U.S.A. For extra credit, many students rented the video, Educating Rita, a variation of the Pygmalion
theme, a story of a British working-class woman who experienced the Open University and found
herself changing as a result. Students understood well the conflicting time demands of job, children,
spouse and college classes. We talked about those conflicts.

5. Use assignments in the local setting. In the section on telecommunications, students were required to
search out and attend one class provided by telecommunications other than the COMNET system.
This was something of a gamble, as I really did not know if enough of these projects would be
available in outlying sites. As it turned out, a variety of these classes were available, and the point
was made that they were increasing in popularity. He

6. Build the human element to overcome the technology's limitations. As a course requirement, all students
were to give short presentations, using at least one visual. I worked hard to keep classes interactive
with high levels of participation in discussions. Because COMNET allows the instructor to originate
the class from any site, I traveled to two of the sites I had not visited previously, taught the course,
and was able to interact personally with two groups of students.

My final idea might seem to have undercut my experiment. I convinced students and faculty to meet on
one Saturday, in person, at a central location (Salt Lake City), a four-hour trip for some of the students. As
a group, we took a field trip to a videodisc courseware production facility, held a seminar with departmental
faculty and over thirty students, and then held the two scheduled classes in person. It was a full day for all
concerned and was the first time many of the students had met others in the program in person. I had the
distinct pleasure of taking all of them to lunch, compliments of the University Extension office.

Would a critic of distance education be convinced by this demonstration? Probably not—I had obviously
broken some of the rules of the test by convening a central meeting of participants. I will say, however, that
as I taught the last class via teleconference from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, I was satisfied with the outcome
of the course. It had cost me a lot of work, including a week of Christmas vacation, getting organized.
Student achievement and motivation were high. And the course evaluations . . . let's just say that I will
certainly use them as evidence when the time comes for a promotion.

Nick Eastmond
Associate Professor

For further information, contact the author at the Department of Instructional Technology, Utah State
University, Logan, UT 84322-3025.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor
November 20, 1987, Vol. IX, No. 27

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS Is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, EDB 348, The University of
Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512)471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsortlum members for $35 per year. Funding In
part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are In session during fall and spring
terms and once during the summer.

© The University of Texas at Austin, 1987
Further duplication Is permitted only by MEMBER institutions for thelr own personnel. ISSN 0199-106X