Lessons learned in building a sustained distance learning program

1. Lessons learned in building a sustained distance learning program Richard Anderson and Fred Videon, UWCSEODL, October 18, 2011 ODL, Windhoek

2. Masters in Computer Science Distance Learning Program • UW Professional Masters Program • Masters in Computer Science • Taught by faculty from UW Computer Science and Engineering • Coursework masters program (8 graduate courses to complete degree) • Targeted students working in industry • Combination of distance and face to face courses • Regional program ODL, Windhoek

3. Distance learning technology • Synchronous distance learning • Instructor lecturing to students in multiple classrooms • Goal: link together classrooms to form a single class • Multiple transmission technologies used • Started with Polycom/ISDN system • Developed internet video conferencing system to support the course ODL, Windhoek

4. ConferenceXP • Open Source Platform for real-time collaboration • Delivered in collaboration with Microsoft Research • Main deployment in Masters Program • University of Washington • Microsoft ODL, Windhoek

5. Beyond two-way classes • Lectures available at the desktop • Two courses offered between University of Washington, Microsoft, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego • Course offered with Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan • 12 hour time difference, 6:30 pm course in the Seattle, a 6:30 am course in Lahore! ODL, Windhoek

6. Building a successful distance learning program • Component of a strong degree program • Entire program designed to meet the needs of students working full time in industry • No distinction between distance and non-distance students • Students had choice of sites they could attend classes ODL, Windhoek

7. Technology • Support verbal interaction in the class with microphones • Lighting of instructors, high quality microphones for the instructor. • Writing on slides with electronic ink • Lecture archiving to allow review of lectures ODL, Windhoek

8. Challenges • Currently, the technology is very robust • Last lecture with degraded quality: Autumn 2008 • Last lecture with sustained outage: Spring 2002 • While the technology was being developed, there were many “glitches” • Made strong efforts to address problems • Told students about the challenges, and what we were doing to address them • Students understood they were part of a program that was innovating in technology and education ODL, Windhoek

9. Gaining instructor buy in • Faculty were initially skeptical about program and distance education • Faculty discovered that students were enthusiastic and hard working • Selective in choice of instructors for distance courses • Ensured that faculty had in-class, as well as distance students • Supported traditional slide and whiteboard pedagogy ODL, Windhoek

10. Distance Learning Goals • Small number of live classrooms with very good interactivity • High reliability • Support for presentation with whiteboardor digital ink • Record all classroom artifacts • Content to desktop: multiple platforms; Stream/download; live/archive; freely available to public • System flexibility when new requirements arise ODL, Windhoek

11. Classroom Setup • Audio is important and difficult to do well • Microphones permanently installed • Echo cancellation hardware • Video: fixed camera positions; multiple video streams • Projectors: use as many as practical • Display of remote students gives sense of presence. • Instructor should also be able to see remote students ODL, Windhoek

12. Basic PMP setup (2 sites) CXP Video cameras Video cameras PMP VENUE Audio Audio Video Displays Video Displays Speakers Speakers UW Microsoft Archiver Student Tablets Student Tablets CP3 Display CP3 Display CP3 Instructor CP3 ODL, Windhoek

13. 3-way setup for UW, MS, LUMS Microsoft LUMS CP3 CP3 PMP Venue 1 PMP Venue 2 Archiver UW CP3 CP3 Server ODL, Windhoek

14. Network • Reliability of the network is key • Distributed administration can be a problem • Test often and be proactive • Have well tested backup plans • Alternate network paths • Telephone ODL, Windhoek

15. ConferenceXP • Open Source Platform for real-time collaboration • High quality, low latency multipoint conferencing • Targeted for standard PC and high quality network • Works with commodity cameras and audio equipment • Built-in collaboration tools including presentation, whiteboard, screen sharing, video playback, chat ODL, Windhoek

16. Classroom Presenter • TabletPC-Based Distributed Presentation System • Instructor navigation and annotation on local and remote displays • Open Source License • Students can contribute to class using digital ink • Students run the software on their laptops/tablets • Instructor can review, display and annotate student work • Promotes active learning ODL, Windhoek

17. Lecture Capture and Playback • ConferenceXP Archive Service • Stores all artifacts in SQL Server database • Tools used to post-process archive into multiple formats • WMV, MP4, OGG • Video showing presentation instead of the speaker • Custom viewer (WebViewer) concurrent video and presentation with table of contents • HTML 5 viewer ODL, Windhoek

18. A Selection of Recent Courses • Compiler Construction, Autumn 2011 www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/csep501/11au/ • Concurrency, Spring 2011 www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/csep506/11sp/Home.html • Cryptography, Winter 2011 www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/csep590a/11wi/ ODL, Windhoek

19. Links & Contacts • ConferenceXP http://cct.cs.washington.edu • Classroom Presenter http://cp3.cs.washington.edu • Email {anderson, fred}@cs.washington.edu ODL, Windhoek