Reaching students at a distance:

from videotape to the Internet to online, interactive books

Jim KuroseDepartment of Computer Science

University of MassachusettsAmherst MA 01003

www.cs.umass.edu/~kurose

Overview

Parable: the information railroad is coming! What about books? How can we help each other?

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not reflect any policy, position,

viewpoint and the like of the University of Massachusetts,Addison Wesley Longman, the NSF or any other organization.

Overview

Parable: the information railroad is coming! What about books? How we can help each other?

Jeff Ullman’s ParableIt's New Year's Day, 1895. My name is Hans. For seven generations my family has made the finest buttons in the region, using the good local horn. Today I learned that the railroad is coming to our village. My friend Olaf says that cheap factory buttons will come on the trains, but they will never compete with my craftsmanship. I think he is right, and wrong. They will come, but they will compete with my buttons. I must make some choices. I can become a distributor for the new buttons, or I can invest in the machinery to make buttons and export them. Or, closest to my heart, I can refine my craft and sell exceptional buttons to the wealthy. My family's business is dead. I cannot stop the train; I must change.

from W. Wulf, “University Alert: the InformationRailroad is Coming,” virginia.edu 1998

My reaction to Ullman’s parable (circa 2000):

What does this mean to me? are my classes really the finest? Why? super teachers: will the Dave Clark’s (networking) or i

Richard Feynman (Physics) of the world rule the world?

my job: TA, when Clark’s networking class is available to everyone/anyone, anytime?

What does this mean to my students? opportunity to learn from important researcher? motivating, inspiring, riveting teacher (Feynman) what about give-and-take in the classroom?

Another interesting quote:

“The day is coming when the work done by[distance education] will be greater in amount than that done in the classrooms of our academies and colleges; when the students who [learn via distance] will far outnumber those who [are physically present in the classroom].”

“The day is coming when the work done bycorrespondence will be greater in amount than that done in the classrooms of our academies and colleges; when the students who shall recite by correspondence will far outnumber those who make oral presentations.”

William Rainey Harper, 1885, President U. Chicago

Another interesting quote:

A brief history of distance education:

Distance Ed (type)Correspondence courseRadio broadcastTelevisionVideo instructionVideo instructionOn-line courses

Deliverymailradio televisioncable networkssatelliteWWW

Date1880’s - ?19301960’s - now1970’s1970-s - now1995 - now

That was then (the promise)… “The student acts independently and for himself but

at the same time, being in contact with the teacher, he is also enabled to secure special help for every difficulty”

“unique advantages”: “you receive individual personal attention; you work as rapidly as you can, or as slowly as

necessary, unhampered by others as in a regular class;

you may begin at any time and may be carried on according to any personal schedule and in any place where postal service is available”

U. Chicago, Columbia, Penn State

Hervey F. Mallory, head of the University of Chicago Home Study Department,Quoted in D. Noble, “Digital Diploma Mills, Part IV”

That was then (the problems)

‘The universities … “have thoughtlessly and excessively catered to fleeting, transient, and immediate demands” and have “needlessly cheapened vulgarized and mechanized themselves” to “the level of the vendors of patent medicines.” A. Flexner, 1928, quoted in Noble

“No reputable proponent of home study seriously suggests that correspondence teaching should replace classroom teaching”

Carnegie study, University Teaching by Mail, 1933

… and this is now (the promise)

“In the future, an institution of higher ed will become a little like a local television station.”

“The use of Interactive technology is causing a fundamental shift away from the physical classroom toward anytime, anywhere learning – the model for post secondary education in the 21st century.”

M, Leavitt, Utah Gov. (thru 2003)

J. Newcombe, CEO, Simon and Shuster 1997

… and this is now Fathom (Columbia, ~25M) NYU Online (~25M) Virtual Temple California Virtual University Western Governors University

closed up shop

still open, but small

“Now the groves of academe are littered withthe detritus of failed e-learning start-ups, as those same universities struggle with the question of how to embrace online education but not hemorrhage money in the process.” Katie Hafner, Lessons Learned

At Dot-Com U., New York Times, May 2, 2002

“It’s like déjà vu all over again”

- Yogi Berra

What have we (again) learned?

“We know that: the notion “If you build it, they will come” is wrong … a niche market in which programs need to be well targeted most students still prefer real people to a wholly online program degree programs are more attractive to students than are random

courses or certificate programs the price that students … are willing to pay for online education is a

lot lower than tuition when for-profits team up with colleges and universities, for-profits

are prone to treat the higher education institution as a subcontractor with a useful brand name.

publishers may be the only organizations that move more slowly than colleges and universities”

Arthur Levine, “All That Glitters,” Educause 2005

What have we learned?

''We figured a quick wave of the magic wand and we'd reinvent how people learned after 900 years of a traditional university mode of instruction,'‘ L. Gonick, CIO, CWRU

“It's really, really expensive to do this stuff, … It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a course well ….This doesn't migrate painlessly from classroom onto the Web, …It's more like making a Hollywood movie.''

[Kenneth Green, founder of the Campus Computing Project, quoted in Katie Hafner, Lessons Learned At Dot-Com U., New York Times, May 2, 2002

What have I learned?

no revolution: Internet marginally better than mailed videotape, satelliteconvenience of email, www for distributionQ: what does an infinitely fast Internet buy us

beyond faster, cheaper delivery? off-campus students value asynchronous

interaction with instructorvalue of asynchrony: live via satellite … to 35

VCRs valuable to target audience: industry

increased skills, knowledge base

What have I learned? focus on the on-campus students

core responsibilityconvenience, benefit for on campus studentslive classes recorded for off campus studentsmore like “being there” than a produced

“Hollywood movie” faculty buy-in, value proposition crucial

little/no additional faculty workbenefits for on-campus students$, instructional support

UMass Online: success is possible!

$-

$5

$10

$15

$20

Millions

CY 2001 CY 2003 CY 2003 CY 2004

UMassOnline Revenue GrowthYear on Year Growth Rate

  Enrollment Gross Revenue

CY01-02 40.1% 55.7%

CY02-03 33.2% 40.6%

CY03-04 22.7% 36.1%

From “State of new England Online,”by Dr. Jack M. Wilson, 11/2004www.jackmwilson.com

UMass Online Lessons

Lesson 1: Money does matter Virtual universities do better when faculty can

see that the benefits of the effort accrue directly to the institution and provide extra resource to support research, teaching, and service.

Lesson 2: Online education is about serving learners and not about using technology.

Lesson 3: Market alignment is critical High-quality, brand name content alone does not

attract customers

Faculty involvement is a key selling point. It should not be sacrificed for a cost effective, scalable model

Lesson 4: Programs must match core competencies, mission and brand: Online education is more than content expertise: You

need in-house or outsourced production, delivery, marketing, and support expertise

UMass Online Lessons (more)

Overview

Parable: the information railroad is coming!the information highway is herebutton makers still thrive, despite dire

predictionsdeja vu all over again: old lessons learned

anew

Overview

Parable: the information railroad is coming! What about books? Guild model: how we can help each other

The dream (1995):“Well, we’d like to write a

book, but have it be a completely on-line book, because we don’t think that paper will be the primary means by which students will be reading `books’ ten years from now”

naïve, aspiring author (me), 1995 Third edition, 2004

The reality (2005)

On-campus classroom

MANIC: Multimedia Asynchronous Network Individualized Courseware

Multiple View Index Interface

Electronic Book Interface Media Player Interface Slide Viewer Interface

Navigational Controls

Search Feature

CD-MANIC Courses

Students’ Use of MANIC

Computer Networking course offered via UMass Video

Instructional Program National Technological

University North Carolina State

University Westchester campus of

Polytechnic University

Obtained survey and log results

Survey Results: CD-MANIC Usage

VIP/NTU (14 students) very important importantonly moderately

importantnot important

at all

Viewing class lectures 10 2 0 0

Reviewing a difficult topic 5 3 0 2

Searching for & viewing lecture material

2 7 1 2

Material for homework or programming assignment

1 4 1 6

Reviewing for a test 1 4 4 3

Pure enjoyment - it's better than what's on TV

5 0 1 4

Web-based, voluntary

Textbook – Hardcopy vs. Softcopy Did the availability of the textbook in CD-MANIC impact

decision about buying textbook?

VIP/NTU (14) NY Poly (10)

Yes 0 2

No 12 4

Maybe 0 3

Automatic vs. Manual Control More than half of material viewed in automatic mode

Use of Different Navigational Events

Students much more likely to move forward through material than backwards

VIP/NTU

Audio/Video Audio/video an important component: generally in use

more than 60% of the time

Audio/Video Playout Audio/video play out lasts for short periods of time (<10

minutes) before interruption by student

VIP/NTU

Prospects for an electronic book?

We have material to create combined printed/e-text: interactive DVD lectures, applets, quizzes with bookzero marginal costconcern: P2P file sharing

publisher ready and willing survey of instructors using textbook

overwhelmingly dislike the idea!some even dislike idea of making ppt slides

publicly available!

Electronic books: student’s viewpoint

receive DVD of full semester’s “lectures” (by textbook authors) at start of class!authors’ presentations not that boring!what is added value of instructor lecturing?

why come to class?

Electronic books: challenge to teachers

immersive 3D “virtual classrooms” will happenwhat value do we add over immersive book?

active learning: in class problem-solvingQ&Ateam projectsreturn of Socratic method

more work/thought/preparation for professors!lecturing is “easy”

Jim’s ParableIt's New Year's Day, 2010. My name is Hans XI. My grandfather, Hans IX, made buttons, as his grandfather before him. Inexpensive button-making was out-sourced overseas; a small number of artisanal button-makers still thrive in the hills of Vermont. I now buy buttons, fine threads, laces, and cloths – materials I weave together to create unique, personalized clothing, quilts, and sewn goods for my clients, with whom I work with closely.

My buttons, threads, laces and cloths are shipped by FEDEX. It’s neither the railroad, nor FEDEX, nor the goods they bringthat defines my craft. What defines my craft is how I weave these together for my clients, each one unique.

The railroad still comes to my town, and I use it to travel, and to learn from others who practice the art of fine sewn goods.

Overview

Parable: the information railroad is coming! What about books? how we can help each other?

working together … some examples

Working together

Community of teachers can share pedagogycurriculum definition, developmentwhat works and what doesn’t in the active

classroomtools and tricks of the tradeshared software, laboratories

ACM SIGCOMM Workshop on Computer Networking: Curriculum Designs and Educational Challenges

terrific group of people (75): academia and industry small, medium, large

schools internationalall of whom care about

education, learning

a day of discussion, learning, and enlightenment!

also 2003, 2006

SIGCOMM Education Workshop: learn about/discuss what others are doing (or

thinking about) in curriculum design and teaching practices

leverage each other’s work: lessons learned resources (e.g., course materials)

information/resources for the community report model curricula, as adjunct to ACM/IEEE 2001

recommendations

http://www.acm.org/sigcomm/education

Sigcomm workshop agenda/format

3 highly interactive panels: equal parts panel presentations, open discussion undergraduate curriculum networking labs graduate curriculum

parallel breakout session report back, discussion, next steps

posters during breaks lots (and lots and lots) of discussion

1999 CIST report: BHE to “take the lead in improving system-wide program quality, curriculum relevance, faculty recruiting and development, and technology infrastructure”

CITI: Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative: strengthening, modernizing, expanding CS, CSE, MIS, IT programs and offerings in public higher education two-year (2002/03) $2M initiative, programmatic

solutions refunded 2004/05

partnership among UMass, State and Community colleges

CITI: The Commonwealth IT Initiative

CITI: a four-point plan

IT acrossthe

curriculum

regional cooperation

curriculum enhancementfor technicaldisciplines

facultydevelopment

http://www.citi.mass.edu

Summary

Parable: the information railroad is here, but hopes, challenges, lessons remain the same!

Challenge: electronic books, publishers Helping each other: craftspeople working

together

Thanks!!

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