We are standing on the threshold of major changes in the way we do business in the District.
Many faculty believe that in the near future, all faculty in the District will be doing some form of distance learning which we may define as any mode of instruction that does not involve meeting students in a regularly scheduled classroom. Students want it, and other institutions are providing it. To remain competitive, we must offer it, too.
No one believes distance learning will replace all classroom teaching, but many faculty believe that our teaching loads in the future will all include distance learning in some form.
As we stand on this threshold, many faculty have anxieties about the transition to distance learning. In the Ocotillo committee Classes without Classrooms, we are exploring these concerns. We have grouped our questions into three general areas of inquiry:
In addition, our committee feels a need to hear directly from students who have experience as distance learners.
Beginning in early December, our committee initiated a series of open forums to discuss these issues. Our goal is not to provide all the answers but to clarify the questions. The forums are being held on the first Friday afternoon of the month, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the Maricopa Room at District Office. All are welcome to attend.
Our first forum was held on Friday, December 1st. At that time, we addressed issues relating to the logistics of distance learning, the nuts and bolts of running distance learning. An audio recording of the discussion was made and transcribed, and the transcription has been edited and placed on the web, accessible at URL: http://www.mcli.dist. maricopa.edu/ocotillo/cwoc/forum1.html
The second forum was held on Friday, February 2. At that time, we discussed pedagogical concerns in distance learning. Several people shared their experiences with distance learning in various formats, and we tried to isolate several general concerns that all distance learning programs need to address. This discussion was also recorded, and the edited transcript should appear on the Classes without Classrooms Committee web page before the end of February.
The third forum will be held on Friday, March 1. At this time we will turn our attention towards the problem of assessment. We will consider the problem of administering examinations for distance students, and we will look at the issue of verifying that students are doing their own work. We will discuss the problem of evaluating faculty performance as distance instructors. We will also consider how we may effectively evaluate entire courses.
The final forum in this series will be held on Friday, April 5. At this forum, we will interview students who have had experience as distance students and ask them to give their views on the issues that we have addressed in the other forums.
Again, these forums will be held from 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the Maricopa Room at District Office. All members of the Maricopa family are invited to attend.
The Internet Connection at MCLI is
Alan Levine --}
Comments to alan.levine@domail.maricopa.edu
URL: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/labyforum/win96/win96L5.html