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Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education Course Development Grant Proposal
IPT299 Web Programming
Ball State University

ABSTRACT

The IUPUI Community Learning Network and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, Department of Computer Technology intend to develop a web-based, asynchronous course in Web Programming. The Web Programming course is the fifth of a six course package enabling learners to earn a Certificate in Information Technology. Web Programming may be taken for undergraduate credit or as a professional development course. The Web programming course will provide students with an understanding of the various Web languages (client and server-side) and how they can be most effectively utilized. More specifically, the course will provide learners with the advanced information necessary to create data and process oriented web sites.

Many large corporations have created internal training departments to update and prepare their employees; most small businesses, agencies, or school districts are unable to afford the luxury of full-time training programs. To satisfy the growing need for trained and knowledgeable workers within these three environments, an outside computer technology program is needed that provides the necessary knowledge, training, and support. Importantly, most employees who are most in need of additional training in the computer technology area cannot afford to leave their place of employment to acquire the needed knowledge.

The success of the newly created Information Technology Certificate Program has been very gratifying. Since last Spring, with IHETS support, over 100 students enrolled in our first two course offerings. This fall over 120 students have enrolled in four Certificate courses. Timely development of the remaining two Certificate courses is essential to maintain the momentum that we have established. To assist in this endeavor and in the development of the Web Programming course, the Purdue School of Engineering & Technology and the IUPUI Community Learning Network requests an allocation of $11,216 from the IPSE Course Development Grant Program.

NARRATIVE

Need to be addressed and learners to be served:
Due to current global job trends, engineering and technology employees face an increased demand to demonstrate computer literacy and skills. The student populations to be served by CPT 299 Web Programming include:

Rationale for choice of course and technology or technologies to be used:

The CPT 299 Web Programming course is the fifth of six courses that are part of the Information Technology Certificate Program that offers carefully focused educational programs, which are accessible to clientele who seek further training in computer technology. The program is structured to address the needs of that clientele by focusing specifically on the design of a curriculum that is easily and cost effectively delivered and accessed via the Internet to virtual students anywhere in the world. The program operates on the assumption that students will have access to a computer and to the Internet to electronically receive instruction, educational materials, and services. Those who do not currently have access to a computer or who need computer literacy training are encouraged to utilize the computer labs on the IUPUI campus, or to visit any of the many learning centers operated by the Indiana College Network. The "anytime, anywhere" features of this program, enabled through asynchronous delivery, make it particularly attractive to working students, to those who live outside of the greater Indianapolis area and thus are distanced from the IUPUI campus, and to those who are living in other cities in and around Central Indiana, throughout the state, or nationwide.

The course will be delivered on the World Wide Web using a variety of asynchronous methods including real-time streaming, (e.g. RealAudio/Video) which has been pioneered by the Purdue School of Engineering & Technology Department of Computer Technology and the Cyber Lab at IUPUI. Also included in this course will be a number of interactive and student-oriented tools that should enhance the learning process. This technology is easy to update to meet changes in on-line resources. Web-based evaluation techniques will also be incorporated into the course offerings. As necessary, we will incorporate web-based laboratory offerings. Laboratory offerings can take several forms and considerable experimentation will be necessary to determine the most appropriate form in each instructional situation.


Institution's capacity and commitment to the course-development project:

IUPUI has been a dominant player in distance education for over 25 years, most notably through contributions made to the state by faculty and staff in the Schools of Medicine and Nursing. However, since 1990, the campus has developed a series of support services to develop faculty and staff to meet the needs of distance learners. The Dean of Faculties has been instrumental in establishing the Office of Faculty Development and Senior Staff Development and a world-class Center for Teaching and Learning. The programs and Center staff provide seminars, mini grant programs and opportunities for faculty to integrate technology into the teaching and learning environment. The campus created a Cyber Lab to imagine and develop web-based authoring and course development environments that make course development a professional enrichment experience for faculty and staff. The University Library at IUPUI maintains an inventory of thousands of on-line journals, reference sources, and publications that can be accessed by learners across the globe. The Library established an electronic reserves initiative, which enables faculty to electronically post materials for students in a secured electronic environment. In addition, the University Library participates in instructional teams comprised of faculty, academic advisors and librarians to create a web of services gathered to meet the needs of distance learners. University Information Technologies Services maintains a 24-hour help desk to assist learners in gaining access to the university electronically.

Since 1990, the IUPUI Community Learning Network has developed almost 20 courses with faculty from virtually every school represented at IUPUI. CLN serves as the project manager, fiscal and administrative office and has responsibility for managing and developing the undergraduate distance education strategic plan.

Additionally, academic counselors routinely visit businesses that express interest in providing their employees access to educational opportunities. These counselors are prepared to assist potential students in submitting admission applications, to counsel and advise students on an academic plan, and to assist the student in registering for courses without going to the IUPUI campus. Frequently our counselors are involved in providing information sessions, not only to businesses, but also to the general public by providing information sessions at libraries and schools.

The Purdue School of Engineering & Technology at IUPUI maintains a close working relationship with hundreds of companies in Central Indiana. The School offers a wide range of internships and coop programs placing university undergraduates in a fast-paced computer technology environment. The curriculum is geared to meet the evolving needs of industry.


Instructional design and delivery plan:

The Web Programming course will contain 6-8 independent modules focusing on audience analysis, web construction and tools, web construction techniques, design concepts, and project origination. Each module will contain an assessment component, which enables the learner to customize their learning path. The learning path enables the learner to spend the majority of their time on areas in which they need to develop additional expertise. The modules are learner-driven and can be taken at times and places most convenient to the learners. In addition, learners may begin their coursework at any time during an academic year. IUPUI maintains a contract with National Education Training Group (NETg) to host on-line computer training courses. The Web Programming course will include several pre-produced learning modules. The Web Programming course may also include video lectures, presentations, and RealAudio components within the learning modules. These video graphics and audio modules will be created, produced, digitized, and incorporated into IUPUI’s on-line learning environment.


Explanation of how the instructional design will serve the needs of the target audience:

Feedback from previously enrolled learners in the first four Information Technology Certificate courses indicates that those seeking enrollment in the Certificate program demonstrate a passion for technology and welcome anywhere anytime delivery through the web. Typically, learners interested in the program communicate and develop product on line as part of their jobs. Learning on line is a continuing education expectation for learners seeking entry to the industry or seeking to strengthen their knowledge in the field. These students are adults with complicated learning schedules who desire a course delivery that allows them to progress at their own pace at times and locations that are convenient to them.


Course evaluation plan:

A web-based course evaluation system that is comparable to the standard academic department course evaluation will be utilized at the end of the course as well as a standard distance learning evaluation that collects information including student demographics, learning needs, and educational goals. Several evaluative items along with a narrative option will be provided after the completion of each learning module or lesson. In addition, student learning of basic course content will be compared to the achievement in the standard, classroom sections because of planned test content overlap. Overall student satisfaction, student evaluation of learning modules, and the level of student learning will provide feedback useful for continuing course improvement and quality assurance. The goals are both course improvement and to be able to make comparisons between students in the web-based course and their university-based counterparts on the relevant dimensions of learning and student satisfaction.


Quality and/or transferability plans and/or strategies:

The IUPUI partners developing this certificate program will continue to work with Indiana's universities to see that the courses and program clearly articulate into degree programs. This CPT course fits into other academic programs as a 200 level programming course and can be utilized by students who decide to pursue an Associates or Bachelors degree. According to IUPUI's ICN Coordinator, the course will transfer to Ball State, Indiana State University, Indiana University, Ivy Tech, Vincennes, University of Southern Indiana, and naturally Purdue University. The majority of the institutions who participate in the Indiana College Network will transfer the course as a CIS course or elective. How the credit is applied toward degrees in these partner institutions will be verified and outlined by the time the course is offered statewide and the grant cycle is complete.


Information about how the course fits into other efforts in Indiana:

Over a year ago the IU Board of Trustees approved the offering of the Information Technology Certificate Program including the Web Programming course CPT 299. At the time of approval, there were no other Indiana universities offering a 200 level course for credit or workforce development in Web Programming at a distance.


Marketing plan:

Five thousand brochures highlighting the Information Technology Certificate Program have been printed and distributed. The industrial advisory boards for the School and the academic department have been recipients of the brochures and been responsible for generating enrollments in the program. Through this grant, additional four-color brochures will be directly mailed to 2500 existing and emerging businesses in Indiana, ICN coordinators and Human Resource Professionals. The course and Certificate program will be promoted on the IUPUI distance education web sites in Community Learning Network and Purdue University School of Engineering and Technology, Computer Technology Department. The course offering will be cross promoted through ICN websites and publications, newsletters and direct mail to learners interested in distance education opportunities in Information Technologies.


Project schedule:

October, 1999

November, 1999

December, 1999

January, 2000 through May, 2000


The Purdue School of Engineering & Technology’s commitment reflects the ambitious schedule for completing up to six courses in two years. Because of the rapid evolution of the World Wide Web, a web-based course must be developed in 6 months or less to ensure that the available technology suits the content and methods of the new course.


Key course development personnel:

Senior Personnel

Personnel Topics

David Mills - Course Instructor and Course Developer

Ed Sullivan - Faculty, Architecture

Ali Jafari - Faculty, Angel Consultant

Chuck Fearnow - Project Manager


David Mills – David Mills has been designing and programming software since 1984. He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Technology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He has worked extensively in the development of Web-based applications with an emphasis on application for teaching and learning. He began his professional programming career working as a system engineer in Cyber Lab at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI. He currently serves as the Associate Director of the Engineering and Technology Cyber Lab at IUPUI. He has served as the lead system engineer on a number of projects including the Web-based teaching and learning environments known as Oncourse and ANGEL (A New Global Environment for Learning) and the live presentation Web-based presentation system known as ClassCast. Ed Sullivan has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the application development industry. Most recently he has been focusing on web-based applications. In January, 1998, he was engaged as a web consultant for the School of Engineering and Technology. In the fall of 1998, he became a full-time faculty member for the Computer Technology Department. Since then he has been offering a variety of web-based courses and has been championing the web-based Information Technology Certificate Program.

Dr. Ali Jafari - began his professional career as a design engineer at IU where he initiated the multimedia classroom project and designed and produced the first classroom human-computer interface system. In 1997, Dr. Jafari established the Cyber Lab as a new R&D laboratory at Indiana University to conduct research and develop new systems benefiting the new age of teaching and learning, distance education, and distributed learning. He is currently directing the Angel project, a new web authoring toolbox and environment for the creation of class website for every courses offered at the university. Chuck Fearnow is currently the manager of Distributed Education for the IUPUI Community Learning Network. Chuck has an M.S. in Education, with a major in Instructional Systems Design, and a B.S. in Education with a major in Broadcasting. For the past 10 years, he has worked for IUPUI, first in the Medical Education Resources Program as a course designer and video producer for 5 years and as a producer of telecourses and web courses for the IUPUI Community Learning Network for the last 4 years. Senior personnel (subject matter experts) will be responsible instructional content creation, including soundtracks and voice clips as well as instruments for assessing student learning.

Other Personnel:

Other personnel will assist the senior personnel by providing technical support including audio/video editing and the synchronization of soundtracks to visual content delivered via web pages. The School is committed to the development of all four topics—programming, data management, systems and user interface design, and architecture. Also, a webmaster will assist.

With the graphic design and overall look and feel of the contents as well as the audio/video content creation. The graduate students will also assist the subject matter experts in web page development.


BUDGET PAGE AND NARRATIVE

Estimated Expenses

IHETS/IPSE OTHER TOTAL

Salary and Fringes

  1. Grad Assistant $3,000 + $ 0 $ 3,000
  2. Graphics Design $ 975 + $ 68 $ 1,043
  3. Course Assistant $3,900 + $273 $ 4,173
  4. Faculty $12,250+ $4,290 $16,540
  5. Project Manager $3,807 + $1,333 $ 5,140

Supplies and Expenses

  1. Video Production $1,000 $ 1,000
  2. I Quiz $1,200 $ 1,200
  3. Promo Materials $ 800 $ 800

IHETS Total: $11,216 IUPUI Total: $21,680 Total: $32,896

  1. Computed @ $15 per hour x 200 hours with a fringe benefit percentage of 0%
  2. Computed @ $15 per hour x 65 hours with a fringe benefit percentage of 7%
  3. Computed @ $15 per hour x 260 hours with a fringe benefit percentage of 7%
  4. 25% of salary with a fringe benefit percentage of 35.02%
  5. 10% of salary with a fringe benefit percentage of 35.02%
  6. The graduate assistant will be required to help enter material into Angel and to prepare the written materials presented with the web instruction.
  7. The graphic design assistant will be required to generate the graphics and to make the graphic enhancements as the course evolves.
  8. The course assistant will provide technical assistance on the course.
  9. David Mills of the Engineering and Technology Cyber Lab at IUPUI will instruct the course.
  10. Chuck Fearnow of the IUPUI Community Learning Network will serve as project manager.
  11. Video production costs include record, digitize and add 6 15-minute segments on videotape to the web course.
  12. I-Quiz license required for online testing for the official summer offerings.
  13. Promotional materials – brochure and marketing materials.

IUPUI seeks funding for the grad assistant, graphics design assistant, and course technical assistant to handle the responsibilities outlined above, as well as the I-Quiz license, promotional materials, and for the recording, digitizing and adding in of the 6 segments to the web course. The RFP requests that indirect costs are waived, IUPUI honors this request and has not included indirect costs in the budget.



Last updated: June 21, 2006