Technology Futures

New Directions in e-Learning and
e-Services at the Extension School

Leonard Evenchik, director of distance and innovative education for the Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Internet and other aspects of information technology (IT) have developed more rapidly than anyone could have envisioned, making a dramatic impact on work, learning, and leisure. Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan warned that workers must "get the education and training they need to obtain new economy jobs, and keep the US at the forefront of advances in technology." Responding to this challenge, the Harvard Extension School is using information technology in innovative ways to transform the nature of teaching and learning. This year, the Extension School launched the Certificate in Technologies of Education Program (CTE). In addition, as part of its distance education initiative, the School sponsored 24 courses that can be taken online.

Certificate in Technologies of Education

According to Dr. Catalina Laserna, associate in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the CTE Program "focuses on the intersection among new information technologies, innovations in educational theory and practice, and leadership strategies to influence the implementation of technology in schools." Dr. Laserna, who teaches EDUC E-121 Technologies of Education, believes very strongly that school systems must integrate technology into classrooms not only as a way to carry out traditional education more efficiently, but also to revamp a broader educational agenda. "Content, pedagogy, and assessment need to be re-examined and gradually transformed. Without a strong pedagogical perspective and educational vision to guide the process of technology infusion, even large investments in educational technologies will have little or no impact on improving education."

Dr. Laserna described the CTE as an ideal program of study for both educators and technology coordinators to improve their capacity to plan and implement innovative ideas in their respective learning environments. Allison Ruda, a CTE candidate, agrees. "One of the most valuable aspects of the CTE Program is the variety of its curriculum. As someone who is interested in producing educational multimedia, the CTE has given me the opportunity to develop competence in various multimedia programs [and] educational theory . . . in order to be as effective as possible as a producer of educational materials." Although the CTE Program is less than one year old, it will have its first graduate this June, Stephanie Burton, a teacher from Switzerland. "After more than ten years of teaching," Ms. Burton commented, "I was looking for an opportunity to reflect upon my experience and the educational applications of technology, [and] the CTE was an ideal fit."

Distance Education

In distance education, the number of available online courses has doubled resulting in additions to humanities and natural sciences, which complement the increasing number of computer science offerings. A substantial number of students in these courses living in places far from Harvard Yard appreciate the opportunity to enroll in courses at the Extension School. One distant learner in David Malan's Introduction to Personal Computers and the Internet recently e-mailed: "I just want to let you know how valuable I find the course via distance. . . . I am a graduate of Harvard's Graduate School of Education and a former educator, and I must compliment you on the way the course is presented." Another student, who completed David Heitmeyer's Fundamentals of Website Development, commented: "Having the lectures available via the Web contributed immeasurably to my better understanding the content."

While much of the praise is directed toward the individual instructors and teaching fellows who conduct the distance courses, much credit goes to Leonard Evenchik, director of distance and innovative education for the Harvard Division of Continuing Education. As Henry Leitner (senior lecturer on computer science and assistant dean for information technology at the Division of Continuing Education) puts it: "Len has really done amazing things in creating our state-of-the art facility, which currently produces nearly 30 hours of online courses a week. Some courses have gone well beyond streaming video and audio with synchronized slides. For example, David Malan's course combined live lectures with the reuse of his lectures from a previous term, which he edited and updated. This allowed Malan to teach his course despite the fact he relocated to Pennsylvania." Other courses have also taken advantage of this developing trend in which taped presentations from a different semester can be repurposed for use in the current term.

Another interesting example of a hybrid course for which Evenchik provided support was David Carment's course, GOVT E-1875 Comparative Foreign Policy. In this case, video-conferencing technology was used to bring together classrooms on the Harvard campus, in Canada, and in Finland in order to allow students in the three locations to participate in live, interactive computer simulations. Evenchik is very pleased by how smoothly the technology worked, and acknowledges the contributions of technical and operations support specialists Antonio Aranda Eggermont and Colin Kegler. He also notes that the Extension School was very well supported by University Information Systems (UIS) for the underlying video-conferencing bridging technology, which allowed the three locations to hear and see each other in real time.

As an organization, the Extension School will continue to develop its capacity to lead and sustain innovation using information technologies to support its educational mission. While the School continues to invest heavily in hardware and software systems, it has also embarked upon a qualitative and quantitative evaluation project, the results of which will be sent to instructors and teaching fellows who can use the information to improve their strategies for online teaching.

e-Services for Extension Students

This spring the Harvard Extension School took a big step into the world of e-services with the rollout of DCEWeb, which offers students a variety of registration, payment, and related services over the Internet. Since December 4, returning Extension School students have been able to login to DCEWeb from the Extension School website. Using their student ID numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs), they can register for courses, submit credit card payments, update address and biographical data, and change their PINs--online and in real time. Students can also view current schedules, financial information, and Extension and Summer School grades.

During the recent spring term registration period, DCEWeb proved to be a robust system, able to accommodate the demands of the large Extension School population of Internet-savvy adult learners. The system passed its toughest test on January 31, three days before the registration deadline, when web registration was at its peak and fall term grades were first available online. On that day there were 2,350 logins to the system, including 1,254 visits to the "View Grades" page. According to Tim Kelley, MIS director for the Division of Continuing Education, that is the "high water mark" for the system. Between December 4 and February 2, approximately 3,800 students utilized DCEWeb.

What do students think about these online services? "If absence of complaints can be taken as an indicator of our students' satisfaction," said Registrar Susan McGee, "then our students are pleased with the system. Fewer than 20 students reported problems to the Registrar's Office." The most frequent web-related calls were from students who had forgotten their PINs--and those students were relieved to learn that online help was available for such memory lapses.

PIN-based registration will be available to all new and returning students in fall 2001. After that, other PIN-based services will be rolled out as they are developed.