ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

The modules are designed for a variety of applications:
• in whole, they offer a specialized graduate diploma,
• in whole, they provide a “pre-MBA” qualifying program for students wishing to prepare for advanced studies in an MBA or Executive
MBA program,
• in standalone formats, they may be used singly or for cross-disciplinary incorporation into other related or complementary courses or
programs,
• as a packaged grouping, they may be selected for professional development or specific training or upgrading needs,
• in packaged or standalone formats, they can be reassembled for overseas or national delivery.
Program Description and Design:
Graduates of this program are expected to have acquired a fundamental mastery of core topics in Business Administration,
and have proven ability to work strategically in teams, and to present and defend complex material. Professional development
courses, on the other hand, are available on a fee for purchase basis and may or may not include on-line or in-person
instruction. Modules to be used for adaptation to cross-disciplinary areas are available on request. The modules, singly or
combined in a program, are suitable for students studying in cohorts or on their own. Students complete a total of eight half
courses plus a project at a minimum, and must make up a series of qualifying courses if their background doesn't include
coursework in a particular area, namely Management Science and Information Systems, Accounting, Finance, Marketing or
Human Resource Management.
The overall program goal was to design courses that would be offered entirely over the Internet. In most cases, students are
expected to meet only in their respective virtual seminars. All students are required to participate in on-line group
conferencing and to have, or have access to, the necessary computing equipment. Because students meet instructors and study
in asynchronous and synchronous learning environments, they will be able to work independently of time and place-based
constraints. The LohnLab for Teaching Technologies group assisted with all phases of the planning including selection of
technologies appropriate for the program and for the design and delivery of courses. Their instructional design expertise
provided guidance in using principles of instruction drawn from empirically viable models of instruction and learning that
were used to organize the desktop interface and inform the processes of teaching and learning.
Instructional design features focused on optimizing teaching and learning practices that pertain to the virtual seminar setting
but are flexible enough to vary with the goals and objectives of the different course modules in the program. Design features
focus on providing a tightly structured course architecture and carefully laid out processes and procedures for students to
follow. Once these parameters were designed we then concentrated on implementing teaching and learning methods that
maximize opportunities for collaborative online group activities, tasks, and assignments and foster lively discussion and
debate of pertinent issues. Optional strategic learning practices were also embedded in course design. These were specifically
intended to provide mature, returning students with study tips and aids they may find helpful after prolonged absence from
study. For most courses the instructors presence was initially quite directive but moved into more of a facilitative role once
students were active in the learning process, both singly and in groups, and seen to be taking a good deal of responsibility for
their own learning. Examples of course design features will be presented and discussed in terms of their suitability for the
content concerned and contribution toward enhancement of instruction and learning processes and outcomes.
Benchmarks for Early Success:
Although the material to be covered is established curriculum, the form of delivery is radically different from the status quo.
In this case, we designed a program specifically for non-resident students designed to be offered through the computer
mediated medium of instruction using tools provided through the Internet. Because of the experimental nature of the program
there are a number of key risk areas where we needed to have demonstrated successes:
• student acceptance as indicated by enrolment figures, establishing wait lists and course and program completion rates
• faculty buy-in. In order for the program to succeed, good faculty must be convinced of the value of experimenting with new mediums of
instruction and course delivery
• institutional commitment to completion of the course cycle
• The success of courses and of the program must be demonstrable. This includes metrics of student performance, evaluation of the
program, acceptance of incoming students and acceptance by employers wanting training and upgrading opportunities for their employees.
The program is currently in process and students have completed the first half of their coursework. Benchmark outcomes to
date are available and will be discussed in our session. Information on the success of course design features and strategic
learning practices, however, will not be available until the completion of the first cycle.