Academic and Clinical Exchanges 2001 CAPCSD Conference Considerations in offering on-line instruction Robert Allen Fox The Ohio State University

General Issues in Considering On-Line Instruction Prerequisites Audience Instructors Course Costs Funding Sources Consideration of advantages and disadvantages in making decision to offer course(s) Creation of Course Given program’s resources, decisions must be about the nature of instructional methodology to be used (format, communication, resource availability, student assessment/testing)

Audiences for On-line Instruction Students within your current graduate or undergraduate programs Non-traditional students (e.g. Part-time students) Students in special programs (e.g., Ohio’s OMNIE program) Students in other graduate programs (as part of “resource sharing” program) Prospective graduate students needing prerequisites for grad program Professionals needing CEU course credit

On-line Course Instructors Department’s current faculty and staff Adjunct faculty and staff (at Ohio State, this includes research faculty at Cleveland Clinic) Guest instructors from other universities, hospitals, research institutes, or from the community Graduate teaching associates

Course Costs Instructor costs (adjunct salaries, summer salaries, overload payments) Salaries for technicians/contract programmers Equipment purchases (e.g., computers, video equipment, mimio system) Classroom/recording facilities (e.g., Internet connections, satellite links, multimedia classrooms) Advertising; non-traditional registrations

Funding Sources University funds (general operating budget, special closed-course funds, development funds) Direct tuition support (availability varies from university to university) Grants (federal, state, private); development funds Fees for short-term courses (using CEU model)

Advantages to On-line Instruction Expands/elaborates course content compared to traditional lecture format Provides a virtual increase in the size of the department course offerings (and faculty) at relatively low costs (e.g., no additional faculty lines needed) Allows development of self-pace, free-standing courses that might avoid normal scheduling constraints (days-of-the-week and times)

Disadvantages to On-line Instruction More technically demanding (for instructor and facility) than traditional lecture courses Adequate course development requires consider faculty time (who supports this?) Some content may be difficult to provide (anatomy/physiology labs; ABR labs) Faculty reluctance to innovate Student concern/unease Institutional inertia

Components to Consider When Developing On-line Course Content presentation format to be used Establishment of reliable communication link(s) between instructor and students Facilitation of communication among students Distribution of required readings Testing (exams and quizzes) Student presentations

1. Content Presentation Format audio-only (audiotapes, teleconferencing) video (videotapes, closed-circuit TV) internet resources/programs (established web pages, courseware such as WebCT, streaming video over internet) combination of all of the above (choice based on resources available to instructor and student) There are advantages and disadvantages to each

Content Presentation Format: 1a. Audio-only Presentation Advantages Low cost Easily available “Low tech” Similar to traditional lecture format Disadvantages No on-line visuals Limited student feedback High cost of long- distance calls Handouts provided separately

Content Presentation Format: 1b. Videotape/TV Presentations Advantages Students need access to TV and/or VCR only “Low tech” Similar to traditional lecture format Videotapes provide for scheduling flexibility Disadvantages May be higher cost to Univ. (Requiring more production resources) Videotapes must be provided to students Handouts needed Limited student feedback

Content Presentation Format: 1c. Internet Presentations Advantages Scheduling flexibility Multimedia content Material can be down- loaded Programmed demos Quick student feedback Readings available on- line Disadvantages Requires computer and fast internet connection Technical demands made of instructor/developer High quality video requires more resources

Three Examples of On-line Instruction at Ohio State WebCT-enhanced course with traditional face-to- face lectures (with both instructor and students at Ohio State) WebCT distance-learning course with videotaped lectures and an internet site (State of Ohio OMNIE program; instructor located at Ohio State, students located throughout Ohio) WebCT distance-learning course with speaker- phone and Polycom camera (course taught at Ohio State by instructors located at Cleveland Clinic)

Bioacoustics Traditional Lecture Course with Web- Enhancement Required undergraduate course Instructors provides lectures and there is a recitation section Notes and links to useful sites are made available through the web (demonstrations of acoustic principles available) A set of class exercises available only through the web

Multicultural Variation in Communication and Its Disorders A Distance-Learning Course Required Graduate course for OMNIE program All lectures provided on videotape Class notes and links to useful sites are made available through the web Quizzes done through the web All readings available on the web (except txtbook) Use of Chat rooms for projects and questions One face-to-face meeting during quarter

Adult Hearing Disorders II and III A Distance-Learning Course Required course for regular audiology program All lectures live provided through internet or telephone conferencing with internet site Class notes and links to useful sites are made available through the web All readings available on the web (except textbook) No face-to-face meetings during quarter Uses a GTA for miscellaneous task on campus

Demonstration of Internet Site (WebCT) for Multicultural Course Access to syllabus, course notes, and calendar Instructor-student and student-student communication Access to reserve desk and readings Topic/Class notes Available Glossary On-line Quizzes

Home Page

Calendar

Communications

Chat Rooms

On-Line Reserve Desk

On-Line Articles Available for Download

Course Content Pages

Topic Notes

Glossary Available

On-Line Quizzes

Sample Quiz

Summary On-line courses offer many advantages and certainly represents part of our discipline’s future But offering such courses represents a serious commitment of time, money, and department resources Know your needs and make your expectations reasonable--make wise choices Planning is very important--a poorly developed, poorly advertised, and/or technically weak course will not be an advantage to your department