, David]
– Grade can be used as a feedback from students [Dow]
– May not need grade (let the society to make the justification)
[Shih, CYS, Jin, Leong]
– Virtual university should support both graded and non-graded
(audit) options [Arndt]
• Does the industrial society trust the quality of distance education?
– The reputation of a virtual university may depend on its founding
university (a traditional university) [Shih, Jin, David, Leong]
– Good quality of service and contents will gain trust [Dow, Li, Lin, Jin]

30. Human and Sociological
Issues
• Will the sociological behavior of students be
different in virtual university?
– Students can still make some virtual friends [Shih, Dow, Li,
Lin, Jin]
– Sociological behavior could be different [CYS, David]
– Easy to find a friend, but hard to gain trust [Jin, Leong]
– Face-to-face interaction in the beginning will facilitate
further discussion [Arndt]
• Do traditional and virtual university students behave
differently in different culture?
– Sending e-mail for question is common everywhere [Shih, Jin,
Arndt]
– Distance education may benefit oriental students in off-line
discussions [Li, Dow, David, Leong]

31. Human and Sociological
Issues (Continue)
• Can students learn from each other? Is group discussion less
efficient in distance education?
– Student can learn from each other if better communication facility is
provided [Shih, CYS, Jin, David, Leong]
– Discussion using chat room tools will be efficient as well and
discussion should be a requirement [Dow, Li, David, Leong, Arndt]
– Communication techniques should be considered (i.e., human to
human and human to computer interactions) [Jin]
– Conflicts with different view points in an off-line discussion may be
higher than those proceeded on-line or face-to-face [Leong]
• Will there be a threat from “the big professor” and “the super
university”?
– Yes [Shih, Dow, Li, CYS, Jin, David, Leong]
– Yes, but still need a large number of instructors for on-line
tutoring to fit individual needs [Leong, Arndt]

32. Distance Learning
Technologies
• Asynchronized/Synchronized Distance
Learning
• Software Systems
• Standards
• Intelligent Tutoring
• Adaptive Testing/Assessment
• Mobile Learning
• Game-Based Learning, Virtual Reality
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Digital TV, Interactive TV

33. Same time (synchronous) Different time (asynchronous)
Same place Interpersonal
 Tutorial
 Informal discussion
Group
 Lecture/Seminar
 Laboratory
 Group/Project work
 Information Discussion
Interpersonal
 Library
 Interactive video
 CD-ROM
Group
 TV (broadcast/cable)
Different place Interpersonal
 Telephone
 Internet phone
systems(e.g.:Nettalk,Net2Phone)
 Talk (real-time interactive text with
another user)
Group
 Teleconference
 Audio conference
 Video-conference
 Chat (system used for live discussion:
some system involve multimedia)
 MUs (variants: MUD, MUCK,
MUSH,MOO-real-time interaction
system, usually text, used for social
role-playing, gaming)
Interpersonal
 Printed material (book, letter, memo, fax. Etc.)
 Videotape/audiotape
 Answering machine / voice mail
 Email (allows a user to send messages to another
user)
 Computer program
Group
 Mailing list expander, such as LISTSERV (mailing-
list program for group communication)
 USENET (asynchronous text discussion on many
topics separated into newsgroup)
 Groupware (collaboration system which includes
shared libraries, dialogue, text, graphics spaces,
etc.)
 WWW (universe of HTTP servers that allow text,
graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together)
A Taxonomy of Communication Tools

34. Instruction Delivery
Approaches
• Synchronous versus Asynchronous
• Interactions in E-Learning
– Leaner-Content Interaction (e.g., Web-based content)
– Leaner-Instructor/Learner Interaction (e.g., MSN, Skype, Chat
room)
– Leaner-Intelligent Agent Interaction (e.g., Intelligent tutoring)
• Current Approaches of Content Delivery
– Web-based course content (asynchronous, no interaction)
– E-mail Q and A (asynchronous, low interaction)
– Internet telephony (synchronous, high interaction)
– White board and chat room (synchronous, high interaction)
– Video-on-demand (asynchronous, no interaction)
– Video conferencing/virtual classroom (synchronous, high interaction)
– Virtual Reality-based classroom (synchronous, highest awareness)
– In-class lecture (synchronous, highest awareness)
– Or, combination of the above

35. • Traditional University vs. Distance
Education
• A hypothetical hybrid distance
learning model
• A hybrid assessment model
• Hybrid instruction models
S. K. Chang and Timothy K. Shih
A Distance Learning Scenario

36. A Hybrid Distance Learning Scenarios
Communication Bandwidth
AwarenessImpact
Live
Teaching
Live
Tutoring
Audio
Conference
Video
Conference
Email
Conference
Chat Room
Conference
Web & Video
Courseware
Text Book &
Class notes
Min. Max.

37. A Hybrid Assessment Model
Complexity of Computational Intelligence
IntentionImpact
Midterm
and Final
Exams
Quizzes
Project
Reports
Assignments
Min. Max.
Chat Room
Participation
Web
Navigation
Factors
Quizzes
Midterm
and Final
Exams
Surveillant tool
Surveillant tool

38. The Hybrid Instruction Model –
Basic E-Classroom
Time
AwarenessandIntentionImpact
1. Live
Teaching
4. Quizzes
2. Text Book &
Class notes
5. Email
Conference
6. Chat Room
Conference
3. Assignments
8. Live
Tutoring
7. Chat Room
Participation
9. Midterm
and Final
Exams

39. The Hybrid Instruction Model –
Advanced E-Classroom
Time
AwarenessandIntentionImpact
1. Video
Conference
1. Chat Room
Conference
1. Web &
Video
Courseware
2. Project
Reports
3. Quizzes 4. Email
Conference
3. Web
Navigation
Factors
5. Video
Conference
7. Midterm
and Final
Exams
5. Web &
Video
Courseware
6. Web
Navigation
Factors

40. The Hybrid Instruction Model –
Community-Based Learning
Time
AwarenessandIntentionImpact
2. Video
Conference
1. Chat Room
Conference
4. Email
Conference
5. Video
Conference
3. Project
Solution 6. Chat Room
Conference
7. Project
Completed

41. The Hybrid Instruction Model –
Target-Based Learning
Time
AwarenessandIntentionImpact
2. Video
Conference
5. Chat Room
Conference
3. Quizzes
1. Web &
Video
Courseware
4. Web &
Video
Courseware
6. Quizzes
7. Web &
Video
Courseware
8. Midterm
and Final
Exams

42. Administration
Awareness Assessment
• Curriculum Development
• Student Records and Accounting
• Student Service Center
• Digital Library
• Web-Based Instruction Delivery
• Lecture-on-Demand
• Group Communication
• Awareness of Participators
• Course Evaluation
• Instruction Evaluation
• Student Evaluation
• DL Program Evaluation
The 3 A’s
Operation Criteria

43. Tools for the Administration
Criterion
• Student record maintenance tool
• Accounting tool
• Course catalog maintenance tool
• Curriculum schedule maintenance tool
• Virtual library maintenance tool
• Public announcement tool
• Course development tool
• Course annotation tool
• Lecture-on-demand tool
• FAQ auto reply agent
• Course selection and on-line registration tool
• Transcript/diploma inquiry tool

44. Tools for the Awareness
Criterion
• Course annotation playback
• Lecture-on-demand playback
• Student notebook tool
• Office hour scheduling agent
• Audio communication tool
• Video communication tool
• Chat room tool
• White board tool

45. Tools for the Assessment
Criterion
• In class student participation guard
• Web navigation patrol
• Class record bookkeeping and grading tool
• Learning curve analysis tool
• Student performance assessment agent
• Intelligent tutoring agent

46. Asynchronized Distance
Learning
• Multimedia Presentations
• Hypermedia
• Web-based Instructions
• Learning Management Systems
• Web/Web 2.0 Technologies

47. Synchronized Distance
Learning
• White Board and Chat Room
• Voice over IP
• Video Communication Technologies
• Media Synchronization
• Smart Classroom

48. Distance Learning Software
Systems
• Learning Space
• Moodle
• WebCT
• Blackboard
• Standardization Issues

49. Distance Learning
Standards
• IMS Learning Design
• Sharable Content Object Reference
Model (SCORM)
• Question & Test Interoperability (QTI)
• Common Cartridge
• Content Object Repository Discovery and
Registration/Resolution Architecture
(CORDRA)
• Others

50. Intelligent Tutoring
• Ontology
• User Profile
• Concept Map
• Influence Graph
• Petri Net
• Student-Problem Chart
• Deductive Reasoning
• Neural Network

51. Adaptive
Testing/Assessment
• Item Respond Theory
• Assessment Methods
– Placement evaluation
– Formative evaluation
– Diagnostic evaluation
– Summative evaluation
– Self-evaluation

52. Mobile Learning
• Mobile Devices
• Middleware for Mobile Learning
• Adaptation of Learning Resources and
User Interaction
• Guidelines for Developing m-Learning
Contents
• Location-Aware and Situated Learning

53. Game-Based Learning and
Virtual Reality
• Taxonomy of Video Games
• Simulation
• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
• Game Development Tools
• Assessment of Game-Based Learning

54. Human-Computer
Interaction
• Augmented Paper
• Multimodal Interaction
• Smart Classroom
• Wearable Computer

55. Interactive Digital TV
• Video-on-Demand
• Multimedia Home Platform (MHP)
• Digital TV

56. • Course and user management: An administration system should
provide efficient management tools for administrators, instructors, and
students. If on-line course materials are provided on the Web, a
friendly interface and supporting tools are required. For instance, an
on-line student service center helps students to find references,
suitable courses, and answers to general questions.
• Efficient courseware development tools: It is time consuming for a
course designer to develop high quality courseware. A friendly
courseware tool helps instructors to design or customizes course
materials from reusable course components. In addition, a problem
database and exam composition tool may help an instructor to design
an examination easily.
• Instance hints and intelligent tutoring: While a student is navigating
an on-line course, an intelligent agent is able to analyze his/her
behavior, and provides real-time and useful suggestions. In some
cases, an agent program will guide the student through different
learning topology depending on the behavior of the student.
Challenges Issues of Distance
Learning Technologies 1/4

57. • FAQ summarization and automatic reply: It is also time consuming
for an instructor to answer questions from students’ e-mails. An auto-
reply system should be able to use information retrieval techniques
to summarize frequently asked questions, and reply to new questions
with proper answers.
• Unbiased examination and student assessment: It is difficult to
ensure the behavior of students while an on-line examination is under
processing but without a human monitor. A surveillance tool can
randomly take a snapshot of on-the-spot screen while the examination
proceeds. Also, in some distance learning programs, chat room
participation will be counted as an evaluation criterion. An intelligent
tool should be able to check if a student has devoted himself/herself in
a discussion.
• Individualized quizzes: Some distance learning systems are able to
generate different test questions for each individual student on the
basis of a similar difficulty level. This type of system will ensure an
unbiased examination as well.
Challenges Issues of Distance
Learning Technologies 2/4

58. • Privacy of student: Personal information of a student should be
hided from another student, the administrator, and even the instructors.
Unless it is necessary to assess student performance from his/her
personal data (such as answers to an assignment or exam), privacy
should be enforced.
• Broadband and real-time communication: For on-line discussion
using video conferencing, quality-of-services should be guaranteed
with the support of broadband and real-time communication facilities.
• Universal and mobile accessibility: Students and instructors should
be able to access the distance learning Web site from any location
with different devices, such as PDAs or cellular phones. Wireless
communication techniques may be incorporated in a distance
learning system.
Challenges Issues of Distance
Learning Technologies 3/4

59. • Scalability: As the number of students enrolled becomes larger,
distributed Web services should be able to re-direct requests of
students to different Web servers to share bandwidth and hardware
load.
• Remote lab and simulation: Domain specific remote labs connected
to Internet need to be developed to support on-line experiments. If
remote labs are not available, on-line simulation tools (i.e., virtual lab)
should be provided.
• Multilingual support: Since distance education can be accessed
from anywhere in the world, distance education platform and systems
should consider multilingual support for the international society.
• Evaluation standard of distance education: Standard criteria and
questionnaires should be setup to allow teaching evaluation,
evaluation of courseware, student performance evaluation, and
the evaluation of a distance learning program.
Challenges Issues of Distance
Learning Technologies 4/4

60. Summary
• History of Distance Learning
• Understanding Your Role from the Big Picture
• Off-the-Shelf Distance Learning Systems
• Technologies for Distance Education
• Challenge Issues of Distance Education
• Reading Assignments
– A Survey of Distance Education Challenges and
Technologies.pdf
– Internet and Related Technologies for Distance
Education.pdf