Higher Education in Perpetual Beta: eLearning

Open Educational Resources CTC Technology Plan

Cable Green, PhDeLearning Director

Slides will be shared through Bob

and on SlideShare.

“We are in the midst of a technological, economic, and organizational

transformation that allows us to negotiate the terms of freedom, justice,

and productivity in the information society”

Yochai Benkler

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lonewolf23/1570632701/

“I am not sure of what I absolutely know” The King and I

http://www.blogwaybaby.com/uploaded_images/Yul_Brynner-736606.jpg

How do we Deal with This?

We are preparing students for

jobs that don’t yet exist, using

technologies that haven’t been

invented, to solve problems we

don’t even know are problems yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI

1. eLearning

“Distance” is about being geographically separated.

“eLearning” is about leveraging the unique affordances of digital technologies to support new ways of learning in new spaces.

The "e" in "eLearning" stands variously for enhanced, electronic, or extended.

“eLearning”

eLearning in Context

Growth in online enrollments far exceeds overall enrollment growth. CTC system FTE growth Fall 2007 is up 1%,

online enrollments increased 15%

3.5 million students are taking at least one online course representing nearly twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students.

Two-year institutions provide the largest share of online enrollments, with more online students at these institutions than all other types combined. Growth rates for two-year institutions have exceeded those of all the other institution types, and they now command over 54 percent* of all online enrollments in U.S. higher education.

Allen and Seaman. Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. Sloan Consortium, 2007.

*In Washington State, it is > 75%

* OFM Higher Education Enrollment Reports (Fall 2006 FTE)

Washington Community & Technical CollegesOnline Courses: Fall 07

13,473 FTE online equivalent of 2.5 Community Colleges

Over 72,000 students learn online each year

Growth in Online CoursesFall FTE: 1998-2010

1999-2007 growth = 715%

Growth in Online CoursesAnnual Enrollment: 1998-2010

1999-2007 growth = 426%

Why does this growth curve

matter?

Educate More Citizens

HECB Master Plan I. Raise educational attainment to

create prosperity, opportunity Policy Goal: Increase the total number of

degrees and certificates produced annually to achieve Global Challenge State benchmarks.

By 2018, raise mid-level degrees and certificates to 36,200 annually, an increase of 9,400 degrees annually.

2. Open Educational Resources

Because when we cooperate and share, we all win – exponentially.

Reedʼs Law: Networks grow [in value] exponentially by the number of nodes.

It’s a social justice issue: everyone has the right to access global knowledge.

Why is “Open” Important?

Institute for the Future whitepaper: Technologies of Cooperation

(one) Definition of OER

Digitized materials, offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners, to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research.

OER includes open access to both the content and the technology such as: Open Software, Open Standards and Open Licenses to distribute the Open Content.

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/openeducation

We are on the cusp of a global revolution in teaching and learning. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources

on the Internet, open and free for all to use. These educators are creating a world where each and

every person on earth can access and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge…

http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration

- JSB

CC Common Content

OpenCourseWare Consortium

OCW – MIT (MIT HS) China Open Resources for Education has translated

109 MIT OCW courses into Simplified Chinese.

Rice Connexions

MERLOT

OpenLearn (UK) Wikiversity / OER Commons / Open Course

(a few) Open Content Repositories

All research funded by the US National Institutes of Health, an agency with a

$29 billion research budget, will now be required to be published online, free to

the public, within 12 months after publication in any scientific journal.

What are Open Textbooks?

“Open textbooks” are free, online, open-access textbooks. The content of open textbooks is licensed to allow anyone to use, download, customize, or print without expressed permission from the author.

http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org

Examples of Free, Open Textbooks

Why do we Need Open Textbooks? According to a 2005 GAO report, College textbook

prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades

At 2-year public institutions, the average cost of books and supplies per first-time, full-time student (’03-’04) was $886 = almost 75% of the cost of tuition and fees $898 at 4-year public institutions, about 26% of the cost

of tuition and fees

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05806.pdf

New Textbook Report: May 2007

Dept of Ed: Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

“The resulting groundswell of criticism against colleges, bookstores, and publishers has translated into action across the nation to do something about it. The political imperative to turn the page and restrain increases in the price of textbooks – indeed, to lower them if possible – cannot be overstated.”

(p. iii)

What about Copyright / IP?CC Video

We must get rid of our “not invented here” attitude regarding others’ content move to: "proudly borrowed from there"

Content is not a strategic advantage

Nor can we (or our students) afford it: Students want open, free textbooks Students want access to the global courses

Hey Higher Ed!

“As uncomfortable a proposition as this new openness may be for some, I believe it is the future of higher education.”

In web 2.0, everything is public & higher education needs to

get used to it.

Future of Openness in Education

David Wiley 2006. Open source, openness, and higher education.

3. CTC Technology

Plan

Technology Transformation Task Force

Long-term planning to infuse innovative, student-centered technologies and transform learning throughout the CTC system.

Structural shift to student-centric applications, services and development processes.

Leverage technology, services and content across the 34 Colleges.

Final report in Spring ’08.

Technology Transformation Task Force

Build the case for funding: FY 09-11 Produce a technology plan that

addresses: Vision and roadmap for how our system will

cooperate to support our students and colleges with technology;

Role of technology in student access, teaching and learning, and efficient college operations;

Implementation, funding and governance. Sync with: WA Learns, HECB Master Plan,

SBCTC System Direction

Vision Washington’s Community and Technical Colleges

are viewed as the strongest and smartest technology rich system in the world, with our colleges recognized at local, state, national and international levels for fully utilizing modern technologies to provide seamless learning opportunities to all citizens. We have a technology infrastructure that is student centric, robust, innovative, adaptable and affordable. Our eLearning, student services and administrative tools are driven by student, faculty and staff needs and focused on improving student success.

Principle: Access Provide equitable access to educational and

administrative technologies. All colleges have access to a complete suite of

eLearning applications and support services. eLearning is at the core of how we educate students. Web-based platform enables straightforward

deployment of evolving tools and services. Policies are fair and fully supportive of enhanced,

hybrid, and fully online courses and a 24/7/365 online student services model.

Principle: Success

Quality online student services support student success and enhance colleges’ relationships with students.

System provides 24/7/365 online services for the individual student.

Data analytics provide colleges information to make adjustments and improve learning outcomes.

Principle: Transformation

Our system embraces a culture of rapid, constant change and continuous improvement.

We make frequent false starts in deploying and supporting applications. Expected and valued as part of our ongoing iterative

design process to improve student, faculty and staff services.

Principle: Innovation We support innovation wherever it occurs.

Students, faculty, staff, colleges and global partners are all sources of creative ideas for meeting local community needs and creating pioneering technology solutions.

The infrastructure supports this through a flexible, responsive and open core of applications, an open system-wide testing environment and support for local experimentation.

Principle: Informed

Knowing how to infuse educational technologies unique capabilities throughout teaching and learning requires new thinking.

Our system provides comprehensive professional development around all tools and 21st century pedagogies to empower faculty and staff to become proficient with and excited about wielding new technologies to revolutionize learning.

Principle: Accountable There is clear system level governance, vision,

authority, accountability and funding to encourage efficiencies in technology.

System rejects arguments for special customization or developing mature off-the-shelf and/or open source software that already exists.

A governance team of technology leaders embraces a customer relationship with students and colleges by focusing on results for users and continually adding and enhancing tools and services.

Principle: Funding

Essential technologies and support services are funded like a utility and operated for and by our system.

Our system allocates a balanced mix of sustainable resources to support teaching and learning, student services and administrative infrastructure.

Our system takes full advantage of cost effective partnerships and leveraging outsourced resources.

Bottom Line

Accountability Shared technology, support services and content is a

responsible use of public funds.

Accessibility All students, faculty and staff need access to enterprise

eLearning & administrative systems and support services to compete in the global market.

Affordability No College can afford all necessary eLearning &

administrative systems & support services individually.

Contact

Dr. Cable Greencgreen@sbctc.edu (360) 704-4334