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Integrating Methods to Achieve an Effective Online
Learning Environment
Dr. Jim Grubbs
University of Illinois at Springfield
grubbs@uis.edu
http://people.uis.edu/jgrub1
http://jg3.com/
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the design and structure of the Blackboard online
classroom for Media from a Liberal Arts Perspective (COM 458) offered at
the University of Illinois at Springfield.
This study supports the case for an integration of both online and offline
course materials and both computer-based and more traditional media. Discussion
centers on the effective integration of each of these items in order to
enhance student satisfaction and retention in an online environment. This
paper includes a close examination of ways to match bandwidth demands for
streaming Real media with student
needs. It also includes discussion of how to enhance and analyze discussion
board participation. Finally, discussion addresses ways to work around
limitations of the Blackboard courseware.
KEYWORDS
Asynchronous, Audio CODEC, Blackboard, CD-ROM, Discussion Boards, Multimedia,
RealMedia, RealPix, RealPlayer, RealPresenter, RealVideo, Scripting, SMIL,
Synchronous, VCD
INTRODUCTION
With the tools now available, putting a course online does not need to
be a daunting task. However, ensuring an effective online classroom
environment can be more difficult. Even after years of online teaching,
we are still learning what works well and how best to implement teaching
strategies within the limitations of both the software and network bandwidth
available to our students.
This paper presents a case study of Media
from a Liberal Arts Perspective (COM 458), a four-semester
credit hour communication course taught entirely online at the University
of Illinois at Springfield. The course is designed for upper division,
undergraduate students. Students may receive credit at the graduate
level by completing additional assignments. Enrollment in the course
is split among three groups: communication majors; students enrolled
in the Liberal Studies Online degree completion program;
and other students who choose to use the course as an elective.
This course went online for the first time in Fall 2001 and was offered
again in Spring 2002. This online classroom has been developed using Blackboard Courseware, currently version
5.5. As you will see, those features not implemented in Blackboard are
made possible through a combination of Blackboard “hooks” and traditional
HTML programming.
My goal in creating COM 458 as an online course was to recreate an interactive,
seminar-like discussion atmosphere. Content was designed to increase student
interest and involvement, and to engage them as much as possible in an
asynchronous learning environment.
I had to address an additional challenge for this class. I asked students
to critically analyze media, particularly television, using Ernest Boyer’s schema for the elements
of a well-rounded, undergraduate education. Since students do not physically
gather in a classroom, it is not possible to show them all of the same
representative programs in each of the Boyer categories. But trying to
stream such programs has serious ramifications both technically and legally.
Full-motion video, even in limited resolution, requires far more bandwidth
than the vast majority of students have available. It is simply impractical
to try to distribute television programs for student viewing in this manner
at this time. And even if the technical limitations could be overcome,
the issue of copyright still remains to be addressed. While fair use (U.S. Copyright Office, 1976) provisions
of the copyright law allow the use of a single, live or delayed viewing
of copyrighted material, it does not allow the type of “on demand” viewing
that would occur in an asynchronous, online, classroom environment.
In this case, the solution was simple: select programs readily available
to most students either “over the air” or via basic cable channels and
allow them to either watch or videotape the programs on an individual basis. While
this method works generally well, there are also limitations; these are
discussed later in this paper.
Implementation of these goals required a multifaceted approach. Streaming
media is the primary lecture mode, but lecture notes are available in multiple
formats (HTML and Adobe Acrobat files). A
CD-ROM was created especially for students with a limited bandwidth Internet
connection. Organization of discussion areas and means for private communication
between individual students and the instructor are critical to the success
of the class.
As COM 458 was developed, five criteria were used to determine the viability
and effectiveness of the course: level of initial enrollment, level of
retention, formal course evaluations, anecdotal evidence from student postings,
and peer feedback.
One of the central beliefs on which this course is based is the number
and nature of “transactions” via the course’s discussion boards. A “transaction” is
defined as a continuous communication that is coupled with a response from
a single student.
In a traditional classroom, the structure of this course might entail:
· Instructor
led lecture
· Multimedia
materials
· Interactive
questioning as lecture is presented
· Class
discussion
· Peer
interaction moderated by instructor
For example, a teacher begins her or his presentation of materials. Subsequent
to the beginning of the presentation, a student poses a question or makes
an observation. That interaction constitutes one transaction. The second
transaction begins when the instructor responds to the comment or question,
and continues until there is another interruption from a student. In the
course of a single classroom session, hundreds--if not thousands--of transactions
take place. Rapport with students that ultimately leads to their satisfaction
with the class and the instructor is established through this ongoing series
of transactions.
The situation is somewhat different in an asynchronous online classroom
environment. It is not possible for students to interrupt or participate
interactively in “real time.” The avenue available for interaction is
the discussion board. So while online lecture materials provide a stimulus,
students complete the transaction by posting a message. The nature of
this communication results in far fewer transactions over the period of
a class session. A few dozen messages cannot be expected to replace the
hundreds or perhaps thousands of transactions that occur during each meeting
in a traditional face-to-face classroom; but there are ways to significantly
increase the number of transactions, both between students and the instructor
and among students.
While this paper does not scientifically investigate the following
hypotheses, a belief in their value drives the design of the course.
H1: The effectiveness of online discussions is positively correlated
to the number of individual transactions (messages) in the course discussion
boards.
H2a: Student satisfaction with online courses is positively correlated
to the timeliness of instructor response and interaction.
H2b: Student satisfaction with online courses is positively correlated
to the amount of peer-to-peer communication.
H3: The level of student participation in the class is contingent
on where the level of expected participation is set during the first week
of the class.
METHOD
This section describes the structure of COM 458 and how a number of elements
were brought together for the class.
Use of “Live” TV
COM 458 takes a critical approach to media--with an emphasis on television--within
the context of Ernest Boyer’s seven categories of learning. Students are
asked to watch a television program each week that represents one of the
Boyer learning categories. In a traditional classroom, copyright law allows
the instructor to replay a videotape of a recently broadcast program one
time only for instructional purposes. This is viewed essentially as “time
shifting” and is protected by fair use.
Streaming full motion video using the bandwidth available to most students
is clearly not realistic. Even if the bandwidth were available, server
demands would require a great deal more hardware than the course provider
has available.
Moreover, because students participate asynchronously the video would
be accessed multiple times based on user demand. Unless broadcast/distribution
rights are secured for each program to be used in the class, this situation
is not covered under fair use laws. But the solution is a simple one:
Students in COM 458 are provided with a schedule of the programs they
are required to watch. They can watch them at their leisure at home using
over-the-air or cable signals. They can choose to watch “live” or videotape
the programs on their own machines. Such use is allowed under current
copyright law since it is the individual student who is making the tape.
This approach leaves some problems unsolved. Even when the programs chosen
air on basic cable channels, some students still may not have access. For
this course, I have addressed the problem by choosing programs that also
have episodes available for rental on videotape.
Broadcast schedules are subject to change. A show that is regularly airing
when the semester begins can be canceled or pre-empted at any time. There
is not much that can be done in such cases except to assign an alternate
or switch the viewing schedule to accommodate changes.
Orientation Module
As online instructors, we may forget that not everyone is a seasoned veteran
of the online learning experience. In some cases, students may have taken
other online classes, but nevertheless may not be familiar with the particular
courseware being used.
From its inception, the design of COM 458 has included the preparation
and production of an orientation module designed
to provide all students with the basics of classroom navigation.
Simplification of Classroom Structure
When a Blackboard classroom is created, most of the features available
are turned “on” by default. This is adequate if all of the features are
to be used, but most of us do not use all of the features in every class
we teach.
My experience has been that the elimination of unneeded menu choices results
in students reporting that the online classroom is easier to navigate. Blackboard
also allows content areas to be named in several different ways. You are
advised to use the label that best matches the language used in your school’s
culture. It would be even better if Blackboard allowed you to label each
content area with your own title, but they do not presently allow this
extent of individual control.
Importance of Faculty Understanding Software Features
While this may seem obvious, you can make both your own online experience
as an instructor and your students’ online experience a better one by taking
the time to thoroughly understand the features of the courseware. There
are some very nice features that are not immediately apparent. Please
take the time to read the documentation and experiment with features before
the classroom goes “live.”
The Importance of Scripting
One of the most important lessons learned after several years of developing
multimedia learning units for online delivery, is that development needs
to start with an outline leading to a written script for each learning
unit. Without a script, actual production of the learning modules may
become mired in unnecessary reworking of the media materials, which can
become very time consuming.
An additional advantage is gained with script creation. It is an easy
matter to convert the text only script into HTML format or create an Adobe
Acrobat PDF file. This aids students in two ways. The text notes provide
an easily printable version of the lecture materials for all students. Students
with older computers may not be able to effectively use either the online
media streams or the CD-ROM. But they can still read the lecture materials
in a format that has minimal system requirements.
A number of factors contributed to deciding the final form for the multimedia
lectures in COM 458. Earlier course materials were created in Microsoft
PowerPoint as black on white “slides” accompanied by a low fidelity audio
soundtrack. This resulted in a very low bandwidth synchronized “slide
show” requiring only 16 Kbps of bandwidth. This included an 11Kbps RealVideo
stream and a 5Kbps RealAudio stream. For an example of this type of streaming
lecture see http://otel2.uis.edu:7070/ramgen/rschr1/333lectures/lecture1.rm Note
that this stream is served using a RealServer rather than via HTTP streaming.
Multimedia Encoding Schemes
In order to provide a more engaging presentation, I experimented with
a number of combinations of audio and video streams. In the end, I chose
a stream that requires approximately 33.7 Kbps. That includes a 20.7 Kbps
RealAudio stream and a 13.0 KBps RealPix stream. With a solid 56K modem
connection, the stream is reasonably reliable. But it is too much for
a 28.8K modem.
Those instructors who are experienced with RealPresenter Basic 8 will recognize
that this is not a standard combination of media streams. While the technical
details are too complicated for this case study, this bandwidth was reached
via manipulation of the SMIL files controlling the multimedia stream, along
with an additional step to encode the audio in the desired format. The
only special tools required are a basic knowledge of SMIL programming and
a simple text editor. The SMIL
protocol is an HTML-like scripting language specifically designed to
control a variety of media streams. SMIL files can be created and edited
using a simple text editor (Clark).
At this bandwidth, full color presentations with a pleasing sound track
(including high quality voice and background music and sounds) are easy
to create. An example (the COM 458 Orientation Lesson) can be found at http://online.uis.edu/fall2001/lis342/guide/guide.ram
One of the challenges faced while experimenting with different types of
streams was to limit distortion when anything other than simple voice tracks
was used. This is explained by the nature of audio CODECs.
It seemed reasonable that if useful audio could be encoded in a 5Kbps
RealAudio stream, only a modest increase in bandwidth should be required
to allow for more complex audio tracks. But this was found to not be the
case. Complex audio remained severely distorted at encoding rates lower
than 20.7 Kbps.
When a voice track spoken at normal speed is encoded at 5Kbps, the compression
scheme uses the “pauses” during the speech to “stuff” additional data to
ensure a clean sounding--though somewhat “clipped”--audio signal. When
the audio is continuous, which is the case when background music is used,
there are no “spaces” in which to stuff the data. This results in the need
for greater bandwidth.
CD-Enhancement
As the development of the course began, my intention was to use a feature
advertised as available in the Blackboard 5.0 courseware. It is possible
to incorporate “offline” content into the Blackboard classroom simply by
setting a single parameter in the user’s profile to indicate the drive
letter for the CD-ROM drive on their computer.
By providing each student with a CD-ROM and creating the proper
links within the Blackboard classroom, it is possible to integrate higher
bandwidth materials without having to rely on the student’s Internet
connection speed.
Unfortunately, this feature was broken in the distribution of the Blackboard
software. Attempts to find a patch or get Blackboard to fix the problem
were not successful. However, with the release of Blackboard 5.5, the
CD-ROM “offline” content feature now works correctly.
The version of the CD-ROM now being used for COM 458 has been upgraded
with several new features. The CD-ROM now “auto runs” on computers properly
configured to do so. “Auto run” is a feature available in the Windows
operating system. When properly configured, a CD-ROM with an appropriate “auto
run” file on it causes the PC to automatically launch an executable file
on the CD-ROM when the disc is inserted in the drive.
But there is a catch. The auto run feature will only launch an executable
file. If you want to launch a web page (which is not an executable file)
it is necessary to use one of several freeware programs designed to launch
the web browser using the web file of your choosing.
The COM 458 CD-ROM automatically launches the student’s preferred
web browser and displays an HTML page with an index to all of the materials
on the CD-ROM as well as several links to sites on the Internet.
Problems to be Resolved
Two additional problems have surfaced since the CD-ROM was prepared for
the Spring 2002 semester. First, the “auto run” feature can cause confusion
when the CD-ROM is being accessed directly from the Blackboard classroom. Second,
as currently configured the CD-ROM is compatible with Microsoft Windows-based
operating systems only. Careful structuring of file names to universal
form will allow future editions of the CD-ROM to be used on most Macintosh
OS computers as well.
Hybrid Use of Blackboard and non-Blackboard Storage Space
Blackboard provides a number of user-friendly ways to add content to the
classroom. These methods work well when you want to add, for examples,
a class syllabus or a Word document.
The Blackboard environment is very limited in its ability to deal efficiently
and effectively with multiple calls to the same document. The URL associated
with materials added to the Blackboard classroom that uses the tools provided
by the manufacturer is very complex, lengthy, and non-intuitive.
The “work around” is to use storage space outside the Blackboard server
environment. At UIS, additional servers are available where folders and
files can be uploaded using FTP (file transfer protocol) or by drag and
drop from Windows-based computers. It is then a simple matter to create
a standard URL call in HTML within the associated Blackboard document. This
can be done as many times as necessary, and allows for universal replacement
of the content materials without doing a new and separate upload for each
place the file is used. This can even be done across Blackboard classrooms,
since the URL has nothing to do with the Blackboard server.
This is also particularly useful when dealing with Real Media files. Whether
the materials are uploaded to a Real Server, or simply streamed via HTTP
protocol, the course instructor can easily point to the proper URL in order
to link the stream. That is not very easy to do using only the Blackboard
provided methods of connecting content files.
Communication Area Structure
Session Discussion Boards
With the lectures in place, we can turn our attention to the communication
areas. In COM 458, two distinctly different types of areas have been created:
session and private “group” discussion boards.
Class session discussion boards are created for each of the sixteen weekly
sessions. Within each session’s discussion board, discussion questions
(labeled 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, etc. to indicate Session 1 DQ 1, Session 2 DQ 2,
etc.) are posted by the instructor. Students are invited to post their
response to the discussion questions as a “reply” to the root message. This
provides a visual structure to the discussion and helps both instructor
and students to keep the materials organized.
Private “Group” Discussion Boards
The author’s earlier experience in offering online classes involved the
use of traditional HTML based web pages supported by WebBoard discussion
software. While students generally report that they prefer the Blackboard
discussion board scheme, WebBoard does have some advantages.
In WebBoard, each topic can be configured to allow all users, or just
a sub-set of users, access. Blackboard does not have the same flexibility
but does include a feature that can be manipulated to work in a similar
fashion.
Blackboard allows the creation of work “groups.” Within such groups,
discussion boards can be created that are only available to members assigned
to the group. In WebBoard, my design included a private discussion area
for each student to communicate directly, and privately, with the instructor. In
order to do this on Blackboard, each student has to be set up as a “group.” The
result is a similar communication area, but only with additional effort.
This “work around” in Blackboard also makes it difficult to check for
new messages in the group areas. While the entry points for the class
discussion areas are displayed on a single page and note any new messages,
it is necessary to click through several levels on each private group
area to check for new messages there.
Visualizing Classroom Discussion as a “Tree”
One of the most critical goals of the classroom design is to create an
atmosphere that encourages and supports not only student responses to the
teacher’s discussion questions, but also peer-to-peer interaction. In
many classrooms, the discussion board “tree” may look like this:
Discussion Question 1
Student 1 Response
Student 2 Response
Student 3 Response
This is good as far as it goes. It is analogous to a classroom instructor
posing a question and receiving individual responses from three different
students. In this scenario, each student has the advantage of being exposed
to the answers from other students, but there is no peer-to-peer interaction
going on.
The goal is to not only solicit answers to the instructor’s questions,
but also create interaction among class members. Here is an example of
a discussion “tree” that shows that type of interaction:
Discussion Question 1
Student 1 Response
Student 2 Response to Student 1
Student 3 Response to both Student
1 and 2
Student 2 Response
Student 1 Response to Student 2
Student 3 Response to
Student 1
Student 3 Response
As an instructor, I have observed that one is lucky to see this type of
interaction occur spontaneously. Therefore the method I use to create
the preferred peer-to-peer environment is to lead by example. That is,
if I do not see students responding directly to the posts of others, I
will intercede with a response directed to two or more students by name
and ask them to comment on the other’s message(s). It does not take long
before this begins to happen without my intervention.
Subject Lines
One of the problems that students often report concerns the difficulty
of trying to follow a discussion as it grows. Much of this problem can
be traced to subject lines that are no longer appropriate. The thread
starts as “Discussion Question 2-2,” but by the third message it has gone
off on a tangent--perhaps spurred by the original question, but no longer
related to it.
I encourage students to use appropriate subject lines. Even when they
do not do so, I change subject lines as necessary in my own posts to best
reflect the nature of the discussion. Unfortunately, Blackboard does not
allow even the classroom instructor to change either the subject line or
content of posts from students. WebBoard does allow administrators full
editing privileges.
Timely Response
There are several schools of thought about how an instructor should budget
her or his time in the online classroom. One view maintains that it is
more efficient to check the discussion boards fewer times each week and
respond to messages in one longer sitting.
An alternate view is that online instructors may benefit and encourage
more interactivity if they increase their visits to their classrooms. In
my case, I generally check my online classrooms multiple times each day. By
doing so, I am never confronted with a barrage of messages, and my students
receive timely input on their postings. While I have not yet quantified
the effect empirically, it appears to me that this increases the overall
level of communication in the classroom, both with the instructor and among
their peers.
The Value of “Private Group Areas”
A number of online instructors prefer to use traditional e-mail to communicate
privately with their students. If you can encourage students to cooperate
by using key words in their subject lines, it is possible in many e-mail
clients to set up “rules” or “filters” to automatically sort incoming messages;
but this is far from foolproof.
As an instructor of multiple online classes each semester, I have found
that creating private communication areas within the classroom environment
helps both me and the student to keep our communications organized. WebBoard
worked better in this regard, but Blackboard also works well, albeit with
a few irritations.
Other Uses for Discussion Boards
The events of September 11, 2001 brought to my attention a feature of
the electronic classroom that I had not previously noticed. Within hours
of the events that morning, I had created a new discussion area for students
to discuss media coverage of the events. It was a natural for the COM
458 class, which examines media within a cultural context. It was easy
to incorporate current events into the class curriculum. The immediate
nature of electronic communication kept the discussions timely and enhanced
student satisfaction with both the course and peer-to-peer interaction.
Discussion boards were also used to create “Poster Session” areas for
the students’ mid-term and final papers. Papers were posted as an attachment
in a discussion board along with a 300-word plain text abstract. Students
were asked to read and share their comments on at least two of their classmates’ papers.
Asynchronous vs. Synchronous
Here, I must admit to a personal bias. Some instructors have indeed had
very good success using synchronous, near “real time” chat rooms, or other
variations of instant messaging. But my personal experience has been far
from positive.
For example, early implementations of the feature in WebBoard were terrible. Messages
were often delayed for an inordinate amount of time. In a class of any
size, it became difficult to manage all of the participants.
As an alternative, I do encourage smaller groups of students to experiment
with this communication method; but I do not regularly use it myself. As
a result, my classrooms are designed for asynchronous learning.
Most students seem to prefer this approach. While they enjoy interacting
in a “live” fashion with their classmates, scheduling is a real problem
for both them and the instructor.
EVALUATION
By all accounts, the Fall 2001 first offering of COM 458 was a success. Even
early signs indicated an increased likelihood for success. Based on word
of mouth, the class filled to capacity within the first week of registration. A
lengthy waiting list existed when the class began. There was no attrition,
with all students completing the class.
Course and teacher evaluations were significantly above university averages,
also reflecting a high level of student satisfaction with the course. Participation
levels were quite high. As the course developed, a number of students
took the initiative and posted questions and observations of their own
relative to the week’s topics. Feedback from students lead to the enhancements
to the CD-ROM described earlier and to the inclusion of additional discussion
questions. Students provided frank feedback about what they liked and
what they would like to see changed. There were many “likes” and few requests
for changes.
The success of the class far exceeded my expectations, particularly in
the area of peer-to-peer interaction. I have always found that to be the
most challenging aspect of the online classroom. Until additional sections
of the course are complete, it is hard to know how much of this success
can be attributed to the course content and structure, and how much of
it was the result of an exceptional group of students.
Early indications are that the second offering (Spring 2002) will have
similar success. This section of the course also filled within the first
few days of registration. The waiting list (which was eventually capped
to not allow any more students on the list) showed that another section
of the course would have filled as well, had their been faculty resources
available to teach it. As of four weeks into the course, participation
is at levels similar to the Fall 2001 section.
A small number of students, those with older computers, and those with
less developed computer skills, did report having trouble using the CD-ROM
in some cases. The CD-ROM itself was shown to be fully functional in all
cases. Regardless of the level of technology employed, such problems are
unavoidable. Perhaps the best that can be done is to be clear about the
technical requirements for the course.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It is possible to balance technical limitations with the needs of students
to create an effective and engaging online classroom environment. To ensure
the greatest success, instructors may benefit by partnering with other
faculty or staff with expertise in incorporating technology in the most
effective ways possible. At UIS, for example, the Office of Technology Enhanced Learning (OTEL)
serves as such a resource.
It is important to keep in mind that creating a quality online learning
experience requires a great deal of time and effort. While the same is
true in the design of any learning experience, the challenges of technology
add significantly to the human cost factor, especially in the start-up
of a new course or incorporation of a new technology.
Instructors wishing to replicate the approach described here are
advised to do several things:
· Give
yourself plenty of time to develop the course
· Assume
going in that things aren’t going to work as you planned
· If
you don’t possess the technical knowledge yourself, team with someone
or an organization that does
· Always
begin with an outline and script
· Challenge
the technology to work for you rather than limit you
· Resist
the desire to incorporate a technology just because it’s new or “neat”
· Make
sure your students can see your own “style” coming through. That’s not
as easy at it sounds in an online environment.
Videotape, VCDs, and DVDs
Video lectures, such as the type created for COM 458 using Microsoft PowerPoint and
the RealPresenter
plug-in module (Ward, 2001), can also be used to create a standard
VHS videotape for distribution. This approach requires an appropriate
computer to NTSC scan converter card or external module.
VCDs (video CDs) are a format that uses a standard CD-R or CD-RW and appropriate
CD “burner” but creates files that will play on most DVD players. This
offers another way to distribute high definition video lectures and other
materials to students in an economical manner.
While still at a premium price, DVD burners are also becoming available
for home and educational use. Distribution of DVDs for online classes
will likely become a widespread practice in the next two years.
All of these approaches have been tested in conjunction with the
COM 458 class, but have not been implemented as a regular part of the
course curriculum.
Blackboard Learning Units
Version 5.5 of the Blackboard courseware introduces a new feature called “learning
units.” You can visualize learning units as an HTML slide show controlled
by the user. It allows screens of information to be coordinated as a unit
rather than as individual files or one long web page.
Some textbook publishers are creating ready-to-implement learning units
associated with their textbooks. This format has some value, and is a
technique that experienced online instructors have tried in the past. Blackboard
just makes implementation easier.
CONCLUSION
This paper has presented a case study of COM 458 Media from a Liberal
Arts Perspective at the University of Illinois at Springfield. My
experience with this class supports the integration of both online and
offline course materials and both computer-based and more traditional
media. Key to the successful implementation of this strategy is the
effective integration of each of these items in order to enhance student
satisfaction and retention in an online environment. It is important
to match bandwidth demands for streaming Real media with student needs. Various
ways to enhance and analyze discussion board participation were discussed,
as well as methods for working around the limitations of the Blackboard
courseware.
AUTHOR NOTES
This project was originally underwritten by a grant from the Office of
Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Additional
materials have been developed independently since the original grant.
My thanks to Professor Ray Schroeder, Director of the University
of Illinois at Springfield’s Office of Technology Enhanced Learning and Faculty
Fellow in the office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the
University of Illinois at Springfield, for his continuing
wisdom and mentoring over too many years to recall.
Special thanks go to my brother, Jon Grubbs, network engineer par
excellence of Lucent Technologies, who serves as my expert and consultant
on networking issues.
Additional thanks go to the faculty and staff of the Individual
Option and Communication programs at UIS who have contributed to my growth
as a scholar and educator in innumerable ways.
A special word of thanks goes to the students of COM 458 at UIS
who through their hard work and excellence as media scholars have helped
me as I continue my quest for an improved online learning experience.
REFERENCES
Boyer Center. (2001). Biography. Retrieved February 20, 2002 from the
World Wide Web: http://www.boyercenter.org/bio/index.html
Clark, S. Tutorial: RealSystem G2 & SMIL. Retrieved February 20,
2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.webdeveloper.com/advhtml/advhtml_tutorial_G2SMIL.html
U.S. Copyright Office (1976). Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators
and Librarians. Retrieved February 20, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf
Ward, L. (2001) Creating Dynamic Online Lectures with Real Presenter. Retrieved
February 20, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/pointers/2001_05/index.html
BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT
Jim Grubbs, Assistant Professor of Individual
Option, University of Illinois at Springfield,
holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Indiana University. He is also a former Faculty
Associate in the Office of Technology
Enhanced Learning at UIS.
Jim was one of the first online instructors at the University of Illinois
at Springfield and has taught online continuously since 1997. His background
includes extensive work in the broadcasting industry and as a telecommunications/network
engineer with Ameritech.
He has developed online courses using traditional web pages, WebBoard, and Blackboard courseware. Jim specializes
in finding work arounds for limitations in commercial courseware. He is
well versed in Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX operating systems. Jim is
the recipient of multiple grants for online development from OTEL and the Liberal Studies Online program at UIS.
In addition to his academic work, Jim, along with his brother Jon
Grubbs, consult with both commercial and not for profit clients, especially
those wishing to incorporate streaming technologies as a part of their
web presence.
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