Graduate Online Course: Technology - Use & Assessment

1. Graduate Online Course: Technology - Use & Assessment Jim Flowers Department of Industry & Technology Ball State University jcflowers1@bsu.edu http://www.bsu.edu/classes/flowers2/flowers.htm

2. Presentation Questions • 1. What is this course? • 2. How was it developed? • 3. How was it implemented? • 4. What does it “look like?” • 5. What were some student projects? • 6. What lessons were learned? • 7. What does the future hold?

3. 1. What is this course? • ITEDU 510: Technology – Use and Assessment • An elective in Ball State’s masters in TE • Based on newly developed undergraduate face-to-face (F2F) course on Using and Assessing Technology

4. Specifics • 100% online • Asynchronous • With weekly lessons and deadlines • First offered Fall, 2000 • Next offered Fall, 2001 • 26/27 enrollees completed

5. Instructional Technology • Blackboard’s CourseInfo • Can be accessed by any computer on the Internet • Webpage creation

6. Unique attributes • Individual and collaborative learning • Student-written objective • Only formative quizzes • No final exam

7. 2. How was it developed? • A championed idea • Most content came from outside Tech Ed • Tried out some content & activities with undergraduate F2F class first • Used survey results and research to inform decisions

8. Support • Departmental support • Unusually good University support • 6 hrs assigned time for development • I had to become an online student • Attendance at all related workshops • Instructional designer • (Other support, as needed)

9. Content Issues • Based on “Design, produce, use, assess”

10. ITEA Standard 13: • “Students will develop the abilities to assess the impact of products and systems.”

11. Not ITEA Standard 12: • “Students will develop the abilities to use and maintain technological products and systems.” • “Use hand tools correctly.” • “Use computers to access and organize information.”

12. Levels of “Using Technology” • Personal* • Corporate • Cultural • National • Global

13. Studying “Using Technology” • Trends in use • Problems with use • Usability • User-centered design • Anthropometrics & Ergonomics • Universal Design • User surveys • Instructions for users • Other

14. Usability Research • Usability testing • User survey • Other

15. Levels of “Technology Assessment” • Personal • Corporate • Cultural • National* • Global

16. Technology Assessment • Analysis of TA reports from the US Office of Technology Assessment, and others • Formal TA process • Web-based group TA reports

17. Individualized Objective • Individualized project

18. Development Issues • Providing for the personal touch • Among students • Between students and the instructor • Blending didactic and constructivistic • Including individualized and group learning • Realistic, doable, fun, and meaningful

19. 3. How was it implemented?

20. Marketing • To on-campus Tech Ed students • At ITEA conference • (Surreptitiously through a survey) • An ad was placed in a TEI periodical • Email was sent to all TE state supervisors • Brochures were sent to all HS principals in Indiana.

21. Registration & Enrollment • Online • Some delays, but no major problems • Course divided into on-campus and off-campus sections, and limit increased above 20 • 27 students enrolled, 26 completed

22. Web-Based Instruction • Modules, usually 1 per week • Interaction • File exchange • Discussion boards • 3 larger activities • Individual usability research • Team technology assessment • Individual project

23. Rigorous course assessment • Standard “promotion and tenure” course assessment was inadequate • Additional course assessment based on “Quality on the Line, Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Education”

24. 4. What does it “look like?” • The Blackboard CourseInfo Interface • Separate Web pages