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The University of Tennessee College of Engineering 114 Perkins Hall Knoxville, TN 37996-2012 |
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| Newsletter
of the UT College of Engineering |
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| COE Extended Education Coordinator Dr. Wes Hines (l), and UT Distance Education and Independent Study officials George Hoemann (center) and Bob Jackson (r) confer on marketing materials for the college's distance education program. |
The New Learning Technology |
During the spring 2001 semester, Dr. Belle Upadhyaya became an international instructor in the field of maintenance engineering. However, the UT College of Engineering nuclear engineering professor didn't have to travel very far to achieve this recognition. Dr. Upadhyaya's senior level course, "Introduction to Maintenance Engineering," was part of an international collaboration of cyber-linked engineering projects delivered to students in both France and Brazil via the Internet.
"The course was taught on campus, in the distance education classroom located in the communications building," Upadhyaya said. "We used the Internet-based platform Centra Symposium to allow students at two international universities to participate in the course."
The Universite de Technologie de Troyes, France, and the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, worked with Upadhyaya and nuclear engineering professor emeritus Dr. Tom Kerlin to set up a collaborative learning project. Upadhyaya's course was one of four developed at UT under a National Science Foundation-Combined Research Curriculum Development grant, and was designed for seniors and first-year graduate students in engineering.
One of the primary objectives of the project was to determine the feasibility of joint Internet-based work in maintenance and reliability engineering between students separated by great distances and from diverse cultural and academic environments. Selected students from the program also made trips to France and Brazil, financed by the grant, to work with their French and Brazilian peers in the course of completing the group projects.
Upadhyaya's project is only a part of the sweeping changes that are taking place in todayÕs engineering education. The COE is adapting new learning technologies in a variety of ways in order to reach and retain new and potential students.
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DISTANCE EDUCATION AT
UT
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Bob Jackson is assistant dean and director of the Distance Education and Independent Study department (DEIS) within the University Outreach and Continuing Education division at UT.
"Most universities, including UT, have long viewed themselves as places where 'people came, studied and left,'" Jackson said. "Today, people don't just get their degree, leave school, get a job and stay with one company for their entire livesÐthere is a greater need for 'life-long learning.' Distance education is the response to provide that learning in a more convenient way."
DEIS was formed when UT's distance education programs and independent studies department were restructured into an organization that offers services to three target audiences: learners (both prospective and current), beginning with high school students all the way up to senior citizens, who have a variety of needs and educational goals; faculty, who are in the process of becoming involved with distance education; and business and industry, which are looking to the university for help with new technologies and employees through continuing education.
"Although I believe that 'bricks and mortar' campuses are here forever, I also think we are going to have to meet the unique needs of students and alumni for their professional roles and personal knowledge world-wide," Jackson added.
Dr. George Hoemann, DEIS assistant director, is the point of contact for faculty who are setting up distance learning programs.
"Distance education can be delivered in two ways: asynchronously, primarily through traditional videotaped courses; or synchronously, via Internet," Hoemann explained. "However, online-based courses have the strength of video and you can do more in 'real-time.' This is a big benefit for faculty members as well as students."
Dr. Julie Little is the director of the Innovative Technology Center (ITC) at UT, a division that facilitates effective teaching in distance education for UT. ITC assists faculty in setting up pedagogical "skill sets" to allow them to facilitate online courses effectively and efficiently.
"We help them identify the best method of delivery for the learners' needs, content and instructional styleÐwhether synchronous or asynchronous, or a combination of the two," Little said. "Once the initial course is developed, we work with the faculty during the course delivery to continually evaluate the course design. We also offer summative assessments after the class is over to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the course design and delivery strategies."
Many faculty use course management systems such as Blackboard and Centra, which offer a full suite of tools for teaching, organizing information and online communication between students and instructor.
Hoemann added that colleges and faculty should build on strengths when putting together a distance education program.
"The College of Engineering historically has very strong programs," Hoemann commented. "DEIS is working with the COE in order to offer this benefitÐnot just to students in Tennessee but nationally and internationally. When distance education works, it is very exciting and fulfilling. The technology is now at the point where it is not in the way but is actually facilitating education for a broader range of students."