Distance Education in Transition - Master of Distance Education ...

The Pedagogical Flexibility of the Virtual University
Scripts of lectures 39
Multimedia CD 35
Administrative and organisational matters 11
Use of Internet 10
Simulations 9
Tele-teaching 8
Development of tools 6
Non-specific use 5
Use of Internet combined with interactions 5
Learning with tools 4
Research projects 4
Presentations 2
It would appear that in the first place faculty members used the net for distributing
papers (handouts) which normally are given to students before or during face-to-face
lectures. This has already been mentioned. In the second place the net is used for
delivering lectures which are also presented at standard, face-to-face meetings. Thanks
to their independence from fixed times and places, faculty members find it convenient
to use the net to provide small amounts of information or lecture notes quickly and
easily. Some of them find satisfaction in leaving the lecture hall and lecturing to students
in virtual space. Structurally, however, it is the same. They adhere to conventional
pedagogical structures, although the external learning and teaching behaviour is
considerably altered. Basically we can still see expository one-dimensional teaching.
Multimedia CDs are used for the same purpose. In the third place the net is used to
acquire information, in the fourth place to simulate learning by construction in vocational
courses. Surprisingly little use is made of presentations.
It is important to see that these first steps do not include any teaching using carefully
developed interactive multimedia modules or courses or any elements of self-regulated
learning. The obvious reason for this is that it requires considerable funds and expertise
and a completely different approach to the understanding of learning.
Rolf Schulmeister (n. y., p. 2) was interested in the pedagogical substance of those first
approaches and analysed the results of an HIS (Higher Education Information System)
survey carried out as early as 1996 and found that at that time there were already 100
institutions of higher education in Germany using the net for teaching and learning
purposes. He identified the following six pedagogical factors:
1. Searching for information,
2. learning by constructing,
3. exercices, repetitions,
4. visualising,
5. cognitive learning programmes,
6. communication and co-operation.
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