• the problem
  • the solution
  • what we learned
  • future plans
    		•

    THE SOLUTION:

    We decided to partner with a publishing company that could provide the development and marketing expertise for Online courses mapped to our Skill Standards.

    Process

    • Step 1 - Determine the type of courseware

      Early in the process we decided that we must focus on development of Online courses as a way to assist faculty in implementing our Skill Standards curriculum for four major reasons. First while there are many textbooks in IT, there is a major drawback to using print based materials. The IT field changes so quickly (the Internet is an example) that by the time materials are printed they are out of date. Online course materials are easy to update by editing current or adding new HTML pages and posting them electronically. Second, the most exciting thing happening in educational technology is the Internet. Third, educational technology should be applied to IT instruction - that is "use the technology to teach the technology." Fourth, as the only NSF IT center we have a focus on "emerging technologies" such as the Internet.

    • Step 2 - Obtain a publishing partner

      We issued an RFP to several major publishers that were involved in developing materials (primarily textbooks) for IT programs. We interviewed the companies that responded to our RFP and selected Harcourt College Publishers. We chose Harcourt because they are a leader in developing Online courses and we were impressed with the personnel we met and with their vision of how we would work together to create unique courses.

    • Step 3 - Agree on the scope of the project

      Our Skills Standards based curriculum is extremely comprehensive, in that we include not only the technical skills, but also the soft skills - communications, problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, and project management. This required that we approach the project from a program basis. That is, instead of having one-off courses (such as an Introduction to the Internet course) we would create a series of courses in Web Authoring, that taken together would provide both the technical and soft skills needed for employment in the industry. The courses could also be offered as a Certificate program, providing the student with credentials. Our first two program areas, Web Authoring (10 courses), and Networking (8 courses) were chosen because they are in high demand.

    • Step 4 - Set up the development process

      There are three primary groups involved in the development process.

      1. The NWCET - staffed with a Project Director, Curiculum Development Specialist, and Course Author assistants:
        • provide the skill standards curriculum. The curriculum is used to generate course outlines and learning outcomes.
        • recruits and trains the course authors who provide the content for the courses as well as ideas for interactive activities, projects and resources.
        • reviews the work of the course authors and prepares it to be sent to Harcourt.
        • provides quality assurance testing for the Online courses.

      2. Harcourt College Publishers (with its DrydenOnline imprint):
        • provides instructional design expertise in developing a template to be used by the Course Authors.
        • provides peer and editorial review.
        • manages the creation of the courses.
        • provides marketing and distribution activities.

      3. Development Group (contracted by Harcourt):
        • provides instructional design expertise.
        • programs interactive activities, such as animations and simulations.
        • programs HTML documents.


      WHAT WORKED:
      What has worked very well is the bringing together of three parties with unique and yet, complementary skills. The NWCET with the Skill Standards Curriculum, Harcourt with experience in developing and marketing Online courses and the Development company with its programming expertise. Also, agreeing from the beginning that the course would be high quality, state-of-the-art, stand-alone courses and keeping this in mind throughout the entire process.