Number 41 November 1, 2004	A publication of Project Eagle, St. Petersburg College

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	Administration	Free Information Sources	Innovative Technologies

What Makes an Award-Winning E-Learning Program:
A Look at St. Petersburg College's eCampus

"we...feature your institutions' award-winning innovations, recognize your representatives, and celebrate the wonderful accomplishments your institution has achieved in providing leadership and innovation in distance education."
(Source: Instructional Technology Council on the subject of
the awards won in 2004 by St. Petersburg College)

In the past year, the eCampus at St. Petersburg College (SPC), Florida, gathered some notable accolades as a national model for delivery of higher education at a distance. Among its accomplishments were being named the Outstanding Distance Education Program by the Instructional Technology Council and one of five premier providers of distance learning programs by the Public Broadcasting System. This issue examines many elements that have contributed to the success of the eCampus' efforts.

Overview

Enrollment Growth. Five-year breakdown of total eCampus enrollment growth; growth by course format; and growth in course offerings.
e.spcollege.edu. Comprehensive eCampus Website for prospective and enrolled e-students.
Instructional Technology (ITC) Council Awards. An affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges established in 1977, ITC annually presents a number of awards for excellence in distance learning. In February 2004 SPC won awards for Outstanding Distance Education Program and Outstanding Online Faculty (Dr. Kevin Morgan).
Project Eagle. Most of eCampus' technological resources are funded by two federal grants: Project Eagle II, $4,470,750, 8/1/03-7/31/07, and Project Eagle IB, $1,491,150, 7/1/04-6/30/07.
Public Broadcasting System Recognition. SPC was one of only five institutions selected in late 2003 to collectively offer 120 video-based "PBS Campus" courses on TV and the Internet.
"St. Petersburg College Uses First Communications' Click to Meet for Real-Time, Active Participation in Virtual Classrooms." Press release, 6/29/04, about the eCampus' addition of Click to Meet for use in speech courses, so SPC could offer an A.A. degree entirely online.
What Makes an Award-Winning E-Learning Program. Hot-linked PowerPoint slideshow developed in August 2004 for use in national presentations. Links include examples of many eCampus efforts.

Online Student Services

Admissions/Registration. Starting point for all new students and currently enrolled students, for both online and face-to-face courses.
Advising/Counseling. Website maintained by eCampus' "cyber advisors," who specialize in assisting both current and prospective students with course selection, academic program planning, pre- and co-requisites, and more.
Is eCampus for You? Page that offers students opportunities to explore a sample online course, see what students say about their eCampus experiences, view an eCampus video (with text transcript), take an e-learning quiz, and analyze their learning styles.
Other Online Academic Support Services. Online services that include Testing, Tutoring, Library, Bookstore, Academic Program Tracking, and Accessibility for Disabled Students.
Survey of Student Satisfaction. Detailed end-of-course survey required of all online students.
Technical Support. Web page providing information and links to assistance for e-students. It includes an Automated System Checkup.
Video Online. Online service that allows students to access telecourse and teleweb videos in real time, without having to download.

eCampus Courses and Programs

Course Index. Current eCampus catalog that allows users to search for specific e-courses, or browse subject areas of interest.
Course Types. Detailed explanation of the different types of e-courses: online, teleweb and telecourse (televised courses).
Degree and Certificate Programs. Descriptions of online programs offered by SPC that include Bachelor's Degrees, A.A. Degrees, A.S. Degrees, Certificates-Credit, Certificates-Noncredit, and Applied Technology Diplomas.

Course Delivery Support

Faculty Mentoring. PowerPoint slideshow explaining the eCampus mentoring program, in which new online instructors work with experienced ones.
Policies, Procedures, and Forms. Web page that lists an assortment of forms and procedures that have been developed to expedite e-course development. Included are guidelines for selecting courses to add to the eCampus, a flexible access/delivery form, online course development and review checklists, online student conduct guidelines, a proctor agreement, and more.
Pathways to E-Learning. PowerPoint slideshow about training that online instructors must complete before teaching eCampus courses.

BEEP's Best Bets

Administration

"Colleges Weigh New Prerequisite: A Laptop in Every Backpack." Article by Sara B. Miller in the Christian Science Monitor, 9/09/04, about the controversy in Massachusetts over the requirement of three colleges in the state that all college freshman own laptops.
"E-Learning and Language Change - Observations, Tendencies and Reflections." Paper by Henrik Hansson and Sylvia van de Bunt-Kokhuis in First Monday (9:8), August 2004, that discusses the globalization of e-learning, and the resulting effects of English on other languages.
"Virtual Courses Producing Real Results in Student Learning." Press release by Katie Stoffel, University of Wisconsin, 7/23/04. Findings of university research that the online experience can surpass traditional teaching/learning, especially in areas of reflective learning.

Free Information Sources

Cliff's Notes. New site that offers free access to the complete texts of its series of guides, long used by students to "review" information about famous literary works. (See also Barnes and Nobles' Spark Notes, which are similar in scope.)
Distance Education Clearinghouse Conference Database. Excellent month-by-month lists of worldwide conferences, seminars, workshops and other events related to e-learning.
Highbeam Research. Formerly called eLibrary, a Website with more than 32 million documents from 2,800+ sources, updated daily and going back twenty years. Free membership includes searches of both articles (unlimited) and Web sources (five), and allows profiles and search query saves. Paid membership, with full-text articles, is $19.95/month or $99.95/year.

Innovative Technologies

"Back to School with Gadgets Galore." Article by Michelle Johnson in Boston.com News, 8/23/04, about the growing assortment of consumer electronics that college students own.
"Is That a Hard Drive in Your Pocket?" Article by Eric Hellweg in Technology Review, 9/10/04, about Samsung's announcement of the first cell phone with a hard drive.

The contents of BEEP were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.