>From fox@vt.edu Thu Jan 9 13:20:52 1997 Received: from sable.cc.vt.edu (sable.cc.vt.edu [128.173.16.30]) by quackerjack.cc.vt.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with ESMTP id NAA29897 for ; Thu, 9 Jan 1997 13:20:51 -0500 (EST) Received: from [128.173.40.197] (tortie.cs.vt.edu [128.173.40.197]) by sable.cc.vt.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id NAA27072; Thu, 9 Jan 1997 13:20:36 -0500 (EST) X-Sender: fox@vt.edu (Unverified) Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 14:27:53 -0400 To: fox, happy@vt.edu, conn@vt.edu From: fox@vt.edu (Edward A. Fox) Subject: reworked version of 10/22 organization - for 4pm mtg A. QUESTION: 1. How can we enhance the residential experience for our (fairly traditional) student body with the aid of information technology (IT), while minimizing negative aspects for students? 1a. How can we enhance their academic experience in particular? 1b. How can we enhance the experience in particular for students who are female, from other nations, and/or are of minority backgrounds? 1c. How can awareness of our efforts spread, especially around the Commonwealth, to parents, to employers, and to prospective students? FACTS TO REPORT: Reasons students have to become a full-time, degree seeking residential campus student at Virginia Tech IT capabilities of students at entry IT capabilities of students at graduation Changes in instructional information technologies forecast for the coming 5 years,10 years, beyond Changes in learning forecast as a result of deployment of those information technologies Status and plans for requiring / recommending student IT purchases Current situation and projections regarding the nature of students who will access a Virginia Tech education by coming to Blacksburg as a full-time degree-seeking student Needs, status and plans for student access to education that is mediated in some way by IT Needs, status and plans for change of instructional facilities related to instructional IT (IIT) - and their interactions: a. Explicit learning environments - buildings (e.g., ACITC), classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices b. Virtual learning environments, services - WWW, email, listservs, electronic publishing, spreadsheets c. Structures to administer and manage "learning": courses, credit hours, teaching assignments Taxonomy and statistics of occurrence of positive effects of IT Taxonomy and statistics of occurrences of negative effects of IT Taxonomy of shortcomings in IT that lead to these negative effects along with plans/forecasts for solutions Focus group insights regarding the sense of community and "belonging" of students, along with correlations regarding use of IT, disabilities, and demographics Statistics of students with disabilities, plus status and plans for making adaptive technologies available Statistics of students who are female, from other nations, and/or are of minority backgrounds - as well as related statistics at peer institutions, in Commonwealth, in nation - along with future projections Success stories of the beneficial uses of IT by students: a. with traditional backgrounds b. with non-traditional backgrounds Knowledge of our use of IT in education by "outsiders": in the Commonwealth, by parents, by employers, by potential applicants RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS: Diagnose the computer capabilities of all students at entry by major and prescribe workshops or classes as needed to get students up-to-speed based on the needs of their own majors. Develop the cost- and time-saving uses of technology right away - e.g., electronic publishing, electronic contacts with students and potential students, etc. Require computer purchase and use in more disciplines. Improve the infrastructure for everyone. Have integrated planning of: structures to administer and manage learning, explicit learning environments, IT equipment, IT services and software. Make a strong push for adaptive technologies for students with disabilities. This is a case where technology has mainly positive effects. While we are a very traditional university in terms of attracting mostly upper middle class white males, and wish to continue to succeed in this area, we should make a firm committment to adapt to demographic facts of the Commonwealth, Nation and International Community and have more female, international, and or minority students. We must attract them, make them feel a part of the campus and community, and provide a suitably tailored educational experience for them. We should deploy computer-supported cooperative work systems to strengthen the sense of community and "belonging" of students who have historically felt isolated or alienated. We should combine the efficiency of computer-based skill and knowledge diagnosis tools with keen insight of educators to help new or transfer students with non-traditional backgrounds fit into the educational programs on campus - through remediation, multimedia modules, or other aids. Enhance knowledge and understanding of our use of IT in education, through publications, publicity, recruiting and other means. Provide strong supports and challenges for the developmental issues which surround increased computer use - ??? ======================================================================== CROSS CUTTING QUESTIONS: How will we plan and administer the new types of education enabled with technology? * Investment in equipment * Investment in training * Investment in continuous improvement, upgrading, planning What will be the roles of Faculty, Provost, VP Information Systems and their agents in planning, decision making, implementing activities? How can we institutionalize innovation, and continue deployment of IT beneficial to learning, with effective involvement of the entire University community? ======================================================================== B. QUESTION: How can student concerns and student input help with the planning, deployment, and refinement of the use of IT in residential education, especially as we institutionalize this type of innovation? FACTS TO REPORT: Practice and plans regarding data collection, surveys, focus groups and other means to understand student needs and perspectives Tabulation of student representation on IT-related bodies on campus Campus-wide, college, and departmental evaluation methods of IT-enhanced education and the roles / rights of students in their planning and implementation Focus groups with students regarding their role in planning and participating in the evolution of IT for enhancing campus life RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS: Ensure student representation on all campus bodies planning IT-enhancement to education, including task forces, FDI, Centers, and other groups. Work with students in focus groups to identify needs and opportunities related to student life and IT Work with students in focus groups as innovations emerge, are deployed, and are refined in a formative-evaluation context Involve students in high-level planning of how Virginia Tech can become more expert and professional in instruction and use of IT ======================================================================== C. QUESTION: How will we deal with a shift from highly residential undergraduate community to one where more undergraduates live off campus or are rarely or only occasionally present on campus? FACTS TO REPORT: Statistics and trends regarding on vs. off-campus housing Statistics and trends regarding summer school attendance Focus group comments on distance education during summers for normally residential students Statistics and trends regarding students in coop programs Focus group comments on distance education during coop sessions Status, plans and forecasts regarding BEV and connectivity for students living off-campus Focus group comments on types and values of life-long learning services, including access to IT. RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS: We should extend and improve BEV so that faster connections are possible for people off-campus, even as technology continues to evolve. We should extend summer school offerings for students working elsewhere so they can take some courses over Internet. We must deal with support issues regarding their gaining computer and network access, as well as having programmatic and equipment infrastructure required. We should extend the traditional degree oriented services into life-long learning services. This has the same support requirements as above, but leads to longer term relationships and so requires smooth handling of the many transistions (programs, disciplines, equipment, ...). Cross-cutting issue with other undergraduate group: We should, in 5-10 years, start to offer distributed education for undergraduates in addition to residential education opportunities. That is, we should have combinations of the two, so student financial and personal changes do not cause termination of their studies at Virginia Tech. This has the same support requirements as above. Professor Edward A. Fox, Ph.D. Department of Computer Science 660 McBryde Hall Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061-0106