Dr. Andy DiPaolo

1
Online Engineering Education Myth or Reality?

• Dr. Andy DiPaolo
• Executive Director
• Stanford Center for Professional Development
• Senior Associate Dean
• School of Engineering
• Stanford University

2
The ability to learn faster than your
competitors may be the only sustainable
competitive advantage.

• Peter Senge,
• The Fifth Discipline

3
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Access to learning independent of time and
  distance.
• Convenience and flexibility in course delivery.
• Choice of synchronous (real-time) and/or
  asynchronous (time-delayed) delivery options.

4
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Well designed, engaging and intellectually
  challenging courses with degree and certification
  options.
• Seamless, available and reliable delivery
  formats.
• Emphasis on learner-centered vs teacher-centered
  approaches.

5
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Presentations and interactions incorporating
  problem based simulations.
• Modularized formats which can be bundled and
  customized into a personal learning experience.
• Pull vs push approaches targeted to meet
  specific needs of learners.

6
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Participation in a learning community through
  interaction with instructor, teaching
  assistants, experts and peers.
• Provisions for tele-coaching and tele-mentoring.
• Opportunity to test before buying.

7
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Access to multimedia learning materials, content
  collections and libraries.
• Opportunity to practice working in geographically
  dispersed learning teams.
• Convenient and reliable e-support for academic
  advising and student services.

8
What Engineers Want in Online Learning

• Alignment of education to meet business and
  career goals.
• Competitive pricing.
• Emphasis on customer service.
• Return on investment.
• Lifelong educational renewal.

9
Stanford Center for Professional Development

• The Stanford Center for Professional Development
  develops and delivers programs, courses and
  services using telecommunications, multimedia and
  campus-based solutions to support the advanced
  educational needs of technical professionals,
  managers and executives.

10
SCPD Program Offerings

• Masters Degree - Honors Cooperative Program
• Credit courses - Non-Degree Option
• Audit
• Academic Certificate Programs
• Professional and executive education programs
• Course licensing
• Research seminars

11
SCPD Delivery Technologies

• Videotape
• Multimedia
• Internet and web

• Five TV channels
• Satellite
• Two-way video
• Fiber

12
Stanford Online

• Transformed from research project into Stanford
  Online program in Spring 1997.
• Compaq Computer and Microsoft are strategic
  partners.

• SCPD televises 75 courses per quarter and a
  subset of these are also available via Stanford
  Online.

13
Stanford Online

• Over 300 online courses since 1998.
• Available at 28.8bps (8fps) or 128 kpbs (15 fps).
• Courses updated quarterly to maintain currency.
• Approach is transparent to faculty.

14
Stanford Online Programs

• Courses in Electrical Engineering, Computer
  Science, Industrial Engineering/Engineering
  Management, and Mechanical Engineering
• MS Degree in Electrical Engineering with
  Telecommunications focus
• Certificates in Telecommunications and
  Bioinformatics
• Professional education courses and conferences

15
Summary of Feedback To Date

• Online learning attracts students who would not
  otherwise have taken course
• Convenience is critical for busy students
• Video online has value
• Significant benefit for campus students and
  faculty
• Students satisfied with learning via Stanford
  Online

16
Recommendations from Lessons Learned

• Choose high demand disciplines and recruit best
  faculty - - make sure program is consistent with
  institutions mission.
• Offer faculty incentives and rewards and address
  concerns with ownership of intellectual property.
• Create or select uniform course development
  system with common look and feel approved by
  faculty - - think modular and scalable.

17
Recommendations from Lessons Learned

• Use mature delivery technologies.
• Develop comprehensive faculty and student support
  services which are user friendly.
• Create strong marketing enterprise with database
  management at its core.
• Provide students access to learning resources.

18
Recommendations from Lessons Learned

• Make sure students receive clear info on
• Course and degree requirements
• Training in use of technology
• Availability of academic support and advisory
  services
• Costs and payment policies
• Create a community of learners with synchronous
  and asynchronous interactions.

19
Recommendations from Lessons Learned

• Develop strong assessment program on student
  learning, student retention, and student and
  faculty satisfaction.
• Target revenue to cover costs with remainder
  provided to sponsoring departments/faculty and
  for future development.

20
Success Factors of Online Learning

• Access
• Learning
• Cost effectiveness
• Learner satisfaction
• Faculty satisfaction

21
For additional information

• Dr. Andy DiPaolo
• adp_at_leland.stanford.edu
• Stanford Center for Professional Development
• http//scpd.stanford.edu
• Stanford Online
• http//stanford-online

22

Online Engineering Education Myth or Reality?

• Dr. Andy DiPaolo
• Executive Director
• Stanford Center for Professional Development
• Senior Associate Dean
• School of Engineering
• Stanford University