1. Designing Blended Degree Programs: Theoretical Assumptions and Practical Experience Jay Halfond, Tanya Zlateva, Leo Burstein The 15th Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning October, 2009

2. Outline 1.BU History of Blended Learning 2.Definitions and Perspectives 3.Value Proposition 4.Building Blocks 5.Technology Overview 6.Future of Blended Learning 7.Q & A © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 20092

3. BU History of Blended Learning Large online operation -more than 20 grad & undergrad degree programs + -10+ years history -student population ~ 5,000 Blended (eLive) program -Two years old -Leverages online and on-campus experience Initially struggled with definition of “blended learning” © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College Promise of blended learning – creating a better package October 20093

4. Definitions of Blended – It All Depends Definitions based on allocating percentages “Blended programs are programs where 30 to 79% of content is delivered online, while in on-campus programs all content is delivered in writing or orally”. Definitions based on allocating time “Blended courses are courses with reduced contact hours.” Definitions using dichotomies based on: educational technologies, physical proximity, content media, learning objectives, pedagogical theories, etc. No universally accepted practical definitions! © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 20094

5. Blended from School Administrators’ Perspective © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College DistanceBlended LearningClassroom National & International coverage Regional reach; other opportunities depending on program design Requires local residency Designed for self- learners who prefer flexible schedule Good fit for students who are working professionals who appreciate flexibility Designed for students who prefer F2F interactions Proven business model with high scalability Attract distinguished non-local faculty Marketing partnerships Defensive strategy against local competitors; Innovation while maintaining school brand Opportunity to increase faculty efficiency with reduced contact hours (???), reusable online content, recordings, etc. Challenging business model, with initial investment and associated risks, complex implementation framework (Khan’s Octagonal). October 20095

6. Blended from Faculty Perspective © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College DistanceBlended LearningClassroom Typically large classes More work; significant out-of-classroom participation; online office hours (time and technology aspects). Typically smaller classes Online content development Develop online content AND new classroom activities (students come prepared) "Death by PowerPoint" Working with IDsSmaller (comparing to DE) classes “Easy to follow-up on absences” Indirect interactions guiding TAs Choice of teaching modalities, e.g. combining spontaneous classroom and in-depth online discussions Directions not always clear Increased opportunity to explore (distributed) teamwork, real-life projects, decision making. October 20096

7. Business World Realities Jr. Programmer, Jr. Analyst, Jr. Researcher Sr. Programmer, Consultant, Project Lead, Subject Matter Expert Manager, Director MS Degree + Practical Skills (Certificates) MS Degree + Practical Skills + Core Business Competencies © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 20097

8. Information Age Realities © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College Fish Teach how to fish Teach how to learn to fish October 20098

9. Blended Learning - The Students’ Perspective October 2009© 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College9 Blended Learning – Student View By Leo Burstein Academic Foundation Practical Skills Business Competencies

10. REASON FOR EXISTENCE – “Exceeding Comparability” Empower Teachers:  enhance the variety of teaching approaches  design programs for multi-modal delivery  use multimedia and new collaboration technologies  streamline course logistics  create a sense of community for students and faculty o more than just making content available online; create new learning opportunities by combining classroom activities with independent study and working in virtual teams o optimal blend of online/classroom modules based on taxonomy of learning objectives (come prepared for F2F meetings!) © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200910

11. Exceeding Comparability (cont.) Broaden the Audience:  Increase student quality and diversity  Meet student expectations  Provide flexibility and choice - accommodate different lifestyles and personal preferences  Support for new communication paradigms - welcome “digital natives”)  Maintain workplace relevance © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200911

12. Instruments for Building an Effective Blended Program Structure Course materials, well defined activities, schedules, etc. Dialog f2f sessions, online discussions, video collaboration Impact Answer is an area and depends on student’s independent learning ability Moore’s TD Theory Maintain optimal “transactional distance” using both structure (CMS-supported) and dialog (both async and sync communications). 0 © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200912 F2F DE

13. Technology Landscape © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 2009 13 Learning Management Systems Blackboard Vista Course Info Angel Moodle Sakai Mobile Academy Learning Gateway … Multimedia Collaboration Discussions Blogs, Wikis SharePoint, Groove Webinars Video conferences Citrix/app sharing Social Networking Second Life Authoring MS Office Dreamweaver Expression Studio Google Tools Respondus Camtasia DRM PHP, Ajax … How do we know when students should construct a wiki entry rather than to have a virtual discussion or a face-to-face dialog? Video Flash Silverlight Animations Voiceovers Podcasting iTunesU iPOD, Zune, …

14. Technology Architecture October 2009© 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College14 Abstract vision … and the reality (over)

15. Technology Architecture (cont) © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200915

16. Technology Wish List - Low cost - match business model (open source is good, but remember TCO) - Ubiquitous - routine use to preserve cognitive focus for faculty & students - Supported - delivered through well defined services  You will know when you are successful! © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200916

17. Structure  Need more structure comparing to F2F  Use of CMS to structure content and deliverables – a must © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200917 You are successful if: - Faculty beyond CS department start using the system - No complaints about inability to change content in a timely manner 

18. Dialog  Need more dialog comparing to Distance programs (and “typical” f2f programs?!) - Introduce sync elements in off-campus weeks © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200918 You are successful when students start inviting others to listen to their presentations!  Use lecture/mini-lecture recording (async) – “frozen” dialog - useful to ensure flexibility, but split into modules - use appliances to minimize overhead 

19. Motivation for Using Video Collaboration Challenge: maintaining learning momentum and the connection with the students when off- campus (“an energy conduit”) Synchronous video conferencing closest to face-to-face communication © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College Pay close attention if you plan for international programs! October 200919 In addition to Moore, other researches indicate the importance of distance for communication in general and learning in particular and give indirect support for VC. Classic work by Tom Allen on communication patterns in the 1970s: frequency of communication diminishes with increased distance and that this holds true for all types of communication (phone and e-mail) important decisions tend to be made in face-to-face meetings

20. Video Collaboration Examples © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200920

21. Virtualization © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200921

22. Virtual Lab Example © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College Example: “online banking” scenario (simulation of a distributed computing environment in a Cryptography/PKI Lab, linking to crypto algorithms, network protocols and security models) October 200922

23. Business Aspects  Organizational placement: DE/CET/School, business ventures, serendipity.  Staffing with students: content development, administration, technology. Integration.  started out of necessity but observed great enthusiasm from students assisting with content and lab development. © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan CollegeOctober 200923

24. The King is Dead. Long Live the King!  Online banking and “blended” banks?  What is “flexibility”?  Our “blended” future October 2009© 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College24

25. Questions and Answers October 2009 © 2009 Boston University Metropolitan College 25