The Amazing TechBC Story -
E-Learning on the Edge
November 30th, 2001
By Paul Stacey
Imagine
its 1998 and you join a small talented team to create a new university focused
on technology. There are hardly any new universities being created anywhere in
the world. The fact that this one is in your own community is a once in a
lifetime opportunity.
Imagine
the university is physically placed in the fastest growing area of Canada. A
region with a high 18-24 year old population base and low enrollments in
post-secondary. Imagine the region has lobbied for years to have a university
built there so learners have access to higher education.
Imagine
the economy where this university is located has been natural resource based for
decades - forestry, fish, mining, agriculture. But now these natural resource
based sectors are in decline and the bright lights are the high technology and
new media industry sectors which have been growing at a rapid rate.
Imagine
a specific piece of legislation is passed to create this new university
mandating a unique governance structure and research and academic programs at
the forefront of their fields. Imagine during the parliamentary debate on this
legislation the minister in charge says this new university will not have
faculty tenure.
Imagine
being boycotted by every faculty association around the world and imagine the
boycott being quickly resolved by creating an Academic Planning Board and
writing the broadest policy on academic freedom in the world.
Imagine
being told the university must open and accept its first learners by September
1999.
What
would you do?
Of
course all these imaginings are true. The Technical University of British
Columbia (TechBC) http://www.techbc.ca
is one of the most amazing stories in e-learning. From these beginnings TechBC
has boldly pioneered a vision of a new kind of university.
The
result? Lets look at a few of TechBC's e-learning accomplishments:
Adoption
of e-learning enterprise wide. At
TechBC all courses are on-line. TechBC broke with the traditional notion of a
university 3 credit course. Instead, the entire curriculum was chunked into 1
credit modules. TechBC has authored approximately 400 e-learning modules (a
module is one credit taken over a five week period representing 8-10 hours of
learning per week). To enable transfer TechBC often groups three, one credit
modules into a "course".
By
e-learning standards this is an enormous volume of content. Few, if any, other
universities have this amount of content online. We are talking about a volume
of content equal to the collections of major commercial publishers.
TechBC's
e-learning modules lead to Bachelor of Science undergraduate degrees as well as
Masters and Ph.D. degrees in three technology areas - Information Technology,
Management & Technology, and Interactive Arts. Curriculum planning in all
areas is done collaboratively with representatives from high tech companies.
Go
ahead look at the module descriptions on the TechBC web site. Imagine having
access to this learning over the Internet. Imagine having this library of high
tech e-learning specifically designed for the web. Imagine the knowledge and
skills acquired.
Lets
just stop right there. Name me one other university that has all its courses
online? Sure every existing university in the nation is trying to transition to
e-learning. But this will take years (if not decades). Transforming traditional
university culture and porting legacy classroom and lecture content to the web
is a mammoth task. TechBC is already there.
All
learning staff teach online. TechBC has
attracted over 40 learning staff from 14 different countries. Many of them left
prestigious universities and secure, tenure track positions. Others have left
private sector jobs. Coming to a university where e-learning is the norm, not
just for early adopters, but for everyone, is part of the attraction.
All
faculty and learning staff take an internal program called Mastering Education
Technology and Learning. This program ensures a high level of e-learning
literacy, and skills as online learning facilitators.
TechBC
isn't trying to convince faculty e-learning is a good thing. TechBC faculty are
already there.
Systematic
production process for e-learning.
TechBC uses a defined production process for creation of e-learning. Unlike
other institutions that take a year or more to create an e-learning course,
TechBC uses a 16 week production cycle. Like software engineering, this process
goes through a planning, specification, design, production, and post-production
series of phases.
Rather
than the old "lone ranger" approach to creating courses TechBC
learning staff work in development clusters using a collaborative, team-based
approach.
Education
technology and learning specialists.
TechBC has a team of education technology and learning specialists that work
with learning staff development clusters to create engaging, and instructionally
sound e-learning content.
TechBC
doesn't expect faculty to develop their own animation's, or arrange for digital
licensing rights to content that already exists. Instead these are services
provided by education technology and learning. TechBC gets the right person to
do the right job.
TechBC
also has education technology and learning specialists who support the delivery
of e-learning. The technology underpinnings of e-learning require 24X7 system
& learner support. Without this you can't do anything.
Most
importantly TechBC has education and technology researchers who investigate and
lead effective e-learning practise.
Innovative
e-learning delivery models. Unlike
other institutions that utilize a singular method of e-learning delivery, TechBC
uses five different e-learning delivery models. TechBC delivery models are based
on three factors - pedagogy, e-learning technology, and logistics. Some delivery
models are 100% online, others are 50% online/ 50% face-to-face, and still
others are somewhere in between.
In
one of its boldest moves. TechBC eliminated the use of lecture as a method of
delivery. Face-to-face activities are team-based projects, hands-on labs, and
work group collaborations.
The
richness of the resulting learning experience has resulted in TechBC attracting
Canada's Millennium scholar and having the lowest dropout rates of any
university in Canada.
Interdisciplinary
virtual and physical spaces. In another
bold move TechBC broke down the traditional silos that usually exist between
university departments. Information Technology, Management & Technology and
Interactive Arts faculty and learning staff work and communicate with each
other. As a result the academic programs are interdisciplinary. Learners at
TechBC get a grounding in all three program areas providing a multidisciplinary
foundation that gives them an appreciation of all aspects of high tech.
For
physical space TechBC has been leasing temporary office space and just recently
took over the former space of a large department store in Surrey Place shopping
mall. Most universities utilize a formula for calculating their physical space
needs based on a specific number of square feet per staff person. TechBC has
been working at an incredibly efficient 55% of the space typically allotted.
TechBC's
virtual space is its Course Management System (CMS). The CMS is the heart of
learning at TechBC providing a common social space for all as well as a custom
e-learning space for each and every learner.
Sound
amazing? It is.
Even
more amazing - TechBC did open its doors in September of 1999, accepting
learners into the first year of the undergraduate program. This has to be one of
the fastest launches of a university in history.
While
those initial learners were taking first year modules TechBC developed the
second year of the undergraduate program. The following year those first year
learners moved on into the newly created second year programs, a new wave of
first year learners started their studies, and TechBC began developing the third
year of the undergraduate programs. And so the cycle has continued.
Never
before has a university concurrently put in place its infrastructure while
developing and delivering programs.
Now
imagine a newly elected government. A government interested in and committed to
higher education. A government that says it wants to:
- "Double the annual number of graduates
in computer science, and electrical and computer engineering, within five
years".
- "Increase the annual number of
graduates in computer science, and electrical and computer engineering,
within five years".
- Make "British Columbia a global magnet
for high tech investment, growth and job creation".
- Develop "the most computer literate,
highly skilled workforce in Canada".
- "Increase the emphasis on electronic
initiatives like e-health, e-learning, and e-government".
see http://www.bcliberals.bc.ca
Sounds like a perfect fit, right? TechBC is
ideally positioned to be the solution. A cutting edge, high tech university with
no unions, no tenure for professors, and no stuffy senate seems custom made for
this platform.
Wouldn't you position TechBC as a principal
pipeline of high tech graduates? Wouldn't you try to leverage TechBC faculty and
learners to the max as global high tech magnets? Wouldn't you utilize TechBC's
programs to develop a computer literate highly skilled workforce? Wouldn't you
take TechBC's advanced e-learning position and push it even further out to the
forefront with research? Wouldn't you have TechBC help other institutions ramp
up their e-learning initiatives?
Amazingly that's not what's happening. Instead
the Liberal government seems intent on shutting TechBC down. Starting in
September the Liberals began undermining TechBC accusing it of not being
cost-effective, of having a poor business plan, of not meeting enrollment
targets, of not attracting private sector partners.
Imagine you've invested 4 years of development
to create high tech e-learning at higher education intermediate and advanced
levels. Imagine this e-learning sits right in the sweet spot of what
International Data Corp. says is currently a $391 million dollar corporate
e-learning market projected to grow to a $6.2 billion dollar market by 2003.
Would you pull the plug on it?
Imagine how distracting and damaging such
accusations are to the learners at TechBC. Imagine what a blow these accusations
are to the morale of TechBC staff who have invested the sweat equity required to
birth a new university. Imagine how difficult it is for the university to
attract and recruit new learners. Imagine how rapidly the phones stop ringing
from potential private sector partners.
And speaking of potential private sector
partners If the government of BC doesn't want this e-learning perhaps there are
others who do. Interested in making an offer? Send me an e-mail to: stacey@techbc.ca
Amidst this cacophony stand the existing 450 or
so TechBC learners - undergraduate and graduate. Imagine the impact these TechBC
learners will have on the economy of B.C. when they graduate.
High tech companies take note. These are the
best graduates you will ever find. If BC doesn't want these learners it will be
a great loss.
Imagine being a TechBC learner. I wonder if you
can?
To help I interviewed a number of
undergraduates about what the TechBC e-learning experience is like. To my words
let me add theirs. Here then, in their own words is how TechBC undergraduate
learners describe e-learning at TechBC.
Andre Shori, Undergraduate Year Three,
Management & Technology Program
"I think the e-learning at TechBC is
absolutely fantastic. TechBC's online model is very effective and conducive for
learning, and more importantly for understanding the concepts behind the lessons
being delivered. Interaction through the technologies encourages discussion,
sharing of information, and sharing of knowledge and ideas. Its just all around
awesome.
I probably spend about 40 hours learning online
every week. My peak online learning time is between midnight and 4 a.m. The
Course Management System crystallizes learning for me. It has the key concepts
and things I should be concentrating on.
TechBC learning is not just about regurgitating
information the professor gave you word for word. Its very centered around
testing your understanding of what you are learning. It encourages you to gain a
deeper understanding. Its all very applied. Its practical stuff I can use.
When you log in to the TechBC Course Management
System, iSpace outlines very nicely for you concepts and things you should think
about. It asks you key questions and provides a lot of external links to
reference material, to articles that other people have written on the topic.
There are also links to Q&A where you can post a question to the instructor
and links to discussion WebBoards.
On the WebBoard you can post questions and
write text messages. Its a really neat interface for discussion. You can post
your thoughts and responses to various questions and not have your entire team
on line doing a real-time chat. I love it when everyone gets a really meaty
discussion going.
During the summer I worked on an e-learning
project for BC Rail. One of the things I was tasked with was to explore as many
different e-learning vendors and options as I could find. TechBC's e-learning
model is light years ahead of your average vendor out there. I think TechBC is
much closer to being a completely online environment. They've got the most
effective methods and really well thought out delivery models. TechBC is getting
very close to the perfect solution for how to do online testing and online
assignment submissions.
The best thing about TechBC's e-learning is
that I don't have to take notes. I've been in classes elsewhere where the entire
class is spent just keeping up with the instructor and writing down what she is
writing. At TechBC the notes are online and always there. I can always go back
to them. You don't have to memorize. You have to understand. This semester I
went back to a year one business class. It was great to not have to dig through
three years worth of notes in a dusty folder somewhere. I was able to go to the
CMS and just click on that semester and find the class really easily. Its
exactly the same as when I went through it. Its all there. Its just
awesome."
Naomi Read, Undergraduate Year Three,
Interactive Arts Program
"Learning online is very different from
learning in a classroom. When you are learning online you have to take on the
piecing together process yourself. You have to be responsible enough to say I
don't understand this and send off an e-mail to whoever can give you a hand.
Its different because it provides flexibility.
So if you are like me and you don't work well in the afternoon you don't have
to. I work well from 8 a.m. to noon, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 6
a.m in the morning.
In one of my courses what we have to do is
conference online, based on readings. This e-learning method is effective
because I find a lot of people are able to express themselves more effectively
and are more willing to begin expressing themselves and putting out ideas
through WebBoard where they don't have to raise their hand and speak in front of
everyone.
Also people have the opportunity to think
things through more clearly before they post. You can sit for an hour and really
put together your post. Whereas in class you may have ten minutes to figure out
the ever important question you need to ask.
In the courses that are fully online, where you
meet on line, and every week make posts to an active WebBoard conference, what
we find is people create online personalities that are similar to but not the
same as if you were to communicate to them in person. An online environment is
created that is similar to a classroom in the sense that certain people will
"sit together". You notice that certain people continually read and
respond to each others posts. Sometimes you will notice that say
"George" likes to go in there and stir things up and say something
that gets everyone riled up. So you have people who sit together and post
together, playing off one anothers posts so they can express what they want to
say. Then you'll have someone who likes to go in there and shake things up like
the troublemaker. Based on that you create an environment.
Some days it will be nuts inside the
conference. You'll be gone for an hour and there will be forty posts up. You
have to go in there and read them all and figure out what went on in the last
hour. Other times you'll post something up and you'll think "Wow, I just
posted something that's really great I can't wait to see what people say and no
one responds."
What we find in the conferences is that more
people are willing to ask questions whether they think they are stupid questions
or not. Whereas in a classroom they might be more reluctant to ask.
I think e-learning is effective for me. In
deciding where to go to school I went to a 100 level class at one of the other
local universities. I sat in the lecture theatre at the very top far, far away
from the teacher, and it was awful. I didn't like it. It was like uggh, this
sucks. Literally, I thought, this is not effective for me.
With e-learning its easier to develop a rapport
and understand what the teacher wants and how the teacher can help you and your
learning because you are able to explore."
Annette Maxwell, Undergraduate Year Two,
Information Technology
"TechBC e-learning is a good experience
because all the information is there all the time and you can access it anytime.
Its good to have the online learning and then the face-to-face because during
the face-to-face the teacher can tell you what's important, the main points.
My best online learning time is between 8 p.m.
and 1 a.m. That's my best working time. I'm not a morning person. With online
you get to choose when you learn and what subject you want to concentrate on.
I choose to come to campus almost every day for
the study groups that are formed on the fly. Sometimes its easier to come to
campus even for the online learning cause you don't have the distractions like
TV and everything like that. There are also other learners on campus and the
teachers are within walking distance. That's the benefit of having the campus.
A lot of team-based learning is in the
conferences. There is an asynchronous conference and each team has their own
private conference. We post our conversation up there. A lot of it has to do
with accountability and the professors can moderate it. There's also e-mail and
ICQ for real time chat.
TechBC e-learning is hard at first. Its not
easy. A lot of it is based on practise. I used to take massive notes but now I
don't take any. You have to get to know what's important and get to know your
professor. Know where the objectives are and if they are not clear ask about
them. You have to explore and get used to it.
My favourite thing about TechBC e-learning is I
can do it when I want. We get each module at a time and I could decide in one
day to do all four weeks if I want to. I can decide what courses to do when.
Usually you try to prepare before each class
but if you don't you still have the material online, you're not missing
anything. So that's what I like about it, its always there accessible anytime.
The most engaging e-learning experiences for me
are the projects and assignments. Some you really get in to. The teachers get in
to it as well so they put up optional articles online some of which are really
interesting. They can provide a lot more on line than they can in class. Its a
lot more in depth."
Danielle
O'Connor, Undergraduate Year Two, Information Technology Program
"E-learning
was a challenge. Its not anymore cause I'm used to it. When I first came to
TechBC the thought of studying lots of stuff on the computer, having that really
complement both the instruction received in class and the textbooks we had to
have for the class was a foreign concept to me. It was a big change at first.
Now
I'm really fond of it. Its really neat because I can access it any time of day.
I have it there for really easy reference. Its enjoyable. Its neat to be able to
talk online with other learners at any point in time. It also is very much
complemented by chat programs like ICQ and MSN Messenger and also using e-mail
where you can converse back and forth.
Particular
courses benefit more from e-learning. Its very hard to learn stuff like circuits
online where its really intensively math based and you need to be shown how its
done. Whereas a course like new media images benefit more from online. There are
so many external links where you can go to demonstrate concepts. Outside links
are very much a part of e-learning.
E-learning
without instructor involvement where you are just using the Course Management
System and a textbook is very hard. Sometimes you are just missing one
fundamental piece. If you could go and ask the teacher "How did they do
this" and they tell you, then all of a sudden it makes sense. That is one
problem with e-learning you miss the emotion the sincerity and everything behind
the learning.
E-learning
is solitary but at the same time it is very interactive because you are meeting
and conversing with other students online.
Once
I posted a question online for a problem I was having in math. "Why does
the solution say this and how did they get there?" Another student came
online within an hour and a half and said, "Well this is what I did".
The next day the instructor came online and said "Great job. Thanks for
explaining. That's completely correct." If it wasn't online like that and I
had to wait until the next day that problem would be floundering around in my
head overnight and then I'd have to try and find someone to explain it to me.
This way I can just ask and its part of the responsibility of the instructor to
check the Q&A boards and answer questions. I don't have to go find someone I
can just post the question and someone will respond to me with an appropriate
answer.
In
the TechBC Course Management System there is a place called rSpace which is our
space and iSpace which is just for me. iSpace has announcements, a calendar, a
list of my courses and a link to an assignments page which tells me what's due
when.
E-learning
is so much more fast-paced than any other learning I have encountered. I can
jump to whatever course I want, whenever I want. Its online all the time.
E-learning is such a neat idea. TechBC has implemented it really well."
Jagdeep Poonian, Undergraduate Year Three,
Information Technology Program
"What
I did initially was I researched all the institutions and I tried to figure out
what the differences are between e-learning vs. learning in a traditional
lecture hall. What I found through my research is that university is about
learning how to learn. E-learning facilitates that process because it forces you
to look at many different ways to actually learn that are not traditional.
E-learning
really challenges you. Instead of being spoon fed information it encourages you
to think more. It encourages you to look beyond what is traditionally given you
in lecture format. The hard part is that students who are not mature may
complain at first. The reality is that after they go through an e-learning
course they have learned how to learn and they take that with them into years
two, three and four. Students at other universities don't learn this until years
three and four. At TechBC in your first year you are challenged right away to
look at different ways to learn.
I
learn best online between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. I spend most of my time learning at
home and I come to campus only for classes that have face-to-face interaction.
E-learning
helps you look for the resources you need for learning. TechBC's Course
Management System is a resource that supplements our textbooks and offers a
different light to the information. Your peers are a resource, your instructor
is a resource, the campus facility.
There
are different ways you can present information online. There is text, and TechBC
learning objects that combine visual and audio, or it could be a RealPlayer
presentation. The good thing about that is you can always fast forward or rewind
and look ahead and pause whereas in a lecture hall you couldn't do that.
My
favourite part of e-learning at TechBC is collaboration. Whether it is through
the TechBC Course Management System or ICQ. It facilitates a community. You can
go anywhere for information and get it right on the spot. At other institutions
it would be hard to look to somebody in a 400 person lecture hall for help.
Whereas at TechBC because we are all a big community you can just use ICQ and
push a message and ask your peers What's going on here? I need your help. People
are really friendly and willing to help. So that's something that really sticks
out for e-learning. When you use your peers you actually become more innovative
yourself in the way you look for information.
E-learning
is going to be the way of the future. Other universities are just beginning to
pick up on it. TechBC picked up on it years ago."
Want
to voice your support for TechBC?
Paul Stacey is Director of Corporate
Education at the Technical University of British Columbia http://www.techbc.ca,
a long time education professional in the high tech private sector, and the
Canadian Correspondent for LearningWeek Live http://www.learningweek.com
an interactive webcast from New York featuring stories about the people,
technology and business of learning. Contact: Paul
Stacey
What Do You Think? Talk Back To Paul Stacey
E-Learning: An
opinionated monthly column exploring the current use,
future potential, and commercial value of e-learning in
BC’s high tech sector.
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