Connected Learning at SPU The Good The Bad and the Pretty Ugly (But Cost Effective and Scalable) David Wicks, Seattle Pacific University

A Look Back  The good early decisions  The bad (Lessons learned)  The pretty ugly modules (but effective and scalable)

Background  Spring First online course – WebCT  Fall 1998 – Switched to Blackboard, used primarily for blended courses  Fall 1999 – Launched online masters in curriculum and instruction  Currently have:  30 online courses – 1 Degree, 2 Certifications  72 blended courses

Good early decisions: Part 1  Communicated a mission basis for the new program  Planned complete degree instead of piecemealing courses  Intentional about communication of welcome and community to online students

Good early decisions: Part 2  Purchased course management system that supports both online and blended courses  Primary consideration - Ease of use  Set ambitious standards for minimum student technology specifications  Used existing degree and existing courses  Used regular face-to-face faculty to teach online courses

Good early decisions: Part 3  Invested in and focused on online resources rather than traditional, library- bound materials  Used Helpdesk and Graduate Admissions as areas of advocacy on behalf of students  Persevered even when early numbers didn’t meet projections

Lessons learned: Part 1  Don’t send a large group of faculty to a distance learning conference as a first step  Standardize course components wherever possible  Complete development of all static components prior to start of course  Student time on campus is a significant plus

Lessons learned: Part 2  Co-taught courses must be constructed carefully to minimize confusion  Hybrid delivery is necessary even with an ambitious technology spec  Asynchronous discussion is the key component in most courses  Use “just in time” approach with technology when working with faculty on course development and instruction

Learning Framework LectureLecture ReadingsReadings AssessmentAssessment Discussions Asynchronous Synchronous SummarySummary

The Pretty Lectures  Created using Flash  Look good but very expensive  Flash 5 is supposed to be easier to use  Generator would allow data to be updated dynamically

The Pretty - Version 99 Table of contents Back one segment PausePlay Forward one segment Replay segment

The Pretty - Version 2000 Previous segment Rewind a frame PausePlay Forward a frame Forward segment Replay Progress status bar

The Ugly  Created using Authorware  Can teach a student how to build a module in an hour  Can be used for both streaming and hybrid solutions  Interactivity within Authorware is scaleable

The Ugly – Version 2000 Recent Pages Find First Page Previous Page Next Page Last Page

Presentation Creation Steps  Instructor creates storyboards in PowerPoint  Use “Send to Word” to get RTF  Records audio  Load audio into SoundForge and chop  Convert audio into.swa files within Authorware  Import RTF into Authorware template  Add graphics and audio  Package for Web  Package for CD  Test  Load in course  Ship CD

Quick Resources  Teaching at an Internet Distance: the Pedagogy of Online Teaching and Learning, A Report of a University of Illinois Faculty Seminar  What’s the Difference? A Review of Contemporary Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Learning in Higher Education, The Institute for Higher Education Policy  Quality On The Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-based Distance Education, The Institute for Higher Education Policy  Ownership of New Works at the University: Unbundling of Rights and the Pursuit of Higher Learning, Consortium of Educational Technology for University Systems (Go to for direct links to these documents)