Connected Learning at SPU

The Good

The Bad

and the Pretty Ugly

(But Cost Effective and Scalable)

David Wicks, Seattle Pacific University

A Look Back

The good early decisions

The bad (Lessons learned)

The pretty ugly modules(but effective and scalable)

Background Spring 1998 - First online course – WebCT

Fall 1998 – Switched to Blackboard, used primarily for blended courses

Fall 1999 – Launched online masters in curriculum and instruction

Currently have:

30 online courses – 1 Degree, 2 Certifications 72 blended courses

Good early decisions: Part 1

Communicated a mission basis for the new program

Planned complete degree instead of piecemealing courses

Intentional about communication of welcome and community to online students

Good early decisions: Part 2 Purchased course management system that

supports both online and blended courses

Primary consideration - Ease of use

Set ambitious standards for minimum student technology specifications

Used existing degree and existing courses

Used regular face-to-face faculty to teach online courses

Good early decisions: Part 3 Invested in and focused on online

resources rather than traditional, library-bound materials

Used Helpdesk and Graduate Admissions as areas of advocacy on behalf of students

Persevered even when early numbers didn’t meet projections

Lessons learned: Part 1 Don’t send a large group of faculty to a

distance learning conference as a first step

Standardize course components wherever possible

Complete development of all static components prior to start of course

Student time on campus is a significant plus

Lessons learned: Part 2 Co-taught courses must be constructed carefully

to minimize confusion

Hybrid delivery is necessary even with an ambitious technology spec

Asynchronous discussion is the key component in most courses

Use “just in time” approach with technology when working with faculty on course development and instruction

Learning Framework

Lecture

Readings

Assessment

Discussions

Asynchronous

Synchronous

Summary

The Pretty Lectures

Created using Flash

Look good but very expensive

Flash 5 is supposed to be easier to use

Generator would allow data to be updated dynamically

The Pretty - Version 99

Table of contents

Back one segmentPause Play

Forward one

segment

Replay segment

The Pretty - Version 2000

Previous segment

Rewind a frame PausePlay

Forward a frame

Forward segmentReplay

Progress status bar

The Ugly

Created using Authorware

Can teach a student how to build a module in an hour

Can be used for both streaming and hybrid solutions

Interactivity within Authorware is scaleable

The Ugly – Version 2000Recent PagesFind

First PagePrevious

Page

Next Page

Last Page

Presentation Creation Steps Instructor creates storyboards in PowerPoint Use “Send to Word” to get RTF Records audio Load audio into SoundForge and chop Convert audio into .swa files within Authorware Import RTF into Authorware template Add graphics and audio Package for Web Package for CD Test Load in course Ship CD

Quick Resources Teaching at an Internet Distance: the Pedagogy of Online Teaching and

Learning, A Report of a 1998-1999 University of Illinois Faculty Seminar

What’s the Difference? A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Higher Education, The Institute for Higher Education Policy

Quality On The Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-based Distance Education, The Institute for Higher Education Policy

Ownership of New Works at the University: Unbundling of Rights and the Pursuit of Higher Learning, Consortium of Educational Technology for University Systems

(Go to www.spu.edu/~dwicks for direct links to these documents)