Currently we are delivering off-campus courses to eight distinct cohorts in both graduate and undergraduate elementary education in addition to teaching on-campus classes. Over the years we have experimented with various ways to deliver coursework. Some of these have been two-way interactive video, web-assisted, web-delivered, and face-to-face classes.
We propose to continue the dialogue on online courses in an organized
effort to (1) document and analyze our past distance education efforts; (2) make recommendations for future endeavors; (3) encourage faculty involvement in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.
First, in an effort to add an historical point of view, we will interview faculty that have taught distance education efforts. To begin, we have submitted a paper entitled "Balancing Instruction, Learner Needs, and Distance Education: A Faculty Dialogue" to SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education for presentation at the national SITE conference in March 2004. Second, we plan to contact the faculty development committee and John Spagnolo, RCOE Technology Curriculum Facilitator, about possible symposiums to encourage faculty discussion on distance education in elementary education programs at ASU. These would include discussions of current needs, the RCOE conceptual framework, resources for faculty, and accreditation standards.
