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Audiographics

Audiographics is one of several ways in which instructional media can be delivered to students who participate in distance learning. Audiographics is actually a combination of two separate delivery systems - audio conferencing and a personal computer. Audio conferencing enables two-way communication between students and instructor while the addition of the personal computer offers students the ability to view relevant instructional material on screen.

With audiographics, students listen to the instructor using either specifically-designed audio conferencing equipment or the telephone. The student's personal computer monitor acts as a blank screen on which the student can see additional instructional materials that the instructor sends electronically to the student. The monitor acts somewhat like a white board, displaying the text and still images that the instructor deems is appropriate for the lesson.

Audiographics facilitates a high degree of interactivity between students and instructor at the time the learning is taking place. The exchange of information is two-way. When students have questions about the material, they are able to ask the instructor for clarification and the instructor is able to respond in real time. That's why audiographics is considered a synchronous learning environment.

Anyone who has ever participated in an audio conferencing session knows however that merely listening to instruction can become mundane. That can cause students to lose interest in the material being presented. The personal computer 'white board' can help to enhance a student's retention capability as well as the student's attention span by giving the student something to look at while listening. This is a tremendously important advantage of audiographics. In a sense, it picks up where audio conferencing leaves off.

Another advantage of audiographics is that it is relatively simple to set up and to use. It is also a very inexpensive way to reach out to a large group of remote sites. This cost-savings becomes especially apparent when it is necessary to provide updates and modifications to course materials. Audiographics then is one of the more cost-effective instructional delivery methods.

With audiographics, although interaction between instructor and students is possible, it is possible only orally. This can limit the effectiveness of some instruction. And since it is not possible to control remote site bandwidth, the graphics capabilities are limited to still images. And even with this limitation, it still is not possible to guarantee the resolution or the quality of the images being presented.

Audiographics, or electronic white boards, is effective for the delivery of several types of instruction. The most obvious is lecture materials. This instructional delivery method is also effective for discussing the topics that have been presented and/or for brainstorming sessions. Because distant learning students also have the ability to view data that is transmitted electronically, this method of instruction is effective for presenting illustrations that are relevant to the material being taught.