Project: Instruction via Course Web Sites
Sponsors: Stan Nicholson, Alan Moses, Bill Koseluk, Larry Murdock, Rick Johnson, Art Battson
Summary
Faculty desire to use the Web to deliver instructional content is substantial
and increasing rapidly. There are exemplary projects in operation or development
now that rely heavily on the campus infrastructure, including serving of
streaming video through the Web. There are also needs, expected to become
universal, for placing on Web sites course information ranging from posting
of text to interactive testing and grade reporting. These trends offer
opportunities for generalization, collaboration, and cooperation in maximizing
the impact on the central academic function of teaching.
The scope of the support given to this function must be driven by the
academic mission and academic priorities. Several policy ramifications
must be included in the process of defining priorities, including:
- Compliance of the operation of the support infrastructure, as well
as the operation of course Web sites, materials, and practices, with current
University policy.
- Intellectual property issues, such as ownership of instructional materials
produced for, or delivered through, the Web for University courses, whether
delivered through University equipment and facilities or through non-University
equipment and facilities.
- "Not-for-release" (NFR) policies.
- Policies regarding authentication and access restriction.
One way to address these support issues is to provide centralized services
for the development and operation of course Web sites which deliver instructional
materials. Such services could not be the exclusive mechanisms of support,
but probably should be offered through an agency which serves the entire
campus (e.g. Academic Programs, which already supports the development
and delivery of instruction campuswide, might be one possibility). To provide
support for offering services and systems such as Physics’ ClassWeb and
Bio’s VideoWeb to more than the present users would require at a minimum
one CNT III and two CNT Is.
How This Project Supports the Academic Mission of UCSB
The project deals directly with the teaching mission of UCSB, and directly
addresses aspects of the teaching mission which place the campus in the
forefront of experimentation and development of effective teaching using
new technologies.
Funding Source and How This Project Relates to It
Support for development and delivery of course web instructional materials
is currently provided by a number of campus agencies, including Academic
Programs (Instructional Computing, Instructional Consultation, and Instructional
Resources), LSIT, the academic departments, and ad hoc temporary arrangements
made by individual faculty members.
Support for bandwidth capabilities of the computing infrastructure to
deliver course materials (e.g. those which involve extensive interactivity
or streaming video) is currently provided by Communications Services and
the Backbone Engineering Group.
Costs: Initial Year and Recurring
Staff support of authoring and delivery of course Web instructional
materials:
- 1 CNT III @ $64,524 annual plus $14,840 in benefits = $79,364 recurring
- 2 CNT I @ $ 43,356 annual plus $9,972 in benefits = $106,656 recurring
- Total staff = $186,020 recurring
Hardware and software support (primarily servers): $35,000 initial,
$35,000 recurring based on life cycle plus anticipated growth of demand.
Network infrastructure to support what are now bandwidth-intensive materials:
Unable to specify.
The total costs for this proposal including staff, hardware and software
are: $221,020 in the first year and $221,020 per year recurring.
Matching Opportunities
A small number of cutting-edge projects which may serve as models or
pilot tests may be eligible for funding from the Instructional Improvement
Program. This funding can only be temporary, and is not appropriate for
instructional Web uses that have become routine.
Staff Support Required
For new staff support requirements, see Costs section above. Support
of this function by existing staff includes staff in Academic Programs,
LSIT, and academic departments.
Existing Resources to Be Used
The proposed support could be coordinated with support presently provided
by Academic Programs units, by LSIT, and by academic departments. Systems
currently developed for and/or used by departments could be made available
to additional departments (e.g., the ClassWeb system developed in Physics
and used also by courses in Mech Eng, Bio, and Math; and the VideoWeb system
developed in MCDB). Other alternatives include software systems sold commercially,
and hosting and even content services offered by outside entities, such
as publishing houses.
Project Timeline
The academic demand is not likely to diminish in the foreseeable future,
nor is technology likely to develop so quickly as to make the kind of support
proposed here irrelevant to future instructional contexts. Particular tools
and systems will be replaced by newer and better ones, but the need for
support of faculty teaching will continue indefinitely.
Life Cycle of Result
It seems likely that the support proposed here would be necessary on
a permanent ongoing basis. The life cycle of instructional materials delivered
through the Web will vary substantially, from relatively permanent reference
material to purposefully short-lived ephemeral information. Success in
this sense will be achieved if the supporting agenc(ies) can help faculty
members establish mechanisms for updating, creating, and delivering new
instructional materials in ways which maximize instructional impact while
minimizing support needs.
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