Development of an Integrated Local/Distant Mathematics Instruction Program: A Progress Report Paul Eakin Department of Mathematics University of Kentucky

Local Instruction 4 traditional, regularly scheduled, on-campus instruction

Distant Instruction: 4 Formal instruction in which student participation is substantially independent of time and location

4 Traditional format is as good as it gets in terms of cost of instruction and quality of experience. – serves as standard to measure success with DL Our Experience and Basic Premise

Development Strategy Distance learning and on-campus, technology enhanced instruction are both based on the same technology. A successful

What Technology Brings to DL 4 Efficiency 4 Convenience 4 Economies of Scale 4 Flexibility These are all things that one would hope to apply to on-campus instruction as well

DL Development Strategy 4 Develop on-campus versions of courses which employ the distance learning tools and techniques intended for distance learning 4 Permits development with “safety net” 4 Provides reference frame for comparison

Standard for Effectiveness: 4 By conventional academic measures on- campus versions of courses which employ distance learning technology and methodology should provide a fully comparable educational experience to on- campus versions of the same course which do not employ these tools. 4 If you can’t make it work on campus you have no hope of making it work off- campus.

Worked with same course for a number of years 4 Added new components incrementally –html (free) text ( AY 1996) –computer laboratory exercises (AY 96) –web-based homework system (Spring 1999) –on-demand lectures on the web (Fall 1998) –text materials and lectures on CD (Fall 1999)

Briefly Discuss Current Version and the current format of each of the previous features

The Basic Course: Ma semester hour intro calculus course 4 General studies course 4 Approx 1200 students per semester in sections of about 35 first-day enrollment 4 Course generally not considered a success –high dropout (over 30%) –poorly prepared students –low student/faculty satisfaction

Ma123: Fall “traditional sections” –(xxx students) –sections of about 30 –taught by xxx GTA’s, PTI’s, and Faculty 4 7 experimental sections – (yyy students) –sections of about 30 –taught by 2 faculty and 2 GTA’s

Format: Traditional 4 Standard text 4 undergraduates employed as homework graders 4 3 (uniform) midterm examinations plus final 4 class meets three hours per week of formal lecture by instructor

Development (experimental) course 4 web-based homework system 4 formal lectures on Internet and CD 4 class time (3 hrs per week) used for recitation, collaborative work, ad hoc lectures at instructor’s instruction 4 3 (uniform) midterm examinations plus final

Description of WQS 4 Server-based system –materials prepared in html format –data files (controlled by instructor) format (picture) supports html cgi script uses it to build “on-the-fly” web pages –wqs-dirs file (controlled by instructor) used by system to build menu page for individual instructor

WQS text 4 Use of Maple and Perl Scripts (stages,directories) 4 Review materials 4 log files and data collection 4 currently returns answers –used for participation –interested only if worked with system not whether answers are right. 4 links, chats, FAQ,

WQS Video 4 Materials prepared by faculty 4 conversion to ASF and formatted by grad students and staff 4 lectures by faculty and graduate students 4 separate video (original system) 4 merged text/video (latest system) (pictures)

WQS CD 4 Natural corollary of HTML format –easily made, cheap 4 Originated through necessity 4 Strongly favored by upper-level students 4 Not used by lower

Student Access terminals on campus + high speed net 4 Problems guaranteeing viewers, access 4 High speed dorm net (cable) –most 123 live on campus 4 Most 322 live off -campus 4 Lab picture 4 Note was able to view in daughter’s dorm room at IU 4 off-campus students immediately wanted access - CD works beautifully

Current Results: 4 Quite comparable 4 first test disaster (review of algebra) –immature 4 Second test very high grades (80%+ average) 4 High level of acceptance of text/hw 4 weaker students have lot of trouble with video-based lectures (compliance) 4 Strong correlation scores/attendance

This is an interim report on: 4 Our efforts to develop such a methodology –design philosophy –physical infrastructure –staff infrastructure 4 Initial attempt at developing a “local, local/distant” version of an extant course

Search for “distant” metaphors for common course features: 4 Classroom 4 Office hours 4 tests 4 text 4 handout 4 lecture 4 etc.

Basic On-campus Prototype: the large lectured course with recitation sections 4 Large lecture analogous to remotely delivered lectures 4 small recitation sections analogous to small groups of remote students 4 coordination of sections analogous to coordination problems for numerous remote students 4 Employment of teaching assistants to leverage faculty time well understood

Pictures: 4 Large section (entertainment) 4 recitation section (service) 4 office hours (service)

First Step: Model large section lecture format in manner that: 4 Is Systematic, 4 Conserves Faculty Resources, 4 Is placed in course context which provides comparable experience, value to on-campus student, 4 Can serve as analogous component of distance learning version of course, 4 On-campus use will thoroughly test effectiveness as lecture component for DL

Original Lecture Model: 4 Identify regularly scheduled class and move it to ITV classroom and record them as they are given to in-class students. 4 Provide lectures to distant student by tape, web, direct tv, etc. 4 Viable for expository material – including mathematics for sophisticated audience –restricted viewing surface –slow pace because of time for calculations

Original Model (cont.) –High information rate of prepared lectures (no “pause” or “rewind” button for in-class students) –technical problems can necessitate re-doing some material (includes simple restarts) * disquieting for in-class students

Lecture Preparation (Current Model) : 4 Faculty prepare lectures in advance and record them in studio setting –students welcome to addend (they don’t) 4 Staff edit recorded material into web-based video lectures with integrated web pages based on faculty “notes” for lectures –Maple worksheets, Power Point slides, etc.

Lecture Deliver : Fall Students view lectures on Web –Available asynchronously –Currently in MS ASF format (free viewer available) –500K data rate limits video access to campus LAN – Random access limits number of concurrent users to net capacity 4 Class time spent in recitation format

Next Step: 4 Model office hours –scheduled appointment format –Individual student, small group ( 1 to 3) – use conferencing software 4 Model open office hours “help desk” –open access –use conferencing software

This suggested that: 4 It is possible to unify the lectures for in- class and distance students, providing them to the local students in real time and the distant student by transcription.  By identity of instructional and DL technology it is feasible to project course services as well as information transfer beyond the campus

In -class faculty lectures recorded Lectures viewed by distant students local global picture

Project Goals 4 Ultimate goal of project 4 Relationship to other projects 4 High-level timing goals

Description 4 Describe the project in non-technical terms 4 Use following slides for discussing status, schedules, budget, etc. List location or contact for specification (or other related documents) here FOR MORE INFO...

Competitive Analysis 4 Competitors –(you may want to allocate one slide per competitor) 4 Strengths –your strengths relative to competitors 4 Weaknesses –your weaknesses relative to competitor

Competitive Analysis, cont. 4 Competitors 4 Strengths 4 Weaknesses List location or contact for competitive analysis (or other related documents) here FOR MORE INFO...

Technology 4 New technology being used –benefits 4 Standards being adopted –benefits 4 Standards specifically being ignored –drawbacks & benefits DYA: define your acronyms!

Team/Resources 4 State assumptions about resources allocated to this project –people –equipment –locations –support & outside services –manufacturing –sales

Procedures 4 Highlight any procedural differences from regular projects of this type 4 Discuss requirements, benefits, and issues of using new procedures List location or contact for procedures document (or other related documents) here FOR MORE INFO...

Schedule 4 Review high-level schedule milestones here List location or contact for detailed schedule (or other related documents) here FOR MORE INFO...

Current Status 4 High-level overview of progress against schedule –On-track in what areas –Behind in what areas –Ahead in what areas 4 Unexpected delays or issues

Related Documents 4 marketing plan –location or contact name/phone 4 budget –location or contact name/phone 4 post mortem –location or contact name/phone 4 submit questions –location or contact name/phone