THEME -Second in a Series on Authorware: WebCT

UPFRONT - Continuing the Authorware Series with WebCT
FOCUS - Using WebCT as a Web Course Supplement
UW NEWS - News from our Colleges and Universities
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - GWETC '99 Call for Presentations
ON AND OFF-LINE NEWS - UCEA Members Publish Research on Asynchronous Learning, Virtual University Journal, US Online Audience Looking More Like America, New Journal (BETJ)
HOT TOPICS - Shneiderman on Information Visualization, UCEA Hot Topics
NEW TECH TRENDS - The Post-PC Era
FUNDING - LAAP Application Guidelines Now Available Only by Mail
NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to New Subscribers
FYI - News, Conferences, Institutes, Events
FEBRUARY DESIEN ISSUE -Third in a Series on Authorware: Using Course in a Box as part of a Course taught with Blended Technologies by Simone Conciecao-Runlee, Department of Education, UW-Milwaukee

 

UPFRONT

UPFRONT - Our Authorware Series began with Martha Mealy of Learning Innovations discussing her design support for faculty and other clients using LearningSpace. This month, Bob Schuster, UW School of Nursing, continues the series, focusing on a specific course he helped develop using WebCT as a course component. Next month Simone Conceicao-Runlee, Dept. of Education, UW-Milwaukee will tell us how she used Course in a Box to develop a multimedia Early Childhood Development Program.

FOCUS

Using WebCT as a Web Course Supplement
Bob Schuster, Director, Simonds Center for Instruction and Research in Nursing
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison

WebCT, developed at the University of British Columbia, is among several client-server software packages designed for creating Web-based courseware. It offers an extensive set of educational and administrative tools, including a conferencing system, on-line chat, student progress tracking, group project organization, student self-evaluation, grade maintenance and distribution, access control, navigation tools, auto-marked quizzes, electronic mail, automatic index generation, course calendar, student homepages, and course content searches. It is promoted as requiring limited technical experience and expertise on the part of course developers and demands only a Java-enabled Web browser on the part of students. The creators suggest that WebCT "can be used to create entire on-line courses, or to simply publish materials the supplement existing courses."

Although the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison uses several synchronous distance technologies for its on-campus students and for degree-completion courses offered through the Collaborative Nursing Program of the University of Wisconsin System, the Web is playing a growing role as an instructional technology in these courses, because a significant number of nursing students juggle work, families, and education. Asynchronous technologies like the Web are increasingly attractive, because they give more flexibility to students.

Faculty and instructional support staff working in collaboration and using commercial WYSIWYG software in the School of Nursing have developed parts or all of ten courses on the Web over the past two years. Motivated clerical staff have been trained and equipped as part of an informal Web "team" to provide additional support. Over the past year, the School has also participated in a campus pilot project to evaluate WebCT. One pilot course, now in its second semester of use, has been completed, and two additional courses are being developed.

Compared with our earlier Web experiences, using WebCT to develop basic content pages for our initial pilot course proved to be more time-consuming. Designed for developers with little or no HTML experience, the interface is more cumbersome than our customary development tools. For Web team members assuming responsibility for multiple courses and facing short turnaround times this would be a problem. On the other hand, what the School has not offered on its own Web servers has been database tools that allow for student tracking, online exams, and threaded discussions. These tools are in great demand by faculty, and the tools offered by WebCT have been a great attraction. In practice, these tools have proven to be more feature-rich than we anticipated, relatively easy to use, and effective.

For these reasons, early in our experience with the initial pilot course we adopted the model of developing the core content pages in-house and using the WebCT tools as a supplement to extend course activities. The course is focused around government and academic health care resources, everything from complete sets of dermatology slides to disease statistics - available via the Internet and around a core set of readings. To promote discussion, the course uses the WebCT conferencing tool in particular to share written exercises and to provide a forum for response. Each of the course content areas has its own conference area. The courses now being developed also use the quizzing tool. It has been very easy for developers to link from the course pages hosted on our own server to the specialized pages developed with WebCT and supported on the campus WebCT server.

There have been a couple of downsides to this model. Students are required to log on initially to the content pages on our server and to use a second logon to access the WebCT server. For those who are new to Web courses this has occasionally been confusing. The general look and navigation for the two systems is also different, and that has also been confusing for students early in the course. By the end of the first six weeks, however, all students seem to have accommodated to the differences and to have no trouble negotiating their way between the two systems.

There is a great appeal in having the technologically more complex components of the course hosted and maintained centrally by the campus, because it allows us to focus our limited resources on content design and development rather than on technological support. However, what will ultimately determine whether we will continue with our current model of using WebCT to add activities to course materials developed separately will be feedback from our students. If they express satisfaction with the current design and do not require extensive support in navigating to and utilizing the tools, we expect not only to continue our reliance on the WebCT tools, but to expand our use of them to include group projects, chat rooms, and student-generated pages.

UW NEWS

UW-EXTENSION - February 4th UW-Extension will host a Dedication and Grand Opening Ceremony for the Pyle Center. The Dedication and Grand Opening are scheduled from 1:00-1:30 pm with a Reception and Tours following. During February 4th and 5th the Board of Regents will also hold their meeting at the Pyle Center.

UW-OSHKOSH - New Position - Instructional Developer - works closely with faculty to expand and enhance use of instructional technologies. Duties include: develop and implement a comprehensive training program for effective use of technology for teaching and learning; design and develop Web-based courses and curricula; work with faculty to define instructional objectives and strategies; assist faculty in determining appropriate use of various media; produce educational materials for use in teaching, publications, and audiovisual programs; conduct faculty workshops in such areas as educational theories, educational technology, distance learning strategies, asynchronous distance learning, and student support mechanisms; monitor emerging technologies for integration into instruction.

For qualifications and application information contact: Chair, Screening Committee, c/o Assistant Vice Chancellor's Office, Information Technology Division, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh, WI 54901. Review will begin March 1, 1999 and will continue until the position is filled. (From John Berens, Instructional Developer, UW-Oshkosh)

UW-PLATTEVILLE - Several Professors at UW-Platteville have conducted a research study to help determine if an electronic environment would be conducive for students to openly discuss issues of race, culture, class, and gender within their immediate campus and surrounding community. In addition to discussing field/classroom experiences and reading, the UW-Platteville students communicated weekly and set up email partnerships with inner-city students in Milwaukee. To read more about this diversity initiative, go to: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/tttv3n8.htm (From (TTT) Teaching with Technology Today - Newletter Vol. 3, #8, 19 Jan 99)

UW-STEVENS POINT -Scott Frazier, Health Exercise Science & Athletics Department (HESA) Helps Tomorrow's Teachers UW-Stevens Point. Frazier is currently developing a Distance Learning Seminar to enhance communication while student teachers work on site (at schools, off-campus). Using Microsoft Net Meeting software, students, their peers and professors will be able to see and talk to each other on a system that would work much like a videophone. To read the article, go to http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/tttv4n1.htm

NEW POSITION - Outreach Program Manager in Outreach Education Office. Administers non-credit programming and services for UWSP Extension; coordinates professional development workshops, seminars and conferences; provides leadership for the design, development, marketing, fiscal management, implementation and evaluation of non-credit professional development short-courses, workshops, and conferences in a variety of content areas with a primary emphasis on small and large business; develops and implements contractual services and is responsible for the solicitation of and sales to business and other external clients. The Program Manager provides the linkage between the educational needs of individual and groups of citizens and the educational and administrative resources of UWSP; builds and sustains relationships with the appropriate faculty, department chairs and Deans; participates in strategic planning at the departmental and division level and in the implementation of those plans within a team management environment; reports to the Director of Outreach Education within UWSP Extension. Deadline is February 16, 1999.

For qualifications and application see: (See the Web site at http://extension.uwsp.edu. Click on Program Manager Position (then scroll down). ( From Barbara Inch Co-chairperson, Search and Screen Committee).

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Plan now to submit a proposal to present to The Governor's Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (GWETC), 1999.

This year's conference will be held at the new Midwest Express Center, in Milwaukee, WI October 12-14, 1999. Pre-conference Workshops and Labs are scheduled for October 11th for Higher Education and October 12th for K-12. This new feature is possible because of the generous offer of facilities and equipment from Milwaukee educational institutions: Milwaukee Public Schools, UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Now in its seventh year, GWETC has continued to grow in both quality and attendance. With these successes in mind Conference organizers are expecting attendance to increase substantially this year. To meet the demand of a larger number of participants, the number of Sessions, Workshops and Labs will be increased from 179 to 250 and the number of Exhibitors from 67 to over 300. New types of Special Events are also being added to this expanded GWETC Conference: Poster Sessions, Exhibitor Showcases, Hands-on Classrooms and Learning and Cultural Tours - events that the spacious Midwest Express Center can easily handle.

For an Application Form see www.gwetc.org or call 608-264-9724. Submission deadline for Applications is March 19th. GWETC is co-sponsored by: TEACH Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the Wisconsin Technical College System.

ON AND OFF-LINE NEWS

UCEA MEMBERS PUBLISH RESEARCH ON ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING - An in-depth history and analysis of the University of California's "Extension Online" program by UCEA professional member Mary Beth Almeda, heads the current issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), available online at http://www.aln.org/alnweb/jaln_vol2issue2.htm. Almeda identifies four ongoing challenges: helping students get started and stay motivated; finding and keeping instructors; effective marketing and developing models of cost-effectiveness.

Also in JALN are research findings from two significant projects conducted at UCEA member institutions. "The SCALE Efficiency Projects" reports on studies conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which determined that asynchronous learning can increase student/faculty ratios without sacrificing instructional quality. "The Impact of Student Verbal/Visual Learning Style Preference on Implementing Groupware in the Classroom" documents a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire on the impacts of adding groupware technology to project groups in accounting classes. Students with visual learning styles reported that groupware enhanced their experience, while those with verbal learning styles reported significantly less benefit. (UCEA Electronic Newsletter, January)

THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY JOURNAL is issuing a Call for innovative articles on technology-aided learning. Contact the editor at cr@hrm.brookes.ac.uk (All articles are submitted to a review process). Sample free articles are available in the archives: Editorial: Corporate Universities by Clive Robertson; Taking the Distance out of Distance Education by Margrit Misangyi Watts; New Vistas - A Vision of the Role of the Virtual University by Peter Watson; Towards Interactive Business Learning: A University for Industry by Clive Robertson. For more information see: http://www.openhouse.org.uk/virtual-university-press/

U.S. ONLINE AUDIENCE STARTING TO LOOK MORE LIKE AMERICA - A study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press indicates that the online audience is rapidly changing from an elite computer savvy group comprised of young, well-educated and affluent males to a more mainstream American group, with middle-aged and middle-income people of both sexes coming to the Internet in increased numbers, as are people with less formal education. Although the 74 million Internet users in the U.S. are still younger, better-educated and more affluent than the population at large, 40% of Internet newcomers never attended college and 23% have household incomes below $30,000 a year. (AP 14 Jan 99)

NEW JOURNAL - The Business, Education and Technology Journal (BETJ) invites manuscripts for publication the first April/May, 1999 issue. Deadline is February 15, 1999. This new journal is a peer-reviewed publication of the School of Technology and Industry at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California. It will be published in hard copy and online. Golden Gate University (http:www.ggu.edu) provides practical education from undergraduate through doctoral levels to working professionals and traditional students in areas of information systems, business, public administration, and law, in face-to-face and online settings at Cyber-campus http://cybercampus.ggu.edu). The Journal is devoted to the study of the relationships among the disciplines of Business, Education and Technology. It will publish a range of papers that investigate commonalties, convergence, best practices, conceptual thinking and research findings in these areas.

HOT TOPICS

SHNEIDERMAN ON INFORMATION VISUALIZATION - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently sponsored a public lecture, "The Eyes Have It: User Interfaces for Information Visualization," by Dr. Ben Shneiderman of the Department of Computer Science, Human-Computer-Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) at the University of Maryland. Shneiderman discussed the way in which human perceptual skills are currently underutilized by human-computer graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and what the future holds for this area. He presented his "Information Seeking Mantra": overview first (give the user the big picture), zoom and filter (allow the user to pinpoint area of interest and screen out extraneous information); then details-on-demand (provide more detailed data only when the user requests it).

Shneiderman argues for more sophisticated information visualization interfaces which will enable users to comprehend and navigate through "information-abundant" Web sites without being overwhelmed by the vast quantities of data. Shneiderman is author and editor of: Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective\Human-Computer Interaction Interaction (3rd edition, Addison-Wesley, 1997, http://www.aw.com/DTUI/) and Sparks of Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction. He is a co-author of the forthcoming book, Reading in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think, to be published January, 1999. (Morgan Kaufman Publishers, 1999).

THE UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION (UCEA) - recently sent out a request for input on "hot" topics that could form the basis for a Community of Practice Trend Talk Session at their April National Conference. The organization received responses that indicated "one of the most important, overreaching 'futures' topics was (the) leadership attributes (that are) needed to function in and successfully deal with the electronic environment." (UCEA Futures Electronic Newsletter, January)

NEW TECH TRENDS

THE POST PC-ERA - Computing is already entering "the post-PC era," says the New York Times, as intelligent networks, linked by powerful hub computers, deploy data. Computing will abandon the desktop for personal digital appliances that send and gather information from the Web and other networks. Already in use are laptops, digital cell phones and so-called palmtop computers, like the Palm Pilot and the Motorola Pagewriter.

How big a niche will portable learning carve? "It's hardly going to be a niche," predicts Sun's Neece. "It will be the predominant way to learn in a decade." So what should trainers do about highly portable online learning right now? "Other than get their kids to teach them? Retrain themselves and acquire these new skills by practicing Web-managed, learner-centric continuous learning." And keep an eye on those kids and their handheld games. "Watch what adolescents of all ages are doing with the toys," suggests Floyd. "Game technology will be the training-delivery mechanism of the future." (ONLINE LEARNING/NEWS 5 Jan 99)

FUNDING

LAAP APPLICATION GUIDELINES NOW AVAILABLE ONLY BY MAIL - LAAP Application Guidelines are no longer available on the Web. For a set of application materials send your postal mailing address to LAAP@ed.gov. The Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships (LAAP) program is a grant competition newly authorized by the 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965. Ten million dollars in grants will be awarded in Fiscal Year 1999 to broaden access to technology-mediated education that is not limited by time or place. LAAP will support partnerships that may include universities, colleges, businesses, community organizations, and other entities to use technology to address the biggest challenges and opportunities in postsecondary education and lifelong learning. Ideally, LAAP projects should make possible resource sharing and activities that would not occur were any of the participating partners to act on their own.

LAAP will be considering proposals addressing:
- Cost, Scalability, and Sustainability
- Balancing Interactivity, Cost, and Flexibility
- Developing High Quality, Interactive Courseware
- Packaging Courses and Programs
- Using Skill Competencies and Learning Outcomes
- Improving Quality and Accountability
- Creating New Opportunities for Underserved Learners
- Improving Support Services

Eligible partnerships must consist of two or more independent agencies, organizations or institutions. The partners may include institutions of higher education, community organizations, and other public and private institutions, agencies, and organizations. A non-profit organization should be designated to serve as the lead applicant and fiscal agent for the partnership.

LAAP grants may provide up to five years of funding, depending on the scope of the requested activities. Federal funds shall provide not more than 50 percent of the total cost of LAAP- funded projects. The nonfederal share of project costs may be in cash or in kind. LAAP does not expect to provide support for large equipment purchases or for the development of computer networks. Applications will be a two-stage process. All applicants must submit a "preliminary proposal" up to seven pages in length by April 2, 1999. A select number will be invited in May to submit a "final proposal" by June 18, up to twenty-five pages in length. Award decisions are expected to be announced by July 31,

NEW ON THE LIST -

Welcome to: Sherry Washburn; Bengt Sjoberg; Henk Gauw; Jim Carlson; James Sampair; Sherry Washburn; Jimmy Porter; William D. Hardesty; Courtney Daragan; Bonnie Woosley; Susan Trinter; Riordan Merien; Lauren Rosen; Heidi Fogelberg; Paul Nelson; Jun Erlendsson; Ev Corum; Donald Wolff; Fred E Schnetzler; Tom Carroll; Sheryl Colle; Richard Mitchell; Srinivas Talabattula; Merrill Dyck; Daniel Sandoval; Bradley Burch; Jenny Davidson; Amy Cordova; John Brant; Sarah Makarechian; Peter Dragovitsch; Murray Pinchuk; Lisa Abramson; Barrie Morrison; Michael Lewis; Roy Taylor; Johnna Boyd; Jon Martens; Carlo G., Louise Fowler, Connie Gruen and David Oakes.

FYI
News, Conferences, Institutes, Events

* Wednesday, February 3rd, from 3:00 to 3:45 EDT, Dr. Lorraine Sherry, University of Colorado at Denver and will host a chat on "Technology and At-Risk Students." Dr. Sherry has worked with the Boulder Valley Internet Project, The WEB Project and the Annenberg/CPB Math & Science Project. She will address issues with students in high poverty rural and urban areas. For more background see: http://www.rmcdenver.com/useguide/jan_1999 To access the chat, go to The Wellspring at: http://wellspring.isinj.com and click on the Seminar Sessions button.

Another February event will take place on - Wednesday, the 24th, 3:00 to 3:45 EDT, when Rory McGreal, Executive Director of the TeleEducation New Brunswick Virtual Campus will discuss "9,000 Online Courses: What Does it Mean?" Web site: http://database.telecampus.com

* MultiMediaCom, the 1999 Conference on Multimedia Communications and Collaboration will be held in San Jose, California at the San Jose Convention Center, March 8-11. Keynote speaker will be Mark Cuban, President and Chairman of the Board broadcast.com. Three tracks have been designated: Distance Education, Tele-Health and Corporate/Government.

* April 9-10, 1999 are the dates for The Distance Learning Workshop for Your Creative Teleteaching. The Conference will be at the Sheraton Uptown Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will focus on Essential Skills for quality World Wide Web and Interactive Television Programs and Courses. For more information visit: http://www.nmsu.edu/~ced/wkshp.htm

* Corporate University Xchange will sponsor the first very 1999 Corporate University Excellence Awards Dinner on April 27, at the National Press Club. Five top corporate universities will be honored for demonstrating innovative practices in anytime, anywhere learning. John Authers, education correspondent for the Financial Times, will give the keynote speech and present the awards. Winners will be recognized in the Financial Times. The event will be part of the Corporate University Xchange's upcoming symposium and expo, "Designing a Virtual Corporate University"at the Washington Hilton and Towers in Washington, DC, April 26-28, 1999. Register by March 12 for Early Bird Savings! For a brochure, visit: http://www.corpu.com or call (800) 946-1210.

* NUTN `99 - The Digital Millennium: Collaboration, Integration, Education, scheduled for June 27-29, 1999 in Seattle, Washington, is issuing A CALL FOR PAPERS. A special category for papers is Action Research that Assesses the Impact of Technology on Teaching and Learning. For more information visit: http://www.odu.edu/~nutn

* WEBNET 99 - The World Conference of the WWW and Internet is scheduled for Oct. 25-30, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort. The conference is issuing a CALL FOR PARTICIPATION, with a submission deadline of Feb. 25, 1999. The conference is hosted by the University of Hawaii and organized by AACE-Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education in cooperation WWW/Internet businesses and industry. For further information see: http://www.aace.org/conf/webnet

FEBRUARY DESIEN ISSUE - Third in a Series on Authorware: Using Course in A Box as part of a Course taught with Blended Technologies by Simone Conceicao-Runlee, Department of Education, UW-Milwaukee

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.