Online Learning: New Access to Quality Educational Opportunities

1
Online Learning New Access to Quality
Educational Opportunities
Prof. Burks Oakley II Associate Vice President
for Academic Affairs and Director, U of I
Online University of Illinois 5 June 2001
2
Moores Law
1987 Cray-1 Cost 8,000,000 60,000 watts of
power
1997 Nintendo 64 Cost 149
5 watts of power 3.5 x as many
additions/sec.
3
Growth of the Internet

• While computing power doubles every 18 months,
  Internet traffic doubles every 4-6 months
• The Illinois Century Network now provides
  high-bandwidth Internet connections to colleges
  and universities throughout Illinois

4
Three Revolutions in Higher Education

• Land-Grant College Act of 1862 (Morrill Act)
• Community colleges Illinois Junior College
  Act of 1965
• The Internet the personal computer the World
  Wide Web the Mosaic graphical Web browser
  1993

University of Illinois President James J. Stukel
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What can the Internet provide?

• Access to learning opportunities
• Interactive course materials
• Simulations, multimedia, visualization
• Homework and quizzes
• Access to people
• Subject matter experts (instructors)
• Other students (peer-peer group interactions)

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The Internet provides new access to learning

• Any time, any place
• Site independent learning (distance education)
  through courses that are delivered entirely
  online
• Campus resources are now accessed online by
  place-bound and time-restricted individuals

7
What are we doing at the University of
Illinois?

• In 1997, we implemented the University of
  Illinois Online initiative

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U of I Online Programs

• Primary focus on continuing education and
  masters degree programs
• Well-defined market
• Highly-motivated, focused learners
• Address the needs of under-served citizens of the
  State of Illinois (and beyond)
• Deliver programs in high demand

9
U of I Online Degree Programs

• B.A. in Liberal Studies
• M.S. in Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical,
  Computer Science), M.I.S., Library and
  Information Science
• Master of Engineering (M.Eng.)
• M.Ed. in Education (3 fields)
• Master of Health Professions Education
• Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)

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U of I Online Certificate Programs

• Financial Engineering
• Non-Profit Management
• Graduate Medical Education
• Continuing Medical Education
• Career/Employment Specialist
• Community College Teaching and Learning
• Health Informatics

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UIUC Library and Information Science

• Online version of on-campus MS degree
• Began with 31 students in Fall 1996
• From as far away as Alaska and Vermont
• Average age was 41 years old
• Currently 150 students enrolled
• 147 students have completed MS degree
• Retention in the program is 98

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UIUC Library and Information Science

• Scott Kiefer, from Fairbanks, Alaska, was able to
  have a new career as a librarian by earning his
  master's degree from UIUC online, without having
  to move from his beloved state

Photo from the PBS documentary netLearning,
September 1998
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UIUC Library and Information Science

• Students have enrolled from Illinois and 41 other
  states, Virgin Islands, DC, Canada, France,
  Colombia, and Japan
• The online degree is accredited by the American
  Library Association
• Addition of the online program has increased
  enrollment in the Masters degree program by 50

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Virtual UI-Springfield

• Spring 1999 14 online courses, 205 course
  enrollments
• Spring 2000 30 online courses, 567 course
  enrollments
• Spring 2001 44 online courses, 58 sections,
  800 course enrollments, 10 of all credits
  generated via online courses
• 160 FTE faculty at UIS

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What are we doing statewide?

• In September 1998, with HECA funding from the
  IBHE, we implemented the Illinois Virtual Campus
  (IVC)
• The IVC provides an online catalog that includes
  online courses and programs from all colleges and
  universities in Illinois

http//www.ivc.illinois.edu
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Growth of the IVC

• The IVC catalog now lists 1534 online courses
  from 54 institutions in Illinois
• Fall 2000 online enrollments in online courses
  were 13,582 up 37 from the Spring 2000
  semester
• Approximately 70 of the Fall 2000 online
  enrollments were in courses offered by community
  colleges

Source http//www.ivc.illinois.edu/AboutIVC/Enro
ll_F00.htm
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Spotlight on the IVC
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Quality Online Education

• Well-prepared faculty
• Well-prepared students
• Faculty support
• Student support
• Online access to campus resources

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Faculty Development

• Illinois Online Network (ION)
• Funded by a HECA grant from the IBHE
• Activities include online courses for faculty

http//illinois.online.uillinois.edu/
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ION Online Courses

• I think anyone interested in teaching online
  should begin with this experience.
• I definitely would recommend this course to all
  potential online instructors. I told our VP of
  Instruction that it should be required of all
  online instructors.
• This course was very rewarding and I am much
  more confident concerning my ability to be
  successful with my own online class.

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ION Online Courses

• This has been one of the best professional
  development activities Ive ever taken part in.
• The element that was most meaningful was the
  opportunity to experience online learning from a
  students perspective.
• The thing I liked most about this course was the
  interaction with the other students.

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Student Readiness

• UNI 392 at UI-Springfield Introduction to
  Online Learning
• Online class developed with funding from the
  Illinois Century Network
• Course materials will be distributed on CD-ROM to
  all colleges in Illinois in all popular online
  course formats

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Faculty Support

• Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning (OTEL) at
  UI-Springfield
• Seminars, workshops, hands-on training
• Assistance with instructional design and online
  course development
• Technical support for faculty

http//otel.uis.edu
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Student Support

• Help desk with toll-free telephone number, open
  until midnight
• Online tutoring
• The Illinois Virtual Campus has a Student Support
  Center in every community college district in
  Illinois
• Advising, library access, technology support,
  computer access, test proctoring

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Access to Campus Resources

• Many campuses now have an online bookstore,
  online registration, online tuition payment
• Library materials now available online via the
  Illinois Digital Academic Library

http//www.idal.illinois.edu/
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Quality in Online Education

• Online learning can be as effective as on-campus
  learning (equivalent learning outcomes)
• Students and faculty are satisfied with the
  online educational experience
• Online courses and programs provide new access
  not previously available
• The costs of delivering online instruction are
  comparable to the costs of on-campus instruction

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Online Learning New Access to Quality
Educational Opportunities
Prof. Burks Oakley II University of Illinois Web
http//www.online.uillinois.edu/oakley/ E-mail
oakley_at_uillinois.edu