Five Technology Trends That Will Transform Teaching & Learning

At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse an annual technology event called, "TECH in 20" is held which gives faculty and staff "quick hits" on a wide variety of relevant topics. These sessions are limited to 20 minutes to basically whet the audiences' appetites on technology topics that help faculty and staff in their classrooms, offices, and in their lives.

One session, "Five Technology Trends That Will Transform Teaching and Learning" highlighted a number of innovative technologies that have moved from the lab to the mainstream.  These trends include: Multiple and Flexible Displays, 4-K Resolution, 3-D Printing, Flipping the Classroom, and Mobile Learning and Living.

Multiple and Flexible Displays

As the display panel industry continues to innovate, we are seeing a steady stream of thinner, larger, and high resolution flat panel displays hit the market.  In the academic world, these new products are beginning to replace the traditional smartboard products with higher resolutions and wider surface areas.  The new generation of panels allow for multiple user interactions and more sophisticated applications.
In addition these panels can be connected to form entire walls of displays, large tabletops, and even floors.  As prices continue to evolve, these new panels could replace analog white boards in a variety of room types. The ability of multiple users to interact on the display can provide a much more collaborative and interactive experience.

In addition to multiple displays is the introduction of flexible displays. This development opens up entirely new opportunities to include image display in a wide variety of environments in our work and lives. Untethered by the traditional limitations of a hard device, flexible displays could be treated literally like paper. These same devices could even be seen as wearable jewelry or clothing. As millions of people worldwide carry their iPhones, it is intriguing that Apple has recently announced a number of patents for a potential flexible iPhone.  The trend for flexible displays and appliances will likely accelerate as innovations are introduced and consumers adopt them in their work and play.

Corning created several insightful videos entitled, "A Day Made of Glass." The most recent version 2 speculates on how displays will change our lives through a number of innovative uses. This YouTube video has been viewed by nearly 4 million people.  The program not only illustrates what is currently available in market place, but creatively and accurately speculates how displays will likely be utilized in academics, corporate, medical, and in our social lives.

4-K Resolution

With the advent of HD TV, the world was introduced to an entirely new world of sharper images with unprecedented resolution.  Today, there is migration toward even higher resolution which is referred to UltraHD which boasts twice the vertical and horizontal resolution of 1080p, and 4 times the overall pixels. our current HD standard.  At a resolution of 4096x2160, UltraHD is impressive even when viewing video projection on a 25 foot screen. At INFOComm 2013, spectacular images could be seen both on projection and flat panel displays.

The quality of these images have applications in the consumer market, but also in medicine, corporate, and eventually academics.

3-D Printing

The world of 3-D printing has ushered a new era of taking complex 3-dimensional concepts, and making them "come to life" so that we can interact with them.  In this world of printing, if you can conceive of a shape, you can create it.  From artwork, shoes, musical instruments, and robotic devices, we now have the capability to create items without the need of traditional molding processes. Today, 3-D technology is allowing companies to create replacement jawbones, or even a transparent 3-D model of a human body.

The process of 3-D printing is made possible through an "additive process" whereby successive layers of different types of material is laid down.  As the Wall Street Journal notes, "A 3-D printer bears little resemblance to a document printer in an office. It has two major parts: a "build box" that contains a smooth, thin bed of finely ground material such as pulverized stainless steel or powdered plastic; and a printing head. Depending on the type of printer, the head contains either a heat source, such as a laser or an electron beam, that melts the powdered material or jets that spray binder over the powder in a precise pattern. The binder functions as a glue for the material as an object is built."  To see an example of the power of 3-D printing, here is a video from Shapeways:

Shapeways 3D Printing & the Culture of Creativity

Flipping the Classroom

Much has been written about flipping the classroom, but for many, the exact definition can appear elusive. Generally a flipped classroom occurs when the learning takes more of an on-line component with students being able to learn on-line augmented with videos, homework, assignments, and assessments. In doing this, it provides the student with more instructor time, provides more of a self-paced learning environment, promotes more engagement, and assessments are more enhanced.  There are times where the instructor teaches, and others when students join in to teach as well. Each of these components deal with pedagogical issues.  However, flipping the classroom is also tied to the actual design of the face-to-fact environment.

A Flipped Classroom can become much a more engaging environment, when the design of the room promotes active learning. Carefully designing the learning environment to promote an active learning space accentuates the notion of flipping the experience.  MIT, the University of North Carolina, and Penn State are just some the many examples of creating active learning spaces which do not define the front of the classroom as one area.   Multiple projection and displays, distributed and clustered AC power, and innovative furniture all work in unison to create an truly Flipped Classroom experience.

Mobile Learning and Living

As mobile devices get smaller and become more powerful, and display technology advances it becomes increasingly easy to see a blurring of lines between what is work and what is part of our daily lives. Technology miniaturization and revolutionary industrial processes and led to an rise of electronic devices that can allow us to check our e-mail, surf the net, but also track our personal status. A new generation of "wrist band" computers are entering the marketplace. Two prominent manufacturers are FitBit and Jawbone's UP.

These devices can track our activity levels, our sleep patterns, moods, and allow us to add nutritional intake and other data to monitor ourselves. As one company states, "Know Yourself and Live Better."
A video on the design and manufacturing of the UP product provides insights into the notion of a mobile learning and learning device and whole technology has evolved to allow us to know more about each of us.

Jawbone UP Design and Manufacturing

Conclusion

Each of these 5 Technology Trends are interrelated, and taken as a whole will likely enhance and transform how we learn, work, and live.  Certainly these trends will be modified, tweaked or changed completely.  Still it is important to understand the potential each of these elements have, and to carefully research and pilot each concept to carefully plot our course in academics and in corporate. Stay tuned.

Changing the Culture of Your IT Organization [podcast]

At the EDUCAUSE 2013 Midwest Regional Conference, as a follow up to our session on "Changing the Culture of Your IT Organization," we sat down with Gerry Bayne from EDUCAUSE to record a 10 minute podcast. The podcast highlights how an IT organization can go through an external, becoming more strategic, and enhance the IT alignment, both internally and externally. The key to success is a clear plan, effective communications, and an open process that engages IT staff and stakeholders. Listen how an IT culture can change and empower people in the process.

Flipping the Classroom with Social Media

Educators continue to look for ways to "flip the classroom" through effective learning space design and adhering to the principles of Universal Design. The concept of Universal Design focuses on seven principles in designing spaces: Equitable Use, Flexibility in Use, Simple and Intuitive Use, Perceptible Information, Tolerance for Error, Low Physical Effort, Size and Space for Approach and Use. While each of these elements are closely related to learning space creation, they also have a relationship with the curriculum and how it's taught.

The key for higher education, is to research how new technology tools, and strategies can be incorporated into the learning space to make teaching and learning more authentic and relevant to the student.  One of these tools for educators is the academic use of social media by students. This can open dynamic "windows of opportunity" by flipping the classroom through effective use of social media- in this case, through citizen journalism.

Through a series of class lectures in political science, English, and Communication Studies  at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, students are exposed to the concept of creating digital stories through citizen journalism with CNN iReporting. The class quickly learns about the potential of a wider audience to view their work.

In a variety of classes, a diverse array of human interest and relevant political events are shared with the students.  These "digital stories" are used  to illustrate how authentic and relevant events and personal stories can connect emotionally with the audience.  In addition, social media tools such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Skype are discussed, and examples are used to show how they can quickly disseminate content and stories worldwide, almost instantaneously.  As it was pointed out in the lecture, "social media is history in real time."

During the class lecture, a series of CNN iReport stories are highlighted to explain how the story concept was initially developed, written, and disseminated with the help of social media tools. The key to understanding social media is to realize how it can: motivate and engage; accelerate dissemination; distribute fact or fiction; affect attribution of the author; reinforce, influence, or change opinion; and make learning more authentic.

Students are encouraged to consider becoming iReporters to further enhance their writing and photojournalistic skills. Even faculty members can participate in this process.  Currently there are over 1 million iReporters worldwide.  As an iReporter, you become part of the iReport community, learning techniques and strategies from a worldwide cohort. The experience of being a citizen journalist can extend to almost any discipline.  Once an article on CNN iReports is verified for its accuracy with appropriate clearances, it is becomes officially "vetted."

Once this occurs, other news aggregators may take the story and disseminate it to even larger audiences.  Originally my goal was to reach 10,000 views by the on-line audience.  Today, that total is approaching nearly 1 million views, and that total continues to grow every day. By providing students the opportunity to document original personal stories or a relevant news event, it helps create a diverse portfolio of the author's work, and offers opens the opportunity for worldwide commenting and discussion. Providing these opportunities to students helps to empower them to become more engaged in the learning process.  By encouraging students to immersed themselves in relevant topics helps to "flip the classroom" into a much more dynamic and engaging environment environment. [in class photos taken by Nicole Noe and Rileigh Van Driessche]

Jim Jorstad- CNN 2013 iReport Spirit Award Winner

Mediasiting Your MOOC-Transforming Online Learning Modules into a Massive Open Online Course

On April 16, 2013 Dr. Bob Hoar, Math Professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Jim Jorstad, Director of ITS/Academic Technologies, presented a live webinar at the corporate headquarters of Sonic Foundry in Madison, WI.  Sean Brown, Vice President of Education at Sonic Foundry moderated the event, with over 1200 on-line viewers from across the globe participating and posing questions. It was the one of the largest on-line web streaming international audiences Sonic Foundry has ever sponsored.

Jim described the essence of a MOOC as a type of on-line course which is offered to a large population through the web. The goals of a MOOC can be best explained by three main core concepts including how scalable, sustainable, and if the course can someday be profitable.

Academic institutions and corporate partners are wrestling with each of these goals as they consider the potential of MOOCs.  In addition it is important to consider the "MOOCability" of the the course- in other words can a course be transformed into a MOOC or not?  Some academic disciplines naturally lend themselves to being converted into a MOOC, such as math course.  However certain science lab courses may not translate well into a MOOC.

There are seven core strategies for a successful MOOC which include:

1) develop a worldwide strategic strategy
2) engage faculty into MOOC pilots
3) explain the MOOC concept to faculty, staff, and students
4) use web streaming to explain and promote the MOOC concept
5) consider live and on-demand learning opportunities
6) track project analytics
7) review and refine your plan.

In this Math MOOC project, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant in concert with UW-La Crosse and UW System, "helped to open our eyes" to a worldwide audience for our math MOOC. UW-La Crosse utilized Mediasite streaming technology to promote, explain, and disseminate the MOOC concept on-campus, throughout the U.S. and across the globe.  Web streaming was also utilized to hold live class office hours so that students could interact with the faculty, as well as with other students.  Polling options within Mediasite provided additional interactive feedback. Comments and questions were collected via an e-mail address dedicated to the course web stream.

Using this technology helps to make the remote student feel more a part of the learning environment by engaging them into the teaching and learning experience. If the student cannot participate live in the event, they can watch the program on-demand anytime, anywhere, where there is a computer and Internet access.  Having this feature available helps the students connect with a particularly wide MOOC audience for this project. The age groups for this MOOC extends to an eleven year old student, entire high school classes, to a 83 year-old grandmother.

Dr. Hoar explained the importance of a well-defined team which included Maggie McHugh who is the lead instructor, Jenn Kosiak, a math education expert, Jim Sobota, a professor emeritus who helped to inspect the modules, and Cari Mathwig-Ramseier who served as the intelligent agent to integrate the MOOC into a LMS, which is Desire2Learn.

Dr. Hoar pointed out that the success of the first MOOC was the previous work completed in the FastTrack on-line math program. In this project, 38 high school students enrolled in a summer camp that included on-line math modules. In the end 37 out of 38 improved their math scores which allowed them to avoid having to take a remedial math class as Freshmen.  This saved the students from having to pay for credits to take a remedial math course, and also saved them time for not having to take the course.  It also better prepared them for future science classes as they went through college.



According to Dr. Hoar, the MOOC web site at one point  reached nearly 200,000 hits in one day, and the average grades for students in each module improved dramatically from the original pre-test.  Jorstad commented that through social media, information about the MOOC project was disseminated worldwide through a number of social media channels such as Twitter, blogs, and web streaming. Analytic data was tracked in tandem with the data gained through the MOOC course itself.

Dr. Hoar added that for a successful MOOC you "need to assemble the right team, provide support so that the faculty, staff, and students can develop the materials, and pick a course topic that is important."  If you are follow each of the recommendations highlighted, you are well on your way for a very successful MOOC. More math MOOCs are planned for UW-La Crosse with the support of UW System.

IT: Be the Change and Culture You Want “IT” To Be

At the 2013 EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference held in Chicago, CIO Mohamed Elhindi and Jim Jorstad, Director of Academic Technologies presented a session entitled, "IT:Be The Change and Culture You Want IT to Be" on how institutions can navigate an external review and develop a new IT environment based on change and a new culture.  An audience made up of CIOs, administrators, IT directors, technologists, and faculty attended the event to learn how they could positively change their own IT enterprises. The session illustrated the genesis of an external review, the stated charge, how it was integrated, and how a new dynamic and positive IT culture was conceived and implemented over a two-year period. There are eight core concepts integrated into the plan to change IT culture. They include:

Communication
Ownership
Empowerment
Leadership
Collaboration
Fear of Failure
Cross Pollination
Professional Development

The charge in the external review example was to investigate the state of technology on campus, to understand how IT services are used, to develop recommendations for strategic investments, that will enhance information technology alignment. A key prerequisite for the review was to “avoid undue blame or credit” and the report “should serve as a catalyst."  What is important during an external review, is to look at it as an opportunity for positive change, rather than the chance to merely be critical.

Mohamed stressed the overall IT goal was for “continuous improvement without dramatically changing current or past culture.”  This is a key observation since external reviews can create sometimes create the perception of moving too quickly for dramatic change. At the same time, it is important to recognize the history of an institution’s culture, but not to be constrained by it.  Getting employees to move away from saying “what is good for me" to “what is good for we” is an important consideration.

Another key component for IT change is to have your staff serve at the Help Desk at some time. This provides an important service component to the end user, but also provides an opportunity for each IT staff member to more fully understand important support issues that are trending on campus.

Empowering employees is important step in creating an environment of trust, and an atmosphere that promotes cross pollination of employees to share their expertise throughout the enterprise.  Developing a culture which relies less on reporting lines and more on project success helps to diminish silos and promotes teamwork.  Mohamed stressed the importance of creating an atmosphere of laughter and openness. Each of the directors and managers  literally promote an “open door policy.”  Each of manager's doors are open to promote open discussion. Providing consistent and constant access to the management team is essential. There is an important need to emphasize consistent and clear communication while promoting collaboration.  At each project meeting, it is suggested that you ask the question, “Who was not at the table last time, who should be invited next meeting?” Asking this question at each meeting will help provide a sense of community and inclusion.

There is a need to admit and celebrate our failures.  The Honda Motor Company film, “Failure-The Secret to Success” was discussed and connected the universal themes of failure in race car racing and being an IT professional.  The film graphically illustrates the importance of admitting failure, learning from it, and being proactive in changing the atmosphere towards a more productive and effective organization.

The audience was extremely engaged, and participants asked if this culture truly existed and was sustainable.  We explained it is sustainable and scalable if you carefully follow the key 8-points of success highlighted in this blog posting.  For the IT management team, it takes consistent commitment, cooperation, and communication to be successful. The key for positive change in your IT enterprise is to merely start the process and celebrate the small steps. If you make steady consistent progress, you will positively change your IT culture.

At the end of session, Gerry Bayne, Multimedia Producer at EDUCAUSE, recorded a podcast on the topic of IT Change and Culture.  In the segment we emphasized the importance of be honest with employees and helping them to understand where the stand in the organization.  Keeping communication clear, concise, and consistent is essential. After the recording we were stopped by a number of conference attendees commenting on the impact of the message.  If you need more information, don't hesitate in contacting us. Session information and PowerPoint is available for download.

MOOCs: Transforming Education- In 10 Minutes

Both academic and corporate institutions are rushing to find a way to create, explain, and deploy successful and well publicized MOOCs- Massive Open Online Courses.  News outlets and marketing firms are attempting to explain their purpose and value.  In the longer view, many are questioning if there is a profit at the end of the road. To be truly successful, a MOOC needs to be scalable in a sustainable framework, with a potential towards profitability.  The key is to develop a proof-of-concept to illustrate how a MOOC can and should be created.

In a special 10 minute web streamed presentation, Jim Jorstad, Director of Academic Technologies and Dr. Bob Hoar, Math Professor and Founder of the IIURL, both from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, collaborated to shape the discussion on what a MOOC is, and how to create one and evaluate its effectiveness.

Through support from the University of Wisconsin System and a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a College Readiness Math MOOC was created with over 1000 students enrolled worldwide. The idea was to test and develop effective teaching strategies and mobile learning technologies to help math students learn more effectively and in a shorter period of time, anywhere and at any time.

In the end, the concept is also testing the MOOCability of the curriculum.  In other words, will a MOOC work as effectively in a traditional class as perhaps in a lab setting, or in other disciplines.  What is learned in this project may lead to future MOOC designs and methods worldwide.  It is the research gained from this project which will help determine if a MOOC can in fact be scalable, sustainable, and profitable.

Social Media- The Power, Speed, and Reach

Photo by Larry Lebiecki

At the February 1st, 2013 Chancellor's Community Council at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, I spoke on the topic of social media, and illustrated its power, speed, and reach worldwide.  The audience was made up of faculty, administrators, politicians, business people, students, and community members.  The two-year long research study analyzed how social media can: motivate and engage, accelerate dissemination, distribute fact and fiction, affect attribution of the author, reinforce and influence opinion, and made messages more relevant and authentic.

Key statistics were discussed about Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  According to current data, one in 13 people worldwide are daily active Facebook users.  There are 1 million Twitter accounts every day. More than 35 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.  All of these statistics are dazzling, however to effectively utilize these social media tools, we must develop a strategic method to form a cohesive, relevant, and sustainable message.

A wide variety of examples of citizen journalism on CNN iReports were highlighted and discussed. "When I started writing for iReports I was hoping for approximately 10,000 views.  Already in 2013, that number has jumped to over 875,000.  The current goal is 1 million."

One of the key strategies in obtaining such impressive numbers of readers is to tell digital stories that focus on some human element so that the viewer can more personally relate to the story.  A wide of variety of stories were highlighted including the Drought of 2012, A Professor with Two Hearts, a Presidential Visit, and a special on Homeless in America.  In each of these examples, the key to success was to a uncover a great story, adding excellent supporting images, and be willing to write the story even if it is difficult to capture it because of the time, location, or weather. "There are stories all around us. We just need to be passionate to capture them."  As I tell my audiences, the stories many times are right in our hands but they frequently fall right through our fingers.  As we use social media to disseminate these stories, as one blogger wrote, "Jim is documenting history in real time."

Webstream Explains MOOCs and How To Develop One

As part of the 7th Passport to Technology held at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a keynote address  entitled, "MOOCs,Math and Beyond: Transforming How We [All] Learn" was introduced by Jim Jorstad, Director of Academic Technologies, and presented by Dr. Bob Hoar, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Mathematics.

A MOOC is simply a type of on-line course offered to a large population through the web which may provide certification or potentially credit in some situations.  Many MOOCs are free and open to the public, but academia and corporate representatives are looking for a reasonable value/cost model for potential profitability of the course in the future.

At UW-La Crosse, the Math MOOC began out of the creation of a series of math vodcast learning objects as part of the Institute for Innovation in Undergraduate Research and Learning- IIURL in 2007.  In 2012 a FastTrack program was developed to help students take a refresher course in math to eliminate the need to take remedial math courses in the future, saving students time and money.  The success of the program could be seen in when 97% of the student cohort was successfully placed in a college level math course without having to take a remedial math class.

In late 2012, the FastTrack concept was successful awarded a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant fro $50,000 to test if the MOOC concept was sustainable, scalable  and potentially profitable.  According to Dr. Hoar, as enrollment begin to take shape, over 1400 students from ages 11 to 83 enrolled in the class. Entire elementary education classes have enrolled as well. Over 40 countries are participating in this Math MOOC. The project is being hosted on a Desire2Learn learning management system.

The instructional team for this MOOC includes Associate Professor Jen Kosiak, 2012 recipient of the Teacher Educator of the Year from the Student Wisconsin Education Association [left], Associate Lecturer Maggie McHugh, content expert [middle], and Dr. Bob Hoar, who is overall director of the project [right].




The team is working with a team of instructional technologists to ensure the learning objectives are stable and instructionally sound. The MOOC is going through various modifications as feedback is obtained through students.

On-line office hours are offered to help the students feel they have the necessary support to get through the course.  A twenty-nine question pretest was given to gauge the student's initial math abilities to help gauge the progress they will make. It is hoped that what is learned from this pilot will help in the design of other MOOC in math, as well as in other disciplines.

To learn more about the development and operation of this MOOC, you are welcome to view a special Mediasite web stream of the presentation. Click on the Math MOOC webstream to learn more about this innovative project.

MOOC’s and the Global Transformation of Education- What is the Reality?

A MOOC math learning object.

Transforming education through technology is nothing new to academics, or for business. In the 1960’s educational television was hailed as the technology that would dramatically change how we teach. At the time, Marshall McLuhan predicted education would be transformed as our society embraced communication technologies.  Over the next fifty years the world would see the combined effects of computer technology, the Internet, on-line learning, and the proliferation of mobile devices.

Today educators and administrators are wrestling with the concept of Massively Open Online Classes, or MOOC’s as they are called.  In a sense MOOC’s represent the culmination of many of the technological advances over the past 50 years.  Just as the public hype began with each subsequent introduction of “latest greatest technology” over the years, today many people are attempting to sort out what the reality and the potential of MOOC’s truly is.

Basically a MOOC is a type of on-line course offered to a large population through the web. While most MOOC’s today don’t offer traditional college credit, many provide some form of assessment and certification to the student.  The goal and hope of a MOOC is to make on-line learning scalable, sustainable, and for some, profitable.

The genesis of a MOOC began in 2007 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse when math Professor Dr. Bob Hoar, created the IIURL, the Institute for Innovation in Undergraduate Research and Learning.  It is here Professor Hoar, his math colleagues, and technologists began creating a large collection of on-line learning objects or vodcasts (video podcasts) to help students enhance their math skills.

The concept was taken a step further in 2012 with the creation of FastTrack, a program to help students take a refresher in math skills, rather than having to take a remedial math class.  Dr. Hoar says, “The FastTrack math program, from the student’s perspective means they are going to get out faster, which makes education cheaper.” Adding another year to college whatever class you are taking gets more expensive. The program helps students refresh their math skills, helps save money, and helps the students get through school at a faster pace.
For some students, struggling with math sometimes “causes students to walk away from the university,” added Hoar.

The positive aspects the FastTrack go well beyond math.  Dr. Hoar points out, “Studies in chemistry and the sciences on student performance show students who are struggling in math are less likely to perform well in their classes.” The FastTrack math program highlights just one discipline which can help students perform better in science classes.  Hoar points out, “As far as remedial college readiness I think you can walk around any campus and ask every faculty member if you wish students should do a few things before they show up on campus. They would all have a list.”

After the first year, the assessments from the FastTrack program were impressive. Of the first cohort, 37 out of 38 students moved from a requirement to take remedial math to placement in a traditional level math class.

Enter the MOOC idea.

In 2012, with a solid concept and assessment data in hand, Dr. Hoar in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin System applied for and received a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for $50,000 to develop at MOOC at the developmental math level, and provide it free on-line to anyone.  Dr. Hoar reflected that what would take a 20 month process was compressed to just 20 days. It was the FastTrack concept that helped him apply for the grant quicker. Once the grant award was announced, officials began offering supportive data on why the MOOC concept could provide multiple benefits to students.

According to the UW System, approximately 21% of all new freshmen need some remedial math education when entering college. This mirrors national statistics showing the percentage of high school graduates who don’t have the required skills to succeed in college-level mathematics courses.

Mark Nook, UW System Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs commented, “One of our main strategic goals is to help Wisconsin create a stronger workforce. Math skills are a key ingredient to success in college, and in work. Many students who have the drive to earn their UW degree are just missing that one piece of math confidence, and this can help.”

The MOOC video production team (left to right) Jim Jorstad, Jeff Kerkman,
Bob Hoar, Jen Kosiak, and Maggie McHugh 

For Dr. Hoar, the Gates Foundation provided the opportunity to bring the traditional classroom experience into an on line course on a much larger scale. He commented, “The MOOC made us think beyond our campus, and beyond UW System. The Gates Foundation grant allows us to open our eyes even wider.” As of January 2013, over 1000 students have registered for his College Readiness math MOOC. For Dr. Hoar, that already is a success. “I probably should be nervous with the increasing numbers, but everybody sees the value of this program. People are now seeing enough value to invest into it.”

Bob Hoar (right) checks the digital image for the MOOC
learning object.

The concepts proven in the FastTrack math program are being put to practice. Interactive video segments are being created by Associate Lecturer Maggie McHugh, and content expert Associate Professor Jen Kosiak, who also is the 2012 recipient of the Teacher Educator of the Year from the Student Wisconsin Education Association.  The videos are being shot and edited and eventually will be placed on YouTube as well as web streamed on Mediasite. Some classroom activities are being planned to be streamed lived worldwide to help make the experience more interactive and immediate.

The students enrolled in the College Readiness Math MOOC are diverse in location and in background.  Dr. Hoar points out, “Some students are preparing for their first college math class. I’ve had entire high school classes enroll, an eleven year old student, and an 83-year old grandmother wanting to improve her math skills so she could teach her grandkids, all for free.”

And what about the reality of the MOOC?  Dr. Hoar points out that everybody wants a well prepared student. He continued saying, “MOOC might change colleges. We do see that with on line classes as students transfer credits from larger number of other institutions, particularly in the summer. We need to realize that we need to transform a little. It’s not a bad thing. Content from many large lectures might translate well for MOOC’s translating that to students in labs may not work as well.”  

Dr. Hoar says we need to test the “MOOCability” of the teaching before rushing to embrace the technology. Some teaching and learning may translate very well to a MOOC, other activities may not.  We need to test the concept before making wild assumptions and claims, similar to what has happened with technology and communications that McLuhan described, and the resulting technology hype reported over the years. Education will surely be transformed once again.  Our challenge will be to carefully embrace the new technology through careful planning, implementation, and assessment.  This particular MOOC seems to be following the correct path to scalability, sustainability and perhaps someday, profitability.