Michael Szabo, Ph.D., University of Alberta

Mohammed Aly, Ph. D., Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

William Fricker, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

Richard Poon, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

Clayton, Wright, Ph. D., Grant MacEwan Community College

In 1997, the Department of Advanced Education and Manpower established a series of grants to post secondary institutions (PSE) in the Province of Alberta. The grants are designed to promote the use of instructional technology in order to increase achievement, learning efficiency and most of all access to a broader range of residents of Alberta. A secondary goal is to foster cooperation among the institutions in the Province.

For Phase I, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and Grant MacEwan Community College (GMCC) formed a consortium to create a series of 40 print-based modules for professional development of faculty and staff in the area of educational technology. The modules were produced and validated by faculty and staff from over a dozen institutions during the 1997-1998 academic year. Faculty may opt for certification from the Faculty of Extension of the University of Alberta.

Phase II begin during the summer of 1998 under the leadership of NAIT, GMCC and the University of Alberta (UA). The first of two goals is to enhance the print modules with interactivity and convert them to web-based instructional delivery (WBI) for increased access and to model WBI as part of the professional development of faculty. The second goal is to hire a trainer at each of the 3 lead institutions to train faculty in educational technology concepts using the print- and later web-based modules.

To date, the print modules are being heavily used and the trainers from each of the three institutions are actively conducting both large and small group training.

The Province of Alberta has been on the leading edge of educational technology since the early 1960s when the UA acquired an IBM 1500 CAI System. The tradition has continued with subsequent applications at many other Alberta PSEs. The application of educational technology proceeded through many research and development initiatives from 1965 through to the late 1980s. At that time, recession and budget cuts reduced the availability of resources to continue on the cutting edge. In the middle 1990s, however, the government of Alberta began to return some funding from the major cuts of previous years in the form of targeted grants. These grants were aimed at development of educational technology systems which would increase access to all citizens of the Province, rather than just those who could physically attend one of the many campuses.

At the same time, the demographic trends began to be recognized; older adults who want basic and relevant skills, minimal career interruption, corporate training competencies, and concerns over non-traditional institutions beginning to take over training.

The Educational Technology Professional Development (ETPD) Project was established in recognition of the need for training of faculty and staff in the use of educational technology. Secondarily, it is recognized there is a need for faculty of institutions to come to grips with the issues of change and reform which, some argue, educational technology can provide (will bring?). To accomplish the training, the consortium identified the necessary content, format, and expertise within the Province to design, develop and validate the modules. The modules are organized into the four areas of Computer Literacy (9), Institution-Specific Topics (7), Educational Technology Core (9), and Specialization Areas (15).

Examples from Computer Literacy include Basic Keyboarding, Basic Word Processing, Image Scanning, Creating WWW Searches, Basic Spreadsheet and Database Management. From the Institution-Specific topics include Electronic and Voice mail, Knowledge of Printing and Support Services, and Network Familiarity. The Educational Technology Core includes such topics as Instructional Design, Survey of Educational Technology, Independent Study and distance Education, and Layout and Design for Print Materials. Specialization Areas include things such as Web Page Design, Advanced CD-ROM, Presentation Graphics, Audio-Teleconferencing, and Introduction to Computer-Assisted and -Managed Instruction.

The modules were created and validated by faculty members from ten different PSEs in Alberta and are available through GMCC. Interested faculty may arrange to complete a specific number of these modules in a program operated by the Faculty of Extension of the University of Alberta. Several of the PSEs are using selected modules as part of their graduate and undergraduate programs in Instructional Technology/Distance Education.

Phase II recognizes the need to provide the modules in modern electronic format using the WWW. At the same time, using the WWW must include adding value to the modules in the form of interactivity, ease of access, and finally to provide a model of what WBI can do for the faculty users. Funding was obtained by NAIT, GMCC and UA to re-design and develop 30 of the modules into WBI format.

As of this writing, standards have been established and development of modules is underway. Issues such as who, how, where and what are being resolved. In addition issues of platform, servers and telecommunications links and speeds have been resolved.

In recognition of the fact that training is a necessary but insufficient condition to bring about change in the use of the innovative nature of educational technology, a series of 5 modules on dealing with the change process in the context of educational technology is being developed. These will complement and be a part of the 30 WWW modules. Example topics in this series includes Dealing with Mental Models, Sharing a Vision (for Educational Technology-Driven Change) and Long Range (multi-year) Planning.

Also in Phase II, a full time trainer has been hired at each institution to provide group and individual support to faculty with respect to the use of educational technology. During this presentation, an update on the usage and WWW development (scheduled for completion for summer 1999) will be provided. In addition, sample modules will be made available for examination of structure, content and methodology.