Wilhelm Rossak
July 1996
This report describes the Virtual Classroom (VC) and video delivery of NJIT’s CIS 390 (Analysis and System Design) course.
I taught CIS 390 in the distance learning program via VC in the Fall Semester of 1995 at NJIT, after having taped it earlier in a separate session. I am also currently wrapping up a second distance learning and VC delivery of this course, this time during a compressed Summer Semester (1996). I will use my experience in both of the VC courses in this document. Where possible, I will generalize from past experience and describe a “currently valid” situation.
Before Fall Semester 1995, I taught CIS 390 twice without the use of the VC system. The first time I ever taught the undergraduate Analysis and System Design course was a traditional face-to-face class. The second time was the actual taping of the course materials.
This report gives first an overview of the course. This includes a discussion of content and organization of CIS 390, as it has been adapted for use of the VC system. Problems and success stories form the next section. A short evaluation of the lecturer’s perspective concludes the discussion.
In the first CIS 390 VC course, Fall 1995, I started with fifteen students on my roster. However, the drop-out rate was high; six students dropped the course early or never even got “off the ground”. This rendered it fairly complicated to keep an active discussion going with only nine students left. The grade distribution in this course, for the remaining students, was about equal to what I would expect in a face-to-face teaching environment. The only unusual element was that two students got an “incomplete” due to not showing up for the final exam. The grades had the distribution of: 2 A, 1 B+, 3 B, 1 C+, 2 I (incomplete). Both of the incomplete were never changed, as the students did not follow up (i.e. the incomplete has automatically changed into an F by the end of Spring 1996). This means that finally only seven out of originally fifteen students passed the course.
The major problem in this course was the high drop-out rate and the resulting problem of under-population in the conference. For the remaining students, based on their feedback to me, the experience was a good one, rated above a normal face-to-face course.
The second CIS 390 VC course, Summer 1996, is currently still in session (close to the finals). It started with seventeen students; two late registrations, who were admitted to the course without my knowledge or permission, brought the number to nineteen. Up to now, two students have dropped the course. Two students have never handed in any homework or assignment; I expect them to be in a dropped status on my final roster (one of them is one of the late registered students). A final grade distribution is not available at this time, but the numbers indicate a distribution that is very close to the one of the first CIS 390 VC course. I do, however, not expect any incompletes.
A summer class is, of course, a special case. After making it clear to everybody that a distance learning course in summer does not mean that work is minimized, everything has been running fairly smooth. Due to the higher number of students, the VC conference is more active. The major problem this time is that deadlines are very close to each other in a compressed summer semester (even though we stretched it to nine weeks) and all faxed/mailed assignments are notoriously late.
- Prerequisites
We expect students to be fluent in at least one major programming language. They should have some experience in working on software projects on the programmer level, at least within the university environment. The concepts of structured programming are expected to be known.
- Scope
The software life-cycle concept is the backbone of CIS 390. A complete overview and discussion of life-cycle models is presented in the beginning. CIS 390 then focuses on the analysis and design phases of software development (as indicated by its title), the so-called up-stream activities of the life-cycle. Detailed design is the closest the course comes to actual programming, connecting the presented design methodologies with already existing programming knowledge (structured programming techniques - see prerequisites). The most popular analysis and design methods (and the corresponding languages) are introduced. Each method is first presented on a theoretical level, then discussed, compared, and applied in examples. An introduction to quality assurance techniques for software, including informal, team driven efforts, and cost estimation techniques complement the syllabus.
- Topics
Course contents remained basically unchanged between face-to-face and distance learning/VC courses. There was an increase in the quantity, and possibly the quality, of overhead transparencies used for presentation in the taped version (for VC courses).
The increase in quantity is most likely due to the fact that it is more convenient to develop and display the presentation on a PC, a technology I used first when taping the course. The improvement in quality is, in my opinion, simply triggered by the fact that nobody wants to look “less than perfect” on a tape that is going to be used on a repetitive basis. The fact that CIS 390 was my first taped course ever surely just worsened that slight case of paranoia.
- Prerequisites
The student must be able to watch the tapes, either via public television or by renting them and playing them on a VCR. Access to NJIT’s EIES/VC system is mandatory. The student is also responsible to buy any printed materials that have been indicated as text-book or reading assignments. Access to a fax, for handing in assignments using graphical notations, is helpful to avoid mailing delays.
- Access to EIES/VC
In the CIS 390 distance learning courses I already delivered, access was usually given by using a PC that establishes a modem-to-modem connection and runs a (VT100) terminal emulation. Access via the internet was a rare exception.
- Welcome Package
A welcome package is provided for every student in the distance learning program. This package contains a letter from the lecturer, focusing on course specific issues, and materials from NJIT’s Distance Learning Department, covering general organizational questions and procedures.
The Distance learning materials are common to all courses and will not be discussed further in this report (with the exception that they may cause problems and, therefore, are mentioned in section 3.1). The rest of this section is mostly a summary of what would typically be in my, the lecturer’s, letter.
- Introductory Meeting
A face-to-face introductory meeting is offered at the start of each distance learning/VC course. The main reason is to get students who are new to the VC system acquainted with its functionality and to update those who already know it about new features or interfaces.
The only interface used in my past courses was the VT100 full-screen type. Most students were VC beginners and did not have the equipment, or did not see the necessity, to go for the windows-driven interface, which offers downloading capability to enable local work on your PC (saves telephone money). The Internet browser-type interface was not ready at that time (and a vast majority of students would not have had Internet access anyway).
I also use the introductory meeting to discuss the course in content and organization.
- Topics/Tapes
Course topics are covered by 36 tapes, with thirty minutes running time each. Tapes are rented by the students directly from a company, or can be watched on public television (was available in one of the courses only). Order forms for the rental process are enclosed in the welcome package.
- Lecture Notes
As mentioned above, the presentation material developed for CIS 390 is extensive. As I could not find a text-book on the market that would cover all topics appropriately, I decided to use the print-out of all developed (and taped) presentation materials as a hand-out that substitutes for a text-book. For those students who desperately want a book, suggestions are provided in the welcome letter and in the VC conference.
The solution to use hand-outs instead of a text-book is also applied to face-to-face courses.
Hand-outs can be bought by the students directly from a company. Order forms for the hand-outs are enclosed in the welcome package.
- VC Participation
Participation in the VC conference is a major part of the distance learning version of CIS 390. There are two different forms of VC participation in CIS 390:
In the introductory meeting I make it clear that I expect all students to check the conference on a regular basis. Questions, comments, discussions and all other lecturer/student interactions, usually happening during a face-to-face class, are to be substituted by working in the conference.
This, of course, constitutes THE major difference between the VC and the face-to-face version of the course (see section 3 for a discussion of problems and advantages, and also the last paragraph in this section for an organizational summary).
“Homeworks” are questions posted by me, i.e. the lecturer, in the conference. The answers to these homeworks are graded. All in all, about 30 points (equals 30% of the grade) are allocated for homeworks. The number of homeworks depends on the time- frame: In a full semester, about six homeworks are specified; during the summer semester I used only three.
Some homeworks can be solved in team-work, others should be done on an individual basis. Team-work can be done using the basic conference mechanism of the VC system. Individual solutions can be organized via the “activity” feature of VC, or simply by using the VC system’s e-mail (what seems to be easier for a VC beginner).
In past courses, all homework had to be text-oriented only, due to the limitations of the VT100 VC interface used. All exercises involving graphical inputs or solutions were called “assignments” and delivered outside the VC system (see below). This will change hopefully with the advent of a browser-type VC interface on the internet.
- Mail-in Assignments
There are typically four assignments that include a graphical notation on the input and/or output side. Each assignment is worth 10 points (10%) towards the final grade. Assignments have to be solved on an individual basis.
Assignments are sent out with the welcome letter. Their delivery deadlines are included in the syllabus. Due to the limitations of the VT100 VC interface, students have to hand-deliver, mail or fax assignments. Feedback for assignments is given, were possible, via the VC system in text form.
- Exams
Only a final exam is administered during a typical CIS 390 VC course. The final exam counts for another 30 points (30%).
A traditional face-to-face course would typically have less formal assignments and more informal discussions on possible solutions and alternatives. This is based on the fact that in a face-to-face situation the handling and manipulation of graphics, essential to most analysis and design exercises, is much less limited. Furthermore, the step-wise refinement of a wrong solution into a good solution is easier, less-time consuming, and typically more productive with all students present in “real-time”. A mid-term exam would substitute for the decrease in formal assignments (and is easy to administer without the need for students to travel to come to campus, or to organize a proctor).
It seems to be simply easier to come to campus, find the lecture room, and get everything right there. In a distance learning/VC setting, there are always problems with undelivered, late or mixed-up tapes and hand-outs. The VCR does not work, or public television seems to be hard to find amidst all the channels with more entertaining programs. PCs and modems break down exactly as soon as the semester starts or do so at the first sign of deadline problems with homework.
All in all, there are many more possible points of failure per student in distance learning, and statistical probability makes sure that no course ever starts without having at least one of them actually fail. Delays in sending out the welcome package to the students lead necessarily to a back-up of all tape and hand-out ordering activities, which render typically the first week useless. Finally, let us be honest, sometimes all that technical and organizational stuff is of course a great excuse for the personal laziness of students (and is an excuse that can not easily be checked remotely!). Sometimes all that startup overhead also seems to be overwhelming for the newcomer.
Technical problems should reduce dramatically over time, as all students and their equipment simply become better adapted to connect remotely to the university. Welcome packages MUST go out on time. However, how we can make it clear to every participating student to lose no time in starting preparations, escapes me. Letters, telephone calls, etc. do not seem to have the necessary effect. It seems that everybody must go at least once through the personal experience of being really late with some of the prerequisites.
- Access to EIES/VC
There is still a technological threshold to conquer, as not all students are seasoned net-surfers or tele-commuters. To get the terminal emulation going, set all parameters right, and get a VC user-id are major reasons for delays, especially by beginners. I expect this situation to improve over time, as remote access to the university is soon going to be the rule and not the exception.
One word of warning: Even though the level of technology available to students at home is going to rise fast, we will have to take into account that not everybody can and will always be able to upgrade fast enough. As an example, consider the migration from the VT100 VC interface to the Internet browser version. Even though many students will soon work with the browser interface, and this will improve the VC system dramatically, a large minority will remain working with the old interface, simply because their PC is too slow, or they do not want to buy an internet service contract, etc. This means that we have to face the fact that we will end up with a split population of VC users over the next two to three years, a situation that makes teaching and organization a problem. However, to simply enforce the use of the newest technology by discontinuing the old technology would result in denying access to the distant learning program to a significant set of students.
- Introductory Meeting and Starting Phase
Another phenomenon: Most of the time those students who need the introduction most do not show up, with very good or no reason at all. Sometimes, in the case of really remote students, e.g. in California, this is also the rule.
I think it would be an excellent idea to send every beginner a tape that jump-starts him/her on the VC system, a concept that has been tested already and seems to work fine. Later on, a network compatible tutorial - a “guided tour” - could be provided via the Internet.
In cases where the student disregards completing the organizational necessities on time, it must be possible to exclude them from the course to make sure that they do not hinder everybody else in getting off to a good start on time. It will be a challenge for the Distance Learning Department and all lecturers to enforce this rule and to publish it clearly and early enough.
Late registration cannot be handled well in a VC course, due to all the preparations necessary, and no exceptions should be made. The above paragraphs should have made it clear that a latecomer in the third week is destined to fail and embodies an obstacle for everybody else’s progress in the course. A lecturer must be given full control of his course, including registration of students.
- VC Participation, Student Numbers
A “critical mass” of about twelve students is necessary to maintain an interesting on- line discussion. If the course drops below eight participants, all that happens in the VC conference is usually related to a direct input of the lecturer.
Many times a good discussion starts up in the conference before and after an assignment or homework is due, thus helping to invigorate the conference. Homeworks and assignments together provide about one fixed “stimulus” per week for the conference during a semester. However, these stimuli should only provide an additional incentive and not be the only activity in the conference.
On the other end of the spectrum, I do not believe that a course with more than twenty students can be conducted at the level of quality we would like to see. Such a course would have to be split into sections and a “coach” should be assigned to each section in addition to the lecturer who is responsible for the complete course.
- VC Technology and Limitations
Currently, using the VT100 interface, it is impossible to transmit and manipulate any graphical diagrams in the VC system. This is a major limitation in teaching CIS 390, or any other course that makes extensive use of graphical notations. Submission and return of faxes is a time consuming and frustrating task, especially if the rest of the course runs in VC. More delays and less feedback are the consequences.
This will change partially with the new net-browser interface. However, please keep in mind what has been said above with regards to the time it will take to migrate everybody to this interface.
Further, even with the capability to submit and view graphics, the problem of teaching and explaining a graphical language is not solved. What is essential, is to be able to keep a history of all changes and the reasons for each change, the “dynamics” of the diagram’s development. Even more important is to make the students a part of the decision process, often in the form of a creative, real-time, group dynamic process.
This means that real-time manipulation of graphics, and other means of communications beyond text and graphics, should be a long-term goal in VC development. This means also that I advocate in principle to have not only asynchronous learning and communication in a VC system, but also a limited amount of synchronous, real-time interaction. In the case of CIS 390, this would allow the lecturer to organize a limited number of real-time meetings with all students, to give them a chance to participate as a directly interacting group in the development and/or correction of a software system design.
Taking into account the complexity of what has been proposed above, I would think that the integration of video conferencing capabilities into the VC system seems to be the most promising way to go in the long run. It would then be up to the lecturer to decide which portion of the interactions (including the actual lecture) is handled in real-time or synchronously.
To start with, I would like to say that I cannot imagine having a video-taped course without the VC system to follow up and interact. Any other means of communication, even e-mail, must fail to achieve the integrated type of teaching experience the VC system can facilitate by providing the capacity for convenient and fast interaction.
Using VC, over time group dynamics start to evolve and can be used to positively influence the learning experience. I have seen that happen only in face-to-face classes so far. This development of group consciousness is so important to a good learning experience, that this fact alone would be enough for me to evaluate the experiment to deliver video-taped courses with VC support as a success.
- Asynchronous Group Support
Even though I have been pointing out that I think that there is a place for synchronous interaction in distance learning, I also would like to point out that the VC system’s capability to support group discussions and decisions in an asynchronous mode is greatly beneficial. For a majority of topics and notations, the asynchronous mode is sufficient, if not even better suited to teach them.
The chance to work on a topic with relaxed timing parameters is attractive and allows participants to tap into a wider variety of resources, while keeping the discussion going. It also provides the chance to play the game of argument and counter-argument over an extended period of time, while keeping everybody who is interested in the discussion.
- Timing and Student Access
Convenient timing and “access on demand” are the two most obvious reasons to like the VC system. Nobody is really bound to a specific time-frame (and even if a synchronous portion would be included, it could be limited to the absolutely necessary minimum). This provides students and lecturer with a greater flexibility in coordinating learning/teaching with other duties.
Greater flexibility gives more students, especially working professionals, a chance to seek and successfully complete an advanced education. Flexibility in timing also helps to avoid scheduling conflicts and should reduce the time necessary to finish a degree program. For the lecturer, teaching becomes less of a fixed “obstacle” in managing time.
- Active, peer-oriented Learning
Participating in a VC conference gives students a chance to learn not only from the lecturer but also from each other. In the best of all cases, a student will react to a question that has been posted in the conference by another student. The lecturer then takes on the role of a facilitator, steering the discussion in the right direction, and, of course, providing input and corrections were peer-learning fails.
This type of interaction usually happens only in high level graduate courses, if at all, where a real seminar-style of teaching and interaction can sometimes be achieved. The VC system, by its very nature, encourages this type of peer interaction at a much earlier stage. This helps to keep the discussion wide open and provides a multitude of fresh perspectives on the topics of the course.
Especially the good and active students will cash in on these opportunities (while the less motivated and in-active students will drop out faster).
The one thing I miss most is the possibility of direct, real time interaction, as I tried to describe in section 3.1 under “VC technology and limitations”. This is due to the fact that analysis and design, the topics of the CIS 390 course, have a strong demand for such an interaction, and that it is also a prominent feature of my teaching style.
The one thing I like best, is the fact that students start to interact with themselves, teach each other, and keep coming up with new perspectives (see section 3.2 “peer- oriented learning”).
Furthermore, the flexibility of timing my interaction with the course and the students has definitely spoiled me. In fact, spoiled me so much that I actually started to think about taping and then offering via VC some of the other courses I teach. I guess many of my students would welcome this, as they steadily complain about scheduling problems anyway. A nice compromise would be to tape the “static” portions of the presentation, use the VC system for most of the interaction, and keep a limited number of face-to-face meetings for real-time interaction.