Why
?
How can a course management
system (CMS) enhance my online
(or face-to-face) course?
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Larry MacPhee, CTEL Director
Erin Shelley, WebCT Trainer
Gary Karcz, WebCT Administrator
Center for Technology Enhanced Learning
Outline of Presentation
 Larry’s
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Part
Part
Part
Part
 Erin
Part (25 minutes)
I: Introduction 5 minutes
II: Why use a CMS? 10 minutes
III: Why work with CTEL? 5 minutes
IV: Why use WebCT? 5 minutes
and Gary’s Part (35 minutes)
 Part IV: Take a look at WebCT…
 Your
Part (15 minutes)
 Part V: Questions / Discussion
How is a web course different
from a face-to-face course?
Face-to-face
Web Enhanced
Web Based
Traditional
Hybrid
Online
No Web
Some Web
All Web
Classroom
Local
Distance
Many at NAU
Currently Few
at NAU
Growing
Rapidly at
NAU
Mountain Campus
Enrollment
16,000
Undergraduates
15,000
14,000
Total
Headcount
13,000
FTE
12,000
11,000
10,000
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Source: John Campbell, ITS
Web Course Growth
Growth in Online Enrollment
5000
Enrollment
4000
Mountain Campus Enrollment
3000
Statewide Enrollment
2000
Yuma Enrollment
1000
0
Fall 2001
Fall 2002
Fall 2003
Source: Terri Hayes, DLS
Properties of a Web Course
Characteristic
Disadvantages
Advantages
 Guilt Inducing
 Convenient
 Inclusive
Anywhere
 Isolating
 Convenient
 Inclusive
Technical
 Intimidating
 Requires Support
 Builds skills
 Innovative
 Requires Discipline
 Comfortable
 Bandwidth
 Copyright
 Dynamic
 Paperless
 Building is Harder
 Teaching is Easier
Anytime
Self-paced
Digital
Teaching
Details
Myths about online courses
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Once built, there is no need for an instructor.
The instructor doesn’t need to know technology.
A web course can have unlimited enrollment.
Online students do not write.
The educational experience is impersonal.
Web courses are easier than traditional courses.
Some day all courses will be taught this way.
But there are similarities too!
Seven Principles of Good Practice
1. Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact
2. Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students
3. Good Practice Encourages Active Learning
4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task
6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Details
Why use a WCMS?
Why not just use DreamWeaver
or FrontPage or some other
“WYSIWYG” HTML editor to
build my web course?
Definition
What is a Web Course
Management System?
A Web Course Management
System is server-based software
that helps faculty construct,
administer, and deliver an online
course using a web interface and
a familiar classroom metaphor.
Trade-off between WCMS & HTML
WCMS
HTML
Advantages
Disadvantages
Outcomes
Adapted from Eck Doerry
Trade-off between WCMS & HTML
WCMS
Advantages
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Easy to learn
Built-in course tools
Templates
Consistent “look and feel”
ADA Compliance
HTML
 Powerful
 Flexible
 Do it yourself approach
Disadvantages
Outcomes
Adapted from Eck Doerry
Trade-off between WCMS & HTML
WCMS
Advantages
Disadvantages
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Easy to learn
Built-in course tools
Templates
Consistent “look and feel”
ADA Compliance
 Constraining
 Clunky Design Interface
 Still need an HTML Editor
HTML
 Powerful
 Flexible
 Do it yourself approach
 Major Time Investment
 Major Effort Required
 Custom programming
Outcomes
Adapted from Eck Doerry
Trade-off between WCMS & HTML
WCMS
Advantages
Disadvantages
Outcomes
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Easy to learn
Built-in course tools
Templates
Consistent “look and feel”
ADA Compliance
 Constraining
 Clunky Design Interface
 Still need an HTML Editor
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More courses developed
Greater student satisfaction
Greater faculty “ownership”
More sophisticated courses
Cookie-cutter courses?
Power users will mock you?
HTML
 Powerful
 Flexible
 Do it yourself approach
 Significant Time Investment
 Significant Effort Required
 Custom programming
 Experts only
 Rudimentary course pages
 Limited interactivity
 Lack of style / design
 Infrequent updates
(cobwebs)
Adapted from Eck Doerry
With a CMS, you get…
Security & Privacy
The instructor holds the key!
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Student access controlled
Guest access controlled
Instructor’s Intellectual Property protected
Copyrighted materials secured
Student privacy protected
Course content selectively released*
Assignment submissions logged
Tests and assignments more secure*
With a CMS, you get…
Reminders & Reassurances
Help keep your students on track…
 Reminders
 General Announcements
 Calendar with Deadlines
 New Assignments
 Unread Discussion Postings
 You’ve got mail!
 Reassurances
 Successfully completed a quiz/test
 Successfully uploaded an assignment
 Feedback
 Scores posted automatically*
With a CMS, you get…
Monitoring Capabilities
The instructor can monitor student progress on tasks…
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Time spent on page
Number of visits
Path to page
Assignments completed
Date and time submitted
Detailed reports
… and students can check their own progress
With a CMS, you get…
Rich Interaction
and Feedback
More than just e-mail…
 Synchronous (real-time or “live”)
 Chat rooms
 Sketch pad
 Video-conferencing*
 Asynchronous (delayed response)
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Course Announcements
Discussion boards
Internet e-mail
Off-line work*
With a CMS, you get…
Testing Tools
Powerful test creation and administration tools…
Students can be evaluated with:
 Multiple choice
 Fill in the blank
 Matching
 Essays
 Participation
Administration of testing:
 Testing Time Windows
 IP Access Restrictions
 Password Authentication
With a CMS, you get…
Grades & Record Keeping
Automation and integration with campus systems…
 Automatic Roster Import
 Answers automatically graded*
 Scores automatically recorded
 Grades automatically posted*
 WebCT GradeBook
Microsoft Excel
 Automatic Roster Export*
With a CMS, you get…
A Document Delivery System
Even face-to-face classes can benefit…
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Cost Saving on Photocopies
Course Handouts Online
Lecture Notes Online
Assigned Readings Online
Benefits Students Who Miss Class
Students Can Focus on Lecture
Serves as a Review of Material Covered
A Campus Standard
CMS brings:
 Integration with Other Campus Systems
 ITS Server-Side Support (Backup, Troubleshooting)
 CMS Product Support (in the contract)
 Help Desk Support for Students
 CTEL Course Development Support for Faculty
 Student Comfort from Familiarity
 An Online Faculty Community
Why work with CTEL?
Value added…
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Custom WebCT Training Sessions
Instructional Design Support
Graphics Support
Web Design Support
Project Manager Support
$tipends for Web Course Development
CTEL Assisted WebCT Courses
Percentage of Courses by College
Arts & Sciences
Business Administration
Engineering
Health Professions
Education
Communication
Ecosystem Science & Management
Hotel & Restaurant Management
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Why work with CTEL?
Experience: More than 200 courses developed since Fall, 2001
Talent: Faculty like our work and appreciate our help.
Why
?
Why not some other CMS?
How was WebCT selected?
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
a
bo
r
e
th
O
k
ac
Bl
T
C
eb
W
rd
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Late April, 2001
A technology panel made recommendations
WebCT and Blackboard gave product demos
Provost Haeger solicited all faculty vote by e-mail
48 faculty members cast a vote
Comparing CMSes
http://www.edutools.info/course/compare/all.jsp
In a feature-for-feature comparison,
WebCT rates among the best!
EduTools, is a non-profit that partners with the Western Cooperative for
Educational Telecommunications (WCET), the Center for Curriculum Transfer and
Technology (C2T2) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Gartner Group's 2002 “Distributed
Learning in Higher Education” Survey
38% WebCT
26% Blackboard
25% no campus standard
9% other
2% unknown
“By 2005, 90% of institutions that do not have
a single campus-standard CMS will not have
the capacity to handle their e-learning
demands”
Casey Green’s Campus Computing Study
of American Public Institutions
44.6% WebCT
27.7% Blackboard
23.1% No Standard
4.6% Other
Why WebCT?
“An object in motion…”
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NAU needs a single standard supported CMS
We’ve been using WebCT since Summer, 2001
Over 700 “course projects” currently in WebCT
WebCT is well established at NAU
Access my webclass (List of Online Courses)
Change is hard on students, faculty, staff, budgets
What’s the alternative? How would we get there?
WebCT is far from perfect, but it serves us well.
Some final stats:
Online Student Profile
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Taking courses online for the convenience
Working from home
Connection Speed: 56K
Comfortable Online (3+ years experience)
Female (65%)
Age: 30-35
Junior/Senior Level Undergraduate
Working Full Time
Living: 50+ miles from campus
What Our Students Tell Us…
The only thing that may improve the web course experience is
to offer a wider variety of classes.
On-line courses are a miracle and a life-saver for me. I probably
would not be able to continue my education… had it not been
for the online credits that I have picked up. Don't stop.
I believe web courses are a horrible environment for collegelevel learning… Without being too hostile and negative, I
hate the idea of online courses.
I found the web course experience to be very easy… I really
enjoyed this type of learning. It allowed me to work full time
and continue my education. I would not change anything.
Thank you NAU.
More Comments
And now for the WebCT
Demonstration…
with
Gary Karcz & Erin Shelley