Distance learning law degree

Imagine a police department's roll-call room at noon, where 30 homicide detectives have gathered for in-service training on crime scene evidence. As the detectives watch, a leading forensic scientist at a university 200 miles away discusses the details of a recently concluded murder investigation.

A detective in the back of the room with a puzzled expression raises her hand. The detective's image fills the screen of a monitor at the front of the room as she asks about a blood stain found at the crime scene. A photograph of the stain now appears on the screen as the scientist answers the detective's question. Thanks to a videoconferencing system, the police detectives and the forensic expert are having a live, two-way training session despite the many miles that separate them.

Also called video teleconferencing, this technology is merely one aspect of an educational concept being implemented all over the world. Known as distance education, or distance learning,(1) it is the delivery of education or training, through a variety of means, to students separated from instructors and possibly from one another. For law enforcement agencies working with limited budgets, distance learning represents a cost-effective way to provide the training that their employees might not receive otherwise. Moreover, the technology that some programs use enables organizations to conduct long-distance meetings and seminars and tap a vast pool of expert resources.

This article explains the concept of distance education and features a number of agencies that have implemented successful distance education initiatives. It also presents guidelines that can help other law enforcement agencies start their own programs.

WHAT IS DISTANCE EDUCATION?

Technology has changed the way people accomplish tasks in every area of their lives, and education is no exception. At one time, correspondence courses provided the primary means for students to learn at a distance. Today, distance education can be as simple as a lecture prerecorded on an audio- or videotape or as complex as two-way, real-time audio- and video interaction using videoconferencing equipment. These techniques represent the limits of a broad spectrum that encompasses the two general categories of distance education: asynchronous and synchronous.(2)

Asynchronous Distance Education

Students who view lectures from prerecorded videotapes can do so from the comfort of their homes, with no interaction with the instructor or one another. This type of learning, which is known as asynchronous, does not require simultaneous participation.

Audio- and videotapes represent simple and affordable options for asynchronous education. More technologically advanced means include electronic mail and the Internet-based World Wide Web.

Because asynchronous methods involve no real-time interaction, they provide a flexible, convenient way of learning. Students who need the structure and personal interaction found in the traditional classroom, however, might prefer the interactivity provided by synchronous instruction.

Synchronous Distance Education

As its name implies, synchronous distance education requires the simultaneous participation of students and instructors. As such, it occurs in real time and, depending on the technology used, can provide two-way audio and video. Satellite training, for example, involves two-way audio but only one-way video. Specifically, students can see and hear the instructors but must ask questions or make comments using methods that, at the most, transmit their voices only. At the other end of the spectrum, certain types of videoconferencing allow participants both to see and hear one another.

WHO IS USING DISTANCE EDUCATION?

Whichever delivery method they choose, law enforcement agencies around the country are using distance education. Administrators can use these examples to design similar programs or take advantage of the distance education courses the following organizations provide to members of the criminal justice community.

The Law Enforcement Training Network

Like a cable network for law enforcement officers, the Law Enforcement Training Network (LETN) provides subscribers with a variety of training and educational programs for a monthly fee. Viewers can tune in to both live and prerecorded programs on a variety of law enforcement topics.

LETN's satellite feed makes live programming possible, and shows come from such sources as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the FBI. Once recorded, these programs are broadcast numerous times during the course of a month. LETN's regular programs include Roll Call, 10 minutes of daily training; Command Center, 15 minutes of news, new-product information, and videos from law enforcement agencies in action; and LETN News, featuring law enforcement headline news.

LETN's Training On Demand (TOD) series provides training and testing in a video format. Law enforcement agencies can watch TOD Monday through Thursday, or they can order the videotapes and use them at their own convenience. Many TOD programs evaluate students' knowledge with pre- and post-tests and can earn students continuing education units with the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville or Pennsylvania State University.

Combining curriculum-based training with technology, LETN developed the Specialized Training Testing and Recordkeeping System (STTAR). STTAR comes with a desktop computer system that allows students to view live LETN satellite broadcasts. A VCR hookup makes it possible to record live programs or watch prerecorded tapes. Students can take pre- and post-tests on the computer and send them electronically to LETN for grading. The system's touch screen and voice instructions make computer literacy unnecessary. The STTAR program also serves as a paperless database, giving departments an easy and efficient way to track their in-service training.

Christopher Newport University

Recognizing the need to reach students who may find it difficult to attend on-campus classes, institutions of higher learning have been at the forefront of the distance education movement. Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Virginia, offers an online bachelor of science degree in governmental administration with a choice of four concentrations, including criminal justice administration.

Dubbed CNU ONLINE, this asynchronous program allows students to access their classes via the Internet, download assignments to be completed offline, then reenter the system to turn in their work. To do this, students post completed assignments to an electronic mailing list, where the entire class can read them and make comments. The class uses the list to discuss other issues, as well. A chat-room function allows students to communicate with one another in real time. Professors usually use this capability to hold online office hours for student questions and concerns.

The Mid-Atlantic Police Supervisory Institute

Oftentimes, police officers who gain promotions into management find they are not quite sure how to supervise their former peers. Unfortunately, few resources exist to provide this type of training, and worse, the combined toll of work and personal obligations make outside education nearly impossible.

Recognizing this dilemma, faculty members from Christopher Newport University, the chiefs of several southeastern Virginia police departments, and other law enforcement executives founded the Mid-Atlantic Police Supervisory Institute (MAPSI). Conducted almost completely online, MAPSI courses give first-line supervisors a convenient way to learn supervisory, administrative, and ethical skills and earn college credit without missing valuable time from work.

Local students visit the campus to attend four Saturday workshops. At these seminars, guest speakers cover such topics as emergency preparedness, community-based policing, and employee discipline, as well as other personnel issues. Students who cannot travel to campus can view the program on videotape and e-mail the speaker later with questions or comments. In the future, the university plans to install videoconferencing equipment, which will allow officers from remote locations to view the workshops live.

The Online Police Academy

In today's complex policing environment, administrators may find it difficult to meet the training needs of their officers with only a limited number of qualified instructors. The Online Police Academy (OPA) of the Millersville University of Pennsylvania was born of the frustration some police trainers felt over this dilemma. With its World Wide Web-based delivery system, OPA links students and instructors from all over the world.