Rochester Institute of Technology
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Theses
Thesis/Dissertation Collections
2000
Education virtual communities
Stanley Andersen
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Recommended Citation
Education
Virtual
Communities
By
Stanley
Andersen
Thesis
submitted
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
degree
of
Master
of
Science in Information
Technology
Department
of
Information
Technology
Rochester
Institute
of
Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
Department of Information Technology
Master of Science in Information Technology
Thesis Approval Form
Stanley Andersen
Student Name:
---::=~,L...:...:~:::..:..:::.:::::.:...:__ _Student Number:
_
Thesis Title:
Education Virtual Communities
Thesis Committee
Name
Signature
Date
Prof. Tim Wells
Chair
Prof. Elizabeth Lawley
Committee Member
Thesis Reproduction Permission Form
Rochester Institute of Technology
College of Applied Science and Technology
Education Virtual Communities
I, Stanley Andersen, hereby grant permission to the Wallace Library of the
Rochester Institute of Technology to reproduce my thesis in whole or in part.
Any reproduction must not be for commercial use or profit.
Table
ofContents
Table
ofFigures
iv
Abstract
1
Virtual
Community (VC)
2
Defined
2
Steps
to
create aVC
3
Benefits
ofVC
4
Distance
Learning
5
Need for Education VC
(E-VC)
6
University
ofWisconsin
8
Western
Governor's
University (WGU)
8
Alaska Pacific
University
9
National Technological
University (NTU)
9
Need for interaction
10
Benefit
ofgravitating
personnel11
Education
Virtual
Community
12
Services
12
Products
13
Advisors
13
Chat Area
14
Specif ics
ofWeb Environment
14
Project Web
Site Hardware/Software
15
Financial Benefit
15
Benefit for
Server
Host
15
Supported Branches
16
Schools
(Graduate)
17
Courses
18
Services
18
Products
19
Advising
19
Coffee
Shop
20
Need for
aSingle
Framework
for Coursework
21
Benefit
of current version21
Suggested
Improvements
21
ICQ
21
Education/Accessibility
Software
22
Internet
Point-to-Point
Conferencing
23
PalTalk
23
Voice-to-text
24
ViaVoice
24
Dragon
Naturally Speaking
25
Summary
offindings
26
Need for E-VC
26
Benefit
ofgravitating
personnel26
Viability
ofidea for
proposalto Large Internet
Service Provider
27
Colloquy
27
Benefit to the Author
27
Bibliography
29
Bibliography
(Cont'd)
30
Table
ofFigures
Figure
1
Web Site
Cube
ofService
13
Figure
2
Supported
Main
Branch Selections
16
Figure 3
Supported Grad Studies Selections
17
Figure
4
Supported School Selections
18
Figure
5
Supported Services Selections
19
Figure 6
Supported
Products
Selections
19
Figure
7
Supported Coffee
Shop
Selections
20
Abstract
Distance
Learning
is
a prime areafor
expansion of a newinternet
business/community
model sincethere
is currently
nobroad-based
applicationservicing
this
function. The
goal ofthis
projectis
to
investigate
and preparethe
basis for
a proposalto
afinancial
backer
such asAT&T
or one ofthe
large internet
serviceproviders.A
majorpartofthe
paper willinvestigate
the
current state ofthe
distance
learning
internet
environmentandhow
to
improve it. One
ofthe
mainimprovements
concernsthe
needfor
a standardinterface,
which shouldinclude
alearning
tool
such asRIT's colloquy
software.Virtual
Community
(VC)
Defined
Community
is
that
physical space andindividuals
that
are a part ofeveryday life.
It
is
a situation wherethe
individual knows
their
neighbor and othersin
their
geographic vicinity.The
relationshipsthat
evolvefrom
the
interactions
withinthe
community
makelife
easierboth in efficiency,
cost andquality
oflife.
Normally
the
relationshipsare maintainedbetween
members ofthe
community along lines
of shared commoninterests
or goals.Whether
the
individual learns
the
best
placeto shop, the
best
service stationfor
carmaintenance orthe
most reputable personal computerdealer,
alllessons
are gleanedby
interactions
withinthe
community.These lessons
arethen
shared with othersin
the
community for
allto
benefit. A
person'sknowledge
oftheir
physicalcommunity lessens
the
further
they
roamfrom
the
areathey
frequently
inhabit.
For
example, the
likelihood
that
a personhas
the
sameknowledge
ofthe
servicesin
aneighboring
town
versustheir
hometown is
slim.Within
the
confines ofthe
internet
the
definition
ofcommunity is difficult
to
base
ongeography
or physical space.It is best
to
useas mentioned earlierthe
relationshipsbetween individuals
with similarinterests
and goals asthe
main characteristic of acommunity
presence onthe
internet. Just
asbicyclists
will congregate atthe
bike
store on weekends so willthe
sameindividuals
"meet"atthe
bike shop
onthe
internet. This
tenet
is
the
basis
ofcreating
a"virtual community"(VC)
where people oflike interest
can "meet"and exchange
ideas,
provide support and gain abenefit
similarly
to the
physical communities wherethey
live.
2^^^p18"19iThe internet
asit is currently
configuredmainly
providesinformation from
the
vendor's standpoint and notthe
buyers. This is
the
current weakness ofthe
internet.
Individual
sites are setup
to
servethe
vendor and notthe
buyer
orthe
community.In
a physicalcommunity
the
buyer has
a muchbetter
supportstructureto
determine
whereto
obtainthe
best
product or service and which merchants areworthy
oftheir
business. The
vendors must supportthe
community
orelsethe
community
willfrequent
a competitor.Virtual
communities areintended
to
providethe
same social support structure as a physicalcommunity
though
in
a morefocused
way.The VC
mustfocus
on aninterest
or goalthat
willbring
agroup
of userstogetherthat
have the
numerical sizeto
act as a community.That
meansthe
sizeis
suchthat
it
can support vendorsthrough the
member's purchases andsway
competitionandpricing
through the
force
oftheir
numbers.
Though
physical communitiesareless
focused
than
on-line environmentsthis
same effect canbe
observedin
physical communities where a particularcommunity
focus
createshigher demand
and greatercompetition.A
good exampleis
the
difference
in high
tech
productsbetween
physical areas such asurban versus rural communities.For
example,
someoneliving
here
in
Melbourne,
Florida
willtravel to the
computer super storein Orlando
to
receivea10% discount
on computer parts.The benefits
aVC
questions
from
members andcoordinatephysical conferencesfor
the
usersto
actually
meet With each Other.3[^'.Armstrong,p.91]Steps
to
create aVC
Based
onthe
definitions from
NetGain,
the
state of amajority
of on-line sites sponsoredby
groups arein
the
first
phases onthe
4-phase
growth ofinternet business.
There
are signsthat
othershave
realizedthe
power ofthe
virtualcommunity
paradigm as notonly
a good social examplebut
as also afinancial benefit
to those that
servethe
community.In
each phase anintermediary
ororganizer,
such as acompany
ororganization,
maintains
the
environment and would collect revenuesto
supportthe infrastructure
(people
andhardware)
necessary
to
maintainthe
environment.Phase
1
is
when avery
small number of users(several
thousand)
that
have
a commoninterest frequent
a specific web site which provides a variedlevel
ofdiscussion,
information
andlimited
services.And
example of a web environment wouldbe
the
Astronomy
Virtual
Community
where wide ranges ofissues
that
arebased
onastronomy
are available. 4This
type
of site might receive some contentfrom its
members andadditionally may
receive sometype
ofincome from
the targeted
advertising
that
is
available withinthe
site space.The
users willbe
ableto
provide someinformation
to
each otherconcerning
products and servicesbut
they
have little influence
onthe
pricing
of vendor's offerings.At
this
phase single vendorsmay dominate
the
inputs
to the
members andthus
limit
the benefit
ofthe
group working
as a socialblock for
various purposes.Additionally,
if
the
users are not motivatedto
provide contentto the
siteit
willbecome
anunsatisfying
experience andthe
members willdefect
to
other sitesto
fill
their needsfor
interaction.
So
that
for
a environmentto
progressthrough the
phasesit
must maintainthe
interest
through
engaging
content andleverage
the
number ofindividuals
to
providebenefits
that
can'tbe
found in
otherareas ofthe
internet.
5^'.Armstrong,p.se-go]Phase
2
builds
uponthe
ideas
of phase1
andbrings
together
a greater number ofmembers and vendors
to
supportthe
group.This
phaseis
characterizedby
aconcentration of memberswithin an
interest
area onthe
order of a millionindividuals.
This
type
ofgroup
couldbegin
to
exerttheir
owninfluence
onthe
services and productsthat
are providedto
them.This
phaseis
also characterizedby
the
ability
ofproviding
serviceand contactsto individuals
within a specific sub-group.6[Ha9el'Arms,ron9'p'91"971For
example,
CompuServe,
if it
was still anindependent company
from
AOL,
withits
2.2
million users couldbe
consideredan organizer who wouldhave
the
concentration of usersto
exert price andoffering
control on external vendors. 7-Within
CompuServe
there
wasthe
ability
of usersto
splinterinto
specific chat areas and receive"bargains"
that
weresupposedly
only
availableto
members.To
gainthe
momentumto
progressto
the
nextlevel
mostenvironmentswill needto
either provideincentives
for
usersto
transfer to their
site or acquire sites of usersto
increase
their
influence.
This is
the tactic
that
wastaken
by
AOL to
gaina greater number of membersto
moveto the
next phase.Phase
3
is
the
concentration ofusersto
aneffective critical mass ofpeople,
in
excess of20
millionusers,
withthe intent
ofproviding
contentto
have
them
remain withinthe
confines ofthe
specificenvironment.The
people withinthis
areahave
"splintered"into
interest
groupsthat
arefocused to
particulartopics
whetherit is
sports,
videogames,
travel oreconomics.Within these
areasthere
are significant numbers of membersthat
provide
inputs
andthe
organizer schedules specialized"gurus"
whom also provide
suggested
in NetGain
that
AOL
canbe
consideredto
have
atleast
the
numbers of membersto
effect aPhase 3
community
which couldinfluence the
vendorsthat
are allowed accessto the
environment.Though
there
are questionsthat the
service providedby
AOL is really
looking
to
benefit
the
users withinthe
community.It
would appearthat though the
numbers andthe
ability
to
maintainthe
users withinthe
environment are
truly
withinthe
ideals
of phase3
ofthe
progression questionsasto the
direct
motives ofAOL
arefirst
andforemost
the
profit motive and notto
socially benefit
the
users. 7One
ofthe
driving
economicfactors
that
supportthe
servicesthat
anAOL
or other providers withinthe
phase3 category is
notthe
advertising
ormicropayment(to
be discussed
later)
it
receiveson goods soldthrough their
environment ratherthe
paymentfor information
concerning
users preference whichconsidering
the
large
scale ofthe
population cansway
the
way
vendors marketto this
group, a["^Armstrong,p.97-104]Phase
4
is
consideredto
be
viable whenthe
users ofthe
community
are whatdrive
the
dynamics
ofthe
interaction. The interest
groupshave
related areasthat
servicethe
members needs sothat the
majority
oftime
spent onthe
internet is
withinthe
confines ofthe
community.One
ofthe
commoditiesthat
wouldbe
usedto
supportthe
infrastructure
in
phase3,
sales ofinformation
on userpreferences,
is
transferred back to the
user.The
questionis
whether anAOL
can gain enough "trust"in
the
userfor
the
userto
continueto
stay in
their
environment.If
the
consolidation continuesto this
phasethe
"virtual
community"
has
truly
arrived. 10iHa9e|.Armst9,P.104-109]Benefits
ofVC
The benefits
of aVC
are contained ontwo
levels,
social and economic.These
two
levels
areinexplicably
intertwined because
without socialbenefit
for
the
memberthey
will not residein
the
environmentlong
enoughto
provide economicbenefit
andthe
environment will collapse.Without
economicbenefit there
would notbe
the
infrastructure
to
supportthe
socialbenefits
of such an organization.The
social aspectsthat
characterizecommunity
enablethe
ability
to
reap
economicbenefits.
If
the
VC is
notappealing
to
memberson a sociallevel
they
will notstay
withthe
environmentandthere
willbe
nopossibility for
the
organizerto
profit.The ability
of membersto
exchangeideas
andinformation
with othershelps
createthe
feeling
ofbelonging
thatstitches real communitiestogether.
Events
such as conferences andfairs
stitch a physicalcommunity together
with common experiences andthe
VC
can create events wouldnormally
notbe
possiblein
a physicalcommunity for
the
same purpose.Examples
ofvirtual eventsthat
are consideredcommunity builders
are realtime
chats withfamous
persons, interaction
with advisors outside ofthe
"normal"
day
(meaning
8
a mto
5
p.m. atthe
member'slocal),
orlive broadcasts from geographically distant
events such as concertsorsporting
eventsto
name afew.
111**'.****.ChaP 3-4]AN
ofthese
examples canbe
seen atdifferent
sitesthat
arecurrently
available andthe
"Yahoo"Sports Pages
are good examplesofthis
type
ofmarketing
12The
reasonfor
providing this type
ofserviceis
twofold.First to
maintain users withinthe
environment which when maintained as a statistic
(total
time
withinthe
environment)
viewing
advertising) that
is
usedto
setadvertising
rates withinthe
internet
space and secondthough
not oflesser importance to
provide socialbenefit
to the
user.aspects.
These
avenues canbe
categorizedin
three
basic
revenuegenerators,
advertisements,
micropayments andinformation
sales.Advertisements
arethose that
arecurrently
displayed
on most web sitestake the
form
ofbanners,
extra spawned windowsortestimonial
type
embedded articles(vendor
developed). The
amount of payment received wouldbe driven from both
the time
anindividual
spends withinthe
environment andthe traffic that
is
generated within an environment sothat
as aVC
grows so wouldthe
income from
these
more classicadvertising
revenue sources.For
example atthe
SpaceDaily.com
site which wouldbe
considered a phase oneenvironment
the
going
rateis
$250-500
per ad onthe
home
page and
$700
site wide sothat
7-8
small ads canbe
placewithinthe
site and generate severalthousand
dollars
a month.Multiply
the
costsfor
longer
accesstimes
andhigher
traffic
andit is easy
to
seethe
profitsthat
canbe
generatedin
the
environmentfrom
banner/spot
advertising
canbegin
to
supportthe
personnel who maintainthe
VC.
13The
micropaymentis
the
relatively
new paradigmthat
is assisting
the
economics ofthe
internet.
Since
there
is relatively
no overheadin
transferring
information
overthe
internet,
some method ofpaying for
the
infrastructure
was needed.This
methodis "to
tax"
each user or vendor
for
the
rightto
access usersin
the
environment.The idea
of micropaymentin
the
VC is
to
have
the
vendor providethe
VC
organizer a portion ofthe
revenues
it
gainsfrom individuals
that
aredirected
to the
vendor's productthrough the
VC.
14The
sale of personalinformation
appears as one ofthe
real growthbusinesses
of a virtualcommunity
withthe
goalin
phase4
ofturning
the
profitsfrom
this
saleback
to the
owner.
Until
this
pointthe
organizer would usethe
profitsfrom
these
salesto
supportthe
infrastructure. As
the
environmentgrows,
meaning
numbers ofmembers,
sodoes
the
value ofthe
demographics
andinformation
to
vendorsfor
targeting
productdevelopment
and services.Targeted
advertisements on averagedouble
their
worthto
the vendor,
for
example, if
a vendorknows
that there
are2
million membersin
aVC
and all ofthem
could usedigital
camerasfor enhancing
their
experience withinthe
environment
the
vendorcouldtailor
a production run atthis
group. 15tShaPir.Varian.p33!This
would maximize
their
profitsincethe
needs ofthe
usersareknown
versus projectedfrom
incomplete
data.
The VC
economic modelis
ideal
for providing distance
educationto
student at a reduced costfor
the
overall education experience.The
organizer of an educational virtualcommunity
would needto
heed
the
phases ofdevelopment
whilemaintaining focus
that
the
furthering
of educationis
the
goal ofthe
E-VC
and notgenerating
profits.A
key
point
for
the
E-VC
wouldbe maintaining
students'
interest in distance
learning
as asubstitute or
complementary
methodfor
the
learning
experience.Distance
Learning
Distance
learning
has
been
providing
the
opportunity for
people who could notfor
various reasons attend traditional educationat all
levels.
Though for
the
individual
looking
to
continuetheir
educationthere
is
not a single placeto
go eithergeographically
or onthe internet to
help
themdetermine
a course of action.The individual
canhear
abouta
limited
numberof programsfrom
various media sourcesbut
there
is
no advisor similarto the
onein
placein
mostAmerican
high
schoolsto
assist anindividual into
the
myriad ofchoices when
considering distance learning.
This "hit
or miss"likely
to
discourage
prospective studentsthan
it is
to
promotefurther
education.The
physical campushas
other social structuresto
supportthe individual to
attaintheir
goalthat
characterizethe
community
structureof a campus.An
education sitethat
is
developed for
the
individual
ratherthan the
institution is
the
goal of an on-line virtualcampus.
Need for
Education
VC (E-VC,
The internet is
becoming
the
maintool
for providing distance
educationthough
it
is
stillin
an
early
stage asis
the
use ofthe
internet in
general.One
needonly
usethe
University
of
California
Berkeley
Distance catalog
as an exampleto
seethat
now70%
ofthe
courses use an on-line presence
(email,
internet
access or anAOL account) in
somemanner
to
deliver
the
course.This is
comparedto
1
0
yearsago where none ofthe
Berkeley
classes werelinked
to the
internet
andthe
maindelivery
system was paper products such asthe
books,
syllabus,
andinstructor
communications. 16ri999-2000UCAL fextens,oncoursescatalog]Jhe
f|exibi|ity
andefficiency
ofusing
the
internet
to
deliver
aneducation program
is
obvious.The lack
of geographicrelationship
createsthe
needfor
a
VC
to
support peopleentering into
the
education experience.The
questionfor any individual entertaining attending
adistance
learning
institution is
which
is best for
their
particular situation.Which is
mostlikely
to
supporttheir
particularneeds?
By looking
atthe
specific sitesfrom
the
individual institutions
a prospectivestudent would
think that
all arethe
same"outstanding".
Since geography
andtime
ofdelivery
of classes are notnormally
constraintsfor distance
learning
otherissues
cometo the
forefront.
Issues
such as costto
complete aprogram,
quality
ofteachers
withinthe
distance
program,
constraints ofthe
specificprogram,
credibility
ofthe
programwithin
the
field
ofinterest
arethe
realissues for distance
learning
programs.Distance
learning
has
drawbacks that
can allowfor
substandard serviceto
propagatewhere
in
a physical schoolsetting
the
mass ofstudents/faculty
willeventually
correct. 17For
example,
on-line studentsthat
experience substandard servicefrom
a school oruniversity has limited
recourse sincethey
don't have
agroup
to
ally
themselves
withto
effectchange.Distance learners don't have
colleaguesto
easily
talk
withto
solvebasic
coordination
issues that
othersthat
attend physical classroomstake
for
granted;
from
finding
gooddeals
onbooks,
learning
teacher
idiosyncrasies,
to
finding
empatheticlisteners
to
relieve stress.The
goal of anE-VC
is
to
providethe
"campus"that
is
notprovided
to the
distance
learner
with no additionalfinancial burden
carriedby
the
individual.
Accreditation
ofthe institution
is
anissue
for
students who requiretheir
educationfor
furthering
their careers.The
E-VC
wouldlist
institutions for
their
rating in US News
andWorld
Report
and otherwidely
used accreditation catalogs. 18This
wouldhelp
the
student who
is
looking
for
monetary
rewardsaftercompleting
a programfrom
determining
whichinstitutions
programis widely
accepted.Institutions
withinthe
E-VC
would realize
that this information
is
important to
a studentandhighlighted
by
the
E-VC
and worktowards
improving
orattaining
the
accreditation.Trust
is
the
maincommodity
thatis
"sold"to
usersby
the
E-VC
organizer.If
the
studentthen
they
will return.Further
that the
E-VC
should ensurethat
institutions
aremaking
the
best
use out ofthe
possibilitiesofthe
E-VC.
The
following
opinion ofDr.
Steven Berkshire
from Alaska Pacific
University
talks to the
requirementsofthe
E-VC from
the
classroom perspective.It isn't
whether on-line classesthreaten
quality,
it is
whetherthe
faculty
ensurethat the
studentsaregetting
aquality
environmentto
learn in
- whetherit is
viainternet
orin
the
classroom.The internet is only
atool
for allowing
studentsto
learn. It isn't
the
end result.It does
take
adifferent
perspectivefor
afaculty
memberto
develop
andteach
online. If
youonly
lecture,
you willlose
the
students-they
don't just
wantto
read alecture.
Discussions,
assignments,
postings,
andlinks
to
other resources addto
the
learning. This isn't any different
than the
classroom.Faculty
should addvariety
to the
learning
environment whereverit is.
19The Western
Governor's
University
(WGU)
discussion in "The
chronicle"highlights
the
needfor
anE-VC. The
providers will not questionthe
quality
of education whether andthey
willsurely
nottell
inquiring
usersthat
some employersmay
not accepttheir
program as a
quality
education.The E-VC
turns the table
sothat the
user'sinterests
are ofprimary
concern and notthe
furthering
of a particularinstitution
or commercialinterest. The E-VC
can also assistinstitutions in
incorporating
"best
practices"to
raisethe
level
ofthe
provided education.20The
method of"assisting"
institutions
in
raising
their
level
educationdelivery
is allowing
unbiasedfeedback from
the
organizer whois independent from
the
schools and service providers andreminding
the
institution
that the
studentdoes have
choices.Also
the
E-VC
can provide accessto tools that
are more uniform andthus
makeit
easierfor
the
studentto learn.
This
benefit
canonly be
createdthough
withamassing
an audienceto
service.The E-VC
needsto
be
an environment where peoplewishing
to
further
their
education can meet and exchangeinformation
with other students asthey
wouldin
a"normal"
university
setting
andleverage their
numbersto
gainthe
best
price on education and education-related goods and services.The
goods and services couldbe
computerequipment, time
saving devices
and servicesto
makethe
individuals
learning
experience more effective and
less
stressing.These
options willbe discussed
morefully
in
alater
sectionofthe
paper.Just
asthe institutions
willlearn that the
studenthas
choices so will vendorslearn
this
lesson.
The E-VC
will placethe
student/consumerinto
a more proactive rolein
relationto the
producer.The
preferences and experiences ofthe
student willinfluence
the
servicesthat
are offered andthe
price ofthose
servicesthat
wouldbe
consideredreasonable.
For
example,in
a normalcity
aschoolthat
doesn't
provide a usefuleducation will receivea reputation as a substandard
institution
andeventually fail.
In
the
internet
environmentit
is
currently
very
difficult
for
current studentsto
exchangethis
information to
each other andavailtheir
experiencesto
prospective students.Students
looking
to further
theireducationin
the
distance
learning
environmenthave
nosituation andabilities.
The
E-VC
wouldfill
this
void withboth
aguidance/advising
areaand a
"student
union"or
"coffee
shop"area
that
would allow studentsto
interact
and chat about varioustopics
ofinterest
that
are notnecessarily
education related.To
create an effectiveE-VC there
needsto
be
anentity
to
serve asthe
coordinatorofinput
and also as an overseerofthe
E-VC.
In
aVC
this
person would createthe
environment
for
profit,
in
the
E-VC
this
position andthe infrastructure
wouldbe
not-for-profit
though the
sellersof services wouldindeed be driven
by
the
profit motive.Ideally
the
organizer ofthe
community
would setup
a portalthat
was notfor
profitthereby
creating
the
most socialbenefit
to the
student community.The
vendors,
and service providers wouldsubsidizethe
student'sinteraction
and accessto the
learning
experience.
I'm
not sureI
understand your pointher. Are
youtaking
aboutaVC
apartfrom any
college such asRIT? Or
are youtalking
about a service providedby
the
collegefor its
students?[Prof, My
mistakefor putting
the
schoolsin
the
originallist
andthe
idea is
the
E-VC is
to
be independent from any
school.,
Stan]
The
following
examples areintended
to
provide examples ofthe
state ofdistance
learning
onthe
internet
andhighlight
their
deficiencies further stating
the
needfor
anE-VC.
University
ofWisconsin
A
good example of auniversity attempting
to
service on-line customersis
the
siteprovided
by
the
University
ofWisconsin (UW). The
UW
site purportsto
have
otherprograms and support shown
but is very hard
to
find anything
otherthan
Wisconsin
information.21
Though
wellmeaning individuals
wholook
atthe
sitewillthink that
they
caneasily find
information concerning distance
education opportunities ratherthan the
potpourri ofinformation
that
is
available atthe
site.The
mainUW
sitehas
a somewhatintuitive
organization
to
it for
finding
information
concerning
their
programs with aglaring
exception.
As
one attemptsto
determine
the
ranking
ofthe
university
orthe
accreditation of
the
programsit
supportsis
not available.To
their
creditthe
university has
anadvising
areathat
attemptsto
assistthe
studentin
deciding
between the benefits
of various programs withinthe
Wisconsin
University
system
though
the
advising is based
on email and not atruly
interactive
activity.Western Governor's University
(WGU)
This university
mirrorsthe
current association ofWestern U.S.
universitiesthat
have
some reciprocal agreements
concerning
tuition
and coursework.The WGU
modelfor
delivery
allows studentsto
receive creditsfor
work orlife
experiencewhichis
not awidely
accepted practicefor
those
pursuing
accrediteddegrees.
This is
nothighlighted
on
their
web site andthey
only
divulge that
they
areapplying for
accreditationfor
their
programs.
For
studentslooking
to
further
their
careers and education accreditationis
paramount
for
acceptance atfollow
oninstitutions.
The university does
notcurrently
provide
many
complete programs,1 Master's
and3 Associate's.
22This
cannotbe
To
their
creditthe
web sitethat
they
have
developed has
avery
straightforwardlayout
and
is
conducivefor
individuals
to
obtaininformation
quickly.The
navigationis
repeatable acrosspages so
that
initial
users canquickly
changethreads
using
the
connections across
the
top
of each page anddrilling
down
into
a subject always enabledby
selection onthe
left hand
side ofthe
active page.Additionally,
the
areas of supportthat
they
offer are muchlike those
that
shouldbe
offeredin
anE-VC (e.g.
a studentunion,
bookstore,
on-linecatalog, ability
to
contact viae-mail)
22Alaska Pacific
University
The Alaska Pacific
University
objectiveis
to
servethe
state'spopulation,
whichis widely
separated geographically.
Though
this
is
not a classicdistance
learning
program sinceone week at
the
beginning
of each semesteris
usedfor
required on-campussocializing
with your
teacher
and classmates priorto
beginning
studies.This is
the
universities'method of
creating
the
feeling
ofcommunity quickly
through
direct
contactofthe
students. 24
APU
offersvery few degree
programsbut forecasts many
more asthe
school'sdistance
learning
program matures.The university does
not provideinformation concerning
accreditation onthe
main web sitethough
an article canbe
found
through the
sitesearch
function
that
statesthat the
program accreditationis
through the
Northwest
Association
ofSchools
andColleges. Though
students of other states might consider atrip
to
Alaska
too
much of aburden (though
not all). 25The
web siteis
not well setup for
ease of navigation with atotal
lack
ofchanging
thread
without
returning
to the
home
page and a non-uniform method ofdrilling
down
andup
through
particularthreads.
This
forces
the
userto
make additional selections whento
switch
topics.
National Technological
University
(NTU)
The NTU is
by
far
the
most credible sitein
the
providing
multi-school serviceto the
student
focusing
on professionaldevelopment
courses and graduatedegree
programs.The NTU has many
ofthe
educational servicesthat
wouldbe
requiredfor
the
E-VC
to
become
a useful environment.The
web site appearsto
have been
created4
yearsagoand
focuses
ononly
on coursework.The
site organizer'shave
created methodsfor
students
to
transitionbetween
study
programsand maintain personalinformation
that
normally
causesthe
mostissues for
students.The NTU
does
not ratethe
schoolsthat
are available sothat
student musttrustthe
university
that
it has
reputable members.It
should
be
notedthatmany
ofthe
membersare ratedin
the
US News
andWorld Report
graduate
survey
though notnecessarily
for
the
available programs. 26Do
not emphasizeaccreditationtoo
much.[Prof,
Agreed
per our emailI
have
aparagraph earlier
to quickly discuss this point,
SJA]
These
examplesareimportant
in
that
they
highlight the
currentlack
offocus
onthe
student's needs and
the biased
approach mostinstitutions
portray
to the
studentconcerning
their
offerings.A
studentlooking
for
adistance
learning
programthat
fits
their
particularneedsshould nothave to
usethis
one-sidedapproachtowards this
important decision
in
theirlife.
The E-VC
should assist studentsin picking
the
schooleducation,
student'scapability
and preferences andthe
student'sfinancial capability
asin
aclassicalsecondary
schooladvising
situation.These
examplesdo
notanswerthe
question ofcomplementary
services such asbooks,
computers,
time
saving
services andinternet
access.If
a studentdid
nothave internet
access,
how
would s/hefind
these
sites?[Prof,
People
can even usethe
local libraries
for free internet
accessparticularly
for
this
function.
SJA]
These investigations
areleft up
to the
studentto
workthrough
andto the
novicedistance
learning
students are asdaunting
atask
asthe
course workitself.
Additionally,
someinstitutions
usethese
services as methods
to
further
their
own profit as canbe
seenin
the typical
cost ofbooks in
mostuniversity book
stores when comparedto
offeringsfrom
web companiessuch as "ecampus.com."and
"bestbookbuys.com".
Have
you
tried
any
comparisions.I
did for my
course atRIT. Our bookstore
wasin
the
middle ofthe
best
buys
form
bestbookbuys. Com (I
think that
is
the
name ofit). With shipping
andhandling
andthe
fact
the
NY does
not change salestax
ontextbooks,
RIT
Campus Connections
wasthe
cheapest.[Prof, Both my
wife andI have done
this
often and youhave
to
be
vigilantbecause it is like
you said sometimethe
"best book
buy"is
notthe
best, SJA1
27,28 J ' J
The
state of supportto
distance
learning
supportin
relationto the
above sitedrequirements
is fragmented
atbest
and neitherbusiness
or education groupsdeveloped
beyond
the
1stphase of
community development.
NTU is
a possible exceptionin that
it
may be
consideredentering
phaseII
considering
the total
numbers of students servicedin
their
various programs.Need for interaction
The E-VC
needsto
supportthe
studentsby
providing
the
interaction
areas whetherfor
the
classroom orinformally
in
the
virtual coffeeshop because
otherwisethe
students willnot
feel
attachedto the
experience.This is
the
problem notonly for E-VCs but
alsofor
physical
campuses, to
quotePhillip
S.
Dunston,
an assistant professor atthe
University
of
Washington:
Even
students who are ableto
cometo campus, but
have little
or notime to
interact
withfaculty
or classmates outside of class express a convictionthat
they
are
missing
out on valuableinteractions. I have
nofundamental
problem with anindividual
gaining
some certification ofcompetency,
but I do believe
the
distinction
between
that
and auniversity degree
that thrives
onface-to-face
interactions
and assessment ofthe
student'sapplication ofknowledge
to
addressopen-ended,
real world problems mustbe
maintained. 29This
section of collaborative work seemsjust
thrown
in
here.
It
wouldseemto
meritits
own section.
To
me, the issues
E-VC do
not cover collaborative workin
a course asI
understand
the
E-VC
is supporting
the
students needs outside ofthe
course.[This
wasn't meant
to
be
a collaborative work section so much ashighlighting
the
needfor
collaborations so
I
rewrotethe
paragraph.SJA]
In-class group discussions
and collaborativework aretwo
ofthe
mostenriching
portions of physical classroomsthat
are still somewhatclumsy
on-line.Several workgroup
software solutions are available such as
Microsoft
NetMeeting
(when linked
withICQ)
which require
infrastructure
server supportto
supportwhichbegin
to
bridge
this
deficiency.
Interactive
pointto
point capabilitiesfor
students-to-studentinteractions
canbe easily
upgradedusing
tools
such asICQ
andPalTalk.
These
freeware
programsprovide a
capability
in
exchangefor basic
personalinformation
and some minoradvertisement access.
The
task
willbe
to
makethe
clientside ofthe
softwareeasily
configured overmultiple platformswhich
is
alwaysformidible
sothe
use ofcommercial entities should putdeflect
the
riskaway
from
the
E-VC.
30,31 '
Technology
which allows peopleto
speak andlisten
to
eachother,
listen
to
alecture,
and ask questionsis
outthere.
Given
the
rightinstructor
andthe
righttechnology,
one couldhave
a solid class~you
attend,
and you cantalk to
andhear
other students andthe
instructor. The instructor
cantake
control of yourcomputer
to
demonstrate
andhelp
you, too.
But
is
this
really
the
technology
that
is
being
usedby
students athome? Or do
studentshave
to
goto
labs
wherethis
equipment
is specially
setup (in
which casewhy
notjust
take
a regular class)?
--Anonymous,
(posted
5/5,
11:39
a.m.,
E.S.T.)
32There
are software applications outthere
for
studentsto
useto
create a moreinteractive
environment and
in
most casesshowing
them that
it's
availableis
allthat
is
needed.It is
the
requirementfor
the
E-VC
organizerto
pickthe
best
applications and makethem
readily
availablefor
members.Do
you meanthe
software environmentsto
be
used withinthe
course or outside ofthe
course.I
think the
university
andfaculty
stillhave
dominance
in
picking
the
softwarefor
use within a course.[Prof,
this is
directed
atthe
delivery
tools
notthe
teaching
tools,
SJA]
Benefit
of gravitating personnelBringing
together
acommunity
ofdistance
learners
provides abenefit
to the
students andthose
vending
products and services.The
candidate audiencefor
an educationVC
couldbe
stereo-typedasbalancing
afull home/work
schedule andattempting
to
further
educationto
enhancetheir
income
through
certificationprograms,
continuing
education and advanceddegrees.
As
mentionedearlier, this
is
alucrative
marketfor
vendors andthey
willbe willing
to
accessthis
group providing
funding
through
various methodsenabling
the
provisionofcommunity
social servicesfree
to
members.To properly
supportthis type
ofenvironment,infrastructure
is
requiredto
provide content and accessto
services.The
contentthat
wouldbe
neededto
entice studentsto
stay
withinthe
community
wouldbe
driven both
from
the
school andthe
needfor both information
and relieffrom
the
grind ofdistance
learning
andreceiving
real-time advice/counseling.The
eCampus.com web siteis
beginning
to
coversome commercial productsthe
E-VC
services would providewhere
the
offeringsare notjust
academic materialbut
the
company
also sellsPlayStation
games andhas limited hyperlinks
to
music. 33These
suppliers ofserviceswould provide micropaymentsto the
E-VC
andthe
studentbenefits
withbargain
pricing for
schoolsbooks
and other services.Excuse
me, there
is
no shortage of gameand music sites.Is
this
partofthe
educational environment oftoday?[Prof,
Unfortunately
it is
but
part ofaE-VC is
to
maintainthe
student withinthe
environmentand a student
doesn't
study
allthe time
andany
productsbought/rented
comeback to the
campus,SJA]
I
must admitthey
have
a good pricefor my
book
The Hardware Bible
(5th
Ed.) by
Winn L.
Rosch.
They
werethe
cheapestby
afew
pennies.[Prof,
The
power ofthe
group
shouldenable a
higher
percentageofsaving
or atleast
thatis
the
idea,
SJA]
These on-line,
education-related areimportant
services sincethey
relievethe
consumerof
the
commuting
requirementof classical education on alllevels.
Any
servicethat
can providethe
consumer withtime
efficiency
is
also an areafor marketing
whichwouldprovide
infrastructure
costs of educationVC (E-VC).
By
taking
micropayments on all for-profit services providedthrough
the
E-VC
andadvertising
supportthe
organizer shouldbe
capable ofsupporting
the
infrastructure.
34[Ha9e|.Armstrong,P^
Education Virtual
Community
Within
the
E-VC
the
specificareasthat
wouldbe
supportedto
providequality
serviceto
the
student and grow as anentity
wouldinclude
at each educationlevel,
schools,
coursework, services,
products,
advisors and chat area.The
naturalbreakdown
for
the
educationlevel is
Vocational,
General Education
orHigh School
Equivalency
(GED),
Bachelor
ofScience
(B.S.),
Master
ofScience
(M.S.),
Adult Education
andCorporate
Training.
Within
eachlevel
of educationthere
aredifferent issues
that
confrontthe
student asthey
progressthrough their
program.It is
mostlikely
that the
studentsfor
the
vocational andGED
programs wouldbe
the
least
computersavvy
andleast
capablefinancially
to take
advantage of
the
benefits f
the
E-VC. The
important
pointto take
from
the
students atthe
lower
end ofthe
educationladder is
that
if
the
experienceis
positivethey
are mostlikely
to
returnto the
forum
to
continuetheir
education.The possibility
of a candidateprogressing from
aGED
to
an advanceddegree
would providethe
community
with a participantfor
atleast
adecade. This
makesthe
availability
ofthe
E-VC
to
those
atthe
lowest
levels probably
the
mostprofitablein that
they
providethe
possibility
of aparticipant with
the longest
retainability.The
following
discussion
provides someflavor
ofthe
offeringsthat
shouldbe
available onthe
E-VC
web siteandthe
softwarethat
would
be
needed.Services
There
are servicesthat
assist students within adistance
learning
virtualcommunity,
e.g.chatareas
for
topics
such astutoring,
shopping,
information,
counseling (non-school
related)
and standardizedtesting.These
services provideatwo-fold
benefit in
that the
both
servethe
student and can generate revenuesto
supportthe
infrastructure
ofthe
E-VC. When
initiating
the
E-VC
theseservices wouldbegin
withcore activitiesthat
directly
impact
the
student.A
type
ofservice thatwillbe
proposedis
standardizedtesting
and preparation.As
shownin
Figure 1
and asis
intuitive
alllevels
ofdistance
learning
have
some sort oftesting
associatedwith advancement.Within the
E-VC
the
idea is
notto
connectthe
user
to the
commonplacedirect
connectto
acompany
website.Rather
the
E-VC
would provide somebackground on admissiontesting
requiredfor
particular course ofstudy,
which
in
turn
wouldlead
to
reviewsofparticulartest
preparation programsthat
arebased
on usersinputs.
These tests
rangefrom
the
GED for
high
schoollevel
equivalency,
SAT for
College to the
GRE
orLSAT
for
Graduate School. This way
aperson can make a more
informed decision
concerning
whetherthey
needto
use aparticular
test
preparation programor not.Are
wetalking
aboutSAT,
GRE,
etc. orgeneraltest
taking
strategies?The
name of some common exams wouldclarify issues
for
me.[Prof,
Hope
this
answersyour question andthe
web site wasdeveloped
with afeature for GRE
testing,
Stan]
Once
the
individual
makestheir
owndecision concerning
the
particular service andthe
particular vendor
it is
the
E-VCs
responsibility
to
accountfor
the
accessthe
environmenthas
provided and receivethe
due monetary
credit.It is
the
goal withinthe
E-VC
that the
student should receive a
better
pricefor
the
vendor'sproductsincethe
massing
of consumers withinthe
E-VC
should entitlethe
group
to
receive a more competitive pricethan
anindividual.
.
L
r ~ rt^i if 1
fiX2L "~"~
'
!
*r*1Hi
1
11
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1
1-
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m
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rimHhP
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ij
i^*Hj
TB
:
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-"~*~~r^-ai>*>*** B^-^^T OJ S lu -d -~r~^~j .42 fs <
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3 CD -o g -g ot w <
1
w [image:19.535.107.448.178.429.2]Options
Education Level
Figure 1
Web
Site Cube
ofService
Products
This
branch
would coverthe
gamutfrom
campusitems
to
home
officeto
recreationitems for
the
studentswithinthe
E-VC. The initial
offerings would concentrate onthe
products
that
providethe
mostbenefit to
studentsandthose
which areclassically
marketedtowards
students.The
products mostdirectly
beneficial
to
students would coverbooks,
software,computers,
supplies andinternet
service.Those
other productsthat
students also spendmoney
onthat
shouldbe
promotedinclude
sitesthat target
college students
the
product area can expandto
covergames, music,
music relatedhardware,
phone serviceand travel.This
areais fertile for generating
revenuesfor
the
E-VC.
Advisors
Advisement
in
the
classic senseis
the
one areathat
needsfinancial
supportfrom
the
other morecommercialized areas
to
succeed.The offering
oftrustworthy
advising
serviceswill put
the
E-VC
further
aheadthan
any
other site since students will returnto
receive
quality information.
The
noteworthy
pointconcerning
this
areais
the
personal aspectthat
mustbe
providedto the
studentin
this
area.The
advisors will needto
be
trained
concerning
optionswithintheir
particular area ofexpertise.The
advisors wouldneed
to
have
accessto
information
concerning
the
both
the
studentandthe
availableschools.
This
would requirethe
studentsto
allowthe
advisors accessto their test
results and previous coursework.
Without
this type
ofaccessthe
quality
ofadvising
would suffer and
the
direction
ofstudy
would not reflectthe individual
studentstrue
capabilities.
In
creating
the
E-VC
manning
the
advising capability
willdrive
growth asmuch as
the
hardware issues
ofhosting
the
services orproviding
accessto
quality
institutions. This
wouldbe
the
mostdifficult
to
find
andby
far
the
most expensive asI
assume we are not
taking
aboutstudentsadvising
students.[Prof,l
agree, that's
why
there
is
a needto
generate profitsfrom
other areasto
finance
this
function,
SJA]
Chat Area
The "Chat
Area"or
"Virtual Coffee
Shop"is
anintegral
part ofcreating
anE-VC
andprovides a
"cooling
off"
area similar
to
coffee shops and pubsthat
are centralto
mostphysical campuses.
To fill
this
function
the
Chat Area
needsto
allowfor
the
maximumamount of
socializing
between
students.Types
of activitiesthat
would occurin
this
areainclude;
discussion
groups,
live
events andinternet
games.Too
abrupt a change.[Prof,
Agreed hope I have fixed
this problem,
SJA]
To
assistthe
reader'sunderstanding
of whatis
meantby
anE-VC,
an example sitehas
been
created.This
web siteillustrates
the
breadth
of education opportunitiesthat
canbe
offered on-line and asimportant
the
wideranging
supportthat
has been discussed
within
this
paper.The
siteitself is intended
as an example sothat
branches
areonly
developed
to the
pointthat
the
readermay
understandthe
intent
ofthe
branch.
For
example
the
services area would showthe
available subgroup
areasbut
would notpopulate
the
specific pageswithinthe
subgroups.To further
the
E-VC
discussion,
the
ensuing
sectionsbreak down
the
example sitehighlighting
the
important issues.
Specifics
ofWeb
Environment
This
site was createdto
show an example ofthe
layout
that
would servicethe
E-VC.
There
are variouslinks based
on actual companiesthat
have been
manipulated sothat
authorizations would not need
to
be
coordinatedthough
actuallinks
to
institutions
andsome services
have
been
maintained.This
ground work and coordination with vendorswould
be
accomplishedby
the
organizer priorto
publicaccessto the
E-VC
to
legally
utilize references
to proprietary information.
The
overalllook
ofthe
site wouldbe
moregraphics oriented though
for
this
projectthe
goal wasto
showthe
interconnections
andservices and
less
the
graphics which areeasily
envisioned.My
initial
workbegan
afterworkunderstanding the
FrontPage
software andlearning
the basic
capabilitiesofthe
application.Much
ofthe
understanding I have
acquired wasbased
on use ofthe
availablehelp
text
andthe
book
FrontPage 98 Bible
by
Elderbrock
and
Bodenisek.
The
web site wasdesigned
using
atheme
and would needto
have
a server enabledfor
the
activeelements such ascountersand othermonitoring functions
to
properly
work.The
decision to
use athemeoccurredinitially
afterworking
ondrop
down
menus andhover buttons for
navigation.This
seemedless intuitive
andthe
idea
to
have
atwo
level
navigation on each pageexcept
for
the
end stub of abranch. After
looking
atthe
webbotsthat
wereavailablethat
madethe
navigation and selectionvery
simplefor
the
user.All
pages exceptthe
home
pagehave
ahorizontal
navigationtool
bar
for moving
between branches
atthe
top
ofthe
page underthe
banner
describing
the
subjectofthe
particular page.
Additionally,
all pages except end ofbranch
stubshave
averticalnavigation
tool
bar
to
movebetween
all sub-topics ofthe
branch.
Topic
information
is
filled in
as examplesofthe
design
throughout
and whenthe
submittal wouldbe
redundant
to
another page atthat
level
the
phrase"this is just
astub"
is
placed onthe
page.Project Web Site
Hardware/Software
The
web environmentfor
the
E-VC
would need web server software availableto
enablethe
activefunctions
that
needbackground processing
such ashits
per page andform
processing.For
the
projectthe
Microsoft
personal web server4.0
softwarewasloaded
to
providethe
functionality
of active elements.The
web sitehas been
provided withthis
paper andhas
examples wherethey
arenecessary
to
illustrate
the type
of servicethat
wouldbe
presentedto
studentswithin anE-VC.
The
web siteis in
the
"projectjinal"subdirectory
ofthe
msit_backup.zip file
that
was provided withthe
electroniccopy
ofthis
paper.The
oneknown
problem withthe
web sitethat
was not solved wasthe
navigationback
to
the
"HOME" web page worksin
FrontPage
but does
not resolveproperly
in
browser
viewing.For large-scale
operationsthe ISP that
would supportthe
site wouldhave
better insight
into
the
level
ofloading
that
wouldbe
needservicing
and which serverhardware/software
combination would
be
most applicable.To
scopethe hardware/software
requiredby
the
host
for
the
proposed softwarefor
the
differing
phases ofE-VC
growthis beyond
the
scope of
this
project.Financial Benefit
To
supportthe
accrual of micropayments andadvertising
paymentsfor
alarge internet
service provideror
AOL-like
firm
varioustraffic
measurementsfunctions
mustbe in
place.
To facilitate
the
accrual ofpayments,
hits
per pageandtaps
on alllinks
to
revenue
generating
sourceswillbe
monitored.The
methodsfor monitoring
the
status ofthese types
oftransactionsareavailable withinFrontPage
and wouldbe
tapped
back
to
a status page.Since
the
vendorwill not generatesales onevery hit
there
is
a needfor
an additional piece of
accounting
software onthe
serverto track the
vendor sales whenthey
originatefrom
the E-VC.
Companies
such asAmazon.com
have
similaraccounting
capabilities
that
wouldbe
usedfor
this
procedure. 35Benefit
for
Server Host
The
serverhost has
athree-foldbenefit
for
supporting the
E-VC,
the
host has
traffic that
it
can advertiseto
other service providersand vendors.Additionally,
information
concerning the
membersofthe
E-VC
wouldbe
availableto
the
host
at zero costeffectively
providing
informationthey
wouldnormally have laid
outfunds
to
acquire.The
server
host
would create good will(providing they
do
a goodjob)
sothose
members wouldbe
morelikely
to
use other services providedby
the host
such asinternet
access.The host
could alsolook
to
usethe
E-VC
as away
to
bundle
their
own services 36[ShaPiro,vanan,P73]
|n
each of
thg
benefjt
areasthe
organjzer needsto
ensurethe
objectivity
of
the
E-VC is
maintained with regardsto
servicing
students otherwisethe
basic
tenetofstudent
trust
in
the
E-VC
willbe
undermined.In
other wordsthe
organizer must ensurethe
host
serverdoes
not attemptto take
advantage ofthe
situationandbias
salestowards their
products.Supported Branches
The
needfor
aneasily
navigable sitethat
parallelsbetween
curriculumlevels is
important.
Students
shouldfeel
asfamiliar
whetherthey
arein the
Graduate
area orwhether
they
arein
the
High School
equivalency.This idea
of similarlook
andfeel
willmake
the
learning
experience remain a comfortable and"known"quantity for
aslong
asthe
studentis
withinthe
E-VC.
Institutions
willhave
guidelinesfor
the
style of accessthat
they
provideto the
studentif
they
wishto
accessthe
studentbody
ofthe
E-VC.
The E-VC
supportedbranches
are as shownin Figure
2
below. The idea is
for
studentsto
first
navigateto the
home
page and atthat
pointusing
the
optionsi