Genre theory, technology, and knowledge distribution

A growing body of empirical research has implied that media seem to make little difference in learning. Findings that Internet-based education can be dangerous to the point that it can "sometimes threaten a teacher\´s career" point, it is claimed, to a different issue. The problems stem from genre rather than media choices. While media choices may matter little, genre choices are critical; substituting an essay for a lecture or an instruction set for a demonstration tends to affect learning. We further argue that the key to effectively converting traditional instruction to digital instruction is to access sufficient bandwidth. While it is possible in some cases to stream sound and video over the Internet, resolution is low and results are unpredictable. A new technology we are developing (distributed hard drive, DHD), however, permits an alternative. External drives, ranging from 10 GB to 150 GB make it possible to present learners all 48 hours of "chalk talk" typically found in a 16 week course at 640 × 480 or higher resolution, plus additional hours of demonstration video, 3D game technologies, 3D animation, interactive testing, and record keeping. In our environment, the Internet is used for interactive communication and for file transfer, while DHD is used for distributing high bandwidth content.