Source: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA submitted to
EMPOWERING FACULTY TO DELIVER GRADUATE DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0218265
Grant No.
2009-38411-19760
Project No.
GEOE-2009-00869
Proposal No.
2009-00869
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
ER
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2009
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2014
Grant Year
2009
Project Director
Bertrand, J. A.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016
Performing Department
CAES Office of Academic Affairs
Non Technical Summary
Enrollment in online courses is exploding at a reported annual rate of approximately 35 percent per year. Nearly 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term, a substantial increase over the 2.3 million reported in the fall 2004 term. Public institutions and the largest institutions of all types have consistently been the leaders in online course offerings. More that 96 percent of large institutions (over 15,000 total students) offer online courses which is more than double the rate for the smallest institutions. Online students tend to be older, are often employed, and are more likely to have family responsibilities compared to traditional students. While the overwhelming majority of online students are undergraduates, the proportion of graduate students in online education is slightly higher relative to the overall higher education population. In a survey of university presidents and chancellors of institutions belonging to the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, 66.7 percent of respondents noted that online education was critical to the long-term strategy of their institution. In addition, 40.5% of respondents noted that online education was a component of the institution's strategic plan. AG*IDEA was formed in 2008 and is a consortium to facilitate the teaching of courses across state lines. The next step is to develop the courses. Faculty issues, both acceptance of online teaching and time requirements for course conversion and teaching were identified as two of the barriers to widespread adoption of online education. The purpose of this proposal is to provide training and resources to faculty in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia to empower them to convert courses to an online distance education format. Faculty members in CAES hold unique expertise in several areas and will likely be significant contributors to the consortium development efforts. In addition to developing courses to be taught through AG*IDEA, funds from this project will also enable faculty to develop undergraduate and graduate on-line courses to reach out to students in all parts of the state of Georgia. The objective of this project is to increase the number of students receiving degrees in food and agricultural sciences and to increase the quality of education by providing access to a wider diversity and more courses and academic programs to more students through the use of distance education technology. Specifically, the project will (1) provide technical and pedagogical training to faculty for online course development; and (2) provide mini-grants to faculty members as resources for the course development process.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The objective of this project is to increase the number of students receiving degrees in food and agricultural sciences and to increase the quality of education by providing access to a wider diversity and more courses and academic programs to more students through the use of distance education technology. Specifically, the project will (1) provide technical and pedagogical training to faculty for online course development; and (2) provide mini-grants to faculty members as resources for the course development process. The number of graduates will increase for the following reasons: 1. Availability of graduate courses in food and agricultural sciences will increase at institutions participating in academic programs offered through AG*IDEA (www.agidea.org). This consortium was established on March 6, 2008, and was created with resources from two HEC grants. Its purpose is to share academic programs and courses in the food and in agricultural related sciences across state lines through the use of distance education technology. Currently, twenty-eight universities are collaborating through AG*IDEA. Both undergraduate and graduate programs can be accommodated through AG*IDEA but this grant will focus on developing graduate courses to be taught by University of Georgia (UGA) professors through AG*IDEA and will benefit students in many states. Because of increased availability of courses through AG*IDEA, small graduate programs will be able to continue to train graduate students, hence the number of graduates will increase. Institutions that do not have a full complement of faculty to teach all necessary courses within a discipline will be able to continue to train graduate students if their students can take some courses via distance education through AG*IDEA. This will prevent small graduate programs from having to close and will increase the number of students that graduate. This will benefit not only UGA but other collaborating AG*IDEA institutions. 2. Relative to courses offered through AG*IDEA, programs will likely grow when graduate students learn that they can take their courses from the best professors in their discipline, who may be at other universities. 3. Undergraduate courses will be more available to time- and place-bound students and to students at the Tifton and Griffin campuses. Because students do not have to be residents of the campus, we will be able to expand academic programs to additional markets and clients such as non-traditional students, extension agents, and students at other UGA campuses. Additionally, because courses will be offered through distance education technology, the project will result in more efficient use of resources. For example, graduate courses with typical low enrollments will be taught by one professor to students at multiple universities through AG*IDEA rather than by a professor at each university. Also, the project will increase the quality of education because courses can be taught by the best professor or team of professors in a particular discipline and taken by students at different campuses and institutions.
Project Methods
A Teaching Faculty Symposium on "Enhancing learning and expanding opportunities with distance education," will initiate this project. Its objectives will be to reinforce the culture of quality teaching and increase the interest in and knowledge about distance education technology. The Symposium will end with a call for applications for faculty interested in the CAES (College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) Distance Learning Fellowship, a group of faculty that will receive further educational opportunities as well as mini-grants. Upon the completion of the Symposium, all participants will be asked to evaluate the Symposium and suggest strategies for improvement. The application for CAES Distance Learning Fellows will ask faculty to describe their interest in distance education, description of, and need for the course to be developed, and specific professional development needs (e.g., pedagogy and technology needs). Fifteen CAES faculty will be selected to receive $4,000 mini-grants and eight additional faculty already teaching distance education courses will be selected to receive $2,000 mini-grants for course and technology updates. All 22 faculty members will be deemed "Fellows" and will participate in the distance learning Workshop and be part of the Faculty Learning Community. Fellows will be expected to develop a distance education course, commit to participate in the faculty development process and will either a $4,000 or $2,000 mini-grant to support their efforts. Fellows will retreat for a multi-day Workshop focused on distance teaching and learning pedagogy and technology. As part of the Workshop each fellow will meet with the managers of the distance learning Workshop and the Faculty Learning Community to discuss specific pedagogy and technology needs so that the respective programs can best address the needs, interests, and context of the participants. The end of the workshop will serve as the Faculty Learning Community kick-off. The FLC Fellows will meet regularly, to learn from each other's experiences in developing the distance learning courses, address barriers, challenges, and opportunities, and attend seminars. Books, documents, and materials will be provided to the FLC members to support group discussions. Upon completion, there will be an event to present their new distance learning courses. All fellows will evaluate the new courses, complete a summative evaluation of the program, and a self-evaluation of their participation and accomplishments. Upon completion, this project will equip CAES, UGA, and AG*IDEA collaborators with the resources needed to enhance academic breadth and quality, expand academic programs to additional markets, increase enrollment, enhance academic flexibility, enhance the status of agricultural and environmental education, improve learning, and increase the number of faculty involved and collaborating in delivering distance education.

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this project was faculty in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) who wished to develop courses taught through distance education (DE) technology. DE is being used by CAES to reach (1) students at other CAES campuses (total of three) and (2) students in colleges of agriculture in other states through the online consortium AG*IDEA. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training and professional development opportunities for faculty who wish to extend their course offerings through online delivery was one of the main accomplishments of this grant. They were given an opportunity to participate in 3 day-long workshops and symposia, belong to a Faculty Learning Community led by their peers, and provided one-on-one assistance for their course development. The resources provided by the grant also gave them to ability to purchase equipment and software that they needed. In addition, the faculty who served as the leaders of this project gained a great deal of leadership experience. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A presentation was made to the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, which is composed of faculty teaching in college of agriculture all over the world. The project was presented as a successful model that can be used by other colleges of agriculture. The leaders in our project were faculty in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication, and by nature of their disciplines, they were the leaders of online course development in our college. It was an opportunity for them to showcase their accomplishments and teach others based on their experience. Most colleges of agriculture have a similar department, so this model is easily transferrable to other institutions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project successfully accomplished our goal to develop and offer new online courses. Faculty in the college who had experience developing and teaching online courses were the leaders and taught faculty who were new to this technology. When this grant was initiated, there were no resources available at the university level for online course development, so we were among the leaders at our university for this. Faculty from all three of our campuses, located in Athens, GA, Tifton, GA, and Griffin, GA participated as both instructors and students. The faculty leaders developed and implemented the following learning activities and events: (1) an open CAES Teaching Faculty Symposium was held to introduced concepts of online teaching. Faculty leaders presented their insights and opportunities to reach new student audiences through online technology. The opportunity to develop a new online course through the resources provided by this grant was presented. (2) A call for proposals was issued, then faculty were selected to participate in the grant activities to develop a new online course. (3) A day-long training workshop was held to teach faculty about tools and techniques for online course development. (4) A Faculty Learning Community was formed to facilitate on-going conversations about online course development and delivery. (5) After new courses were developed, a final symposium was held for faculty to present their experiences related to the development of their new online courses. Products consisted of new online courses that were developed and revisions to existing distance education courses. The following new online courses were developed and are being taught to CAES students at other CAES campuses: a Uruguay study abroad preparatory course, Plant Physiology, Environmental Law and Governmental Regulation, Soil Physics, Entomology for Teachers, Biological Control of Pests, New Food Product Development, Methods of Instruction in Agriculture Education, Developing Community Programs in Agriculture, Leadership Theory, and Developing Community Programs in Agriculture. The following existing distance education courses were revised and updated: Communication in Agricultural and Environmental Science, Diffusion of Innovations, International Agricultural Development, Program Development for Agricultural Leaders, Program Evaluation, Advanced program Evaluation/Data Analysis, The Global Seminar, Curriculum Planning in Agricultural Education, Instructional Strategies in Agricultural Education, and Research Methods in Agricultural Education. Courses under development include Soil Erosion and Conservation, Agribusiness Marketing, and Medical Entomology. In addition, two Distance Education Laboratories were developed, one at our main campus and one at an extended campus. These are equipped with technology for faculty to use to develop and deliver online distance education courses. Not only did this grant accomplish its goals to develop new DE courses, it created momentum in the college and has propelled the college forward in this area.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Morgan, A. C., M. S. Pollard, J. Rucker, D. L. King, J. B. Peake, N. E. Fuhrman, F. Flanders, D. W. Duncan, J. Sylvia, J. A. Bertrand and M. Navarro. 2011. Enhancing the ability of faculty to succeed in their efforts to teach at a distance. NACTA J. Vol. 55:80, Suppl. 1, (Abstr.).


Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The objective of this grant was to provide resources and training to faculty in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of Georgia to develop courses taught through distance education (DE) technology. DE is being used by CAES to reach the following three audiences: (1) students at other CAES campuses (total of three), (2) AG*IDEA students in other states, and (3) Georgia students who are not located at a resident campus. Activities and events included (1) a CAES Teaching Faculty Symposium in which CAES faculty were introduced to DE concepts by other CAES experienced in teaching DE courses. The opportunity to develop a DE course through the resources provided by this grant was presented. (2) A call for proposals was issued and faculty were selected to participate in the grant activities and develop a DE course. (3) A day-long training workshop was held to teach faculty about tools and techniques for developing DE courses. (4) A Faculty Learning Community was formed to facilitate on-going conversations about DE course development. (5) A final symposium was held for faculty to present their experiences related to the development of their DE course. Products consisted of new DE courses that were developed and revisions to existing DE courses. The following new DE courses were developed and are being taught to CAES students at other CAES campuses: a Uruguay study abroad preparatory course, Plant Physiology, Environmental Law and Governmental Regulation, Soil Physics, Entomology for Teachers, Biological Control of Pests, New Food Product Development, Methods of Instruction in Agriculture Education, Developing Community Programs in Agriculture, Leadership Theory, and Developing Community Programs in Agriculture. The following existing DE courses were revised and updated: Communication in Agricultural and Environmental Science, Diffusion of Innovations, International Agricultural Development, Program Development for Agricultural Leaders, Program Evaluation, Advanced program Evaluation/Data Analysis, The Global Seminar, Curriculum Planning in Agricultural Education, Instructional Strategies in Agricultural Education, and Research Methods in Agricultural Education. DE courses being developed include Soil Erosion and Conservation, Agribusiness Marketing, and Medical Entomology. In addition, two Distance Education Laboratories were developed, one at our main campus and one at an extended campus. These are equipped with technology for faculty to use to develop and deliver online distance education courses. PARTICIPANTS: Faculty who led this project included Jean Bertrand, Maria Navarro, Chris Morgan, Dennis Duncan, Nick Fuhrman, Jason Peake, and Diana King. Faculty who participated as learners included Nathan Smith, Curt Lacy, Terry Centner, Timothy Grey, Mussie Habteselassie, David Radcliff, Orville Lindstrom, Marianne Shockley Cruz, Kris Braman, John Ruberson, Yao-wen Huang, Jill Rucker, and Frank Flanders. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project are faculty in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences who desire to learn the skills needed to develop and teach a distance education course. Efforts include the delivery of distance education courses to UGA students at all three campuses, to other students not in residence at one of the three CAES campuses, and to students in other states taking courses from CAES faculty through AG*IDEA. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Thirteen faculty with little or no experience in online course development participated in this project and were funded to convert existing courses or develop new courses to deliver in a distance education format. Training was provided by six faculty in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication (ALEC) who were already proficient in the development and delivery of online courses. To date, eleven courses have been developed and delivered through DE technology and three additional courses are under development. Faculty who developed new online courses were members of six different departments, including Agricultural and Applied Economics, Crop and Soil Science, Horticulture, Entomology, Food Science, and Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, so many disciplines were affected. In addition, the ALEC faculty who served as instructors were provided resources to improve their existing online courses, which resulted in ten online courses being revised and improved. This project resulted in a total of 19 faculty learning new skills for online course development. The baseline knowledge at the beginning of the project ranged from faculty who were completely unfamiliar with online course development to those who were already teaching online courses. Whatever their starting point, all faculty gained new knowledge and skills related to online course development, even those who served as instructors. These newly developed online courses are now being delivered to students at locations in which they did not have previous access to these courses and materials.

Publications

  • Morgan, A. C., M. S. Pollard, J. Rucker, D. L. King, J. B. Peake, N. E. Fuhrman, F. Flanders, D. W. Duncan, J. Sylvia, J. A. Bertrand and M. Navarro. 2011. Enhancing the ability of faculty to succeed in their efforts to teach at a distance. NACTA J. Vol. 55:80, Suppl. 1, (Abstr.).