Chapter 9 - ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEM

UNDERSTANDING DISTANCE EDUCATION

It is every parent’s wish to send their children to school to attend classes and have education that will help them
land a fine job for the future. However, parents are having difficulty in sending their children to school due to
distance and financial concerns. There are students who wish to be educated without confining themselves in
the four corners of the rooms. They want to learn where they will not be required to report physically in class
during school days. Learning anytime and anywhere is possible through Distance Education using a variety of
Alternative Delivery Systems (ADS). These ADS help in bringing the gap between the teachers and the students
of different standards when it comes to instruction.
DISTANCE EDUCATION – is a method of education where the student can study in their own choice of place and
time, without having to meet their teachers face-to-face. Instruction in distance education is being delivered
with the use of special materials and technologies that may be included I the alternative delivery system.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
1. Provides learners with physical disabilities, work, and other personal reasons a chance to learn and be educated
without attending formal schooling.
2. It aims to achieve independent learning.
3. Provides learning with a learning packages which are prepared by qualified instructional designers and are
supported by various technologies.
4. It provides accessibility to learners.
5. It provides convenience and flexibility to learners.
6. It is cost-effective.
7. It provides greater access to new technology.
8. It support student-centered approach.
Technologies that support Distance Education (Alternative Delivery System):
 Broadcast radio
 Audio conferencing
 Video conferencing
 Web conferencing
 Online technologies
BROADCAST RADIO
Is an ADS which is considered as a powerful tool when delivering lesson or disseminating information to a large
group of students. The use of radio has started as early as 1970’s to employ active learning through ‘’instructional
conversation’’. Delivering a lesson via radio saves time, energy, and money. Teachers are trained on the use of the
broadcast radio to make them knowledgeable and skillful with the use of this ADS to make the delivery successful. The
different formats of delivery in broadcast radio can be: DISCUSSION, DOCUMENTARY, DRAMA, DOCU-DRAMA AND
INTERVIEW.
The use of broadcast radio may be of advantage and disadvantage to both teachers and students:
ADVANTAGGES:
1. Most accessible medium in terms of geographical reach
2. Cost of radio is relatively low
3. Radio can be used with other media or materials
4. It helps people in rural areas be literate in the ABCs and 123s of life
DISADVANTAGES:
1. People in rural areas may experience difficulty in purchasing a radio and having it repaired
2. Poor reception may bring poor delivery of instruction
3. Broadcast schedule may bring inconvenience to students for pace and time is beyond their control
4. Learning without visuals may be challenging for visual learners
5. Interactions among learners is limited
AUDIO TELECONFERENCE
is also known as telephone/phone conferencing . Teleconferencing is an alternative delivery system in which instruction
may happen through telecommunication system. Exchange of ideas, information, and messages are articulated remotely
from the teacher to students and vice versa with the use of a telephone or computer.
Is a teaching technology that is flexible, economically reasonable, and available.
Is a synchronous technology that transmits communication in real time.
Prior to implementation of audioconferencing, great of planning is required.have these questions as guides to assess if
audioconferencing is essential to the instruction or not:
1. What is my learning outcome for the course?
2. How will be the delivery of the lesson be understandable for the students?
3. What approach is effective for this kind of delivery?
4. Where are my students situated ?
5. How many students do I have?
6. Will the audioconferencing be linked individually or by group?
7. How long will be the instruction take?
8. Will there be other supplementary materials needed for the delivery of the lesson?
Below are the following pointers to make the instruction interactive:
* acknowledge all contributions and inputs of the students
* if the students which to say something, apply the “interruption protocol’’ which is the equivalent of raising hands of
the students in face-to-face instructions. Name of students is requested to be stated to be recognized.
* respond to answer positively
* allow the students appropriate time to think prior to giving of answer to questions or problems raised.
* have small group discussions when solving complex problems.
* manage the participation of each student to avoid students dominating the teaching and learning process.
* encourage to do more than the talking.
VIDEO CONFERENCING
Is use by teachers and the students to transmit coursework at a distance. Some educators would call it as interactive
video conferencing where interactions may happen in a small or big where participants and the teacher converse and
see each other though a video.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VIDEO CONFERENCING
1. It allow students at a distance.
2. It allows students through demonstration as seen in the video.
3. It allow the global learning by having speakers or guest lecturers share their expertise virtually.
4. It allows continuous interactivity.
5. It allows access to information.
6. It allows conduction of virtual field trips.
7. It stimulates learning environment.
8. It is flexible.
9. It is affordable.
10. It promotes global collaboration.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VIDEO CONFERENCING THAT SUPPORT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:
1. Teacher and students are connected synchronously.
2. Students develop their probing skills by points of questioning and clarifying.
3. Students listening and observation skills are increased.
4. Interactions and collaboration among peers are enhance through activities that give authentic learning.
TOOLS NEEDED FOR VIDEO CONFERENCING:
1. Computer/ television 5. Codec
2. Camera 6. Connection
3. Microphone a. ISDN telephone line
4. Speakers b. network IP connection
SOFTWARE/ APPS
1. Skype- this is free service that anyone can use. Having 30 frames per second in 640x480 resolution gives a high quality
edition.
2. ooVoo-this is free online conferencing site that is available on both mac and windows PC.
3. Adobe acrobat connect- this is a powerful conferencing tool that allows sharing of files and use of whiteboard where
teachers and students can write down their thoughts.
4. AT&T connect- this is more formal and professional way of video conferencing that may be costly.
5. Megameeting -this supports 16 participants which work at any browser regardless of the operating system used.
a.Zoom
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WEB CONFERENCING
is usually interchangeable used with video conferencing. Though tools and requirements used in video conferencing are
similar with web conferencing, its purpose is entirely different.
Webinars and webcasts are two types of web conferencing. Webinar is a one-way conference between one or more
speakers. Webcast is a alive streaming event, broadcast over the internet.
Below shows a summary of the difference between web and video conference.
VIDEO CONFERENCING WEB CONFERENCING
 Ensure message is understood not just  Disseminates data to a group
disseminated  Annotation of document, viewing of project, sharing
 Done via video streaming to facilities of content are the main reasons for having web
conferences conferencing
 Screen sharing and content sharing may also be  Can do live presentation, team meetings, and
done in video conferencing trainings
OTHER ONLINE TECHNOLOGIES
Other online telecommunication tools that educators can use to deliver instructions are through electronic mail (e-
mail) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) Learning Management Systems is a software application or web-based
technology system that allows anyone to create e-learning content and coursework, deliver e-learning courses to
participants, track progress, and manage learning materials. LMS is most helpful in education which promotes e-
learning, that is learning at a distance with the help of technologies.
Below are the components of e-learning platforms:
Component Function
Rosters For tracking of attendance of students and list used for sending messages and
invitations
Registration Control For monitoring and customizing the registration processes of e-learning curriculum
Portal for course For organizing of course materials in a single location for easy retrieval and reuse of
materials saved course materials
Document Management For uploading and managing of documents necessary for e-learning
Multiple device access For delivering of course content over web-based interface such as mobile devices,
desktop, laptops, tablets, etc.
Distributed instructor and For participation of teachers and participants from different parts of the world
student base
Export and import For sending and receiving of course materials, reports, and other documents in PDF,
TXT, JPEG, CVS, DOC files
Course calendars For creation of course schedules, activities, tests, and other deadlines
Student engagement For interaction between teachers and students and among students using instant
messaging, e-mails, and discussion forum
Video library For creation of videos needed in the course
Groups or teams For creation of groups or teams for group orientations, activities, workshops
Assessment and testing For creation and completion of exercises, test, examinations and other required
activities
Grading and scoring For tracking and charting of students performance
Surveys For getting of feedback and insights from teachers and students
Other features of LMS are:
It allow teachers and students to hold and participate in e-conferences through audio and video.
It allows the creation and sharing of writings in real time through the online whiteboard.It allows access in mobile
devices and allows students to study even offline.It allows users to create desired theme for user interface.