Sara+Sharick


 * Ivy Bridge College of Tiffin University**


 * Required Documentation **

The module to be added to Moodle will cost approximately $5,500. Training will need to be developed for faculty that will cost approximately $1,500. Editing software for the archived videos will cost $699. Streaming server for storing videos will cost $3,500. Maintenance costs over time will be approximately $1,200 per year.

ElluminateLive will be used to provide synchronous communication in the online courses. Details on the bridge between Moodle and Elluminate can be found in the following [|pdf]. The fee structure of Elluminate Live can be found in the following [|White Paper].

In order to determine the needs of all faculty and ensure Elluminate will meet these needs, faculty will complete an Instructor Online Synchronous Communication Needs Survey. The survey includes the minimum requirements of the synchronous communication tool in order to meet the needs in delivering online courses at the associate degree level.

A test group including all full-time faculty at Ivy Bridge College will be used to test and evaluate Elluminate. The synchronous communication tool will be ready by Fall Term II which begins on October 24, 2011. At the end of the term, faculty will be given a survey allowing them to evaluate this new tool. Surveys will be sent out early December and results will be shared at the January faculty meeting.


 * Elluminate Integration Budget with Moodle  ||
 * Description || Required Date ||  Cost   ||
 * Development of training by instructional design team - 8 hours x $65/hr ||  1-Oct-11   ||   520   ||
 * Deliver Training Sessions to full-time faculty - 2 - 2 hour sessions @ 300 per session ||  17-Oct-11   ||   600   ||
 * Elluminate 100 Seats Annual Fee ||  1-Sep-11   ||   14160   ||
 * ||  ||   15280   ||

Appendix A: Formative Evaluation Instrument
 * __Instructor Online Synchronous Communication Needs Survey__**


 * Requirement || Is this one of the capabilities required for your usage? ||
 * Ability to connect up to 30-50 users || Yes No ||
 * Application sharing || Yes No ||
 * Text-based chat || Yes No ||
 * Intuitive/easy to use interface || Yes No ||
 * Audio-based chat (VoIP) || Yes No ||
 * Interactive Whiteboard || Yes No ||
 * Archiving of session for later use/reference || Yes No ||
 * VoIP – accommodates standard connection speeds || Yes No ||
 * Training provided by vendor || Yes No ||
 * Installed on both MAC and PC operating systems || Yes No ||
 * Able to be used on all standard browsers || Yes No ||
 * Integrates required multimedia files (flash, video, mp3, etc.) || Yes No ||
 * Good sound and visual quality || Yes No ||
 * Easy access and connectivity || Yes No ||
 * Visuals such as PowerPoints and other documents can be presented || Yes No ||
 * There are minimal requirements for user set-up || Yes No ||
 * Real-time Quizzes || Yes No ||

Appendix B: Summative Evaluation Instrument My primary location for accessing the Internet for educational purposes is: a. At Work (on campus) b. At Home c. Other

If connecting to the Internet off-campus, what type of Internet connection do you use? a. Dial-up modem b. DSL c. Cable Modem d. Satellite/Microwave

How many courses did you teach this term using Elluminate? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3-5 d. 6 or more

Which of the following statements best characterizes your usage of Elluminate? a. I used Elluminate every day. b. I used Elluminate 3-4 times a week. c. I used Elluminate 1-2 times a week. d. I used Elluminate once a week or less.

What are the most common features of Elluminate used in this most recent class? (check all that apply)
 * 1) Connect up to 30-50 users
 * 2) Application sharing
 * 3) Text-based chat
 * 4) Audio-based chat (VoIP)
 * 5) Interactive Whiteboard
 * 6) Archive of session for later use/reference
 * 7) Real-time Quizzes

How much time did you spend online each week using Elluminate? a. Less than 1 hour b. 1-3 hours c. 3-6 hours d. 6-10 hours e. More than 10

Using Elluminate for synchronous communication facilitated active learning among the students. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Using Elluminate made the course content and instructor interaction more accessible to students with varying learning styles. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Using Elluminate made students more likely to communicate with each other. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Using Elluminate made it easier to communicate expectations to the students. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Using Elluminate made it more likely students to communicate with me. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Students were encouraged to use Elluminate to communicate with me and each other? a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Using Elluminate helped me do a better job teaching. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

I am very satisfied with the outcome of the courses I taught due to using Elluminate. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

I would like to use Elluminate in all the courses I teach. a. Strongly Agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

Appendix C: Interview Questions 1) I’m looking into synchronous communication tools for our online courses. I'm stuck on performance gap and need related to organizational performance. What are your thoughts on how this applies to Ivy Bridge? 2) What do you think about integrating Facebook or other Web 2.0 technologies in discussions to increase participation? 3) Do you think integrating a tool such as Elluminate into Moodle will enhance our program. 4) Does this look like something we could easily purchase and use for future courses? 5) Have your heard from other faculty about how many students they need to work with at one time? Is there a minimum requirement? 6) What type of computer requirements should I look into for this technology? 7) Would we be able to develop faculty training for Elluminate by October 1 so we can deliver the training sometime the second week of October? 8) Planned implementation of Elluminate will be Fall Term II beginning October 24. Do you believe this is a feasible timeline?


 * Intervention Strategies Strengths and Limitations **

The three intervention strategies presented include: blogs to enhance asynchronous communication, synchronous communication tools through Moodle, and synchronous and asynchronous lectures utilizing Second Life. These tools are extremely different from each other and each provides a different type of online communication experience for the students.

Asynchronous Communication Strengths
 * Low Cost
 * Easy to Use and track conversations
 * Allows students to interact with each other online at a convenient time
 * Students use the connectivism learning style

Asynchronous Communication Limitations
 * Communication is not in real time
 * This is not much different from using the discussion forum

Synchronous Communication Strengths
 * Cost effective
 * Communication is in real time
 * Can be recorded for students not able to attend
 * Various sessions can be scheduled to meet different schedules
 * Students feel a part of a group which can improve participation

Synchronous Communication Limitations
 * Not all students will be able to attend at the same time
 * Students may feel tied to attending a session when they believe online learning should be on their own time
 * Software may be required to download in order to use the tool. Some students may have difficulty with this step.
 * Learning to use the software may be required. Training will need to be given to all instructors using this tool.

Second Life Avatar Strengths
 * Gives a real life feel to attending lectures
 * Asynchronous communication
 * Recordings can be loaded into classrooms for students to watch or listen to at any time.

Second Life Avatar Limitations
 * Extremely expensive
 * Can be difficult to learn for both instructors and students
 * The software needs to be installed on your computer. Some students may not have their own computer or updated operating system to accommodate.
 * Software locks up sometimes.


 * Intervention Strategy Selection **

The strategy that I will recommend is the asynchronous communication strategy utilizing an online communication tool that allows multiple students and the instructor to participate in a real time session. This tool will include the ability to use a whiteboard to provide instruction and computer sharing capabilities. This type of interaction will provide an environment where the student feels part of the class and will encourage involvement. The desired result from creating this environment is to improve performance and retention of students participating in the program.


 * Intervention Strategies **

Low cost strategy Incorporate blogs in the Learning Management System (LMS) to be used for some of the discussions. This is a module purchased and used with Moodle costing approximately $1,500.

Develop training materials and an online training course for full-time and part-time faculty to attend in order to train them on how to use this new tool. The cost the developing and delivering the training will cost $1,700-2,000 to produce training materials and pay faculty to hold training sessions.

Medium Cost Strategy Add Synchronous Communication to online classes that will provide students opportunities for real-time interaction. This form of communication adds depth and clarity to communication and will help to close a gap in our courses by building community in the online classroom. Although not every student can attend a live session, most synchronous tools have an archiving function, which allows students to catch up on what they missed. The module to be added to Moodle will cost approximately $5,500. Training will need to be developed for faculty that will cost approximately $1,500. Editing software for the archived videos will cost $699. Streaming server for storing videos will cost $3,500. Maintenance costs over time will be approximately $1,200 per year.

High Cost Strategy Purchase an island in Second Life for Ivy Bridge College and hold lecture sessions for students to attend. The island will cost $1,000 with a $295 monthly maintenance fee. The faculty members would also need a Premium Membership costing $9.95 per month. Total cost for all full and part-time faculty would be approximately $15,000. There are additional costs to add furniture, buildings and storage in the Second Life portal. Initial costs will range from $500-2,000 depending on the amount of items needed.

The benefit of using the program is to give a face and voice to the instructor and students. Students can interact in groups and have the feeling as though they are sitting in a classroom talking. There are whiteboards that can be written on and a chat feature or live voice feature. Students can also visit museums and other educational islands in Second Life to enhance their learning experience.

**Problem Summary** Ivy Bridge College is a branch of Tiffin University. We provide online associate degree programs for students who are interested in receiving an education in a non-traditional manner. The majority of students at Ivy Bridge are at-risk. The program requires that each course contain at minimum two discussion topics each week. Faculty has reported that getting students to participate in these discussions has been challenging. This lack of participation is affecting the performance of students in the online classes. Pass rates are dropping and students are not walking away with the knowledge they need to be successful throughout their program of study.

**Background of Organization** Ivy Bridge College (IBC) provides online associate degree programs that offer students mentoring, support, and transferability to many four-year colleges and universities in the United States. Currently, Ivy Bridge College (IBC) is part of Tiffin University, an independent, coeducational institution that has been educating students since 1888. IBC was founded as a joint venture agreement with Tiffin University in December 2007, and began offering online courses in August 2008. Current IBC degree programs include Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Business Administration (ABA), and Associate of Criminal Justice (ACJ).

**Stakeholders and Decision-Makers.** Stakeholders of the organization include the faculty, department chairs, dean, vice president of academics and president of the college. All of these individuals have an interest in student success in the online classes. The immediate stakeholders who would be closely associated with this project include SME, instructional designer, department chair and dean.

**Performance Gap: Cause Analysis** The need is to incorporate a more intuitive way for students and faculty to participate in online discussions. It is necessary to identify other means for holding these discussions online in both asynchronous and synchronous manners.

**Actual Current Performance.** Currently, students participate in a discussion forum that exists within the LMS shell. This method of discussion participation does not entice students to participate. The lack of participation and motivation to interact with others in the course has caused students to experience low scores in the discussion portion of their grade, affecting their overall performance.

**Desired Performance.** It is preferred that students participate in the discussion portion of the course because it enhances their participation in the course and through this interaction makes them a part of the course. The end result will be an increase in retention rates and overall grades of students.