INTRODUCTION
In January, 1993, the University of North Texas activated a two-way, fullideo and audio distance learning system. The "SCHOOLinc" system,a research initiative of UNT's Center for Professional Development and Technology,links UNT with two schools in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas,Texas, USA) via a TI telecommunications line. In addition to the video/audiolink, computers in the classrooms are fully networked.
Instructors quickly learned that major adaptations in teaching style andmaterials were necessary in order to be successful teaching in a two-wayvideo and audio system.
THE SCHOOLinc SYSTEM
The SCHOOLinc project is part of the lar-er Center for Professional Developmentand Technology headquartered in the College of Education at the Universityof North Texas (UNT). The UNT classroom serves as the primary program originationsite although the two remote classrooms can also be used to originate programs.Members of the Technology and Cognition Department designed and implementedthe system at a cost of aprroximately $500,000 US.
Each location has an identical video system using two video cameras, a videodisplay device (visualizer) for graphics, VCR, FAX machine, a full-conferenceaudio system, a teacher workstation that acts as a control center, and monitorsfor both student and teacher viewing. Video may also be sent to the computermonitors at each student workstation. UNT and Cowart Elementary School (approximately40 miles away) are linked via the TI line. Stockard Middle School is daisy-chainedto Cowart via fiber optic cable. The system operates at the full motionvideo rate of 30 frames per second. When both remote sites are on line thereturn signal to UNT is 15 frames per second.
All three classrooms are equipped with computers. The UNT room is equippedwith both IBM's and MAC'S. Cowart Elementary is equipped with MAC's andStockard Middle School is equipped with IBM'S. The computers in the remotesites are fully networked via the TI line and connected to the CPDT fileserver in the College of Education at UNT.
TEACHING IN A TWO-WAY VIDEO AND AUDIO SYSTEM
Two-way video and audio systems are still relatively new in the academicenvironment. As a hybrid system, many of the traditional definitions ofdistance education (i.e. Keegan, 1990; Moore, 1990) only partially describethe nature of UNT system. The SCHOOLinc project most resembles what Stone(1990) refers to as a "candid classroom." That is, the facultymember meets with a re-ularly scheduled class that also happens to be televisedto a remote site. Normal classroom activities are more important than slickteleproduction. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to manipulatethe video equipment while conducting a regular class session. Our observationsare largely based on a graduate level authoring language course taught bythe second author. The course was offered one night a week for 3 hours duringa regular semester.
Our first semester found full enrollment in the origination classroom withonly a few students attending at the remote site. A Teaching Assistant,also enrolled in the course, handled the video controls at the remote site.We found that it was important for the Teaching Assistant to send close-uppictures from the remote site. This made students in the origination classroomfeel like the students in the remote site were part of the class. Of course,it was also important to send close-ups to the remote site in order forthose students to feel part of the class. In a two-way video and audio systemstudents are separated by distance but participate in the class in realtime. For that reason it is important to keep the students at the remotelocation involved. We found several methods to be effective. First, andforemost, was to carry on an active dialogue with the remote site students.Another technique was to maintain eye contact by talking to the camera.Remote site students were encouraged to break in with questions whenevernecessary (this is a major advantage of a fully-conferenced audio system).
The teacher workstation was designed to be the command center of the rooms.Computer workstations and the video and audio controls were located at theworkstation. The four instructors that taught the first flight of classesfound the necessity of staying in a chair behind a desk to be somewhat constraining.This placement was important in order to send meaningful pictures to theremote site. If an instructor moved or left their chair thev, in essence,would send an empty shot to the remote location. This was particularly problematicwith an instructor that was most comfortable teaching by writing on a whiteboard at the front of a room. Wearing a microphone also required that theinstructor not stray from the workstation.
The workstations are equipped with a "visualizer" which we liketo describe as a vi 'deo overhead projector. Instructors had to learn touse the visualizer for all graphic work. Most important was to work in ahorizontal format due to the 4 X 3 format of the video system. The visualizerhas a zoom lens which instructors found to be helpful in showing detailin graphic material.
The video system imposes some requirements for the production of materials.In addition to working in a horizontal format, most craphic materials haveto be more simply desi@ned, with larger elements. In general, a well-designedoverhead transparency master works well. Computer presentations over a videosystem also pose some problems. The authorina language course taught bythe second author required many demonstrations of various features of thesoftware. Computer output is scan converted to the video system for classroomdisplay. The NTSC video system has problems resolving fine detail and colorgradation of computer output. This requires that computer presentationsbe designed specifically for video. Again, object size is most important.
The most important lesson we learned is that instructors using the SCHOOLincsystem have to be competent in manipulating the video system components.The audio system is passive but the video system requires overt effort onthe part of the instructor. The video control panel includes pan, tilt andzoom controls for the cameras. In addition, the instructor must switch betweensources. For instance, when turning to a graphic on the visualizer, theinstructor must also switch the visualizer "on line" so that studentsat both the remote and origination site can see the output.
It is also important for the instructor to give students a thorough explanationof how the video and audio components work. Students also have to adaptto viewing material from video monitors and talking into microphones. Inour experience we have found that once students are comfortable with theenvironment that they will start to make requests for shots, or requestsomething be repeated but "this time into a microphone!" In essence,students have to learn how to learn in a two-way system. For instance, astudent may whisper to a neighbor in the origination classroom in ordernot to disturb the rest of the croup. But, if said close to a microphone,the audio system will pick up that whisper and transmit it over the speakersystem in the remote location.
REFERENCES
Keegan, D. (1990). Foundations of distance education (2nd ed.). London:Routledge.
Moore, M.G. (1990). Contemporary issues in american distance education.Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Stone, H.R. (1990). Economic development and technology transfers: Implicationsfor video-based distance education. In M.G. Moore (Ed.), Contemporar,y issuesin american distance education (pp. 231-241). Oxford:
Pergamon Press.