Education and Other Purposes. 3.9 Alternative Delivery Programs

3.9 Alternative

Delivery Programs

3.1

Subcommittee Members:

Dr. Randy Smith, Chair Sheri Bushman Shaena Curry Tina Fagala Loret Holt Paul Kremeier Tim Kolb Linda Little Lori Louthan Irala Magee Sharon McConkey Kristal Randall Luke Ream Craig Ricke Dustin Smith Karen Sneary Gary Stout Shane Vore Marc Wallace Carla White Introduction

The Core Values cited in NWOSU’s Strategic Plan include innovative teaching, accessible education, and the development of resources to assist learners in achieving

their educational goals (Northwestern Oklahoma State University, 2003d). The University reflects these values in its distance education program.

Northwestern Oklahoma State

University experienced rapid growth in distance learning during the past 10 years. NWOSU recognizes the role of distance learning within the University. The institution has identified courses and programs that fit well into a distance delivery system and has attempted to create an enjoyable, effective educational environment not only for students

learning at a distance but also for faculty who are teaching to distant sites. The University has supported the expansion of distance learning and continually looks for new avenues to improve the existing distance learning foundation.

Because of the sparse population in NWOSU’s service region, distance learning is vital to the mission of the institution. NWOSU has three categories of alternative delivery programs. These include Interactive Television (ITV) courses using the H.323 delivery system, online courses, and telecourses offered via the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA).

Interactive Television Instruction

ITV courses are primarily offered at the Alva, Woodward, and Enid campuses. Other institutions receiving courses from NWOSU via the ITV system include the University Learning Center located in Ponca City, Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, Oklahoma Panhandle State University located in

Goodwell, and Texhoma High School located in Texhoma. Coverage of this wide geographic range is necessary due to the sparsely populated region of northwest Oklahoma. In addition, NWOSU offers concurrent enrollment for high school seniors via H.323 to four area high schools: Waynoka High School, Freedom High School, Taloga High School, and Buffalo High School. NWOSU maintains agreements with Cameron University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University to offer Master of Business Administration degrees at the three NWOSU campuses.

The ITV Coordinator, in conjunction with the Academic Deans and campus Deans, schedules ITV classrooms for instruction. The ITV Coordinator, based at the Alva campus, works closely with an assistant coordinator at the Enid campus in order to ensure quality control, technical support, and training for faculty. The ITV staff provides training to faculty on the ITV equipment at the beginning of each semester and one-on-one training if needed. Part-time student employees serve as facilitators and are scheduled to be in the classrooms at each remote site during each class period to assist the instructors in disseminating and

proctoring exams, distributing materials, troubleshooting equipment, and maintaining order in the remote classrooms. A full-time courier delivers ITV classroom materials among all campus sites on a daily basis.

NWOSU continually strives to improve the overall ITV

experience. In 1996, NWOSU replaced the outdated Talk-Back TV at the NWOSU Alva campus with a new, full-motion, GrassValley ITV studio using the state of Oklahoma’s OneNet Telecommunications Network and added a second studio using the same equipment. At the same time, NWOSU acquired branch campuses in Enid and Woodward. The existing Enid facility had H.320 studios which were upgraded to the

GrassValley system. In Woodward, a partnership was established with the High Plains Technology Center, and NWOSU installed a GrassValley ITV studio at the Technology Center. In 1999, NWOSU purchased three Intel TeamStations in order to broadcast additional classes to the branch campuses and to evaluate the quality of the relatively new H.323 equipment. The H.323 system allows instructors to teach classes to additional sites that are not compatible with the GrassValley systems. Another advantage of the H.323 system is that it does not require dedicated bandwidth. H.323 uses the Internet and is more user-friendly for faculty members, allowing them to

connect to remote classes by simply making an Internet phone call. In a sustained effort to improve the quality of instruction, NWOSU purchased two Polycom ViewStation FX H.323 systems in 2000. These hardware systems were better quality than the PC-based Intel TeamStations but still maintained compatibility with the older systems. Since that time, NWOSU has converted all of the GrassValley systems to Polycom VS4000 systems. NWOSU has a total of seven studios in Alva, seven studios in Enid, and four studios in Woodward.

NWOSU purchased and installed push-to-talk microphones in an effort to reduce noise at remote classroom locations. The University also furnished studios with comfortable tables and chairs. Instructors have the ability to control the studio system using a touch panel with software designed by the NWOSU technology staff. Instructors receive written instructions for using the equipment

and a troubleshooting guide. The materials are also located at each instructor station in the ITV classrooms. The University is in the process of replacing the 35” television monitors with 61” big screen monitors in large classrooms. These monitors allow students to view objects shown on the computer or small

print shown on the document camera from the back of the classroom. NWOSU is committed to improving the overall environment of the ITV classrooms.

In an effort to improve interaction between faculty and students in the ITV classrooms, NWOSU encourages instructors to visit the distant sites during the semester. NWOSU maintains a fleet of vehicles for faculty use during these visits.

The number of course offerings to distant sites has increased from approximately 26 courses offered during the Fall 1996 Semester

to 74 courses offered during the Fall 2003 Semester. The increase in ITV course offerings is shown in Figure 3.9.1.

Evaluations are given during periodic intervals to assess the needs of students in the distance learning environment and the quality of education provided in the ITV environment. Students taking ITV courses are asked to sign forms that outline the rules and responsibilities of ITV students. The ITV Student and Faculty Survey results from the Fall 2002 Semester are shown in Figure 3.9.2. These indicate the satisfaction of students and faculty concerning ITV issues at NWOSU.

Online Instruction

NWOSU adopted Aurora, a pilot version of an online learning platform, for the 2002-2003 school year. Technical support for Aurora was provided through the TEACHNOLOGY Office. During the 2002-2003 school year, NWOSU established an Online Learning Committee in an effort to set policies and

The information used to compile this graph is historical ITV data from the past eight years and came from various sources. 26 36 35 36 ₃₅ 35 37 52 ₅₁ 61 86 66 71 68 74 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Fall 1996 Spring 1997 Fall 1997 Spring 1998 Fall 1998 Spring 1999 Fall 1999 Spring 2000 Fall 2000 Spring 2001 Fall 2001 Spring 2002 Fall 2002 Spring 2003 Fall 2003 Semester Figure 3.9.1

procedures for online course development. The Committee consists of members from administration, staff, and faculty. It convenes several times each semester to discuss issues and trends in online learning and to establish policy. Because faculty

requested a more user-friendly platform, Blackboard was adopted in 2003 as the online learning platform for the institution. The Coordinator of Distance Learning offers faculty workshops to instructors wishing to learn more about the Blackboard learning platform.

All faculty members who wish to develop and teach an online course must receive approval from their department chair and their respective Academic Dean. The faculty member will complete an online course development form and attach a course syllabus for submission to the Coordinator of Distance Learning. During the development of online courses, the Coordinator of Distance Learning assists instructors in a one-on-one setting. Information Technology Services provides technical support for online distance learning.

Telecourse Instruction

The University offers telecourses via the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority’s (OETA) statewide education program.

Source: Smith, 2002b Figure 3.9.2

ITV Rating

Overall quality of the NWOSU ITV studios Quality of course content taught via ITV

Satisfaction level with attempts to improve ease of use of ITV Quality of instruction through ITV courses

The Coordinator of Distance Learning works with the Media Technician to administer telecourses and provide video tapes. Northwestern coordinated 12 telecourses with 222 enrolled in 2001-2002 and nine telecourses with 188 students in 2002-2003 (Case, 2002, 2003).

Student Services for Distance Learning

Distance learning students have access to academic advisors on the Enid and Alva campuses. The Dean of the Woodward campus advises students on that campus. In addition,

advisement sessions are scheduled each semester in Woodward and Ponca City at the University Learning Center to allow students to meet with faculty from other campuses. Registry services for enrollment and drop-add periods occur at all three NWOSU campuses.

Distance learning students can access the NWOSU web page to review course schedules, computer lab hours, library hours, bookstore hours, the Follett website, calendar of events, and contact information for faculty and campus offices. NWOSU allows online enrollment if approved by the student’s advisor during the enrollment period. Students also have the ability to access the Student Information System online and print copies of their unofficial transcripts, financial aid information, billing statements, and course schedules.

The NWOSU Libraries strive to offer online services in an effort to meet the demands and needs of distance education students. Services provided via the Library’s website include online catalog searching, EBSCO and FirstSearch databases, netLibrary, a listing of online journals that include hyperlinks, and helpful search engines. The online library options are available to any NWOSU student. The J.W. Martin Library is open seven days a week and the Enid Library is open six days a week for students.

Students who enroll in an ITV or online course at NWOSU have various options for purchasing books. Books are available from the full-time Bookstores at the Alva and Enid campuses. Students at the NWOSU Woodward campus and at the University Learning Center may complete pre-order forms, and the books will be delivered to these remote sites. Students also have the option of ordering textbooks online at the Follett website (www.efollett.com). Book buy-backs occur on every campus at the end of each semester to

provide an additional service to the distance education students. The NWOSU Bookstore Managers at the Alva and Enid campuses are responsible for ordering and managing the buy-back of the

textbooks for all locations and for maintaining the NWOSU-Follett website. Shown in Figure 3.9.3 are the student satisfaction survey results with the operation of the Bookstores and the adequacy of textbook supplies.

Conclusion

Prior to the acquisition of the branch campuses in Enid and Woodward, NWOSU’s distance education program was limited. The addition of the branch campuses required the University to develop a plan to serve the needs of students at distant sites. This plan was designed to most efficiently utilize the University’s resources by creating a distance

education program that relies on ITV technology. NWOSU is fully committed to upgrading the learning and teaching environment of ITV. It also strives to provide support needed to allow instructors to provide quality distance instruction. Furthermore, online course development serves traditional and non-traditional students. The institution provides advising, access to library materials, and bookstore services to meet the needs of distance learning students. The University cooperates with other institutions to provide programs that will benefit and serve the needs of the students in its service area. Figure 3.9.3

Bookstore Rating

Convenience of bookstore hours

Adequacy of textbook supplies in the bookstore Source: Smith, 2002b

Strengths

1. NWOSU plans for technology upgrades to remain current with industry trends and to improve the technology used in distance learning environments. 2. The University implemented H.323 technology, the

statewide standard, for Interactive Television.

3. Most faculty members agree that NWOSU makes efforts to provide support and technology improvements to facilitate teaching from a distance.

4. Most students stated that they would take another ITV course.

5. An Online Learning Committee has been established to develop policies and procedures to ensure quality and integrity of online courses.

6. NWOSU offers a variety of services to provide students the necessary support they require at all remote

campuses.

7. NWOSU has adopted a nationally-known platform, Blackboard, as the campus-wide online learning platform.

Challenges

1. Rapidly changing technology and associated instructional methods make it difficult for faculty members to stay knowledgeable and maintain quality levels of instruction. 2. Technology for distance learning is expensive and

changes at a rapid pace requiring additional resources.

Recommendations

1. NWOSU needs to provide more professional

development opportunities in the area of online learning technology and best practices in instructional methods. 2. NWOSU will need to secure additional sources of

funding to provide and maintain appropriate technology for distance learning.