Internet-based Instruction in CIS Courses

Judy Ann Serwatka
Associate Professor
Purdue University Calumet
2200 169th Street
Hammond, IN 46323
serwatka@calumet.purdue.edu

Abstract

In concert with the movement of the university community generally to use the Internet to provide educational activities and courses to anyone with access, the Information Systems and Computer Programming Department at Purdue University Calumet has been offering courses over the Internet since summer 1996. The method of delivery is the World Wide Web and discussion groups. This paper will introduce the methods used and describe the benefits to students, the problems we have encountered along with possible solutions, and plans to improve on this type of teaching. The paradigm shift from the instructor standing in front of the classroom to the instructor as a mentor and resource will be discussed from both the student and instructor perspective.

Introduction

Because of the popularity of the Internet, and, by extension, the World Wide Web, distance learning has taken a detour from its roots in correspondence courses and teleconferencing. The breadth of this detour would have been hard to predict when Web-based courses began to appear in 1993. Many of the students now seeking higher education now are older, more involved with families, and perhaps contemplating career changes. They cannot be restricted to the traditional university schedules with meetings one or several nights a week, in addition to homework and hours in a laboratory. With this population in mind, the growth in demand for Internet distance learning courses is not surprising. Such courses meet the requirements of these students, allowing them to complete degrees begun years before or to take courses to enhance their employment or improve their skills.

This picture of the distance learning student as a part-time student, full-time parent, full-time employee inspired the Information Systems and Computer Programming (ISCP) Department at Purdue University Calumet to embark on a journey into Internet distance learning. Our campus is a commuter campus with no dormitories: a large percentage of the student body work full-time and have families. Some students may take up to ten years to complete a bachelor’s degree, since they can only fit a course or two per semester into their busy lives.

The ISCP department pilot project began with two Computer Information Systems (CIS) courses and has expanded to include ten courses. Plans are in the works to add at least two more courses over the next year; other departments are making plans to put their courses on-line as well. With the success of these courses have also come problems and pitfalls, but we continue to overcome the problems and look for ways to update the courses constantly to make them better.

The Initial Project

The pilot project began in the Summer, 1996 session with two courses (CIS 204 - Introduction to Computer-Based Systems, and CIS 286 - Computer Operating Systems) offered as Internet distance learning courses. The first mistake we made was to offer CIS 204, a course designed both for majors and non-majors in the CIS program. Any advisor can put a student into CIS 204: unfortunately, we did not educate all the advisors about the format for this course. The advisors in the ISCP department were aware of the requirements (among other things, the students needed a computer at home with Internet access, they were required to have Windows 95 and Office 95 on their computer, and they needed an Internet service provider that allowed attached files to e-mail messages), but this information was not made available to advisors in other departments. CIS 204 is a service course which most other departments use to give their students computer experience.

Some students who signed up for the course without proper advising were surprised to find that they needed Internet access to be able to participate in the course. The first two semesters we offered Internet courses, we held on-campus session for students in all Internet sections so that they could meet with their instructor, receive some information about the course, and acquire their e-mail accounts. The meeting was held on a Friday evening: many students could not attend. In some cases, the students first learned about the delivery method for the course at this meeting. Our response to the problem that this created was to work with students who had computers to get the software they needed, if possible, and get them on the Internet as soon as possible. If they were unable to meet all the requirements for the course, they were forced to drop the Internet section and enroll in one of the on-campus sections.

We eventually abandoned the idea of making everyone meet in one location (after all, this is supposed to be asynchronous); we now provide all the necessary course information on-line. Obtaining student e-mail addresses continues to pose a problem. In the ISCP department, all advisors request an e-mail address from any student who wishes to sign up for an Internet course. Prior to the Summer 1998 session, we had required the students to have a service provider outside the University. This policy may change in the future if the on-campus Alpha e-mail system can handle attached files. If a student does not supply an e-mail address, or if an advisor in another department signs the student up for a CIS Internet course, our department secretary must call to get the student's e-mail address. This is time-consuming and does not always produce valid information. Using the campus e-mail system will alleviate this problem, since campus e-mail addresses are uniform and easily recognizable.

The result of the mis-advising and the consequent student confusion was a high drop-out rate for CIS 204 that first semester. The eight students who remained did fairly well, although they did struggle. This course is designed for those who know little or nothing about computers or about productivity applications. Students found doing the assignments on their own a challenging task. Faculty spent many hours on the phone and with e-mail attempting to get the students on task with their assignments.

In retrospect, CIS 204 was not an ideal selection as one of the first Internet courses. It has, nonetheless, continued via this delivery method and has flourished. However, the students are now counseled about the course requirements in advance. Courses in which the students have little or no computer experience are not well suited to this type of instruction. A possible solution would be to offer a one-credit or non-credit course on using a computer to access the Internet to familiarize students with the use of Web pages and e-mail before they enroll in an Internet-based course.

The second course offered was CIS 286, Computer Operating Systems. The success rate was much better in this course because the students were CIS majors familiar with computer systems. Technology, rather than inexperienced students, caused the problems here. CIS 286 includes three laboratory assignments on each of three different computer systems: the DEC Alpha, a BSC UNIX machine, and an IBM AS/400. We wanted the students to be able to access these machines (which reside on campus) from their homes or offices. We found a program called NetTerm, which lets the student's home computer become a terminal on the requested computer through the Internet. A few bugs had to be worked out in order to make this software compatible with the systems, but once that was accomplished the system worked well. The only upgrade needed over the past two years was one that offered support for Windows 95, since we started when Windows 3.1 was the preferred platform.

Technology Utilized

Students can download all software required for accessing the hardware on campus, or for viewing PowerPoint slides, from the course Web pages. Some pages include links to sites that contain the software, or, as in the case of NetTerm, we provide ftp capability for the students to download the software from our server through the course Web page. Other files available from the Web pages are lecture notes, lab assignments, and homework assignments.

Because these courses are very technically oriented, we have chosen to offer them initially as mirror images of the on-campus courses. The courses are Web-based, with all material available through the Web pages created for the course. The home pages for the courses are simply an expansion of the course syllabus, with course description, instructor information, course policies, homework assignments and due dates. Some home pages are password protected so that lecture notes or PowerPoint slides are available only to those students who have been given the necessary login information.

Many courses on the Internet use the network's vast resources as a supplement to course materials. Our courses have not done that up to this point, since we have been working hard to maintain a similarity with on-campus and Internet courses. As the Web-based courses evolve and use more resources on the Internet, those resources will also be used by the on-campus courses as an enhancement.

Since we have used independent service providers in our local area, we did not have a "chat" capability. As the students became more familiar with all the technologies available on the Internet, they began to request some type of chat or discussion forum. In order to provide this, we bought a newsgroup server, which now offers newsgroups for on- and off-campus courses, campus committees, and departments. Every Internet course uses newsgroups. Some courses use it simply as a discussion forum, with the discussions threaded by topic. Other courses use newsgroups to post messages from the instructor, questions from students, lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, quizzes, and tests. The newsgroups can be set up with passwords so copyrighted or proprietary material can be made available to only those students currently enrolled in the course. This addresses the concern of many faculty who are reluctant to publish material that they have worked many years to accumulate in a medium accessible to millions of users.

Our campus has had very strong support from our Computer, Technology, and Information Services (CTIS) department. The technicians and support personnel in this department researched and found the best software for our main campus Internet server (on which our courses reside), installed and maintain that software, and provide the security of IDs and passwords when requested. Departments requesting home pages for courses work with CTIS to set up directories on the server to hold the different courses. The ISCP department began using WS-FTP to upload our home pages when the project first began, and many of us still use it. Netscape also has a "Publish" option, which allows one to upload home pages.

Web Page Development

I have been offering workshops over the past year to faculty interested in putting their courses on the Internet. The majority of the questions raised in the sessions involve the development of the actual Web pages that contain course material. The original Web pages for our courses were developed using the raw HTML code. The novice Web page developer, however, need not resort to trying to work with this cryptic language. Word 95 (with the addition of the free add-on, Internet Assistant), Word 97, and FrontPage 98 (all Microsoft products) work well for creating Web pages. Netscape also has a built-in Web page editor. Many editors are available: a particular one may have proven successful on your campus.

One of the philosophies we have used in developing our Web pages has been to keep them simple. Many students will not have the newest or fastest computers available. Complex graphics, video clips, audio clips, and other multimedia applications can confuse and frustrate students whose computers will not run the application. If you wish to add multimedia applications, inform students in advance that they will need sound cards, speakers, and SVGA monitors to participate fully. I recommend keeping it simple. The students will get much more out of the course and will learn just as well.

Because our subject matter is technical, many of our teaching materials involve diagrams, flow charts, and other drawings to illustrate concepts. This material can be scanned into a file, loaded onto a Web page, and either displayed on the Web page or downloaded for later viewing. Many of our courses require software that the students may not already have on their computer. Many software companies are eager to have students work with their product and will provide student versions of the software or make the software available on the World Wide Web. In addition, many textbook publishers now include software with the text. The students can then load the software on their computer at home and do the lab work as necessary.

Teaching/Learning Strategies

One lesson learned early in teaching a course on the Internet is that the loss of face-to-face contact with the students means that one must concentrate more on handling problems through e-mail. The volume of e-mail is great, since instead of handling problems that come up with a group of students, the instructor must now deal individually with each student in the course. One way to deal with questions that recur is to respond to certain questions as a general e-mail to the entire class, anticipating that multiple people will have the same question. Another method is to set up a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your Web page and keep it from semester to semester. This is especially true in technology-driven courses where the same questions about specific technology used in a course do come up every semester. The FAQ is also useful for addressing questions pertaining to the course itself. The topic of distance learning is itself one that can be addressed using a FAQ. We have a list of questions linked via a FAQ on our general distance learning page http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/public/iscp/distance.htm. It enables students not familiar with taking a course in this manner to have some of their questions answered before they talk to an advisor.

Distance learners via the Internet must be self-motivated, a fact we stress when students registers for the class. Some cannot succeed in a class of this style. But for those who are willing to try, the rewards are great. Because the delivery is asynchronous, students with work conflicts can now take courses that were previously unavailable. They can work on the assignments when it is convenient and not be committed to a particular class time. The courses also work well for students whose employment takes them on the road many weeks during the semester. Most of these students have laptop computers and need to check in with their employer's e-mail; they can also check in with class e-mail and keep up-to-date on the course.

The faculty member teaching at a distance via the Internet plays a different role from that in a traditional course. Now, instead of being the all-knowing professor, he or she is a guide to show the students how to study, how to find material, and how to become life-long learners. Of course, the instructor must still prepare course materials, do research (either on- or off-line) for material for the course, assign and grade homework, and create and grade quizzes and tests. But the three hours per week spent lecturing in the traditional classroom can now be spent more productively to improve the course.

One of the more interesting aspects of distance learning is the way students communicate. Two types of students usually make up distance learning courses. First, there are those who would never speak up in class, but in the relative anonymity of e-mail will compose very eloquent messages about topics of great interest to the entire class. Then there are those who would normally expound in class about every topic under the sun, but when forced to "speak" through the printed word will not be as verbose. It is often interesting to have students in a distance learning course and then subsequently have them in an on-campus class. Their class activity is often radically different in the two formats.

An indirect benefit of distance learning, related to e-mail, is the effect that composing messages has on students. Because they must write their thoughts, rather than simply speak them, they must think more carefully about how to ask a question or respond to an inquiry. I have seen students who at the beginning of the semester are unable to compose good questions turn into good writers at the end of the semester, simply by being asked to rewrite questions in a form that is more understandable, or that conveys their question better. Faculty in a technical subject often confront the fact that our students cannot communicate effectively. Using e-mail, along with research papers, will help our students improve their written communication.

Dealing with Student Hardware/Software Problems

One of the most difficult tasks facing a faculty member offering distance learning via the Internet is dealing with the problems that students encounter on their computers and with their software. The first offering of CIS 204 was plagued with these problems. Not only could the students not solve the problems, they had trouble even describing them. Such situations can be avoided by offering Internet courses only to students who have some experience with computers.

Even with computer experience, however, students often have unanticipated hardware or software problems. Knowledge of more than one browser and of any software required for the course is helpful. In our ISCP courses, students are required to use Microsoft Word as the word processing software in which they do homework and submit it to the instructor. Even with this requirement, problems can occur with different versions of the Office products. As long as the instructor has the most current version, receiving the files is not a problem provided that he or she saves any files to be returned to students, included graded homework files, in a format that students with earlier versions of the application can open. My current experience is that as long as I save files in Word 6.0/95, all students can open the files successfully. Similar problems can occur with PowerPoint or indeed in any software product for which there are multiple versions. The instructor needs to be aware of these potential incompatibilties and be prepared to deal with the problems that can result.

Hardware problems are another matter, sometimes legitimately or not delaying the submission of work. As we all know, hardware problems can happen to anyone, even the instructor. A little leniency in due dates will solve disputes. Since the courses are asynchronous, the flexibility of the course may extend to the way assignments are handled. Internet service providers pose a related problem. Some service providers do not deliver e-mail instantaneously. An assignment that is due at 8PM on a Monday night may not be delivered to the instructor until noon the following day. The e-mail will be date and time stamped, indicating when it was sent: the instructor can use this information to determine whether it fell within the deadline. Service outages present an even bigger challenge. Some providers have periodic e-mail problems that cause headaches for both the student and the instructor. It is not difficult to find out if the student is really having such problems by contacting the service provider in question. If the institution provides remote accounts for students, the issue is less complicated. When problems occur, the instructor is acutely aware of them.

Popularity of Internet Distance Education

In recent months, distance education over the Internet has been in the headlines of both the academic and the popular press. A group of governors in the West have created Western Governor's University, a virtual university with courses offered entirely via distance education (http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/index.html), and Indiana has joined. The University of Colorado’s "CU Online" (http://www.cuonline.edu/netindex.real), developed cooperatively with Real Education, is just one other among many aspiring completely on-line universities. Purdue Calumet does not intend to become entirely virtual at this time, but the ISCP department is striving to offer our entire Associate Degree in CIS over the Internet in the near future. For us, that means involving faculty from many other departments on campus, such as mathematics, English, management, and the social sciences, and asking them to provide their courses on-line. Since we currently offer ten courses over the Internet, a student interested in our Post Baccalaureate Certificate (requiring eight CIS courses) can get that certificate over the Internet. If we can do this with a small department, virtually no graduate student help, no faculty release time, and limited funding, think of what a college or university can do with a commitment of staff and funding to a project such as this!

Conclusion

The traditional campus will never disappear, but we can reach more students and compete with the commercial organizations that are getting involved in education by offering our courses over the Internet. For departments that have declining enrollments, this is a way to add students. For departments with plenty of students, this is a way to justify more faculty. The outcome is win-win: students win because they have more options and can get their degree, and faculty win because they have more time to do the things that make their work enjoyable. The administration wins because enrollments increase.

Yes, there are problems, but they are not insurmountable. What is needed is a faculty champion in your department who is willing to say, "We can do this," and then to put all or part of a course into Web-based form. The course will evolve once it is out there. The future of Web-based teaching is unknown but exciting. As faculty, we can be a big part of making it happen.