Catherine Dwyer and Constance Knapp Information Systems Pace University New York

1. “Any Time, Any Where” Faculty and Curriculum Development: Using Asynchronous Learning Tools Beyond the Classroom Catherine Dwyer and Constance Knapp Information Systems Pace University New York

2. The problem • Participants are separated by great distances • Have conflicting schedules • Need secure log in • Must learn new skills • Need easy access to documents and resources • Have to collaborate on group projects

3. The solution • Many administrative faculty tasks share characteristics of online courses • Reapply one technology for similar circumstances • Use distance learning tools (Blackboard, e-mail list serve, video conference, web log) to support faculty and curriculum development

4. The Story of Three Projects • Faculty training and instructor resource site • Support blended course with new curriculum • Major revision of undergraduate Information Systems Curriculum • Allow faculty on campuses 35 miles apart to collaborate on IS major • Teaching Portfolio Workshops • Faculty development effort to assist in creating portfolios used for tenure and promotion

5. Blackboard sites • Pace University is made up of five schools, including school of computing (CSIS) • Several distance learning programs administered by CSIS (NACTEL, Doctor of Professional Studies) • CSIS Blackboard server is used to host the CIS101 faculty site and the IS faculty site

6. CSIS Blackboard Server • “Development” server, has been used for development of new courses • University also has a “production server” that hosts undergraduate and graduate courses • Go to http://bb5.csis.pace.edu/ • Sign on with username cis101password guest

7. Pace’s Introduction to Computing (CIS 101) • The problem: • New curriculum and course structure, new topics • Addition of one hour online content • 1300 students in 60 sections per semester • Mostly part time faculty • Four campuses separated by 35 miles • The solution • CIS 101 Faculty Resource Site

8. Resource Site Contents • Syllabus and class schedule • Training for first time online instructors • Practice tests and model exams • Solutions to homework and end of chapter exercises • Publisher instructor resources • Suggested discussion board topics and questions • Links to other resources • Weekly PowerPoint slides

9. Faculty Access Statistics • Combining Fall 2002, Spring 2003 statistics • Every CIS101 instructor accessed the site • Average number of uses was 13 per instructor • Minimum number was 1, maximum number was 25

10. Student Satisfaction • Indirect measure of success of faculty resource site is increase in student satisfaction with CIS101 • Comparing same instructor anonymous survey results • Average increase in student satisfaction of 20%, some increasing by as much as 48%

11. IS Faculty Site • Spring 2003 IS Department undertook major revision of program • Conversion to all 4-credit courses • Update of topics and content

12. The Changes • Changed the course sequence • Dropped two courses • Modified six courses • Added one new course • New curriculum rolled out Fall 2003

13. IS Department • One department split between two campuses 35 miles apart • One urban (downtown NYC) • One suburban (Pleasantville in Westchester County) • Face to face meetings were nearly impossible to manage

14. IS Faculty Blackboard Site • Each full time IS faculty is an instructor on the site • Host minutes and documents for revision • Also extensively used list serve to communicate and send around drafts

15. How we used site • Document repository • Referred to site during video conferenced meetings • Also used site during end of semester face to face meeting where we produced 6 revised and 1 new syllabi in one day

16. IS Faculty Access Statistics • 80% of full time IS faculty have accessed the site • Faculty used the site on an average of seven separate occasions • Minimum of one access and a maximum of 22 • This compares very favorably to participation in faculty meetings

17. Teaching Portfolio Workshop • Face-to-face workshops run at one location over four days • Faculty mentor works with a group of “mentees” to develop a teaching portfolio • Faculty find it hard to make a four day commitment

18. The Electronic TPW • The workshop begins with a face-to-face meeting between mentor and participants • Blackboard is used to facilitate additional meetings • Participants submit versions of their portfolios electronically

19. Teaching Portfolio Site • The workshop is run like a class with many teachers • Each mentor is grouped with his/her “mentees” • Discussion boards could be used within groups • The site directs participants to other resources on the Web

20. Analysis of TPW • Blackboard site didn’t add the value that we anticipated • Much higher drop out rate than face-to-face workshops • Allowed faculty to participate who otherwise would not be able to • Workshop format works better face-to-face

21. What Worked • Works great as a document repository • Created a “quick and dirty” knowledge community • Any time, any where technology allowed greater participation and collaboration in curriculum and faculty development

22. What Didn’t Work • Discussion board hardly used at all • Small groups for TPW didn’t use the Blackboard site • Multiple instructor access made IS faculty site very disorganized

23. Conclusions • Need “friendly” Blackboard administrator • High comfort level with Blackboard translated into greater acceptance and use of resource • Practical and natural extension to the application of these tools