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Issue 23: February 1, 2001 | « previous issue | next issue »

In this issue: Ann Tomey Discusses Her New Online Nursing Courses

Contents:

Developing an Internet Course
by Ann Marriner Tomey, Professor of Nursing

I have been loading four courses onto the Internet for the 2000-2001 academic year. There is considerable variance in approaches among the courses. I will focus this discussion on the development of Curriculum Process in Nursing (NURS 653).

I believe the course was developed around an old book that is no longer in print. The ISU School of Nursing graduate faculty has approved the course description and course objectives, and I am obligated to use them. I only know of one book about curriculum in nursing currently on the market, and it does not contain some information I think is very important for students to know, specifically about different teaching and learning styles.

Because I have a Ph.D. in education, took ten education courses through Walden University by distance education while I was on sabbatical 1997-1998, and attend numerous workshops, I have an enormous amount of information about education. Unfortunately it is a hodgepodge. I went through considerable brain strain determining how to present the content in a meaningful way. This is the first course in a two-course sequence, so I needed to think through both courses before I started loading the first course onto the Internet.

I decided to use CourseInfo because this courseware package offered many of the features that I needed for successful course delivery. I knew that I wanted to build a great deal of interaction into the course to ensure student success. The threaded discussions were particularly useful. The following offers an overview of my online NURS 653 course.

The first week of class, students were to get enrolled in the course, confirm an e-mail address, develop a home page, visit the other students' home pages, introduce themselves in the discussion forum, and complete a professional experience questionnaire. I am teaching practicing registered nurses. The survey allows me to get to know my students very quickly. I find out how long they have been a registered nurse; where they work; how long they have worked there and in nursing; what they plan to do after graduation; if they plan to further their education; what professional organizations they belong to; what professional journals they read routinely; experience with research, publications, presentations, and community service; honors and awards received; and long-term career goals. This gives the students a clue about my expectations of professional behavior, and gives me information for nominating them for honors and awards.

The first week of class, I also introduced myself to the students including information on my personal and professional life, my philosophy of education, and my expectations about preparation for the course, time on task, and the privilege of contracting for a grade. The course syllabus, including course description, course objectives, course calendar, course requirements, readings, and evaluation, were on line.

The second week I addressed components of curriculum, defined curriculum, discussed various theorists' views of curriculum development, and presented a diagram of the conceptual framework for the course. Curriculum is abstract and even when I outline the process, it seems difficult for some students to grasp it. I depicted how sources of curriculum are faculty, students, society, and subjects that lead to the general goals that are screened through philosophy of education and psychology of learning to determine the educational objectives, selection and sequencing of content, selection of learning experiences, selection of audio-visual materials, and evaluation to determine if the student has learned. I then designed the course modules around the conceptual framework.

Module 3 was "Faculty." I had the students do a teaching style inventory. They became aware of their own style and if they preferred to be a formal authority, demonstrator, facilitator, or delegator. Although we have a predominate style, we can adjust our style to fit the level of students and circumstances.

Module 4 was "Students." I addressed principles of adult learning, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ways of learning, and multiple intelligences - linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, bodily/kinesthetic, spatial/visual, naturalist, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. We also considered theories of human development throughout the life cycle. The students did a learning style inventory to become more aware of their own styles and seemed to understand that we do not all learn in the same way. Therefore a variety of teaching strategies is important. Students described the students they expected to be teaching.

Module 5 was "Society." We considered the society's and profession's expectations of our graduates. The basic skills of reading, writing, arithmetic, listening, and speaking; the thinking skills of creativity, decision-making, problem-solving, visualizing, reasoning, and knowing how to learn; and personal qualities of responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity were stressed. We discussed the instruction to learning paradigm shift.

Module 6 was "Subject." We considered expected competencies and accreditation criteria. Students were to design course placements for the course project, do at least one course description, and identify course outcomes for the course project.

Module 7 was "Program Goals." Students took a teaching goals inventory to determine if they thought (according to what they planned to teach) the following skills were (a) essential; (b) very important; (c) important; (d) unimportant; or (e) not applicable:

  1. Higher-order thinking skills
  2. Basic academic success skills
  3. Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
  4. Liberal arts and academic values
  5. Work and career preparation
  6. Personal development

Our goals may differ from one course to another. We looked at program objectives in the course documents. Students wrote curriculum or course objectives for the course project.

Module 8 was "Philosophy of Education." Students considered various philosophies of education, a program philosophy, and their own philosophy of education.

Module 9 was "Psychology of Learning." There are numerous theories. We found more information on the Web than in textbooks. Students described how psychology of learning influences their teaching.

Module 10 was "Educational Course Objectives." I related the module objectives to the course objectives throughout the course. Students wrote program or course objectives.

Module 11 was "Selection and Sequencing of Content." We considered the following: general to specific; known to unknown; concrete to abstract; simple to complex; facts to principles; principles to applications, most to least important; part to whole; whole to part; chronological order; and established order of steps. Students sequenced content they planned to teach.

Module 12 was "Selection of Learning Experiences." Students selected a learning experience for a lesson plan.

Module 13 was "Selection of Audio-Visual Materials." Students selected at least one audio-visual aid for a lesson plan.

Module 14 was "Evaluation." Students selected or developed an evaluation tool to determine if students had learned the content.

Module 15 was the time for submission of the class projects of a curriculum and/or course syllabus that had been developed throughout the entire course. The students were now also prepared for the sequence course Educational Practices in Nursing (NURS 673) in which they implement lesson plans.

Module 16 was a course assessment technique for which the students were to reflect on insights gained during the course and to discuss what a difference those insights have made in their lives. Students had also been asked to do formative evaluations of each module. What questions did they have? Were they unclear about anything? Were the instructions clear? Was the sequencing logical? Were there gaps or holes in the content? What could have made the experience better? What was the favorite part of the experience? The formative evaluations were particularly important because this was the first run of this Internet course. I usually just do midterm formative evaluations. I find them very helpful for learning the students' thoughts and feelings at a time when adjustments can still be made in the course.

This is a course in process and transformation so suggestions for ways to improve it are welcome. Comments can be sent to A-Tomey@indstate.edu


Instructional Design Tips
from Christine Salmon, ISU Instructional Designer

Should your course be structured or self-paced? By nature, some distance courses are structured. For example, television courses require set meeting times, at least for the instructor. Ostensibly, students - in the studio or at remote sites - would also be present on the specified dates and times. However, online courses can be structured in different ways.

Online courses can be structured to follow an instructor-set schedule or to be self-paced study. Structured courses give students specific or semi-specific due dates on assignments. What I mean by semi-specific due dates is that you provide a range of time for submission of specific assignments. For example, you might say, "Assignment 3 is due the week of February 12, but must be submitted by noon Friday, February 16." This allows distance students some flexibility. Structured online courses might also include specific times for synchronous (chat/audio) communication.

A self-paced study design for an online course follows the format of independent study more than a structured mode. Beginning and ending dates for the course are given but the students decide when to submit assignments. This kind of non-structured course design allows students to progress through the course at their own speed. However, it is the instructor's responsibility to make certain the assignments are clear and easily understood by students. It's also a good idea to provide self-assessment activities to let students know they are on the right track.

Which design is best? That really depends on the instructor and on the students. Some faculty report that students succeed better in a more structured course design. Online students, especially those new to the environment, sometimes have difficulty budgeting their time appropriately.

Faculty report that these students may procrastinate, waiting until near the end of the course to do and to submit their assignments. At some institutions this is called "dumping." Dumping can cause a burden on the instructor who then must grade a chunk of assignments in a very short time span. Dumping also does not allow the instructor to adequately determine that students have really learned, especially if they did do all or most of the assignments in a few days. Some faculty reported that such students might even drop the course, thus increasing the attrition rate.

A self-paced design probably is not a good idea:

If you have questions or wish additional information, contact Christine Salmon at extsalmn@ruby.indstate.edu


ISU Distance Education: Update on Enrollments
from Harry Barnes, Director of Student Services - Lifelong Learning

Enrollments in distance education and DegreeLink courses continue to grow. The following offers a year-to-date summary for FY01.

Semester-Based Distance Courses:

Year-Based Distance Courses:

  • 134 unduplicated students have completed year-based courses, generating a total of 556 credit hours.
  • 287 unduplicated students are currently enrolled in year-based courses, generating 1,101 credit hours.

DegreeLink:

  • 1,050 students have been admitted since program implementation in 1998.
  • 63 have graduated.
  • 111 students have applied for graduation.
  • 449 students are currently active. Of these, 250 are "distance only" students; 199 are enrolled in both on-campus and distance courses.
  • Year-to-date FTE is 281.9.


January CTA - Summary of Events

The January CTA offered participants four days of intensive training on effective integration of technology into teaching and learning. In addition to hands-on practice sessions, the workshop included presentations, showcases, and demonstrations by: Susan Powers (Learner Analysis); Don Kaufman (Two-Way Video/Media Selection); Ann Tomey (Online Course Demonstration); Veda Gregory (Preparing Materials for Modalities and Media); and Pete Mikolaj (Organizing Your Course).

According to end-of-workshop evaluations, 100% of the participants felt that the content met their expectations (85% strongly agreed; 15% agreed). 92% of the participants indicated that they would use what they had learned.

Participants included:

Upcoming CTA: The next CTA is scheduled for May 14-18, 2001 (9:00 am - 4:00 pm). The registration form may be accessed online at web.indstate.edu/lifelong/ctaMore.html Please send your completed form to Mary Luz Petrowski in Erickson Hall, room 241. If you have questions, please contact Mary Luz at extension 8639 or aafpetro@amber.indstate.edu


New FCRC Workshops: Sign Up Now!

During the Spring 2001 semester, the following training workshops will be offered by the FCRC. These workshops will be offered at the FCRC or in the Root Hall Computer Lab, depending on the number of participants.

To register for these free workshops, contact Julie Lee at extension 2603 or julia@fcrc.indstate.edu

Please note: If a scheduling conflict prevents you from attending a session, or if you prefer more individualized training, contact Julie Lee to arrange a one-on-one session with the presenter.


Sketches 2001 - Request for Articles

Plans are underway for the third edition of "Sketches of Innovators in Education," a collection of articles in which faculty discuss their experiences teaching and developing courses with technology.

All ISU faculty members are invited to submit a short article (1-10 pages) for inclusion in the 2001 edition. For more information, including suggestions for first-time and "yearly" contributors, contact Julie Tipton at 237-8689 or exttipto@ruby.indstate.edu


Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera: ISU News, Interesting Links and So Forth

Imagine! Online courses that incorporate video with audio, text, and graphics. To see an example, visit Stanford Online and view a demo of Representations and Algorithms for Molecular Biology (MIS 214) or attend a free seminar, including Doug Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution and James Milojkovic's lecture on Emotional Intelligence. In addition to the perk of streamed video, Stanford Online's courses offer students the option of two formats: (1) real-time live casts; and (2) on-demand lectures that are archived for asynchronous viewing.
URL: http://stanford-online.stanford.edu/

The University of Florida now offers two MBA programs for distance learners: (1) a two-year internet MBA; and (2) a one-year internet MBA for students who hold a business degree. The notebook computer, required for the program, is included in the program tuition. Other computers may not be supplied by the students or their employers.
Source: http://www.floridamba.ufl.edu/

According to a recent study by Merrill Lynch, online courses currently constitute a mere $350 million of the $250 billion higher education industry today, but will grow to $2 billion by 2003. And according to the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, 61 percent of workers want access to training via distance learning. Currently only 26 percent have access to distance training. To satisfy this growing market, 72 percent of all colleges now offer some type of distance learning, up from 48 percent in 1998. And the numbers keep growing.
Source: Distance Educator Vendor Alliance (December 11, 2000) and Converge (January 2001)

Masterpiece Theatre has a new site that offers wonderful learning resources, programming information, and a shop for purchasing videotapes of popular programs (by area of interest).
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece

Just for fun, visit One World Journeys and sample some of the best photography and web documentaries on the web. As the site promises, One World is an extraordinary "... place for nature and wilderness enthusiasts, outdoor adventurers, environmentalists, and photographers to view and to learn about remote regions of the planet."
www.oneworldjourneys.com

Seven key recommendations were included in the 165-page report issued in December 2000 by the Web-Based Education Commission. Policymakers and educators are charged with the following 7 goals: (1) increased access to broadband or high-speed Internet connections; (2) more intensive technology teacher training; (3) research into the best uses of technology in education; (4) development of quality content; (5) protection for online learners; and (6) increased funding and removal of outdated regulations. One of the first outdated regulations to be removed may be the requirement that 50 percent of a college student's time be spent physically in a classroom in order for that student to qualify for federal financial aid. The Web-Based Education Commission was established by Congress to develop policy recommendations for pre-K through postsecondary education learners.
Source: The New York Times (January 3, 2001)

Athabasca University has formed two new alliances. This fall, Athabasca created the Candadian Virtual University, a new online consortium with six Canadian sister institutions that offers 1,500 courses in over 100 distance programs. This new consortium processed over 100,000 combined distance education course registrations last year. And, to enhance its position in the Asian market, Athabasca also has become a founding member and shareholder in the Global University Alliance (GUA), a global, for-profit delivery consortium. GUA is a project of Hong Kong-based NextEd, a "...turnkey technology platform and marketing service that specializes in bringing universities online into the Asian markets." Other members of the GUA include George Washington University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, the Aukland University of Technology of New Zealand, the University of Derby, the University of Glamorgan, the International Business School (Hogeschool Brabant), the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the University of South Australia in Australia. Athabasca, Canada's largest non-residential university (enrollment exceeds 25,000), provides undergraduate and graduate distance degrees to Canadians and international populations of students.
Source: Virtual University Gazette (January 2001)


Thought for February:

In every work of genius we recognize our rejected thoughts. - Ralph Waldo Emerson


Interaction is an electronic newsletter delivered on the first day of the month via electronic mail. Each issue offers information on teaching, learning, course design and educational technologies, and events pertaining to distance education at Indiana State University. We invite your comments, articles, and suggestions. Please contact Interaction at interact@web.indstate.edu

Interaction is published by the Office of Continuing Education/Instructional Services.


Issue 23: February 1, 2001 | « previous issue | next issue »



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