New Technologies in distance education are practiced by many educational institutions in today's world using global information networks, mobile computing technology, the development of multimedia, videoconferences and advances in telecommunication. There are institutions in the world that function exclusively from the distance education model, taking advantage of the traditional university programs by incorporating them, with different modifications to this type of teaching. Others have developed Virtual Classrooms, in which they present the entire curriculum in the postgraduate activity on a Web platform and have incorporated modern interactive communication software.
In this paper, the main concepts related to distance education are exposed, and special emphasis is placed on the modality used through the new information and communication technologies. The most recent experiences of the authors in this type of course are analyzed and summarized. The traditional concepts of postgraduate education are presented and compared with the new paradigms of distance education. An assumed procedure is presented that can be generalized in distance training of human resources.
INTRODUCTION:
Distance learning is not a new concept, it emerged at the beginning of this century in some developed countries. As an example, we can cite the Queenland University in Brisbane, Australia, where a correspondence education program was launched that aimed to respond to the vast characteristics of the country and the country's low population density at the time. It was based fundamentally on an adequate mail system, disseminated and secure.
Initially, distance education was a product of limited scope and served local needs. With the incorporation of new technologies, computing, radio and telecommunications, it has become a product of national and international scope with practically no borders. It may be inserted as the typical product of teaching and professional improvement in the so-called information society
Today, technological advances in computing, telecommunications and mobile communication have had a decisive influence on the scope of distance education and have substantially renewed it. In particular, the evolution towards portable information technology (computers, fax and multimedia applications) could lead to a possible universal mobile telecommunications system, which will determine important changes in the conception and application of distance education.
In today's world there are several institutions that practice distance education. Most of them are found in traditional universities, forming joint teaching centers. Others work exclusively on the basis of the virtual model, taking advantage of and integrating the usual programs of other institutions. Other Universities have formed a virtual college, which develops its curriculum of postgraduate subjects on the basis of object-oriented programs. All of them have the common characteristic of their accessibility through the global Internet network.
Distance education: paradigm shifts.
The execution of a distance education project that includes new technological advances must respond to the needs of the personnel requesting these services. On the other hand, the central idea is to promote permanent training and education and facilitate social access to the professions of the future. Education and vocational training must better respond to technological change and real economic problems. In general, the implementation of this conception of work implies a change in the educational paradigms established for postgraduate education in Cuba.
Postgraduate education in the country has developed so far, except for the experience described in the introduction of teleclasses, based fundamentally on the use of the classic concept of postgraduate education of the space-time relationship between the sender and the receiver, that is, between teacher and student.
Distance education demands from the teacher a better organization of his activity, since he must leave the corresponding explanation in text and with the help of images, having to write it in a language accessible to the different levels of preparation of the staff who follow the course. Through the communication network or the use of e-mail, these personnel have access to the formulation of their doubts to the professor and the collective discussion of the different topics discussed.
The main influence of new information technology technologies in the concept of distance education is found in the use of multimedia (animation, use of videos, CD-ROM, texts in hypermedia, etc.) and access by telecommunication. Studies have shown that people obtain 80% of their knowledge visually, although only 10-15% is retained. Less retention is achieved through hearing, but a combination of visualization and hearing has been shown to increase retention to 50%. The main changes in the conception of the development of traditional postgraduate education introduced by the concept of distance education are summarized in the following table:
| Traditional model | New model | Technological implications |
| Lectures in classes | Individual study | PC with access to information network |
| Passive assimilation | Active assimilation | It requires knowledge development and application of models. |
| Individual work | Collective work | Use of email |
| The teacher as a God | The teacher as a guide | Experts can be accessed on the web |
| Stable content | Quick change of content | Requires the network and publishing and printing tools |
| Homogeneity | Diversification | It requires a variety of access tools and methods. |
| Stationary schemes | Academic flexibility | Permanent and rapid updating of information by subject. |
| Fixed schedule | Flexible schedule | PC with network access, e-mail access |
As can be seen, the educational changes to be produced require new tools and new equipment, in accordance with the technological changes that occur today. But of course, the new technology alone does not solve the problem. To be effective, it requires extensive and adequate teacher training, the development of new curricular materials, and changes in educational models.
Authors' experiences. Application examples
We will show several examples of application of this new modality.
In the Master in Management of the Faculty of Business Sciences at the Central University of Las Villas, the subject of Computer Science was taught during the 1999/2002 academic year.
Here, minimal face-to-face meetings were held for any questions that had not been solved by mail, between each meeting the participants maintain communication with their classmates and with the tutor using email. The tasks and periodic evaluations are carried out, sent and graded through the mail, a software was made with the students' database, to control them.
In the Diploma of Banking Management . During the 2001/2002 academic year, it is traditionally a diploma that takes all the courses and for it a specialized classroom was designed in which the students receive classes and assist personnel from all over the country. This Diploma has a set of subjects among which we can mention: Administration, Organizational Behavior, Strategic Management, Marketing Management, Marketing Management, Human Resources Management, Financial Economic Management, Quality, etc. For this experience, face-to-face meetings with teachers were reduced to a minimum, the teaching materials were digitized and the courses were placed on a Web server of the Provincial Directorate of the bank, for which a Web platform was used experimentally. The Personalized Distance Learning System (SEPAD).Developed by students of the Faculty of Physical Mathematics and Computation. Platform that has all the services of enrollment, evaluation control, messaging, course control, in a multimedia environment.
The cursitas accessed through the institution's Intranet and maintained communication with their professors through email. This experience made it possible to make an economic analysis of the savings for accommodation, transportation and use of premises of a considerable amount.
Considering the experience acquired in these courses, a procedure to be taken into account in the design is summarized, this is the following:
Procedure for the delivery of distance courses using new information and communication technologies.
This procedure is based on self-taught training and based on strong principles of motivation and developing values of independence and creativity.
The support of a Tutor through digital techniques and being able to have a communication with his colleagues in the virtual "classroom" makes it a very suggestive and advanced system.
It is based on the following steps:
- -The Call for the Course.
The announcement of the course. This call must be short and explanatory stating the category of the course (International, National, Regional, etc.).
Course Title. It must be suggestive, current, novel. (In the case of national and regional courses, you must have at least one face-to-face phase and a maximum of three).
In this call, the teacher's data must be presented, a curriculum of the course coordinator and the teachers who will participate to support it, if possible to accompany the material with photos of the teacher and the study environment. Explain the environment The main headquarters and sub-offices where the course is located, make them known as well. The enrollment if it has any limitation in terms of capacity, directed to some specific personnel, etc.
The objective of the course. This must be clear, establishing the goals to be achieved by the student.
The content of the course only in a general way, exposing the contents of each topic.
Course start and end date
Course duration It is recommended for short courses not to exceed six months of their duration.
Date of enrollment, date of publication of those accepted. Always for short courses no longer than one month, the time between enrollment and publication of those accepted.
Course requirements. Among the requirements, the basic knowledge that the students of the Windows 9x / 2000 Operating System must have in mind. Have knowledge of e-mail and a program that handles it (Pegasus mail, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook express, etc). Having a mailbox and having access to a computer for at least four hours a week, knowing the use of compactors and the Microsoft Word word processor, are fundamental requirements to have the mailbox and access to the computer.
To enroll, send an email to the course coordinator, put the enrollment request in the subject line.
- -The Application for the enrollment of the Course.
This must be done through the email where the request to access the enrollment is requested, then this email is answered by sending a small model where the student is registered, this model must have the essential elements such as names and surname, age, sex, profession, reason for enrollment, home address and workplace address, e-mail address, telephone number, etc.
Always in the subject of the e-mail write a registration request
- –Write the course in detail.
It is at this point that the Objectives are exposed in detail, the Content, the Skills to be achieved in the course, and the Evaluation system that is contemplated for each of the topics and the Final evaluation is declared very important.
Additional materials and optional readings that correspond to each topic are listed.
At this point, it is important to send a small survey to get to know the trainees better and to prepare information that can be used for collaborative work.
- –Methodological structure of the course.
This is where the entire course must be explained in detail and from a document that adds all the information and the most important information related to the course to the email, and those enrolled are asked to save this information.
It is here where elements of the call are repeated, such as: name of the course, main coordinator, teachers, start and end date, information on those enrolled, total amount, any other information of interest to the group.
Course development. It is where the requirements of those enrolled are exposed, each topic is explained as well as the Study Guide with its objectives by topic, both general and specific, content, skills system, additional materials, and evaluation system. Course calendar. The communication channels, the enabled emails, the WEB sites or platforms used. Each trainee will receive an identification that can be a number or other individual information, each student must make clear in the subject of the message their identification number, this allows using a mailbox for each student and another for the general course, the teacher will use filters in the e-mail programs sending each message to different folders, making their work more efficient and with greater control.If the student makes changes to his mailbox, he must report it so it can be updated. When the teacher receives a response to each topic, she must send a confirmation message. The evaluation system must meet the established deadline. A recommended method is to add points to the topics and give a grade to the final work. The answers are individual. The teacher will receive a file with the answers for each student. The characteristics of these files with the corresponding answer to each question, compacted in ZIP, virus-free, a clear identification of the subject and the student, in the content of the email must say the size of the attached document.The evaluation system must meet the established deadline. A recommended method is to add points to the topics and give a grade to the final work. The answers are individual. The teacher will receive a file with the answers for each student. The characteristics of these files with the corresponding answer to each question, compacted in ZIP, virus-free, a clear identification of the subject and the student, in the content of the email must say the size of the attached document.The evaluation system must meet the established deadline. A recommended method is to add points to the topics and give a grade to the final work. The answers are individual. The teacher will receive a file with the answers for each student. The characteristics of these files with the corresponding answer to each question, compacted in ZIP, virus-free, a clear identification of the subject and the student, in the content of the email must say the size of the attached document.A clear identification of the subject and the student, in the content of the email must say the size of the attached document.A clear identification of the subject and the student, in the content of the email must say the size of the attached document.
There are evaluations that will be collectively looking for a collaborative work among students who meet certain characteristics, these groups will be selected by the teacher. Once the deadline for receiving responses is over, there is a week of discussion using the discussion lists. Students are recommended to save a backup copy of their answers as a security measure, the student will not receive the next topic until they answer the topic under evaluation, if they do not answer two topics in a row, it causes low. The course is divided into several aspects, individual work, study assisted by the tutor and also paying special attention to teamwork, all this to achieve collaborative learning.
- –Final Considerations.
As final considerations, it is proposed that as a support to the course, it has additional materials, readings selected by the teacher, documents, hypertexts and other multimedia documents, they can be sent by e-mail, located in sites and portals that students have possibilities access, teaching aids and WEB platforms on which course elements can be placed to facilitate better understanding and assimilation. The SEPAD platform is a teaching tool that has proven to be efficient.
The monitoring of the students' work, be it their teaching results, course news, as well as other information, etc. They can also be located in the technical means set forth in the previous paragraph.
The course must end as far as possible with a face-to-face meeting and provided that a workshop can be held where the trainees present their results. The delivery of the diploma can also be digitally using the same technical means. The course should end with a survey of the students and another of the team of teachers, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the course.
The economic analysis of the course should be a point in the final evaluation of the course.
When this experience expands, and achieves national connectivity, these courses could become an important source not only of education and promotion of the country's potential, but also a source of income and valuable information for the development of the activities of the institutions. participants.
Conclusions:
With the application of this experience, the students added a new way of working by using the new information and communication technologies, not only in the expiration of the course topics but also in their cultural and updating level.
It was shown that the use of ICT is a powerful instrument that gives us the opportunity to transform Pedagogy towards a more effective and emotional pedagogy that changes, improves and strengthens the teacher's educational role.
It should be noted that technology alone is not capable of generating knowledge, Cuba with few resources, has known how to carry out a correct education plan, has allocated sufficient financing for these purposes, its optimal use corresponds to us.
The use of National Construction Web Platforms such as SEPAD is feasible to use in a distance education environment.
The processes of Massification of culture and the Computerization of society constitute the fundamental pillars of this research
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