Pull the plug on the personal stuff (really long)

[irene upshur or bill baratta]

Let me help pull the plug on a thread that is valid yet does need a
breather. 

I am a lurker on your list and I find contributors here to be smart,
caring, and hey...profoundly helpful when I understand some of the
technical problem solving.

I am also very concerned about freedom of information/speech. I am a
child of the 60s you know...card carrying ACLU member for 25
years...really would die for my right to speak my mind. But geeez...I
don't have kids...I don't know what's really driving this fear of
unlimited informational resources for children. Maybe working parents do
feel powerless about something they don't have time to monitor, learn
about, or even care about. 

Having to inflict the latchkey lifestyle on their kids, parents haven't
had the time to practice-- much less enforce--the "If I say 'don't do
that', then...don't do that!" approach to child rearing...even though it
really works. 
Maybe parents do have reason to worry about material their kids see on
the Web. 

 But wait...I have a solution. 

I say...give "our" children (who get bored quite easily anyway)
compelling alternatives to the icky porn--hell, maybe even...dare I say
it?...INSTRUCTIONAL, compelling, alternatives...and I just bet they will
gravitate to the "wholesome" stuff everytime. I know I did.  

Yep! With four older brothers, and precious little supervision, I
managed to find those pornographic playing cards (age: pre-teen)but  I
dropped them  in a heartbeat when I heard my Father shout, "Would you
get a load of the size of this stingray (a fish)? Touch that tail and
meet your maker!". 

True, not every kid can live on the Chesapeake Bay or be lucky enough to
have a parent who found his religion in nature but...yoohoo folks!!...WE
ARE  CLOSER TO GIVING EVERY KID THAT ENVIRONMENT THAN ANY OF US EVER
IMAGINED. With existing technology and speech recognition & streaming
video right round the corner, there is no reason a kid can't have very
rich, wholesome experiences--virtually.

My request:  

I am concerned about the quality/effectiveness/timeliness  of online
instruction in higher education. I am asking this extremely bright group
of people to reflect on the post below. Please remember, relevancy of
this post IS VIABLE in that folks in Higher Educ. end up in K-12, and so
end up as prime movers for instructional technology which will, no
doubt, end up--on the Web.  You deal with the Web--you have a vested
interest in this topic. 

Who sees as many (or as much of) faculty as you do? I value your
opinions. I would appreciate any comments, suggestions you have time to
make and hey...say whatever you damn well please.


Read and Reflect:
_________________________________________________________________

Are we asking too much of faculty when we ask them to design and
implement their own digital instruction?
 
Do we really want our faculty to drop everything so they can learn
Director, Authorware, Photoshop, HTML coding, video/audio etc. while
their poetry, hard science research, global analysis languish?

Do we really want our faculty to abandon their subject areas now...when
the dumbing down of America is...well...no joke?
 
Why not leave instructional design, HTML coding, layout, video,
photography, copyright research, hardware/software upgrades, project
management, systems maintenance, assessment, archiving, beta testing,
etc. to the people who know how to do it...and are hired by the
university to do it?
 
Emerging technology has put us at the beginning of a renaissance that
will involve and serve more people than we ever imagined...even a year
ago. For the sake of everyone, let's use the technology well by always
remembering...it takes a lot of time to develop solid
instruction...especially digital instruction.

Workshops that propose to teach everything from Web authoring to 
imbedded diagnostics in 45 minutes convey the notion of instantaneous
production and kill any hope of the truly powerful applications of new
technology (speech recognition and streaming video especially) being
used effectively and broadly. 

Consistently compelling instructional technology can not be achieved
using existing models e.g. the traditionally staffed A/V Center with a
computer OR here-and-there understaffed multimedia departments loaded
with "killer apps", patron manuals and a list of suggested Web sites for
self-training.

It is a disservice to faculty to require them to carry the burden of
instructional design while they abandon their own scholarly pursuits. 
The chilling effect on the quality of education in this country is
obvious.
 
Practical Solution:   The On-demand Method
 
Let's assume a faculty member has an idea for a truly effective way to
teach photosynthesis. This faculty member goes to an extremely well
staffed, well equipped, nucleus on campus called THE DIGITAL MEDIA
CENTER. The faculty member passes her/his idea--across a counter--to a
project manager. The project manager supervises the development of the
idea by distributing the tasks to the proper areas within the
DMC--graphics,       audio, video, copyrights, file management, etc. 
The project manager is the liasion to the faculty member--scheduling
collaboration (even among other disciplines if desired), designating
tasks, and  establishing review dates & due dates.
 
Virtues of the On-demand Method:
 
1.  Faculty can carry on with what they have been trained/hired to
 do--inspire/teach/research.
 
Those who want to develop, will. Let's face it, they are the few doing
it right now anyway. They should be encouraged if they have the skill,
vision, and the inclination to develop truly effective digital
instruction.
 
 2.  Upgrades to software and equipment are easily tracked, budgeted,
maintained if one location on campus has this as their responsibility.
Redundancy in software/hardware purchases is omitted as the need for
pockets of technology on campus is decreased.
 
 3.  Institutions will have built-in labs for students/graduate
assistants in applied arts/computer science/information management
programs, etc.
 
 4. Woefully underfunded, non-profit sectors in the community could be
 assisted by an easily identifiable location at a nearby institution of
higher
 learning...rather than depend on the kindness of strangers.
 
 5.  Businesses would likely contribute to an entity on campus that
 serves so many (high PR value) in an area important to their own talent
 pool needs. Also, they could clearly see where their money is going.
They could even use the facility for their own instructional needs.
 
 6.  University identity is maintained because they develop their own
 courseware rather than rely on canned instruction.

 7.  Release time and/or monetary compensation for faculty developing
instructional design will be less because their time spent on a project
will be less. 

 8.  Those faculty with the skill and inclination to develop and
implement will stop being overused by their less skilled/inclined
colleagues who desperately seek assistance.
 
 
Many faculty who know of my proposal greet it with relief--they are
tired of the pressure to embrace educational technology without having
the skills or time to do it properly. Please know, these faculty members
do indeed use e-mail, office software, and the Web. They are not afraid
of technology. They simply want to be involved with instructional
content and leave instructional design to the trained and talented.

I am in the process of formalizing a proposal to establish a Digital
Media Center at my University.  It is huge and expensive...comprehensive
with very well paid staff.  It will be self-sustaining (via business
partnerships) and an asset to the community.

I have sought opinions from many individuals and other listservs. The
reponses have been very valuable to me and have forced me to confront 
challenging practical and philosophic ramifications. If you have
specific suggestions/recommendations, send them directly to me and I'll
compile a summary of all responses for your listserv.

Irene Upshur, Director
Instructional Media Center
Marymount University, Arlington, VA