Blended Learning Initiatives within Alberta PostSecondary Institutions

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Blended Learning Initiatives within Alberta
Post-Secondary Institutions

• Cheryl Whitelaw Norquest College
• cheryl.whitelaw_at_norquest.ca
• Jim Zimmer Mount Royal College
• jzimmer_at_mtroyal.ca
• Norm Vaughan University of Calgary
• nvaughan_at_ucalgary.ca

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Drivers for Blended Learning - Norquest

• Increase student access to programs, resources,
  learning opportunities
• Empower student success for academic and
  employment goals
• 
  Context
• Existing distance/distributed/multi-stream
  program delivery
• Curriculum development for student audience

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Definition of Blended Delivery - Norquest

• Hybrid Learning Tools
• Elluminate Live
• WebCT
• Curriculum resources (Hot Potatoes, Quandary,
  Elive recordings, video/audio clips, simulations,
  CD-ROMs, print)
• Hybrid Learning Model

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Current Status of Blended Learning - Norquest

• Elluminate Live 35 seats, 20 courses - ACE
  (Physics, Math, Chemistry), Library tutorials
  Health recordings.
• Pilot 2002 Implementation 2003
• WebCT 13,000 students, 200 courses
• ACE, Business Industry Careers, Health Careers
• Pilot and implementation 1998

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Faculty Support - Norquest

• Program driven curriculum development
• Instructional Development Grants
• Summer Institute
• Customized workshops follow-up coaching
• Link professional growth with curriculum
  development

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Evaluation of Blended Learning Courses/Projects -
Norquest

• Student feedback WebCT survey tool
• Pilot project evaluation Hybrid PN program,
  Eportfolio project
• Work with Organizational Effectiveness Consultant
  to streamline blended learning evaluation with
  overall program evaluation
• Who is audience for evaluation?

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Next Steps - Norquest

• How create a better and more accessible learning
  experience for students?
• Resources NorQuest Reader CD-ROM, NorQuest
  Chronicle CD-ROM
• Eportfolio pilot project
• Tools Wimba Voice Tools
• How to create content more efficiently?
• Course Genie, Impatica

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Drivers for Blended Delivery Mount Royal College

• Circa 1999-2000
• High levels of technology uptake by faculty BUT
• faculty layering technology on top of
  everything theyd always done and continued to do
  course-and-a-half syndrome workload!!
• students seeking flexible learning alternatives,
  but in a campus-based context
• classroom space shortage

BLENDED DELIVERY
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Definition of Blended Delivery _at_ Mount Royal
College
the thoughtful integration of classroom-based
and technology-mediated instruction in ways that
support effective teaching and learning while
reducing, but not eliminating, face-to-face
contact time
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Goals of the Blended Delivery Initiative at MRC

• 1) Enhance student learning by fostering active,
  interactive and collaborative teaching-learning
  approaches, both in the classroom and online
• 2) Increase flexibility in course and program
  delivery for students and faculty
• 3) Build knowledge/skills among faculty for
  effective course redesign using technology
• 4) Increase efficiency of classroom utilization

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Current Status of Blended Learning _at_ Mount Royal
College

• Began 2000-01
• Approx. 60 courses redesigned through June 2006
• Many programs and disciplines
• Nursing Child Studies Biology
• Chemistry Business Social Work
• Comp Sci History Communications
• PhysEd Languages Economics

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Faculty Support _at_ MRC
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Faculty Learning Community for Blended Delivery

• Year-long PD / course redesign experience
• Annual call for applications
• 10-12 faculty per year from various disciplines
• FLC consists of
• Bi-weekly group meetings
• Online activities
• 11 consultation
• Student technician support
• Showcase and celebration
• 2500 stipend upon completion

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Tools and Approaches

• Blackboard tools
• Content modules
• Discussion forum
• Group tools
• Assessment tools (Bb and/or TLM)
• Macromedia Breeze
• Audacity
• Simulations (e.g. Mikes Bikes)
• Flash-based interactivities
• Collaboration tools
• Blogs, wikis
• Classroom Clickers

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Evaluation of Blended DeliveryMount Royal College

• Course Adaptation Research project, 2000-03
• Students valued flexibility ready access to
  course materials resources/activities available
  _at_ Bb site
• Students reported enhanced understanding of
  course content, and development of ICT skills
• Overall, students
• Felt the blended approach enhanced the course
• Would recommend blended delivery to a friend
• Would take another blended course

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Next Steps Mount Royal College

• Faculty Learning Community for Project
  Implementation and Evaluation
• Explore departmental / program-based approaches
• Whole course redesign of select
  high-enrollment, multi-section courses modeled on
  work of Carol Twigg
• Integrate e-learning activity (blended and fully
  online) into enrollment growth strategy

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Drivers for Blended Learning University of
Calgary

• Universitys Learning Plan
• That inquiry-based learning approaches be at the
  centre of the undergraduate learning experience.
• All students must have the opportunity to
  participate in communities of inquiry
• Learning technologies (i.e., eLearning) offer
  opportunities to enhance the campus experience
  and extend learning through the innovative use of
  on-line resources and asynchronous and
  synchronous collaborative learning opportunities,

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Drivers for Blended Learning U of C

• Inquiry Defined
• Essential Features
• problem or question driven,
• involves critical discourse,
• requires self-directioni.e. students take
  responsibility for their own learning,
• incorporates research methods such as information
  gathering, synthesis of ideas, and communication,
• evaluation of the student is appropriate to
  foster Inquiry Learningit must include
  reflection on the learning experience of the
  student, what they have learned, and why the work
  is relevant (to their discipline).
• Inquiry Learning Action Group (ILAG)

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Definition of Blended Delivery U of C

• The University defines blended learning as a
  blending of campus and online educational
  experiences for the express purpose of enhancing
  the quality of the learning experience.
• Blended learning is seen as an opportunity to
  fundamentally redesign how we approach teaching
  and learning in ways that higher education
  institutions may benefit from increased
  effectiveness, convenience and efficiency.
• At the heart of blended learning redesign is the
  goal to engage students in critical discourse and
  reflect.
• The goal is to create dynamic and vital
  communities of inquiry where students take
  responsibility to construct meaning and confirm
  understanding through active participation in the
  inquiry process.
• COHERE (Canadas Collaboration for Online Higher
  Education and Research www.cohere.ca)

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History of Blended Learning U of C

• Program planning began in 2002 virtual
  participation in the University of Central
  Floridas - Interactive Distributed Learning for
  Technology Mediated Course Delivery (IDL6543).
• Development of the Inquiry through Blended
  Learning (ITBL) Program in 2004
• Faculty apply for course redesign grants (10,000
  with one 30,000 grant for a major course
  redesign)
• Proposal reviews and selections are made by the
  Inquiry Learning Action Group
• Learning Commons provides course redesign
  consultation and support (define course goals and
  expectations, redesign learning activities and
  assessment assignments, adapt and develop online
  tools, evaluate implementation, and disseminate
  results)

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Current Status of Blended Learning U of C

• ITBL Program (currently 33 projects)
• Biology Introductory Biology/Chemistry
  Tutorials, The Vertebrates, The Life of Bacteria
• Business Business Law
• Chemistry General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
  I and II
• Communications Theories and Applications of
  Development, Pathways The Foundations of
  Knowledge and Understanding
• Computer Science Introductory Course for
  non-majors, Computing and the Arts
• Economics Principles of Micro Economics,
  Principles of Macroeconomics
• Education eFolio Project
• Engineering Mechanical/Manufacturing
  Engineering Design Methodology and Application ,
  Ethics
• English Introduction to Literary Studies
• Fine Arts Introductory Course

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Current Status of Blended Learning U of C

• ITBL Program (cont.)
• General Fostering Inquiry through Written
  Communication
• Health Sciences Poison Pen, Ecto-Academic
  Learning Program, Fundamentals of Epidemiology
• History - Introduction to Greek and Roman History
  and Culture
• Kinesiology Adapted Physical Activity,
  Introduction to Research in Kinesiology
• Languages Challenging the German Text, Spanish
  Undergraduate Courses, Reading and Writing
  Chinese I
• Library Web-based Inquiry Search Process
  (WISPR) Tutorial
• Math Introduction to Statistics, Controlled Lab
  Learning Environment
• Nursing Nursing Inquiry, Child Youth Health
  Promotion in Schools
• Philosophy Evidence
• Social Work Virtual Learning Circle

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Faculty Support U of C

• ITBL Projects
• Orientation course redesign guide and initial
  meeting with representatives from the Learning
  Commons, Information Technologies and the
  Library
• Faculty community of inquiry blending of face
  to face luncheon meetings with online learning
  activities to support project development
• Project team meetings Learning Commons
  consultant with faculty, graduate students and
  staff involved in each specific project

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Faculty Support U of C

• Campus Wide
• Blended learning workshop series (facilitated by
  Learning Commons staff and faculty involved in
  ITBL projects)
• Individual and group consultation (e.g.
  departmental workshops)
• Presentations by external experts (Stephen Sorg,
  University of Central Florida, Carol Twigg
  National Centre for Academic Transformation,
  Curtis Bonk Handbook of Blended Learning,
  Stephen Ehrmann Director of the Flashlight
  Assessment/Evaluation Network)
• Handbook for Blended Learning Online Study
  Group
• Tip Sheets 2 page handouts on blended learning
  topics (e.g. assessment issues, online discussion
  forums, communities of inquiry, eLearning tools)
• ITBL Resource Wiki

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Faculty Support U of C

• eLearning Tools
• Blackboard Learning Management System
• Elluminate Synchronous Conferencing System
• Macromedia Breeze
• Custom tools (e.g. Peer Review Tools, Blackboard
  Building Blocks)
• Open source tools (e.g. Pachyderm, Drupal)

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Evaluation of Blended Learning Courses/Projects
U of C

• The Sloan Consortium Quality Framework and The
  Five Pillarshttp//www.sloan-c.org/publications/b
  ooks/qualityframework.pdf
• Learning effectiveness
• student grades and withdrawal/drop rates
• Cost effectiveness and institutional commitment
• presently under discussion
• Access
• student surveys
• Faculty satisfaction
• surveys, interviews, focus groups
• Student satisfaction
• surveys

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Dissemination U of C

• Internal
• Faculty-led blended learning presentations to new
  ITBL cohorts, departments and the U of C
  community
• Articles in U of C publications
• External
• Conference presentations and journal articles