Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
408 Old Main
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802-1505
Performing Department
Agricultural & Biological Engi
Non Technical Summary
This project addresses the need for graduate-level professional education in bioenergy by developing and delivering four new online bioenergy courses at The Pennsylvania State University. These courses, taken together, will constitute a graduate certificate in bioenergy, and will also form part of a larger online MPS program in "Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems" (RESS). Special effort will be placed on the creation of innovative hands-on practical/laboratory educational experiences that utilize a variety of learning tools and counteract the difficulties associated with distance learning of technical subjects. Course material will be created and integrated into an online learning environment, courses will be delivered, and the effectiveness of the courses will be measured through pre- and post- testing of the students. Of particular interest will be the effectiveness of the hands-on practical training component for developing student confidence and understanding. The impact of the project on instructor teaching attitudes and plans will also be assessed. Course materials developed by this project will be made available to other institutions, via a creative commons "share and share alike" license, to extend the impact of this effort, and will be promoted through existing regional bioenergy projects and networks.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
This project addresses the need for graduate-level professional education in bioenergy by developing and delivering four new online bioenergy courses at The Pennsylvania State University. These courses, taken together, will constitute a graduate certificate in bioenergy, and will also form part of a larger online MPS program in "Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems" (RESS). Special effort will be placed on the creation of innovative hands-on practical/laboratory educational experiences that utilize a variety of learning tools and counteract the difficulties associated with distance learning of technical subjects.
Project Methods
The plan of operation and methodology for this project can be broken down according to the major tasks associated with the effort:1. Development of course materials: Upon commencement of the grant, the PIs will contact course faculty and the e-Learning office in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and establish a timetable for completing material for the online courses based on the schedule of this project (see "Section C: Products, Results and Measurable Outcomes" for course content). Initial preparation of course material is complete for three of the courses, while the fourth will be created as part of the project. The course faculty will generate course material (i.e. text, graphics, exercises, assignments), and will work with the e-Learning office to weave this material into the online course management system. Our plan is to utilize the"Drupal" course management system, with which the project team is experienced. Upon completion of a course's online curriculum, the courseware content will be evaluated by the PIs and a bioenergy specialist, with feedback for changes and modifications provided.2. Development of practical hands-on components: An instructional design meeting will be convened to discuss and establish a detailed plan for hands-on practical educational experiences in the bioenergy courses. Our approach will be to integrate text, video, interactive online, and self-directed experimental tasks in such a way as to develop skills, demonstrate principles, and reinforce important concepts in bioenergy that have been introduced in the preceding lesson(s). The specific approach will depend on the course and subject material, but could consist, for example, of a project kit sent to each student, with video demonstrations of procedures and online sharing and analysis of data amongst the class. In the case of a topic that does not lend itself well to self-directed activity (e. g. farm equipment mechanization), we would lean more heavily on video andinteractive web-based activities to provide an effective simulation of in-field USDA HEC Grant Proposal 5 Innovative Online Bioenergy Educationinstructional activities. Field testing of the hands-on training material will be carried out by one domestic and two international partners, ensuring that the materials and instructions are clear, usable and beneficial for as wide an audience as possible. Their involvement will include 1) taking part in a focus group meeting at Penn State to provide educational material design guidance to the project team, and 2) carrying out testing of the training material once it has been created, providing feedback on its merits and needs.3. Delivery of courses: The courses will be delivered via the Penn State World Campus - the university's academic unit for online delivery of for-credit courses (http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/). World Campus currently offers 17 bachelor's degree programs and 28 graduate degree programs through its online system, making it one of the world's largest online educational programs. Marketing of the bioenergy courses created in this project will be carried out by Penn State World Campus, and will include print, online, and other media. In addition, the course faculty for this project will market the program to their respective contacts in the bioenergy industry.4. Analysis of project success: The project team's external evaluator will work with the course faculty and Penn State World Campus to design and administer preand post- course student evaluations that assess the degree to which project goals are achieved in terms of student learning. Also, the evaluator will assess the impact of the project on the teaching methods and attitudes of the four course faculty involved with this project.