Providing Student Resources through Online Workshops and a Student Services Center

1. Providing Student Resources through Online Workshops and a Student Services Center

2. Who We Are • Dr. Cathy Gunn, Director, Illinois Virtual Campus cgunn@uillinois.edu • Anita Crawley, Student Development Faculty, William Rainey Harper College acrawley@uillinois.edu

3. Overview • Illinois Virtual Campus • Online Student Services Center • Orientation to Online Learning Workshop • Discussion

4. Illinois Virtual Campus • Overview – see brochure • 66 colleges and universities in Illinois • 3211 courses (2135 online) • 89 certificate or degree programs (82 online) • 117,000 course enrollments last year • 40 Student Support Centers

5. IVC Student Support Centers • Access to computers and Internet • Access to technical support • Access to student learning resources (i.e., library, learning centers) • Testing services • Advisement • Marketing

6. Online Student Services Center Map of Student Support Centers

8. Online Student Services Center Matrix of student resources (handout)

10. Assumptions • Online student services available 24/7 • Not designed to replace face-to-face services • High tech and high touch - a great partnership • One size doesn’t fit all

11.     Online Student Services Center (OSSC) • Historical Perspective • Developed Summer 2000 • Goals • Learning center for online education • One stop student services center • Example – Audience Choice • IVC Online Student Services Center

12. Assessment Evaluation • Focus Groups • Web Trend Reports • Online and Informal feedback

13. Revisions • Streamlined content • Reduced number of links • Developed featured sites • Created multiple ways of using the site • Added a financial assistance guide

14. Questions We Asked • Are students and staff using the site? • Can we do more to help student make decisions about online learning?

15. Orientation to Online Learning Workshop • Historical Perspective • Developed Summer of 2001 • First offered August 2001

16. Goals • Introductory online experience • Low investment of time • Opportunities to build skills and confidence • Expand use and awareness of Online Student Services Center

17. Workshop Structure • Free • 2 weeks • Self-paced • Instructor facilitated • Taught from WebCt course management system

18. Instructional Methods • Topical outlines/mini-lectures • Asynchronous discussion • Self assessment tools • Topical readings from Internet • Time to reflect and write • 9 self contained modules

19. #1 Navigating WebCt • What is a course management system? • Learning WebCt terminology • Navigating the course using WebCt • Using the discussion board • Discussion - Introduce yourself

20. #2 What is Online Learning? • Different types of online courses • What to expect as an online student (ION) • Advantages and disadvantages of online learning • Online learning terminology (OSSC) • Discussion – reasons for taking online courses

21. #3 Effective Online Communication • Online communication lingo – synchronous, asynchronous, email, phone, chat, etc. • Netiquette • Key elements of online communication • Discussion – highlights of effective online communication

22. #4 Effective Online Learner Characteristics • Readiness for online learning • Life roles and educational goals • Self assessment of readiness • 1st Profile Assignment

23. #5 Learning Style • Tour of module – WebCt • Learn about learning styles • Identify own learning preferences - OASIS • Understand your style in the online learning environment • 2nd Profile Entry • Discussion – key points from learning style

24. #6 What Technical Skills Might You Need? • Technology Quotient Survey • Tutorials – Internet 101, Email, and either Internet Explorer or Netscape • 3rd profile entry – technical skills self assessment • Discussion - results of survey and what technical skills do you need to learn

25. #7 Internet Research • Search Engines • Library Research (OSSC) • Discussion – most important things your learned about search engines

26. #8 Overcoming Personal Barriers • Academic, Personal, Technical Barriers (OSSC) • Time Management • Discussion Question – Which barrier is of concern to you & what strategies will you use to overcome it? Also 4th Profile entry

27. #9 Goal Setting • Find online courses using IVC search engine • Understanding Student Support Centers • Discussion - Online learning action plan • Final Profile entry • Activity - Submit Completed Profile

28. Statistics August-March • Over 400 participants • 12 sections • 20-30 participants per section

29. Audience • Initial sections – primarily faculty, staff and administrators • Current sections – balance between Illinois college employees and students

30. Lessons Learned • Expanded from 1 to 2 weeks • Early notification leads to lower participation • Time constraints influence level of participation especially with a free workshop

31. Where Do We Go From Here? • Create a Blackboard version • Workshop files made available from IVC website (www.ivc.illinois.edu) • Collaboration – encourage creation and sharing of modules

32. Future • Decisions – cost recovery • 3 sections (2 instructors/administration) = $2600 • Scalability – instructors • Pre-Service Teacher Education/internships • Illinois Virtual High School instructors • Teacher recertification opportunities