Distance Education 101: Case Study in WebCT

Dr. Jo-Anne H. Willment,
Assistant Professor-Distance Education Specialist,
Dalhousie University

Hanny Alshazly,
E-Learning Specialist/WebCT Administrator
Dalhousie University

Abstract

Increasingly novice and mid-career instructors are asked to be conversant with their content discipline and the teaching and learning issues needed for development and delivery of on-line academic courses. A key teaching opportunity is missed if the professional educational framework is not fully

developed to support instructors who wish to become proficient in on-line teaching. This is the focus of this case study session.

Background to the Project

Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia offers a small team of Web-learning professionals responsible for supporting WebCT within our educational institution. In addition to personal consultations, we offer WebCT manuals at no cost to potential instructors and WebCT "Summer Camps" with

learning activities for instructors held each Spring. As well, instructors are able to avail themselves of up to forty hours of private tutorial time with one of our staff for course development technical instruction. Collectively, these activities have been well-received by our educational

community and have contributed to a greater audience understanding of the technical aspects of WebCT.

Additional options also need to be developed. For example, new instructors often ask to visit current WebCT on-line courses to see how the structure of the on-line course has been addressed by others. While we always try to make these available, security issues sometimes result in a

delay occurring while permission is gained from instructors. Similarly, examining an on-line course can be helpful, but it also may be fraught with additional difficulties. For example, the quality of the course structure, the breadth of instructional material included in the course, and the

depth of the course will naturally vary and these can create marked differences that often belie course design issues.

There is also an increasing on-line teaching and learning research literature (e.g., Kahn, 1997; McCormack & Jones, 1998; Haughey & Anderson, 1998) and published Conference Proceedings (e.g., University of Nebraska-Wisconsin Distance Teaching and Learning, 1998) suggesting that students prefer

on-line teaching wherein the selection of course organization methods is explicit, the delivery methods are clear, and the assessment techniques are defined. Learners appreciate, for example, written on-line course expectations, the opportunity to read about past experiences that others bring to

their on-line learning; decisions about the selection of one or more forms of learning (e.g., collaborative learning, self-paced learning and/or virtual group work) selected for the course; importance of the on-line interaction tools used; identification of the on-line student assessment

techniques; and/or the ability to gather student information using a variety of on-line formative and summative evaluation techniques.

The Current Teaching & Learning Challenge

While the research literature is clear on these on-line course decisions, the way in which this on-line pedagogical information could be captured, reflected upon, and used by instructors is less obvious. Certainly, there are plenty of instructional design websites to view which contain useful

material, but there is little integration across or between these websites. In short, the websites do not offer any organizational structure and often leave the instructor to read across websites hoping that on-line pedagogical information will be revealed.

In addition, the Web-learning professionals at Dalhousie have excellent expert skills, but are often decentralized and work as separate units with the university rather than as an integrated unit. While this offers the possibility of service to several areas of the campus, the downside of this

dilemma frequently results in resources being identified but not shared between web-learning professionals.

The Response

We are developing a WebCT Distance 101 Course for our instructors that will use a self-paced WebCT course to gain specific information on the range of on-line teaching options available to instructors. While still a "work-in-progress", the intention of the WebCT course is to link instructors

with a range of specific distance education on-line instructional websites. In so doing, the WebCT course is set-up to model the type of WebCT framework that mirrors one approach to a logical, organized and effective way to establish an on-line course.

A user is able to navigate in WebCT thereby selecting the theme that best meets his/her need from the following options; (1) WebCT Sample Course, (2) WebCT Features, and (3) WebCT Administration, followed by (4) On-line Teaching Techniques, (5) On-line Instructor Techniques, and (6) On-line

Checklists. Once this initial decision is made, WebCT offers further options within theme areas.

The DE 101 Course model is a user-friendly "bottom-up" structure that is founded upon the needs of our instructorship. While the overlying structure of the DE 101 Course has been identified for the pilot project, it is important to give users the opportunity to experiment with the model and to

give us their feedback for revisions before proceeding with the project.

This session will enable participants to learn and view Distance Education 101: A Case Study Model. As we go through the on-line course, our participants will have an opportunity to complete feedback forms. Following the informal presentation, we will ask small groups to meet together to compare

their notes and thoughts on the course with particular reference to the strengths, limitations and further development they feel would be helpful to provide. We will re-assemble and hear from each group, and we will contribute the responses we have received to date from our Dalhousie colleagues.

Future Developments

The future for Distance Education 101: Case Study in WebCT is an excellent example of the possibilities for increased provision of on-line instructional services for our university instructorship. The opportunity for further research and writing in distance teaching and learning is burgeoning

and will continue to expand into the future.

References

1. Haughey,M. & Anderson,T. (1998). Networked Learning: The Pedagogy of
the Internet. Toronto: Cheneliere/McGraw Hill.

2. Khan, B. H. (Ed.). (1997). Web-Based Instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Educational Technology Publications.

3. McCormack, C. & Jones, D. (1998). Building a Web-based Education System.
NY: John Wiley & Sons.

4. Olgreen, C. (Ed.). (1998). Proceedings of Distance Learning '99. Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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