journal articles which have generated fruitful collaboration, discussions, and controversies. The software tools section's popularity is based on its ability to help users to be quickly up and running with a tool. Very specific, technical information can be efficiently distributed to those who need it. New information about a tool can be posted and accessed immediately from any part of the world. Users no longer have to devote hours of classroom time just to gather the specific information they need. Within 20 minutes of its release, the site registered over 20,000 worldwide hits, and continued to average over 300 unique users per day during the first 6 months of its release. ROI for this type of IBT site can be more difficult to assess. In part, the site replaced classroom training; in part it supplemented it. It also partially enhanced some of the informal communication channels that software engineers share by providing a means for collaborative learning.

Conclusion

The SS LEARN IBT model did not limit itself to the straightforward courseware model of the EHS ergonomics site. In contrast to both these sites, the $alTool and Bonus Tool IBT presented procedural training for a critical HR business process. The lesson is that IBT should always start with a thorough assessment of instructional needs. In the corporate world, those instructional needs will be serving a business need, and in some respect should be subject to a ROI analysis. The assumption should not be that IBT is the best solution, but that IBT should be considered with all other viable options. Many enterprises lose sight of the fact that IBT can be a very successful supplement to other forms of training. And as with any other form of training, IBT should be subject to very rigorous instructional and informational design processes. When considering IBT, it is tempting to start with a technical analysis. Start rather with an infrastructure, develop compelling, well-organized and developed content, and then turn to the technical implementation.

In any case, IBT requires a substantial commitment. It requires a very skilled project leader and development team. The larger the enterprise, the greater the complexities of developing the administrative and technical infrastructure necessary for an IBT program. With the advent of World Wide Web browsers, distributing training over a network has become easier and more feasible from a technical aspect. In effect, almost anyone with moderate technical knowledge can "put up a Web page" that can be accessed by local and remote users. Creating a seamless interface between an enterprise's other administrative computer systems, such as the Regis registration system, is a far greater technical challenge. And it bears mentioning that security issues must be evaluated by a competent network administrator. The last consideration is that IBT products require on-going maintenance. Indeed, a site like SS LEARN would lose much of its value if it was not subject to constant updates. Just like the library that needs new books, new wings, and new staff, an IBT product and program requires ongoing maintenance of content and infrastructure. When all these challenges have been met, the result can be very rewarding.

Generally, the work done by SunU's Learning Technology R&D group for network client-server technology is 2 to 4 years ahead of industry trends. In discussing computer-based distance learning, this paper has emphasized network delivery (IBT) over CD-ROM (CBT) because IBT is the best way to enable a user to send back information to the delivery system. This information can be registration information, tracking information, testing information, e-mail messages, instructor facilitation, group discussions, and other means for collaborative learning. With SS LEARN, the information sent back can even become part of the instructional content. CD-ROM can be combined with IBT to achieve two-way communication, but whenever possible, SunU has pursued a pure IBT model. In implementing technologies

which can capture, record, charge back and report, a development team can assess the efficacy of learning products and achieve accountability. This is in contrast to conventional CD-ROM CBT, where once a product is shipped, the development team loses the ability to assess use and track performance in a seamless manner. Reporting and accounting for an individual's experience will be an important enhancement to the Web browser technologies. The area of greatest interest and potential resides in technologies and instructional design that integrate the human element into the learning experience. One major shortcoming of CD-ROM CBT is that the learning experience is void of interaction with an instructor and other students. With IBT, the most profound interaction and enabling aspect of Internet and intranet learning applications will be the opportunities to learn from others. The fullest potential of intranet-based instruction lies in the ability to reintroduce human interaction into the learning experience, rather than isolating the learner from a collective learning experience.

Summary of the Workshop

Beth A. Bechky

Center for Work, Technology, and Organization
School of Engineering

Although developments in network technology have recently stimulated considerable discussion of the promise of distance-based learning, actual research on the topic is limited. To address this dearth of information, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement and the World Bank held a workshop, on September 19, 1997 entitled, "Competence Without Credentials: The Promise and Potential Problems of Computer-Based Distance Education." The workshop's objective was to assess what is currently known about new technological developments in distance education, to generate discussion of policy issues relevant to distance education, and to frame potential questions for future research.

Drawing on the papers commissioned for the workshop as well as the discussions that occurred during the workshop, this paper summarizes what participants believe is the current state of knowledge about computer-based distance learning. The analysis turns first to the question of how many schools and firms are currently involved in distance education and then to what they are doing with the technology. Having surveyed current use, the discussion moves to the technical, social, and practical barriers that hamper the diffusion of technology. Particular attention is paid to the importance of context in distance education and to the difficulties of assessing competencies acquired outside traditional classroom settings. The paper concludes by charting potential directions for future research.

Prevalence of New Technologies in Distance Education

Over the last several years, a number of universities and firms have launched highly visible experiments in distance education using the Internet for delivery. What is unclear is whether these efforts are the vanguard of a larger trend toward computer-based distance education or whether they are simply intriguing but isolated experiments that are unlikely to revolutionize mainstream education. To answer this question requires determining the extent to which firms and schools are implementing or plan to implement technologies and programs to support distance education and training.

Laurie Bassis' analyses of the labor market implications of computer-based training shed some light on the prevalence of distance education in industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (1996) reports that 16 percent of the civilian workforce said they had received some kind of employerprovided training in 1995. However, according to the ASTD survey that Bassi cites, only 10 percent of employer-provided training is computer-based, and only one-third of that makes use of the Internet. Calculations based on these statistics suggest that last year a mere 1.6 percent of all Americans received any kind of computer-based training, and only 0.5 percent acquired that training via the Internet.

Thus, the best data currently available suggest that new forms of distance education are not widespread in industry. In fact, their use in training is rare. Moreover, the ASTD survey indicates that most employers plan no significant increases in computer-based training by the year 2000 (Bassi). Although Bassi's data only reflect training mounted by human resource departments, there is no reason to believe that training provided within the functional departments of a firm is more technologically advanced.

The situation in 4-year colleges and universities is comparable. In fact, according to Kenneth Green, most universities have not progressed much beyond the overhead projector. The 1996 Campus Computing Report, a national survey of technology in higher education, shows that less than 10 percent of college classes currently use computer-based technologies as a teaching tool (Green 1996). However, Green suggests that community colleges may make more use of these technologies, since they report having more computers in classrooms and public areas than do most colleges and universities. Furthermore, community colleges are geared toward "turnkey courses:" they repeat classes often and, therefore, are in a better position to make use of technologies that enable economies of scale.

The data presented at the workshop indicate that neither universities nor firms are rapidly adopting computer-based technologies as tools for distance education. However, it may be that these modern forms of education are most frequently used in less traditional educational settings. The popular press suggests that technological advances such as the World Wide Web can revolutionize the way we think and learn. In advertising images, people of all shapes and sizes sit in front of computers in their homes or in cafes, as well as in classrooms. These images imply that people without more traditional means of access to information could potentially exploit the opportunities that the Web offers for learning. This could mean that computerbased distance learning is primarily taking place in individuals' homes or in cybercafes.

Charles Darrah's investigation of training opportunities on the Internet, however, shows that this is also not the case. Darrah discovered that it is quite difficult for people who are searching for training to locate educational courses and other resources on the Web outside of universities and firms. Technical professionals will find a wealth of coursework teaching technical skills such as programming. However, individuals trying to employ the Web for other than computer-related training will be disappointed by the lack of educational programs available.

Characteristics of Computer-Based Distance Education

Computer-based distance education is primarily experimental and not widely used. However, the interest that experiments in distance education have generated recommends an analysis of the courses that do exist and the ways in which firms and universities are using new technologies. Rhetoric, such as that cited by Green, suggests that computer-based education will transform traditional learning in many ways: by breaking down the walls between the classroom and the real world, by transforming students from passive to active learners, by replacing text with multiple representations, by supplanting isolation with interconnection, and by changing the focus of education from the products of academic work to the process of scholarship (Green, citing Kozma and Johnston 1992). To discover if this characterization rings true requires examining the content and context of distance education programs as well as what providers of these courses know about their effectiveness.

What can be said about the content of computer-based courses taken by individuals on their own, in firms, and in universities? In his search of the Web from the perspective of an individual seeking to learn job skills, Darrah found that anyone other than information technology professionals would have difficulty obtaining training over the Internet. Most sites are targeted at people who are already knowledgeable about computers. Many of them are designed to train people in how to use the Internet effectively. Freely available courses that focus on knowledge other than computer skills are rare.

The publicly available education on the Internet, at least at present, does not appear to meet the training needs of most people. In contrast, firms and universities have a clearer understanding of the audience for their educational programs. Therefore, within firms and schools the content of computer-based distance education courses is more likely to address the needs and interests of their constituencies. The experiments detailed by the workshop participants exemplify the ways in which firms and universities are using computer technologies to deliver training to their members.

Thomas Edgerton's paper described Sun Microsytems's "electronic store," a Web site, where employees can choose and register for both instructor-led and computer-based courses. Edgerton provided several case studies of the electronic store's computer-based coursework. One training program was a short tutorial for a salary tool designed for human resources professionals. This salary tool, a spreadsheet application, was used by human resources personnel to conduct annual salary reviews. The tutorial program, which could be viewed by individuals from within the salary tool application itself, lasted for 2 minutes and was multimedia based. It was used by 43 percent of the professionals who used the salary tool.

In contrast to this short tutorial, the electronic store also offered a long-term technical training site for engineers that included both practical information and theoretical content. This site contained various features: a journal that described current engineering and technical information, and contained hyper-links to the authors of articles, a tools training section with lessons for implementation and use, as well as practice sessions, a hypertext user's manual, and a “hacks" section with work-arounds discovered by other engineers. The site had about 200 users per day.

A widely visited site in the electronic store was the company-wide ergonomics training course. Sun's training staff considered this site an enormous improvement over the previous ergonomics training. Previously, classes were conducted by an English-speaking instructor who traveled around the world providing instruction on location. The instructor-led classes were identical at all sites. In contrast, the computer-based instruction was available in many languages and altered to reflect the local cultural interpretations of the students.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has also been experimenting with new forms of distance education. During the workshop, Bill Schott and Gary Orsalini demonstrated Place Ware's Auditorium application and described several ways in which HP has implemented and expanded it. The Auditorium, a hierarchical presentation tool, is an online classroom in which one engineering lecturer trains other engineers (In addition to providing "real-time" electronic lectures, HP is using the program to support a distributed collaborative work group. They have developed a "Meeting Room" where engineers can "hangout" online, communicate via a message board, and share information in a collective notebook used by all members of the group.