Abstract Interactive Distance Education for Engineering Outreach

This paper will present the experiences of using the Iowa Communications Network as a method of teaching engineering extension workshops. Relevant research in education, distance education, and adult education served as a basis for developing the content, structure, and presentation styles for these workshops. Techniques used to create an interactive experience for participants at remote locations will be presented. Discussion will focus on the experiences and success of using the ICN for short workshops and a brief comparison of the advantages offered by multi-week courses. Participants rated the use of the ICN for extension purposes a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Research Background When discussing appropriate research related to distance education for extension purposes, there are three main areas to investigate: research in traditional education, research related to effective distance education, and adult education research. If one can successfully integrate the best practices in each of these three areas, the result would be an optimal extension distance learning experience. Traditional Education Research As Simonson [6] states, one of the goals of distance education should be to provide a quality of education that equals that of a non-distance education situation. Therefore, it is important to understand what is viewed as high quality traditional education. Much of the current literature in education focuses on the need for a shift from instructor-centered teaching to studentcentered learning [4,10]. Yager, Dunkhase, Tillotson, and Glass [10] present a summary of some of the current pedagogy in higher education. Key principles or ideas of this research are as follows: • No one will formally learn something unless s/he believes s/he can learn it. • Real learning connotes use. • Students need to do something. • Teachers need to use student thinking, experiences, and interests to drive lessons. • Classes need to include open-ended questions and encourage discussion. • Classes need to incorporate cooperative learning strategies