Frank Lowney (flowney@mail.gcsu.edu)
Sat, 19 Jun 1999 07:41:33 -0400
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 07:41:33 -0400 From: Frank Lowney <flowney@mail.gcsu.edu> Subject: Content and Content Vehicles
List address to send message to everyone: ifets-discuss@LISTSERV.READADP.COM
Details of current discussion: http://ifets.gmd.de/discuss.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As David and Peter say and as you might gather from my e-mail signature, we
all agree that content is king.
However, the preoccupation with what I am calling "content vehicles," the
hardware and software used in a particular online environment, does have
some justification. Looking only at learner outcomes, undelivered or
improperly delivered content can make that content seem defective when it
is not.
I believe that this is also a sign of a much larger problem, the lack of
testable models. We are at that awkward stage that every knowledge field
goes through where we haven't yet established methods that help us
understand whether a negative outcome is due to poor content or poor
delivery.
Until we resolve these issues, our knowledge will continue to be stuck at
the level of hypothesis formation and speculation.
>
>Peter, you are absolutely on target. Technology is the pipeline of delivery.
>If poorly designed content is transmitted, by whatever means, it still is poor
>content. The technology can be the most sophisticated in the world and
>have all
>the bells, horns and whistles....but it cannot improve the quality of content.
>The compass seems to always point to instruction design. Unfortunately, many
>institutions, commercial and education are enamored with what the
>technology can
>do and lose focus on the most important aspect of content delivery;
>soundly-based, research-proven metholodgies that center on the learner.
>All to
>many ignore the part a competent instructional designer can play in the
>overall
>process.
>
>Dave Little, Moderator
>
>Peter Kandlbinder wrote:
>
>> List address to send message to everyone: ifets-discuss@LISTSERV.READADP.COM
>> Details of current discussion: http://ifets.gmd.de/discuss.html
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> It seems to me the only measure of the effectiveness of on-line learning is
>> how much the students actually learn. The majority of the checklists I've
>> seen to date focus on the functionality of software, however I have yet to
>> see the evidence that suggests a particular technology can guarantee
>> learning. On the other hand there are quite well documented strategies for
>> assessing student learning. It seems to me that the only valid criteria
>> on-line education is not how well the software works, but what the students
>> learnt.
>>
>> Peter Kandlbinder
=====================================================================
Dr. Frank Lowney flowney@mail.gcsu.edu
Director, Electronic Instructional Services, a component of the
Division of Information and Instructional Technology, Georgia College &
State University
CBX 034, Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA 31061-0490
Voice: (912) 445-5260 FAX: (912) 445-2521 Primary Web Sites:
GC EduNET (K-12) System: http://www.gcedunet.peachnet.edu
GC&SU's Official Site: http://www.gcsu.edu
Personal Pages: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~flowney
=====================================================================
We don't make instruction effective, we make effective instruction more
accessible.
---------------------------------------------------------
Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/
Forum's contact person: kinshuk@ieee.org
Info on Join/Leave List: http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html
---------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Sat 19 Jun 1999 - 13:44:12 MEST