From the Edge

Supporting the university's distance learning initiatives

By Margaret Byrne
Director, Center for Learning Technologies

This is the second installment of a three-part update on some of the initiatives in which the Center for Learning Technologies is involved.

Last time we talked about a number of types of projects - those that are university strategic initiatives, such as Blackboard and Online testing, those that support individual faculty, center-initiated projects, distance learning efforts, or those that help to ensure that the larger university infrastructure is appropriate, adequate, and in place for long-term instructional success.

The Center for Learning Technologies has always been deeply involved in supporting distance-learning initiatives. A number of these initiatives are also university-sponsored. The major initiatives in which the center is involved are: 1) the videostreaming project; 2) the Navy contract for the Navy College undergraduate degree program in general engineering technology (out of the College of Engineering and Technology); 3) the Navy contract for the graduate degree program in engineering management (also out of the same college); 4) the Northrop Grumman (formerly Logicon) contract with the Army for work with the Army Cadet Corps on the four-year ROTC curriculum; 5) the Opportunity Inc.-sponsored effort involving the Military Career Transition Program, and the Darden College of Education's teacher training and special education; and 6) the redesign and redevelopment of video-delivered courses, as appropriate, to learner-centered models.

In general, the videostreaming project has tended to dominate the center's resources. In the first nine months of the project, the center, with only five FTEs, averaged the equivalent of 7.5 FTEs due to all of the long evening and weekend work. More recently, the center has been able to shift resources back to a more balanced approach. It now allocates approximately 1.25 to 1.5 FTEs to videostreaming. While this is a distance learning project, we can report that, within what is at present a labor-intensive model, the work group has made significant strides at standardizing processes, clarifying scopes of responsibility, identifying infrastructure-related needs and streamlining the workflow.

The military contracts take up the equivalent of another two center FTEs. These projects focus on transitioning current courseware, often in a traditional lecture-based mode, to an anytime-anywhere format that encourages student responsibility. As we all know, the military has been making a significant investment in the concept of "transformation." Part of this transformational effort is to attract and retain the best and the brightest. The military's interest is in using technology and a systems approach to build an educated military that can serve within the context of changing and often unpredictable times. A transformed military is envisioned to be ethical, flexible, capable, creative problem solvers, team players and critical thinkers. It is certainly not the stereotype some of us grew up with!

To support the military's efforts, course materials need to be in formats that allow immediate, anytime-anywhere access. Instructional materials need to be modularized into units and topics that can stand alone and be served up as needed. The approach is a broader systems approach that fosters consistency and regularity, and demands active engagement. Within the Cadet Corps project, the emphasis is on both vertical and horizontal alignment within an entire four-year framework. Indeed, few universities have taken such an enlightened approach to education.

To move lecture-based materials to a model that focuses on the student experience is no small feat. It requires that the instructor completely rethink his/her approach to teaching and learning. It also asks that the instructor not simply repeat time-honored traditions, but attempt to think "outside the box" - perhaps think about instruction from new and multiple points of view, including how to visualize and mediate concepts that historically have been text- based. One of the shining stars in this effort is Bill Stanley, eminent professor emeritus of engineering technology, who has brought to the Navy project tremendous creative energy. The work he has done exemplifies the modular, reusable approach that puts the student first. While this effort is a work in progress, the fundamental instructional model and design approach can serve the entire university community.

In the next and final update for this series, we'll focus on Center for Learning Technologies initiatives. In a future series we'll spotlight the individual and innovative work of faculty.