From E-Learning to T-Learning

The introduction of interactive television offers new potentialities to the television medium with the possibility of including e-commerce, programs on demand, games, and, last but not least, educational programs. Digital television will allow forms of lifelong learning to disadvantaged sectors of the population, namely those potential learners that have no possibility to improve their own knowledge caused by problems such as lack of free time due to working hours, family care, and so forth. Much of the interactive potentiality of this new medium will depend on the possibility of having a back-channel, connecting television to the Internet. A back-channel would allow the user to store choices, preferences, progress in learning units, and so forth, in the memory. In other words, there is the possibility of customizing the programs offered and the interface according to user preferences. The potentialities of this new medium are numerous, and it is necessary to explore, experiment with, and facilitate the new methods of available interaction. Every great technological change has also meant a change in perspective and mindset. What generally happens in the early stages of the utilization of new technological solutions is that the new tools available continue to be used while adopting an outdated mentality. It is necessary to propose a pedagogical model for the learning programs offered by new technology.