1. Northwest Missouri State University 1 Institutional Support for the Development of Web-Based Courses Dr. Roger Von Holzen Director--Center for Information Technology in Education

2. Northwest Missouri State University 2 Old Dogs New Tricks H The Fear Factor –Colleges and universities are fearful of losing student enrollment –Rushing to place curriculum materials out on the web –Announce to the world that they offer web- based courses H Old dogs--correspondence courses H New tricks--delivered on the web*

3. Northwest Missouri State University 3 Shifting the Paradigm H Center for Information Technology in Education –Strong support for faculty u Stipends u Hardware and software –Strong push to change the way of looking at teaching and learning*

4. Northwest Missouri State University 4 Historical Background H 1987 Northwest established its Electronic Campus –VAX network of terminals –Terminals located in every office and dorm room on campus H Faculty and student support provided through Computing Services H 1997 switched to desktop and notebook computers*

5. Northwest Missouri State University 5 CITE Faculty Support H Established in 1997 H Funded by the state H Initial focus on funding faculty efforts to modularize course materials –10% of faculty per year H Funding in the form of summer stipends –Target faculty in specific content areas –Generally 7.5% of contract salary –Is this wise? Are we paying faculty to do what they should already be doing*

6. Northwest Missouri State University 6 CITE Faculty Support H Conduct faculty training H Assist in the development of: –course web sites –web-based courses –CD-ROM-based learning materials H Select three departmental CITE FTE faculty positions –Provide release time for faculty*

7. Northwest Missouri State University 7 Software Standards H Designated software packages center would support –purchases –technical and training assistance H Financially can't support all software desires of faculty H Staff needs to have extensive knowledge of limited number of software packages in order to fully assist faculty*

8. Northwest Missouri State University 8 Hardware Support H CITE provides each Northwest faculty member with a notebook computer –two to three year rotation cycle –pecking order for receipt of new notebooks H Center retains "ownership" of hardware purchased for faculty –minimizes duplication of seldom-used hardware –maximizes array of hardware available for faculty use*

9. Northwest Missouri State University 9 H Director H Curriculum design specialist H Computer specialist H Student Help –Some funding designated for faculty stipends switched to student support for individual faculty members –Encourage department internships and independent study projects* CITE Staff

10. Northwest Missouri State University 1010 Ownership Policy H Ownership. If a faculty member receives University support (for example, CITE Fellowships, Culture of Quality grants, reassigned time) then the materials developed (for example, modular courses, musical scores, computer programs, course-related materials, books, curricular materials, photographs) will be considered to be jointly owned by Northwest and the faculty member. H Jointly owned means: u Both parties are entitled to utilize the materials and their derivatives. u Both parties retain copyright and physical ownership in the event the faculty member is no longer employed by the University. u Royalties from commercial sale and/or use of the materials and their derivatives will be split with the University receiving 50% and the faculty member(s) receiving 50%. H A faculty member has the option to negotiate an alternate agreement with the Provost’s office.*

11. Northwest Missouri State University 1 Course Management Software H Software that enables faculty to disseminate course materials online –No need to create course web pages H Communication resources –E-mail –Threaded discussions –Chat sessions H Online assessment –Quizzes and surveys –Gradebook*

12. Northwest Missouri State University 1212 Course Management Software H Comprehensive student tracking options H Digital dropbox H Tracking of access and usage H Major web-based course management software –WebCT –Blackboard’s CourseInfo –eCollege.com*

13. Northwest Missouri State University 1313 Northwest Online H The “virtual campus” for Northwest H Address: http://www.NorthwestOnline.org H Hosted by eCollege.com H Will have 30 classes online this fall *

14. Northwest Missouri State University 1414

15. 1515 CourseInfo H Supplemental course management software H $5,000 per year per server –Unlimited number of courses and students H Hosted by Northwest H Over 575 academic courses currently utilizing supplemental web resources H Approximately 1/2 of Northwest faculty involved*

16. Northwest Missouri State University 1616

17. 1717 One Step Back H First step toward the new gold standard –EXPECT STUDENTS TO READ THE COURSE TEXTBOOK! –All too often instructors simply rehash textbook materials in the lecture notes H Instructor no longer deliverer of course content (done by the textbook) –Online “lectures” should be used to: u Summarize course content u Explain in greater depth important, difficult course content*

18. Northwest Missouri State University 1818 Getting Started H Provide students with detailed instructions on how to get started in the course H Provide clear, intuitive site navigation H Provide detailed syllabus –Comprehensive schedule u Readings u Assignments u Discussion forum –Clear descriptions u Point distributions u Grading criteria--assignments and forum postings*

19. Northwest Missouri State University 1919 Getting Started H Logical organization of course content –By week –By module u Most flexible for courses offered over varying lengths of time: spring semester and summer H Timely feedback –Exams –Forum postings –E-mail*

20. Northwest Missouri State University 2020 Let Addison-Wesley Do the Work H Early in the process of establishing an online course, explore what supplemental materials the textbook publishers provide H Lower division courses: an array of materials H Often available for free or included with purchase of the textbook H Upper division courses may not have much available –Ask publisher if you can place materials on the web H Will need to develop materials with assistance from faculty technology center*

21. Northwest Missouri State University 2121 Two Steps Forward H Need to redesign course from the ground up –Can’t simply translate course from classroom to online environment –Need to employ the features of this new medium H Emphasis on active learning –Students work with the subject matter u Analyzing scenarios u Making choices u Creating answers u Evaluating each other’s work H Can easily incorporate existing digital materials such as PowerPoint presentations, Word handouts, maps, and pictures*

22. Northwest Missouri State University 2 Two Steps Forward H Instructor assumes the role of mentor to the students H Allows replacement of the traditional one-to-many classroom communication mode with one-to-one exchanges H Fear of e-mail overload? –Sign of poorly designed course –Attempt to anticipate questions during course design phase –Preempt with class-wide e-mail messages*

23. Northwest Missouri State University 2323 Course Development Efforts H Redirect effort from generating course lecture materials H Focus on the creation of tutorial modules H Modules –Short, very focused tutorials incorporating audio, video, text, animation –Concentrate on areas within the course content which students historically have had trouble –Use instructor's expertise, experience and talent in order to generate true "teaching" opportunities*

24. Northwest Missouri State University 2424 Tutorial Modules H Produced using PowerPoint, Macromedia Director, or Toolbook II software H Should incorporate extensive amount of interactivity –Self-paced –Allow interaction with examples and linked materials H Highlight critical content areas beyond the textbook or that reflect instructor's unique approach to the problem*

25. Northwest Missouri State University 2525 Beyond the Rhetoric H Need to move beyond the use of quizzes and tests as evaluation mechanisms H Use quizzes and tests as interactive mentoring opportunities –Enable students to evaluate their own progress through the course materials –Provide feedback on course content areas that need further enhancement and/or development*

26. Northwest Missouri State University 2626 Beyond the Rhetoric H Quizzes and tests should be viewed as means of promoting learning –Open book and extensive testing time H Evolution from seat-time/credit hours to outcomes-based education –Acknowledging present reality H Should be only a small component of the overall assessment strategy for the online course*

27. Northwest Missouri State University 2727 Key to Success H Strong support from the administration –Budget –Status of online faculty H Strong support from faculty –Interest in participating in projects H Rapid integration into university-wide initiatives*

28. Northwest Missouri State University 2828 Dr. Roger Von Holzen Northwest Missouri State University rvh@mail.nwmissouri.edu http://cite.nwmissouri.edu:2000/cite/presentations/