Very
often, hardware is equated with technology
in the planning process.
A
source of confusion for participants in a dozen or so major
planning meetings I attend every year is a lack of conceptual
differentiation between “hardware” and
“technology.”
Very
often, planning for “technology-based distance education”
starts with selecting hardware, and unfortunately ends
there.
The
hierarchical model clearly indicates the necessity
of hardware as a major and integral part of
the system; however, it is only the first
level.
More complex components are needed to complement
hardware before a successful distance education
system can become operational.
In
other words, buying and installingequipment
is not implementing a technology solution, although
it is a necessary step.
Broadcast
Television is the oldest and the most common means
of video production and distribution.
Since
the 1940's, educational television has been used by educators
and trainers in a variety of disciplines to reach
learners.
With
the advent of telecommunication satellites, corporations and institutions
of higher education have increasingly turned to broadcast
television for videoconferencing as well.
Educators
and trainers generally use two types of equipment to produce
video programs for broadcast television. They either use a small
format video system, or a television studio.
Building
Learning Communities in Cyberspace : Effective Strategies
for the Online Classroom (The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult
Education Series) by Rena M. Palloff, Keith Pratt
Dancing
With the Devil : Information Technology and the New Competition
in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education
Series) by
Richard N. Katz (Editor)
Experts
in distance education libraries and information databases
discussed the changing nature of knowledge management
and available technologies and examined how COL and its
Information Resource Center (http://www.col.org
/irc/irc.htm)
can best meet the needs of stakeholders around the Commonwealth.
The results
of the discussions were recently posted on the web,
and can be accessed here.
Distance-Educator.com
› Hardware
Providers Channel
Very
often, hardware is equated with technology
in the planning process. 
