Distance Delivered Courses and the

University Professor

Mark Hawkes, Dakota State University

July 15, 2003

Nova Southeastern University . . . “Trends and Issues in Instructional Technology and Distance Education”

Presentation Purpose

Distance delivered coursework has significantly changed the scope and nature of the university professor’s work. This presentation will identify several considerations to be made by the distance instructor, giving emphasis to the methodological and pedagogical shifts required of online teaching.

How does this affect me?

Promotion and Tenure

Teaching Load Pay Personal Capacity Institutional Capacity Teaching and

Instruction

DSU’s MS in Educational Technology 36 Cr. Hr./Portfolio Review Consistency between program goals and the state-

wide initiatives Specializations: Tech Systems/Distance Education Predominantly web-based delivery Multi-delivery methods Client: teachers, teacher developers, trainers,

technology coordinators, higher ed., etc.

Typical Problems in Online Courses Facilitating and encouraging collaboration Time management Student proficiency with course tools Ambiguous directions Timeliness of feedback

Faculty Instructional Roles

Traditional Subject matter expert Instructional Design

and Delivery Motivation Assessment

Online Web Development Discourse Moderator Technologist Technical Support

Agent Formative Evaluator

Instructor Roles:ID . . . Client Centered Learning objectives as tied to state and national

learning standards Situation based design Motivation: Learning vs. Performance Goals Encourage self and group reflection on

professional practice Tightly linked to the K-12 curriculum design

process

Instructor Roles:ID . . . Client Centered Tendency toward world related and flexible

sequencing Instructional strategies incorporate

real-world/engaged learning activities Emphasize group work collaboration Immersed in the language, context, and policy

of K-12 schools Discourse and interaction focused

Instructor Roles:

Assessment Growing role of assessment as a design

feedback mechanism Performance assessments Quantifying participation

Instructor Roles:

Web Developer Visual Design Tasks

Visualization tools to improve the comprehensibility of ideas

Consumer friendly page design Media only when it directly contributes to key

ideas of the instruction Multimedia

Instructor Roles:

Web Developer User Interface Design

Minimum depth access to information Usability focused Functionality Design for device diversity

(desktops, TV, handhelds) Accommodate and supports

user-controlled navigation

Instructor Roles:Discourse Moderator/Motivator Announcements Email Discussion Board

(asynchronous) Synchronous text chat Desktop Video File Loading Room-based Video

Instructor Roles:

Technologist Web Chat (archiving, managing users, attaching

files) Editing sound (wav.) files NetMeeting/CU-See Me Video Conferencing Stream Real Video from Web Server Accessing free scripting code and programs

Instructor Roles:

Technical Support Agent

On Demand Assistance Real Video Information—Real Server Downloading files from the Internet Dial-Up access to University network Diagnosing computing requirements

(operating system, processing power, memory, drives, display, etc.)

Burning information/assignments onto a CD Changing a file to a MIME format

Instructor Roles:

Formative Evaluator Multi-sourced data (students, server log files,

etc) Internal and external sources Performance based data Comparison and criterion based

Student Course Ratings

3.16

3.26

3.27

3.29

3.32

3.32

3.42

3.45

3.45

1 2 3 4

1

1=Strongly Disagree; 4=Strongly Agree

The instructor wasaccessible

The instructor wasresponsive

Course was relevant todegree

Communicationtechnologies were effective

Course activities wereapplicable

Ample opportunity fordiscussion

Course format appropriatefor content

I enjoyed the course

Confident in conductingdesign

Helpfulness of Technology

3.13

3.19

3.52

3.58

3.61

3.74

1 2 3 4

1

1=Not at all helpful; 4=Very helpful

Personal communicationwith classmates orinstructor

Informational course emails

Electronic chat sessionswith instructor

Electronic chat sessionswith classmates

Course readings on website

Course texts

The breadth of this course was:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not nearly enough The right amount Way too much

Compared to a traditional course

1 2 3 4 5 6 7A much narrower range About the same range A much wider range ofof material was covered of material was covered material was covered

Online: 4.61Compared to traditional 4.65 n=32

The depth of this course was:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not nearly enough The right amount Way too much

Compared to a traditional course

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Material was covered in Material was covered in Material was covered in much less depth about the same depth much more depth

Online: 4.48Compared to traditional 4.42 n=32

The extent of critical thinking required:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not nearly enough The right amount Way too much

Compared to a traditional course

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Much less About the same Much more

Online: 4.61Compared to traditional 4.94 n=32

The amount of effort put into the course:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Much less About the same Much more

Compared to a traditional course

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Much less About the same Much more

Online: 5.65Compared to traditional: 5.26 n=32

How to Design and Effective Online Course?

Follow basic ID principals Build a climate of disclosure and full

participation Institute informal student evaluation and check-

in mechanisms Active and intensive instructor participation Build in as much interactivity as possible Create visually interesting screens/pages Ensure instructions are very clear

Summary Two-days with CMS won’t make distance

educators out of faculty Pedagogical shift in ID protocol ensures

effective learning Main contributions are in instructor contact,

feedback and participation Multi-mode interaction is critical A contingency plan for every element is required