Judy Roberts & Associates / Associés Inc.

LEARNING ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY:
A LEARNER'S GUIDE TO THE TECHNOLOGIES

The Information Highway is creating exciting opportunities for learners who are no longer bound by the constraints of time and place. Telecommunication technologies and computer networks are becoming common tools used for learning in educational institutions, the workplace, community learning centers, at home or almost any place you can imagine.

This Guide tells the stories of 18 learners across Canada who share their experiences with the Information Highway. Each describes who they are, what their courses were like, what opportunities the Information Highway offered them, its limitations and what advice they would offer to other learners.

In addition, the Guide describes in simple terms how to use audio, audiographic, networked computer and videoconferencing for learning. It reviews the opportunities and challenges of each of these technologies, talks about what learners need to know about the technology and what they need to do in order to learn effectively using the technology.

This book has been prepared for the Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) at Human Resources Development Canada by Judith M. Roberts, Jane E. Brindley and Barbara Spronk. It is published by Chenelière/McGraw-Hill.

Comments from author Jane Brindley:
Thousands of students are already taking advantage of the flexibility and accessibility of on-line, video-, and audio-conferenced courses. However, most often they have had to learn the hard way that learning through a medium other than a conventional classroom requires a whole new set of skills and knowledge. Many, at least temporarily, have felt like victims of technology instead of masters of it. The Learner's Guide to the Technologies is a straightforward beginner's guide for those who want to take a course or participate in a learning experience using one of the new technologies.
As authors, Judy, Barbara, and I spent a great deal of time discussing how not to write a dull manual but rather to create a tool that would help learners new to technology benefit from the experience of others and take control of their learning. The resulting guide is unique in that it includes extensive interview material with a variety of learners from across Canada who have taught themselves how to make the best use of technology mediated learning. They provide candid and often revealing opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of the various technologies as well as practical advice to other learners about how to make technology work for them. The voices of these experienced learners are integrated with clear descriptions of the technologies and thoughtful guidance about its use and application. The guide offers valuable insight into the learner's experience of technology mediated instruction which would be of great benefit to instructors and trainers as well as learners who want some practical advice when it is most needed–before the course starts.

Reviewer's Comments:
These [learners'] perspectives introduce tips and commonsense observations.
ODLAA times , Journal of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia, February 1999.

Complete the order form for the Learner's Guide.

You may also be interested in titles in the Lifelong Learning on the Information Highway Series , a joint project developed by Judy Roberts & Associates / Associés Inc., Knowledge Connection Corporation, the Office of Learning Technologies at Human Resources Development Canada and Chenelière/McGraw-Hill. Judy Roberts is Series Editor.