| [Here
is the first of a series of "snapshots" on client
projects. Kate
Kuhns, managing director of Stanford's IIS Initiative
on Distance Learning, has been a WMS client for two years.
We contacted her recently to share with you more about her
program:]
Students
from the former Soviet block had been coming to Stanford
University to pursue a Ph.D. in one of five social science
disciplines, thanks to Stanford's
Institute for International Studies (IIS). Problem was,
such a program is very expensive to maintain. So a distance-learning
program was set up to reach a wider audience at a much lower
cost.
The
pilot program, inaugurated two years ago, quickly revealed
inadequacies in the system. Student groups watched videotaped
lectures in English. But the linear nature of video presented
problems for those non-native viewers who may have benefited
from a more interactive approach. The solution was to create
CD-ROM's instead.
Three
courses in seven universities spread out over nine time
zones comprise the program today. Student feedback has been
overwhelmingly positive. Kate Kuhns, managing director of
the Initiative
on Distance Learning at IIS, says, "We hope that
Russian technological capabilities will only improve so
that we can experiment with even more challenging delivery
mechanisms."
|
|
|
"We
learned that the lecture is the key component of the
course. Without capturing the lecture in a reliable
and strong electronic medium, we would not have a
program. We've been very grateful to WMS who has shown
great expertise and flexibility to provide us with
the high-quality video material we require for the
CD production and other media like television broadcast.
It is also helpful to have knowledgeable production
people who can coach our faculty in the finer points
of delivery."
|
 --
Kate Kuhns |
| |
|
