Педагогічні науки/6. Соціальна педагогіка

Бересток О.В.

Кобжев О. М.

Сумський національний аграрний університет,Україна

Contemporary Distant Adult Learning Projects

"Distance Learning (DL) is an instructional delivery system that connects learners with educational resources. DL provides educational access to learners not enrolled in educational institutions and can augment the learning opportunities of current students. The implementation of DL is a process that uses available resources and will evolve to incorporate emerging technologies."

This definition was developed in 1997 by a workgroup of adult educators for the California Distance Learning Project (CDLP)

Some Facts from the History of Adult Distance Learning

Adult Distance education has its origins in the middle of the 19th century Europe and the United States. The founders of adult distance education implemented the best technology of that period, the postal system, to open educational possibilities to people who wanted to study but were unable to attend conventional schools. People who mostly got most benefits from such correspondence school included women who were not permitted to enroll in educational institutions open only to men, those ones with physical disabilities, people who were employed during normal school hours, and those who lived in distant places where schools did not exist.

An Englishman, Isaac Pitman, is considered to be an early pioneer of adult distant education. In 1840 he began teaching shorthand by correspondence in Bath, England. Students were instructed to copy short abstracts of the Bible and return them back for grading via the new penny post system.

American university level adult distance education began in 1874 at Illinois Wesleyan University where bachelor and graduate degrees could be obtained without presence. The Chautauqua movement in about 1882 gave the popular push to distant education.

By 1900 the teaching of academic and vocational courses by correspondence became very popular and problems of quality and ethical dilemmas came with the popularity. The National Home Study Council (NHSC) was founded in 1926 in part to address these goals. Accreditation of college and university adult distance programs passed to the National University Extension Association in 1915.

The invention of educational radio in the 1920s and the advent of television in the 1940s gave the possibility to create important new ways of communication to be used in adult distance education. Educators used these new technologies to broadcast educational projects to millions of learners, however extending opportunities for studying beyond the bounders of conventional teaching institutions.

The advent of reliable long-distance telephone systems at the beginning of 1900s also enhanced the capability of adult distance educators to get new student populations. But telephone systems never played a prominent part in education until the introduction of new teleconferencing technologies in the 1980s and 1990s. Teleconferencing systems made it possible for adult educators to talk with, hear, and see their distant students in real time - that is, with no delays in the transmissions - even if they were situated across the country or all over the world.

Adult distance education increasingly applies some mix of various communications technologies to enlarge the opportunities of teachers and students to communicate with one another. In the 1980s and 1990s with the spread of computer-network communications, great amount of people gained access to computers connected with telephone lines, permitting teachers and students to communicate in conferences with the help of computers.

Adult distance education also uses computer conferencing on the World Wide Web, where educators and students demonstrate texts, pictures, audio, and video materials. File sharing and communications instruments like email, chats and audio and video conferencing are integral part of the Internet model. Business and university level learners have applied a conferencing method, which is known as one-way video/two-way audio where television images, transmitted to certain sites, where people can communicate with the broadcasters with the help of a telephone call-in system. Television images can also be transmitted through telephone lines in two directions simultaneously, so that educators and students in one location can see and hear educators and students in other ones. This technology of video-conferencing increasingly implements the Internet .

Adult distance education increases possibility to learning opportunities. Well organized adult distance learning accommodates versatile learning styles. Adult distance learning is devoted to people who are not likely to attend traditional classroom instruction. In some cases it can serve as many or more students per dollar spent. California research tries to persuade that it can attract and serve lower level learners.

Adult life for most people is demanding and complex. Many adults are not able or have no opportunity to attend traditional adult instruction schools and classrooms for many reasons, which include:

•lacking the essential confidence to attend a large classroom setting in front of other students.

•experiencing the dearth of public transportation systems in different parts of the state, striving more practice of skills to reach mastery.

•having work and family duties that make attending a regular classroom instruction time difficult and complex, learning more effectively from video, audio, and Web–based media when moving for their own pace.

•living in places without convenient access to traditional classes education.

People who are unable to attend traditional classroom instruction because of these circumstances need options. These adults are prime targets for adult distance learning. They are motivated to their unremitting education, but limited by realities, such as how they can participate in adult basic educational program. Flexible learning methods that are not classroom centered appeal to these potential adult students.

Questions are asked whether lower literacy learners can benefit from the rich possibilities emerging with distributed Internet instruction? This is the well- known digital system. While the Internet broadcast access is available in schools, libraries, and public centers, it still may be unavailable in some homes. The CDLP encourages adult education programs that are considering including Internet delivered instruction to survey its adult learners as for their home access to computers and the Internet.

In the past most adult learners had videotape players (VCRs) or access to them. That is why video delivered teaching has been so popular. Nowadays the same increased instructional functionality and popularity is being provided with the help of via digital video disks (DVDs). One challenge for adult educators is to transition to interactive Internet based adult education that suggests a much richer palate of learning materials, instructions, communications, and testing opportunities.

Some key features determine adult distance learning. The importance of the teacher — adult learner relationship cannot be over evaluated.

•Control of the learning pace by the adult student rather than the distance educator.

• Separation of teacher and learner in space and time.

•The implementation of educational approaches to unite teacher and adult learner and carry program content.

• The separation of teacher and adult learner during at least a majority of each instructional process

• The provision of two-way communication asses between teacher, tutor, or educational institution and adult learner

These definitions provide equally to high tech and low tech methods to adult distance learning. Having the essential, enthusiastic, and qualified staff of employees is a make or break value.

Two Categories of Adult Distance Learning

There are two adult distance education delivery system types — synchronous and asynchronous.

Synchronous instruction needs the simultaneous participation of all students and educators. The advantage of this category of instruction is that interaction is provided in "real time" and has an immediacy. The samples are presented by interactive telecourses, teleconferencing and Web conferencing, and Internet chats.

Asynchronous instruction does not apply the simultaneous participation of all students and educators. Students do not need to be gathered together in the same place at the same time. Rather, students may choose their own educational period of time frame and interact with the learning materials or data and educator according to their schedules. Asynchronous instruction is more flexible than synchronous instruction but experience shows that time limits are necessary to main focus and participation. The self-paced format accommodates multiple learning levels and schedules. Examples of asynchronous delivery tools include videotaped courses, e-mail, audiocassette courses, list serves, correspondence courses, and WWW-based courses.

Three basic elements of adult distance education are of great importance to any successful distance learning program:

•instructional design

•support

•technology

Technology implementation studies show that teacher preparation and ongoing support are undervalued. Support is often undervalued in design and implementation.

Types of Adult Distance Learning Approaches

Adult distance learning is a modality - a broad, mixed category of methods to deliver learning. The types can be grouped along several descriptive dimensions. Low tech to high tech is essential in the adult basic education branch. You should bear in mind, however, that these individual types can be organized into hybrid forms. The following list presents the most popular types of adult distance learning by their characteristics and notable features.

A. Videotape in VHS and DVD formats

Visual and audio tool; the checkout approach with print materials is very

popular. Multi-sensory tool with linear delivery format.

B. Audiotape

Audio learning instrument, very mobile and inexpensive when combined with print

materials. Especially useful in language learning and practice as well as literature.

C. Mobile van / lab

Resources taken to the adult learners, essential for work site education and reaching parents at elementary schools. Van learning. Historically useful method to distribute videos, audiotapes, DVDs, and other learning tools, but it can be expensive to operate. It becomes less and less popular as distributed learning increases.

D. Laptop computer checkout

Versatile approach to providing a wide range of learning activities from skill

and drill to simulations. Hardware is expensive and being substituted by less expensive Internet delivery.

E. Radio course

Low cost tool to reach ESL adult learners. Perfectly it should be applied by more education providers. The radio course must contain approaches for learners to interact with the teacher. Phone call in during or after air time could be integrated into the programming.

F. Videoconference – Two way interactive video

Electronic way of communication among people at separate places. It can be presented by audio, audio graphic, video or computer based devices. Often implies essential software and consequently rather expensive. Internet models and broadcast communications are making it more affordable and accessible.

G. Telecourse

Delivery over television, as a rule, cable public access channel or school owned

channel. The telecourse has to include means for learners to interact with the educator. Phone call in is very popular. Print materials and data accompany on-air instruction.

H. Email

Asynchronous text materials and attachments. Good method to stimulate learning, writing, and communications skills and values.

I. Internet

Educational delivery over the Internet, either instruction modules or entire courses. Instructional adult learning systems permit educators to create, manage, interact with, and test adult students online. The communication and strive to hyperlink to worldwide education resources are extremely attractive. Profound broadcast communications give the opportunity for the effective applying of video and synchronous instruction. Chat and asynchronous interaction enhance links between the educator and adult learner and among the adult learners.

Curricula and learning materials and data have been created implementing video and print, CD-ROM and/or the Internet. This allows adult learning associations to adopt some or all the media into their curricula as circumstances permit. These products contain the "English for All" high beginning ESL video, print, CD-ROM, and Internet course materials and data. “Check out English for All” is one of the very popular California Adult Distance Learning Project's. It includes online TV news stories, redesigned for adult basic education learners, which are also available, but are no longer being updated.

Some Basic Assumptions of Adult Distance Learning

The following set of common assumptions was designed for the California Adult Distance Learning Project by a 21 person resource group of investigators. It was created to help guide collective thinking and disputes as for adult distance learning priorities and policies.

•Faced with an increasingly competitive global market, California, a state of immigrants, will look to adult education to play an important role in developing and keeping a world class workforce.

•Anytime, any place, any pace education is one purpose for California adult instruction.

•Adult distance learning provides access for learners not presently served in traditional classrooms and facilitates learning opportunities for those not being served in traditional programs and traditional ways.

• The potential demand for adult basic learning services in California far outstrips the supply. New approaches must be designed to effectively and efficiently reach out and serve more adult learners.

• Adult distance learning suggests unique possibilities for adult educational institutions to provide access to persons not otherwise served; and so has the potential to continue to widen adult education using the new ways.

• Adult distance learning can be probably used as a strategic instrument to assist individual institutional missions. Thus, there are institutional structures and cultures that do not foster an environment where adult distance learning can be easily implemented.

• Adult distance learning, incorporating emerging information technologies and tools, provides both an opportunity and a challenge to adult education institutions in expanding their services and missions.

• Adult distance learning often needs resource sharing and interaction among providers. It can be enhanced by many types of partnerships.

• Adult distance learning is most efficient when staff, together with learners, gain new skills, values and knowledge. So, unremitting staff self-development must play an essential role in the adult distance learning development process.

Fundamental Values

When speaking about the fundamental values and principles, we can come to the conclusion that the practice of adult distance learning makes a great contribution to the larger social mission of instruction and training in a democratic society. Taking it into consideration, we should remember, that the principles reflect the following tenets and values:

• Lifelong learning includes the development and maintaining of a number of learning skills, values and behaviors that must be explicit outcomes of adult learning activities.

• Learning is a lifelong process, essential to successful participation in the social, cultural, civic, and economic development of a democratic society.

•All members of society have the right to access learning options that provide the basic means for effective participation in the life of society.

• The diversity of learners, learning requirements, learning contexts, and models of instruction must be recognized if the learning activities are to reach their goals and purposes.

•Taking into account that learning is social and sensitive to context, we can assume that learning experiences and skills should support interactivity and the development of learning associations, whether social, public, or professional.

•Participation in a learning community contains both responsibilities and rights for learners, providers, instructors and those involved into the oversight of adult learning.

•The development of a learning society needs significant changes in the responsibilities, roles and activities of both provider institutions and staff and also of the learners themselves.

The California Adult Distance Learning Project

The California Adult Distance Learning Project (CADLP) goal is to expand the learner access to adult basic learning services in California. This goal includes four major tasks:

• Provide Technical Aids in Implementing Adult Distance Learning

• Create and Promote an Adult Distance Learning Knowledge Background

• Assistance in Creation of a Statewide Adult Distance Learning Infrastructure

• Test New Instructional Delivery Methods / Materials/Data

• Explore the CADLP Web site. Also explore the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) Web site, especially the subcategory “Sites to Use With Students” in the Teaching Tools & References By Program area. It is the biggest and best repository of communications, information, materials and data on adult basic education in the United States.

Both of these projects are supported by the California Department of Education, they help to provide adult basic education with instructional technology .

Adult Distance Learning Programs in the United States

In the United States, institutions of higher education, business, and the military implement adult distance instruction for education and training. Millions of learners are engaged in television courses produced by schools, colleges and universities all over the country. Private businesses, including big multinational corporations, have operated satellite television networks to provide vocational training to their adult employees around the world.

The United States Army suggests a wide amount of online learning programs to its military personnel. For example the Army Training Requirements and Resources System and eArmyU.

Adult distance education provided through colleges and universities in the United States offers instruction in a wide range of both academic and vocational subjects. The National University Telecommunications Network, (NUTN) based in Old Dominion University, Colorado, proposes distance instruction and teleconferencing resources for over 50 institutions of higher education. Over time the technology has shifted from satellite and telecourses to the Internet.

Online University Courses in America and Europe

A growing range of institutions and organizations offer complete college degree programs provided via the Internet.

California's Virtual University enlists a wide variety of community college, college and university courses provided online. The Western Governor's Association is the sponsor of the Western Governor's University (WGU). It offers online college degrees and courses from multiple universities and institutions.

The innovative Open University, started in 1971 in Britain and has been spread all over the world. The British Open University provides a master’s degree in the field of distance learning to everybody in the world who has access to the Internet.

Listings of virtual universities and much more information can be found on the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) and the Distance Education Clearinghouse Web sites. Others can be found using routine Internet search methods.

The Virtual Schooling in the United States

Several states have introduced virtual high schools and virtual schools. A 1991 West Ed study gives the definition of the virtual school as "an educational organization that offers K-12 courses through Internet or Web-based methods." The statewide Florida Virtual School perhaps is the most notable due to its breadth and depth. The Massachusetts nonprofit VHS Inc offers collaborative partnerships with schools. Other virtual schools are locally based or created via charter schools. The University of California Santa Cruz's University of California College Prep online (UCCP) started as an online program to offer profound placement courses to small and middle size high institutions. It has widened to incorporate fundamental academic courses.

The California Adult Basic Education Experience

California offers adult education and literacy services through a multi-provider system. The most part of the state and federal resources pass to the K-12 adult institutions. Community colleges provide core learning services through their noncredit programs on some 9 campuses. Community based advocacy associations and library literacy programs also suggest very essential literacy, basic education and ESL services, but their numbers are limited.

There has been little motivation for the literacy and community based organization programs to experiment with adult distance instruction. The federal English language/civics (EL/Civics) grant programs adopted in 2001 contained a distance learning emphasis despite there was little provider interest.

The California Adult Schools

California’s strives to offer adult basic distance learning services are rather new. Adult educational institutions can provide distance learning with the help of two funding mechanisms - apportionment and fee based. Recently there are two apportionment delivery opportunities - independent study and Innovation Programs.

They can offer high school subjects through the so called "independent study" programs. Adult learners enter into agreements with adult educational institutions to carry on independent instruction in an approved adult high school subject. The learner and instructor meet from time to time to review assignments, progress and concerns. The modality in which the independent adult learning is offered does not matter and adult distance education is a very appropriate instrument. However, distance learning course materials and data are nowadays limited, and most independent learning occurs in education centers or on a materials checkout basis.

In 1993 legislation was passed allowing adult educational institutions to apply up to 5% of their block entitlement for their innovative programs, all of which have been distance learning initially.

Innovation Programs

These programs can be proposed in the authorized settings of instruction including adult basic education, English as a second language (ESL), parent education, GED training and short term career education preparation.

The application and information provider of the Innovation Program can be found at the Adult Education Office's Innovation Program site.

What should be expected from future?

Perfectly most adult basic education programs are to be delivered in multiple media, permitting the learner to take benefit of the variable times, media, and learning style opportunities. Over the next years the expended integration of Web based learning with traditional instruction will occur. Incorporating ESL distance learning course length materials are organized to be available online. This was not considered to be possible at least ten years ago. Requirements for this kind of material through on-line access continue to grow in California. The skill and drill activities together with language acquisition can be offered applying the visual and aural features of the Internet accompanied by the interactivity of item testing and feedback.

The adult distance learning will remain as an option, opportunity and supplement for traditional classroom education, but not a replacement.