Students Explore Career Paths in CBT
by Vince Long
Around educational circles, CBT, Computer Based Training, may not be a familiar term, but in the corporate environment it has caught on in a big way. Companies are using computers armed with multimedia training software to instruct employees on topics as diverse as safety, sexual harassment, and employee benefits.
Many titles that have been produced as films or filmstrips years ago are now being rereleased as interactive presentations. The development of this technology has also led to the production of many new titles that previously did not lend themselves to the linear presentation style of film or video. In order to run this new software the user needs a multimedia equipped computer, that is, a Windows or Macintosh system that is capable of running video and producing sound. These computers are now in the $2000 price range.
The software, whether it is referred to as CBT, CBL (Computer Based Learning), or CBI (Computer Based Instruction), allows the user to interact with the presentation at the user's own pace. This is done by using a pointing device, such as a mouse or a touch screen, to select navigation points on the screen. In this way, the user directs the flow of the instruction, reviewing material before proceeding to the next section.
Advantages of using CBT include:
-students can attend to their lessons at their convenience
-students can proceed at their own pace
-the expense of the instructor is eliminated
-the software performs assessment tailored to the student
-the computer tracks student progress
Some disadvantages of CBT are:
-the lack of a live teacher present during the learning process
-cost and maintenance of the hardware
-finding high quality software
-this type of instruction does not suit some learning styles
While some educators might be resistant to the idea of bringing this technology into the K-12 classroom, I have embraced it in my program, both as a means of delivering instruction and, more importantly, as another career path for my students to explore.
There are many jobs linked to the development of CBT materials:
-teachers (design the lessons and assessment tools)
-writers (to create and edit text materials)
-graphic artists (create the artwork and animation)
-CAD technicians (create technical illustrations)
-musicians (create the musical passages)
-audio technicians (mix the music and sound effects into a sound track)
-video technicians (create the video clips)
-actors (appear in stills and videos)
-programmers (assemble the CBT for the computer)
-business managers (deal with costs and distribution)
In my Design and Technology Education class, which is made up of 9th through 12th graders, I have been using a Hypercard activity in which the students are required to create an interactive presentation that instructs the user in how to do something. The something can be anything that they wish, provided it be legal, wholesome, educational, etc. The focus of this activity in the past has been on taking a process apart into its component steps and creating a card for each of the steps. The presentation also includes a sample of animation and sound. I have had students create projects that include how to shoot a basket, how to do the laundry, how to remove an automobile transmission, how to drive a car, how to make a taco, and how to change a tire.
I have recently revamped this activity to add a stronger focus on its CBT aspects. I created a Hypercard stack that introduces the students to CBT, its career paths, and the requirements of the assignment. This stack also serves as a model of what is expected of them in their final presentation. The stack contains a list of suggested topics, as I have found that many students have a difficult time coming up with a topic of their own. I have added the requirement that they produce a storyboard, on paper, using a form that I provide. The assignment now requires a student-built assessment piece, which can be in the form of an on-line objective test or in the form of a game that will test the user’s knowledge of what was covered in the presentation.
The advantage of using Hypercard for this assignment is that over half of my students have some prior experience with it. Even if they have no experience, it is a program that is very easy to learn and takes even the novice a short period of time to become functional with it. It does have the disadvantage of being limited to black and white (at least the version that I am using), and the animation capabilities are limited to the flip-book variety. However, it is an excellent introduction to multimedia-authoring software.
CBT is a growth industry. In a recent browse of the World Wide Web, I found a plethora of companies offering CBT services. I also found many job openings for programmers and graphic artists to work for CBT publishers.
CBT has many advantages. It allows for flexible training schedules, reduced costs, and is well suited to corporate applications. There are many practical applications for CBT in the K-12 system. Home-bound and home-schoolers are the first to come to mind. CBT make-up lessons for students who were absent are another possibility.
A major challenge for the classroom teacher will be in finding good quality CBT software that suits their own needs. In a future article I will be looking at using multimedia authoring software to create your own CBT for the classroom.
Publishing On The World Wide Web by Vince Long
Among the status conscious, electronic communication tools have always been a way to determine their place in the pecking order. Voice mail, faxes, cell phones, and beepers have not only allowed for a status boost, but can actually provide better communication. Now, to be "in" you just have to have your own homepage. But don’t sell this one short. Unlike the aforementioned technologies, a homepage on the World Wide Web is your place to publish or broadcast anything to the rest of the world. You can really let your ego run wild!
On a more serious note, a homepage on the Web is a great place for students to display their work. It’s a place where schools can publish curriculum guides and information about upcoming events. It’s a place where inter-school collaborations can start. Some hope that it will become the marketplace of the future.
Let’s make sure that we are all speaking the same language before we dissect the homepage. A homepage is an electronic document that is distributed via the World Wide Web. The Web is a fast-growing portion of the Internet, that vast network of networks that some refer to as "the information superhighway."
Users of the Web run programs, known as browsers, to navigate from place to place and to access these electronic documents. These documents can contain text, graphics, photographs, sounds, and video. Popular browsers include Mosaic, Internet Explorer, and the current king of market share, Netscape. These programs decode the documents retrieved from the Web and format them for your monitor.
Now, let’s take a look at what is involved with putting a homepage on the Web. First, you need an account with an Internet provider. Most, if not all, providers that allow you to run Netscape, or other Web browser, will give you space on their server for your homepage.
In simplest terms, you create your homepage (more about that in a minute), send it to your provider’s server, and tell them that you want it registered in their list of user’s homepages. You can also register your page in major directories around the Internet that can make your page accessible by the millions of people who are surfing the Web these days.
But what kind of black magic is involved with creating a homepage? Really, there is none. Well, okay, a little. In terms of difficulty, it falls somewhere between word processing and desktop publishing. A homepage is constructed in a language called HTML, HyperText Markup Language. These HTML documents are made up of plain text characters, making them readable by all computers. Within your document, you include "tags" that instruct the browser, e.g., Netscape, how to format the document when it is displayed on the monitor. Tags are commands that are enclosed with the < and > symbols.
For example, to instruct the browser to center text on the monitor, you would use the <CENTER> tag. If the text we wanted to appear centered was "All men are mortal." We would enter that as:
<CENTER>All men are mortal.</CENTER>
The forward slash, /, inserted before a tag command turns that command off, in this case ending the CENTER command, allowing all further text to default to left justification. Here are some other examples:
<BR> Line Break, the HTML equivalent of a Carriage Return
<I> Italic, all characters after this will be italic, </I> turns it off
<HR> Horizontal Rule, creates those horizontal lines familiar on many pages
<A HREF="www.yahoo.com"> Go to Yahoo </A>
Creates a hyperlink (making it blue and underlined) of the words "Go to Yahoo" and when clicked on will navigate to the Yahoo Directory
<img src="arrow.gif">
Inserts a graphic image named "arrow.gif"
The actual authoring (programming by non-programmers) of the HTML document can be done with a word processor or a dedicated HTML editing program. I have tried at least a half dozen of these editors, both Mac and Windows, and found them somewhat helpful but no replacement for actually learning the tagging commands. Most of these programs are nothing more than text editors that have buttons or menus that will insert the appropriate tags for you. By the time you figure out the software you could have your own page done with a plain text editor.
Most of these HTML editors require that you run your Web browser to actually see what the document will look like on-line. The exceptions are Hot Dog Professional, which has a built in viewer, and Internet Assistant for Word for Windows, which uses Microsoft Word as both an authoring tool and a viewer/browser.
In creating my own homepage(s), I have been using Windows Notepad (Mac users have the equivalent in Teach Text) to create the HTML document and use Netscape, running in the background to view the document as its development progresses. If you decide to use your word processor to create the HTML document, be sure to save it in "Text" format to be sure that all that you save is what you have on the screen. Most word processors, when saving in their native format, embed information about fonts, styles, and such that will create some confusion for your browser.
There are several good guides on the Web that can guide you through the HTML tags. Three that I have found helpful are:
This document is an excellent starting point for the new user. It shows examples of page formatting and the HTML tags required to create those layouts. The document also covers forms and frames.
This site has a list of HTML tags in alphabetical order by tag name. The guide indicates the differences in HTML as viewed by different browsers, plus a good glossary of Web terms.
Another great source of information about HTML is to be found within the homepages themselves. If you see a page layout that you like, pull down your view menu and look at the document source. You can also save the documents to your hard drive for examination off-line. As you pick up information from other sites, remember that much of the information on the Web, especially graphics, are copyrighted and cannot be used without the permission of the copyright holder.
