Power and Pitfalls of Using Commercial Multimedia Software for Instructional Purposes

1
Power and Pitfalls of Using Commercial
Multimedia Software for Instructional Purposes

• Rosemary Du Mont, Associate Vice President for
  Academic Technology Services
• Deborah Bell, Assistant to the VP/CIO for
  Administration and Personnel, Information
  Services

2
The Context for our Project

• Business is not as usual
• Rising costs
• Declining revenues
• Need for active engagementtaking responsibility
  for student learning

3
Goals

• Taking learning seriously
• Extending teaching beyond that of providing
  instruction, to that of producing learning
• Students to achieve demonstrable gains in learning

4
Using Technology to Enhance Learning and Reduce
Costs

• New technologies impact campuses in several ways
• Drive up costs
• Enhance teaching and learning
• Intensify competition among educational
  institutions by bringing new competitors into the
  marketplace

5
Pilot Programs

• Identify characteristics of excellence
• Collect and share evidence of performance
• Collect and share evidence of costs
• Examples
• Pew Program in Course Redesign
• Cost-effective Use of Technology in Teaching,
  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• Ohio Board of Regents Efficiency Challenge

6
OBR Efficiency Challenge

• On November 16, 1999, the Ohio Board of Regents
  issued an RFP to the states colleges and
  universities and community colleges for projects
  that identify and implement new approaches to the
  way higher education does business.

7
OBR Efficiency Challenge

• Called the Efficiency Challenge, the goal of
  the one-time program was to make education more
  efficient.
• The RFP called for projects in which the quality
  of educational services is maintained while costs
  are reduced, or quality is improved without an
  increase in costs.

8

• In May 1999, the Ohio Board of Regents awarded
  250,000 to Kent State University and 250,000 to
  Cuyahoga Community College for a project under
  the direction of Dr. Rosemary DuMont.

9
Cuyahoga Community Colleges Project

• To develop estimates of the costs and benefits
  associated with mediated instruction in math for
  Tech Prep and Secondary students.
• For more information on Tri-Cs project, contact
  Cindy Karger, Coordinator, North Coast Tech Prep
  Consortium, Cuyahoga Community College, Phone
  [phone] and email Cindy.Karger_at_tri-c.cc.o
  h.us

10
Goals of the Kent State Project

• 1 To provide information for educators and
  legislators as to whether there is a better way
  to significantly increase the number of
  fully-prepared freshmen in Ohio by

11
Goals of the Kent State Project

• stimulating innovative teaching and learning
  practices in both secondary and post-secondary
  math and English. And...

12
Goals of the Kent State Project

• 2 To determine if the mediated instruction
  application of technology in the classroom can be
  used to improve the delivery of remedial course
  content.

13
Specifically, the Kent State Project Has Focused
on

• developing estimates of the costs and benefits
  associated with mediated instruction in math and
  writing for remedial students
• improving the educational achievement of
  entry-level college students.

14
Hypotheses/ Assumptions

• Student-centered pedagogy will improve student
  learning
• Improved student learning will improve student
  retention
• Improved student retention equals greater revenue
  for the university which in turn will help
  sustain the program
• Attributes of a software vendor are similar to
  those of a textbook publisher.

15
Kent States participation involves math and
writing courses held in classroom labs at the
Kent, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark and
Trumbull campuses.
16
Kent State Participants

• P.I. Rosemary Du Mont, Associate Vice President
  for Academic Technology Services
• Project Manager Deborah Bell, Assistant to the
  VP/CIO for Information Services

17
Kent State Participants

• 2 English Instructors (Kent campus)
• 9 Math Instructors (Kent, E. Liverpool, Geauga,
  Salem, Stark, and Trumbull campuses).

18
The Traditional Lecture Model Student Role

• Attends lectures and takes notes
• Raises hand to request help
• Reads required chapters in text
• Completes homework assignments from the text
• Is responsible for keeping pace during the term

19
The Traditional Lecture Model Student Role

• Prepares for and takes midterm and final exam
• Is responsible to a specific instructor
  throughout the course.

20
The Traditional Lecture Model Instructor Role

• Dependence on a textbook and publisher-provided
  supplemental material
• Creates a course syllabus based upon the text
• Prepares classroom lectures
• Prescribes the assessment instruments and grading
  criteria
• Delivers classroom lectures

21
The Traditional Lecture Model Instructor Role

• Monitors and evaluates student progress
• Holds office hours to work with students
  individually and in small groups
• Maintains student progress records and other
  information as required by the institution.

22
Mediated Learning Student Features

• Integrated animations, graphics, audio, and video
  present mathematical concepts
• Student works at his or her own pace, receiving
  immediate feedback during practice
• Can take notes in the online Journal or in their
  Personal Academic Notebook
• Online quizzes and homework assignments
• Online personal progress reports

23
Mediated Learning Instructor Features

• Instructor builds syllabus and support materials
  based on the Personal Academic Notebook and
  software content
• Online quizzes and homework assignments provided
• An online reporting system provides a record of
  progress for both students and instructors, as
  well as online journal entries

24
The Software Academic Systems

• Academic Systems produces multimedia
  instructional programs that offer an enhanced
  learning environment in mathematics and writing.

25
The Software Academic Systems

• Comprised of
• Management component
• Course component

26
Academic Systems Demo
27
Remember our Hypotheses/ Assumptions

• Student-centered pedagogy improved student
  learning
• Improved student learning improved student
  retention
• Improved student retention greater revenue for
  the university which in turn will help sustain
  the program
• Attributes of a software vendor are similar to
  those of a textbook publisher.

28
The Rest of the Story...

• Substantial startup investments were required
• Project Manager We have an academic person who
  is committed to managing the project, has great
  familiarity with the hardware and software, and
  is willing to travel to remote sites.
• Time investment A great deal of time was spent
  planning the project

29
The Rest of the Story...

• Labs Two labs were set up specifically for this
  project
• Technical training Training is necessary, as
  well as faculty who are willing to be trained in
  advance on both the software and the pedagogy.
  One day of training was provided to faculty.
• Software vendor has a complex pricing model

30
The Rest of the Story...

• Upgrades One software upgrade and two server
  upgrades occurred in the first year.

31
Faculty Behavior

• Faculty used the software as a supplement to
  their lectures
• Faculty did not want to give up lecturing for at
  least a portion of the class time
• Faculty either had an adopter attitude or did not.

32
Student Behavior

• Students opinion of the software was greatly
  influenced by
• the instructors opinion of the software
• the instructors expertise in using the software
• Many students did not use the audio portion of
  the software.

33
Needs for the Future

• In planning for this project, we never imagined
  that it would require a permanent Project Manager
  to provide vigilant oversight. Over time, it has
  become evident that the Project Managers role
  cannot be phased out.

34
Needs for the Future

• Faculty need up-front training on the software to
  build comfort, and on changing pedagogy
• Faculty needed time to develop a certain comfort
  level with the software, and learned on the job
• Students need a comprehensive orientation.