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any teachers are being thrust
into the role of'teleteacheriThis
sometimes occurs because an
organisationhasinvestigatednew
and creative ways of delivering
educationto dispersedgroups of learners.However,
it often occursbecauseorganisationsmust do more
with less and teleteaching is seen as one way of
achievingthis.No matterwhat the motivatingfactor,
teleteaching presents exciting new opportunities
for teachersand students.
It also raisesmany questionsfor those who have
never been involved in teleteaching before.What
are the issuesto be consideredand what are the
differencesand similaritiesbetween teleteaching
and face-to-faceteaching?
What lsTeleteaching?
Teleteachingis a term that has been used for some
time now.lt first appearedand was originallyusedto
describeteachingthat was deliveredvia'tele'vision.
Howevet the term is now used to encompass
teaching that employs a variety of technologies.
Those that are currently popular are web or video
conferencingand interactivesatelliteTV.
The most common factor for teleteachingis that
it involvesthe use of communicationstechnology
to interactwith studentsin'real'time.As technology
changes, so will our concept of teleteaching.
'real-time' interaction is an important
However,
component of teleteaching and this defines the
types ofteaching strategiesthat can be used.
V Teleteaching
Face-To-Face
So how does teleteaching compare to face-to-face
teaching?What adjustments,if any,do teachershave
to makefor teleteaching?| encountermany decision
makerswho think that becausevideoconferencing
allows teachers and students to see each other
then it is just the same as teaching face-to-face.
This is an understandableconceptualleap because
videoconferencingis as close as you can get to
face-to-face,without being there. Howevet there are
differencesand it is essentialto considerthesewhen
planningto venturedown the path ofteleteaching.
What's different?
One of the major differencesis that you are moving
into a distance education/open learning/flexible
delivery/blended learning mode and this brings
with it a new way of planning and structuringthe
course.
It is unlikely that you will be teleteaching for
the same number of hours as the course takes in
a face-to-facesituation.You will need to develop
support materials(most likelyself-directedlearning
guides) which students work through between
DIFFERENT?
ISTELETEACHING & PERIPHERALS
I HARDWARE
their telelearningsessions.For some teachersthis have never taught before.lssuesto be considered
involveslearninga new set of skills. here are background,experience and expectations
Probablythe biggest differenceis your working of studentsand especiallyculturalissuesif you are
space In a face-to-face situation you are free to extending beyond the boundaries of your own
wander around the room, look at students'worK country.
participatein numerous small group discussions, What's similar?
distribute materialt have students gather around Despite the long list of differencesabove, there
you, work on a one-to-one basisand change the are many similaritiesbetween teleteaching and
directionofyour lessondepending upon students' face-to-face teaching. The most important of
interestand motivation (or lackthereof).All this is these is that good teaching is just that! Most of
undertakenin a defined spacewhere you can see the conditionsfor desirableteaching and learning
and hear all students at all times. In teleteaching situationscan be achieved through teleteaching
some,or all,of your studentswill not be physically - it just takes a little creativethinking.This is the
located with you. lf you wander around the room challenge!
the students at other sites will not be able to
see you, and private conversationsare difficult MakingtheTransition
depending upon your microphonesituation. For most teachers the transition is not overly
Your students are likely to have less of an difficult. lt usually enables them to revisit their
emotional connection and commitment to you content and teaching strategiesand repackage
when you havenot met face-to-face.The
challenge their deliverywith enthusiasmand vigour.Support
is for the teleteacherto'break through the glass' is what teachersneed most of all.Support in the
and add the human touch to what is a remote form of time,resourcesand training.lttakestime to
exDenence. redesigna coursefor deliveryvia teleteachingand
Below is a brief summarv of some of the time to becomefamiliarwith the new environment
differences. and equipment.Resourcesin the form of teaching
On top of all thil it may be that teleteachingis relief,expert adviceand accessto the teleteaching
being usedto reacha student populationthat you room are necessary.
Table 1: Somedifferencesbetween face-to-faceand teleteaching
, o n i t o r / s ,m i c r o p h o n e / sd, o c u m e n t
C a m e r a / sm
Equipment
camera,control panel,VCR/DVD, computer.
computer.
Whiteboard,OHP,VCR/DVD,
Some studentsmay be with you,otherswill be at one or
Studentlocation
more siteswhich may be hundredsof kilometresaway.
ln the roomwithvou.
D e p e n d i n go n t h e o p e r a t i n gs y s t e m p
, r o b a b l yo n l y
What teachersees
o n e s i t ea t a n y g i v e n t i m e i e a n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t sa r e
at alltimes
Allstudents
unseen.
T h e t e a c h e rO R a n y v i s u a l ss h o w n O R s t u d e n t sa t
What studentssee
o t h e r s i t e s ( T h i sc a n v a r y d e p e n d i n go n t h e s y s t e m . )
TheteacherANDanvvisuals
shown
M i c r o p h o n e sm u s t b e u s e d .l f t h e s ea r e ' p r e s st o t a l k '
Abilityto speakand hear
speak m o d e l s ,s t u d e n t sw i l l n o t b e h e a r d i f t h e y d o n o t p r e s s
Teacher andstudents canhear
and
t he button to aitivatethe microphone.
to eachotherat anytime.
P a r t i c i p a n t vs i e w a m o n i t o r a n d c a n e a s i l yb e c o m e
lnteraction
p a s s i v ev i e w e r s . Y o um u s t d e s i g ns t r a t e g i e sf o r
T h e d y n a m i c sa n d e n e r g yo f t h e r o o m
m a i n t a i n i n gs t u d e n t p a r t i c i p a t i o na n d i n t e r e s t .
e n c o u r a g ep a r t i c i p a t i o na n d i n t e r e s t .
S o m e w h e r ei n t h e b a c k g r o u n dw i l l b e a r a f t o f
Operationalsupport
s h o m a n a g ea n d m a i n t a i nt h e e q u i p m e n t
s p e c i a l i s tw
not reouired.
Usuallv
you will be using.
A w e l l d e s i g n e dc o u r s ew i l l n e e d c o u r s ed e v e l o p e r s
Preparation
a n d s o m e i n p u t f r o m e x p e r i e n c e dt e l e t e a c h e r s . Y o u
Y o u a r e r e s p o n s i b l ef o r p r e p a r i n gy o u r
p r o g r a m m a y a l s on e e d t o r e d e s i g ng r a p h i cm a t e r i a l I t m a y
own teaching and materials.This
i n v o l v ei n s t r u c t i o n adl e s i g n e r sa n d g r a p h i ca r t i s t s .
i s u s u a l l yd o n e a l o n e ,b u t y o u m a y i n c l u d e
some c o l l e a g u e si n t h e p r o c e s s .
I t i s n o t a p p r o p r i a t et o h a v es t u d e n t s ' s c r e e w
n atching'
Teaching session length ' o n - s c r e e n ' s h o u lbde
f o r m o r e t h a n a n h o u r . T h et i m e
T h i s i s u s u a l l vi n a 2 - 3 h o u r b l o c k .
b r o k e n i n t o s m a l l e rs e q m e n t s .
GY
T H EE D U C A T I OTNE C H N O L O G UIDE 51

And finally, and by far the most important,
teachersneed training. Not just training on how
to operate equipment,but on how to adapt their
what strategies
coursefor deliveryand,specifically,
are most effective for teleteaching.
With or without the support of the organisation,
there are strategiesthat a teleteachercan adopt
to make their role more effectiveand fulfilling for
both themselvesand their students.
Feeling at ease
It is essentialfor teleteachersto feel at ease with
their equipment and environment.Thetechnology
needs to become transparent.(Note I do not say
'invisible'as I think it impossible to make any
can only be achievedby
technology invisible.)This
familiaritywith the teleteachingroom and practice.
Practicealone, practice with other teachers and
practice with 'stand-in' students. Do you know
how to switch between the visualsyou want to
show? Do you know exactly what your students
are seeing at any point in time? Do you feel in
charge of your teaching environment? Are you
enthusiasticabout teleteaching?
Once you are comfortable with your new
surroundings,it is time to concentrate on the
educational issues.First and foremost,you are a
teacher and this is what you do best.Don't try to
change your style becauseyou are bn televisionl
You are not bn television'- you are teaching - it
just happensto be through a screen.Basicallyyou
teach in much the same way as you normally do
(assumingthat you do that in an interestingand
interactiveway).
Classsize
The sizeof your classwill greatly affectthe way in
lf you are working
which you designyour sessions.
with lessthan 25 studentsyou can interact more
easilyand more often than you can with a large
group.
lnteraction
Most teleteachers agree that interaction is an
DIFFERENT?
ISTELETEACHING & PERIPHERALS
I HARDWARE
important element in their teaching - after all it is
the only thing that distinguishesteleteachingfrom
a video tape! Interactivitytakes many forms; it is
notjust limited to audio and video,orjustteacher-
student interactions.lt representsthe connectivity
the studentsfeel with the teacher,the local tutors
and their peers.Successfulteleteaching involves
interactivity between teacher and students;
between students and the learning environment;
and among studentsthemselves,as well as active
learning in the classroom.This does not just
happen when you make the technicalconnection.
Interactionmust be planned and encouraged.
Feedback
One of the most difficultaspectsof teleteachingfor
those new to it is the difficulty in recognisingthe
usual non-verbalcues from students.Withoutthe
non-verbalcues,you need to communicate with
students to check their attention and progress.
Interacting with direct questions about their
understanding as well as encouraging dialogue
from all siteswill help overcome the lack of non-
verDats.
Teaching strategies
Teleteaching involves using a medium that is
primarilya visualone,so it is essentialto capitalise
on this.Thechallengeis to visualiseyour lesson.Try
to think in picturesratherthan words.Spaceis too
short hereto listthe numerousteachingstrategies
that can be effectively employed as this is the
subjectof training sessions.
Student expectations
From years of watching commercial television,
students come with expectations of how
information should be presented. Because the
teleteacheris coming to them via a monitor,they
'entertained'withall of the advanced
expect to be
theatricalsavailableto the television producer.I
don't recommendthat teleteacherstry to emulate
this (just the opposite),but always consider the
visual aspect and work with good visual aids.
Established in 1995,we specialisein:
. Interactive & Presentation
Whiteboards Systems
. LockableNotebook &
Trolley's Cabinets
. CurriculumPC's,Notebooks & Servers
. DesktopManagement Applications
. StorageAreaNetworks(SAN)
. TechnicalSupport& Services
'Educational Software
Don't ignore the fact that studentswill come with
preconceptions and educate them as what to
expect from teleteaching.
Students will also have to make adaptations
to their behaviour,e.g. use microphones and be
seenon screen.Theyneed instructionand practice
with the technology to feel at ease.Evenafter this,
they may not be psychologicallyadjustedto using
the technology and you need to plan ways to
continuallyput studentsat ease- throughout the
enttrecourse.
ls teleteaching different?Yes and no! On the
one hand,organisinga telecourseis very different
from organisinga traditionalcoursesinceyou are
using a differentmedium which presentsdifferent
kinds of teaching opportunities as well as places
constraintson what you can do.
On the other hand,the basicsare the same but
we need to make some adaptations.
. Good teachingpracticeis essentlal.
. Planningand organisationare essential.
. lnteractionwith learnersis vital and must be
built into the session.
. Useof well-designedgraphic materialis vital
. Be familiarwith your equipment so both you
and your studentsfeel at ease.
A careful look at this list will show that all of
these items are alsoessentialfor good face-to-face
teaching.I rest my case!
CarolDaunt is Founder& MonagingDirectorof LeornTel
PtyLtd.Shehosbeeninvolvedin the design,opplicotion
since1986
and effectiveuseof leorningtechnologies
internationallyos o leoderin thefield.
ond is recognised
Carolholdsa DipT;GrodDip DistEd;B Ed& M Ed
- her thesisinvestigatedthenotureof
(Research)
ng.Shehos been
interaction in videoconferenci
publishedin numerousjournolsand isa frequent
Copiesof someof
speokerat internotionolconferences
thesepopersond articlescan be downloaded
u
at http'l/wwwleorntel.com.a
TE
T H EE D U C A T T O GYU I D E
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