Inter-Institutional Collaborations Using Online Learning Technologies

1. UIS UIS Inter-Institutional Collaborations Using Online Learning Technologies Shari McCurdy and Ray Schroeder University of Illinois at Springfield Maureen Yoder and Mimi Gilman Lesley University

2. Higher Education Collaboration Inter-Institutional Collaboration via web • Common modes • Guest speakers – any time / anywhere • Time/geographic boundaries no longer matter • Faculty exchanges – without leaving campus • Student exchanges – without leaving dorms • Joint degree programs – seamless • Joint faculty appointments – • Shared laboratories, libraries (OCLC), and learning objects , and collaborative writing

3. Collaboration Modes

4. University of Illinois at Springfield • Established in 1970; became a campus of the University of Illinois in 1995 • 4,300 students • First online class in fall 1998 • Rapid online growth of ~30%/year • Eight online degree programs • 1,450 students taking at least one online class – accounting for 2,350 enrollments • Extensive system of faculty support - OTEL • Stipends, formal classes, one-on-one pedagogical support, technical support, array of synchronous and asynchronous online tools • ~12% minority enrollment

5. Lesley University • Established 1909 in Cambridge, MA as a two-year normal college • Now offers degrees through the Ph.D. • Recently became a fully co-ed institution • 85% of graduates enter public service in fields such as teaching, counseling, and human services • Distance learning has expanded rapidly • Technology in Education is a leading field of study

6. Elluminate Login

7. UIS/Lesley University • Education Class Collaborations • UIS - Shari McCurdy’s class • Lesley Univ. - Mimi Gilman’s class • Nature of collaborations • Virtual guest speaker • Outcomes

8. Best Practices Synchronous • Establish netiquette for the classroom ahead of time • Be sure class is well prepared to use the tools • Allow participants extra time prior to session start to perform audio/video tests • Make sure user privileges are as equal as possible • Establish recording procedures (at least for Elluminate which doesn’t automatically record.) • Plan for plenty of sidebar discussions via email/phone between faculty members • Understand that there may be students who could be overwhelmed by the need to speak into a microphone and hear their own voice. • Open classroom to avoid scheduling problems • Consider using asynchronous tools to assist in organizing

9. CSU/UIS HECA • State of Illinois Board of Higher Education – Higher Ed Cooperation Act Grant in 2001 began a continuing partnership (SBC Match Gift) • Technical training for staff • Pedagogical training for faculty • Exchange visits to two campuses • Blackboard • 2004 – partnership matured into a true collaborations in online classes • Goal – engage urban/minority and rural/white perspectives in classes

10. Administrative Arrangements • Students enroll at home institution • Blackboard approved sharing since same-level licenses between campuses • Elluminate license not restrictive • Faculty members receive stipend from grant for extra efforts in collaborations • Faculty members grade own students • Negotiate a shared syllabus • Exceptions noted as needed for campus-specific requirements

11. Blackboard Discussions

12. Best Practices Asynchronous • Begin faculty joint planning at least one full semester before offering • Confer on teaching styles and important areas of instruction for each individual • Establish licensing constraints with vendors • Work out details of responding to students in advance • Which faculty member responds at what time to which students (anytime? All?) • Pre-plan how to handle disagreements between students – disagreements between faculty • Establish parallel schedules for responses, posting of grades, etc. • Plan for plenty of sidebar discussions via email/phone between faculty members

13. Expanding Collaborations • UIS / CSU / Columbia NYC – March 2005 • Synchronous session joining students and faculty from Internet and American Life at UIS/CSU with class in Computer Mediated Communication at Columbia • Students in NY, IL, CA, FL, Taiwan • UIS / Warsaw School of Economics – Fall 2005 • Merged Philosophy class • UIS/University of San Francisco – Fall 2005 • Podcast collaborations • Prof. Margaret Maag & Ray Schroeder

14. Future of Collaborations • Digital online collaborations in higher education • Breaking down geographic, cultural, and institutional barriers • Promoting diversity - broader understanding • Sharing resources – laboratories, libraries, hardware, software, and more • Sharing faculty and staff expertise • Offering under-enrolled classes • Stretching the curriculum

15. Resources • Webliographyhttp://online.uis.edu/collaboration/ • JALN article for upcoming special issue on Collaboration: INTER-INSTITUTIONAL ONLINE COLLABORATION: PROMOTING ACCESS, DIVERSITY AND QUALITY • http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/index.asp

16. Contact Information Ray Schroeder, Director - Shari McCurdy, Associate Director schroeder.ray @uis.edu - mccurdy.shari@uis.edu Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning University of Illinois at Springfield ~~~ Maureen Yoder - Mimi Gilman myoder@lesley.edu - mimigilman1@mac.com Technology in Education Lesley University This Presentationhttp://people.uis.edu/rschr1/aln05.ppt