This article appeared in FOCUS 22(5), 2002.
The MathOnline system at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
In this note we provide a brief description of the MathOnline system, a learning delivery method currently in use at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, that blends traditional mathematics instruction with distance learning.
Courses taught using the MathOnline delivery system are standard university mathematics courses. For AY 2002/03 these include: Calculus 1,2,3, Discrete Mathematics, Number Theory, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra.
The MathOnline classroom environment is in most senses traditional. The only difference which is readily apparent to the in-class students is that the instructor, rather than writing directly on a chalkboard, instead writes on a graphics tablet which rests on a podium in the front of the classroom. The images so produced are then projected on a screen. While the in-class students are experiencing a relatively traditional classroom presentation, much is going on behind the scenes. The images from the graphics tablet are simultaneously streamed via the Internet (using the LearnLinc software by Mentergy, Inc). Furthermore, by way of an instructor-worn wireless microphone, the instructor’s voice is also simultaneously streamed via the Internet. Both the tablet images and the audio are archived for future playback. We do not employ any sort of video broadcast of the instructor or the classroom, although a static picture of the instructor appears alongside the streamed board images. As a consequence of this in-class delivery method, students may choose to physically attend the traditional class on a regular basis, may choose to view the lectures via the Internet on a regular basis (either synchronously or asynchronously), or may choose to blend these two approaches.
Students who attend the traditional classroom lectures (either regularly or occasionally) are extremely enthusiastic about the MathOnline delivery system. Survey results indicate that nearly 90% of such students, if given a choice, would in future semesters prefer to enroll in a MathOnline-supported section of a course rather than a section in which a traditional blackboard is used. There are three primary reasons given for this preference: the archiving feature (and availability of class notes from the Internet); the ability of the instructor to incorporate Internet material and graphics in the classroom; and the ease with which the screen image can be seen from everywhere in the classroom.
The vast majority of our Internet-based distance students fall into one of three groups: advanced high school students who enroll in these courses as 11th or 12th graders, middle school and high school mathematics teachers (or potential teachers), and regularly-enrolled University of Colorado at Colorado Springs degree-seeking students who cannot attend the traditional class sessions for these courses. When asked to rate their overall experience with the course on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being highest), the average response of Internet-based distance students from Fall 2000, Spring 2001, and Fall 2001 was 3.96.
Students at a distance are required to complete homework assignments on the same schedule as the in-class students. Such work can be submitted either by fax or by attachments to emails. On-site proctoring arrangements are made at the start of the semester in order that Internet-based students can complete exams at a distance. (For the high school students, a teacher or counselor in the school fills this role.)
An initial concern regarding the incorporation of the MathOnline system in our courses was that in-class attendance would fall as a result of the system’s archiving capability. Although exact attendance figures are not kept, instructors have noticed no significant drop in attendance. Indeed, the responses to the following survey question of in-class students (combined Fall 2000, Spring 2001, and Fall 2001 semesters) are illuminating (perhaps surprising?) Suppose that you had easy, free access to all the hardware and software required to view and hear the lectures real time ‘at a distance’ via the Internet. Would you still choose to regularly attend the live lectures? Yes (306); No (41). When asked to give the single most important reason for this choice, the majority of 'Yes' respondents indicated either " teacher / student interaction," or a response represented appropriately by " …education is still a largely social experience for me."
Our experience is that once the initial five or six lectures have been presented, a novice MathOnline instructor feels quite comfortable in the new environment. The MathOnline environment affords numerous pedagogical opportunities, including pre-producing lecture notes and graphics, utilizing Internet-based tools, and organizing student group work at a distance. Clearly each of these tasks can consume an enormous amount of instructor time. However, the additional time and effort required (over and above the initial learning curve) to teach a standard course using the MathOnline delivery system versus a standard course with chalkboard delivery is relatively small. Thus, an advantage the MathOnline blended learning system has over other systems currently in use is that the development costs associated with bringing each new course online are negligible.
Various additional information:
· For questions about the MathOnline delivery system, or requests for guest accounts to view the system: mathon@uccs.edu
· University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Department of Mathematics MathOnline Program: http://www.math.uccs.edu/mathonline/
· The gateway page to MathOnline-supported materials: http://online.uccs.edu
· Complete results of the aforementioned student surveys can be found at: http://www.math.uccs.edu/mathonline/info.htm
Dr. Gene Abrams, Ph.D., is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He has been a faculty member at UCCS since 1983. Along with his colleague Jeremy Haefner, Abrams co-developed the MathOnline program at UCCS in 1998. In 1988 he was named the UCCS campus-wide Teacher of the year. In 1996 he was designated at a University of Colorado system-wide President’s Teaching Scholar. In 2002 he received the annual Burton W. Jones Award for Teaching by the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America.
Contact information:
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7150
gabrams@uccs.edu
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