Executive Summary
ClassNotes+ :
Supporting incremental steps towards using
information technology in instruction
Karl Winklmann
Department of Computer Science,
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80304-0430,
ph. (303) 492-6380, karl@cs.colorado.edu
February 2, 1995
(Minor editorial changes made March 28, 1996)
Vision
ClassNotes+ is a project aimed at
changing the culture of
university-level education.
Its goal is to
demonstrate to faculty
that the creation of learning materials,
using information technology prudently, can be
rewarding to students and to faculty
and can greatly enhance our
ability to teach.
ClassNotes+ materials will be on-line hypertext augmented
by video clips of lecture-style explanations and by interactive
demos that let the students explore.
ClassNotes+ will show that such materials can be
created incrementally much like
traditional classnotes can grow into textbooks.
This demonstration of incremental production of
materials is a central aspect of this project.
Furthermore, ClassNotes+ will demonstrate that
students can be involved in the creation of
such materials as part of their education.
Impact on teaching and learning opportunities
Good learning environments put responsibility on
the students. They will need to prepare themselves
for the face-to-face meetings with faculty who
will turn from lecturers into coaches.
Consequently, we will be able to reduce the amount of
lecturing. We can turn students from
consumers into partners. We can involve them in the
teaching of the next group of students, by involving
them in the production of materials.
This will support an evolution away from the current
prevalent model of university education, its
high cost and its lack of support for a variety
of learning styles.
The environment in the Computer Science
Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder
There are a number beneficial factors present in our
environment:
-
Faculty interest: a small core of on-line
materials (demos) have been shared by
four faculty in the teaching of undergraduate computer
science courses.
-
College initiatives: the college (of engineering, of which we
are part) has a strong interest in innovative teaching environments,
with the most visible evidence being the creation of a $12M
Integrated Teaching and Learning Lab (ITLL), to be
completed in 1996. In addition, the college leadership
has initiated a critical review of teaching methods
in the college.
-
The presence of the Center for Lifelong Learning in the department, and
especially its involvement in the East-West Consortium, which
is an effort supported by universities, publishers, software and hardware
producers, and the National Science Foundation, to produce
authoring tools for educational software.
-
Support by the university administration,
especially through the
Campus Policy Board for Information Technology
which is soliciting proposals for innovative uses
of technology in teaching and has strong support from
the Chancellor.
-
Support by the student body for
innovation in our curricula: the students
have created an "Undergraduate
Excellence Fund" that supports
innovation in our undergraduate programs, with
funds of about $300K per year.
-
The Faculty Teaching Excellence Program,
which acts as a resource for faculty and has started
an initiative supporting faculty who are
interested in using advanced technology in
their teaching.
karl@cs.colorado.edu
Last edited (or copied to this place) at 8:36 AM, Sunday, March 31, 1996.