Rutgers University CEUTT Project Principle Investigator, Gary A. Gigliotti –Director, Teaching Excellence Center and Professor of Economics Learning Outcomes Assessment: Angela O’Donnell –Professor of Educational Psychology Cost Assessment: Theodore Hollander, –Professor of Accounting

Instructional Technology Initiative Five projects funded in first year: –Life Science Virtual lab –Geography virtual lab –Communications web based course –Spanish web based course –Engineering web based courses

Instructional Technology Initiative Five new projects in second year –Human genetics online tutorial –Habitat project in School of Communications –Music online tutorial –Mathematics online instruction –Online language instruction

Learning Outcomes Changes in Course Delivery Student Use Students’ Attitudes towards Technology Students’ Attitudes towards Courses Student Learning of Course Content Co-curricular knowledge

Cost analysis One-time costs of design and implementation Operating costs per term Maintenance and redevelopment costs Infrastructure redesign costs

Example 1: Geography Course delivery in 3 introductory Courses was changed significantly (total n = 950) Students were required to complete online labs as part of course requirements Students were positive about their use of the labs and rated the course quality positively in 2 of the 3 courses. There were gender differences in attitudes towards the use of the technology with men expressing more positive attitudes than women

Geography (continued) Students who accessed the labs early had higher grades in the courses Students who were already comfortable with the use of technology signed on earlier Scores on online labs were significantly related to final grade Students reported they improved their computer skills and use of technology

Example 2: Communications The course was delivered differently with students participating in online groups and completing exercises online Students reported having little difficulty in accessing the site or using the exercises Students were generally positive about their experiences Students reported feeling less anonymous in the class as a result of the online groups

Communications (continued) Students in web-enhanced courses had slightly higher grades in the courses than when the same instructors taught the course without such enhancements 43% of students in one class reported that the exercises increased their understanding and interest in class material

Continuations Analysis of remaining projects Completing analyses of qualitative data Linking usage to outcomes Ruling out alternative explanations Comparative cost studies