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NSF 04-565
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06/17/04
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0442925
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DUE - CCLI-Educational Materials Development
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396006492
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University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI. 54601
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
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0039198000
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Digital Learning Objects in Lower Division STEM: Using a Materials
Design Model to Create New Materials and An Accessible Learning Object
Repository
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24
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PI/PD DEPARTMENT
PI/PD POSTAL ADDRESS
1725 State Street
Mathematics
PI/PD FAX NUMBER
La Crosse, WI 54601
United States
608-785-6602
NAMES (TYPED)
High Degree
Yr of Degree
Telephone Number
Electronic Mail Address
PhD
1995
608-785-6617
[email protected]
PhD
1996
608-785-8393
[email protected]
PhD
1992
608-785-6983
[email protected]
ThD
1993
608-758-6532
[email protected]
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PI/PD NAME
Robert Hoar
CO-PI/PD
Jeffrey S Baggett
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Scott T Cooper
CO-PI/PD
Kimberly L Kostka
CO-PI/PD
Harold E Schlais
Page 1 of 2
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Project Summary
Problem Addressed: Many quality learning objects (LOs) with interactive simulations or gizmos have been
created for use in STEM courses. Some contain background text, example problems to solve with the gizmo, and
practice problems or assessment tools. However, very few LOs make components of the LO itself (text, program
files, and other resources used to create it and the gizmo) easily available for an instructor to modify. As a result
instructors often have to create their own content or interactive gizmos to obtain a LO that suits their needs.
Instructors need a repository structure supporting modifiable LOs that they can download; a set of tools and
support enabling them to modify the content for their course; a process that shares the modified LOs for peer
review, and once approved automatically “publishes” them to the NSDL.
Collaborations: In the summer of 2003 we received an NSF-CCLI-EMD proof-of-concept (POC) grant entitled
Applying Advanced Distributed Teaching and Learning to Pre-Calculus Mathematics. This eight-month action
research project began a collaboration between mathematics instructors at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
(UWL), a four-year campus within the UW System and the University of Wisconsin Colleges (UWC), a two-year
transfer institution that is distributed across thirteen campuses statewide. The current proposal expands this
successful collaboration to include biologists, chemists and physicists at the two institutions.
Objectives, Outcomes and Procedures: Among the primary goals of this project are the development of a
collection of LOs complete with text, practice problems and assessment tools, built around interactive gizmos.
Based on the model developed in the POC, they will all follow a common format consisting of a Textual background
component, a Conceptual component in which students explore a given topic with an interactive gizmo, and finally a
Practical component where the students apply their knowledge to solve specific problems. Another of the project
goals is to design a process that streamlines faculty contribution of content and facilitates publication of reviewed
digital materials. This process will work with a localized federated repository (LFR) that is under development
within the UW System and will be supported by the university libraries. The text and gizmo program files will be
stored so that individual instructors can easily download, modify, reorganize, or reassemble the files to meet their
specific needs, and upload them back to the repository to share with others; the registry will automatically alert the
developer community to new additions for review and, as appropriate, automate its release to the NSDL.
Intellectual Merit: The proposed project would produce LOs in an engaging and instructive format. By breaking
the LO into its Textual, Conceptual and Practical components, instructors can choose which portions to incorporate
into their course. This will also help students see how the particular gizmo or simulation fits into the larger context
of the discipline, and allow them to self-assess understanding of the concepts illustrated in the LO. When possible,
the repository for these LOs will provide users of LOs with the source code and program files used to create
interactive gizmos and simulations. By allowing instructors to download and easily modify the text or program files
used to create gizmos, the teacher takes a sense of ownership over the material, and becomes an active participant in
the creation and use of LOs, instead of simply being a passive user.
Broader Impact: The modules will be designed to address some of the key “choke points” in introductory
mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics courses. As such, they will be useful in a large number of introductory
courses. While the LOs will focus on a specific problem to be solved, making the program files used to create the
LOs available for modification increases the scope and range of courses that could make use of these LOs. The
inclusion of libraries in the registry process will make them an active part of the support structure. The review and
subsequent “publishing” of LOs will provide both a dissemination and professional incentive for involvement. Once
this model is transferred to other disciplines, this project will certainly have broad impact.
Possible Unique Features of this Proposal:
o
o
o
o
Development of LOs with embedded interactive gizmos that can be easily reassembled and reused.
Establishment of a common model for LOs based on Textual, Conceptual and Practical components.
Design a process that streamlines faculty contribution of content and facilitates publication of reviewed
digital materials. This process will work with a localized federated repository (LFR) that is already under
development within the UW System.
Faculty development on the production, assessment and use of LOs.
Project Description
Introduction and Statement of Need
Imagine this! You perform a Google search and have just found the perfect gizmo, in this case an
interactive simulation, for your class tomorrow morning. The gizmo is embedded in a collection of
webpages containing educational materials called a learning object (LO). You take a quick look and find
that while the gizmo is perfect, you need to “tweak” the text of the previous author a bit, to get things just
right. You download the LO, and using your set of content creation templates and tools, you create a new
LO with the “appropriate” textual material and save this on your campus content repository. By the next
morning, not only is your LO available for you to use in your class, but you start receiving email messages
from your colleagues complimenting you for your great work and suggesting other possibilities for your
lesson and new ways to reuse the gizmo.
1
Contrast the imagined scenario above with this real one : Tom has been teaching lower division biology
for over a decade now. He has developed both an excellent presentation software system and hundreds
of webpages, including guided laboratories and interactive quizzing. He confesses that it’s a shame that
all this “good stuff” is stored on a server. It’s really a shame – if Tom gets hit by a bus tomorrow, all this
human capital is wasted. When asked why he didn’t publish it, he answered, “Where would I put it?” Tom
isn’t interested in contracting with a textbook publisher because, like most designers, he regards his digital
material as a work in progress, something that will be refined as better tools arrive and as new
developments arise in biology and biotechnology. And like many scientists, Tom’s notion of copy-ready
journal publication limits his notion of what others would find valuable for teaching. Normal faculty
workflow, interests, and constraints result in many quality materials becoming entombed on desktop harddrives and protected servers where they are difficult to find or share.
For our purposes a LO is ‘an aggregation of one or more digital assets, incorporating meta-data, which
represents an educationally meaningful stand-alone unit’ (Dalziel, 2002). LOs have been shown to
improve student learning by engaging students in the material, allowing students to apply concepts
learned in class, and by providing students with valuable feedback when they have misconceptions. As a
result, when students stall with conceptually difficult material in their studies within STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses, instructors rely on experience and a wide variety of
materials to coach students past those points. Increasingly, faculty have been creating digital media –
animations, images, interactive software, simulations, and 3D effects – to help their students understand
complicated subject matter and to develop stronger conceptual foundations.
Some of the most creative and effective digital media are small interactive gizmos in java, shockwave or
flash, which can be easily inserted into a lecture. Many gizmos are created without accompanying
background text, example problems to solve, or assessment tools. Others are difficult to use because
they were designed to serve a particular learning goal in a particular context. This can make it more
difficult for instructors to integrate digital media effectively into their coverage of a topic. In addition, the
source code or program files used to create the gizmo are often not available. This makes it difficult for
instructors to modify the LO for their specific needs. As a result, creators are often duplicating each
others’ efforts with little contribution to a library of resources available to a wide audience. As well, there
is little recognition in the traditional university reward structure to recognize this kind of intellectual work,
since it is often not reviewed or disseminated, and hence considered “unpublished.”
We propose to create LOs with accompanying text, assessment tools and source files in response to both
a regional and national need to produce and manage LOs in a way that is responsive to the faculty who
use LOs in their classrooms.
The widespread use of learning objects in higher education will depend on the development of an efficient
method to allow instructional staff, using their common desktop tools, to develop and share content in
1
Interview with Dr. Tom Klubertanz, Associate Professor of Biology, UW-Rock County, June 9, 2004, used with
permission.
1
much the same way they would share everyday word-processor and email documents. Our project seeks
to address this unmet need by utilizing and evaluating what we are calling a “locally federated repository”
(currently under development within the UW System). While similar to the MERLOT RSS architecture, the
repository additionally includes local library support for contributors (meta-data, server management,
sustainability), and a software “registry” allowing for a user/developer community review process and
automatic dissemination to the NSDL related libraries. The repository is discussed at length on page 8.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) is a four-year campus within the UW System. The
University of Wisconsin Colleges (UWC) is the University of Wisconsin System’s two-year transfer
institution that is distributed across thirteen campuses statewide. These institutions will collaborate on the
proposed project that builds on a previously funded successful proof-of-concept model (POC). An
overarching goal will be to develop methods and an architecture that facilitate sharing and reuse of LOs
both with other users and with repositories such as the National Science Digital Library (NSDL).
Project Objectives
A consortium of University of Wisconsin 2-year colleges and 4-year universities seeks support from the
National Science Foundation to further extend a successful proof-of-concept model for the creation,
evaluation, and national dissemination of LOs to improve teaching and learning in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
The specific objectives of the project are to:
o Create LOs. We will expand the shareable content development model developed in the
mathematics POC to include faculty from the STEM disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics with
a focus on the first two years of concept-building. LOs will be built around a common open source
model containing java, flash or shockwave gizmos, editable background text, specific assignments,
and assessment tools.
o Share and Store LOs. Design a process that streamlines faculty contribution of content and
facilitates publication of reviewed digital materials. This process will work with a localized federated
repository (LFR) that is already under development within the UW System. The text and gizmo
program files will be stored so that individual instructors can easily download, modify, reorganize, or
reassemble the files to meet their specific needs, and upload them back to the repository to share with
others.
o Evaluate and Disseminate the faculty development process, the resulting courseware, and the
repository. We will use the evaluation results to address whether we are meeting our objectives, and
use those results in a recursive way to direct the project toward its goals.
Preliminary Results
Lessons Learned from the Proof-of-Concept Grant
In the summer of 2003 we received an NSF-CCLI-EMD proof-of-concept (POC) grant entitled Applying
Advanced Distributed Teaching and Learning to Pre-Calculus Mathematics (Schlais, Hoar, and Peneski,
2
2002). This eight-month action research project examined a LO model designed to address teaching
objectives in pre-calculus. The project also assessed faculty development issues as they related to
locating, repurposing, sharing and using existing materials found in the NSDL and other locations. The
POC project yielded several lessons (Schlais and Ploetz, 2004) that helped to define the project we are
proposing herein.
Creation of LOs
Curriculum Development Model: Our first goal in the POC project was to develop a common model for
our LOs. The faculty undertook an extensive search and study of existing mathematics digital media in
order to find design elements that would help us create a shareable, easily interfaced, and searchable
repository prototype. This experience led to a common model for the creation of LOs that came to be
labeled TCP: Textual, Conceptual, and Practical. The Textual component contains an introduction to the
2
This project was supported in part by A National Science Foundation Proof of Concept Grant: DUE-0231508 and a
grant from the University of Wisconsin System Curricular Redesign Fund.
2
key-concept being addressed. This may include traditional textbook type information, diagrams,
animations or other assets that assist in the understanding of the concept. The textual components of the
mathematics LOs, for example, often contain the definitions, theory, and examples that are needed to
understand the concept. The Conceptual component typically contains interactive tools and related
discussions that allow the student to investigate the concept. The Practical components are designed to
provide the student with feedback on their understanding of the concept. It was discovered, in existing
digital media, that often the three components were not all available at the same time, in fact often only
one of the three existed. In the cases in which components were found at more than one site, it was
difficult to utilize the various components in a single LO (the context of the various sites would differ to the
extent that the resulting components did not work well together). In addition, the instructors that utilized
the combined components often wanted to sequence (or eliminate) some of the components in a manner
that was not the original intent of the author of the LO. With our design, each of our TCP elements is
separable to allow for efficient download, disassembly, editing, and reassembly as well as easier standalone use by other instructors with course objectives that differ from those of the original LO composer.
We also learned that we needed to design some learning materials ourselves to fill in perceived gaps.
Facilitating Faculty Development: From our experience with supporting faculty who are developing LOs or
using existing LOs, we learned that we need to provide both workshop-style training sessions and ongoing
support via weekly conference-call “group meetings.” In our POC project we found that faculty developing
LOs had difficulty in applying meta-data (to allow digital libraries and search engines to find the LOs),
sharing with the NSDL, creating animations, saving LOs to a repository, and maintaining a common look
to the LOs. To address some of these issues we developed a prototypical HTML Dreamweaver Template
that is structured around the TCP rubric. Use of the template facilitates the development of LOs around
the TCP model and ensures that the LOs have a common look, makes it easier to apply meta-data, and
ensures that each LO will be a self-contained object that can be easily shared. We have found that with
minimal training, even faculty with no HTML programming experience can use the template.
Sharing and Storing LOs
Searchability and Sharability: Our second primary goal was to create an interactive repository, in which
instructors could download, modify and return LOs. Through our work with existing LOs, we learned that
most “collections” were only rarely focused around curricular goals such as “pre-calculus.” To enhance
the creation of TCP-structured materials, and to allow for curriculum-based searching, we use an HTML
template. The template streamlines two processes: both LO creation and sharing are enabled through
the TCP template. The template itself is shareable, will be integrated into our repository, and will allow our
librarians to develop the appropriate meta-data that ensure that our LOs can be found by others.
Faculty Needs: We learned from the faculty involved in our POC project that their needs differ from, but
are complementary to, existing repositories like MERLOT. They request a repository process that
accommodates the work patterns faculty have developed for saving content, and meshes with faculty
work behaviors for using existing content. This process needs to invoke familiar tools (like a fill-in web
page forms) and operate at a local institutional level (like the campus library or IT department).
Furthermore, the repository should contain not only complete LOs, but a library of gizmos and other digital
media around which LOs can be constructed.
Evaluation and Dissemination
Transferable Model of Development: Through the POC dissemination phase, we found that the TCP
template method of building LOs works well for other STEM disciplines. Through an additional UW
System initiative, we added a group of chemists and biologists to our mathematics faculty, who are adding
LOs to our collection over Summer ‘04. A group of UWC physics faculty has also expressed interest in
the project.
Other
Support Services: The POC experience has shown that, in order to design and share LOs effectively, a
number of support personnel must be involved in planning and executing the project. To get instructional
design ideas from the minds’ eye of creators into a digital form requires the support of instructional
designers and animators. Because there is an integrated need for both storage and distribution resources
3
in this evolving project, we have already begun to work closely with library experts. To get created
materials off a local hard drive and into an internet-accessible open system requires the considerable
resources of our librarians.
Project Plan (From Proof-of-Concept to Large-Scale Project)
Those involved in the POC work have combined their experiences to transform this project into one that is
dynamic, useful, and will have broad appeal to meet undergraduate STEM education objectives. The
POC work led us to the fundamental realization that this proposal addresses: some new processes
needed to be in place to realize true scalability, repurposing, and sharing of LOs. These have manifested
themselves in an instructional model, a professional development model, and what we are calling a locally
federated repository architecture. Our project objectives are to:
I. Create LOs. Based on the TCP model we developed in the POC, we will recruit twelve faculty to
create, use, and share LOs in the STEM disciplines of biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics
st
(1 year). In addition, under the guidance of the project leadership team, twelve additional STEM
nd
faculty will be involved in LO development in the 2 year (funded by the University of Wisconsin
System). The LOs will focus on concept-building topics in the curriculum of the freshman and
sophomore years. Participants will be trained in the TCP LO creation rubric; the use of modifiable
templates with an emphasis on reusing existing materials; and the implementation work-flow
processes including the saving, sharing and peer review of created LOs.
II. Support Faculty to Share and Store LOs. We will create a process that utilizes a repository and
registry provided by UW System and built upon experiences of the POC. This process consisting of
information storage and retrieval functions will complement the ways that faculty actually work. This
requires the PIs and designers in this project to study faculty workflow while they create and
repurpose materials and most particularly, when they go to share/store their LOs. Our plan uses
local library support to enable ease of contribution, and ensures accuracy and appropriateness of
meta-data. It would also create a community of developers to collaborate, share, and review
submitted content prior to an automated release to NSDL repositories.
III. Evaluate and disseminate the faculty development process, the resulting courseware, and the
repository. We will use the evaluation results to address whether we are meeting our objectives,
and use those results in a recursive way to direct the project toward its goals. Dissemination will
occur through linkage to NSDL and other educational websites, and through presentations at
national STEM educational meetings.
I. Creating LOs
The instructional model that guides our thinking.
One of the outcomes of the Proof of Concept project was the development of a new instructional model.
Our pedagogical setting is not the “single-learner, self-paced and self-directed” model compatible with
SCORM (sharable content object reference model) standards (ADLNET, 2004; ANTA, 2003). Rather,
we define our role as serving those involved in instructor-mediated, course-based learning. Our
materials are used largely in conjunction with classroom instruction to address specific pedagogical
issues, but are available for self-paced review and reuse. We envision a continuum of educational
materials based on the vertical pyramid model (shown on the next page).
The base of the pyramid represents the initial exposure of a student to a discipline, mostly in
introductory courses. LOs at this level are very structured and focused on a specific fundamental
concept in the discipline. By exploring these LOs, students will build conceptual foundations, and move
past barriers in their thinking. These LOs will also introduce students to the use of technology in this
discipline. Using mathematics as an example, the LOs can help students understand key concepts in
algebra, trigonometry, statistics and calculus. The intent at this level is to identify and clarify common
misconceptions and areas of difficulty we refer to as “choke points”.
4
Vertical Integration Model for LOs in Education
ReaLOs are Research or Real
World LOs
CELLOs are Common External
Linked LOs containing TCP
components
TCP LO’s are stand-alone LOs that
contain the TCP components
For example, in the precalculus proof of concept project one of the “choke points” identified was proper
understanding of the radian measure of angles. A TCP based LO was created that uses animations,
interactive visualizations, and practice questions, to coach the students to a deeper understanding of
radians than they typically gain from a textbook. A screenshot is shown below:
The design of the template for the TCP based LO’s allows the instructor to modify most of the content of
the LO. The textual component of the TCP based LO has been labeled “Read” in this example. The
conceptual and practical components have been labeled “Interact” and “Practice.
By building a strong foundation at the introductory level, students will be well prepared for the more openended LOs in the next level. Most of the LOs produced in this project will address learner needs at the
base of the pyramid, and will be based on the TCP design.
In the model depicted in the pyramid, the middle level represents the core of an undergraduate program.
At this level, students are obtaining a functional understanding of the material and being prepared for a
5
deeper understanding of the field. Students should learn to use technological tools to answer open-ended
questions that lead them to investigate further and explore the power and limitations of technology in their
discipline. At this mid-level, LOs need to be designed for a less-structured learning environment than the
one provided at the introductory level, but still more guided than giving students research-level programs
to solve specific problems, as at the top of the pyramid. To describe this level of LO, we have introduced
the acronym CELLO: Common External Linked Learning Object. This kind of LO would include the TCP
design, and may involve the use of external software that is common in the discipline (MatLab, Chime,
SPSS, for instance). By linking to external software, the CELLO is no longer a stand-alone unit and is,
thus, no longer a LO by the strict definition. However, CELLOs will rely only on commonly available,
discipline-specific software. Through the CELLOs, students become familiar with some of the functionality
of the high end software packages without needing to learn all of the syntax, file structures, etc. Some of
the products of this project will be created at the CELLO level.
The top of the pyramid is not the focus of this project. Rather it represents the desired long-range
outcome of collegiate STEM undergraduate programs. By the time a student reaches this level we want
them to understand the concepts related to a particular area of study. We also want them to be familiar
with the technological tools used in that discipline. For example, the primary research tools in
mathematics include packages such as Matlab, Mathematica, and SPSS. We want graduates to be
comfortable with the type of technology used at the research level. Therefore, the tools they will need at
the higher level should be a natural extension of the tools that they have been exposed to during their
education. Hence, the top level of the pyramid would contain “real” LOs – true case studies involving the
application and creation of knowledge using the same technology used by researchers in that discipline.
To be prepared to use these tools students will need both a theoretical understanding of the concepts,
and experience with similar technological tools.
Creating LOs with the TCP Rubric.
The TCP (Textual-Conceptual-Practical) design is important because it contains distinct elements to
support interactive/investigative assets called gizmos. These gizmos allow students to investigate “choke
points”, concepts that are difficult to understand utilizing traditional instructional materials. To accomplish
the objective of creating sharable, scalable content, the TCP design rubric will be integrated throughout
each of the levels in our design. The TCP design serves as a guide to those who will be creating LOs,
and as a tool for easy submission and cataloging of the material into the repository. For LOs that address
the middle level of the pyramid, server-side computations may be required. This need would be indicated
in the documentation and teaching notes provided for repository entries. An early TCP rubric is shown
below, as well as our current rubric, which has been designed to be both easy for faculty to use and to be
ADA compliant.
Early Template
Current Template
6
To illustrate the TCP rubric here are three examples of TCP based LOs that could be created in the
proposed project.
Biology: Students have difficulty understanding meiosis and the independent assortment of
chromosomes. Every textbook has images and animations of the process, but very few are interactive,
allowing the students to move the chromosomes themselves, providing them with feedback on whether or
not they were correct. We envision designing an LO that first demonstrates meiosis, then gives students
pairs of chromosomes and asks them to move them to the correct locations in the new cells formed by
meiosis. A second LO with a similar look and feel would then show the students the products of a round
of meiosis, and ask them to work backwards to identify what the original cell would have looked like.
Ultimately, we will have an LO with a blank cell and some chromosomes. The students will have to
correctly place the chromosomes in the parental cell, and then in the daughter cells formed during
meiosis. At each step the student will be given feedback on their work. Future LOs would build on the
same model, introducing recombination and the mapping of genes.
3
Chemistry: Introductory chemistry students have told us in surveys and by their performance that the
concept of intermolecular force is very difficult for them. Yet it is important that students understand this
foundational concept since these forces literally give shape to the world around us. Chemists also exploit
intermolecular forces to accomplish particular goals, so it is a key idea for students to understand. This
topic is troublesome because it requires students to integrate many ideas: molecular shape, polarity, and
even the fundamental particulate nature of matter. We envision designing a series of very granular LOs
that help cement students’ grasp of the fundamentals. From this series, we will then move on to develop
the notion of intermolecular forces. This can be accomplished both at the LO level for nonmajors, and at
the CELLO level for students in their second year of chemistry. At the LO level, we will design interactive
materials that allow students to explore molecular shapes, polarity, and interactions; let them make
common conceptual mistakes and see the animated consequences of the mistakes. At the CELLO level,
we can invoke molecular modeling software to create scenarios with both real and fictional models to do
“what if” scenarios, and to explain what beginners regard as anomalies in trends. For the practice pieces,
we will design simple chromatography systems to test students’ application of their understanding; and for
more advanced students, we will explore ideas such as acid properties.
Mathematics: In differential equations students often struggle with gaining more than a superficial
understanding of the equivalence of certain second order linear differential equations and two-dimensional
systems of first order linear differential equations. We propose to develop an LO to address this “choke
point.” The textual portion of the LO will explain the algebraic methods, via examples, for converting
between the two forms, and will also introduce the students to direction fields (an array of arrows
indicating the direction of motion). The conceptual portion will introduce a tool for creating direction fields
and lead the students to use the tool to investigate the equivalence of the two forms. The tool will have a
similar look and feel to the tools found in Matlab, which will ease their introduction to Matlab later in their
academic career. The practical portion will give the students feedback on their level of understanding by
asking questions about the second-order linear differential equation governing a harmonic oscillator.
Some of these questions will require the students to use the direction field tool to formulate their answers.
II. Supporting Faculty to Share and Store LOs
To reach our objective of creating content, we need to support faculty to examine their curriculum to
design LOs to best suit students’ learning needs. We will also learn from faculty as they work through the
project so that we can craft a better interface with the repository and registry (which are described in detail
below).
3
See, for instance, these web-based results of an online survey administered to Natural Science Chemistry, Spring 2004, UW Colleges. In
particular, students expressed a need for more help in understanding principles of chromatography which largely involve intermolecular forces.
http://www.zoomerang.com/reports/public_report.zgi?ID=L224WZ3QFEVS
7
Curriculum and Content Development, and the TCP Templates. We will have a series of workshops
geared toward our first objective of creating new LOs and reworking existing objects. This work will
exploit the TCP educational design model and will focus on concept-building in the first two years of
STEM education. As pre-workshop homework, teams will set clear objectives in terms of the “choke
points” addressed by the LOs they will construct and how many LOs they will develop (within a given
timeframe). In the workshop setting, faculty will be trained to use the TCP model to “storyboard” LOs that
address a curricular “choke point.” They will then be trained to use common web authoring tools to work
with the TCP HTML template to facilitate a quick-start process. Beta-work has shown that, with very little
training, faculty can easily place the text-based or simpler parts of the LOs into the current template, and
they can place existing complex digital media into the template. Many of the new LOs will require
technical work for animation, java scripting, bringing in outside server-side software, and so forth. While
many faculty have interest in learning the process of creating sophisticated dynamic components, the
proof of concept project showed that this portion of the process (when left to the faculty member alone)
slowed the creation of materials and/or resulted in an end product that was less desirable than the faculty
member had originally envisioned. For this reason, we will bring in our own internal instructional
technology designers (supported by UW System) to work with faculty on the development of such
interactive gizmos. This frees faculty to spend their time where it is most effective – in designing LOs to
address student needs.
Library Support of Faculty Work. Library Science participants will work with the content development
faculty to train them in the process of contributing LOs to the collection. This will ensure that instructors
have a quick-start guide for completing the appropriate meta-tagging of each LO so that objects within the
repository can be easily located. The Library Science participants will help to develop a streamlined and
familiar process of placing the LOs into the repository. They will develop a "How-To" manual that
describes how to find and retrieve items in the most efficient manner. And perhaps most importantly, they
will interact with faculty participants during the entire project to help develop a process that works for both
creators and users of LOs. A more thorough discussion of the registry, the repository, and the role of
library experts will be presented in the next section.
Group Meetings. Once the workshops are over, faculty will be “launched” into the project, but will still
have considerable work to do to accomplish their objectives. To support them between workshops, we
will use a combination of face-to-face meetings (often taking advantage of other UW System events that
create opportunities to meet), weekly team conference calls, web-based project development spaces, and
web conferencing. Library staff and instructional designers will continue to join in as needed to support
faculty work with content and with the registry and repository interface.
Reinventing Work-Flow Process for a Repository and a Registry.
Recall the two scenarios in the early part of this proposal. The imagined scenario offered a model of how
things could work if there were a process in place to capture the creativity that stemmed from an
instructor’s need to bring students to a deeper understanding of the course material. This is precisely how
we see the local federated repository in operation: faculty locate and create their LOs, using both the
tools they have at hand and the template model we described in detail. The next crucial step occurs when
the creator saves the LO – not only to a hard drive, but to the repository for others to use and modify. The
content will be “pushed” to a repository monitored and maintained by the library. The faculty developer
will have enough training to be able to enter the small amount of meta-data in a registry that will
automatically alert the library support staff as to the existence of the new material. Through a brief
interview with the faculty developer, the library experts will determine the correct meta-data needed for the
repository. Library staff will then update the registry, which then informs the wider disciplinary user group
for critical review, improvement, and eventual merging of the work into larger collections like the NSDL
Local Federated Repository Functions and Features.
One of our defining objectives is to implement and examine aspects of a localized, federated repository
(LFR) being developed during AY 04/05 with support from the UW System. The local federated repository
will:
o Be easy to contribute to – both for content and for supplemental teaching notes;
o Be searchable both from within the repository and from global search engines like Google;
8
o
o
o
Allow for user notification and reviews;
Appeal to a large population of STEM instructors;
Automate the handshake with larger collections such as the NSDL.
Consider the ways in which the repository will function.
Repository Content and Storage: The repository will be responsive to the size of the LOs that are
designed and how faculty interface with storage systems. The repository will accept not only
complete LOs, but also gizmos and other digital learning assets around which LOs can be
constructed. Not only will the LOs themselves be shared (downloadable), but also the individual
components including the three TCP components and the gizmos. These smaller chunks of
information can be modified and rearranged in many ways, making them adaptable to more users.
We say that this is a very granular system – the “grains” of information are small.
Contributions to the Repository: The use of a tested template encourages designers toward
pedagogical and aesthetic consistency. It also facilitates the submission of objects and
documentation to the repository. The template can be used by faculty in a familiar and
streamlined format, fully supported by library experts. Submissions will trigger a library support
staff interview with the contributor. In this interview, library staff will generate a “library index card”
of sorts, containing the correct meta-data needed for the repository’s catalog. This will also allow
for eventual merging of the work into larger collections like the NSDL.
Downloading and Repurposing Materials from the Repository: Because the contributions to the
repository are meta-tagged, they will be searchable from within the repository and with outside
search engines. Users who find an item of interest in the LFR will have access to the item itself
as well as its supporting files and source code. The user can then modify the materials to suit a
particular LO. We will encourage users to share new versions if their modifications are significant.
To learn from best practices in sharing information, we will continue to study the features of existing
repositories – both hi-tech instances like MERLOT and NSDL as well as simpler repository models offered
by NSF-supported programs like Case Studies in Science at SUNY-Buffalo. Additionally, the University
of Wisconsin System is actively supporting a variety of repository models and research as part of its
4
Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative. However, these repositories can evolve to be truly functional
only when they are placed in the hands of a community of users. Hence, the UW System is eager to
provide the repository/registry service and is actively seeking a community of users for the systems it has
in place. There is also strong synergy for this project with both UW System resources and NSF-funded
projects such as the Scout Project (more detail on Scout later).
To achieve the objectives of the LFR, the following components will be used:
o A registry system;
o A set of dedicated and persistent servers running repository software administered by
participating UW campus libraries (currently under development by UW System);
o A process supported by UW libraries assisting content creators in the registration of created
materials;
o A community review process within the registry; and finally
o A mechanism to automatically release reviewed and accepted materials to the NSDL and other
digital libraries and indexes.
The Registry.
The registry is a tool to facilitate communication between the users, the repository, and other affiliated
repositories (MERLOT, NSDL, etc.). The registry model for this project is based on the Scout Portal
Toolkit software (SPT) created by the Scout Project at the UW-Madison (http://scout.wisc.edu/). It works
by alerting registrants via an RSS feed that behaves like the “ticker” one sees at the bottom of a TV news
screen. (RSS denotes Real Simple Syndication.) In addition to RSS, SPT also provides an e-mail based
4
The Academic ADL Co-Lab, DSpace in conjunction with UW-Madison, the Desire2Learn® LOR,
exLibris® metaLIB, MERLOT, and the Localized Federated Repository model are five.
9
"push technology" mechanism for tracking and maintaining awareness of new resources. These
notification functions are important to raise awareness and to get the objects into the hands of instructorusers and into the review process. The registry will provide for review of available materials and will
collect user comments, teaching notes, and supplementary materials. Linking with collections such as the
NSDL would be automatically enabled after an authentication process that includes review by the
community of peers within the registry.
This registry model evolved through work with the POC mathematics faculty who designed LOs and ran
into snarls while attempting to store these in appropriate existing digital libraries. We feel that this local
federated repository model combines the best of a MERLOT-like RSS architecture with work-flow
processes central to the local campus that are more familiar to faculty and staff. The basic improvements
are 1) a simplified and more familiar method for contributing materials combined with 2) the much more
flexible methods of the TCP model for retrieving and reusing them and 3) the ease of “publishing”
reviewed products.
Sharing Content with NSDL and Other Collections.
This project will be most successful if its dissemination function and faculty reward missions are met. The
peer review process of the LFR with later publication to the NSDL will accomplish an important portion of
both of these essential tasks: faculty produced learning objects will be published only after a successful
peer review; the push technologies of the registry (RSS and email) will disseminate the content and
concept; and finally, the NSDL Open Archives protocols (OAI-PMH, http://openarchives.org) for sharing
resource meta-data, resource annotation and review materials will be facilitated by the SPT enabling
sharing with other repositories.
III. Evaluating and Disseminating
We will evaluate and disseminate the effectiveness of the materials developed, the effectiveness of the
faculty development efforts proposed in the project, and the usefulness of the repository.
Evaluation Plan
Dr. Flora McMartin will coordinate and conduct the evaluation activities described in this proposal. Dr.
McMartin has extensive experience in conducting evaluation of digital libraries, faculty development
programs and assessment of student learning. She will coordinate the evaluation services of the project
in conjunction with MERLOT and the California State University, Long Beach Center for Usability in
Design and Assessment (CUDA). Since its establishment as an official research, service, and instruction
center in 1996, CUDA has conducted over 60 usability studies for educational institutions, government
agencies, and private companies. CUDA has also provided program evaluation and usability testing
services to three NSF grants (Virtual Courseware for Science Education - DUE 9752603 and DUE
9980719; NSDL DUE 0085913).
The evaluation for this project will center around the following evaluation activities:
o In the first year: Formative/process evaluation focusing on the development of the project, site, and
services (including student learning, faculty development, usage tracking and dissemination
efforts).
o In both years: Usability assessments examining the use of the repository and its content as well as
its ease of use (including usage tracking and a general review of the repository).
o In year two: Outcomes evaluations studying the impact of the use of these materials on the faculty,
teachers and students who use the materials or visit the site (including student learning
assessment, faculty development and evaluation of the repository).
Dr. McMartin and her assessment team will work with the participants of the project to assess three
criteria:
Assessment of Impact on Student Learning: As these LOs are used by different faculty in a wide
variety of teaching environments, and since this is conceptual learning, we will control the
10
variation based on pedagogy and teaching style, by having participants examine student
assimilation of the concepts in the following way: In each year, we will use specific assignments
or test questions agreed upon prior to the beginning of instruction that are embedded in the
curriculum as opposed to specially designed pre- and post-tests. Faculty from different sections
will be asked to rate the materials from students that are not in their sections. Student
performance by specific faculty without the LO results will be compared to those from the same
faculty member’s students using the LOs.
In addition, students will complete a Student Assessment of Learning Gains survey, and
instructors will be asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the TCP based LOs.
Assessment of Faculty Development: The external consultant on assessment will evaluate the
effectiveness of the faculty development process by conducting phone interviews with a set of
standardized questions three times during the first year (beginning, middle and end). The
consultant will also critically evaluate the pedagogical quality of the individual learning objects.
Additionally, a pre-and post-assessment of faculty workflow habits surrounding content use,
saving, and reuse particularly as they relate to the LFR will be conducted. We want to know if we
were able to either change or accommodate faculty work habits with the LFR and registry.
Summative evaluations will be accomplished through a series of surveys, and focus groups. As
well, three interviews will be conducted during the course of the project with a review of the TCP
based LO’s as to their pedagogical effectiveness. UWSA will work with the Editorial Board at
MERLOT to accomplish this review. A process will be put in place to track the downloading of
materials to enable follow-up discussions with them.
Assessment of the Local Federated Repository: Upon completion of the repository contents, they
will be submitted to the MERLOT project for external review. MERLOT has Editorial Boards in
Teaching and Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math, and each have performed
external reviews of hundreds of educational on-line materials. Dr. Cooper is a co-editor of the
Biology Editorial Board, and has arranged for an external review (personal communication). We
will also monitor use statistics to see if the site is being visited, and if materials are being
downloaded and posted. In addition, the assessment consultant will contact those that download
from the repository in an attempt to determine how the materials are being used.
Dissemination Plans.
We have a multi-faceted plan to disseminate our faculty development process, design template, projectrelated courseware, and the local federated repository functions. In this dissemination, we will call on the
far-reaching professional affiliations of our PIs and faculty participants as well as the resources of the UW
System. Here are just a few of our plans.
o The repository is on a stable, university-supported server. It will be linked to Digital Libraries and
the contents will be properly meta-tagged to allow faculty external to the project to find and use
the materials. Presentations relating to the project will site the repository URL. Usage statistics will
provide an indication as to the success of the dissemination efforts.
o Each year the UW System hosts, through its Women & Science Program, an Opening Workshop
for all new STEM faculty. The focus of this 2-day workshop is to introduce student-active
pedagogy and share best practices for teaching in STEM fields. We have the Women & Science
Program’s permission to join their program if this project is funded, and will use the opportunity to
recruit new content developers, grow our registry of reviewers, and disseminate our work.
o We have close professional ties to lead staff at Project Kaleidoscope, MERLOT, the MID Project,
BioWeb, and the Council on Undergraduate Research. Under the umbrella of these
organizations, we will share materials, models, and resources with the larger STEM community.
o We are active members of our professional organizations and will work with both regional and
national-level meetings to plan and conduct workshops for STEM faculty. (We are members of
ACS, BCCE, CUR, NABT, MAA, and others.)
o Project Co-PI, Kim Kostka is a column editor for the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE), a
publication that not only has print publications, but a significant collection of digital learning
11
materials as well. JCE is cataloged in the NSDL and will be an excellent tool for gathering and
testing a variety of existing LOs.
Experience and Capabilities of the PI and Co-PIs.
Each of the Co-PI’s will play an active role in the workshops, dissemination, faculty development,
assessment, repository functions, and faculty participant selection. The experiences, capabilities, and
additional individual tasks are outlined below.
Jeff Baggett has participated in several projects that have developed web-based educational materials in
mathematics. One project involved the selection and packaging of weekly web activities to reinforce key
concepts in applied calculus. He has also contributed to the server-based computational tools developed
by Robert Hoar. Baggett was a participant in the proof of concept project on which the current proposal is
based and has been active in all subsequent work. As part of the proof of concept he developed LOs
using the TCP model and developed interactive applets for exploring radian measure of angles. Baggett
has technical expertise in web-layout and scripting and has helped to build the TCP template. In addition
to working on the template, Baggett will co-lead the mathematics group, along with Robert Hoar, create
new mathematics LOs, and assist in training participants in the use of the template.
Scott Cooper has led several projects developing on-line educational materials in the biological sciences.
One project involved integrating bioinformatics into 12 different courses in our biology major. A second
involved developing interactive formative assessment modules for use in introductory biology lectures.
Cooper leads the biology group in developing modules for the extension of the Proof-of-Concept project.
Cooper will lead the biology group, create new biology LOs, work with MERLOT, and help create
assessment procedures.
Robert Hoar has led several projects that have developed web-based computational tools and related
educational materials. One project involved the creation of an interface between the web and a powerful
mathematics software package. A set of computational tools was developed utilizing this interface for use
in many courses from the remedial to the advanced levels. A second project involved the development of
a web-based “expert” system. This system was developed to aid in remedial mathematics. The expert
system would tailor feedback and sequencing to the performance of the individual. Hoar has been with the
current project since its inception. Hoar will work with the mathematics group to create LOs, and, as PI,
work on the various aspects of the grant.
Kim Kostka has developed, along with an instructional design team, a completely online chemistry lab
science course targeted toward non-majors. The course included several LOs that were developed inhouse as well as many that were found on the web. The course has been taught three times, and
students from those sections have helped direct the development of additional LOs to support their
understanding of this material. Development of materials for this fully-online lab course continues. Kostka
is a member of the chemistry team in the UWS-funded extension of the POC project. Kostka will lead the
Biology group, create Biology LOs, and be the project liaison with the UW-College institution.
Hal Schlais is the Senior Consultant for Learning Technology Development for the University of
Wisconsin System. He provides strategic guidance for the allocation of System-wide resources to support
the development and integration of learning technologies into research and classroom instruction. He has
the perspective and communication resources of the Office of Learning and Information Technology at
UW System. Schlais has been responsible for budgeting, organizing, and facilitating the inception and
ongoing activities of several recognized statewide projects related to learning technology. Most recently
he served as PI in the POC project and developed and secured funding for the multi-disciplinary extension
of the POC. The project team regards him as our “marshal of resources,” and as such, he will be the
project liaison with UW System.
12
Project Timeline.
Spring Semester 04-05
CO-PI’s meet with Library Science Group
Library Science Group studies project needs (repository, metatagging and developing process for working with faculty)
CO-PIs’ initial meeting / LO workshop planning
Participant faculty identify “choke points”
Participant faculty review previously completed materials and
assess existing digital media for repurposing
Process assessment, data gathering
Summer 05
Faculty workshops focusing on producing materials and working
with the repository.
Faculty teams: each working with the UW System supported
instructional design consultants on their individual LO, will develop
a complete LO to be placed into the course repository
Individual faculty will work with the assessment team to create
assessment of student learning instruments for use in the fall.
Group workshop preceding the fall 05-06 term to address presemester issues.
LOs are ready and placed in a temporary repository.
Overview presentation to departments at participating institutions
Process Assessment, Data gathering
Jan
Feb
Mar April
June
Fall Semester 05-06
Library group works with content producers to place materials in
the permanent repository.
Materials are in a permanent repository.
Instruction of Fall Semester courses utilizing the materials from the
project.
Data gathering: Faculty assessment
Data gathering: Student assessment
Assessment is gathered and distributed to all participants.
Modifications are made to materials based on assessment results.
Bio, Chem, Math teams mentor incoming physics team.
Send team to Opening Workshop for New STEM Faculty.
Sept
Spring Semester 05-06
Modifications are made to materials based on assessment results
(continued).
Additional courses taught
Data gathering: Faculty assessment
Data gathering: Student assessment
Library Group links repository to national digital libraries
PI’s assess faculty usability of the repository
Latest version of all modules that have been tested and created will
be available in the repository.
Publish faculty participant, peer-reviewed, objects to the NSDL
PI’s select 06-07 faculty LO developers (UW System supported)
Jan
July
Oct
Feb
Aug
Nov
Mar
May
Dec
April May
13
Summer 06
Principal investigators work with assessment team to catalog
findings from student and faculty assessments efforts.
Principal investigators (and other interested faculty participants)
disseminate results at UW System conferences, MERLOT’s annual
conference and the annual eLearning Conference in Madison WI.
Additional discipline specific LO materials are created by the UW
System supported teams.
Continued beta-testing of project LOs (including “How-To”
manuals) that are in the project repository.
Fall Semester 06-07
Principal investigators (and other interested faculty participants)
disseminate results at regional and national discipline specific
conferences.
Additional discipline specific LO materials are collected from
existing repositories (or public web sites) to increase the amount
of material available in the project repository.
Continued beta-testing of project LOs that are added to the project
repository.
PI provides a documented process and identifies suite of tools for
assembling the objects into instructional modules
June
Sept
July
Oct
Nov
Aug
Dec
Summary of acronyms and abbreviations.
In This Proposal.
ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act
CELLO – Common External Linked Learning Object
LO – Learning Object
NSDL – National Science Digital Library
ReaLO – Real Learning Object
RSS – Real Simple Syndication
SCORM – Sharable Content Object Reference
Model
Professional Organizations.
ACS – American Chemical Society
BCCE – Biennial Conference of Chemical
Education
CUR – Council on Undergraduate Research
MAA – Mathematics Association of America
MID-Project – Multi-Initiative-Dissemination
Project for NSF-supported chemistry curriculum
reform projects
NABT – National Association of Biology Teachers
PKAL – Project Kaleidoscope – NSF-supported
faculty development program
14
Facilities, Equipment
Teams will meet for workshops and other meetings at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The
University currently has a number of computer labs that can accommodate our group of fifteen
faculty designers. With high speed internet connections, including wireless connections and
wireless laptops, computer work stations have available various software development tools
including those from Macromedia and Adobe. Additionally, there are two servers for development
and delivery devoted to this project and IT support.
For continued project support, video conferencing and training rooms are also available in the
UW-La Crosse Wing Technology Center (http://www.uwlax.edu/map/wingcomm.html). The Wing
Technology Center's state-of-the-art facility features fully staffed multimedia production and
editing suites for: Educational Television; Visual Communications; Distance Education; Web
Page Authoring; Satellite Services; Electronic Repair & Installation; and Classroom
Modernization. Each of the participating institutions has access to a high speed data network and
faculty have appropriate computing capability and connectivity to support the learning object
construction. In addition, the UW-Colleges faculty, who are distributed across the state, are
expert at using web conferencing to support professional development.
The UW System will be providing software licenses for this project, including packages such as
Breese Live and Placeware. Additional resources are available through the professional
affiliations of our PIs and faculty contributors. For instance, we have representatives in this
project that interface with PKAL, CUR, BioWeb, J. Chem. Ed. MID-project, MERLOT, MAA, ACS,
(great resource for reviewers who wish to see it first hand!) and many others. These affiliations
allow us a broad dissemination audience as well as a rich source of both contributors and
reviewers for new materials.
One of the goals of the project is to design a process that streamlines faculty contribution of
content and facilitates publication of reviewed digital materials. This process will work with a
localized federated repository (LFR) that is already under development within the UW System.
Consultants:
Dr. Flora McMartin will coordinate and conduct the evaluation activities described in this proposal.
Dr. McMartin has extensive experience in conducting evaluation of digital libraries, faculty
development programs and assessment of student learning. She will coordinate the evaluation
services of the project in conjunction with MERLOT' and the California State University, Long
Beach Center for Usability in Design and Assessment (CUDA). Since its establishment as an
official research, service, and instruction center in 1996, CUDA has conducted over 60 usability
studies for educational institutions, government agencies, and private companies. CUDA has also
provided program evaluation and usability testing services to three NSF grants (Virtual
Courseware for Science Education - DUE 9752603 and DUE 9980719; NSDL DUE 0085913).
Other Resources: These will be provided by the University of Wisconsin System.
Additional Direct Support (See Budget Justification for more details.)
o Twelve additional faculty LO developers (at $6,250 each plus fringe) to join the project in
the second year (additional physics, math, biology and chemistry faculty)
o Graduate Student repository programmer 1/2 time (with fringe) for each year.
o Local Federated Repository Project Director 10% support with fringe for each year.
o Additional Hardware (servers) for repository.
o Teleconferencing support for each year.
o Technology support staff for each year.
o MERLOT memberships for each year.
Dr. Robert Hoar
Mathematics Department
University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
Dear Dr. Hoar,
This letter is written in support of the grant to the National Science Foundation by a consortium
of University of Wisconsin institutions, including the University of Wisconsin Colleges, to
extend further the proof-of-concept model for the creation, evaluation and national dissemination
of digital learning objects. These learning objects are to be designed to improve teaching and
learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
There is certainly sufficient research and data from across the nation indicating that we must
improve the learning of very difficult ìchoke pointî material by students in STEM disciplines.
Unless we can do so, higher education has little hope of increasing the number of baccalaureate
and advanced degree holders in STEM fields. In the UW Colleges, we are especially aware of
this issue. As an institution of access for the University of Wisconsin System institutions, we
have a greater proportion of students who are under prepared in mathematics and science. To
provide these students with the opportunity to enter careers in more technologically based fields,
we obviously need to move them through the first two years of university science and
mathematics courses. We continually look for best practices in doing so.
The use of learning objects in STEM courses is a very promising opportunity for our students.
It makes best use of faculty time and collaboration to design the most effective learning tools.
The grant proposal also offers clear ways to disseminate these learning objects and allow faculty
to manipulate them easily to meet specific purposes.
For the reasons above, I whole heartedly endorse this grant proposal.
Sincerely,
Margaret Cleek
Provost and Vice Chancellor
June 15, 2004
Dr. Robert Hoar
Mathematics Department
University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
Dear Dr. Hoar:
This letter is written in support of the grant to the National Science Foundation by a consortium of University of
Wisconsin institutions, including the University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin–La
Crosse, to expand upon the proof-of-concept model for the creation, evaluation and national dissemination of
digital learning objects in mathematics and the sciences. The creation of a repository which will help faculty
share ideas and build upon each others’ achievements will benefit faculty and students both within our system and
in higher education around the country.
The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse has a proud history of providing a high quality education and continues
to support the development of innovative teaching methods and materials. UW–L offers a wide range of science
and mathematics degree programs, including a number of allied health programs. Efforts to help students
overcome key barriers to success in the STEM disciplines (the “choke points” that you describe in your proposal)
are certainly worthwhile, and helping faculty overcome certain obstacles as they attempt to create and share
investigative, interactive instructional materials relating to these choke points is equally valuable.
UW-L was pleased to support the proof-of-concept project that was funded last year. To provide further support
to the grant, the university upgraded the teaching technology in one of our mathematics classrooms. As you know,
the new learning objects and the process for building them were “put to the test” by our mathematics faculty as
they utilized them in our pre-calculus courses. The feedback from the faculty and the students was positive (in
fact, the students asked for more). Expanding these efforts into the sciences and the inclusion of Dr. Scott Cooper
(from Biology) and Dr. Jeffery Baggett (from Mathematics) will ensure that this project has high quality
leadership and will ensure high quality outcomes.
Collaborative efforts between UW-L and other UW System institutions have always been encouraged. The
University of Wisconsin Colleges, a collection of two-year campuses distributed around the state, help prepare
students for transfer to the comprehensive campuses, including UW–L. The plan to combine the talents of the
faculty from the College campuses with those of our own faculty, and to provides the means by which the faculty
can share and tailor materials to fit individual classroom needs across the various campuses is a real strength in
this proposal. I look forward to seeing the results.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth J. Hitch
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Office of the Provost and
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
145 Graff Main Hall, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone: (608)785-8007, Fax: (608)785-8046
An affirmative action/equal opportunity employer
Professor Robert Hoar
Mathematics Department
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601
Dear Dr. Hoar,
We are very pleased to write this letter of support for your proposal titled Digital
Learning Objects in Lower Division STEM: Using a Materials Design Model to Create
New Materials and an Accessible Learning Object Repository. Creating high quality
extendable learning objects for STEM educators and designing and demonstrating a
proven process by which those objects may be shared and enhanced is one of the critical
challenges being faced by the STEM community today, and your project is clearly poised
to build upon earlier efforts to rapidly make substantive progress in this area.
The Internet Scout Project is pleased to offer our Scout Portal Toolkit and CWIS software
for this project, and looks forward to supporting your team in using these packages to
share learning objects online and to integrate and leverage your efforts within the
National Science Digital Library infrastructure. We are very much looking forward to
following the outcomes of this project.
Sincerely,
Edward Almasy
Co-Director
Internet Scout Project
Rachael Bower
Co-Director
Internet Scout Project
The University of Wisconsin System
Learning and Information Technology
1554 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive
Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1557
(608) 265-3095 Fax: (608) 265-3175
June 15, 2004
Robert Hoar
Mathematics Department
Cowley Hall 2036
UW La Crosse
La Crosse, WI 54601
Dear Robert,
As you are aware, the UW System has been a leader in the development of international
standards regarding shareable electronic content: We are a partner in the Advanced
Distributed Learning Initiative; we currently are partners in the Academic ADL Co-Lab; and we
support a membership and faculty leadership role in MERLOT, a long-time leader in the area of
shareable content.
We here at the Office of Learning and Information Technology in University of Wisconsin
System Administration find your NSF CCLI EMD grant entitled Digital Learning Objects in
Lower Division STEM: Using a Materials Design Model to Create New Materials and
an Accessible Learning Object Repository, very compelling. Moreover, we find especially
intriguing the proposed concept that combining the innovations of the Scout Internet Project’s
Scout Portal Toolkit with locally administered library content servers and personnel at UW
campuses to create the Locally Federated Repository model. This is a very meaningful
inclusion of UW System libraries and their personnel in a role of faculty support in the
development, sharing and reuse of digital content.
We believe that the LFR model is a sustainable, low-cost and innovative re-thinking of faculty
work-flow and library processes that can become part of the library support activities with a
minimum of ongoing funding required after grant termination. We are committed to providing the
developmental support for the LFR to ensure its readiness for use in the project when it begins;
we are also committed to providing ongoing support for the term of the project; and, if the
concept proves beneficial, we will work with the UW institutions to restructure the funding
within the UW System to maintain the LFR after project funding ends.
We will support the development of the LFR over the AY 04/05 ensuring that a production
version available as of June, 05. To do this, a pilot of the LFR will be implemented and tested
during summer/fall 04 and refined over spring 05. We are committed to funding an estimated $
48,000 to provide the developmental hardware environment, support a half-time graduate
student developer, a 10% project manager, and provide1/9 release time for library personnel to
work with faculty and the current learning object developers to develop a meta-data model.
We will provide the ongoing support for software development, hardware maintenance and
technical support for the LFR for the two-year term of the grant. This is expected be
approximately $30,000 per year. As mentioned above, if the concept proves beneficial, our
office will work with the UW institutions to restructure the support to within the UW System to
maintain the LFR after project funding ends.
Additionally, we are committed to providing $100,000 to insure that additional STEM disciplines
can be included as a year 2 of the proposal under the guidance of the team leaders. This will
provide valuable faculty development, enlarge the scope of the project within the UWS and be
an effective dissemination tool for project results and products.
I wish you the very best of luck with your exciting project,
Sincerely,
Ed Meachen
Associate Vice President
UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN
LA CROSSE
To:
Members of the NSF CCLI-EMD Review Panel
From:
Bruce Riley, Chair
Mathematics Department
Date:
June 15, 2004
This letter is provided in support of the grant proposal Digital Learning Objects in Lower
Division STEM: Using a Materials Design Model to Create New Materials and an Accessible
Learning Object Repository that is being submitted for funding consideration by Professor
Robert Hoar.
During the past five years, Dr. Hoar has developed web-based systems of tutorials and
computational tools for students enrolled in the Mathematics Department’s general education
courses (college algebra, pre-calculus, applied calculus, and statistics) and in the department’s
integrated calculus/linear algebra/differential equations core sequence. Some of the tutorials are
used by students to review topics in mathematics and to address weaknesses they might have in
the skills that are prerequisite for the courses they are enrolled in, while other tutorials and the
computational tools are used by students to investigate topics and applications in algebra,
trigonometry, statistics, calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
Most recently, Dr. Hoar led a group of UW System mathematics faculty (including faculty here
at UW-La Crosse) in the development and testing of web-based materials (learning objects) that
address concepts in pre-calculus mathematics that students often struggle with, and in the
development of an instructional model in which the learning objects can be easily accessed,
modified, and used by other mathematics instructors. Several learning objects were tested in precalculus courses during the 2003-04 academic year with positive results; indeed, the learning
objects were well received by both students and instructors. These development and testing
activities were supported by a CCLI Proof of Concept grant as a prelude to the current proposal.
The proposed project calls for the further development of the instructional model, including the
development of science related learning objects. Dr. Hoar and his colleagues have the
experience and the technical expertise to direct the project, including: identifying problem areas
in mathematics and science education that might be improved by applying the technological and
pedagogical concepts embodied in a system of shareable learning objects; identifying appropriate
learning objects in existing collections of digital educational material and creating learning
objects that address the identified problem areas; and implementing and testing a learning object
repository.
Based on the success of Dr. Hoar’s earlier work, I believe that the proposed project would be
highly successful and I enthusiastically support the proposal. I expect that the results of the
project would benefit faculty and students within and beyond the UW System, and to assist in the
dissemination of these results, the Mathematics Department would provide travel support for
presentations at regional and national conferences.
Mathematics Department
1020 Cowley Hall, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone: (608)785-8382, Fax: (608)785-6602
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
To whom it May Concern,
MERLOT—The Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching agrees to work
with Digital Learning Objects in Lower Division STEM: Using a Materials Design Model to Create
New Materials and An Accessible Learning Object Repository to meet the objectives outlined in the
proposal “Digital Learning Objects in Lower Division STEM: Using a Materials Design Model to Create
New Materials and an Accessible Learning Object Repository.”
MERLOT, the Center for Usability and Design Assessment (CUDA) and Dr. Flora McMartin (Director of
MERLOT”s Member Services and Evaluation) is uniquely positioned to participate in the work proposed
here. She will plan and coordinate the evaluation process and procedures for this project and will direct
the work with CUDA, the California State University, Long Beach Center for Usability in Design
and Assessment.
MERLOT looks forward to working with the project to support the development of the library itself and
insure that the project moves forward as designed. To do so, evaluation is critical.
Specifically, MERLOT will work with the Digital Learning Objects in Lower Division STEM: Using a
Materials Design Model to Create New Materials and An Accessible Learning Object Repository to:
• Plan and conduct formative/process evaluation focusing on the development of the site and its services
•
Plan and conduct usability assessment examining the use of the sites and other content as well as its ease of
use
•
Plan and conduct outcomes evaluation studying the impact of the use of these materials on the faculty,
teachers and students who use the materials or visit the site
These evaluation activities will involve development and testing of assessment and evaluation instruments as
well as the development of the final evaluation plan. CUDA and Dr. McMartin (the evaluation team)will
coordinate these activities with the Project Principle Investigators and staff, to ensure that the results of the
formative evaluation is fed back into the project. The evaluation team will conduct interviews and focus groups
where appropriate and coordinate the other assessment activities, including data collection, summary and
analysis.
Sincerely,
Dr. Flora McMartin
Director of Membership Services and Evaluation
MERLOT
About MERLOT
MERLOT—The Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching is an international cooperative formed for
the purpose of aggregating and making freely accessible high quality online resources to improve learning and teaching within
higher education. The cooperative connects systems, consortiums, and institutions of higher education, professional organizations
of academic disciplines, and individual members to form a community of people who strive to enrich the teaching and learning
experience. As of April 2004, MERLOT links to approximately 10,000 learning resources (approximately 70% of the collection
is peer-reviewed) and represents a community of over 19,000 registered members.