Far from the Eye Close to the

Far from the Eye – Close to the Heart Methodology and Implementation of a World Wide Online Educational Program Emanuel Gruengard Academic Coordinator – MSc in Computing Laureate Online Education and The University of Liverpool Updated: August 2005 Emanuel Gruengard

The Program A joint venture of: Laureate Online Education Marketing Operations and Finance Academics The University of Liverpool Degree and Academic Control Usage of the e. Library facilities Emanuel Gruengard 2

Offerings and Students’ Profile Master of Science (MSc) in Information Technology with several specializations Master of Business Administration (MBA) Professionals, usually with a Bachelor’s Degree Some degrees not in Computing Some are graduates of conversion programs Several years of experience Life Long Learning paradigm Emanuel Gruengard 3

Technology An Internet application: Asynchronous / Symmetric model Narrow communication band Textual: Textbook and Web materials Information exchanged through discussion forums and email Localized and centralized projects Emanuel Gruengard 4

Communication Using: A client program (First. Class) through an ISP (Embanet) With an option of Offline reading and composing messages And an option of Accessing the server using a WWW browser And lately also some PDA support Emanuel Gruengard 5

Spread of Control Globe-spanning: The University of Liverpool, UK Headquarters, Amsterdam, The Netherlands MSc academic, Tel Aviv, Israel MBA academic, UK Servers’ site, Toronto, Canada Students and instructors in over 110 countries Emanuel Gruengard 6

Requirements (MSc) 180 credit points are needed in order to graduate Eight modules of 15 credit points Terms of eight weeks 10 -11 times in a year Workload of 10 -20 hours per week Usually one module per term Final project (dissertation) of 60 credit points Might be done in 2 years. Expected: 3. Max: 4 Emanuel Gruengard 7

Curriculum Regular Modules (15 credit points each) 8 modules required: 1 mandatory, at least 1 from group A and 1 from group B CS - Computer Structures (Mandatory) CP - OOD and OOP using C++ (Group A - Programming Languages section) Optional addition: p. PC - A pre module for C++ for the novice JV - OOD and OOP using Java (Group A) Optional addition: p. JV - A pre module for Java for the novice IN - Programming the Internet (Group A) DB - Databases (Group B – Foundations section) CC - Computer Communications and Networks (Group B) SE - Software Engineering (Elective) OS – Operating Systems (Elective) SN – Security Engineering (Elective) AI - Artificial intelligence (Elective) EC - e-Commerce (Elective) QA - Management of QA and Software Testing (Elective) MD - Internet and Multimedia Technology (Elective) AT - Advanced Applications of IT (Elective) WA – Web XML Applications (Elective) Dissertation Module (60 credit points) DS - Final Project and Dissertation (Mandatory) Emanuel Gruengard 8

Components Text material Posted lectures A Textbook CD-ROM Discussion questions* Home assignments* Projects* Ongoing moderating Continuous evaluation Program Managers Technical support Quality management and surveys * Graded components Emanuel Gruengard 9

Text and e-moderating Text allows: More economically created and maintained material Usage of narrow band-width • Users showed no interest in “fancy” multimedia Posted lectures consists of: Introduction to the subject, reading assignments, additional material to the textbook, Internet links, discussion and assignment questions, projects, solutions and feedback Emanuel Gruengard 10

The textbook Exist in all modules (apart from AT) A single textbook per module Serves as “anchor” and reference Latest worldwide edition: a constant follow up on availability with publishers and bookstores Supplemented with Internet links: specified by instructor and/or researched by students Emanuel Gruengard 11

The weekly cycle and assignments A repeating weekly cycle: Wednesday evening: Posting of the material By Sunday: Initial posting of answers to the discussion questions (DQs) By Wednesday: 3 -4 additional contributions (RP) and posting of the assignments (HI) / project (PJ) Meaningful presence in at least 4 days of the week is required 14 -18 students per class + moderator 150 -300 public messages per week Emanuel Gruengard 12

Emanuel Gruengard 13

Projects In selected modules: Localized personal projects Localized group projects Centralized (server) group projects Require ongoing communication among participants Emanuel Gruengard 14

Moderating and Evaluation The moderator should be present at least 5/7 days, including weekends Participates in the discussions Help, guide and control Provides personal support through personal email messages Check the assignments and projects At cycle end Provide personal feedback to each student and post grades to the VC site At end of module each student accumulated at least 24 grades No final examination Emanuel Gruengard 15

Anonymity? Emanuel Gruengard 16

Intimate Anonymity! In our distributed learning paradigm That’s not true! The requirement for constant participation exposes each student A build up of clear “personal signature” and capabilities Not so in on-ground lectures! Easier exposure of plagiarism and collusion Emanuel Gruengard 17

Program Mangers Each student is handled by a PM From first day to graduation Personal administrative care-taking Follow up on his/her participation Follow up on his/her progression Dialogs with the instructor and academic coordinator concerning academic problems Emanuel Gruengard 18

Technical support Embanet 7/24 support Through the phone, textual chat and email Informative sites Staff: Administrative and academic tracking, grades (VC) Students: Grades, enrollment (MY) Manuals for instructors and the students Emanuel Gruengard 19

Quality management Continuously performed through: Moderating new instructors The Academic Coordinator (sample monitoring) The e-Learning unit of the Uo. L (sample monitoring, and monitoring of grading) The Computer Science department and the QA group of Uo. L External examiners Monthly Phone Conferences of the Academic Division Academic board meetings (2 -3 time in a year) Students’ feedback surveys Emanuel Gruengard 20

Student feedback surveys Performed at the end of each class Inquiring about the instructors, modules, materials, time flexibility, technical, administrative support and willingness to recommend the program Many grading questions (range 1 -4) and free text comments Results by classes and instructors Quarterly progression reports Conclusions, changes, updates and enhancements The average satisfaction for most questions is around 3. 6 out of 4 Emanuel Gruengard 21

Instructors Requirements: University instructors / industry experts Holding a Ph. D or a MSc degree Proven academic teaching experience Excellent written communication in English Emanuel Gruengard 22

Training the Instructors A six weeks course Pedagogy, Andragogy, on-line paradigms, hands on, procedures Using the same system and same teaching paradigm as used with our students Emanuel Gruengard 23

Development & Instructing Modules Subject developed by an assigned instructor Reviewed and referred by the Academic Coordinator and other instructors Placed in a repository Used by other instructors in their classes Suggested modifications and updates incorporated by the Module Manger Emanuel Gruengard 24

Faculty Development Annual (online) conference Faculty Development seminars Instructors’ forums Monthly newsletter Emanuel Gruengard 25

Conclusions Peer learning (moderator included) is (probably) the right paradigm for continuous learning High motivation and willingness for self study are essential Extensive reading and writing capabilities are a must The discussions questions which are the glue that holds the class and identify the students are essential High load on the instructor/moderator as continuous class participation and fast responses are critical Different cultures and time zones are easily bridged No examinations needed due to comprehensive information on each student and large number of grades Emanuel Gruengard 26

Sites and email Information about the project www. uol. ohecampus. com/home/index. phtml//: http The Computer Science Department of Uo. L www. csc. liv. ac. uk//: http The ISP site http//: www. embanet. com Email to Emanuel Gruengard emanuel. gruengard@ohecampus. com Emanuel Gruengard 27

Thanks for your attention. Emanuel Gruengard 28