What is the AMEN
Distance Education Network?
Developing a Distance Education Network
The ATE Alliance, a national partnership of schools and communities lead by the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International (CAM-I), is developing, delivering, and evaluating a
national curricula to educate technicians who will be employable
in 21st Century manufacturing enterprises. The knowledge and
skill needs for a new breed of agile technicians--technicians
able to respond knowledgeably, effectively, and quickly in
highly competitive, rapidly changing global manufacturing
environments--are being addressed. The Alliance is meeting these
needs by combining existing best practices modules with newly
developed modules in an integrated, flexible, grade 11-14
learning program in mathematics, science, communications,
computing, and manufacturing enterprise technologies.
The Alliance is enabling the development and dissemination of
new learning processes with the assistance of nationally
scalable distance education techniques and the National
Information Infrastructure (NII). The development of the
national Distance Education Network involves:
- Developing a World Wide Web distance education platform, an AMEN home page, and hyperlinks to other resources.
- Engaging other appropriate distance education and
telecommunications tools and capabilities among Associate degree
granting institutions, secondary schools, satellite
instructional centers, industrial sites, and CAM-I member
companies.
- Providing training and jobsite education for ATE partners,
teachers, and students.
- Expanding network involvement to all project partners.
To facilitate coordinated information dissemination, program
collaboration, and other distance education activities among ATE
project partners, the AMEN Web site will provide controlled and secure access to selected information and services, and will offer a gateway to the Internet and its vast resources for network users.
The AMEN home page provides users with workforce preparation
content, portrayed using attractive icons or images, and
instructions on how to proceed through the browsing, linking,
and downloading process.
Network Content: Preparation and Maintenance
A careful process must be maintained to properly identify and
prepare information for a central repository of materials,
resources, and other relevant information on the World Wide Web.
Content preparation involves a number of important steps
necessary to develop and maintain comprehensive, high-quality
on-line information services on the World Wide Web. This process
involves:
- Developing a conceptual plan and strategy for Web information services. This plan includes objectives, a content outline, evaluation plans, learner profiles, specific assumptions,
education time estimates, priority of education/dissemination
tasks, and media specifications. It is vital that information
services are closely coordinated and have clear objectives in
relation to overall organizational or project goals.
- Preparing Information for the Web: converting information and services into documents and forms that can be presented on World Wide Web.
- Designing, organizing, and linking this information within
appropriate menu and directory structures.
- Mounting the information on appropriate World Wide Web servers.
- Marketing these services to create comprehensive, seamless,
useful, and inexpensive on-line information and distance
education services.
Preparing Information for the Web
There are four steps in the preparation of curriculum materials,
resources, and a central repository of other relevant
information that constitute the Distance Education Network Hub
on the World Wide Web. These steps are part of a dynamic process of content development, revision, and change that is essential to meeting the educational and informational needs of students and educators.
- Detailed Design
Detailed design involves the development of a workable detailed
plan--an architectural blueprint for the whole project. In this
stage, production guidelines are produced that address the look
and feel for the Web site--the way the network user navigates and
interacts with the information on-screen. Tasks may include
building screen mock-ups and interactive routines. These
guidelines are used as a reference throughout the development
process.
- Content Development
(including curricula and graphics, video, and audio production)
The second phase is graphic development where video, animation,
and photography are prepared to complement text and sound
components of curricular modules. During this stage, text-based
content and graphics are developed and digitized--using the
production guidelines as a guide.
- Authoring/Programming
Stage three involves the actual development of on-line,
downloadable media. This stage involves properly coding and
organizing digital content for presentation on the Web. During
authoring, text and graphic elements are programmed into a
working presentation. Typically, authoring includes numerous
operations that are important to effectively disseminate and
deliver on-line material, including user tracking and navigation
facilities. Web browsing (client) software often addresses these
issues.
- Testing/Pilot
The final stage involves exhaustive testing of the dissemination
hub for functionality, content, and links to other resources.
Essential elements that are analyzed include ease-of-use,
practicality, and relevance.
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The Advanced Manufacturing Education Network is an initiative of the Consortium for Advanced Manfucturing-International and the ATE Alliance, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. Send questions or comments to AMEN project coordinator.
January 26, 1996
AMEN and the World Wide Web