Online Learning at UMass Dartmouth

1
Online Learning at UMass Dartmouth

• Jen Riley
• Faculty Instructional Technology Coordinator
• CITS/Instructional Development
• For Faculty Senate Meeting
• October 21, 2008

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Instructional Technology in the United States

• Online Student Learning According to the
  recently released Online Nation 5 Years of
  Growth in Online Learning (2008) from the Sloan
  Consortium, online enrollments have grown at
  rates in excess of the total higher education
  student population
• Almost 3.5 million students were taking at least
  one online course during the fall 2006 term a
  nearly 10 percent increase over the number
  reported the previous year.
• The 9.7 percent growth rate for online
  enrollments far exceeds the 1.5 percent growth of
  the overall higher education student population.
• Nearly twenty percent of all U.S. higher
  education students were taking at least one
  online course in the fall of 2006.
• (Online Nation 1)

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Current Trends in Online Learning

• Learning Management System Use
• Social Networking
• Web 2.0 Technologies (i.e. wikis, blogs reusable
  learning objects)
• Audio and Video Use (i.e. lecture capture,
  podcasting)
• In class instructional technologies (i.e.
  clickers)
• Electronic Portfolios
• Second Life/Virtual Worlds
• Mobile Broadband Growth for content delivery

4
Opportunities to IncreaseStudent Learning

• Mobile broadband growth provides way to reach
  students anytime anywhere
• Communication and collaboration increasing due to
  increase in tools that connect people (i.e.
  online collaborative workspaces, social
  networking tools, synchronous online conferencing
  tools)
• Collaborative softwares (i.e. wikis) encourage
  team projects and social networking
• Online collaborative workspaces allow students
  and faculty to meet and work virtually also
  offers opportunities for guest speakers and
  connections between classrooms in different parts
  of the world.
• Grassroots video growth opens door to new ways of
  learning with emphasis on visual literacy
• Electronic Portfolios offer holistic learning
  tool, space for student reflection, and
  assessment of student learning possibilities

5
Instructional Technology Useat UMass Dartmouth

• The following instructional technologies are in
  use on campus
• wikis
• blogs
• podcasting/audio lectures
• e-packs from textbooks
• publisher websites
• testing software
• streaming video
• clickers
• myCourses (learning management system)
• reusable learning objects

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Learning Management SystemUse at UMass Dartmouth
7
Learning Management SystemUse at UMass Dartmouth
8
Web-Enhanced, Blended, and Fully Online Faculty
and StudentLMS Use 2005-2008
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Future of online learning atUMass Dartmouth

• What might enhanced, blended, and fully online
  learning look like at UMass Dartmouth?
• What is needed to successfully integrate
  instructional technologies into the undergraduate
  learning experience?

10
Next Steps...

• We need a blended/online teaching and learning
  infrastructure using instructional technologies
  developed in the following ways
• Survey the faculty for instructional technology
  use to gather a clearer understanding of
  instructional technologies use on campus
• Develop instructional technology teaching and
  learning implementation plan that addresses
  curricular issues, faculty development issues,
  and assessment of online learning environments
• Work with colleges and departments to determine
  how best to build web-enhanced, blended, and
  online curriculums
• Develop academic policies for web-enhanced,
  blended, and online course delivery and
  assessment
• Support faculty with instructional technology use
  and assessment as it fits their curriculums and
  needs