It is offering three free online Moodle Meets [...]]]> CEET, the Community of Expertise in Educational Technology, is a professional learning forum for BC educators. It is an opportunity to network, explore technology and create partnerships. Each facilitated group contains information, resources, discussions, events, videos, tutorials and ideas on using Web 2.0 tools in K-12 education.

It is offering three free online Moodle Meets over the next couple of months:

Date: February 12th to 19th
Topic: Math 2.0: Tools & Resources for 21st Century Learners.
Register at http://tinyurl.com/ylmvd7n

March 19th to 26th
Topic: Literacy 2.0: Literacy lesson plans and classroom activities.
Register at http://tinyurl.com/yjnqd69

April 16th to 23rd
Topic: Cell Phones in the Classroom: Distraction or “Swiss Army Knife” for Research and Organization
Register at http://tinyurl.com/y8pjpo3

From the publisher’s blurb:

Written for Higher Education teaching and learning professionals, Learning with Digital Games provides an accessible, straightforward introduction to the field of computer game-based learning. Up to date with current trends and the changing learning needs of today’s students, this text offers [...]]]> Whitton, N. (2010) Learning with Digital Games New York/London: Routledge

From the publisher’s blurb:

Written for Higher Education teaching and learning professionals, Learning with Digital Games provides an accessible, straightforward introduction to the field of computer game-based learning. Up to date with current trends and the changing learning needs of today’s students, this text offers friendly guidance, and is unique in its focus on post-school education and its pragmatic view of the use of computer games with adults.

The chapters are as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Recognizing the character of digital games
3. Understanding the pedagogy of digital games
4. Identifying types of digital games for learning
5. Integrating digital games into the curriculum
6. Designing a digital game for learning
7. Assessing the impact of digital games on learning
8. Using existing digital games for learning
9. Developing new digital games for learning
10. Evaluating digital games for learning
11. Case studies (6)
12. Conclusions

Nicola Whitton is a Research Fellow in the Education and Social Research Institute at the Manchester metroplitan University, UK. She has a web site: Learning with Digital Games

I look forward very much to reading this book and will post a review when I have done so.

This is a Ph.D. thesis about the cost of converting online distance learning courses to OCW, the impact of opening these courses on paid enrollments, and the long-term sustainability of OCW through the generation of [...]]]> Johansen J. (2009) The Impact of Opencourseware on Paid Enrollment in Distance Learning Courses Salt Lake City UT: Brigham Young University

This is a Ph.D. thesis about the cost of converting online distance learning courses to OCW, the impact of opening these courses on paid enrollments, and the long-term sustainability of OCW through the generation of new paid enrollments.

This study is interesting not just because it provides information about how a university is using MIT’s Opencourseware, but because  it also provides a business model for making courses based on open courseware viable. Unfortunately, because it was beyond the scope of the thesis, there is no information about the effectiveness of these courses compared to the more traditional programs offered at a distance by Brigham Young University.

In a discussion of the use of audio and video in the Faculty of Education, I said that ‘the Faculty of Education have developed a variety of ways to incorporate audio and video  [...]]]> I apologise for two errors in my posting: ‘A personal view of e-learning at the University of British Columbia‘, posted on January 31.

In a discussion of the use of audio and video in the Faculty of Education, I said that ‘the Faculty of Education have developed a variety of ways to incorporate audio and video  into a curriculum delivered mainly face-to-face.’ This is incorrect. The audio and video clips are used in their online courses. My apologies to Natasha Boskic and the EPLT for this mistake.

My second mistake was about the growth of online distance education enrolments at UBC. I reported an annual growth rate of 37%. However, that was the increase from the previous semester. The year-on-year growth was about 20%. My apologies to Jeff Miller and the OLT team.

Both these errors have been corrected in the original posting.

On Tuesday, 2nd 2010, the African Virtual University (AVU) held a concluding meeting of the first phase of the Teacher Education program. The AVU will now hand over the virtual [...]]]> Following my post on 10 more universities join the African Virtual University on January 17, I received this from Anastasia Mutisya-Zeyhle, who works for the AVU.

On Tuesday, 2nd 2010, the African Virtual University (AVU) held a concluding meeting of the first phase of the Teacher Education program. The AVU will now hand over the virtual Teacher training progam through Open distance eLearning Centres set up in 10 countries in Africa.

The AVU is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with a regional office in Dakar, Senegal. www.avu.org

Thanks to Anastasia Mutisya-Zeyhle for this.

A report released last month from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching asserted that all working nurses should be required to hold a bachelor’s degree in the field. As a result, a large spike in online degree programs for nurses [...]]]> Kolowich, S. (2010) Online Cure for the Nursing Crisis Inside Higher Education February 2

A report released last month from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching asserted that all working nurses should be required to hold a bachelor’s degree in the field. As a result, a large spike in online degree programs for nurses is expected, since most will already have the clinical practice in their R.N. program that will be laddered into a bachelor’s degree.

Some interesting figures are provided in this article about the size of online programs for nurses in the USA.

It’s now seven years since I resigned as Director of Distance Education and Technology at UBC, and my motto has always been ‘Never look back.’ However, two things came together to bring me back to UBC last week with a ‘formal’ invitation for [...]]]> The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (home of OLT)

It’s now seven years since I resigned as Director of Distance Education and Technology at UBC, and my motto has always been ‘Never look back.’ However, two things came together to bring me back to UBC last week with a ‘formal’ invitation for the first time since I left (I have of course been in informal, regular contact with former colleagues still working at UBC).

Teaching business studies

I had been invited to give a lunch-time presentation to about 50 faculty in the Sauder School of Business, entitled ‘Rising to the Top: Why Business Teaching Must Change’. (I was going to call it: ‘If university teaching was a business, it would have gone bankrupt long ago’, but I thought that might be too provocative.)

Instead I concentrated on changes in the demographics of Canadian post-secondary education students, in technology, and in desired learning outcomes (more emphasis on business skills and competencies), how the teaching of these skills needed to be embedded within the teaching of content, and how courses could be designed using web 2.0 technology to teach such skills, encourage learner-generated content, and provide greater flexibility for the changing market of learners. There were excellent questions from and discussion with the faculty. A copy of the presentation can be downloaded as a pdf file from here.

The UBC e-learning Open House 2010

Visitors to the Open House

On the same afternoon, about an hour later, the UBC e-learning Open House 2010 began, to which I had also been invited. This is a ‘fair’ of posters on different e-learning projects that have been started or have been active during 2009. There was a total of 25 different exhibits. I didn’t have time to visit them all, but here are some of those of most interest to me:

Doing research online: Online Master in Rehabilitation Science. This was a project on which I had been working with the department to develop just before I left. I was delighted to learn that the whole master program is now fully online, has 57 students from all over North America, and is self-funded from tuition fees (following a business model I had suggested). I was very pleased to meet again the two ‘champions’ of this program, Sue Stanton and Mary Clark, and to learn that they have developed a fully online way of supporting students conducting a research project online as a requirement of the master’s program, and how students defend their research online.

Using video in online teaching: Master of Social Work. This was another project I had been working on, but it was at a more tentative stage than Rehab Sciences when I left. The Master of Social Work is a mix of face-to-face courses and online courses. Professor Mary Russell and her colleagues, working with UBC’s Office of Learning Technologies, have developed a series of video clips on the dynamics of family violence which are incorporated into the lessons for online student discussions and assignments.

Using audio and video in online courses: Faculty of Education Some of you will be familiar with Natasha Boskic, who provides invaluable material for this web site on educational games and virtual worlds. She and colleagues in the Faculty of Education have developed a variety of ways to incorporate audio and video into their online courses. As Natasha pointed out, recent innovations in telecommunications technologies have lowered equipment and transmission costs, enabling audio and video to be easily integrated into the curriculum.

Open content:Faculty of Land and Wood Systems Dr. Les Lavkulich  and colleagues from the faculty, with Chris Crowley from the Office of Learning Technologies, have developed a really neat online teaching tool on Land Use Impacts, that includes text, graphics and video clips. Although it is used as part of two courses on sustainable soil management, it is also available to the public at: http://soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/luitool/ This is an excellent example of well-designed open content that was also developed to support courses.

Designing effective learning in distance education: Office of Learning Technology. This year will be the 60th anniversary of distance education at UBC (more on this in a later blog). Several former colleagues, under the leadership of Jeff Miller, have worked with the faculties to develop over 125 fully online undergraduate and graduate courses. There are now almost 1,000 FTEs (about 10,000 course enrolments) in distance education courses, and this year enrolments grew by 20% compared with last year. OLT uses a variety of designs resulting in high quality, effective interactive online learning environments.

Open content: Preserving student scholarship: UBC Library This is another really interesting project led by Hilde Colenbrander and Julia Thompson. Using a Teaching and Learning Enhancement grant, they have employed a graduate student to track down non-thesis student online content and to educate students about copyright, scholarly publishing and open access. Students can showcase their work via UBC-authenticated e-portfolios, blogs, social networking sites and resumes and the content will be preserved by the Library in perpetuity.

Hilde Colenbrander (left) and colleague

I did not have time (and there isn’t space) to go into the other 19 projects. However, there is likely to be a more comprehensive and official report later in the next UBC e-Strategy Newsletter.

Gossip and speculation

Now we come to the interesting bit. Here is some of the gossip I picked up.

1. UBC is likely to look at the re-design of large first year lecture classes, to improve the first year learning experience. (This is not really gossip, as it as highlighted in the last e-Strategy Newsletter). This project will be led by Ted Dodds, the Vice-Provost, Information Technology. As Ted Dodds himself put it:

How do we use technology more effectively to take over and perform some of the more mundane aspects of the teaching and learning process by using technology in creative ways, to free up people’s time for both the student and the instructor for more direct engagement? We don’t do that well right now….We’re saying that our first year experience in teaching and learning is broken at UBC, and we need to think creatively as to how we can make it better — and make it the best there is.

Brave words but also right on the money, from my perspective.

2. UBC is the home of WebCT. However, UBC is also a key partner in Kuali, an open source consortium developing administrative software. UBC’s licence renewal for WebCT Vista comes up shortly, and I would not be surprised if the university decides to move to an open source learning management system, such as Sakai, although I understand no decision has yet been made.

3. A new strategy for e-learning? UBC went through a comprehensive set of plans and reports around 2000 to encourage and strengthen the use of technology for teaching. Since then, it has created the central Office of Learning Technologies, which supports the LMS, provides instructional design and educational technology support for the faculties, and manages much of the distance education programs developed with faculties. Also the Faculty of Medicine has in partnership with the Universities of Victoria and Northern British Columbia developed a unique distributed learning undergraduate medical program that is doubling the number of doctors trained in BC. Several of the faculties have also set up their own learning technology support units. As we have seen, fully online distance education programs are expanding rapidly, and the university uses clickers, lecture capture and other classroom technologies. Being on the outside, there are many more e-learning developments within UBC that I don’t know about.

However, as with most universities, it has not moved away from either the traditional technology-enhanced classroom or fully online courses. There are problems at UBC with large lecture classes, overcrowding, students not being able to complete on time because courses are full, and often lack of interaction between undergraduate students and research professors. There is very little hybrid learning, where courses are designed with less face-to-face time and careful choice of what to do online and what to do face-to-face.

The move to re-design first year courses, and the growing confidence and expertise of the central and faculty learning technology groups, are signs that perhaps the university is ready for another way of innovation. However, this will still require leadership and a willingness from mainstream faculty to change.

Conclusion

I’ve never regretted my decision to leave UBC (I was coming up to mandatory retirement anyway) and to start a new career as a consultant. However, I left behind some very good colleagues and some interesting projects. It was good to re-connect with both, and I was a bit overwhelmed at the kind welcome I received.

UBC has been a leader in the use of technology in research universities. Faculty and staff created the .ca domain, WebCT, BCNet, and the distributed medical program. It has several fully online masters programs, a large number of online undergraduate courses, and has developed new business models for online programs aimed at lifelong learners.

It has over the last 10 years solidified its use of technology, though, rather than looking at institution-wide change in teaching and learning. With the right management, growing student numbers, a tight financial context, and experience and skill in using technology, we may see some really interesting developments at UBC over the next few years.

]]> http://www.tonybates.ca/2010/01/31/a-personal-view-of-e-learning-at-the-university-of-british-columbia/feed/ 1 http://www.tonybates.ca/2010/01/29/is-your-institution-considering-mobile-learning/ http://www.tonybates.ca/2010/01/29/is-your-institution-considering-mobile-learning/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:03:42 +0000 Tony Bates http://www.tonybates.ca/?p=3192

Brimah, T. and Fusch, D. (2010) Considering mobile learning for your institution Academic Impressions Higher Ed Impact: Weekly Analysis January 28

This article, basically an interview with Judy Brown, ‘founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab and a key thinker in mobile learning strategies’, is one of the [...]]]>

Brimah, T. and Fusch, D. (2010) Considering mobile learning for your institution Academic Impressions Higher Ed Impact: Weekly Analysis January 28

This article, basically an interview with Judy Brown, ‘founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab and a key thinker in mobile learning strategies’, is one of the best articles I have read on the design of mobile learning: essential reading for anyone thinking of going in this direction.

I was wondering how to comment on the iPad without having actually seen it (it’s not available yet in Canada), when Clayton Wright (many thanks) directed me to this article, which is comprehensive and with regard to e-learning, reflects both [...]]]> Brandon, B. (2010) Apple’s iPad: what does it offer for e-learning? Learning Solutions Magazine January 27

I was wondering how to comment on the iPad without having actually seen it (it’s not available yet in Canada), when Clayton Wright (many thanks) directed me to this article, which is comprehensive and with regard to e-learning, reflects both my opinion and Clayton’s, given what we know so far.

Also make sure you read the comments to the article – especially the very last sentence of Bill’s response to the comments.

Despite Bill Brandon’s last comment, it’s not too soon for mainstream educators to start thinking of how they would design teaching and learning using media rich, low cost user-friendly mobile devices, because the iPad does indicate the kind of devices that will be available and suitable for e-learning in the near future (three to five years), when the price comes down to around $200, there are additional features, such as a camera, and more competitors.

A major limitation that is unlikely to go away will be the cost of data plans. At the moment, the AT&T data plan costs $350 a year – OK if students are going to pay this anyway for personal use but expensive if it is an additional cost on top of the cost of the device.

In the meantime, the iPad is an important step forward in the evolution of devices that can be used for e-learning.

Kyama, R. and Mwaura, N. (2010) Rural Internet Kiosks Herald Last Frontier in Bridging Africa’s Digital Divide e-Learning Africa News Service, No. 3, January 28

From the article:

Rural Internet Kiosks are currently mushrooming throughout rural areas in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, [...]]]> © Rural Internet Kiosks Project

Kyama, R. and Mwaura, N. (2010) Rural Internet Kiosks Herald Last Frontier in Bridging Africa’s Digital Divide e-Learning Africa News Service, No. 3, January 28

From the article:

Rural Internet Kiosks are currently mushrooming throughout rural areas in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, providing Africans who were previously cut-off from the digital world with Internet connections. These movable, cost-effective and recyclable kiosks, which operate with satellite connectivity provided by Intersat Africa and use solar energy, along with a highly energy efficient personal computer, allow rural communities to participate in the digital world.

Evidence provided by organisations at the frontline of implementing this project in rural Kenya indicates that internet kiosks have helped farmers to obtain regular updates on weather patterns, sound agronomy and better prices for their produce. As a result, their revenue has expanded dramatically. Business start-ups have also gained enormously. They have exploited potential in digital multi-media advertising to promote their goods and services, hence higher returns.

Rural Internet Kiosks are enabling government agencies charged with creating awareness concerning health and environment to reach out to local communities. Through use of multi-media information outlets, communities can access information about infectious diseases such as malaria, polio, HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. The kiosks create platforms for the promotion of tele-medicine, which is still in its infancy in most African countries.

I found this a fascinating article, well worth reading in full. Further nuggets from the article: The Rural Internet Kiosk Project is currently working closely with Userful, a multi-station computing company from Calgary, Canada, and the aim is to manufacture new computers locally in Kenya.

The authors will be presenting at the e-Learning Africa 2010 conference in Lusaka, Zambia, which runs from May 26-28. I’d rather have tickets for this than the Winter Olympics in Vancouver!

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