To celebrate 20 years of innovation in online education, the School of Information Studies will offer its third massive open online course as well as a series of informational webinars.

Enrollment in MOOCs and online courses has grown since their inception at the iSchool, Jill Hurst-Wahl, an associate professor of practice at the iSchool, said in an email. With more students interested in online courses, the school is working to integrate those who are primarily enrolled online into campus life, she said.

Jeffrey Stanton, senior associate dean at the iSchool, is teaching the third MOOC, “Applied Data Science.” The course will be an introduction to data architecture, acquisition, analysis and archiving class, Stanton said.

The course is now available and is accepting students, he said.

Stanton said that he has found the online format to be beneficial for students because it is self-guided and allows the students to work at their own pace.

“If work gets busy and they need to take a week or two off, they can do so without ‘falling behind,’” Stanton said.

The iSchool chose to hold its anniversary celebrations this week as an extension of the United States Distance Learning Association’s National Distance Learning Week, said Kathryn Allen, executive director of special academic program initiatives for the iSchool. The week was created to promote and celebrate improvement and growth in online courses, according to its website.

During National Distance Learning Week, Allen said the iSchool held conferences and education sessions regarding online education.

The iSchool has also implemented several programs and events to ensure that online students are able connect with other Syracuse University students and the campus, Hurst-Wahl said. The school’s initiatives for online students include a one-week residency where they are able to meet each other, faculty and staff while completing pre-course work, she said.

“We find that students become a cohort during this time and form relationships that will last their entire degree program and beyond,” Hurst-Wahl said.

In order for online students to connect with the campus, the iSchool also streams events for its students to watch or access later, Hurst-Wahl said. “I have found that our campus students want to include online students in their campus events and frequently try to find ways of making that happen, whether it is through Adobe Connect, Skype, or some other way,” she added.

The iSchool will also be hosting a series of free webinars as part of the 20th anniversary celebration, which Hurst-Wahl said she will lead. The webinars will cover topics such as community, information and data management, and data science.

So far, the iSchool held two webinars but plans to hold at least one more, she said. Hurst-Wahl said she held a webinar titled “Giving Your First Conference Presentation: What No One Tells You (or When PowerPoint and Good Intentions Meet Reality),” which drew more than 80 viewers.

Hurst-Wahl said she views developments such as the school’s new MOOCs and webinars as examples of how online education will continue to change as technology develops.

Said Hurst-Wahl: “For the iSchool specifically, 20 years gives us a reason to celebrate, yet we recognize that how online education is delivered continues to change.  We know we need to keep pace with the changes, rather than rest on our laurels.”

Published on November 11, 2013 at 11:02 pm

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