SPECIAL ISSUE: ISU DISTANCE LEARNING
Contents:
ISU DISTANCE LEARNING:A STUDENT PROFILE
Who enrolls in Indiana State University distance courses? Based on data compiled for Fall 03, the total distance headcount was 1,586. Of these, the majority were women (not men); undergraduate (not graduate); and over (not under) the age of 25.
In terms of geographic location, the majority (81%) live outside of Vigo County. Moreover, 77% live outside of the six surrounding Indiana counties of Clay, Greene, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan and Vermillion.
The following offers a glimpse of these 1,586 students.
* Level:
- 971 (61%) were undergraduate;
- 615 (39%) were graduate.
* Gender:
- 925 (58%) were women;
- 661 (42%) were men.
* Average Age:
- Undergraduates = 28 years
- Graduates = 36 years
* Traditional (under 25) vs Nontraditional (over 25):
- Traditional = 565 students (36%)
- Nontraditional = 1,021 students (64%)
* Status:
- Full-time undergrad: 35%
- Part-time undergrad: 26%
- Full-time grad: 8%
- Part-time grad: 31%
* Country:
- US: 1,528 students (96%)
- Outside US: 58 students (4%)
* State:
- Indiana: 1,126 students (74%)
- Out-of-State: 402 students (26%)
* County (Indiana):
- Vigo: 215 students (19%)
- Surrounding Six Counties: 153 students (14%)
(includes Clay, Greene, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion)
- All other Indiana counties: (67%)
If you have questions or wish a copy of the Fall 03 report, please contact:
Melissa Hughes
Director, Distance Support Services
mhughes@indstate.edu
ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW ISU DISTANCE COURSES!
Spring 2004 distance offerings include a variety of new ISU web (online) courses as well as a new offering of elementary Spanish via videoconferencing (IHETS). The list (below) of new ISU distance courses includes a link to a short announcement for each course.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES:
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE
SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
ISU faculty members seeking assistance with course development should contact:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Instructional Design Staff
237-3053
For assistance with distance course delivery, contact:
Melissa Hughes
Director, Distance Support Services
mhughes@indstate.edu
SPRING 04 DISTANCE LEARNING: OVER 200 OPTIONS!
Students registering for Spring 2004 have the option of 218 distance courses offered by Indiana State University. Of the 218 distance courses scheduled to be offered, 194 are semester-based; 24 are year-based. The summary (below) offers breakdowns based on
course format and/or level.
Breakdown: All ISU Distance Courses
Total Offered = 218 courses
Year-Based = 24
Semester-Based = 194
Undergraduate = 123
Graduate = 95
Web (Online) = 153
Print-Based = 28
TV = 37 (27 videoconferencing; 10 satellite)
Breakdown: Semester-Based Courses
- Total Offered = 194
- Undergraduate = 99
- Graduate = 95
- Web (Online) = 151
- Print-Based = 6
- TV (IHETS) = 37 (27 videoconferencing; 10 satellite)
Breakdown: Year-Based Courses
- Total Offered = 24 offered
- Undergraduate = 24
- Graduate = 0
- Web = 2
- Print-Based = 22
For more information, contact:
Melissa Hughes
Director, Distance Support Services
mhughes@indstate.edu
ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCETERA
Distance News @indstate.edu: Over 1,450 individuals are currently subscribed to Distance News, an e-news service for ISU distance learners. Browse the archive and opt in today!
URL: www.indstate.edu/distance/news
VISIT MIT's OpenCourseWare Program and browse over 500 MIT courses in topics ranging from Aeronautics to Writing. All are invited to read, study, and use the material -- free of charge. Browse MIT courses at: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/all-courses.htm
Source: Converge Online (3 Nov 03)
VIDEOCONFERENCING: University of Southern California is offering free videoconferencing services to students as part of a new communications package that includes applications for: local and long-distance calls and collaboration tools. USC discontinued long-distance phone service due to "the prevalence of cell phones" and the fact that the new communications package uses Internet technology, not phone lines. USC expects the videoconferencing service to become an important educational tool for students and researchers.
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education (21 Nov 03)
DATA MINING will be used to identify previously undetected genetic and demographic links between patients and certain medical conditions. The project is a collaboration between IBM and the University of California at San Francisco. Initial research will focus on Alzheimer's to determine, for example, if "men within a specified age range who suffer from other medical problems have a higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease."
Sources: CNET (17 Nov 03); Chronicle of Higher Education (21 Nov 03)
CHINA: Grid Technology will be used to link over 200,000 students and faculty members at nearly 100 universities across China. According to a recent press release, by 2005 "the grid will perform more than six teraflops, or trillions of calculations per second, and eventually will be capable of more than 15 trillion calculations per second." This project (a collaboration of China's Ministry of Education and IBM) marks the largest use (to date) of grid technology which "takes untapped application service, data and computing resources from different computing systems and makes them available where and when they're needed, resulting in a single, virtual system."
Source: Converge Online (3 Nov 03)
CONGRESS is considering legislation that will expand programs - including distance education initiatives - that increase access for students with disabilities. The new legislation "explicitly adds distance education programs" because the flexibility and access made possible through distance and electronic delivery methods "holds tremendous promise of eliminating barriers for students with disabilities."
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education (28 Nov 03)
U.S. Department of Defense has signed a contract with Blackboard that will enable dependents of military personnel to continue their studies online - even if their parents are transferred to other locations. Initially, Blackboard technologies will be used by 500 students enrolled in 22 DODEA K-12 schools for military personnel. Eventually, the technologies will be available to 75,000 students worldwide. Blackboard already "...underpins eArmyU, the online learning program of the U.S. Army."
Sources: Federal Computer Week (26 Nov 03); Edupage (01 Dec 03)
REVERSE-DICTIONARY is a free, on-line searchable dictionary that allows you to enter a word (or group of words) describing a concept and then get a list of related words. A great tool for finding the perfect word.
URL: www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml
Source: ResearchBuzz (#258: 20 Nov 03)
Thought for December:
The man who doesn't read good books
has no advantage over the man who
can't read them.
- Mark Twain
Interaction is published by the Office of Distance
Support Services - Indiana State University.
