REALITY in the community

While there has been considerable interest and investment in the development of online learning materials, the issues surrounding support for online learning are less well understood. Currently online learner support is dominated by asynchronous text based communications. This paper describes an experiment in real-time, computer based learning, using a combination of desktop videoconferencing and application sharing to provide remote, distributed, learners with live tuition. The target audience for REALITY is community based learners for whom traditional education and distance learning are not acceptable. Access is via public libraries and community centres. We conclude that, despite technical difficulties and the strain of working at a distance using unfamiliar technology, the advantages of integrated desktop videoconferencing are such that it is likely to challenge the dominance of text based support systems as appropriate bandwidth becomes more readily available