1. Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill Share the Cost Maximize the Return Curt Hill, Susan Pfeifer, Diane Keller, Colette Schimetz, Marlin Allery, Heidi M. Schneider, Jason P. Brandvold, and Ken Quamme

2. Topics The problem NITC IVN Classroom Out of class experience Future work Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

3. The problem Demographics! –Sparsely populated state –6 colleges with less than 2000 students each Desperate need for information technology Insufficient students to keep programs afloat

4. NITC Northern Information Technology Consortium Share IT instruction using the North Dakota Interactive Video Network (IVN) Each school teaches two or three IT classes Students from each school enroll in classes provided by other schools Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

5. Institutions Dakota College Bottineau Lakes Region State College Turtle Mountain Community College Valley City State College Williston State College None of these has 2000 students Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

6. Terms of Sharing Common course numbering mandates easy transfer and interchangeability Each campus keeps tuition of its own students Each institution must offer two or three classes that are usable in various majors and the different institutions Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

7. IVN Classroom State funded interactive conferencing system Specially equipped rooms Each public college has two or more –Each high school has at least one Classes are scheduled at a central location so that the connection is automatic for classes and meetings Not substantially different than an ordinary classroom Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

8. An IVN Room Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

9. The classroom experience Students generally sit at tables –Each has a nearby microphone Each room has two monitors –One has the originating site – the instructor –The other the last site that spoke When a student asks a question –All sites hear the question –The second monitor displays that location Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

10. Out of class experience This would normally include office hours and other interactions between student and instructor Visiting the office becomes problematic –Students may feel distant VCSU normally uses email and this works well Skype and other one to one Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

11. Problems Inevitable technical glitches Precise shut off – no two minute warning More reluctance to ask questions Different LMSs –Not always possible to use institution LMS Not being able to see a site that has not spoken recently Final exam scheduling Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

12. Finally There is essentially no extra funding for this beyond the IVN rental charges –We cannot throw money at these problems We are also looking at internet clicker software to improve active learning Despite these issues we are glad it is working as well as it is Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill

13. Questions? Curt.Hill@vcsu.edu