Transcript Innovating, Differentiating, & Assuring Cultural

Innovating, Differentiating, &
Assuring Cultural Compatibility:
Lessons Learned in Faculty Transition & Student
Retention
Elizabeth S. Aversa, Ph.D.
Steven L. MacCall, Ph.D.
School of Library & Information Studies
University of Alabama
Why the Wimba Option for SLIS?
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SLIS culture and values
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Close-knit community
Personalized program
Communicative faculty and students
Selective admissions
SLIS faculty experience
University support
Rationale for Wimba
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SLIS benefits from strategic adoption of
online education.
SLIS benefits from previous experience with
two-way compressed video delivery of
instruction
SLIS benefits from providing a full master’s
program to a highly selective audience of
limited size
Context for Online LIS Education
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LIS education suffers geographical imbalance
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Number of accredited programs <60
Programs are mainly in south, east, midwest
Few programs are in the west (only 2 in CA)
LIS educators have long sought new
pedagogical modes to address the imbalance
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Faculty traveled to off-campus sites
Correspondence courses via USPS
Era of Telecomm LIS education
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Early Internet (1970s-1980s)
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Early Internet allowed for email to substitute for
the USPS for correspondence type courses
Lack of bandwidth prevented graphical, audio,
and video files over the web
Compressed two-way video networks (1990s)
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Delivered live lectures (audio and video) to
locations on the network
Students had to travel to sites on the network to
receive instruction
Web Era Online Education
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Web emerged as the “graphical interface” for
Internet applications (mid-1990s)
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Multimedia capabilities
Easy “point and click” end user operations
Simultaneously, Internet bandwidth increased
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Fiber optic lines were laid across the country
However, the “final mile” problem persists even in
an era of cable and DSL
The SLIS Model for Online Education
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Blackboard Vista platform (BB Vista)
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Used for secure course websites
Provides access to course support materials including
syllabi, calendars, readings, lecture notes, etc.
Wimba platform for 2-way VoIP
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Simulates classroom experience
Students hear live lectures, discussion and questions with
professors and classmates
Chat remains useful but in context of the live lectures
Advantages of SLIS Model
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Real time VoIP-based lecture delivery mode
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Provides opportunity for real time learning
Asynchronous modes of delivery will be
strategically deployed during MLIS coursework
SLIS model is not for everyone
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Students must attend classes at appointed times
Not “self-paced” like many fully asynchronous LIS
degree programs
Transitioning from the Physical Classroom
to Wimba Live Classroom
Opportunity
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Could draw on previous SLIS culture of live
lectures at a distance with two-way
compressed video
Use of two way VoIP technology for live
lecturing, student questions, student breakout
groups
Wimba Live Classroom and BB Vista for
course support materials
Challenges
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Transitioning an ALA-accredited program to
online delivery
Director’s concern for student well-being
Concern for faculty well being
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Course support materials
Lecturing/class participation
It Starts with BB Vista
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BB Vista for face-to-face and DE courses
BB Vista course website governs student
access to Wimba Live Classroom
BB Vista populated by university registration
system (Banner)
However, BB Vista and Wimba are managed
by different units at UA
Course Support Material Migration
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Straightforward for those who were proficient
with BB Vista’s predecessor (Web-CT)
But, those who had not used a course
management system had to learn
Using live two-way VoIP (Wimba) meant that
all course content did not have to go on
Web-CT (or now, BB Vista)
Lecturing and Class Participation
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Two simple steps to enter classroom
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Through BB Vista
Students need no reminder
Familiar “hand raising” function is key for
managing Live Classroom during lectures
Use of familiar PPT, graphical exhibits, or
websites is facilitated by application sharing
and thus allows faculty to replicate face-toface teaching experience
Advantages of Two-Way VoIP
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Course preparation is not onerous due to
continuing reliance on the spoken word to
deliver course content
Lecturing process is highly transparent
Energy in the voice comes through to
students, so the personality of the professor
and students remains in evidence
Everyone hears students questions and
faculty response (and can cue from the tone
of the discussion, questioner’s voice, etc.)
Disadvantages of Two-Way VoIP
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Lack of non-verbal cues to modulate class
comprehension as a whole and student
questions individually
Class lectures can take longer than in faceto-face delivery mode
Net congestion
DE Coordinator’s Perspective
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Web-CT/BB Vista: Several faculty members
had no experience with course management
systems, so our solution was to deliver
course materials as Word documents and
then to slowly add more sophisticated
functions
Wimba Live Classroom: Because of our
culture of delivering live distance education
by compressed video our solution was to
simply demystify
Director’s Perspective
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Concern for the possibility of increased
faculty workload that could be caused by
increased e-mail and discussion board traffic
Concern with maintaining student
engagement during courses
Interest in framing research that would
enable faculty to improve student learning
while maintaining reasonable faculty
workloads
Successful Strategies for a Successful
Program
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Planned
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Integrated
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Monitored
Strategies for Successful Program
Management
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Enhanced teaching
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Enhanced learning, problem solving, and
critical thinking
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Building community and professional identity
SLIS Strategies are Designed to Avoid
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Student Isolation
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Distraction of competing adult responsibilities
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Technological problems
Avoiding Student Isolation
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Cohort concept
On-campus boot camp orientation
Availability of extracurricular activities and
professional association chapters
Town Hall meetings
Mixed modality electives integrate on-campus
students and broaden the students’ networks
Avoiding Adult Distractions
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Live lecture classes
Attendance policies
Group responsibilities
24/7 break out rooms for discussion, group
work, planning meetings, and socializing
Archives are available if distractions occur
Avoiding Technical & Logistical Problems
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Real time tech support during class sessions
Tech consulting at orientation and throughout
the program for individual problems
Peer assisting is part of learning community
concept
Library support from University libraries and
DE librarian
Student Retention and Growing Success
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2005 Pioneer Cohort
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2006 Second Wave Cohort
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Admitted 43
Retained 42 in year 2
Admitted 44
Retained 40 in year 2
2007 Three’s the Charm Cohort
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Admitted 41 in August 2007 from 180+ eligible,
admissible applicants
Research to Inform & Refine Future SLIS
Approaches
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Research questions:
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How much additional e-mail does a professor
handle in an online class that uses Wimba?
How can messages be characterized?
How do messages differ from face-to-face
classroom communications?
What is the workload impact?
Tentative Results
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Classification scheme
Transcripts
Anticipated completion.
Contacts
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Steven MacCall, Associate Professor ([email protected])
Elizabeth Aversa, Professor & Director
([email protected])
Phone 204-348-4610
School of Library & Information Studies
University of Alabama
Box 870252
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Program description at http://www.slis.ua.edu