FIFTH GENERATION DIS TANCE EDUCATION

Professor Jim Taylor

Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Global Learning Services)
The University of Southern Queensland
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia 4350
E-mail: taylorj@usq.edu.au

Introduction

Over the past twenty years, the transformation of a relatively simple computer
network used by a few researchers into a global Internet, involving hundreds
of millions of people and generating a new economic order, took government,
business and education, by surprise. Given the well-established tendency for
people to underestimate the extent and rate of technological change, it seems
reasonable to suggest that the extent to which the Internet created economic
and social upheaval in the past ten years is likely to pale into insignificance by
comparison with the changes occurring in the next decade. The next few
years will encompass the significant impact of broadband, wireless, smart
cars, smart fridges, streaming media, voice recognition and the inevitable
growth of new Internet applications. In the present context, change is the only
constant!

How might institutions of higher education respond to such a dynamic external

environment? The need for institutions to not only do things differently, but to
do different things was encapsulated by Dolence and Norris (1995), who
argued that to survive the transition from the Industrial to the Information Age
organisations would need to change from rigid, formula driven entities to
organisations that were “fast, flexible and fluid”- adjectives not typically used
to describe the salient features of universities! Given the predilection of
educational institutions in general, and universities in particular, to either wait
and see and do nothing for the moment, or to add something new to an
already overcrowded program of activities, it could well be that institutions of
higher education could become a threatened species. This is a somewhat
surprising consideration, since universities are overflowing with clever,
innovative students and staff, yet as organizations, universities are often
considered to be primarily moribund. The traditional inertia of long-
established institutions is reflected in the well-known cliché, “Trying to change
a university is like trying to move a graveyard – it is extremely complex, and
you don’t get much internal support!”

If the Internet is changing everything, will the Internet also have the power to
change universities? Maybe, maybe not. Organizations don’t change
automatically. Organizational development requires proactive human
intervention. It sometimes benefits from the implementation of explicit change
management strategies.
As Katz and Oblinger (2000) highlighted when reviewing the potential impact
of e-business on higher education, “The dominant issues facing the leaders of
today’s colleges and universities are what aspects to change and how fast
can they be changed?” (p.xvi). Further, as Schlender (2000) recently pointed
out, the Internet has already “ …reached a stage that isn’t so much about
vis ion and proprietary innovation as about execution and competition “ (p. 90).
This emphasis on execution and competition is a particular challenge to the
typically slowly evolving institutions of higher education, which need to find the
means to “e-volve” rather more rapidly in the Internet Age. Indeed, many
universities are still struggling to come to terms with the imminent challenges
posed by competition for online students through the emergence of the global
lifelong learning economy. Universities with a significant role in distance
education, however, are different: they have always been, and will always be,
in the vanguard of innovation and institutional change.

Fifth Generation Distance Education

For many years, universities with a significant commitment to distance and

open education institutions have been at the forefront of adopting new
technologies to increase access to education and training opportunities.
Distance education operations have evolved through the following four
generations: first, the Correspondence Model based on print technology;
second, the Multi-media Model based on print, audio and video technologies;
third, the Telelearning Model, based on applications of telecommunications
technologies to provide opportunities for synchronous communication; and
fourth, the Flexible Learning Model based on online delivery via the Internet.
Although many universities are just beginning to implement fourth generation
distance education initiatives, the fifth generation is already emerging based
on the further exploitation of new technologies. The fifth generation of
distance education is essentially a derivation of the fourth generation, which
aims to capitalize on the features of the Internet and the Web. To place the
fifth generation Intelligent Flexible Learning Model into a meaningful
conceptual framework, it is first worth reviewing briefly certain features of the
previous four generations of distance education. Some of the characteristics
of the various models of distance education that are relevant to the quality of
teaching and learning (Taylor, 1995) are summarized in Table 1, along with
an indicator of institutional variable costs (Taylor, Kemp and Burgess, 1993).

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Table 1 : Models of Distance Education - A Conceptual Framework
Models of Distance Education Characteristics of Delivery Technologies
and Flexibility Institution
Associated Delivery Highly Advance al Variable
Technologies Tim Plac Pac Refine d Costs
e e e d Interacti Approachi
Materia ve ng Zero
ls Delivery
FIRST GENERATION -
The Correspondence Model
• Print Yes Yes Yes Yes No No

SECOND GENERATION -
The Multi-media Model
• Print Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
• Audiotape Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
• Videotape Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
• Computer-based learning (eg Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
CML/CAL/IMM)
• Interactive video (disk and Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
tape)

THIRD GENERATION -
The Telelearning Model
• Audioteleconferencing No No No No Yes No
• Videoconferencing No No No No Yes No
• Audiographic Communication No No No Yes Yes No
• Broadcast TV/Radio and No No No Yes Yes No
Audioteleconferencing

FOURTH GENERATION -
The Flexible Learning Model
• Interactive multimedia (IMM) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
online
• Internet-based access to Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
WWW resources Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
• Computer mediated
communication

FIFTH GENERATION -
The Intelligent Flexible Learning
Model Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
• Interactive multimedia (IMM) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
online
• Internet-based access to Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
WWW resources
• Computer mediated Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
communication, using
automated response systems
• Campus portal access to
institutional processes and
resources

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Although a detailed cost analysis of various technology/pedagogy interfaces is
beyond the scope of the present paper, it is worth noting that prior to the
advent of online delivery, variable costs tended to increase or decrease
directly (often linearly) with fluctuations in the volume of activity. For example,
in second generation distance education delivery, the distribution of packages
of self-instructional materials (printed study guides, audiota pes, videotapes,
etc) is a variable cost, which varies in direct proportion to the number of
students enrolled. In contrast, fifth generation distance education has the
potential to decrease significantly the costs associated with providing access
to institutional processes and online tuition. Through the development and
implementation of: automated courseware production systems, automated
pedagogical advice systems, and automated business systems, the fifth
generation of distance education has the potential to deliver a quantum leap
in economies of scale and associated cost-effectiveness. Further, effective
implementation of fifth generation distance education technology is likely not
only to transform distance education, but also to transform the experience of
on campus students.

The Emerging e-University: A Case Study

Consistent with Schendler’s (2000) proposed emphasis on execution and

competition, the fifth generation model will not be presented solely as a set of
abstract principles, but will be llustrated
i by an overview of the e-University
Project, which has been planned thoroughly and is now in the early phases of
implementation at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). It is worth
noting that USQ was the joint winner of the Good Universities Guides’
Australian University of the Year 2000-2001 for criteria focused on developing
the e-university. The Award, presented by the Prime Minister at Parliament
House in Canberra, focused on the preparation of graduates of both
undergraduate and postgraduate courses and the university as a whole for
the emerging ‘e-world’, with the following specific areas considered.
Area 1: Opportunities for students to access information and
communications technologies.

Area 2: Tools for life as a student: the routine use of information and
communications technology in administrative dealings with
students.

Area 3: Tools for learning: using information and communications

technologies in core educational processes.

Area 4: Opportunities for students to learn about information and

communications technologies and their implications in the
student’s area(s) of specialisation.

Area 5: The introduction of courses/specialisations in aspects of the e-

world

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Area 6: Thinking through the use and implications of information and
communications technologies in strategic planning and resource
allocation.

URL: http://www.usq.edu.au/Visitors/vc/vcGUG.htm
USQ’s e-University Project was conceptualized in terms of three fundamental
foci: the e-Information repositories, a variety of e-Applications and the e-
Interface respectively. A graphic overview of USQ’s e-University Project is
presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Overview of USQ’s e-University Project.

In mid-1999, USQ selected the PeopleSoft enterprise software to update its

existing business systems, which required major updating, both in scale and
functionality. With a financial commitment of almost A$10 million and a
project team of about 40 specialists, the University set about creating an
Integrated Business Information System (IBIS) based on the PeopleSoft
software. This initial commitment led to the implementation during 2000 of a
new financial management system, including the following modules: General
Ledger, Accounts Payable and Purchase Orders, and subsequently to the
implementation of the Human Resources and Pay Roll modules. Student
Administration, which is more complex, is scheduled to go live in early 2002.
The relationship with PeopleSoft will ultimately lead to the implementation of
PeopleSoft Version 8.0, which is totally web enabled and therefore entirely
consistent with USQ’s strategic commitment to the e -University Project.

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Prior to the implementation of PeopleSoft 8.0, the existing system will provide
an essential source of e-information in conjunction with the e-content
management system at the heart of the Generic Online Offline Delivery
(GOOD) Project, an application developed locally at USQ.

In essence, the e-content management system incorporated in the GOOD

Project enables cross-media publishing from a single document source. This
means that USQ is able to make courseware available to students in a variety
of delivery modes (print, online, CD, DVD, etc.) from a single document
source. At the core of the GOOD cross-media production system is a content
management system, which provides an integrated document management,
workflow and content editing environment. Further, the cross-media
publishing process has been automated through the use of standard markup
languages. The GOOD project has enabled USQ to replace its resource
intensive proprietary production system for courseware with a single
document source system based on the XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
standard. XML-tagged courseware documents are structured within
consistent, comprehensive parameters with the substantive content and
structure able to be treated discretely from layout and presentation. The
document layout is generated by applying XSLT (eXtensible Style Sheet
Language:Transformations) to the XML-tagged content. XSLT is a language
for transforming XML documents into their target formats (for example HTML
for Web delivery). The GOOD cross-media production system uses XSLT to
simplify and fully automate the task of publishing content in multiple formats.
The GOOD “rendering engine” is capable of automatically converting XML
content into PostScript and PDF for print delivery, and into HTML for web
delivery. The GOOD system also enables academic content specialists to
edit their XML documents, and to generate HTML, PDF and PostScript
outputs on demand. While initially focusing on the cross-media production of
courseware, in time, the GOOD system will be made available for numerous
other applications across practically every section of the University, including
the cross-media publication of the Handbook, Course Information, Admissions
and Enrolment documentation and the like.

While the GOOD system provides a critical foundation for the efficient
development and delivery of courseware, it will also provide an integral
“engine” for the provision of a range of e-applications including e-Enrolment,
e-Administration, e-Commerce, e-Publishing and not least e-Learning. While
the scope of the present paper does not allow for detailed descriptions of all of
these e-applications, a more elaborate view of the approach to e-Learning at
USQ is warranted, since it has major implications for the use of technology to
automate certain aspects of interaction with students, ultimately improving
cost-effectiveness, reducing the cost to students and increasing access to
higher education on a global scale.

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Automating e-Learning

At USQ, the essential features of a fourth generation e-Learning environment

support a learning process that is interactive, non-linear and collaborative.
These features include the use of an interactive study chart as a basic
navigational tool, which sets the broad parameters of the subject matter
content to be investigated, and lists a number of exemplary references.
References are electronic and hot linked via specific URLs. Additionally, the
students are free to surf the Net for supplementary teaching-learning
resources that meet their specific needs. They are also able to upload and
download assignments, with those of sufficient quality being added to the
teaching-learning resources database for reference by future students. The
interaction with courseware materials is, however, only one element of the
interactivity built into the USQ pedagogical approach. Interaction with other
students, teaching staff and other experts, who act as mentors, is achieved
through the use of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), primarily
through the deployment of asynchronous discussion groups. Students are
encouraged, and in many cases required, to communicate through various
electronic discussion groups, established for specific content areas as well as
for informal social interaction.

Fundamental to online pedagogy is the effective use of asynchronous CMC

for ens uring effective interactivity, which is generally regarded as an essential
feature of effective pedagogy. It is worth noting that there is a qualitative
difference between a traditional on-campus tutorial (real-time verbal
communication) and computer conferencing (asynchronous written
communication) with the reflective and precise nature of the latter being very
different from the spontaneous and less structured nature of oral discourse in
either a face-to-face, video or audio teleconference context. As Garrison
(1997) highlighted, “The reflective and explicit nature of the written word is a
disciplined and rigorous form of thinking and communicating ....... it allows
time for reflection and, thereby, facilitates learners making connections
amongst ideas and constructing coherent knowledge structures” (p.5).
Computer conferencing is therefore not just another technology, its capacity to
re-humanize distance education represents a qualitative shift which has the
potential not only to reshape learning at a distance, but also to pervade
conventional education systems. Further, and more importantly, in the
context of fifth generation distance education technology, CMC provides a rich
source of thoughtful interactions, which can be structured, tagged and stored
in a database and subsequently exploited for tuition purposes on a recurring
basis through the application of automated response systems. It is this
judicious use of automated response systems, which has the potential to
transform the cost-effectiveness of distance education and thereby to meet
the growing demand for access to lifelong learning.

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e-Learning: From Cottage Industry to Mass Global Access

The effective use of CMC is presently constrained in an important way. It is

still a function of what Daniel (1999) recently referred to as the “cottage-
industry model”, which entails the traditional working practices of universities,
wherein the same academic staff member usually does everything, including
teaching, providing academic support and assessment for a group of
students. In effect, the current applications of fourth generation Internet-
based delivery tend to generate resource allocation models similar to tutorial-
based on campus teaching. Indeed, it is still a fear of many academics
initiating an online teaching program that they will be overwhelmed by email
requesting support from individual students. While such fears can be allayed
by the use of “one-to-many” communication systems such as bulletin boards,
mailing lists and threaded discussions, the underlying resource model is not
significantly different from conventional on campus teaching, with a staff
member being necessary to manage groups of approximately 20 students to
maintain a reasonable quality of interaction and academic support. In
contrast, the fifth generation Intelligent Flexible Learning Model has the
potential to deliver major economies of scale in managing teaching and
academic support through the exploitation of automated response systems.

How does it work? In the USQ approach, many teaching staff make use of
discussion groups, which entail students posting “reflections” via the
asynchronous CMC system. The teaching staff also post comments, which
are aimed at engendering student engagement and ensuring that the focus
and depth of the online threaded discussions are appropriate to achieve the
learning outcomes. In the same vein, members of the teaching staff respond
to student questions posted to the discussion group. These contributions are
often quite complex and typically serve to enhance the quality of interaction.
Development of a detailed response to a searching student query naturally
takes time. The benefit of the system is that the communication is on a “one-
to-many” basis, so that all students may benefit, not just the one who asked
the initial question. Further, our experience demonstrates that other students
often comment on the issues raised thereby enriching the depth and quality of
the dialogue. The value of these contributions is particularly useful where
students are giving examples of applications in different cultural contexts.
Such interactions may take place in conventional classroom settings, but the
difference is that they are ephemeral and not documented for detailed
reflection as they are in the CMC system. There is no doubt that many of the
comments posted to the asynchronous discussion groups are valuable for
tuition purposes. Storing such interactions in a relational database is
technically straightforward, and provides a rich resource for mining by key
word/matching, so that such pedagogical resources can be used to assist new
students time and time again through the operation of the automated
response system.

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Our work at USQ has reached the point, where we have developed
prototypes of what we refer to as intelligent object databases, which can be
searched by pre-specified key words. Upon receipt of an electronic query
from a student, the search engine seeks an appropriate match with a
previously asked question, which if successful, triggers a personalized
response to the current question without concurrent human intervention. At
this stage of development, a tutor must check the validity of the match
between the current question and the answers generated automatically from
the database before forwarding to the students following a quick scan and
with a single “click”. Such a quality control mechanism may become
redundant in the future. If no appropriate match is discovered in the database
of previously answered questions, the query si automatically routed to the
relevant tutor for an appropriate response, which is then added to the
database with a single point and click. Depending on the pedagogical design
of the course, these responses can be directed to the whole cohort of
students, to groups of students, or to individuals. The system has the
advantage of providing more -or-less immediate pedagogical advice to
students, a significant increase in institutional responsiveness, at minimal
variable cost. The use of automated response systems is also being
integrated into e-Administration systems through the implementation of
USQAssist.

e-Learner Relationship Management

The USQAssist initiative is deploying tracking and automation tools to

manage the interaction between the University and both its existing and
prospective students. As USQ already has a need to provide global learning
services to students enrolled in more than 60 countries, the University has to
face the challenge of being responsive to client needs 24 hours per day, 7
days per week. The most efficient, cost–effective way to manage the 24 x 7
challenge is to deploy effective automation tools, as opposed to running three
shift student service desks or employing online tutors in different continents
(although USQ already does the latter). The aim of such a system is to
provide effective and efficient service to existing and prospective students at
minimal variable cost.

When the project was initiated in late 1999, there were 13 toll free telephone
numbers and numerous help desk facilities offered by various sections of the
University. Each of these services provided a valuable service and collected
some useful information, but there was no systematic recording and
processing of enquiries that would enable USQ to be more responsive to
satisfying student needs. The deployment of e-Customer Relationship
Management (e -CRM) software (referred to by Milliron and Miles (2000) as
“Learner Relationship Management” (p.60) also known as e-care or e-service)
will ultimately enable the use of a single toll free number integrated with an
email–based enquiry tracking system that will exploit the fundamental
strengths of the Internet in enhancing communication and managing
information.

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Using structured, intelligent databases, the knowledge generated by solving
student problems/enquiries is being progressively stored and made available
so that, wherever possible, students with equivalent or similar problems can
have their enquiries dealt with immediately through the self-help, automated
response capacity of the USQAssist system, thereby facilitating effective first
point of contact resolution.

As the intelligent object databases become more comprehensive, enabling

personalized, immediate responsiveness to an increasing number of student
queries, the institutional variable costs for the provision of effective student
support will tend towards zero. The effective use of such technology not only
improves the responsiveness of the institution, but also frees up student
support personnel to provide personal assistance via email dialogue or
telephone as necessary. Further, every interaction is tracked from initiation to
resolution, including flexible routing of enquiries based on explicit rules -based
escalation protocols to ensure timely and successful responsiveness, and
subsequent statistical reporting of system performance. Tracking interactions
with prospective students enables the collation of the effectiveness of
institutional marketing strategies, an increasingly important strategic issue for
universities in the emerging global learning economy, which demands a highly
effective public e –Interface with the University.

A central feature of the fifth generation model is the development of a

customizable e-Interface, a campus portal thro ugh which students, staff and
other stakeholders can engage with the university in a highly interactive and
compelling manner. In Norris’ (2000) terms, a well designed campus portal
will engender “pervasive, perpetual interactivity “(p.6), which will enable
universities to provide such efficient service to students that it is likely to build
effective, enduring relationships that could last a lifetime. To be successful in
the emerging global lifelong learning market, a university needs to create a
campus portal that will achieve a degree of interactivity, user friendliness and
personalization that does not exist in the vast majority of campus web sites
today.

The final element in USQ’s e-University project is the on campus wireless

networking initiative. This part of the strategic plan emerged from concerns
expressed by on campus students that they were becoming increasingly
disadvantaged by lack of sufficient access to online resources and services,
since the computing laboratories were devoted primarily to the teaching of
specialized software applications, often requiring access to “high powered”
hardware and software. USQ is now in the second phase of the project,
wherein funding has been allocated to enable the installation of wireless hubs
that will ensure access to the Internet from about 90% of on-campus
locations. The initial successful wireless hub trial conducted in 2000 provided
wireless access to the Internet from the Library, the Refectory and the
Distance Education Centre. Students gained access to the Internet through
laptop computers fitted with a wireless card, providing access at 11Mb using
IEEE 802.11b wireless standards.

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In the near future, wireless access will also be available through such devices
as LG Electronics’ Web Pad, In tel’s Web Slate or Qubit’s Web Tablet, which
are soon to be released. This freedom to have access to the Internet from
virtually anywhere on campus is a key feature of providing access to online
courseware and services to all students whether on or off campus. The key to
the success of such initiatives is, of course, detailed execution and
associated, institution-wide organizational development strategies to enable
the necessary institutional change.

Organisational Development

Apart from creating a new senior management portfolio, Vice-President

(Global Learning Services) to provide institution-wide leadership of the e-
University Project, USQ also allocated resources to create a small team of
specialists to facilitate the integration of the aforementioned e-systems
through the design and development of the e-Interface, the campus portal,
which is being managed under the auspices of what is known locally as the
Building for Enterprise and Teaching with Technology Enhanced
Responsiveness (BETTER) Project.

The goal of the BETTER Project is the functional integration and

interoperability of the constituent components of the e-University project,
including Peoplesoft, GOOD, USQAssist, USQ’s existing Intranet systems
(USQConnect and USQFocus) and the University’s commercial initiative with
NextEd Pty Ltd, USQOnline. This integration is to be achieved through the
development of an e-Interface, entailing a complete re -conceptualization of
the USQ web site. It is hoped that the benefits will be better service to
students and more efficient workflows within the University. The public face of
the University experienced through this campus portal will be a sophisticated
e-Interface that will provide a gateway to all USQ's information and services
that will respond in a personalised way to user profiles and individual needs.

The BETTER team was created by seconding the University Librarian to lead
the project, with the support of her Executive Assistant, an e-Policy
Development Officer (new part-time appointee, who works three days per
week) and the e-Systems Designer, the key local expert, who formerly
managed the USQ Distance Education Centre’s Network Services. Although
relatively few in number, this core team has extensive expertise and has
considerable access to the various teams managing the constituent projects.
Apart from the staffing budget for the BETTER team, the e-University Project
has access to A$2.5 million over the 2001-2002 period from the University’s
capital development funds, which can be expended not only on bricks and
mortar, but also on technology-clicks and mortar!

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While the major focus of the BETTER team is the redesign of the USQ web
site to enable a single gateway to the seamless integration of the underlying
e-infrastructure and component projects, it is also the key focus for associated
e-policy development, interoperability considerations, metadata and related
standards’ issues, as well as for the development and implementation of a
communications strategy to keep all staff members up to date with
developments. The pathway of the BETTER Project to the formal institutional
decision making structure of the University, including the President’s
Consultative Committee and the Academic Board, is through the Information
Infrastructure and Services Committee. The e-University Project is clearly
central to USQ’s strategic planning, with the associated commitment of
human and financial resources to sustain the necessary proactive approach to
change management aimed at facilitating institutional transformation on a
corporate scale.

Conclusion

In many universities the development of web-based initiatives is not systemic,

but is often the result of random acts of innovation initiated by risk-taking
individual academics. In contrast, the implementation of the e-University
Project at USQ is strategically planned, systematically integrated and
institutionally comprehensive. At USQ, the move to the online environment
was a natural step for an institution with a history of almost 25 years of
commitment to innovation in distance education. The increasingly central role
of web-enabled information and communications technologies in USQ
operations is supported by an organizational culture capable of sustaining
innovation on a corporate, rather than individual, basis. USQ’s institution-
wide approach reflects one element of the corporate mission statement: “To
be a leader in flexible learning and the use of information and communications
technologies”. Or, as the USQ President, Professor Peter Swannell, prefers
to express it in public statements to the wider community, “The University’s
guiding philosophy is to give people: what they want, where they want it, when
they want it. WWW is purely incidental!”

As a case study, the USQ experience exemplifies the institution–wide

corporate approach necessary for an organization to become “fast, flexible
and fluid” as it strives to develop the capacity to implement fifth generation
distance education. The fifth generation (Intelligent Flexible Learning) model
of distance education, incorporating the use of automated response systems
and intelligent object databases in the context of Internet-based delivery, has
the potential to provide students with a valuable, personalized pedagogical
experience at noticeably lower cost than traditional approaches to distance
education and conventional face-to-face education. Previous generations of
distance education are essentially a function of resource allocation
parameters based on the traditional cottage industry model, whereas the fifth
generation based on automated response systems has the potential not only
to improve economies of scale but also to improve the pedagogical quality
and responsiveness of service to students.

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If this can be achieved on a sufficiently large scale, then tuition costs can be
significantly lowered, thereby engendering much greater access to higher
education opportunities to many students throughout the world, who presently
cannot afford to pay current prices. In effect, fifth generation distance
education is not only less expensive, it also provides students with better
quality tuition and more effective pedagogical and administrative support
services. The fifth generation is likely to be irresistible to students, politicians
and the business community alike – it is also inexorable.

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