• August 20, 2008

  LAS reaching out with distance education

• 
  Out with the old and in with the new.
  
  The new (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Center for Distance and Online Learning [CDOL]) was created when the old (ISU Continuing Education and Communications Services) was decentralized this summer.
  
  No longer will Iowa State faculty members run online or distance education credit-bearing courses through ISU Extension. Now each college, in conjunction with the Office of the Registrar, is responsible for administering courses formerly handled by Continuing Education and Communication Services.
  
  Such is the case in LAS.
  
  "The new center will support distance and online learning as well as collaboration, research and creative activity in LAS," says Dawn Bratsch-Prince, associate dean. "Through a blended use of instructional and collaborative technology resources, this office will serve our faculty and students in the development of engaging teaching and learning environments."

  Evolving technology
  Distance and online learning has seen a dramatic transformation in the last dozen years. While the initial distance education courses actually sent Iowa State professors to communities throughout the state, the university soon moved to the ICN (Iowa Communications Network) and to video/CD/DVD delivery systems.
  
  Since then, streaming video and IP video conferencing have both made their way into the marketplace.
  Dave Anderson, who is the new director of LAS CDOL, says the latest distance education delivery system, Abode Connect Web Conferencing, is the most advanced yet. Web Conferencing, when coupled with well-planned learning modules and an effective course Web presence, is an excellent tool for sharing knowledge.
  
  "In less than 10 years, we've gone from students going to a particular site to receive the course, to being able to transmit the course via broadband throughout the world," Anderson said. "It's gotten to the point where we can deliver online courses very efficiently and reliably and in a manner convenient for students.
  
  "One of our goals is to make instructional technology as transparent as possible so faculty can focus on teaching and not to worry about making the technology work."

  Up and running
  CDOL is physically located in the basement of Carver Hall (room 44) with a new Website (http://lasonline.iastate.edu) established. The center was created through the merger of the old LAS Center for Online Learning (COLL) with the college's other online testing and online assessment areas.
  
  Anderson brings over a decade of experience in course delivery and collaboration systems to his new position. He will be assisted by Doug Bull, manager of CDOL's proctored testing facility, and John Wood as the lead instructional support specialist for course development.
  A student team will complement the professional staff.
  The CDOL team will work with faculty to provide course development support and one-on-one consulting with faculty, as well as customer service for LAS distance education students.
  
  "This will be a very service-oriented program," Anderson says. "It's a fresh, new beginning for distance and online learning in LAS."
  
  A number of services will be provided to LAS faculty and students through CDOL including distance education course capture and development. Instructor support for courses will include video and audio recording, Web conference services and use of the on-campus proctored testing facility for online exams.
  Initially Anderson and staff worked to identify what courses and other offerings were on the books in LAS.
  
  "Our immediate goal was to assume a smooth transition from the old system to the new," Anderson said. "Plus we wanted to develop a complete course listing of both summer and fall classes."
  
  Then, Anderson said, CDOL looked at what additional services would be needed and where service is "lacking" in LAS. Anderson and his team have begun to meet with academic units throughout the college to understand their needs and describe the CDOL's services.
  
  "We need to try to identify the needs out there so if we need to, we can grow or adjust our services to meet those needs," Anderson said.
  
  Bratsch-Prince agreed.
  
  "While LAS offers a number of courses designed to meet the needs of distance, off-campus and BLS (bachelor of liberal studies) students, we believe there is potential for growth and development of credit-bearing distance and online course offerings," she said.

  Deliverymen
  Anderson says CDOL will provide a mobile and flexible capture solution for faculty that will be "as transparent as possible."
  
  CDOL also plans to create a menu of systems and services that will allow for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration both inside and outside the classroom.
  
  "We'll assist faculty in assembling a blended and appropriate toolset with tools such as WebCT, Adobe Connect, Horizon Wimba, Podcasting and other technologies for delivering content, sharing knowledge and exchanging information," Anderson said.
  
  "Basically we plan to deliver learner focused educational content in a format that is not only convenient, but is accessible and reliable for our on- and off-campus students."
  

Doug Bull, John Wood and Dave Anderson