2005 - 2006 Online Education Report
www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2005-2006.htm

Jim Flowers, Director of Online Education, jcflowers1@bsu.edu, 765-285-2879, AT 130A
Department of Industry & Technology, College of Applied Sciences & Technology
Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA 47306

May, 2006

History & Status | Initiatives
Appendices: MA in TE | MA in CTE |Calendar Survey | Survey of Majors

Preface

This is the fifth annual report of the online education initiatives from the Department of Industry and Technology at Ball State University. Previous reports may be seen at:

• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2004-2005.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2003-2004.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2002-2003.htm
• www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/report2001-2002.htm

Recommendations contained within this report are those the Director and what is hereafter called the Department's Office of Online Education.

For more information, visit the online programs' Website at www.bsu.edu/iandt.

The Department of Industry and Technology (I&T) of Ball State University offers two graduate degrees over the Internet: the Master of Arts in Technology Education, and the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. Except for a pilot course going online in the Fall of 2000, these programs officially became available online in the Summer and Fall of 2002, respectively. The purpose of this report is to provide a description and an internal review after the fourth year of online implementation.

The Master of Arts in Technology Education (TE) is intended to meet the needs of technology teachers and others interested in general education in technology. Technology Education is the field that evolved from Industrial Arts, and this master's caters to the needs of teachers in this field who typically teach grades six through twelve. However, community college faculty, elementary teachers, and others can find this program fitting.

The Department also offers a Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education (CTE) (having changed its name from Master of Arts in Industrial Vocational / Technical Education on August 25^th, 2003, in keeping with national trends.) This degree is intended to meet the needs of vocational, or career and technical educators, who typically work at high school level vocational programs with specializations in industry and technology. However, community college faculty, industrial trainers, and others wishing an advanced degree can find this master's very appropriate.

Oversight of these programs is by the Department's Graduate Program Committee, now chaired by Dr. Samuel Cotton and composed of six Graduate Faculty within the Department. That committee decided to offer these degrees online due to declining on-campus enrollments, and based on a national online learning needs assessment; approval was granted by the Ball State Graduate Education Committee, the School of Extended Education, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Neither of these degree programs carries initial teacher licensure, since they were primarily designed to service the educational needs of practicing and licensed teachers. However, some students may choose to use selected courses from either program to pursue additional licensing credentials in accordance with their state's requirements for teacher licensure.

As of June, 2004, all fifteen graduate courses offered from the Department had been delivered online, replacing face-to-face (F2F) sections. In 2005 / 2006 the program committee decided to drop two of non-required courses from the list of offerings when the two professors who had been teaching those courses left the graduate faculty. However, the frequency of other course offerings was increased due to rising enrollments and feedback from majors, as will be discussed later.

Unlike similar programs at some other institutions, the admission requirements do not specify the undergraduate degree areas for applicants, nor do they list a teaching license as an admissions requirement. Thus, these programs are better suited than some competitors to attracting students who may have had completed a baccalaureate degree in a different field.

As with other masters from Ball State, applicants must have an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with an undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale), or with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 in the latter half of their undergraduate work. Those who do not meet these GPA requirements may be able to enter as probationary students and must achieve a 3.0 minimum average in 9 semester hours of graduate work approved by the Department Chair and the Dean of the Graduate School, and must score in the top two-thirds on each section of the general Graduate Record Examination. There are no additional departmental or program admission requirements.

Recommendation: As program enrollments grow, the Graduate Program Committee should now consider increasing admission standards as an effort to improve program quality, retention, and the status of the program. This could include review of a writing sample, applicants' statements of goals, standardized test scores, and a higher GPA requirement.

Each degree program can be completed 100% online without a single trip to the campus or a satellite site. Each master's program requires 30 graduate hours, 9 of which may be transferred in from another accredited institution where the student earned at least a B, subject to advisor approval. Transfer hours are also subject to the Ball State requirement that all masters coursework be completed within a six-year timeframe. A thesis is optional in each program. Each program has a separate core of courses, a required research course, a required course in education outside the Department of Industry and Technology, and electives. Please see the Appendices listing the Program of Study for the MA in Technology Education and the Program of Study for the MA in Career and Technical Education.

In the Spring of 2006, the Graduate Program Committee recommended a number of changes to the BSU Graduate Catalog. Among these are the elimination of the "Professional Education" requirement for both programs, and the re-designation of "Electives" as "Directed Electives." Other changes included course descriptions and notes. To date, these recommendations are pending approval.

Course Enrollment

Prior to offering these graduate programs online, course enrollment was low. As illustrated in Figure 1 and Table 1, the enrollment in online courses has been variable. It is clear that online offerings have resulted in a higher mean course enrollment (17.9) than face-to-face courses (6.3) since Fall 2000.

 
Figure 1. Enrollment for each graduate course offered in Industry and Technology from Fall 2000 through Spring 2006. (Source: ADMAC, except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)
 

Table 1. Enrollment in Graduate Courses (Source: ADMAC  except for Fall 2000 BSU@work data)
Semester Year ITEDU Online Face to Face Fall 2000 510 26   Fall 2000 691   3 Fall 2000 699   4 Spring 2001 635   6 Spring 2001 690   5 Spring 2001 694   5 Summer I 2001 564   6 Summer I 2001 698   6 Fall 2001 510 23   Fall 2001 690   4 Fall 2001 691   7 Fall 2001 699   7 Spring 2002 635   7 Spring 2002 694   8 Summer I 2002 564 13   Summer I 2002 698   9 Fall 2002 510 19   Fall 2002 568 7   Fall 2002 690   6 Fall 2002 691 15   Fall 2002 699   6 Spring 2003 510 26   Spring 2003 569 8   Spring 2003 635 19   Spring 2003 694   4 Summer I 2003 550 13   Summer I 2003 564 7   Summer I 2003 698 30   Fall 2003 510 7   Fall 2003 551† 7   Fall 2003 552 7   Fall 2003 690 27   Fall 2003 691 24   Fall 2003 699 9		Semester Year ITEDU Online Face to Face Spring 2004 510 21   Spring 2004 635 25   Spring 2004 694 27   Spring 2004 560* 22   Summer I 2004 564 9   Summer I 2004 696 23   Summer I 2004 698 28   Fall 2004 568 19   Fall 2004 690 21   Fall 2004 699 21   Spring 2005 510 10   Spring 2005 569 20   Spring 2005 635 21   Spring 2005 691 19   Spring 2005 694 19   Summer I 2005 550 29   Summer I 2005 564† 6   Summer I 2005 698 20   Summer II 2005 697@   10 Summer II 2005 508*@   10 Fall 2005 510 10   Fall 2005 552 14   Fall 2005 568 15   Fall 2005 690 26   Fall 2005 691 19   Fall 2005 699 20   Spring 2006 510 20   Spring 2006 560* 12   Spring 2006 635 20   Spring 2006 694 18   Spring 2006 699 18   Number of Offerings 47 18 Total Student Enrollment 839 113 Mean Enrollment 17.9 6.3 * Course Prefix is ITMFG. † Course is no longer scheduled. @ Hybrid course requiring some F2F meetings

Program Headcount Trend

Program headcounts show an increase at the Fall 2002 period, when the programs began to be delivered online, as shown in the combined program headcounts in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Combined Program Headcounts for the MA in Technology Education and in Career & Technical Education combined, from historical BSU@Work data for Fall and Spring semesters.

Program headcounts from Figure 2 are the sums of headcounts shown for each program in Figures 3 and 4. In the last academic year, there has been a slight increase in the MA in TE, and a slight decrease in the MA in CTE.

Figure 3. Program Headcounts for the MA in Technology Education, extracted from BSU@work historical data for Fall and Spring semesters.

Figure 4  Program Headcounts for the MA in Career and Technical Education (previously called the MA in Industrial Vocational / Technical Education), extracted from BSU@work historical data for Fall and Spring semesters.

Because the MA in TE began online implementation in Summer I 2002, and the MA in CTE came online in the Fall of 2002, the Spring of 2002 was used as a baseline value for establishing enrollment trend predications. Combined program headcount data from that period for each Spring and Fall term was projected to six future periods using polynomial trend extrapolation. The trend curve shown in Figure 5 shows a predicted maximum of about 81 students in Spring 2009. However, the many variables involved in future enrollment demand make predictions such as this merely speculative.

Figure 5. Extrapolating Trends in Program Headcounts.

A discussion of this historic and predicted impact of online delivery on enrollment in these programs has recently been published (though the published figures are not as current as those presented in this annual report):

Flowers, J. (2005). The effect of online delivery on graduate enrollment. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 42(4), 7-24.

Admissions

Data from the Graduate School's "Graduate Student Advising Center Database" extracted May 25, 2006, indicates that in the 2004/2005 year, 43 applicants were admitted, 70% of the 61 who applied, with 28 admitted to the MA in TE and 15 admitted to the MA in CTE. Similar numbers were seen for 2005/2006, with 47 applicants admitted from the 64 who applied (73%), 33 into the MA in TE and 14 into the MA in CTE.

However, the semester-by-semester rates of application and admission show a different picture, as illustrated in Figure 6. Still, the data spans only two years, and this is too brief a period to draw conclusions about long-term changes in admission trends. It should be noted that the number of master's students graduating per year has greatly increased, yet admission rates far exceed graduation rates, indicating a period of growth.

Figure 6. Students Admitted by Semester as of 5/25/06.
Source: www.bsu.edu/webapps2/gradadvisor/ 

Accommodating Enrollment

More Frequent Course Offerings

Since the Fall of 2000, there have been 47 online course offerings from the Department with a mean enrollment of 17.9, as noted earlier. The Director of Online Education surveyed online students in September 2005 (See Appendix C) to inform the future planning of course offerings. A majority of respondents indicated they would take more course if they were offered more frequently. There was also an interest expressed in increasing offerings during the summer sessions.

In response, the Graduate Program Faculty decided to increase the frequency of offerings for six core courses in the MA in CTE. Beginning in the Summer I of 2006, their frequency of offering will be increased from once every two years to once every year:

• ITEDU 550 Career & Technical Student Organizations (3)
• ITEDU 552 Career & Technical-Related Class Content (3)
• ITEDU 568 Principles and Philosophy of Career & Technical Education (3)
• ITEDU 569 Organization and Coordination of Career & Technical Education (3)
• ITEDU 696 Techniques in Coordinating Cooperative Education (3)
• ITMFG 560 Industrial Safety and Health (3)

Furthermore, the faculty also decided to increase the frequency of offerings for four of the five core courses in the MA in TE program, and the research course required by both programs, from once a year to twice a year:

• ITEDU 635 Implementing Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 690 History and Philosophy of Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 691 Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 694 Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 699 Research in Industrial Education (3)

The only core class that is not slated for increased offering is ITEDU 698, Seminar in Technology Education, which has been offered each Summer I session.

As noted earlier, two of the Department's fifteen courses were dropped from the schedule, though they may be activated in future years based on demand and on the ability to staff the courses. These are ITEDU 551, Trade and Occupational Analysis. This was taught online by Mr. Richard Ertle in 2003, but upon his departure from the graduate faculty it has not been taught since. The second was ITEDU 564, Practicum in Technology Education for the Elementary Grades. This has been taught online by Dr. James Kirkwood, but is no longer scheduled. Neither of these courses was a required course by either degree program. However, the richness and diversity of ideas added to the program by these two faculty members has been missed.

More Summer Offerings

With the increased frequency of course offerings noted above, the faculty also increased the summer offerings from two courses in Summer I sessions and none in Summer II, to four courses in Summer I sessions and one course in Summer II. However, staffing summer courses could present an obstacle in the future. There are currently five graduate faculty who teach online, and their contracts do not include the summer months.

Schedule of Offerings

The following schedule of offerings will take effect in Summer I 2006; it represents eight additional course offerings per year, including five course offerings in the Spring / Fall and three in Summer sessions:

Every Fall: 7 courses

• ITEDU 510, Technology: Use and Assessment
• ITEDU 552, Career & Technical-Related Class Content
• ITEDU 568, Principles & Philosophy of Career & Technical Education
• ITEDU 690, History and Philosophy of Technology Education
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education
• ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education
• ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education

Every Spring: 7 courses

• ITEDU 510, Technology: Use and Assessment
• ITEDU 569, Organization and Coordination of Career & Technical Education
• ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education
• ITEDU 690, History and Philosophy of Technology Education
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education
• ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education
• ITMFG 560, Industrial Safety and Health

Every Summer I: 4 courses

• ITEDU 550, Career & Technical Student Organizations
• ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education
• ITEDU 696, Techniques in Coordinating Cooperative Education
• ITEDU 698, Seminar in Technology Education

Every Summer II: 1 course

• ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education

Need for Faculty

It should be noted that there are currently six core courses scheduled to be offered online in the MA in CTE. Dr. Samuel Cotton, to date, has been the sole instructor for these courses. The ability of Dr. Cotton to continue to fully staff these core classes is called into question by the doubling of the frequency of offerings. Moreover, the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education has been suffering from a lack of diversity due to a single core course instructor. In order for this, or any graduate program, to provide quality education, students should benefit from diverse approaches offered by multiple faculty members specializing in their area of study. The quality of this program and its ability to grow hinge on whether additional graduate faculty members are added to the ranks.

Recommendation: Additional Graduate Faculty are needed in the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education Program if the current growth trend is expected to continue. Two additional Graduate Faculty should be hired for the MA in CTE. 

The increased frequency of offerings will allow enrollment growth to continue, but only if there are qualified faculty to teach these courses. The teaching load of four courses per semester is typically reduced for graduate faculty who have a course reduction due to research. For those with administrative or program coordination assignments, there is a further reduction. Furthermore, in recent years, Dr. James Kirkwood, Dr. Scott Warner, Dr. Jack Wescott, and Mr. Richard Ertle taught in these graduate programs, though due to retirements, a resignation, and the duties of chairing a department, the graduate programs now must staff nearly double the course offerings with four fewer faculty available to teach these classes. Furthermore, changing needs will require new courses to be developed, but current graduate faculty have little time to engage in developing a course, especially when there is no room in their class assignments to teach such a course.

Recommendation: Additional Graduate Faculty are needed in the Master of Arts in Technology Education Program if the current growth trend is expected to continue. One additional Graduate Faculty member should be hired for the MA in TE. 

Staff

The staff of the Department's Office of Online Education consists of the Director and one student worker during Fall and Spring Semesters. During Summer months, the Department Chair assumes the duties of the Office, since the Chair's appointment is a 12-month and the Director's appointment and funds for the student worker are both on a 9-month basis. Enrollment is facilitated by the work of the Office of Online Education, which is typically the first contact for those seeking information.

Ms. Holly Baltzer, an undergraduate student, was employed 10 hours per week during the 2005 - 2006 academic year, a change from previous years where a graduate assistant had been assigned in this position.  Ms. Baltzer served as the Online Education Assistant (job description) until April 13, 2006, when her title was changed to "Research Assistant" to better reflect the work she had been doing throughout her employment (revised job description.) Even though Ms. Baltzer has performed at a superior level, the reduction to only 10 hours per week of support staff time has proven inadequate.

As an institution enters the online education market, changes are inevitable if the institution is to remain competitive. The 9-month employment model is an artifact of traditional on-campus undergraduate education, and does not serve the 12-month needs of potential applicants and students. This is exacerbated for a field where the applicants are mostly teachers who, themselves, have more time during summer months.

Recommendation: The positions of Director of Online Education and Research Assistant should be extended throughout the summer months.

Recommendation: The level of staffing (with student workers) should return to 20 hours per week, as had been the case in some previous years.

Late Changes to Course Schedule

One hindrance to enrollment occurs when a course is scheduled to be offered, but is then withdrawn shortly before it begins. If this occurs due to low enrollment, the problem may be understandable. However, this problem has occurred for other reasons and it discourages enrollment. The Technology Education Program Headcounts chart (Figure 3) showed a dip of about 20 students in the Fall of 2004. Just prior to this semester, two decisions had been made regarding course offerings. ITEDU 510 was canceled about a month before the semester began because at that time there were only four students enrolled. ITEDU 691 was postponed until the following Spring due to an instructor's sabbatical. As a result, the number of available courses was decreased from five to three. The remaining courses quickly reached their maximum enrollments, and students were turned away. This problem rose again in the Fall of 2005 when it was suggested that ITEDU 510 be dropped from the Spring 2006 semester, due to anticipated low enrollment. However, the Director was able to maintain ITEDU 510 on the list of courses, and it reached maximum enrollment (20) on January 18, 2006.

Recommendation: Because online courses tend to gain enrollment later than on-campus courses, every effort should be made to avoid cancelling a class due to low enrolment until the first week of the class.

Recommendation: If an instructor is unable to teach a class in the semester scheduled, the Department should assign that class to a different instructor rather than removing the class from the list of offerings. To do otherwise is a disadvantage to students and hurts enrollment.

Listings in the BSU Bulletin Schedule of Classes

Students-at-a-distance are told to look at the www.bsu.edu/iandt site or at the list of online courses published by the School of Extended Education. However, it is believed that on-campus students typically look only in the printed Ball State University Bulletin: Schedule of Classes to determine what is offered. On-campus students also use the online registration system for the university, rather than the specialized registration system for the School of Extended Education. Both the Bulletin and the standard BSU online registration system do not, as a rule, contain any information about online courses offered through the School of Extended Education, and they seldom enroll in these courses. This is especially problematic with a "service course" such as ITEDU 510 that is designed to serve students from a variety of fields.

For the Spring and Fall of 2006, the Director was able to get the Department's online courses listed in the printed Bulletin with the following note:

ONLINE: REG AT WWW.BSU.EDU/DISTANCE

It was learned that this requires a separate note from the Director each semester, as the Summer 2006 Bulletin did not show any online courses.

Recommendation: Ball State University's printed Schedule of Courses Bulletin should, as a rule, list all of the courses offered through Ball State's School of Extended Education, and these should be in the same section where a Department's face-to-face courses are listed. A special note should be added to clarify the nature of the offerings.

Course Development & Review

Dr. Seymour was newly assigned as the instructor of ITEDU 690, History and Philosophy of Technology Education, for the Fall of 2005, and Dr. Rose was newly assigned to teach ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education, in the Spring of 2006. Dr. Flowers was assigned to compress ITEDU 694 into a five-week 2006 Summer I offering for the first time. Each of these three curriculum revision activities occurred without additional support allocated through the BSU Distance Education Review Committee (DERC) of the School of Extended Education (SEE).

Online faculty were asked to submit course revision requests using the format suggested by the Faculty Input Group of SEE at http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/rfp.htm. One request was received, and forwarded to DERC for funding consideration, for Dr. Flowers to revise ITEDU 510 during the Fall 2006 semester, for Spring 2007 implementation (http://www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/official/itedu510revisionproposal2006.htm). This had been the pilot course first introduced in Fall 2000, so it is logical for it to be the first to be formally revised. It is hoped that future revisions of other courses will follow at a faster pace, since monies are typically allocated through DERC on a three-year revision cycle.

Prior to payment for course revision, the Director will verify that the proposed revision planning and developmental work have occurred.

Course Review Instruments and Procedures

No new course reviews occurred in this academic year, and none are planned for 2006/2007. The Peer Evaluation Instrument and Procedure for implemented online course review were developed through program faculty collaboration, and can be seen as Word and Acrobat documents at:

www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/courseevaluation.doc
www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/courseevaluation.pdf 

The course assessment instrument used by the Director can be seen here:

www.bsu.edu/iandt/official/directorsassessment.xls

To date, formal course evaluations based on initial development for online implementation occurred for the following

• ITEDU 550, Career & Technical Student Organizations, Developed by S. Cotton
• ITEDU 552, Career & Technical-Related Class Content, Developed by S. Cotton
• ITEDU 558, Principles & Philosophy of Career & Technical Education, Developed by S. Cotton
• ITEDU 569, Organization and Coordination of Career and Technical Education, Developed by S. Cotton
• ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education, Developed by R. Seymour
• ITEDU 690, History & Philosophy of Technology Education, Developed by J. Kirkwood, reviewed, then Redeveloped by S. Cotton for Fall 2004 and by R. Seymour for Fall 2005
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education, Developed by R. Shackelford
• ITEDU 696, Techniques in Coordinating Cooperative Education, Developed by S. Cotton
• ITEDU 698, Seminar in Technology Education, Developed by J. Flowers
• ITEDU 699, Research in Industrial Education, Developed by M. A. Rose
• ITMFG 560, Industrial Safety & Health, Developed by S. Cotton

To date, formal course evaluations have not occurred for the following

• ITEDU 510, Technology Use & Assessment, Developed by J. Flowers prior to the review system, Pilot Course
• ITEDU 551, Trade and Occupational Analysis, Developed by R. Ertle, and no longer offered
• ITEDU 564, Practicum in Technology Education for the Elementary Grades, Developed by J. Kirkwood prior to the review system and no longer offered
• ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education, Developed by S. Warner, Redeveloped by J. Flowers for Spring 2005, and Redeveloped by M. A. Rose for Spring 2006

Alternate Licensure Program

Dr. Richard Seymour and Dr. Ray Shackelford developed and implemented a state-approved "Alternative Licensure Program in Technology Education." This allows some individuals who are currently licensed to teach other subjects in Indiana to add Technology Education as an area on their teaching license by completing this 18-hour graduate program (See www.bsu.edu/classes/seymour/workshop.htm.) This is available only to individuals who:

"hold an Indiana Secondary, Sr. High/Jr. High/Middle School or All Grade Teaching License which must be convertible to a Rules 2002 license. Upon completion of this program, students who do not have a Beginning Teacher (1 year) Internship completed or do not have a minimum of 3 years of accredited teaching experience, will be required to complete the Rules 2002 (2 year) Indiana Mentoring and Assessment Program (IMAP)" (www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/docs/AlternateTELicense.pdf).

Course requirements for this program are:

• ITEDU 635, Implementing Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 691, Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 694, Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 697, Problems in Technology Education (3)
• ITMFG 508, Problems in Computer-Aided Design & Drafting (3)
• Directed Elective (3)

ITEDU 697 and ITMFG 508 were offered using blended instruction (hybrid courses with both face-to-face meetings and online instruction) during the Summer II session of 2005, with ten students enrolled in each section. There were insufficient students to offer these courses in the Summer of 2006.

End-of-Course Course Improvement Surveys

In order to furnish feedback needed for course improvement, the Director developed a course improvement survey instrument with feedback from those online instructors who opted to participate. Of the five online faculty, three have agreed to participate in this system that is intended to furnish them with additional information from students to aid in course redesign. An example of the basic instrument can be seen at the following location, although some faculty have opted to customize the instrument for a particular class: www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2/online?510f03imp; this survey of students is voluntary and anonymous on the part of the student. After final grades have been submitted, the Director furnishes results to faculty who wish to participate. There is no evaluation of course or faculty based on this data, except that performed by the individual faculty member, him- or herself. The purpose is to inform the instructor's plans for course/instruction improvement.

"P&T" Surveys of Students

As outlined in the Department's Promotion and Tenure guidelines, an evaluation of course and instructor by students occurs for all Fall and Spring courses during the 12th week. In the Fall and Spring semesters of 2005 / 2006, the standard 12th-week "student evaluation of course and instructor" was successfully implemented using Gradebook, and under the administration of Dr. James A. Jones. The instrument is identical to the one that has been used for face-to-face undergraduate laboratory courses for years, and may be viewed online at:
www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2/surveys?revisedIandtTCourseEval.

During 2004/2005, it was brought to the attention of the Department's Promotion and Tenure Committee that some faculty felt a need for an instrument and a system that better addressed online and graduate education (an ongoing issue first brought to the attention of this committee in 2000). It was suggested that a new set of instruments be developed based on the research literature, and validated. During the Spring of 2005, a revised instrument was forwarded by that committee for consideration by all tenured and tenure track faculty in the Department. A decision was made to return that instrument to the committee for further work as indicated during that faculty meeting. Since that time, the Department's Promotion and Tenure Committee has labored and continues to work to develop a more appropriate means for conducting this evaluation. No set of revised instruments and procedures has yet been approved by the Department faculty. Some of the issues raised concerning the current instrument and the process for assessment can be seen in a critique at: jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/projects/InstrumentCritique.htm

Surveys of Majors

As done in the previous year, near the end of the Spring 2006 semester, all graduate students majoring in the Department's programs were sent a request to take an anonymous online survey to provide feedback on the online program. The results from the survey of majors are contained in an appendix in this document.

In addition, two draft instruments were developed by the Director and Research Assistant, one to gain information from newly admitted students, and the other to be used as an exit survey. The draft versions can be seen at the following locations, although these have not yet received the approval of the Graduate Program committee, and have not yet been submitted to the Ball State Institutional Review Board, which is planned to occur after committee approval and prior to implementation.

• www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2?NewlyAcceptedStudents
• www.bsu.edu/inqsit/inqsit.cgi/flowers2?GraduateExitSurvey

Advising

Prior to February 2005, a single faculty member served as the graduate program advisor for all graduate students in the department. With the increased enrollment seen as the programs went online, this became too much for any single faculty member to accomplish without a course reduction for graduate advising. Such a course reduction was not possible, so in February 2005 advising was divided among six graduate faculty, as shown in the table above. The new "Advisor Codes" were established in January 2006.

In addition, the BSU Graduate School implemented the Graduate Student Advising Center at
webapps2.bsu.edu/gradadvisor/index.asp.

This Web-based database interfaces facilitates quicker communications of admission decisions by both the Graduate School and the Department, and allows access to a richer record of information on an applicant. The ability to immediately determine the status of an applicant has facilitated communications with applicants. The BSU Graduate School is to be commended for this successful effort that has already proven to aid communication and facilitate speedy admissions decisions.

Technology

Streaming Media

As noted in previous reports, several of the Department's Colloquium Series presentations had been live video streamed in previous years. External funding for this series ended prior to the 2005/2006 academic year, and those presentations that did occur were not streamed, following requests of the facilitator. Previously streamed Webcasts can still be viewed in an archive at www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/webcasts.htm.

It is hoped that future years will see an increased volume and variety of video streamed and video archived events from the Department and other units at the University. Obstacles to this have been identified to include the following:

• No dedicated studio facility in the Applied Technology Building
• Insufficient funding to support a colloquium series
• Irregular attendance at colloquium events, ranging from 3 to 30 in the audience
• Low use by graduate students-at-a-distance
• Disturbances to sessions caused by the technical requirements of video streaming

In the Spring of 2006, Ball State University purchased several Mediasite systems. These will allow faculty to more seamlessly create either an online or dvd-based recording of a class session, incorporating computer applications (such as PowerPoint sideshows), a document camera, dvd or videotape playback, and capture of the instructor's voice and video image. While it is largely intended to support classes, this technology can also play a role in other presentations. Unlike previous systems at Ball State, Mediasite eliminates the need for an engineer/producer on site during a class or presentation.

Recommendation: It is hoped that faculty will explore many uses of Mediasite in their face-to-face, blended, and online instruction, and in other areas, such as dissertation defenses and guest presentations. However, like other tools, this one should not be used merely because it is available. Instead, faculty should be guided by instructional technologist in the wise use of this tool for instruction, including assistance in determining under which contexts and for which objectives this tool is indicated.

Video Conferencing

Unlike a one-way video stream of a presentation, two-way videoconferencing software has been made available through Ball State University's agreement with the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS). Beginning in the Fall of 2005, faculty in a trial group at Ball State were given accounts for the use of Macromedia (now Adobe) Breeze Meeting on an IHETS server. In addition, IHETS has been retained as the sole provider of support for Breeze Meeting (See www.ihets.org/progserv/video/migration/support/).

Breeze is a tool that allows users to connect over broadband Internet lines to share information in real-time. Audio/video feeds from several participants can be simultaneously sent to all receiving the live stream. Additional features allow for sharing presentations, application sharing, polling, and chat.

Those with accounts can log in at interactive.ihets.org. A "meeting" can be established by a host (such as a BSU faculty member.) Others can join that meeting either by invitation and permission, or on a more open basis, by browsing to the "meeting room" URL provided by the host. Meetings can be recorded for later viewing.

The use of Breeze Meeting was piloted by Jim Flowers in ITEDU 510 in both Fall 2005 and Spring 2006. It met with mixed success. One of the problems related to insufficient hardware at students' remote locations. Furthermore, broadband access is needed. Jim also used it to give a presentation to colleagues from several colleges in Indiana.

Ball State has acquired its own five-account Breeze server. This is allocated for use by the University Computing Services Help Desk.

A competing product is under consideration at Ball State: Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS) (office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010908711033.aspx). A trial account has been requested by Jim Flowers to pilot the use of LCS in the Department.

Recommendation: The minimum technological requirements for students of online courses should be increased to specify the following:

• broadband connectivity either at home or work (if accessible for courses)
• computer video camera
• microphone/headphone combination

Recommendation: Faculty should be encouraged to explore video conferencing, both in their teaching and in other collaborative venues. This could include providing hardware for faculty computers. This hardware should include a dual monitor system, a video camera, and a microphone/headphone. The dual monitor system is best facilitated with a desktop computer, not with a laptop; online faculty should not be asked to teach only using only a laptop computer. In addition, there should be specialized training, not just on the mechanics of using the tool, but also related to how this tool can be used wisely by a teacher and by a learner for more effective education.

Recommendation: IHETS supports the technical aspects of using Breeze, such as aiding in the adjustment of audio levels. However, there is a need for pedagogical support, something previously provided by the BSU Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement (OTLA). OTLA is not charged with providing this support for Breeze. It is recommended, therefore, that additional instructional technologists be hired to allow OTLA to provide this support to faculty.

iweb

BSU's University Computing Services has noted that accounts on the older "web" server should be transitioned to the newer and expandable iweb server (www.bsu.edu/iweb). Previously, online faculty, and the iandt site mentioned above, made primary use of that older "web" server. However, most online faculty have applied for and received iweb accounts, and have been briefed on the transition to the iweb server. The disk quota for iWeb accounts was increased to 2 Gb per account. The University is to be commended for establishing this scalable server and for increasing storage space.

The transition to iweb has unearthed some minor problems. One concerns the use of forms. The default setting for an iweb account does not allow an author to publish a Webpage with an asp form to, say, provide Email feedback from those visiting a Webpage. The solution is for the faculty member to contact Mr. Hamid Tabariasl, Web Technology Specialist for University Computing Services, to gain this functionality.

A second issue was discovered as faculty began to assist students who, themselves, had iweb accounts. The previous "web" server allowed any visitor to view a list of the files in an author's directory, unless that author had taken special steps to block such viewing. The iweb server does not allow this. Students in online classes often publish their work online, and they are often new to online publishing. In the past, an instructor could notice errors related to filenames and file locations; the iweb system removes that ability from instructors, and decreases the service that can be provided to the student in this respect. Still, the advantages of iweb seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

iLocker

In addition to the iweb Webpage-hosting server, the University has established online file storage accounts on its "iLocker" system (www.bsu.edu/ilocker). These are currently capped at 2 Gb per user. Online instructors and students should find them especially helpful in handling larger media files, and in facilitating storage of files so they can be accessed on computers at different locations. The University is to be commended for offering this valuable file storage system.

Blackboard

Online and F2F faculty continue to use the Blackboard Course Management System (Bb) at Ball State. In some online classes, Bb is used to house class content, though in others it is used primarily to facilitate communications, quizzes, grades, and announcements, with "lecture" materials provided as independently published Web pages.

Three online faculty have expressed a need for the easy extraction of course data from their Bb course sites. In particular, faculty have asked for an easy way to export threaded discussion board data into a format that can be imported to Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel. These three faculty have used this data both for evaluating student performance and in research projects.

Recommendation: A program should be written and database access granted to allows any course owner to easily extract Blackboard discussion board data from any of their courses at any time into a format that can be input by Access or Excel, preserving all fields and information about the thread geometry.

Recognition

Student Scholarships and Awards

The Department of Industry and Technology annually recognizes outstanding students in different degree programs with awards and scholarships at a Spring banquet. A Department Scholarship Committee coordinates the selection of awardees with Department faculty, and an Awards Reception Committee facilitates the ceremonies. No recognitions, awards, or scholarships were given to graduate students in either the Master of Arts programs in Technology Education or Career and Technical Education in 2006. However, a scholarship to support graduate students was granted, the Dr. William H. Middleton Scholarship, named in honor of a long-time and respected faculty member: www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/news/MiddltnSchrsh05form2.doc. It should be noted that this scholarship is only open to an applicant who is in-coming or returning "full-time resident graduate student." As the department's masters degrees have evolved into 100% online degree programs, the requirements of full-time status and residency limit the pool of possible awardees to very few.

The 2006 Dr. William H. Middleton Scholarship was granted to Mr. Josiah Parker, who is a senior in the Technology Education bachelor's program and intends to pursue a Master of Arts degree in the Department. The entire Department congratulates him on this scholarship. 

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Scholarship Committee, the Awards Reception Committee, and the Graduate Program Committee work together to provide recognition and support of online graduate students.

Faculty Awards for Teaching

Dr. Samuel Cotton was selected by the Department's Outstanding Teacher Award Committee as the single recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award for 2006. Dr. Cotton was nominated for his work in online education. The entire Department congratulates him on this long-overdue award.

Dr. Cotton has developed and been the sole instructor for six online core classes for the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education for online delivery, in addition to teaching in the undergraduate program in Career and Technical Education, and in both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Technology Education. He is the sole advisor for the Master of Arts in Career and Technical Education. He serves as the Chair of the Department's Graduate Education Committee, and has been responsible for numerous research projects, publications, and presentations in the field of distance education.

Faculty Awards for Research

Dr. Mary Annette Rose received the prestigious Charles A. Wedemeyer Award for Outstanding Scholar in Distance Education presented by the American Journal of Distance Education and the 21st Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning at a Distance in August, 2005, in Madison, Wisconsin. This award is granted every two years for the outstanding research publication in the field of distance education. Dr. Rose won the award for her article:

Rose, M.A. (2004). Comparing productive online dialogue in two group styles: Cooperative and collaborative. The American Journal of Distance Education, 18(2), 73-88. Available online from Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Online at www.leaonline.com/

The entire Department congratulates Dr. Rose on her award. It brings credit to the Department when a faculty member's outstanding research is recognized by national body that spans disciplines.

Funded Research Awards

Dr. Jim Flowers and Ms. Holly Baltzer received a 2006 competitive Research Incentive Grant from The Council on Technology Teacher Education for a project titled, Need, demand, and models for an online doctoral program in technology [technical] education. Work on this began in Spring 2006, and is expected to be complete by Spring 2007. It includes four phases:

1. Determining the perceived demand nationwide for an online doctoral program in TE (though a survey of members of the International Technology Education Association and the American Technical Education Association)

2. Determining the perceived need nationwide for new faculty in TE who have earned their degrees through online or mostly online programs (through a survey of chairs/coordinators of university programs offering bachelor's or master's degrees in the field)

3. Characterizing existing (face-to-face) doctoral programs in TE (through a series of telephone interviews with program directors at several universities)

4. Comparing models for online doctoral program delivery (through a series of telephone interviews with program directors/faculty of online programs in fields other than TE)

Scholarly Publications

Department faculty have numerous publications. Listed below are those from the most recent year in the field of online education.

• Cotton, S., and Johnson, R. (2006). Interfacing with manufacturing systems in education and small industry using microcontrollers through the World Wide Web. The Technology Interface, 6(1). Retrieved May 1, 2006 from http://engr.nmsu.edu/~etti/Spring06/03_Cotton-Accepted/index.pdf
• Flowers, J. (2005). The effect of online delivery on graduate enrollment. J. of Industrial Teacher Education, 42(4), 7-24.

Presentations

Presentations at conferences and elsewhere have marketed the online programs. Among the presentations by Department faculty related to online education were the following.

• Flowers, J. (2005). TLA 161, Pedagogies of Distance Education (a workshop). Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, BSU. October 5 through November 2, 2005.
• Flowers, J. (2006). A learning objects frame of mind. Ball State University Libraries Faculty Showcase, Muncie, IN. Feb. 23, 2006.
• Flowers, J. (2006). Improving engagement through a learning objects approach [online reprise.] Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System 2nd Wednesday @ Noon Virtual Brownbag, Indianapolis, IN. April 12, 2006. (Streaming video: interactive.ihets.org/p16036221/)
• Johnson, R. & Cotton, S. (2005). Internet/World Wide Web interfacing to manufacturing systems using microcontrollers. National Association of Industrial Technology Annual Convention, St. Louis, MO. Nov. 2005.
• Rose, M.A. (2005). Comparing productive online dialogue in two group styles: Cooperative and collaborative. Presentation by the recipient of the Wedemeyer Award for Outstanding Scholar in Distance Education. 21st Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Madison, WI. Aug., 2005.

Program Recognition

Ball State University's graduate programs in education, including the Master of Arts programs in Technology Education and in Career and Technical Education, received accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in 2006 (See www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,42197--,00.html). This is in addition to Ball State's previous reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).

In preparation for NCATE accreditation, graduate faculty in Department's two master's programs agreed to establish "decision points" for student advancement that had not previously existed, and to upload selected student performance assessment data to the "rGrade" database.

Website: itech and iandt

One of the most critical marketing tools is the program Website. The Department of Industry and Technology has a unique Website located at www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/ (See Figure 1, below.) At the time this was written, there is no mention of any online program offerings on the main page of this site. This oversight has been brought to the attention of those responsible for the Website. It is seen as an internal obstacle to future enrollment.

In an attempt to provided a Website that supports the Department's online graduate programs and serves as a tool for marketing, the Director of Online Education and his staff developed an alternative site at www.bsu.edu/iandt before the programs first came online (See Figure 2, below). This site is under the direct control of the Office of Online Education, which facilitates inclusion of items pertaining to online education.

1. Main Page Current Department Website www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/

2. "Faculty" Page "iandt" Site www.bsu.edu/web/iandt/faculty.htm

As noted in earlier reports, in April, 2003, Nancy Prater conducted a formal usability assessment test of the www.bsu.edu/iandt Website. Her report can be seen at: www.bsu.edu//iandt/official/IandT_Summary.doc. Changes are continually being made to improve the iandt site. It includes program information, an extensive question/answer page, information about faculty, news, links to admissions, registration, the graduate catalog, and much more.

One of the most helpful features is the use of a form created by the Office of Online Education to gain information from those interested in the program, and a second form used to send a response to those requesting information, each also sending this information to a secure database. To date, over 900 requests for information have been received with this form since the program went online in 2002, with approximately 150 received  from May 2005 through April 2006; this does not count the additional requests for information received through typical Email and phone contacts. (Email and phone contacts have been received both by individual professors and by the Department office; the Email account for the Office of Online Education is onlinetech@bsu.edu.)

Vignette and Beyond

As noted in previous reports, a version of the iandt site to support online education was created by the Office of Online Education in the Vignette Content Suite, which had been adopted for Ball State University's site. In the 2005/2006, Sandy Cameron and University Communications developed a new, draft Department Website using the Vignette Content Suite  at vgncds.bsu.edu:82/itech/(See Figures 3 and 4, below.) The Department's Website Committee is reviewing this draft site. It should be noted that Ball State University's contract for the Vignette Content Suite expires in 2007, and the University has hired a consulting firm to assist in evaluating alternatives.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Department's Website Committee act quickly to suggest revisions for, and approve the draft site noted above.

Website: School of Extended Education

It should be noted that additional information about the Department's online degree programs has been made available on the Vignette system through the School of Extended Education at www.bsu.edu/distance/article/0,,7491--,00.html and www.bsu.edu/distance/article/0,,7488--,00.html.

Promotional Items

Again this year, laser-cut acrylic gears, manufactured by the Director and containing program contact information, were distributed to interested parties through the mail, at conferences, and elsewhere. In the past, these have been found to be of interest to those involved with technical subject matter. The gear pictured to the right is used to market both online masters degrees. Three-piece laser-cut wooden puzzles were also manufactured and distributed.

Email Marketing

The Email marketing that occurred in the first online years of the programs was halted in  2003/2004 due to the global proliferation of spam and viruses and is not expected to be used again.

Brochures

Brochures had been designed for the MA in TE and the MA in CTE and were used beginning in the 2004 / 2005 year. It has been suggested by some program faculty and potential students that the brochures be redesigned to include more program information, especially a listing of courses, along with the mailing address of the department. These had been present in older program brochures.

TE Brochure www.bsu.edu/iandt/te.pdf

CTE Brochure www.bsu.edu/iandt/cate.pdf

Recommendation: Upon the next redesign of these two brochures, program requirements (including lists of courses) and a mailing address should be included.

Website Listings & Banner Advertisement

A banner advertisement was again placed at the Website of the International Technology Education Association, on their "Where to Get a Degree" page: www.iteaconnect.org/J4.html. This links users directly to the main "iandt" page supporting online graduate programs: www.bsu.edu/web/iandt. The banner is an animated graphic consisting of two frames:

In addition, links to Ball State's online information about these two programs are found on a number of other sites, such as the sample listed below, often in response to a request by the Office of Online Education.

• masstec.org/new.html (Massachusetts Technology Education / Engineering Collaborative)
• www.geocities.com/tech_ed_2000/profession/profession.htm (The Technology Education Profession, by Dean Wadd)
• www.allaboutonlineeducation.com/online-masters.htm (All About Online Education)
• www.firn.edu/doe/programs/pdf/flash_147.pdf & www.ftea.com/Flash_156.pdf (listed by the Florida Technology Education Association)
• www.nde.state.ne.us/cte/Newsletters/April03.htm (listed by the Nebraska Department of Education, Career & Technical Education)
• www.atte.org/FYI2.html (listed by the Association of Texas Technology Education)
• www.emsc.nysed.gov/workforce/techprep/tpbank.html (listed by the New York State Education Department)

Magazine Advertisements

In an effort to boost enrollment, primarily in the Master of Arts in Career & Technical Education, the 1/4-page advertisement at the right was developed for placement in two magazines typically read by CTE teachers. One of these is Tech Directions, which is distributed to both CTE teachers and Technology Teachers at no charge by Prakken Publications. The second is Techniques, the journal of The Association of Career and Technical Education. A third placement of the ad is expected in the guide for the ACTE 2006 National Convention.

This marks a return to magazine advertisements, which had been attempted when these programs first came online and was abandoned due to meager evidence of effectiveness. However, with attitudes toward distance education changing year-by-year, the Graduate Program Committee suggested a trial return to this marketing strategy, using both the magazine previously employed (Tech Directions) and one not used before (Techniques.) It should be noted that word-of-mouth advertising has been found to be a factor among those who have applied to this program, and that magazine advertisements can promote both direct marketing of readers and indirect marketing of those who hear information from readers.

Related Developments in 2005 / 2006

• Dr. Ray Shackelford's title changed from Professor and Administrative Assistant to Professor and Assistant Chair.
• Dr. James Kirkwood, who had taught online classes even in his retirement, no longer teaches in the Department.
• Mr. Richard Ertle, who had taught an online class, retired from Ball State University.
• Department faculty who qualify for graduate faculty classification were urged by the Director to apply.
• Possible future online offerings have been discussed with various Department faculty.
• The Director provided consultation services to faculty from other departments interested in online education.
• Dr. Jim Flowers served on a "Graduate Certificate Program Think Tank" established by the Deans of the Graduate School and the School of Extended Education.
• Jim Flowers served on the "Taskforce to Improve Off-Campus Courses" for the School of Extended Education.

Appendix A. Program of Study for the Online MA in Technology Education Program

The following subset of the courses listed in the Graduate Catalog has been placed online:

Total Hours Required: 30 Professional Core (15 hrs required)

• ITEDU 635 Implementing Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 690 History and Philosophy of Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 691 Strategies & Materials for Teaching Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 694 Curriculum Development in Technology Education (3)
• ITEDU 698 Seminar in Technology Education (3)

Research Requirements (3 hrs required, 3 - 9 hrs possible)

• ITEDU 699 Research in Industrial Education (3)
• THES 698 Thesis (1-6) (optional)

Professional Education (3 hrs required)

• EDTEC 550 Curriculum Integration of Learning Technology (3)
• (other "professional education" courses that may come online)

Electives (3 to 9 hrs, to achieve 30 total program hrs)

• ITEDU 510 Technology: Use and Assessment (3)
• ITEDU 564 Practicum in Technology Education for Elementary Grades (3)
• EDPSY 641 Statistical Methods in Educational & Psychological Research (3)
• ITEDU 550 Career and Technical Student Organizations (renamed) (3)
• (other electives or transfer credits approved by the program advisor)

Appendix B. Program of Study for the Online MA in Career & Technical Education Program

The following subset of the courses listed in the Graduate Catalog has been placed online:

Total Hours Required: 30