Distance education in the high-tech era

* How does distance education fit into current educational practice?

Menahem Yaari: Several kinds of institutions in the world practise it, notably a large number of traditional universities that are gradually opening departments of this kind. They are, you might say, "mixed" institutions. There are also institutions like the National Technological University (NTU) in the United States that operate uniquely as distance education entities but by using the traditional course material of other leading universities. They act as an agent, as it were. There are also about twenty universities like ours that develop their own course material and broadcast it via satellite, thereby using the most up-to-date communication technology.

* What is special about the Israeli version?

M. Y.: We have based our system extensively on the one developed in Britain twenty-five years ago. But we've taken it even further. The British Open University is mostly concerned with the social sciences, while Israel's covers a broader range of subjects, particularly the sciences. Its teaching is much more diversified.

For each subject - there are at present about 400 - we set our own course material and ask the most qualified experts Israel has to offer to develop the course. This ensures a very high standard. We can boast of the fact that our courses are used as working documents by a large number of students and professors in other Israeli universities.

From its inception the University used the most modern educational tools available - video, cable television and computers - but we took a revolutionary step in 1994 when we introduced multimedia and interactive studies by satellite.

* How does a course by satellite work?

M. Y.: Unlike other courses, courses by satellite take place live. The professor is in a studio at our broadcasting centre in Tel Aviv. A satellite dish connects him to some sixty receiving centres scattered throughout the country. The studios in the Tel Aviv centre are equipped with a video camera, facilities making it possible to present transparencies and slides directly on the video, a colour scanner, a personal computer for graphic presentation of information and a console enabling the teacher to communicate directly with the students. The teacher also has at his disposal all the relevant information about his students: how many there are, their names and their academic background. The classrooms are equipped with a large screen, personal computers and telephones so that students can dialogue with their teacher.

* All this must demand high-level organization. . .

M. Y.: Yes. As well as the experts we ask to develop our courses, the Open University of Israel employs its own faculty (teaching assistants, lecturers and professors), like any other university. But instead of giving courses, the professors provide course follow-up by supervising their content. They also have to make sure that assessments, final examinations and teaching materials are up to an acceptable standard.

We are also on the cutting edge of self-evaluation. We are perfectly aware of each course's contents and each student's results. All these data enable us to assess the quality of our teaching. We have direct access to courses, and if something goes wrong, we know about it at once and can rectify it from one day to the next.

* Does this kind of organization make the system complicated and costly?

M. Y.: Just the opposite. The experts who develop our courses work for other institutions. We pay only fees, which considerably reduces our overheads without diminishing the quality of our teaching.

The Open University of Israel now pays for itself. For the first fifteen years of its existence it was sponsored by the Rothschild Foundation, which was its initiator. But for the past few years enrolment and the sale of our own books (some 450,000 per year) provide for 75 per cent of our budget, with the rest coming from the state. By way of comparison, government financial support for other institutions is about 75 per cent. It's true, however, that they are more heavily engaged in research than we are.

Moreover, we don't need a campus. Our study centres are mostly located in the country's primary or secondary schools, which we are able to use when they are not occupied at specific times of the day. In this way distance education becomes one of the least costly educational systems that exist.

* What are the other advantages of distance education?

M. Y.: Apart from the fact that it enables working people or students living far from university towns to continue their studies near home, it offers the possibility of teaching beyond the borders of any given country. In this regard distance education can become a basic tool for building peace, especially in the Middle East where borders have begun to open up. But opening borders isn't enough. For people to cross them, education is essential. And when I talk about crossing borders I'm not referring only to the physical sense; I mean exchanging ideas and establishing a real dialogue. It is clear by now that with the advance in technology that enables us to reach the remotest villages distance education is the best way to establish this dialogue. It is even likely that this form of teaching will gradually replace the more traditional form, which is for the moment at least still dominant just about everywhere in the world.