Developing online degree programs

Online Education at SC&IWhere are we going and why?

Im going to give you a brief overview of what online education is (define terms); what we currently have and what it looks like; and then discuss why this is so important and what is right around the corner.Situate them what is it, what does it look like at SC&I, how do we talk about it; why is this important; and where are we going

1The Odyssey: Are we there yet

Online education has its roots in what we used to call distance education this has existed in various forms such as correspondence courses, satellite TV courses, courses on DVD, etc. But very quickly it became clear that online education was about closing distance and then about redefining space, environments, and context entirely. What do I mean? Refer people to the definitions sheet2The Ecosystem: a vision

Courses online: brings a layer of complication because normal university support has to be mediated. Programs online: an entirely different magnitude of complexity it becomes an ecosystem. What it means for SC&I impact on advising, business management, payroll, and student life services

Opportunities:Student learning objects students showing each other the waye-portfolioscapture content so that we better learn across time (if something works really well, we know it, etc.)Example of impact on MLIS program:Now equal numbers of online and on campus students approx. 200 in each groupHad to confront curriculum issues that had been hidden course coordinators; regular updates to courses; parity across course sections; Reshaped orientation

3The Ecosystem: your Deans vision

Growth means this becomes part of the school culture and future.4Yogis Choice

Learners are more important: can review lectures, notes, screencasts, etc. as many times as needed at times and places convenient for that persons schedule (aging parents, young children, job stress); can contribute in ways that are meaningful to them and can teach each other and we can use some of their work to teach in future courses. Everyone participates or else they dont show up online. Everyone gets a voice consistently.

Cloud computing being able to access what you need from any place, any time, and with minimal equipmentThis frees up instructors to travel to conferences or be semi-retired or be on a Fulbright for a semester. This frees up students to join our program from anywhere in the world. We can bring in guest lecturers from anywhere. We can automate communication, and we provide 24/7 materials and guides, forms, and processes so that people arent waiting for when things are convenient for us.

Students lives are complex such that even students who are technically on campus are demanding online courses or hybrid courses.5Irony, much?

Concerns that online ed isnt the same value as online? Online education isnt for everyone, but we can safely say that campus ed isnt for everyone with the increasing numbers of people not finishing bachelors degrees.

Challenges: misconceptions and myths about the difficulty of teaching and learning online;Rapid diffusion of online ed tech (wikis, blogs, creation of videos, e-readers, etc.)Integrating online and campus student and instructor supportFair use issues, copyright

6Flexible packaging

With reuseable digital learning objects, we can see more and do more

Build it once and can use it for a number of times without major updates. We can bundle things together or we can unbundle things into smaller parts and use those. Example students who arent sure they want a Masters degree yet take non-degree courses, or webinars, or workshops online and get comfortable and excited and perhaps earn a credential. They then take Masters degree. After they graduate they come back in a few years to take courses that update their skills or help them as they move up the professional ladder. Students also realize the overlap among programs like MLIS and MCIS, or MLIS and PhD and consider those courses and programs, too. Because we can be explicit about our content; because we can show examples of student work and progress and achievements; and because we have 24/7 materials that show, tell, and entertain regarding our mission, program details, program outcomes, and student profiles we can work with students even while we sleep.

We can start new programs and offerings faster and be more responsive to the needs of our alumni, community, workforce partners.7Where are we going?

Fail without fear because its not a one-shot proposition, you can re-do, refine, try things out more often and get deeper feedbackGood for the environmentAccess to more talent and more great studentsVisual language as well as text show Kaplan Second Life example and maybe gaming course on You Tube

Games content is delivered as part of an engaging narrative and set of exercises and tests and activities that are fun and that allow you to keep trying until you move to the next levelContinuously learning and brushing up is fast and easy Kahn AcademyWe are going to face a new set of realities in virtual worlds that allow us to build impossible things, model how things could be, experiment in new ways, test hypotheses safely, and more. We need to get used to communicating out of physical space and time.

Online students shouldnt be an afterthought, but should be leading the way in helping SC&I get more involved in online communities, defining user needs, technology needs, keeping us aware of trends, and more.

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