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Center for Information

Technology in Education

Northwest Missouri State University

Center for Information Technology in Education

• Faculty instructional technology support center• Established in 1998 with state mission

enhancement funds• Initiatives include

– assisting faculty in the development of online, web-augmented courses, and instructional technology materials

– researching emerging technologies– sharing endeavors with other institutions in the

state of Missouri^

Faculty technology support services

• Instructional design services• Assistance with

– interactive instructional technology concepts– course management tools– development of online and web-augmented courses– development of CD-ROM based learning materials

• Provide faculty instructional technology training

• Selection and support of CITE Fellowships^

Faculty instructional technology resources

• Faculty technology lab located in the CITE complex– variety of hardware and software– course management software

• Professional instructional technology staff

• Notebook computer provided and funded by CITE for every faculty member^

Curriculum Design Specialist

• Overall Focus: Assist faculty, using appropriate training techniques, in the evaluation and integration of emerging and innovative instructional technologies in teaching practices and the curriculum.

• Encourage faculty to integrate instructional technology where appropriate.^

Training

Faculty instructional technology training

• Faculty who are awarded funding complete campus-based and online training

• Training tailored to meet needs of individual faculty member– group training sessions– one-on-one sessions– modeling and mentoring

• Process includes becoming leader of instructional technology design team^

Northwest Online• Online courses and degree programs

– Hosted by eCollege at http://www.NorthwestOnline.org

– 30 fully developed online courses– 2 degree completion programs (2 + 2)

• Bachelor of Science in Business Management• Bachelor of Science in Accounting• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science is

scheduled to begin development Fall 2001^

Northwest Online

Northwest Online• Web-augmented courses

– instructional technology integration– hosted by Northwest through Blackboard

courseware– 2/3 of the faculty incorporate Blackboard– 582 campus-based courses are web-enhanced^

Blackboard

Course Structure Benchmarks• Before starting an online program, students are

advised about the program to determine– if they possess the self-motivation and commitment

to learn at a distance– if they have access to the minimal technology

required by the course design.

• Students are provided with supplemental course information – outlines course objectives, concepts, and ideas, and

learning outcomes^

“Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-based Distance Education” Prepared by: The Institute for Higher Education Policy

Course Structure Benchmarks

• Students have access to sufficient library resources– virtual library accessible through the WWW

• Faculty and students agree upon expectations regarding times for student assignment completion and faculty response.^

“Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-based Distance Education” Prepared by: The Institute for Higher Education Policy

Five Easy Steps to Course Review

• Faculty consent

• Extensive review of syllabus and course site

• Share information with faculty– office visit– course re-design recommendations

• Implement re-design efforts

• Implement and re-evaluate^

Extensive Course Site Review

• Three major areas of review– pre-course development activities and

information– course and instructional design techniques– course support^

Pre-Course Development Activities and Information

• Content and course materials– publisher support materials and resources

• course cartridges and companion web site access

– copyright permissions and citations

• Complete course description– course title, description, and number– additional software and/or hardware needs

• should be listed in course description

– link to course syllabus^Publisher Info


• Extensive syllabus– list required text and ordering information– supporting course information– scoring guides including grading review dates– course schedule of deadlines– online communication etiquette– online expectations and policies^

Online Policies


• Adaptive learning style analysis and course orientation for students– online learning techniques– time management strategies– learning styles surveys – computer skills surveys– sample course that provides demonstration of

courseware^


• Learning Styles Inventory– VARK is a short, simple web-based inventory

designed to help faculty choose teaching strategies that meet their students' needs.

– The acronym VARK stands for the Visual-Aural-Read/write-Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are used for learning.

– http://www.active-learning-site.com/vark.htm^

Neil Fleming, Lincoln University, Canterbury, NZ www.lincoln.ac.nz


• Computer Skills Survey– Assesses for minimal set of computer skills– Information sent to instructor– Provide student with alternative training to

improve upon areas of deficiencies^

Computer Survey


• Course Orientation– Online learning techniques– Course and learner expectations– Demonstration course^

Course and Instructional Design Techniques

• Appropriate incorporation of instructional technology techniques– provide learning outcomes– determine instructional approach

• linear--series of lessons• exploratory--map or flowchart• case based--realistic scenarios• interactive simulation--guided learning

– incorporate authentic activities meeting a variety of learning modalities

– provide students with a systematic way to navigate the course^

WBT Design Planning Tool, Levick & Rossi


• Appropriate incorporation of instructional technology techniques– divide course into modules of content and

authentic learning activities– provide ongoing and variety of assessment of

learning for student feedback• assessment should check the learning outcome

– provide opportunities for remediation– communicate, communicate, communicate^


• Build in course management techniques– e-mail management– FAQ section– Instructor availability schedule– Utility documents– Student feedback opportunities

• Personalize course to develop community – Course welcome– Post autobiography in threaded discussion– Open chat and/or threaded discussion areas^


• Appropriate incorporation of courseware instructional technology tools– Does the instructional technology tool enhance the

learning of content?• e-mail• announcements• threaded discussions• digital notebooks• file sharing feature• chat and whiteboard feature• audio and video integration• external resources^


• Appropriate incorporation of instructional technology techniques– student interaction

• student-to-student• student-to-instructor • feedback opportunities for progress in content and

learning• feedback for course and instructor evaluation ^


• Appropriate incorporation of instructional technology techniques– Appropriate and concentrated effort to

communication with students• e-mail etiquette and feedback guidelines

– reply within a published time period

• integration of announcements feature

• incorporation of threaded discussion

• virtually grading assignments^


• Appropriate incorporation of design and visual environment– apply web design principles

• sensory factors

• conceptual factors

• reactive factors

– provide substance through content• pizzazz through course design techniques to make

the course interesting^

Course Support

• Information about helpdesk– provide e-mail address and phone number for

helpdesk– provide access to online helpdesk information^

Course Support

• Establish contact with student via e-mail

• Provide technical requirements information and access to a browser test

• Provide an orientation e-mail

• Provide information and access to online tutoring or mentors

• Provide access to a student services site^

Course Review Recommendations

• Provide faculty with a printout of recommendations for redesign and improvement– Continual improvement process– Centrally housed content and materials

• Course becomes a plethora of information, resources, and activities– provides enriched course site for the online learner

to succeed^

Course Examples

• Narrated presentation

• Narrated, annotated presentation

• Interactive instructional concept

• CD-ROM materials^

Darla Runyon, MS Ed.

Assistant DirectorCurriculum Design Specialist

Center for Information Technology in EducationNorthwest Missouri State University

[email protected]

http://cite.nwmissouri.edu:2000/cite/presentations

Documents

Course Reviews