THEME - A Multipart Series: Looking at Effective Practices
UPFRONT -Effective Practices - a Top Priority
FOCUS -UW-Platteville: Effective Practices Make the Connection
Have Computer? Earn Degree!
Fundamentals of Engineering Refresher Course
NOTEWORTHY -TTT Reintroduced, UW-Madison Award
FUNDING - UW System Request for Proposals 1998/1999, PK - 16 Initiatives
CAMPUS HILIGHTS - UW Campus Information
FROM THE DISTANCE EDUCATION CLEARINGHOUSE: NETNEWS -So what IS the Distance Education Clearinghouse?
ETC. -New Monograph, Virtual Education and Real Money, Aid for Distance Learning Students
STATE-OF-THE-ART - Notebook Camera, Adjustable Acoustics, New Modems
NEW TECH TRENDS - Collaboratories
NEW ON THE LIST - New Subscribers
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - WETC Expands and Refocuses
FYI - News, Institutes, Conferences
ENDNOTE - Online Courses Need to Look Good to Be Good
MARCH ISSUE FOCUS - UW Colleges Plan for Videoconferencing
by Dave Wolover

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UPFRONT

The need to organize and bring together Information Technology (IT) and Distance Education (DE) Effective Practices is a top priority. In 1991, when I worked on the first UW-Extension Distance Education Faculty College with then, Continuing Education Associate Dean Dolores Niles, we heard from the faculty that they wanted to hear about what their peers were doing. This was an ongoing request at later faculty colleges and at the 1994 UW-Extension/UW System Distance Education Symposium that I co-chaired with Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Pat Takemoto. And when UW-River Falls Professor Sally Standiford and I conducted surveys and focus groups for the 1995 K-12 initiative that became the VITAL Project, Effective Practices surfaced again as the "top need."

Examples of Effective Practices are regularly requested on many of the most widely subscribed listservs, for example DEOS and AAHESGIT. Educators and trainers want models. They want to know what works and what doesn't. As a result, UW System is building a base of Effective Practices. Through DESIEN, TTT (see NOTEWORTHY), the VITAL Web site and the Effective Practices Database these examples are growing. With new funding from UW System (see FUNDING), VITAL and the Effective Practices Database will become even more valuable.

This issue of DESIEN begins a sharing of practices. Let us know about your institution's practices that you think have been particularly successful.

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FOCUS

Effective Practices Make the Connection
by Odd Hadall, Distance Education Coordinator, UW-Platteville

The Southwest Connection

General Psychology, Introduction to Engineering, Engineering Graphics, and Principles of Sociology are a few of the distance learning classes from UW-Platteville open to area high school students, delivered on one of Wisconsin's newest interactive distance education networks, SRTNC (pronounced "certaincy"). Launched in August of last year, this full motion, interactive television network (Southwest Rural Telecommunications Network Consortium) combines twelve sites spread out in southwest Wisconsin, an area which was not very well equipped with distance education facilities.

The main pattern for UW-Platteville is to offer dual-credit classes (classes where students receive both college and high school credit) to high school students during the day and professional development classes for teachers outside regular class hours. UW-Platteville has increased its dual-credit offering from three classes the first year to eight the second year, a remarkable growth which shows the need for this network and also the need for what the University contributes. In the future, UW-Platteville wants to explore the possibility of nontraditional combinations, such as dual credit classes in late afternoons or early evenings, open to other community members as well as interested high school students.

Community groups have already started using the network actively for teleconferences and meetings, giving SRTNC a foothold in the local community as well as educational circles. A very successful opening ceremony brought interested parents, teachers, school board members and other community people in to observe and participate in the fully interactive sessions. It didn't take long for people to seem remarkably comfortable with the technology.

Other school districts are actively seeking to become members and Wisconsin's technology initiatives are also likely to help the network grow. Two additional benefits are the Internet connection that most school districts signed up for in connection with SRTNC and the word-of-mouth publicity that the network receives.

In addition to UW-Platteville, the other SRTNC members are the school districts of Black Hawk, Cuba City, Darlington, Iowa-Grant, Mineral Point, Platteville, Riverdale, Shullsburg and Southwestern, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and CESA #3 in Fennimore.

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Have Computer? Earn Degree!
Extended Degree Extends to the Internet

In cooperation with UW-Extension, UW-Platteville's Extended Degree Program (EDP) in Business Administration has taken the leap from print-based to web-based delivery. For nearly twenty years, EDP's correspondence courses, enhanced by audio and video technology, have offered busy adults an alternative to face-to-face instruction for earning a business degree. Very soon, however, this degree will be available on line. By offering courses on the Internet, EDP can increase the speed, flexibility and reach of its education. Another advantage of the Internet is the ability to retain the anytime anywhere feature of print-based instruction and EDP's students are still within the terms of their contract, able to study at their own time and pace.

Using the Lotus Notes' LearningSpace program, EDP instructors have adapted their courses to a format specifically designed for the Internet. The first course, BsAd 233, Organization and Management On Line, is scheduled to be on line March 1, with other courses just around the corner. These courses include: Introduction to American Business Enterprise, Human Resource Management, and Principles of Microeconomics.

A very helpful feature that other UW-Platteville distance education courses will adopt is a student information package with information to help demystify the experience of taking a course on line. It includes, e.g., notes about computer system requirements, a description of LearningSpace and a greeting from the instructor.

Many institutions offer web-based courses. EDP is proud to be able to offer a complete degree on line in the near future. Through the Internet, the potential audience is vast, and EDP is looking forward to a new era in offering flexible courses to adult learners all over the world.

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Fundamentals of Engineering Refresher Course

For the second year, UW-Platteville and UW-Madison are co-sponsoring a ten-session refresher course via compressed video, for individuals preparing to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. The exam is one of the steps in achieving registration as a Professional Engineer. The refresher course originates in the distance education room on the UW-Platteville campus, with each of the 2-hour sessions facilitated by a UW-Platteville faculty member in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. There are 17 participants in the course, at three sites: Platteville, Madison and LaCrosse.

The course was developed because UW-Platteville has had an outstanding track record in preparing engineers for the FE exam. We wanted to provide participants with access to instructors who would answer specific questions and help solve problems, unlike the videotaped series available through other sources. The pacing of the ten sessions - one two-hour session each week - gives participants more flexibility than a traditional one- or two-day workshop, with time between sessions to review and assimilate the material.

The evaluations we received from 1997 participants indicate they were pleased with the educational experience and with the technology that enabled them to participate in a program they would not otherwise have had access to.

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NOTEWORTHY

TTT - Teaching with Technology Today (TTT), an electronic newsletter that highlighted the current uses of Classroom Learning Technologies Across the UW System has been reintroduced after a six month hiatus. The new TTT Editor is Renata J. Wilk, who works closely with Hal Schlais to produce the newsletter. In addition to her new position as TTT Editor, Renata is the Program Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin Learning Technologies Development Council (UWLTDC) and part of the Undergraduate Teaching Improvement Council (UTIC) staff. For further information about the newsletter contact: rwilk@ccmail.uwsa.edu

UW Madison Award - Researchers at the University of British Columbia have given the "Madonna Award for Best-Dressed Course" to the UW-Madison online American History course. The course is taught by Prof. Stan Schultz and the online Web site was designed by William P. Tishler. Judging for the Award took into consideration both content and look (see ENDNOTE).

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FUNDING

University of Wisconsin System PK-16 Initiative: Professional Development in Instructional Technologies for Teachers - UW System Administration is seeking proposals to fund projects that provide professional development activities for PK-12 teachers on the integration of technology into the curriculum.

Up to $682,000 is available in FY 99 for projects. Applicants may request project funding for up to three years; however, a new application for funding must be submitted each year. Matching funds are not required, but collaborating partners must identify the resources and capabilities they each bring to the project and what they will do to sustain the project when funding ends. Applications should request funds in the range of $25,000-$75,000 per year. Anticipated funding is between twenty and twenty-five projects.

Projects must focus on the professional development of practicing teachers. While projects may also enhance the infusion of technology into teacher preparation programs, the primary emphasis must be on the inservice teacher. Projects may also include discipline-specific consortia exploring technology resources, collaborative research on assessment strategies and joint curriculum-writing projects.

For full information see: http://www.uwsa.edu/acadaff/pk16/rfp.htm

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CAMPUS HILIGHTS
(Send campus distance education HILIGHTS to: DESIEN-List@uwex.edu)

ICS/UW-EXTENSION - ICS videoconferencing (VC) trainers recently coordinated a training session for the Wisconsin Reference and Loan Library. Training included orientation to the equipment and to the elements of VC instructional design. Reference and Loan personnel are now looking forward to setting up training sessions for the use of their various library software. This will be an expansion of their regular face-to-face sessions.

ICS is working closely with the UW Colleges to develop VC training sessions for the Colleges technical personnel and faculty who will be teaching via the technology during the upcoming semesters. The UW Colleges recently received governmental funding for technology through UW System and is dedicating that funding to VC equipment and training. The first ICS training session is scheduled for April 17-18 at Radio Hall and various sites on the UW-Madison campus.

UW-PLATTEVILLE - (See FOCUS Article)

UW-STEVENS POINT - On Monday, March 23, 1998, 7:00 am - 8:50 am the UW-Stevens Point Environmental Education Center will participate in a compressed video conference with Moscow, Russia and UW-Whitewater.

The topic is "Environmental Knowledge and Action." Teams of students at each site will: 1) describe two or three situations involving the use of environmental knowledge, 2) refer to the situations presented by the other sides and 3) discuss the principles and mechanisms of environmental actions.

(Julie M. Hellweg, Director of Credit Outreach, UW-Stevens Point Extension. URL: http://www.uwsp.edu/acad/uwspext/credit/credit.htm)

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FROM THE DISTANCE EDUCATION CLEARINGHOUSE
NETNEWS
by
Michele Jacques

Distance Education Clearinghouse on the web at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html

So What IS the Distance Education Clearinghouse?

At first, this may seem like a strange question, since many of us know and use the Distance Education Clearinghouse web site quite frequently. The Clearinghouse has been on the web since 1995, (and before that, a smaller version was available via gopher). However, it might not hurt to take a moment to answer a few basic questions about our site.

First, what may seem obvious, is that the Clearinghouse is indeed a web site. Every so often we get a question from someone who wants to know how many square feet the Clearinghouse has. So, no, there is no physical storage space for materials: but we do have a very large virtual space...some 2000 files now.

Next, who maintains the Clearinghouse? Here at Instructional Communications Systems of the University of Wisconsin-Extension there are two of us who do the primary development and updating of the Clearinghouse: myself and Barb Klein, although we get some help from others on the staff as well. Also note that ICS has a web site too, which has been developed by Milly Jones. Individual sections of the Clearinghouse have had major contributions by others. We work in cooperation and collaboration with each of the University of Wisconsin institutions and other State of Wisconsin agencies and collaborative partners, who contribute to the resources and information which are maintained on the Clearinghouse. The site is continually updated, so the "Last Update" date you see on the homepage is real!

Who uses the Clearinghouse? Well, hopefully anyone who is interested in obtaining information and resources on distance education and related issues! Last month, the home page had 18,200 hits. We receive comments and questions from all over the world, and whereas we are an acknowledged and respected international resource, we consider our primary audience to be Wisconsin educators.

Recently, we received this comment from Dr. Anthony Koyzis, on the faculty at the College of Education and Human Services, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh: "I have an academic and research interest in the areas of International Lifelong Learning and Distance Education. I have come to rely a great deal on a number of web pages for general distance education information, updates and the latest innovations in the field. I have found the Distance Education Clearinghouse web page as my first stop to any search for the latest in distance education. It is in my opinion one of the most useful web pages on distance education internationally. Keep up the good work."

Thanks...and we intend to!

Michele Jacques
Distance Education Clearinghouse
Information Resources Manager
Instructional Communications Systems (ICS)
University of Wisconsin-Extension
jacques@ics.uwex.edu

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ETC.

New Monograph - According to Gerald C. Van Deusen, in a new monograph, "The Virtual Campus: Technology and Reform in Higher Education," the shift to technology-based learning methods can only take place in institutions committed to comprehensive reform. Included in the reform must be the retraining of library support and other traditional support services. The monograph can be found in ERIC's Higher Education Series, (c) 1998, Volume 25, Number 5. Contact ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, The George Washington University, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 630 Washington, DC, 20036-1183. (University Continuing Education Association [UCEA], Feb 1998)

Virtual Education and Real Money - The Paul G. Allen Virtual Education Foundation will soon be honoring the best and brightest in online course development. A panel of distance learning educators, will be reviewing online courses for their creative use of technology, sound instructional design, integration of active learning and more. Entries must be received by April 24, 1998. The winner will receive $25,000 towards the further development of online educational materials and services. For further information visit the Web site: http://www.paulallen.com/foundations/virtualu/

Aid is being sought for distance learning students - Acknowledging that distance learners are currently being treated as stepstudents, the Department of Education assistant secretary David Longanecker says a proposal in President Clinton's recommendations for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act would change that. The proposal would give financial aid eligibility to students who attend degree-granting institutions that educate students primarily through distance learning, broaden the financial aid package given to students who take distance learning courses at a traditional institution of higher education and establish a $30-million pilot program to help institutions develop and use innovative technology. (USA Today 24 Feb 98)

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STATE-OF-THE-ART

Notebook Camera - Panasonic recently designed a new camera, smaller than a business card, that clips onto the side of notebook computers, letting users send email and talk online using both video and audio and hold simple videoconferences on the Internet or a local network. The camera, a product of Panasonic Computer Peripheral Company, includes a headset with microphone and plugs into its own adapter card.

Adjustable Acoustics - Engineers at France's Scientific and Technical Building Center have developed a new flexible sound system that modifies a room according to its use. Called CARMEN, the system uses electronic devices that are placed on the walls and ceilings of a room to reflect sound according to settings on a central control panel for "conference," "theater," "symphony," etc. The system actually changes reverberation, as opposed to simply amplifying sound. (The Futurist, March 98)

Retailers Ready Shelves for New Modems - Retailers this week are clearing their shelves of the old 56Kbps modems in anticipation of the arrival of new V.90-standard-compatible 56Kbps devices. The shipments are expected to arrive sometime this week. Modem makers warn that Internet service providers will require up to six months to put the new standard in place. AT&T WorldNet, which was the only top 10 ISP not to opt for either of the interim 56K technologies, is now positioned to move quickly to accommodate 56K customers. (Computer Reseller News 25 Feb 98)

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NEW TECH TRENDS

"Collaboratories," a term coined in 1989 by computer scientist William Wulf, are enabling people at various sites to work on experiments simultaneously. These "centers without walls" include computer software specifically designed for the collaboratory and shared access to electronic notebooks, whiteboards and videoconferencing. This new way of working together seems to increase mentoring opportunities, raise the number and quality of interactions, foster cooperation across disciplines, provide access to a wider range of electronic instruments and information and help bring theory and practice together.

But collaboratories present challenges as well. Within this virtual environment, participants need to work to develop and refine the skills of teamwork; they need to better understand what it means to create a "sense of presence" and they need to learn to establish a deep sense of trust with their colleagues.

It is estimated that, to date, there are about two dozen collaboratories in operation in the fields of science, medicine, business and education. And, as we move toward the year 2000, it is certain that a growing number of professionals will adopt this type of collaboration. (See "The Virtues [and Vices] of Virtual Colleagues," Ross-Flanigan, N. MIT's Technology Review, Mar/Apr 98)

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NEW ON THE LIST

Welcome to - Margaret Lewis, Vice President of University Relations, UW System; Odd Haddal, Distance Education Coordinator at UW-Platteville, whose articles appear in the FOCUS section of this issue; Sue Faust, newly hired LTE at Instructional Communications Systems, UW-Extension, currently interviewing WisLine users with the hope of using the information to create new WisLine tips; Barb Klein, Instructional Communications Systems, UW-Extension, the WWW Coordinator for the ICS Distance Education Clearinghouse and Jeff Finlay, Program Manager for Professional Development Cooperative Extension, UW-Extension.

Margaret Landstrom, Director of the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Windsor, Canada, a department responsible for the full range of distance education responsibilities, with a distance education enrollment of over 2000 students per year; Jeff Cooper, a high school teacher in the San Francisco Bay area, who has expertise in both developing and using MOO's; Amelia Maretka, Department Head in Computer Science and Technology at Wharton County Junior College in Texas and Steve Kessler, Program Coordinator, Office of Continuing Education, Keene State College, whose office oversees Continuing Education, Summer School and Distance Learning.

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

WETC 1998 Expands and Refocuses - The 1997 Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (WETC) was extremely successful, attracting over 1400 participants and receiving very high evaluation ratings. To even better accommodate the needs of the individual sponsoring educational systems, WETC 1998, Green Bay, WI Regency Conference Center, is expanding its format to three full days and refocusing its sessions. The new format will be:

Day 1 sessions - Postsecondary Emphasis (UW and Technical Colleges)
Day 2 sessions - All Systems Emphasis (Higher Ed, K-12, DOA, etc.)
Day 3 sessions - Elementary and Secondary Emphasis (K-12)

The goal for the UW universities and colleges is to focus a minimum of 20 sessions on University faculty, staff, administrators and student needs exclusively and an additional 20 sessions on these University needs and the needs of the other educational systems. Targeted themes for higher education are:

• Using Educational Technology to Enhance Postsecondary Learning
• Effectively Using Educational Technology to Collaborate in Teaching and Training
• Using Educational Technology with Business and Industry
• Developing New Assessment Methods for Teaching with Technology
• Exploring Administrative and Technical Issues and Topics
• The deadline for Applications to Present is March 20, 1998.

For additional WETC 1998 information contact: Conference Manager, Linda Connolly: email - lconnoll@mail.state.wi.us voice mail - 608-264-9724. For the electronic Application to Present Form, see: http://www.wetc-wi.org

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FYI - NEWS AND REMINDERS

The 33rd Annual Spring Conference of the Wisconsin Association for Adult and Continuing Education (WAACE) will be held Thursday, April 2, 1998 at the Country Inn Hotel and Conference Center, Waukesha, WI. The conference theme is "Building Partnerships, Alliances and Collaborations in Adult Education." This conference will explore the importance of educational alliances in the new millennium and the advantages and disadvantages that exist in collaborative ventures. The conference includes sessions on Distance Education and Web Design. For additional information contact: Jan Algozine 920-686-6192 or email: janis@sl.edu

Media Prosperity '98, to be held June 3-6, 1998 at the Sheraton Grande Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is issuing a Call for Papers. The conference theme this year is: "Resistance is Futile: Potentials in the Technological Future." Media Prosperity focuses on the impact of new media and technology on teaching and learning. Conference streams include: Case Studies, New Media Entrepreneurs, The New Media Future, Teambuilding and Workshops. Deadline for submissions is March 6. For more information email: joan.brady@ualberta.ca or see: http://www.atl.ualberta.ca/rif/

Americas PictureTel User Group's (PUG) Seventh Annual Conference is scheduled for September 13-16, 1998 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, Norfolk, VA. The Conference and Product Showcase will feature an in-depth education program filled with current information on rapidly changing videoconferencing (VC) topics, explore the latest VC innovations, provide product demonstrations and service updates and present peer exchanges as well as executive news about the company's strategic directions. For further information call: 1-800-PUG-INFO.

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ENDNOTE

Online Courses Need to Look Good to Be Good - Researchers at the University of British Columbia have concluded that to be effective, the appearance of an online course is as important as the content. "We paid attention to the feeling and tone of the course, not just the content and teaching processes," says one of the researchers. "It's like going into the supermarket - the food might look all right, but the music drives you crazy, so you leave." The study, "Best- and Worst-Dressed Web Courses: Strutting into the 21st Century in Comfort and Style," includes a "Madonna Award for Best-Dressed Course," which was granted to an American history course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The researchers evaluated 127 courses using 43 criteria. For further information see: http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/decjourn/demain.htm (Chronicle of Higher Education 27 Feb 98)

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MARCH ISSUE FOCUS - UW Colleges Plan for Videoconferencing, by Dave Wolover

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DESIEN ARCHIVE: An Archive has been created for past issues and interaction comments. Locate at: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/desien/

DESIEN has been created to encourage information exchange and discussion of distance education issues concerned with: 1) UW Systemwide distance education progress and institution course/program development, 2) faculty/team development, 3) technology, 4) policy, 5) funding and 6) research. List recipients outside of the UW System are also welcome to join in with information contributions and discussion.