COURSE DEVELOPMENT

POLICIES

Course Approval

Although an existing course may be offered as a distance course, program and Department Chair approval should be obtained prior to scheduling.  In the event the distance education course is a new course, the existing procedures for obtaining new course approval should be followed prior to offering the course.  In addition, the Principles of Good Practice, endorsed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, should be followed during course design.

Instructional Supervision

The Department Chairs will be responsible for the approval of scheduling of distance education courses.  Faculty should check with their programs and then with their chairs before expecting to schedule these courses.  Only under unusual circumstances can faculty use a workshop or seminar number to schedule courses (e.g., 5001 courses).

Course Designation and Fees

Web-Based Distance Education Courses should be designated with a 270 or 271 section number. For those courses offering 75% or more of the class time in a distance education format (web or ITV in our building) there will be a technology fee of $100 added and on-campus fees will be waived.  If 50% -75% of a course is offered in a distance education format, there will be a technology fee of $50 included, however, on-campus fees will still be applied.  If classes are offered through SKATE or Health Sciences Center there will be no added COE technology fee.

Up to 50% DE	50% - 75% DE	75% or more DE
On campus fees apply	On campus fees AND Technology fees apply	Technology fees apply (unless student is taking other courses on campus, then the on campus fees apply)

This fee will cover technical support for the faculty and students during the course and for the maintenance and upgrade of the distance education equipment.

Grant Supported Distance Education Activities

If distance education options are included in proposed grant projects, Principal Investigators should be sure to include fees to support the technology in the budget.  When preparing grant proposals, the faculty member should check with the Director of the Instructional Support Services to determine an estimate of these fees.

Special Needs of Students

Considerations need to be given to the support of special needs students.  The facilitation of course activities and assignments should comply with ADA and be approved by BOBBIMN.  Additionally, the wide range of student access should be considered in the design of a distance education course.

Copyright Information

Please refer to TTU O.P. 30.22 and OP74.04 for general guidelines on copyright.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Electronic Reserve in TTU Library

Proposed TTU O.P. on Web Course Intellectual Property

The first page of the course web site should include copyright information. 

(Example:  Ó 2000, Dr. Jane Blane, Texas Tech University)

Copyright Permission

Depending on the types of materials incorporated in a distance education course, copyright permission may need to be obtained for use.  Scanned publications, excerpts from textbooks, etc. need to have copyright permission for use and granted permission should be stated on the course site or printed materials.  It is important to maintain accurate and up to date records on copyright permissions.  The Director of Instructional Support Services can assist faculty with this process.

Class Size

As in face-to-face instructional models, the smaller the class size, the greater the interaction between students and faculty.  In larger classes, the reverse is true.  The following class limits are recommended as guidelines for distance education courses:

Web-Based Courses:  Graduate -- 10-12, Undergraduate -- 20-25.

ITV Courses:  No more than 3 sites and no more than 6-8 students at each site.  Class size might be increased for online graduate courses after the course has been taught and refined.  The class size should be approved in program meetings and then approved by the appropriate Department Chair.  The size of the class may be raised by additional one/third if the College of Education provides the support of a Teaching Assistant.

Note:  Final determination of class size limits will be made by department chairs, in consultation with program faculty.

Scheduling Technology Resources

Special arrangements need to be made in scheduling ITV courses.  Faculty should check with their program coordinator and the Director of Distance Learning for scheduling these courses.  Faculty should complete the "Request to Schedule ITV" online form provided on the "Technology Resources" page of the College's website.

Privacy and Security Issues

Personal student information should not be posted openly on the Internet.  Personal information can be "secured" so that fellow classmates would enter a password to access more information.  Students should provide written permission for the instructor to "publish" student work on the class site.  A downloadable form for instructor use is provided on the "Technology Resources" page of the College's website.

Evaluation of Technology Use and Access

The technical system and administrative support system should be evaluated by the students, faculty, and technical support staff.  The Director of Distance Learning will conduct this evaluation annually.

Instructional Load

Distance education courses will count the same as face-to-face courses in the computation of instructional load.

Tenure and Promotion

Distance education courses will be reviewed as "teaching" in the promotion and tenure process.  Development of a distance education course will be recognized as a creative activity for promotion and tenure.

Compensation

Faculty members may request compensation and development support for course development.  If substantial assistance is provided by the Director of Distance Learning for the development of the course, additional compensation for the faculty member will be waived.  This is a one time opportunity for initial course creation; continuing updates and modifications are expected as a part of regular duty.  The source of funds for this support will come from the COE technology assistance fund in the COE.

GUIDELINES AND SUGGESTIONS

Distance Education Students

Before starting a distance education program, students should be advised about the program to determine if they possess the self-motivation and commitment to learn in this long-distance format.  In addition, students should determine if they have access to the minimal technology required to participate in the course(s).  This requires contacting students prior to the first class day.  Minimal technology requirements for courses will be posted on the College's website by the Director of Instructional Support Services.

Eligible Students

Distance education courses offer learning opportunities for students in more than just the West Texas region.  Any student interested in taking distance education courses should enroll as a TTU student following TTU guidelines for admission. 

Creating a Distance Education Course

Security Issues

Faculty have the option of maintaining the levels of security in distance education courses.  Some faculty may want to maintain security on a course web site or portions of the site.  If so, students should be given a ID and Password to enter the course or portion and instructions to keep this information confidential.  Faculty teaching ITV courses may consider security with the distribution of videotapes or CDs of class sessions.

Instructional Methods

The design of distance education courses presents special formats that require adjustments in pedagogical considerations.  Courses offered in a traditional format of a face-to-face class are usually not suitable for the distance education format and should be modified to suit this format.  The Director of Instructional Support Services assists faculty with the conversion from lecture or regular face-to-face format to online formats.  Resources available to faculty designing courses for distance delivery are provided on the "Technology Resources" page of the College's website.

Communication/Interaction

Other interaction with faculty and other students is an essential characteristic of distance education courses. In these courses, students have increased opportunity for interaction with one another and with the instructor as well.  This opportunity can become a burden for the instructor and requires some careful management planning. This can be facilitated in the web-based environment through a variety of ways including e-mail, listservs, chat, and discussion boards. Classes in an ITV environment could support interaction with e-mail, etc. but faculty should encourage interaction through classroom activities and allowing a half hour prior or after class for interaction with professor.

Assessment Design

Feedback to student assignments and questions should be constructive and provided in a timely manner.  Evaluation procedures should be clearly defined for students and methods for feedback should be established.  If exams are given, special consideration needs to be given to format, location, and proctoring.

Faculty Resources/Support

An updated listing of these resources is available on the College's website.

Equipment, Software Programs, and Technology Available

ITV setup, location, requirements

MS Front Page, WebCT

Network capabilities

Office Computer capabilities

Computer Labs

Support Personnel

Director of Distance Education

LRC, RA, Graduate Students

Education Computing Center

Downlink Site Coordinators for ITV Courses

TTU Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center 

Professional Development

TLTC provides faculty development classes.

Workshops, Conferences?

Region 17 provides and requires free training sessions prior to teaching an ITV course through the Education Service Center.

Sample Online Courses

TTU/COE courses

Other universities

Sample Materials used in ITV courses

Web Resources for Online Courses

The Internet Classroom Assistant is a web-based classroom environment giving teachers and students a forum to collaborate and share ideas. The ICA is free for anyone to use and requires only a web browser and a connection to the Internet. (http://www.nicenet.org)

The freeware Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web.   (http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/)

Blackboard, Inc. offers a free version of a commercial tool for creating online teaching and learning environments.  (http://www.blackboard.com)

Webteacher Software specializes in bringing advanced web functionality to web designers with no prior programming experience.  (http://www.webteacher.com)

Online Communication program allows educators, parents, and students to communicate online. (http://k12nation.net)

Moo Environment For Educators - Tapped In™ is a growing community of over 7500 K-16 teachers, staff, and researchers engaged in professional development programs and informal collaborative activities with colleagues. Members hold real-time discussions and classes, browse Websites together, explore professional development options, and interact via email groups all in a single venue.  (http://www.tappedin.org)

COURSE DELIVERY

Selecting Appropriate Technology

Distance course delivery can take a variety of formats:

If someone is teaching an on-campus course, and would like to include some distance learning opportunities (such as period chat sessions, special speakers via ITV, etc.), please make scheduling arrangements for ITV through the Director of Instructional Support Services. 

Student Support

Distance Education students need unique instructional support services.  The distance education technology fee will support online technical assistance so that students will get help during the week.  Students will have the option to refer to provided FAQ pages on the college website, e-mail technical support staff within the College of Education, or call/email the ACS help desk.

Enrollment Procedures

The Texas Tech University Course Catalog lists all courses offered each semester, including those courses taught online.  Students will follow regular enrollment procedures but may be required to check with the course professor regarding technology skills and/or course access.  A listing of distance learning courses being offered in the College of Education will be available on the College's website.

Course Text/Media Distribution

Distance Course instructors are expected to contact enrolled students (via telephone, email, or U.S. mail) to indicate how students might access the course syllabus and necessary reading materials or other course media.  These materials can be mailed to students, if necessary, by department offices.  Course instructors should provide the Director of Instructional Support Services with a student list as soon as possible if WebCT will be used and user/id and passwords are required.

Students may access course textbooks through the Texas Tech University Bookstore.

http://www.ttu.edu/studentaffairs/stuaffs/bookhome.htm

Other options for ordering textbooks online include http://www.barnesandnoble.com and http://www.amazon.com

Technology Support

Care should be taken to insure students are reasonably comfortable with the technology formats they are expected to use.  ITV courses may need to provide site-assistants.  Online courses should provide technology instructions and email links to manage individual coaching as needed.

Learning Resources

Online instruction may improve learning access for some students (such as those with mobility disabilities) and limit learning access for others.  The course syllabus should indicate ways in which the course expectations might be modified to meet the special learning needs of the students.  Students might also be directed to the Programs for Academic Support Services (PASS) Center or Academic Computing Services (ACS) shortcourses.

http://www.pass.ttu.edu/

http://www.acs.ttu.edu/shortcourse/

Library Resources

http://www.lib.ttu.edu/disted/

Electronic Reserve

http://www.lib.ttu.edu/access_services/reserves/

Contact the Library Liaison for Education, Glenda Neidecker, for more websites and additional distance education resources offered through the TTU Library.

Faculty Office Hours For Those Teaching Distance Delivered Classes

While "office hours" make sense for face-to-face instruction (on campus or in the field), such arrangements may not make the best sense when teaching online.  "Office hours" are a regular time students may access their course instructor, and consider alternative communication options.  This may mean defining a specific time students can expect to reach the instructor by telephone or receive an immediate e-mail response.  In addition, faculty are expected to be visible and available within the college regardless of how their courses are delivered.  Online chat session times may also be set up to permit immediate student feedback from the professor.  Maintaining online office hours is not considered as a substitute for "regular" office hours.

Student Assessment

Student Outcomes

Student outcomes should be clearly identified in the course syllabus.  In the case of online courses, student work production could be an expected end-of-course assignment that would then be "published" on the Internet.  The nature and the format of these assignments to be published should be coordinated and scheduled with the Director of Learning.

Exams

Course exams might be given inseveral ways.  A written exam could be administered at a proctored exam site (where students ID's could be checked and exams could be monitored).  Testing can also be provided via the Internet using traditional essay or multiple choice formats.  The latter option allows (might also purposefully encourage) students to collaborate with one another.  Finally, students might come to the campus and take exams in the College of Education testing center.

Instructor Feedback

Feedback can take a variety of forms but should include both general class and individual student feedback.  A course chat room, listserv, or bulletin board can support whole class feedback.  Email (or U.S. mail) can allow for individual assessment and coaching.  

COURSE ASSESSMENT

Evaluation of Course Instructor

The current evaluation forms will be used as a final course evaluation form.   However, it is recommended that an alternate format be developed.  The evaluation can be completed online and emailed to the appropriate person who is compiling the evaluations for the faculty.

Review of Courses by Program

Periodically, a review of distance education courses should be conducted by program faculty.  Data collected by the course evaluations, instructor feedback, and student enrollment will be used in this review process, in order to help programs decide if a particular course is conducive to this format.

GLOBAL INSTRUCTIONAL ISSUES

Intellectual Property Rights

Electronic course copyright will be owned by the faculty member who created the course on his or her own initiative while fulfilling teaching duties.  If substantial institutional resources were used to develop or produce an electronic course, even one created on a faculty member's initiative, the institution will either jointly or entirely own the copyright for the course.  Faculty should "ordinarily" retain ownership to distance courses they create - though gray areas exist when "specialized" institutional services or resources are used.  In all cases, university guidelines for Intellectual Property Rights will guide this ownership.

Copyright or Fair Use

Consider the following factors in determining whether the use of certain materials constitutes fair use: 1) the purpose and character of use (including whether the use is commercial or educational), 2) the nature of the copyrighted work, 3) the quantity and substantiality of work copied in relation to its whole, and 4) whether it will compete with or damage the market for the original work.

Cost to Institution

Costs associated with distance teaching are not necessarily greater than those for face-to-face teaching.  The costs differ from  traditional campus costs.  Institutions must pay for licensing fees, royalties, technology infrastructures (hardware, software, support networks, access fees, linking fees), supplementary services, registration, and testing. 

Commercialization

Commercial entities (such as Blackboard, eCollege, Embanet, and Convene) provide an array of design, development, production, and administrative support for online courses developed by faculty members.  These services vary and some allow contracts with individual faculty, departments, schools, or the entire insittution.  A principal advantage of these entities is the marketing of online courses to students not enrolled at the institution. Questions about the comparative advantages and disadvantages of online services of this type should be directed to the Director of Instructional Support Services or the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Research, and Administration.

Management of Distance Education Courses 

The Director of Instructional Support Services will manage distance education courses offered in the college.  Oversight of quality and other related issues will fall to the appropriate Department Chair and program faculty.