The Changing Role of Faculty in Web-Based Teaching and Learning Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D. Office of Distance Education and Lifelong Learning Presentation for MEITAL Annual Conference Technion, 12 February 2002 Fulbright Senior Specialist Program

The Technological Revolution in Higher Education It’s not the Technology: It’s the PEDAGOGY OLD:Faculty  Student NEW:Faculty  Student Student

Challenges for Faculty Institutional Impact Strategies for Change The New Role of Faculty The Technological Revolution in Higher Education

Online Options Course Options –web-enhanced –web-integrated –totally online Student/Faculty Options –one mode only –combinations

UMUC Mission to serve adult, part-time students 79,000 students worldwide; 226,000 total enrollments annually (FY 2001) 63% enrollments are online 1,717 Faculty worldwide: 27% Full Time; 73% Part Time Offers full degree programs online, not just courses

Online Degree Programs UMUC GRADUATE: 15 Degree programs with 19 specialty tracks UMUC UNDERGRADUATE: Bachelor’s Degree with a major in 15 programs; minor in 14 programs.

Challenges for Faculty Changing roles and pedagogy Process of teaching online Assessing learning and identifying outcomes Advising students Faculty time, compensation, support Privacy

Changing Roles and Pedagogy Instructor  Facilitator Online teaching  F2F teaching Increased communication channels –Facilitates student collaboration, faculty contacts Interaction is the key!

A Variety of Online Resources

Process of Teaching Online (Long) lecture notes online? NO! Emphasis on written communications (so far) Need to plan ahead/be organized before the 1st class Chunking materials; using technology that supports learning Remember-Now there is a transcript of the entire course

Technical + content expertise often expected Need 24/7 support Technological triad (telephone, fax, ) Staying calm when all others are in a virtual frenzy  have a “plan B” list Process of Teaching Online (cont)

Assessing Learning How do we know learning is occurring? Documentation/measurement “Primary focus” on students U.S. Dept of Education Demonstration Project: Five year study, by 35 institutions of online and F2F learners

Advising Students Clarify expectations - –often more work; technological fluency assumed Use of digital resources expected The written word is KEY (now) Time flexibility vs. structure Drop in/Drop out? NO! Ongoing Interaction Expected

Faculty “Time” and Compensation Does online teaching take longer than F2F? Compensation: $, release time, grants Inducements/penalties for participation Disciplinary differences UMUC Study

Intellectual Property and Copyright Who owns the course? –(UMUC) National Study umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/survey_news.html Fair use Plagiarism umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/links_plagiarism.html Copyright and course materials

Privacy Class confidentiality Online guests Observers, shadowing, administration access Academic freedom implications -- “chilling effect?”

Institutional Impact Library resources Course materials 24/7 IT Support Instructional design support Advisement Online The “Spill-Over” Effect * Online services initially provided for distance students, now demanded by everyone

Institutional Impact UMUC offers over 100 databases-free to students, faculty worldwide E-reserves in the online class 24/7 librarian help Required library resources course/tutorial for all students and new faculty Faculty workshops online: plagiarism detection; use of resources, developing interaction Faculty resources and plagiarism guides Library and Information Resources

Institutional Impact: Application Registration/drop-add –long term class schedules Grade Reports Book purchases Tuition Online Administrative Services The Spill -Over Effect

Cost Issues How are online costs calculated? Going beyond course development Costing the “Spill-Over” Effect

“The Irreversible Transformation of Higher Education” Provide Faculty Development Training Support Faculty e-learning activities Provide Online Resources Provide Information Resources Support Collaborative Ventures Conduct Ongoing Assessment Develop Rewards Strategies

New faculty orientation Faculty development workshops Online training about distance teaching pedagogy and strategies Peer Mentoring Program UMUC Faculty

Provide Faculty Support “Pedagogical consciousness sustainable change” 1 Design and IT assistance for departments Develop “Low Threshold Applications” 1(LTAS) Peer visits-mentor support at UMUC Bi-annual divisional faculty meetings at UMUC 1 S. Gilbert “A Widening Gap” Syllabus (August 2000) pp 18-19

Provide Resources Web and Multi-media Discussion/conferencing Texts and articles Information resources Strong digital library assistance Personal library assistance: online, by phone Electronic ordering and e-reserves UMUC has home delivery of books in USA E-reserves/ejournals/e-books

Support Collaborative Ventures Global Networks; local linkages Individual, disciplinary relationships Learning communities

Conduct Ongoing Assessment Develop a “culture” of assessment During a course change Formative; evaluative Learning styles

Plan Ahead $ Identify Costs Develop a (business!!) plan Identify new financial resources Develop alternatives

Develop Rewards and Recognition Release Time Grants Instructional design assistance Technical Assistance Smaller class size Visibility Training Opportunities For Faculty

Where the distance between the dream of an education and the reality… Is as close as your modem UMUC

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