the quest for the finest blend of text and voice in graduate online learning: an eastern canadian...

COHERE 2015 Panel

Organiser: Michael Power (Laval)

Co-panelists: Jane Costello (MUN); Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier (St. F.X.); Ellen Rose (UNB); Christian Blanchette (UdeM).

The Quest for the Finest Blendof Text and Voice in Graduate Online Learning:

An Eastern Canadian Perspective

Online Learning (OL) at the Graduate Studies (GS): items to be addressed

1. Where does your institution stand with regard to OL and GS?

2. Where is your institution headed in this regard?

3. What is your personal position on this issue?

ORDER OF PRESENTERS

1. Organiser: Michael Power (Université Laval)

Co-panelists:

2. Jane Costello (Memorial University);

3. Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier (St. Francis-Xavier);

4. Ellen Rose (University of New Brunswick);

5. Christian Blanchette (Université de Montréal).

COHERE 2015 Panel

Michael Power (Laval)

The Quest for the Finest Blend of Text and Voice in Graduate Online Learning: An Eastern Canadian Perspective

1. Where Université Laval currently stands with regard to OL and GS.

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77 ONLINE PROGRAMS

UNDERGRAD

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800 ONLINE COURSES

1. Where Université Laval currently stands with regard to OL and GS: a few observations (faculty)

1. A gradual increase in the use of synchronous technology for course delivery in combination with low-level asynchronous learning resource development (Blended Online Learning Design*): 09/15: 15/116 courses;

2. BOLD, mainly a faculty-driven phenomenon; earlier initiatives (DE, asynch OL; BL) mostly admin-led;

3. Faculty use BOLD to maintain quality of didactic relationship, decrease front-end design and increase flexibility (set time, any place);

4. Campus students satisfied with BOLD because of increased accessibility;

5. ADMIN satisfied with BOLD because of cost avoidance/transfer & C-E

*BOLD (Power, 2008; 2009; 2010; 2011; 2013; 2014; 2015)http://www.distance.ulaval.ca/cms/site/distance/accueil/cours

http://www.distance.ulaval.ca/cms/site/distance/accueil/cours

2. Where U. Laval is headed with regard to OL/GS

1. Demand for GS via OL is constantly rising (lifelong learning perspective);

2. As bandwidth speeds increase and access costs decrease, ongoing growth in OL is highly likely in both regular programs and continuing education;

3. Laval: virtually limitless opportunities for GS via OL, given high demand;

4. Laval will likely expand BOLD implementation within Québec, at Grad level, given increased faculty synch-asynch (BOLD) buy-in;

5. Laval is pursuing numerous outreach strategies to create national and international alliances so as to insure greater access to higher education and sustainable enrolment levels, while maintaining quality and improving on cost-effectiveness.

3. My personal position with regard to using synch and asynch technologies in GS.1. SYNCH technology: quick deployment, leveraging existing faculty

strengths (low-level training) while mitigating faculty weaknesses with regard to ASYNCH OL (systemic front-end design deficiencies);

2. Increased regular faculty buy-in, crucial to sustainable OL deployment;

3. Grad students need instantaneous and spontaneous faculty support, feedback, interaction and mentoring, especially in GS;

4. ADMIN require sustainable enrolment levels in all programs; 1. Use of SYNCH/ASYNCH increases flexibility and enrolment potential while

maintaining quality without increasing faculty workload;

2. Cost avoidance and cost transfer result in lower operating costs.

END

COHERE 2015 Panel

Jane Costello (MUN)


1. Where my institution currently stands with regard to OL and graduate studies.

Spring 15 online course registrations were:

16.2% of MUN UG36.0% of MUN Grad

17.1% of MUN overall

18 241

3 397

21 638

112 925

9 437

122 362

Undergraduate Graduate TOTAL

Online Memorial


1. Enrolment (F15)i. 3,689 graduate students (2,358 FT; 1,331 PT)ii. 909 graduate students onlineiii. ~200 graduate courses iv. 13 graduate programs and degrees (9* fully; 4 partially)v. ~100 courses (G / UG) in various stages of development

2. Supporti. DELTS: 90+ staff to support OL offerings and programsii. Promote use of (modified) Quality Matters guidelinesiii. Consistency of development approach, following ISO 9001:2008 iv. Developing more courses, programs and degrees

2. Where my institution is headed with regard to OL and graduate studies

1. Continually update existing courses i. 5 year development lifecycle

2. Increase in inter-provincial and International registration

3. Collaborative discussion with SGS, faculties/ schools/ departments and all campus on the strategic fit and potential of online graduate programs

4. Collaborative promotion of online graduate programs with SGS and faculties and schools to target recruitment goals

5. Annual discussions between DELTS and respective deans, faculties/ schools/ departments and campus leaders

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.

1. Choose the right technology for the right situationi. Consider what you want students to do and why

ii. Then choose technology

2. Students are advised of synchronous activity prior to registering for a course

3. Carry the dialogue across multiple technologies to keep it going

4. Foster independence through providing self-helpi. Technical Resources page

5. Promote the use of available technologies . . .

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.DELTS supports the following technologies:

Synchronous Asynchronous

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COHERE 2015 Panel

Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier (StFX)

The Quest for the Finest Blendof Text and Voice in Graduate Online Learning:

An Eastern Canadian Perspective

www.destinationhalifax.com


We are a “primarily undergraduate” university experience, BUT, graduate programs are available in:

• Faculty of Arts (Celtic Studies, M.A.)

• Faculty of Education (M.Ad.Ed., M.Ed., PhD.)

• Faculty of Science (Biology, Chemistry Computer Science Earth Sciences (M.Sc.)

PhD studies are also possible through agreements with other institutions.

2. Where my institution is headed with regard to OL and graduate studies

• A change in leadership brings new perspectives, new ideas, new strategic plans. Increasing online graduate studies opportunities requires a shift in thinking.

• The Faculty of Education is the current institutional leader in online graduate studies• At capacity and maintaining status quo?

• Poised to expand?

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.• The human need to connect with each other and share experiences

and learning can be realized online.

• Synchronous learning will always face the challenge of navigating students’ time zones and schedules

• An instructor must consider a number of moving pieces in terms of what tools and techniques are available and appropriate to accomplish similar outcomes in an online classroom space.

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.• Fiscal constraints need to be balanced against the need for

convenient and ongoing professional development and against the demand for new course offerings.

• A re-visioning of effective course delivery methods that include virtual technologies needs a place alongside traditional classroom-based methods.

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.• A community of practice and institutional support for technological,

pedagogical, and administrative needs of online instructors are practical ways the institution can support online instructors.

• Feeling connected both to the task of learning to teach online and to colleagues who are experiencing similar change processes are important components of pedagogical practice and, importantly, to the process of institutionalizing, or freezing new ways of thinking about the nature of teaching and the nature of collaboration.

COHERE 2015 Panel

Organiser: Michael Power (Laval)

Co-panelists: Christian Blanchette (UdeM); Jane Costello (MUN); Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier (St. F.X.); Ellen Rose (UNB).


3 main points on Online Learning at the Graduate level1. Where does our institution stand with regard to OL and graduate

studies?

2. Where is our institution headed in this regard?

3. What is our personal position on this issue?

ORDER OF PRESENTERS

1. Organiser: Michael Power (Université Laval)

Co-panelists:

2. Jane Costello (Memorial University);

3. Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier (St. Francis-Xavier);

4. Ellen Rose (University of New Brunswick);

5. Christian Blanchette (Université de Montréal).


• Faculty of Education leading the way – online MEd programs

• Primarily asynchronous- student preferences

- rural population and international students

- technical and pedagogical support

2. Where my institution is headed with regard to OL and graduate studies• Desire to increase online graduate offerings

• UNB Online

• Faculty of Education is the main model for moving forward

3. My personal position with regard to using synchronous and asynchronous technology in graduate studies.

• Student experience of asynchronous courses: “facelessness”

• Others don’t “feel real”

• Consequences for social learning and relational dimension of education

• Solutions:- Synchronous elements

- integration of asynchronous and F2F

COHERE 2015 Panel

Christian Blanchette (UdeM)


1. Current status at uMONTRÉAL

1. It is an area where the Université de Montréal has not devoted a lot of attention.

2. It is now on the landscape with a new Vice-President, University Transformation with a mandate for the “digital university”.

1. Currently, four online for-credit programs and a hundred online courses.

2. Videoconferencing – entire program in medicine.

2. Future of uMONTREAL

1. Wants more

2. Each student will have to take one online courses, an

objective.

1. Large classes

2. Multi-section classes

3. In continuing education, more online programs.

3. Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

Instructional design viewpoint • Whatever is best to serve the learning objectives or our student population purposes.

Technology or pedagogy adoption viewpoint • Synchronous online is close to the live classroom paradigm, leading to easier adoption.

Economic viewpoint• Synchronous online is: simpler design, simpler production,

simpler support, simpler adoption = simpler solution

Student viewpoints• Asynchronous has the potential to be "a warmth-rich modality. • The student populations served by our courses and programs will

also define what the most desirable teaching modalities will be

University Teaching Quality View Point

• In university, quality (excellence) is a goal in teaching like in research. Creating a culture of quality teaching and culture of continuous teaching improvement.

• Revenue potential might well weight in to skew the analysis in favour of asynchronous.

4. CONCLUSIONS..

1. not discard the power of synchronous online: rapid design, faster to students, simpler paradigm = faster adoption by professors, a warmth-rich modalities.

1. not forget that synchronous learning restricts greatly the potential to serve a broader range of geographical locations and of student population.

1. be aware of the limits and strengths of both synchronous, asynchronous and of hybrid online teaching modalities. Choose what best serves the student populations.

1. always engaged on the path of quality teaching and seek to establish a culture of continuous improvement of teaching. (In that both a synchronous and asynchronous online learning strategies can be means to this end.)

Universities should