Is online education "as good as" traditional education good enough? Is recording and streaming lectures a quality experience for online students? The author presents a vision for using the move to online education as an opportunity to transform education - both online and on campus. Practical tips are provided.

1. 6/30/2014
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The Move to Online:
or
Transmission Transformation
Wayne P. Pferdehirt
Director, Graduate Distance Engineering Degree Programs
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
IACEE Conference, 2014

2. 6/30/2014
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Engineering Education is Undergoing
a Major Transformation
• Transformation is happening at many
of our campuses
– Active learning
– Project‐ and problem‐based
– Experiential & authentic
• As John Hennessy said,
“The large lecture class is dead.”
• Why would we try to replicate
the large lecture hall online?
If Online Education is the Answer,
What is the Question??
• What is your goal?
– What is the motivation driving your interest in
online learning?
– What needs, opportunities, and constraints are
part of the puzzle?
• Online education can be a means, but is
not itself an end
• Let your end be a vision worth your
university’s very best people and efforts
4

3. 6/30/2014
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Is “As good as classroom instruction”
an Adequate Goal?
• Going online can
remove/reduce barriers
to education
– Who learns
– Who teaches
– When teaching and learning happen
– How teaching and learning happen
• Done well, online education practices can improve
classroom practices
• Can be a game‐changer for colleges and
departments
5
Going Online: A Typical Scenario
• Starts with a desire to increase institution’s revenues
• Instructors understandably want a model that requires
as little change as possible to their teaching practices
• Goal is to have online courses be “as good as existing
on‐campus courses”
• The result
– Record and stream existing lecture‐based courses
– More of the same
• What’s wrong with that?

4. 6/30/2014
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How do you envision
online learning?
• A digital file cabinet
– Digitize and post existing docucourse
resources from f2f course
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How do you envision
online learning?
• A one‐way hose for
streaming course
recordings and
related content
– Students are receivers of
content with little/no
meaningful personal
engagement with other
students and faculty
8

5. 6/30/2014
5
How do you envision
online learning?
• An opportunity to
create a
new learning space
collaborative
engaging
authentic
new freedom in where, when,
and how learning occurs
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The best online learning actively extends
the boundaries of active learning
• Increasingly, we are seeing how active
learning strategies increase student
learning in on‐campus courses
• Then why use online learning
to recreate the lecture hall?

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An “Aha” moment for me
UW‐Madison Master of
Engineering in Engine Systems

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Creating a New World
• New opportunities for learners with shared,
unique needs and goals
• Engaging best instructors, speakers and
projects from anywhere
• Learning that fits the needs and expectations
of globally distributed teams
• Authentic, immediately applicable learning
Use “the Move to Online”
to Transform
Engineering Education
• Decide to use your initiatives in distance education as strategic
opportunities to make major advances in the nature, quality,
and impact of education at your institution.
• Partner with efforts on campus to increase use of active
learning in f2f courses
• Decide (really decide) to make meeting the needs of students
as the #1 priority.
• Engage experienced, capable instructional designers
in the design of programs and each course.
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8. 6/30/2014
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Use “the Move to Online”
to Transform
Engineering Education
• Effectively support faculty throughout course
development, delivery, evaluation, and
improvement.
• Use online formats and tools to build effective,
meaningful community in support of learning
• Integrate learning and professional practice
as part of coursework
15
Using “the Move to Online”
to Transform
Engineering Education
• Use what you learn and develop for online
courses to improve all courses
• Build new and deeper connections
between your faculty’s research and
industry
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9. 6/30/2014
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Some Practical Advice
• Help faculty understand possibilities and their impacts on
student learning
• Use group projects in online courses to develop skills
needed to lead and contribute to globally distributed
teams
• Thoughtfully complement asynchronous learning with live,
authentic interactions (e.g., interactive web conferences)
• Have students contribute meaningfully to online learning
– Lead web conference presentations
– Lead asynchronous discussion forums
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Some Practical Advice
• Provide free access to tools that enable student groups
to meet and work effectively anytime, anywhere
– Project groups
– Study sessions, etc.
• Use online tools to engage alumni in networking,
learning, and teaching
• Engage the best faculty, speakers, and resources,
wherever they are
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10. 6/30/2014
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Re‐Creating
Engineering Education
• With your faculty create a compelling vision
worthy of them and your institution
• Create a path and stepping stones to get there
• “You must be the change you wish to see in the
world”
– Mohandas Gandhi
• “There is no passion to be found playing small –
in settling for a life that is less than the one
you are capable of living.”
– Nelson Mandela

11. 6/30/2014
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Thank You
Wayne Pferdehirt
Director, Graduate Engineering Distance Degree Programs
wppferde@wisc.edu
For information re. UW‐Madison
online engineering degrees see:
http://distancedegrees.engr.wisc.edu/