EME 5457 – Introduction to Distance Leraning



EME 5457 – Introduction to Distance Learning

Dr. Allan Jeong

Online Distance Course Report

University of Washington

Developing and Managing E-Learning

October 20th, 2007

Course Name: Developing and Managing E-Learning

Course Designation: (EDCI 495 TZ)

Instructor: Bill Corrigan

Email: bcorr@washington.edu

Course Description: Management aspects of developing e-learning courses or programs, including:

* Choosing the most effective and cost efficient course delivery formats

* Using tools and technologies to create, deliver and access course materials

* Repurposing existing materials for web delivery

* Intellectual property and copyright in the e-learning setting

* Scheduling, budgeting and planning issues

* Emerging technologies and courseware packages

Introduction

Developing and Managing E-Learning (EDCI 495 TZ) is the second class in a four-part series collectively leading to the E-Learning Design and Development Certificate. It is sponsored through the University of Washington’s (UW) Extension Program. It is an online, credit/no-credit course that runs 10 weeks and utilizes the quarter system. The goal of this class is to “move beyond the specifics of how to design a program to examining the details of the development processes that need to be in place for a successful E-Learning project.” (UW Extension Website). The overall E-Learning Design and Development Certificate is “intended for those who wish to conduct e-learning training, or teach or administer e-learning courses and programs. The program addresses approaches to e-learning, instructional designs, tools and procedures for e-learning environments, effective assessment methods, and e-learning program implementation and management.” (UW Extension Website). The instructor, Mr. Bill Corrigan, (Masters in Instructional Design), was interviewed for the purposes of this assignment.

Audience

This certificate is designed to address the needs of working adults in the e-learning field, or those attempting to enter it. As such, typical participants are corporate trainers or managers, instructional designers attempting to gain experience in the e-learning field, and teachers. Those teachers who are in the program are generally involved in higher education, as the classes are not designed for k-12 implementation. Additionally, there are many participants who are in the process of a career change and are attempting to enter the e-learning field. Participants are required to have a bachelor’s degree, but there are no age requirements (other than adult status) and only minimal computer skills are necessary.

Student Needs

This class, and the program in general, has been designed with a high degree of applicability for the end user. Participants should expect to leave the course and program with skills that can be applied at the workplace. In fact, class projects center around actual work responsibilities, and students have access to instructional subject matter experts (through the university) to guide them through the process. For example, if there is an assignment to convert a print based module to an e-learning format, students would gain permission to convert an existing work related piece of instruction, and would do so with the help and guidance of UW advisers. Instructor support and a high degree of relevance lead to a high level of student motivation and participation.

Methods of Instruction

This course is structured on a Tuesday through Monday schedule. The instructor’s rationale is that working adults often do school related work on Sundays. In experimenting with the schedule, he has achieved best results with this format. This class has the following three units of instruction:

• What is a Course and What Do We Want Learners to Know and Do?

• Can I Make Some Content Now?

• Who is Going to Help Me Create My Course/Training?

In each of the first two sections, learners have individual assignments that must be completed. In the third section, students are put into groups with specific roles (Instructional Designer/Project Manager, SME and Media/Graphics Designer) and must work together to complete a unit of instruction. While there is a balance between group and individual assignments and activities, the majority of them run on a weekly or structured basis. Students are expected to spend between 7-9 hours of personal time on activities outside of class, such as course readings, discussion board and activities.

Historically, the class has been structured in an asynchronous learning environment. The instructor is conscious of the learner’s work schedule and outside commitments, and feedback supports this approach. However, the instructor also feels that synchronous activities are an important social element that benefits learners as a way to get to know their classmates. There are generally 1 or 2 synchronous chats during the quarter, with two different times being available for attendance. Students are not required to moderate a discussion, other than in their group work. In that setting, each person assumes the role of project manager for one week and does moderate activities and discussions. For synchronous activities, the course uses Macromedia Breeze Meeting, and in this next class, learners will be asked to obtain a headset for discussion purposes.

There is a weekly discussion board that is also featured each week. The instructor states that the discussion board is primarily a social tool that he uses to connect learners to each other. He states that his overall experience is that learners have greater satisfaction in the course when they have interaction with each other. There are a variety of posting types used, which range from debate, to reporting on new technologies, reading reviews and professional “show and tell”. The instructor does not require a minim number of posts (other than one), but instead relies on choosing topics of interest that are relevant to his learners. He states that as a result of this approach, he has never had a problem with learner participation on the discussion board.

The instructor does not participate in the discussion board during the week, as he feels that this has the effect of reducing interaction between his students. Instead, he posts a synthesis at the end of each week of the group’s discussion. In general, the instructor believes that positive feedback on the weekly discussions should be posted to the discussion board. If students make insightful or relevant posts, the instructor will note that. However, if there is a lack of postings or the quality of a learner’s posts are poor, they will receive private feedback instead. The instructor states that one interesting component of giving feedback is that his learners will be teaching this information. Therefore, he uses a meta-approach, where learners receive feedback on their efforts as students, but also on the rationale behind it, so that they may then provide this information to their learners in the future. In addition to verbal feedback, the instructor also utilizes a written rubric that is provided to all students for evaluating their assignments.

Student Feedback/Changes

This program was established about 8 years ago. During that time, it has undergone extensive revision in course content and focus. This class was initially designed to focus on managing the e-learning initiative. However, feedback from participants requested a greater emphasis on the actual development of e-learning materials. As a result, those changes have been made. In addition, the instructor states that the greatest challenge remains staying current with technological advances. Since the technologies that support e-learning are always changing, the course must change with it. Especially since much of the course’s effectiveness comes from its ability to be relevant and current to its audience. The course continues to draw steady participation from its target audience, and participant feedback has been generally positive. The instructional design team which developed the certificate (of which the instructor is part of) meets periodically to discuss necessary changes. In the past, the certificate program has been run by an internally developed course management system. However, within the last year, the department has implemented the use of Moodle on a pilot basis. Mr. Corrigan states that Moodle will allow for significant improvement over the current system, and will constitute a true learning management system. He believes that Moodle will be adopted for the entire program in the near future.

|  |Percent |Points |  |  |  |  |

|Points |Earned |Earned |Requirements |  |  |

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Goal: What is the purpose/goals of the distance course/program? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Designation & Sponsor: Describe its official designation (course, curriculum, resource, |

| | | |training event) and sponsoring institution/body. |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Audience: Describe the target audience; who are the students? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Student Needs: What motivates individuals to participate? (advancement, compulsory attendance, |

| | | |convenience, etc.) |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Modes of Instruction: How are the course(s) structured (self paced, course duration, |

| | | |asynchronous/synchronous, technologies)? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Success: What is the evidence (enrollment statistics, testimonials, awards, number of |

| | | |graduates) of success thus far? |

|10 |90% |9.00 |Challenges: What are the major frustrations/problems faced? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Evaluation Procedures: What are the means of evaluating student learning and program/course |

| | | |effectiveness? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Student Perceptions: How is the program perceived by students (e.g., degree of interaction, |

| | | |frequency and quality of feedback, resources availability, personal contact with instructor or |

| | | |participants, etc.)? |

|10 |100% |10.00 |Future Plans: What are their future plans for improving the program? |

|20 |90% |18.00 |Organization of Article: (see rubric below) |

|20 |100% |20.00 |Clarity in Writing: (see rubric below) |

|140 | |137.00 |Total points earned | | |

| | |97.9% |Percent Score (A = 93+, A = 90-92, B+ = 87-89, B = 93=87, B- = 80=83, etc.) |

| | |19.57 |Points toward course grade = (20 possible pts X Percent Score) |

|Writing Style: | | | | | |

|  |- 30% |- 20% |- 10% |- 0% | | |

|Clarity |Incorrect |Simplistic |Acceptable, |Precise and | | |

| |and/or |and/or |effective |rich | | |

| |ineffective |imprecise |language |language; | | |

| |wording |language | |variety of | | |

| |and/or | | |sentence | | |

| |sentence | | |structure and| | |

| |structure | | |length. | | |

Excellent report. Your findings were clearly presented and thorough and you are demonstrating excellent communication skills!

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