Traditional distance learning

Strategies differ according to which respondent sub-group they are best suited to, the kinds of data they are best designed to provide, the extent to which they can provide information about both how the product works and why, and which product development phase they are most suited to. This is described below.

At the product concept stage, it's useful to have experts on subject matter, learning process, technology, and the learners themselves review the concept to avoid spending money and time if the original assumptions are not viable. Multi-media products inevitably are built on a central metaphor or navigation strategy which underlies developers' learning environment. It is crucial to test this concept early on. This is a paper/desk review from a small group of product subject matter experts and key stakeholders.

The proof of concept stage is quick test of the development strategy, for one lesson of one product. It's useful for testing product assumptions and structure, navigational tools, central images and treatment, and user reactions to the concept in general. It is not good for testing product effectiveness, since it's not a full implementation. Feedback on the concept and proof of concept is best from individual, key stakeholders, in an informal environment. Interviews or one-on-one meetings, and individual observations of use, are usually appropriate for this purpose, with a small number of targeted users and stakeholders.

The alpha test is the point at which the product is ready for full use in its proper environment (i.e. as audio/video, on the web, at home, in classrooms). At this point that systematic feedback from learners and teachers/facilitators is essential. The evaluation focus is generally on overall appeal of content, clarity of instructions, ease of use and navigation, needed support, and how users interact with the product. Results are used to enhance product usability, acceptability, effectiveness, and impact on the field. The alpha test results builds the foundation for the pre-release version of the product-the beta test. Data collection strategies here include focus groups, data capture techniques incorporated into the technology itself, and a combination of interview with observational performance analysis. This utilizes a larger and more representative group of users for analysis than the proof of concept.

The beta test is a pre-release version, where the concept and strategies in use are set, and (hopefully) only bugs are being worked out. It focuses as much on the instructor and facilitator, as the learner, to be sure the issues in roll-out are addressed successfully. Data collection strategies here are generally surveys, interviews or focus groups, and product-integrated feedback forms. Data collection integrated into the product, with the user's consent, is also a possibility. Respondents here include the range of users (ideally a 10% sample of site(s) is used) and potential users.

Delta tests examine the importance of change in the product. While the alpha and beta tests are the traditional stages of product development, development does not stop with release of the product. If it does, the product soon becomes outmoded, and some of the investment is lost, as new designers re-invent the wheel. It's crucial to have learners and instructors continue to question and document the utility of the product as input to new or continuing developers. Capacity for passive collection and processing of ongoing feedback from learners and other stakeholders is therefore crucial. This essentially is the delta test-ongoing product implementation during which users indicate, through a variety of mechanisms, the importance of change in particular features (content, resources or functionality) or the value that would be added to the product by development of new features.

Rich, Systematic and Timely Data on Strategically Significant Questions

Formative evaluation often is interactive. This is an important strength and helps make the research cost-effective. The evaluation activities should be integrated with the results from one set of data collection activities influencing other phases. The specific questions asked by a specific developer about his or her products at any phase will vary depending on the goals and objectives of the product itself, the audience for which it is targeted, what has been tested previously and the findings related to this product, and the work on similar products or issues on which the evaluation is building. This does not mean that formative evaluation can be ad hoc. To the contrary, in order to be successful any formative evaluation is consciously planned and structured to provide cost-effective systematic information about:

· Product use - How the product is actually used

· Product function - How the product works in the contexts it is used

· Product content and learner outcomes-How use affects learners' skills development

· Product support - What support is necessary to use materials appropriately in different contexts

· Product concept - What findings from the above imply for future related products

Specifically, formative evaluation is concerned about how learners and other users needs are taken into account in product concept, navigation, look and feel, accessibility of instructional approach, product content and incorporated exercises/activities.

Any research plan has to specify the key research questions related to product development priorities, the data required to answer the questions, who should provide the information, how the information should be collected, how the data collected will be used to answer the questions, and both the sufficiency of the anticipated information for answering the question and strategy for making use of the information collected.

Whatever the specific questions, a good research design is concerned with whether the information is collected in such a way that:

· the respondent group is composed of the people best equipped to give information on the issue,

· the range of potential users provide the needed input on the range of issues identified,

· the information can be provided most readily and ethically,

· the data are objective and rich enough to answer the questions posed, and

· data analysis strategies are clear and can produce results in a timely fashion.

As a result of involving a representative group of users in addressing the research questions, formative evaluations should provide the data necessary to significantly, reliably and validly inform product development decisions, the understanding of the factors which affect materials functioning and success, the marketing the product to potential users, and decisions about future or further materials development.

Learners - Who should be represented and what does representative mean?

Potential learners can be diverse in many characteristics that profoundly affect learning objectives and abilities. The high stakes issue is how to identify the factors that affect differential success with the product so that the fewest number of respondents can provide the most useful information. The main strategy recommended for optimizing cost-effectiveness will be based on matrix-sampling techniques, utilizing techniques from television and radio marketing-audience segmentation.

The audience segment concept profiles learners in terms of factors that affect their experience of the product. These profiles (or series of factors) are termed 'target audience or user segments', and are subgroups of learners whose characteristics, background, experiences, and priority pressing concerns lead them to interact with instruction and instructional materials differently.

Another way of describing user segments, then, is as frameworks built from learner characteristics that have been identified by developers and evaluators to affect their interaction with the materials. These characteristics vary in terms of those which are more noticeable (and therefore more easily screened-i.e. determined directly from interaction with the learner or based on the learner's own knowledge) and those that are less noticeable (or less easily screened). Some learner characteristics, for example, may not come into play in other instructional settings, or the learner or instructor may not be systematically conscious that the characteristic exists. Keyboarding skills is an example of such a characteristic. A key feature of the audience segmentation strategy is to identify all the important characteristics and sample on the characteristics that are the most easily determined.

Conclusion

Product quality and effectiveness hinge on serving targeted stakeholders, especially the prospective learners appropriately. Formative evaluation is the method to involve them in the product development and testing. This aspect of product development should not be overlooked or given lip service attention.

Copyright and Fair Use

With the advent of the Internet and the digital age, teachers and administrators are forced to reexamine how copyright protections apply in a time where creative works are widely available in cyberspace and the technology to access such material improves nearly daily

Copyright applies only to creative works, meaning books, plays, movies, music -- in short, any work where someone had to exercise their powers of creativity and imagination. The courts generally will extend copyright protections to any work where even a slender element of creativity was involved.

U.S. copyright law defines the extent to which such works are the exclusive domain of the creator and whomever the creator shares the ownership with, for instance, a publisher. Copyright law says that the creators of certain literary and artistic works have the right to ensure that unauthorized people do not use their work for unauthorized purposes. The creators hold the copyright. They can give up their exclusive right to publishers or other authorized entities for a limited time or permanently.
Intellectual property law evolves in response to technological change. Copyright law, in particular, responds to technological challenges for authors and copyright owners, from the printing press to digital audio recorders, and everything in between - photocopiers, radio, television, videocassette recorders, cable television and satellites. The use of computer technology - such as digitization - and communications technology - such as fiber optic cable - has had an enormous impact on the creation, reproduction and dissemination of copyrighted works.

Legislation and court rulings have held that people have a significant right to make use of exceptions within the copyright law to avoid lawsuits. Copyright law is a federal law, and so the law does not vary from state to state (although the interpretation of the law may be different in different courts.

Electronic instructional materials (clip art, video, audio, software, or graphics) should be examined carefully for copyright considerations. This applies to materials purchased for use and locally developed materials. Likewise, the copyright implications for use of printed material that draws from other written work should be carefully considered. Copyright owners have the full right to use their materials exclusively, subject to written agreements. In preparing instructional materials for electronic or distance learning use:

· Be aware of licensing arrangements when using secondary multimedia materials - materials taken from a second source like clip art or sound files.

· Be certain that model releases are obtained for any video or photos you take.

· Take precaution with text and supplemental materials.

· Obtain written permission to adapt the material, if text books or other source material is used.

Maintain a file with the releases, license arrangements, and copyright documentation. Likewise be certain to copyright any original intellectual property and courseware produced by your organization. Establish policies about the derivative use of the components. Place a copyright notice and symbol by the name of the copyright holder or the name of your work, state the year of the copyright, and include the phrase "All Rights Reserved."

Register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. To register a work, send the following three elements in the same envelope or package to the Register of Copyrights, Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559:

· A properly completed application form

· A non refundable filing fee for each application

· A non-returnable deposit of the work being registered. The deposit requirements vary in particular situations

This information changes and should be double checked. Likewise, pending federal telecommunications legislation will impact federal copyright law, especially regarding electronic media.

Copyrights

Copyright considerations require careful thought in the design and development of instructional materials. It is easy to add clip art, articles, diagrams, video clips, and photos in multi-media, videotaped, and on-line learning materials without considering the copyright implications. Purchasing a copyrighted product does not allow ownership of the material. For example when a videotape is purchased, it is still owned by the original creator. Widely distributed materials can face substantial scrutiny and potential litigation.

Copyright is a shorthand term describing a set of enforceable rights to prevent unauthorized persons from making a copy of a "work" for a period of time. The person entitled to exercise these rights may choose not to do so and donate the work to the public domain, thereby allowing all comers to freely copy. If a work is not donated to the public domain, during the period in which copyright is enforceable there are a number of circumstances in which persons may freely copy the work, the copyright notwithstanding.

The "fair use" privilege defines a set of circumstances in which copies may be freely made, as does the First Amendment. After a time, copyright expires and a work enters the public domain. Given the limited nature of the grant of rights that define copyright, is the classification of copyright as intellectual property simply a rhetorical exercise to assist publishers in their efforts to strengthen their monopoly rights?

The courts have derived three basic requirements for copyright protection originality, creativity and fixation.

The requirements of originality and creativity are derived from the statutory qualification that copyright protection extends only to "original works of authorship." To be original, a work merely must be one of independent creation - i.e., not copied from another. There is no requirement that the work be novel (as in patent law), unique or ingenious. While there must also be a modicum of creativity in the work, the level of creativity required is exceedingly low; "even a slight amount will suffice."

The final requirement for copyright protection is fixation in a tangible medium of expression. Protection attaches automatically to an eligible work of authorship the moment the work is sufficiently fixed. Congress provided considerable room for technological advances in the area of fixation by noting that the medium may be "now known or later developed."

Works Not Protected

Certain works of authorship are expressly excluded from protection under the Copyright Act, regardless of their originality, creativity and fixation. Copyright protection, for example, does not extend to any "idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied" in such work. Thus, although a magazine article on how to tune a car engine is protected by copyright, that protection extends only to the expression of the ideas, facts and procedures in the article, not the ideas, facts and procedures themselves, no matter how creative or original they may be. Anyone may "use" the ideas, facts and procedures in the article to tune an engine - or to write another article on the same subject. What may not be taken is the expression used by the original author to describe or explain those ideas, facts and procedures.

Copyright protection is not extended under the Copyright Act to works of the U.S. Government. A work of the U.S. Government may, therefore, be reproduced and distributed.

Term of Protection

Generally, a copyrighted work is protected for the length of the authors life plus another 50 years. In the case of joint works, copyright protection is granted for the length of the life of the last surviving joint author plus another 50 years. Works made for hire, as well as anonymous and pseudonymous works, are protected for a term of either 75 years from the year of first publication or 100 years from the year of creation, whichever is shorter. When the term of protection for a copyrighted work expires, the work is said to "fall into the public domain."

Exclusive Rights

The Copyright Act grants to the copyright owner of a work a bundle of exclusive rights:

· to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phono records

· to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work

· to distribute copies or phono records of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending

· in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly; and

· in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly These rights, in most instances, have been well elaborated by Congress and the courts. For the most part, the provisions of the current copyright law can serve the needs of creators, owners, distributors and users of copyrighted works in the national information infrastructure environment.

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