Distance Learning and Slavic studies: (How) can it be done?

Digital projects in the classroom: A pre-conference for faculty and instructors

Distance learning and Slavic studies: (How) can it be done?

2010 ASEEES Annual ConventionNovember 18, 2010

Annelie Rugg, Ph.D.DirectorUCLA Center for Digital Humanities

Highlights

What it is

How it’s done

Why it’s done

The student experience

The instructor experience

Distance learning and Slavic studies

‘Sending’ existing LCTL classes to interested students at other campuses using videoconferencing

Start with an existing language class at Campus A

Advertise to students at Campus B

Enroll students at Campus B using cross-campus enrollment

Schedule rooms at Campuses A and B with videoconference (VC) capability

Test the VC connection between Campus A and B

Show students at Campus B how to operate camera to see what’s going on in Campus A classroom

Put all course materials on the course website

Meet at class time and learn!

Distance learning and Slavic studiesWhat it is

Face to face interaction

Live instructor

Live classmates, clustered

Synchronous class meetings

Supplemental learning materials are online for all students

Exams, quizzes the same for all students (paper or online); can be proctored

Home, remote students are physically dislocated…

… connected by VC


Distance learning for LCTLs

Online interaction

Remote instructor

Remote classmates, solitary

No class meetings

All learning materials (including teacher’s instruction) are online for all students

Exams, quizzes the same for all students – only online, not proctored

All students are physically dislocated

… connected through VLE

vs. Online learning


Czech 187E class meeting, Fall 2010Instructor is at UCLA, which ‘sends’ its class to two students at UCSB.

Growth of the program: from 2 to 6 campuses

Started in 2002-03: Danish from UCB to UCLA

2005-06: 5 languages shared across campuses

2006-07: 6 languages




2010-11 (projected): 7 languages


Highlights

What it is

How it’s done

Why it’s done




Distance learning and Slavic studiesHow it’s done: The technology

Start with a great language instructor.


Schedule your regular class- or seminar room.


Add a VC unit and monitor to a media cart.


Helps to have a room microphone.


Use the remote to control camera angle at other end.


Avoid rooms with windows washing out image of white boards at other end.

H.323 protocol over regular ethernet port

Videoconferencing unit at each point (Popular brands: LifeSize, Polycom, Tandberg). Many are now high definition (HD).

Connect to computer monitor, TV or projector at each point.

Audio input can come from microphones, CD/DVD, cassette, etc.

At class time, “dial up” the other location through the Polycom (must know the device address at the other end).

Connecting more than 2 locations requires multipoint bridge.


How it’s done: The technology

Cross-campus connections are key

Start with an existing language class at Campus A

Language instructor at Campus A knows about or cultivates interest at Campus B

Advertise to students at Campus B. List in schedule of classes at both campuses. It also helps if faculty, advisors, language hubs at Campus B advertise to students.

Enroll students at Campus B using cross-campus enrollment

Schedule rooms at Campuses A and B with videoconference (VC) capability. VC units can be put on a cart and wheeled into any room (as in our Czech example).

Test the VC connection between Campus A and B

Show students at Campus B how to operate camera to see what’s going on in Campus A classroom

Put all course materials on the course website. Make arrangements for graded assessments.

Meet at class time and learn!

Distance learning and Slavic studiesHow it’s done: The process

Highlights

What it is

How it’s done

Why it’s done




Berkeley - A

Davis - B

Irvine - C

Los Angeles - D

Merced - E

Riverside - F

San Diego - G

San Francisco - H

Santa Barbara - I

Santa Cruz - J

UC System-wide offerings:A + B … + J (minus the overlap) = A LOT!

20th century UC student could choose

from B languages …

21st century UC student can choose from

ALL the UC languages!

Distance learning and Slavic studiesWhy it’s done

Student access to previously unavailable language courses.

Increases enrollments in LCTL courses. Therefore, less likely to be cut, which sustains the disciplinary diversity of the Great University.

Simplicity of mode. Baseline VC technology in place at all campuses; fixed location or mobile carts; desktop VC; taps into LMS’s.

Pedagogical effectiveness. Proven instruction by proven instructors; maintains instructor-student and student-student interaction (e.g. pair work).

Enrollment infrastructure in place. Simultaneous enrollment means UC system regulations guarantee system-wide acceptance of credit and grades.


Efficient use of existing instruction and infrastructure

Cost to the student: $0 (part of regular fees)

Cost of instructor: $0 (part of existing faculty)

Cost of classroom: $0 (part of infrastructure)

Cost of videoconferencing equipment: $0 (part of infrastructure)

Cost of classroom support: $0 (part of existing staff)

Cost of document delivery: $0 (use of existing LMS)

Cost of coordinating the program: 0.25 FTE of staff time

Cost of adding VC capability to meet added demand: Depends on how much access campuses want to provide


Little added cost

Highlights

What it is

How it’s done

Why it’s done




Success stories

UCSD mathematics student completed 1 year of Hungarian from UCLA, and was awarded NSF Central Europe Summer Research Institute Fellowship (only 10-15 such fellowships awarded annually)

UCSB attracts grad students focusing on Czech music to its music program because of Czech via DL. Several UCSB music grad students studying with Derek Katz develop research-level proficiency through 2-3 years of Czech through DL.

UCSB undergrad studying Business Russian got a job in Moscow. Another undergrad studying Russian was accepted to a Flagship program in Saint Petersburg.

Distance learning and Slavic studiesThe student experience

I'm excited about going to it every day and I feel so fortunate. … This distance teaching thing is a blessing. It lets people take courses they want and really it is not any less effective than physically being in a class. It's great! … I recently applied for a summer language program in Finland sponsored by the government there … — UCLA student in Beginning and Advanced Finnish (2006)

I found out a few days ago that I won a NSF CESRI fellowship to do research in mathematics in Budapest this summer! I wanted to thank you for the enormous effort you have all put into arranging the distance learning classes in Hungarian with UCLA. Proficiency in Hungarian will be invaluable when I go to Budapest this summer. — UCSD student in Beginning Hungarian (2008)


Czech is not offered at UCSB, so I’m lucky to be able to take it through UCLA. … The videoconferencing program is a GREAT benefit to my education and is one of the reasons that I selected UCSB for my program, as it was one of my best ways to get the language classes that I needed. I feel very very fortunate to be able to participate in the program and ... it will be a huge benefit as I get closer to doing my dissertation research. — UCSB student in Advanced Czech (2010)

“Just like being in a normal class.”

Personal connections established to same degree as regular classes; seem “something less” in the beginning, but “you feel more connected as the … series progresses”.

Slight disadvantage to not being in same room as teacher (hearing spoken language).

“I learn as much as I would if the teacher were here.”

Enrollment/registration hassles, not technology hassles.


Highlights

What it is

How it’s done

Why it’s done




Instructor needs to be organized

Advance scheduling for VC rooms

Lighting in the room that doesn’t interfere with viewing the board

Backup tech/AV help

Course website or other online collaborative space to share all course materials

Distance learning and Slavic studiesThe instructor experienceWhat is needed …

Overall:

A faculty partner who will help, esp. with transmitting, proctoring quizzes and exams

Extra (remote) office hour for focused attention, esp. on finer points of pronunciation)

If possible, native speaker accessible for language practice to remote students

At remote end:

Proctoring and exchanging tests needs advance planning and trusted partner

Transmitting homework is simplified if remote students can scan or type their homework, submit online

You can do pair work, but not working in chorus across sites, due to very slight lag time in audio

Remote students need extra time for focus on pronunciation, due to audio loss in transmission during class. Easily remedied with extra office hour (which also signals that they are valued students).

Transmitting images from a document camera or laptop to remote site is excellent; projected images get washed out.

Remote students may expend effort on following along that would otherwise have been spent on learning

Remote students are often slightly less forthcoming with questions (so additional office hour helps).

These classes are easy to keep going once you’ve gone through the planning once

Distance learning and Slavic studiesThe instructor experienceThings to be aware of …

The main thing that I would say is that it enables us to provide Czech to a university that supports Czech studies in other ways (UCSB has one of the leading specialists in Czech music - …), but does not have the resources to offer Czech language courses.

As far as teaching, … It definitely restricts the use of visuals, which have to be large enough to be seen easily on the TV screen. I do more detailed handouts than I would otherwise.

Overall, it takes more advance planning than a regular course, but it's not a burden.

Managing the equipment is very easy for the instructor.

Having … help set things up and then available to help with enrollment issues, etc., has been essential. I wouldn't have started this at all if there weren't someone … showing me how to make it work.

The students have been great to work with, so motivated, you want to keep on. One used to come down for class sometimes!

… UCSB students are interested in advanced Russian courses for heritage speakers, and unfortunately, UCSB does not offer such courses.

We invest virtually nothing and have the luxury of offering a second Slavic language to UCSB students. I see nothing that would make us consider stopping the exchange. There is so little work on our end and so much benefit for the students that canceling it would be out of the question.

Distance learning and Slavic studiesThe instructor experience

Annelie Rugg is the Director/Humanities CIO at UCLA's Center for Digital Humanities (CDH), where she has worked since completing her UCLA Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics in 2001. As Director, Annelie oversees all technology projects, initiatives, and operations undertaken in support of the second-largest humanities division in the country. Prior to becoming Director, Annelie served as CDH's Instructional Technology Coordinator for seven years, managing all instructional technology initiatives for the division, including development and support for course websites, instructional projects, and faculty training. Annelie joined CDH in 2001 as Foreign Language Instructional Technology Coordinator, applying her language teaching and prior technology experience to enhance language teaching and learning. Annelie's technology experience also includes three years as a director of marketing, project manager and technical writer at a startup software company.

More recently, Annelie has been actively involved in the creation and oversight of UCLA's Moodle-based Common Collaboration and Learning Environment (CCLE), and is collaborating with UCLA faculty to create a Digital Humanities minor and graduate certificate. Annelie also teaches a course in Computer-enhanced Language Learning as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in UCLA's department of Applied Linguistics.

[email protected]

Distance learning and Slavic studiesSpeaker information

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Distance Learning and Slavic studies: (How) can it be done?

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