Distance Teaching & Learning 2004 Summary: Thursday, Friday

Key presentations:
Thursday: Twigg Keynote, D2L demo;
Friday: Dede keynote

Key themes: Learning objects (but not in my sessions), not as great as I had hoped but it seems that previous years were better
All materials - PPTs and streamed video to be up by September

Thursday, 8:00: KeyNote: Dr. Carol Twigg, Improving learning and reducing costs: New models of online learning

Examples of implementation lagging behind the technology

• pony express vs telegraph, get faster horses
• early films were just stage plays on film (single camera angle), The Great Train Robbery broke that mold
• ATMs were first deployed inside banks, could only be accessed when banks were open!

example: Phoenix community college

• 200,000 students
• 2000 courses
• found that 44% of enrollment in just 25 courses
• do redesigns on those 25 courses for maximum effect

The Course Redesign Process (http://www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant.html)

• redesign course, not just a class, i.e. all sections all offerings, not just an instance
• active learning - students engaged with material and with each other
• instructional software and team-based projects
• 24x7 access to interactive resources
• on-demand individualized assistance
• practice -> feedback -> reinforcement
• learning styles addressed
• CMS used for performance managment
• automate grading of homework, quizzes,exams
  • done where appropriate and useful
  • faculty time spent where most effective
• single mode replaced with differentiated
• personnel strategies for effective faculty time
  • faculty answers questions on content and course assistant answers mechanics/admin questions
• 25 /30 redesigned courses showed improvement in learning
• 5/30 showed equal learning

5 models emerged

• supplemental - add to current structure and/or change content
• replacement - blend f2f with online (blended/hybrid), put online what makes sense to put online
• emporium - move all classes into a lab setting
• fully online
• buffet - mix and match according to student preferenes (learning style analysis)

In a nutshell: great keynote, inspiring, need PPT to get more of her info

Thursday, 10:15: Evaluating pedagogical quality: an integral part of the course development strategy

UK-based private company publicly funded, bringing things like life skills to people who did not succeed in school, reluctant learners
courses 2-60 hours

created learning centers in towns, could be in pub, football field, businesses, wherever people tend to go
see a game and then do some learning
tutors staff learning centers, mainly online courses but often done in learning centers with support of tutors

In a nutshell: interesting to see what things are done elsewhere, the session that I really wanted to see was cancelled, started a trend for my sessions that wound up being presentations on a product a business produces

Thursday, 11:15: Faculty best practices using blended learning in e-learning and face-to-face instruction

I was hopeful about this session. However he pretty much read the presentation from the PPT which I had a handout of. Once its online it'll be worth a look. A very academic analysis of blended learning and a study of their faculty's use. Worst practices listed worth noting!

In a nutshell: the powerpoint file was enough, worst practices worth reading

Desire2Learn

Thankfully I left that one early and went to the vendor area. This was the best for me as I went to the Desire2Learn booth. D2L won the UW systems RFP for a CMS last year. MnSCU also signed a contract with them. Interestingly the MnSCU contract gives a pricing break to any Minnesota school! I first heard about the MnSCU deal at the Minnesota e-learning summit 2.0.

In talking to the people at the booth I met the CEO/Founder (who looks like he's 25!). The main thing I wanted to know about D2L is what does it look like. Their website has no course demos and no real screen shots. He pulled out a laptop and showed me some courses including a Carlson course. I found D2L very compelling.

Pros:

• Business philosophy
  • As they've been growing they've expanded their support and R&D areas but not sales staff. They are customer-focused and evolve their product based on customer feedback.
• Pricing
  • MnSCU entered into a contract with them that gives a price break to Minnesota schools. The CEO said it was a little too good of a deal for us. They also have several pricing models and tend to come in in the mid range of Enterprise CMSes. But that might not apply to us in MN.
• Interface
  • Everything is customizable and editable (no control panel). Instructors see a little 'E' icon to edit something.
  • WYSIWYG throughout and not browser (IE) dependent.
  • "Quick Links" in WYSIWYG to other items within a course easy via pop-up interface.
  • Role switching -- you can allow faculty to see a student view the course
  • What's New box on course main page -- instructors see things like "2 assignments to grade, 23 new postings in the discussion area" and students see things like "23 new postings in the discussion area, 2 new documents posted."
  • Searchable content in a course (not within files but within content (HTML) in the course).
• Admin
  • Completely customizable security, many preset roles, can deal with help desk student needing some access but not global access that could compromise their courses

Cons:

• Windows server platform, they are looking to expand to UNIX in the future.
• Might be a little young, 5 years. But maybe that's not bad?

Thursday, 1:15: Online Approach to Evaluating Asynchronous eCourses

http://www.webcourseworks.com/QualityHandouts/

Hmmm, a company that produces elearning for industry and government.

They presented their model for assessing their courses using Kirkpatrick's Four Levels and their 3 evaluation types.

3 types of evaluation:

• Formative - during development of course
• Summative - after deployment
• Embedded - during usage

Kirkpatrick's Four Levels

1. Reaction - smile sheet
2. Learning - pre- and post-testing
3. Transfer - measure changes
4. Business Results - measure success on strategic management level

In a nutshell: they stressed evaluation by faculty and students during development, before complete -- evaluate parts, good to know if it's a quality course before it's deployed

Thursday, 2:15: Effective lab experiences for distance learning courses with self-contained lab kits

http://www.athomescience.com/

After a few minutes I realized I talked to this guy on the vendor floor. He had a company that sells lab kits. He's a professor that started to make lab kits for his courses, others wanted some so he made more. It became too much so his wife spun off a company.

He feels simulations can't replace the hands-on experience. He views kitchen chemistry as too basic. His kits have all the necessary tools and chemicals for the labs. He uses small-scale chemistry where there's small quantities of of chemicals (pipets) and reactions happen in small wells instead of beakers. Some chemicals are single-use in pipets or multi-use in dropper bottles.

In a ntushell: nice lab kits, why do I wind up at these company presentations?

Friday, 8:00: Keynote - Dr Chris Dede, Distributed learning communities as a model for online education

Need his PPT. He presented some inspiring views on the future of learning communities with virtual environments and embedded technology. He noted some virtual environments that lend themselves towards education uses. I didn't take notes, just watched closely. Quite good.

Friday, 10:00: The American Council on Education looks at quality in DE

http://www.acenet.edu/clll/dist_learning/dl_principlesIntro.cfm

What is ACE?

• focuses on content of courses
• recommends transfer credit, does not accredit
• 1200 participating schools
• put value on experience or non-traditional course experiences

Guiding principles, not surprising

• Learning Design: Distance learning activities are designed to fit the specific context for learning.
• Learner Support: Distance learning opportunities are effectively supported for learners through fully accessible modes of delivery and resources.
• Organizational Commitment: Distance learning initiatives must be backed by an organizational commitment to quality and effectiveness in all aspects of the learning environment.
• Learning Outcomes: Distance learning programs organize learning around demonstrable learning outcomes, assist the learner to achieve these outcomes, and assess learner progress by reference to these outcomes.
• Technology: The provider has a plan and infrastructure for using technology that supports its learning goals and activities.

In a nutshell: yet another set of guiding principles

Friday, 11:00: Strategies and techniques for supporting faculty working with online courses

http://vudat.msu.edu/presentations/disted04

Their vuDAT support model works nicely in a large University like MSU. Hard to apply to a college. But having a defined process for taking a course online would help keep expectations in check. Their philopsophy of minimalist tutoring of faculty is smart.

In a nutshell: a big school solution

Friday, 1:00: The Iowa hybrid - the best of learning environments

Program for elementary/middle/high school principals. Typically older adults and not tech-savvy.

In the past they used ICN (Iowa Communication Network) video -- 1-way TV, 2-way audio. It's aging, expensive, and a passive environment.

Switch to Hybrid

• first orientation contact - email, phone, f2f, to get them started with tech
• first class meeting is all day Saturday, f2f, at ISU
  • spend about half getting used to WebCT, team building exercises
• last class meeting same format, wrap-up of experience
• WebCT in between
  • post assignments in bb for all to comment
  • respond to assignments
  • ask questions
  • share external/personal info/experiences
  • get course materials
• WebCT class
  • open 1 month after course ends
  • for grades
  • to share the practice/application of learning

10 strategies

1. be proactive in dealing w/technophobia of adult learners
   1. help before first class
2. Help adults expand understanding and use of technology as a tool for learning
3. Build a learning commuinicty by humanizing the experience
   1. bb intro assignment
   2. f2f meeting most of community building
   3. network of professionals
   4. assignments are real case studies from students
   5. the little things count
4. Encourage and promote 5-way interaction
   1. learners <-> content
   2. learners <-> instructor
   3. learners <-> technology
   4. learners <-> other learners
   5. learners <-> world/context
5. promote interdependence and cooperation among learners
   1. group assignments
6. facilitating and grading adult learners
   1. one size does not fit all
   2. options in assignments, relevance
   3. non-linear course, adults making many decisions
   4. makes each course unique and a lot of work for instructor
7. individualizing assignments to meet the unique needs of adults
   1. find out their backgrounds and interests
8. identifying resources to assist in continued (after the course) learning of adults
9. providing added value
   1. personal
   2. shharing resources
10. provide timely and meaningful feedback
    1. clear expectations

In a nutshell: interesting model for their situation, good for similar professional programs?

Friday, 2:00: Adventures in an online chemistry course - with labs!

Took a non-major intro chem course and took it online and designed their own lab kits. They used the Virtual Classroom in Blackboard very effectively with the whiteboard for chemical drawings (virtual office hours). Stressed pre-lab safety with digital signature ackowledging safety and risks for each lab before they can do it. Tried to design course "flow" through week. Did a lot of community building with digital photos and humor (mad scientist photo contest). Timed, online, unproctored exams/quizzes.

I requested guest access to their D2L course (they moved it from Bb to D2L).

In a nutshell: homegrown solution to online lab chemistry