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Going the Distance

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First came the telephone conference call, which has probably been around as long as the party line. But there are some limits to what can be done through the audio domain. Some of us are visual learners.

That visual touch was to be the magic of videoconferencing. But it didn't happen right away.

In the 1960s it was thought that popular use of videophones was just around the corner. LBJ had one, didn't he? Soon we'd all be worrying about combing our hair or washing our face every time we answered the videophone. It didn't happen. Videophones turned out to be no closer to popular personal use than the science-fiction videophones in the dear departed Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey.

So by the 1980s I figured that videoconferencing was something that only happened with Ted Koppel and his myriad guests on ABC's Nightline. But by the end of the decade, even though videoconferencing wasn't generally happening in people's homes, it was becoming popular in the world of business and, eventually, education.

Videoconference participants can all look at the same "chalkboard." Ross Perot and his pointer would thrive in this environment.

And although Ross might be happy with everybody else listening and him doing all the talking, the videoconference allows for more than just a view of the lecturer. You can interact.

Today, my old nonstop-talking high-school best friend, Dale Chrystie, who lives in Harrison, Ark., is finishing up a college degree by taking a videoconference class with students from three other sites across Arkansas.

Videoconference classes work, and they're popular, because, among other reasons, there are millions of other people like my loquacious pal Dale -- they thrive on interaction.

Videoconferencing isn't common on the Internet -- yet. But the technology isn't that far down the line.

Just ask Sam Atieh, the director of online education at Vatterott College's St. Joseph, Mo., campus. Vatterott's main campus is in St. Louis County.

"At the rate we're going with the online and the telecommunications speed, soon we will be carrying the picture and the audio and video simultaneously into your home, using the cable modem or the centralized receiver, so you will see the instructor the same way that you see him or her in the traditional classroom," says Atieh.

"Already Microsoft is coming up with centralized receivers that can receive up to 400K, which is like 10 times the speed of your existing modem, and that will definitely transform the whole educational experience to your home," he says.

The Net: Above All, Access
But even without videoconferencing, the Internet would be the most popular delivery system for distance learning. Although non-Net videoconferencing offers visual learning and interactivity, it lacks the Internet's strongest point -- access.

The access angle works two ways. The public's access to the Internet is proliferating, similar to the way use of the telephone spread 100 years ago.

And the Internet, in turn, provides unparalleled access to knowledge.
That access to knowledge is revolutionary, says Atieh.
"Knowledge has been captured in physical entities for a long time," he says. "For the first time, knowledge is a free entity. It's available, it's not captured within boundaries.

"For the first time in history, we freed knowledge. It's no longer limited to a certain place, a certain time. It's now global, it's available -- you can reach it any time."

Amazing, isn't it?
"It is like a revolution," says Atieh. "Like introducing electricity or phones in our system. It changes everything."

What Kind of Accreditation?
Just as with more traditional educational-delivery systems, online education raises this question: Who is accrediting the institution?

Some schools, mainly academic institutions, are accredited by one of six regional accrediting agencies in the United States. Missouri, Illinois and 17 other states are covered by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Other schools, usually technical and career schools, aren't regionally accredited but have accreditation from their own organizations. For instance, Vatterott College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology.

The distinction between accreditations is paramount to Mark Wilson, whose use of the word "accredited" refers only to academic schools with regional accreditation. His first two college degrees, earned by correspondence, came from schools that weren't regionally accredited.

"The schools were unaccredited, and once I learned the difference -- after I had already finished my master's thesis and over two years of coursework, I was embarrassed by them and threw the diplomas away," Wilson says. "This is why I am so strongly opposed to schools that are not regionally accredited. Most people will get burned down the road, and many are just as ignorant as I was regarding accreditation."

On the other hand, the technical schools that aren't regionally accredited still serve a purpose by providing training for people entering the workforce.

And in the case of a booming field such as information technology, a diploma from a technical school might help a person get a job that pays more, for instance, than a person with a master's degree from a regionally accredited college would earn in a lower-paying field.

But whether a person is attending a technical school or an academic school, it will soon be possible to get financial aid from the U.S. government for courses taken online.

"For the first time they are inviting colleges and universities to apply for financial aid for online students," says Vatterott's Atieh. "Fifteen colleges and universities will be chosen in April to be able to offer financial aid for online students. After two years, 30 schools will be invited."

The program will include technical and academic schools.

Meet Me Online in St. Louie
Probably because the Internet is not bound to any locale, the growth in online courses isn't defined by any particular geography.

The St. Louis area isn't necessarily leading the way, but it isn't lagging behind the field, either.

St. Louis University and UM-St. Louis, as previously mentioned, offer master's degrees online. And a handful of other local colleges, especially community colleges, offer courses over the Internet.

Many of the colleges realize that online courses will be a permanent fixture on the education scene and are figuring out how to get on board.

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