Executive Summary of Results

We created an online laboratory in geology, G136, Indiana Geology Field Experience.  The course included 10 learning modules, 7 based on work book exercises, and 3 on field trips to state parks.  Students used learning modules with imbedded narrated tutorials to work through the exercises.  For each field trip, students were provided a worksheet and MP3 audio files with min-lectures keyed to certain locations within the parks.  Students completed a worksheet and took digital photos at each field trip site.  Oncourse CL managed the distribution of the course components, where students used the wiki tool to complete exercises together.  Creation of the lab required the resources and tools within Oncourse CL, the purchase of an MP3 player, and the combination of the use of a Tablet laptop computer and the tutorial/creation program Adobe Captivate.

Need for the Project

Briefly explain the pedagogical need for your project and what teaching approach was used to address this need.

As more online degree programs are added across schools in the state of Indiana, a need will emerge for online science lecture and lab courses to fulfill natural science requirements within these programs.  Our goal is to create an online science laboratory to complement existing online science lecture courses.  After our initial grant application, we decided to focus on creating the new curriculum components for G136, Indiana Geology Field Experience, an existing but defunct distance learning laboratory. 

We used emerging and accepted technology to overcome the pedagogical challenges of recreating a campus laboratory in an online setting.  Our teaching approach focused on the following goals, bracketed in terms of their challenges.

• Student cannot work with laboratory materials.  We determined what lab materials were required, and found economical means for students to purchase their own materials.  We created a custom lab book and online modules to distribute learning materials.
• Students will lose an appreciation for the earth sciences.  We required students to complete three field trips on their own time—an activity that cannot be accomplished with labs on campus.
• Students will be confused by the lack of interaction with the lab instructor and other students.  We used narrated online tutorials to explain difficult material, and created MP3 based narration for field trips.  Additionally, we experimented with the students doing lab assignments collaboratively with a wiki tool.

Use of Technology

Briefly explain how your project used instructional technology in a new or different way.

• How did the project take advantage of IU’s learning environment?
• Did the project lead to collaboration that will help IU improve or expand classroom   and online learning environment?   
• How did the project make use of instructional technology and design?

The online laboratory is managed from the Oncourse CL environment.  Communication is managed from the message center and announcement tools, learning material is launched from the Oncourse interface, and students use the gradebook to check their grades.  Additionally, on certain laboratory assignments, students are divided into groups, and work together to submit all of their answers collaboratively online using the wiki interface to submit and edit each other’s answers.  The project demonstrates the ability to use the Oncourse CL platform to complete the basic teaching functions, but also indicates that Oncourse CL’s wiki platform can be improved to allow better usability and higher levels of interaction.  Additionally, the project demonstrates that certain online laboratories are feasible using UITS resources.

To make use of instructional technology, we purchased a video iPod (MP3 player) and microphone attachment, a Gateway convertible laptop (a style of laptop that has a touchable screen that can be written on with a stylus), and a version of Adobe Captivate (a tool for creating interactive demonstrations).  Additionally, we used existing resources such as image editing and web development software.  To implement instructional design, I met with instructional designers and technologists in the IUPUI Center of Teaching and Learning to review a development plan, learning goals, and to verify we were purchasing technology that would allow us to reach our project goals.  Additionally, I attended several conferences that focused on integrating these same technologies into undergraduate courses.

Instructional Design Plan

Describe how the use of technology used supported your teaching approach:

• What student learning outcomes were expected?
• How did your teaching plan encourage active learning, provide feedback, address   

     respective learning styles, and build collaboration? 

• What resources were used? (campus technology support services, etc.)
• Would your project be easily understood and executed by other faculty?

In its final form, students accomplish the following learning outcomes after completion of the course.

• Understand landforms and landscapes through the use of topographic and geologic maps
• Interpret common geologic features of Indiana using maps
• Practice making careful observations of the natural environment.
• Identify common geologic features and landscapes in the natural environment

Our teaching plan was modeled after a traditional on-campus laboratory with some modifications:

• Active learning:  By its nature, a laboratory is an active learning process.  We held to this process by providing students with a variety of background information on a topic (such as sedimentary rocks), and students used this information to complete a laboratory book activity or field trip.
• Provide feedback:  Students received an emailed comment in response to each laboratory they completed.  Additionally, general comments would be emailed to each class. In the spring 2007 semester, I will expand on the amount of feedback given to students.
• Address Respective Learning Styles:  The dual format of laboratory workbook exercises and field trips provides students with two unique ways to encounter the course concepts.  Further, both of these approaches provide a learning style not available in a typical online lecture course.  Both formats provide student adequate time to complete each activity at their own pace, and engage students who learn better from reading facts and maps and those who learn better from looking at objects in the field.
• Build Collaboration:  Using the tools within Oncourse, we hope to expand on the collaboration in this course.  Initially, students worked collaboratively on one lab exercise using the Oncourse wiki tool.  In the future, we hope to use the chat tool, as well as a new tool that lists which students are present within the course site in real-time, to encourage students to work together on each exercise by collaboratively posting questions on the chat tool.

To execute this project, as mentioned above, we purchased a video iPod with microphone and convertible laptop.  The video iPod was used for all field recordings at each state park and to assess how “enhanced podcasts” or narrated slide shows could be used as part of the course.  The convertible laptop was purchased to create narrated animations to imbed within the online learning modules.  A convertible laptop, or Tablet PC, includes a touch sensitive monitor that can be digitally drawn on with a stylus. 

Using PowerPoint and Adobe Captivate, Captivate would record my narration as I drew notes on pre-made slides that contained activities selected out of the lab book.  The combination of the convertible laptop and Adobe Captivate allowed us to create “classroom lectures” on difficult topics, and imbed these presentations within the learning modules.  We relied upon numerous meetings with the Center for Teaching and Learning to guide us through our instructional design, and consulted with UITS Digital Media Services to create graphics and web templates for the course.

Our project can be easily understood and executed by other faculty who have field based applications to their lecture or laboratory courses.  However, faculty who cannot envision a field component, or reside in a discipline or specialty area that requires significant infrastructure (like lab supplies) to teach a laboratory, could not benefit from our project.

Potential to Impact Student Learning

Clearly define how your project improved student learning - include specific examples of how your project:

• Fostered depth of learning
• Supported efforts to improve retention
• Fostered  the learning of large numbers of students
• Has broader applications that will affect learning K-12 or community environments

Our goal was not to expand upon or improve student learning in a laboratory setting, but to create a learning environment that equaled student learning in existing on-campus laboratories.  Our main goal was completed—creating an online laboratory that could fulfill natural science learning requirements for online degree programs within the IU system or the state of Indiana.  The new laboratory fosters depth of learning by providing all students the option to complete a 100-level science laboratory with a required field component. 

This field component provides students the great opportunity to learn important geologic concepts that cannot be addressed in a classroom or see geologic components in their natural environment, instead of in pictures or small samples.  For example, students learn how geologists make field observations, like describing a sediment or rock.  On one field trip, students take the “book” information on the variables that affect stream behavior and see how these variables actually change streams. 

While geology laboratories may represent the easiest type of introductory science laboratory to move online, this demonstration project provides a pathway or footprint for other laboratory sciences to develop online laboratories.  Our MP3 player based field experience overcomes the lack of interaction with laboratory equipment, samples, or exercises.  Our wiki collaboration can equal the collaborative environment of a laboratory classroom.  Our online modules, custom laboratory book, and narrated tutorials supplement the lack of instructor interaction.

Assessment Plan

Briefly explain the effectiveness of your assessment plan:

• What measure of assessment was used?
• How did your approach obtain measures of performance?
• Did you feel your measurement was accurate and effective?
• What were the student learning outcomes?

The assessment of this project will extend beyond the end of the project.  Part of the assessment process mimics the process in our other online courses with the addition of other techniques.

• Unsolicited feedback.  In our online courses, we notice a trend that students are very open in sharing comments (or problems) they experience with the class instructor.  We note these problems, and change the syllabus or course materials as a remedy
• Solicited feedback.  Typically, I solicit direct feedback from students, asking for comments after the first laboratory and the first field trip for their opinion on the experience.
• Anonymous feedback.  At the conclusion of the semester, in addition to a required student assessment of the instructor required by the school, we asked additional targeted questions.  Through written feedback and ratings, students assessed how confident they are as measured against the learning outcomes, and their assessment of the value of course components
• Analysis of student lab reports.  Since we measured this online lab against on-campus labs, student reports were analyzed for a) common mistakes or problems with specific concepts; b) ensure they progressed through the material with the same rigor as an on-campus lab.

Based on these four methods, we strongly believe students were satisfied with the course design, field trips, and course expectations.  In aggregate, the student lab reports indicate they were performing at the same level as students in on-campus laboratories.  At this point, I do not believe we have an accurate and effective measurement of student performance.  However, by the end of the Summer 2007 session, I believe I will have enough data to determine whether students are meeting the learning outcomes, and make necessary changes to the course material or design as a response.

Plan for Colleague Development

Describe your role and activities as a mentor:

• What mentoring activities were implemented to assist colleagues?
• How did you help to develop colleague's instructional technology skills?
• How do you think your contributions to the Knowledge Base will help colleagues  

     planning similar projects? 

• Is your project approach potentially applicable to other contexts or disciplines?
• What tips would you offer?

As part of this project, Jennifer Nelson, now a visiting Lecturer in Earth Sciences, assisted me with the creation of the project components.  One goal was for Ms. Nelson to learn the basic steps towards creating an online course and learn the available resources and tools for creating online learning materials.  Ms. Nelson has used this experience to work towards the creation of an additional online course for our department. 

Outside of our department, I presented the project ideas and implementation at the Geological Society of America National Meeting in October 2006.  At this meeting, I met other individuals who either created distance learning or online laboratories, or shared in the use of certain components (such as MP3 players) to develop other learning materials.

We plan on adding a knowledge base article that describes how to create learning materials using a Tablet PC, and how field exercises can be enhanced with the use of MP3 audio files.  The project applicability to others and tips for others applying this project are described in the final section.

Final Comments on Project Results

• Do you think you met the goals of your project?
• What, if anything, would you do differently?
• Did you have any unexpected outcomes? (positive or negative)
• Would you recommend this teaching approach to colleagues?
• What other comments or suggestions would you offer to complete this report?

We met most of our project goals, with the exception of integrating the Google Earth mapping tool as a tool for enhancing the course curriculum.  An ongoing goal is to use feedback from students enrolled in the course during 2006-2007 to fine tune and change the course design and curriculum.  For example, we analyzed student lab reports and determined some concepts were consistently missed by students.  To remedy the problem, we created narrated online tutorials targeted at the specific problems students encountered.

The outcome of the online laboratory at the end of the fall 2006 semester was mostly expected.  Two modest negative outcomes included a) Some students provided too many incomplete answers leaving questions blank or not answering questions completely; b) Since students mailed in their laboratories, managing the collection of grading of laboratories took significantly more time compared to an on-campus laboratory. 

I would recommend the online field based teaching approach to other instructors who make significance reference to the natural and human-created environment (architecture, marketing, art, geography, etc.) within their laboratory or lecture course.  The basic template to follow would be:

• MP3 audio files to guide students at the site location.
• Use of digital cameras, written report or worksheet for students to report their observations
• Use of the wiki for students to collaboratively report summary findings

Tips I would offer to others interested in implementing this project include:

• Keep each audio segment short (under 5 minutes).  In total, all the audio segments will easily fit on most MP3 players.
• Carefully create a worksheet that explains to students when and where to use the audio files; Use the worksheet to provide the context for the audio files
• Record the audio files at the site location, and within the recorded audio direct the student attention to specific features visible at the location.
• For collaboration, start with a small project that requires the use of the Oncourse wiki tool, and give students additional time or a practice exercise so they understand how to use the wiki.

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