The Virtual Classroom: online with Luddite Community College

1. The Virtual Classroom:online with Luddite Community College LST 403: Learning Environments – Dr. Bishop Mary Jo Brown

2. The Virtual Classroom Educational Need • To extend LCC’s visibility beyond the local community by developing the “virtual classroom” • To provide additional resources to the community by providing more online choices • 2006 Brown

3. The Virtual Classroom Existing Learning Environment Local area statistics: • Located in Northeast Pennsylvania, USA • Socio-economic status - primarily white non-hispanic, approx. 20% Hispanic, 15% Black, 10% Asian and % other • Median age is 39 years old; Median household income is $56,000.00 Enrollment statistics: • Average age is 27 years old • Total enrollment 6,564 students: 4,040 females and 2,524 males • Full-time students = 2,588 and part-time students = 3,976 • 978 minority students (15%) • Faculty to student ratio is 14:1 • 2006 Brown

4. The Virtual Classroom Target Audience: Analyzing the learner • High school grads on a fast track to a good job • Two-year students transferring to a four-year program • Students earning credits for degrees or certificates • Life long learners taking noncredit courses • Adults returning to class to update their skills, extend their knowledge base, and change their careers “At community colleges, people can continue to learn at any point in their lives. The fast pace of technological innovations and increasing frequency of job and career changes can create the potential for people to return to community colleges again and again (AACC, 2004).” • 2006 Brown

5. The Virtual Classroom Target Audience: Analyzing the learner Weaknesses • Two-year students bring with them • Low income homes may not have access to technology at home • Single parent students have conflicting schedules • High school gads with low SAT test scores • High school grads with learning disabilities • Returning students bring with them • Academic learning weaknesses due to lapsed time between taking classes • Negative employment experiences • 2006 Brown

6. The Virtual Classroom Target Audience: Analyzing the learner Strengths • Two-year students bring with them • A desire to learn about a subject of interest • Basic academic learning skills • Current basic technology skills learned through school • Advanced technology skills depending on their personal and social interests • Returning students bring with them • A desire to increase their knowledge about a subject • Basic and advanced academic learning skills • A variety of technical skills depending on their jobs • 2006 Brown

7. The Virtual Classroom Technology Analysis Expanding the online classroom • Blackboard • Picasa Extending the online course offerings • Photoshop • Dreamweaver • Virtual tutorials • 2006 Brown

8. The Virtual Classroom Blackboard • Description • Pros • complements classroom instruction • learn anytime • Cons • lack of class spontaneity • Evaluation • Blackboard is an e-learning platform that supports course management for creating and taking courses on the Web. • Blackboard has integrated add-on for development and growth • 2006 Brown

9. The Virtual Classroom Blackboard Self-Hosted Blackboard ASP 0 One-Time Implementation Costs 48,600 Service Setup Fee $ $ Server hardware $ 6,000 Includes dedicated Network hardware $ 12,000 application & database Backup hardware $ 6,000 servers, network Database software license $ 6,000 infrastructure, backup Monitoring system software $ 5,000 infrastructure, monitoring Backup system software $ 5,000 software and systems, Tier-1 Implementation personnel $ data center and professional 1,600 Staff training $ 1,000 implementation Annual Management Costs* $ 58,000 Annual Subscription Fee $ 30,000 IT Management $ 30,000 Includes 24 x 7 customer Application Administration $ support and management, System Administration $ dedicated Application Database Administration $ 25,000 Support Manager, team of Hardware Administration $ database administrators & Bandwidth & Network $ 3,000 network engineers TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (3 YEAR PLAN) $ 215,000 $20,000 + (3 x $42,000) = $ 90,000 $158,600 + (3 x $126,000) = TOTAL SAVINGS BY CHOOSING BLACKBOARD ASP SOLUTION: $132,000 *Assumes a Red Hat Linux/Oracle implementation on Dell Hardware *Assumes 25% of time of personnel is used for ongoing management 3 Year Total Cost of Ownership Analysis: Blackboard Learning System – Basic Edition • 2006 Brown

10. The Virtual Classroom Dreamweaver • Description • Pros • part of a digital design package that offers compatible software integration • Cons • complex program requires many hours to master • Overall evaluation • industry-leading hypermedia Web development tool that enables the user to design, develop, and maintain interactive standards-based Websites and applications • 2006 Brown

11. The Virtual Classroom PhotoShop • Description • Pros • makes the desktop computer a powerful tool that gives the user a professional edge • Cons • assumes a basic knowledge of digital imaging including graphic design, photography, and printing • Evaluation • industry standard in desktop digital imaging for image-editing, • basic version Elements available for $99 • 2006 Brown

12. The Virtual Classroom Virtual Tutorials • Description • Pros • students get a head start on learning concepts and program commands • Cons • third party online tutorials may not meet high standards of the education field • Evaluation • contributes to time used more efficiently • many are free of charge • 2006 Brown

13. The Virtual Classroom Picasa Picture Simplicity • Description • Pros • used for assessment of learning objectives. • “Not surprisingly, university career placement centers regard the e-portfolio movement as an opportunity to link academic outcomes to the workplace” (Cohn & Hibbits, 2004). • Cons • online portfolio manages the display of artwork, not the quality • assumes the user has a basic knowledge of digital media and design. • Evaluation • Allows flexible input, organization, retrieval, and display of digital media • free download from Google • 2006 Brown

14. The Virtual Classroom Final Recommendations and Rationale Recommendations • For extending LCC’s visibility beyond the local community by developing the “virtual classroom”… • by including online structured classes using Blackboard as an online curriculum management tool. • For providing additional resources to the community by providing more online choices… • by expanding the Graphic Arts curriculum by adding online Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Portfolio building classes. • 2006 Brown

15. The Virtual Classroom Final Recommendations and Rationale Rationale • The virtual classroom is an excellent opportunity for LCC to enhance its visibility. • Adding graphic art classes also take advantage of the patron’s interest in the World Wide Web and their interest in exploiting all its features. • The freedom of virtual delivery - • For the student, it offers access to class information and continue with class assignments anytime of the day. • For the teacher, it offers the ability to communicate with students 24/7 and to view the student’s assignments at their convenience. • 2006 Brown

16. The Virtual Classroom Implementation Plan • Timeline: • Review of technical infrastructure to ensure successful installation of Blackboard. Done. • Review NEA guidelines for implementation of online classes. Started. • Review and designation of faculty to be involved in the virtual classroom. Started. • Purchase and installation of Blackboard software. • Training for teachers on Blackboard software. • Run mock-online class of Blackboard. • 2006 Brown

17. The Virtual Classroom References • American Association of Community Colleges (2004). Student Enrollment and Characteristics. Retrieved February 18, 2006 from http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCommunityColleges/Trends_and_Statistics/EnrollmentInfo/Enrollment_Info.htm • Cohn, E., Hibbits, B. (2004). Beyond the Electronic Portfolio: A Lifetime Personal Web Space. Educause Quarterly. 27(4). Retrieved February 18, 2006 from http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm04/eqm0441.asp?bhcp=1 • Curtis, D., Lawson, M. (2001). Exploring Collaborative Online Learning. Journal of As Learning Network. 5(1). Retrieved February 21, 2006 from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v5n1/v5n1_curtis.asp • Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for Instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. • Jonassen, D.H., Carr, C., Yueh, H. (1998). Computers as Mindtools for Engaging Learners in Critical Thinking. TechTrends. 43(2). 24-32. Retrieved March 1, 2006 from http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~jonassen/Mindtools.pdf • 2006 Brown

18. The Virtual Classroom References • Magliaro, S., Lockee, B., Burton, J. (2005). Direct Instruction Revisited: A key model for Instructional Technology. Educational Technology, Research and Development. 53(4) p.41. Retrieved February 19, 2006 from http://ezproxy.lib.lehigh.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=937781471&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=8243&RQT=309&VName=PQD • Sherman, T., Kurshan, B. (2005). Constructing learning: Using technology to support teaching understanding. Learning & Leading with Technology. 32(5) p.10. • National Education Association (2006). Issues in education. A user’s guide to online courses. Retrieved February 20, 2006 from http://www.nea.org/technology/onlinecourseguide.html • Pennsylvania Virtual Community College Consortium (2006). Retrieved March 17, 2006 from http://www.pavcc.org/ • 2006 Brown