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Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Share the CostMaximize the
ReturnCurt Hill, Susan Pfeifer,
Diane Keller, Colette Schimetz, Marlin Allery,
Heidi M. Schneider, Jason P. Brandvold, and Ken Quamme
Topics• The problem• NITC• IVN Classroom• Out of class experience• Future work
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
The problem• Demographics!
– Sparsely populated state– 6 colleges with less than 2000
students each
• Desperate need for information technology
• Insufficient students to keep programs afloat
NITC• Northern Information Technology
Consortium • Share IT instruction using the
North Dakota Interactive Video Network (IVN)
• Each school teaches two or three IT classes
• Students from each school enroll in classes provided by other schools
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Institutions• Dakota College Bottineau• Lakes Region State College• Turtle Mountain Community
College• Valley City State College• Williston State College• None of these has 2000 students
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Terms of Sharing• Common course numbering
mandates easy transfer and interchangeability
• Each campus keeps tuition of its own students
• Each institution must offer two or three classes that are usable in various majors and the different institutions
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
IVN Classroom• State funded interactive
conferencing system• Specially equipped rooms• Each public college has two or more
– Each high school has at least one
• Classes are scheduled at a central location so that the connection is automatic for classes and meetings
• Not substantially different than an ordinary classroom
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
An IVN Room
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
The classroom experience• Students generally sit at tables
– Each has a nearby microphone
• Each room has two monitors– One has the originating site – the
instructor– The other the last site that spoke
• When a student asks a question– All sites hear the question– The second monitor displays that
locationCopyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Out of class experience• This would normally include office
hours and other interactions between student and instructor
• Visiting the office becomes problematic– Students may feel distant
• VCSU normally uses email and this works well
• Skype and other one to one
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Problems• Inevitable technical glitches• Precise shut off – no two minute
warning• More reluctance to ask questions• Different LMSs
– Not always possible to use institution LMS
• Not being able to see a site that has not spoken recently
• Final exam schedulingCopyright © 2012 Curt Hill
Finally• There is essentially no extra
funding for this beyond the IVN rental charges– We cannot throw money at these
problems
• We are also looking at internet clicker software to improve active learning
• Despite these issues we are glad it is working as well as it is
Copyright © 2012 Curt Hill
