In this project we propose to establish a Sloan Center for Information Technology Enhanced-Learning (SCITEL) at the University of Florida. The proposed center will foster the use of advanced telecommunications and computer tools to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as certificate and diploma courses from the University of Florida, without the requirement for attending conventional classes.

A major goal of the proposed project is to offer a Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) degree via Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) to students and working professionals in the State of Florida and beyond. This program will be coordinated by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering. A secondary goal of this effort will be to leverage the expertise of the proposed center to incorporate ALN methodologies in other conventional distance education programs at the University of Florida. It is hoped that the SCITEL model will provide a focal point for other ALN and technology-based education efforts in the State of Florida and we shall endeavor to coordinate these activities with statewide efforts in distance education.

The rapid growth of the population of the state of Florida (almost 700 /day) and the demands for lifelong learning has resulted in steadily increasing demands for higher education in the State of Florida.

In the recent past, the State University System (SUS) has dealt with this increasing demand by adding entire institutions at strategic geographical locations throughout the state. There are now 10 universities in the SUS and their combined student population has grown from 72,000 in 1980 to more than 195,000 in 1995 with the projected enrollment for the year 2000 being almost 250,000. If new institutions were to be created to cope with this demand, it is estimated that 2 additional universities would need to be created in the next 3 years, a requirement which is manifestly infeasible on fiscal and other grounds.

Distance education and information technology-based education programs are seen as powerful alternatives to infrastructure building and the state has recently formed an umbrella agency called the Florida Distance Learning Network (FDLN) to coordinate such distance learning programs statewide. Unfortunately, the broad scope of the FDLN effort emphasizes traditional telecommunications-based distance learning and as a fairly recent endeavor, it will take some time to produce significant results.

In this proposal, the University of Florida seeks to establish the Sloan Center for Information Technology Enhanced Learning (SCITEL) that would catalyze the development of asynchronous learning environments for the enhancement of the educational process in conventional on-campus classes as well as in fostering effective distance learning networked communities. SCITEL would serve as a model for diffusing Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) approaches to distance learning to other related efforts taking place in the at the University of Florida and the rest of this state.

The University of Florida (UF) is in an ideal position to take the lead in this enterprise to promote ALN methodologies as an important component in the emerging and on-going distance education projects in the State of Florida. UF is the oldest, largest and most comprehensive university in the state of Florida and has provided educational leadership and direction to State University System (SUS) since 1853. The University of Florida is a member of the prestigious American Universities Union (AAU), the only university to hold this distinction in the State of Florida and one of only four (4) universities in the southeastern USA. Moreover the University of Florida has been involved with traditional distance education outreach programs for some time and it is now timely to move these endeavors to the next level of effectiveness using the emerging computer and communication technologies.

The college of Engineering has had a strong interest in serving off campus student, as is evidenced by the successful Florida Engineering Education Delivery System (FEEDS) which a statewide initiative supported by the Colleges of Engineering in the State University System. FEEDS has been in operation for some 15 years now and is based primarily on videotaped materials and courier delivery of printed material to and from the universities. The UF College of Agriculture also offers individual graduate and undergraduate courses throughout the State via one-way satellite broadcast and videotapes, and the College of Business Administration is planning to launch an electronic MBA program. In addition the University of Florida has been a leading participant in the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering EDucation (SUCCEED), which consists of the engineering colleges from nine southeastern universities and which is committed to a comprehensive revitalization of undergraduate engineering education for the 21st century. Furthermore the University of Florida has just launched a Distance education Instructional Support Hub (DISH) to facilitate the ongoing development of technology-based design and delivery of courses.

The proposed Sloan Center for Information Technology-Enhanced Learning will provide synergistic interfaces to these UF and state-wide efforts, while allowing the University of Florida to proceed in these developments more rapidly.

The SCITEL initiative will be launched by initial Sloan Foundation funding, with some cost sharing by the University of Florida. The project consists of three (3) major components which have been selected to achieve the joint objectives of delivering an entire degree program via asynchronous and information technology-assisted learning as well promoting these techniques for adoption into more conventional distance learning initiatives at the University of Florida and throughout the State of Florida.

The three components to the initial SCITEL efforts are as follows:

1. A comprehensive Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) offered jointly by the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Computer and Information Sciences (CISE) departments at the University of Florida.
1. The redesign of one course the College of Business Administration in order to incorporate asynchronous and information technology-enhanced learning into ongoing distance education initiatives.
1. A seminar on "Asynchronous and Information Technology Assisted Learning" hosted by the new Sloan Center for Information Technology-Enhanced Learning at the University of Florida, with state-wide participation.

These three proposed initiatives are described in greater detail below. 

We propose to offer a Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) using Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) and information technology-enhanced learning for both on-campus as well as off-campus students. This targeted MS program will cater to the need of engineers in industry to understand the various facets of information theory, processing, transmission, storage and utilization in the information age. The course will cover relevant material of use to practicing engineers and appropriate for graduating MS candidates who seek a deeper understanding and currency in these areas so as to become immediately proficient in the information industry. Moreover the asynchronous format will be attractive to working engineers and scientists seeking to upgrade their skills without leaving their present job assignments. Input on course content and coverage will also be solicited from industrial partners in the State of Florida whose employees would be potential MSIS students.

The core MSIS program will be developed out of present course offerings in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) departments of the College of Engineering, and the Decision and Information Sciences (DIS) department in the College of Business Administration. This effort will be spearheaded by Dr. Haniph Latchman and Dr. Herman Lam from the ECE department, Dr. Richard Newman from the CISE department and Dr. Mary-Beth Fritz from the DIS department. It is proposed to have a core of six (6) 3-hour courses together with a pool of elective ALN-based courses from the ECE, CISE or the Decision Information Sciences (DIS). Candidates will be able to complete several 3-course Certificate programs which can be credited towards the MSIS or other degrees in the various departments involved, or towards the MSIS degree. The non-thesis MSIS requires a total of 36 credit hours and the thesis option requires 27 credit hours in addition to the final thesis (6 credit hours). All MSIS candidates must complete the core course requirements.

The UF MSIS program will be offered to on-campus and off-campus students simultaneously beginning in Spring 1988. The required core courses for the MSIS degree are:

1. Information Systems Modeling and Analysis
2. Computer Networks and the Internet
3. Software Engineering
4. Fundamentals of Database Systems
5. Computer and Network Security

Elective courses would include:

1. Object and Rule Technologies in Database Systems
2. Operating Systems
3. Programming Language Principles
4. Introduction to Computer Architecture
5. Queuing Theory and Data Communications
6. Database Implementation
7. Instructor Approved Individual or Group Design/Research

It is proposed to offer 3-course certificate programs in the following four (4) areas

1. Computer Networking
2. Software Engineering
3. Database Systems

For each certificate program, 2 of the 3 courses will define the concentration in one of the four areas above, with the third course chosen to provide desired breadth.

Sloan Foundation funding is being requested only for the MSIS core courses and the College of Engineering will provide 50% matching funds in faculty release time to devote to this effort. The courses in the Computer Networking area will be converted for asynchronous delivery and taught by Dr. Haniph Latchman and Dr. Newman. Courses on Database Systems area will be developed and taught by Dr. Herman Lam and Dr. Newman will coordinate the courses on Operating Systems and Software Engineering while Dr. Fritz will coordinate the courses in the Business Information Systems area.

Since the courses above already exist and are presently being taught using conventional class-room based delivery mechanisms, the effort to offer the core MSIS program asynchronously will require that the course materials be made available via the Internet and internal campus networks. Furthermore it is proposed to develop a central infrastructure within the Sloan Center for Information Technology Enhanced Learning (SCITEL) for student-student and student-teacher interactions using a common groupware platform, augmented by WWW and Internet based electronic communication tools. While we will continue to evaluate other emerging conferencing systems, we will launch our program using Allaire Forums for all courses as the standard interface to the online materials.

SCITEL course in the MSIS program will provide online material to supplement conventional course materials such as required or recommended text-books, software, CD-ROMs or self-learning systems. We do not propose to develop new courses under this project, although every effort will be made to update and keep current the material presented in the MSIS program. Existing courses will be repackaged and offered as described above. We proposed to use a common template for all courses with a centralized server for WWW and groupware, mailing lists as well as chat rooms. As newer courses are added, automated scripts will be developed and reused to configure appropriate servers. We will not be developing sophisticated multimedia computer based training (CBT) programs, though we may elect to use some CBT material already available.

All SCITEL courses will feature key ALN characteristics, including the following:

• Complete printed course manual prepared by the Instructor (and a selected textbook, if applicable)
• WWW accessible stored digitized video and audio (clips) of class sessions
• Electronic submission (email with attachments) of assignments
• Online electronic grading of selected assignments using WWW CGI and Java scripts
• Mailing listserver for interactions between students and with the instructor and the Teaching Assistant. A moderated subset from the listserver will be archived to a WWW site and a Newsgroup
• Interactive Chat Rooms for ‘live’ discussion among students and instructors
• An automated voice response system with fax-back capability for telephone access to selected course materials and information and voice mail.
• Remote access to SCITEL computer and network resources
• CD with complete course materials, video and audio (selected courses only)
• Videotapes of class sessions and demonstrations (available on request)
• Audio tapes of class sessions (available on request)
• A complete WWW site for each SCITEL course with links to

- Course outline and syllabus

- Recent course announcements

- Frequently asked questions (Faq’s) and answers

- Lecture notes

- Assignments and solutions

- Past and sample tests, solutions and worked examples

- E-mail links to instructor and TA

- Links to student www pages - which will feature among other things, regularly updated progress on the term paper

- Links to listserver and chatrooms

- Links to other sites of relevance to this course

- Links to groupware (such as Lotus Notes) databases

• The availability and use of voice bridge, MBONE or CUSEEME for (synchronous) audio and video conferencing with groups of students will provide for electronic office hours and one-to-one or one-many consultation with the instructor and or teaching assistant. This facility will be optional and will not be an integral part of the program.

We shall also explore and catalog other possible University of Florida course offerings through SCITEL. Some programs of interest in this regard would include a Workshop for Educators in Schools Families and Conflict Resolution, a Construction Management Certificate Program, a Certificate Program in GEOMATICS and Surveying and Mapping, a Doctor of Pharmacy Program, a Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program, a Certificate Program in Particle Science and undergraduate courses in the College of Agriculture.

A state-wide introductory seminar on ALN and Information Technology-Enhanced Learning will be held at the University of Florida to introduce the key methodologies which distinguish ALN related approaches from conventional distance learning initiatives.

 The seminar will also present the results of existing regional and institutional ALN efforts that match the characteristics of the proposed SCITEL project for the state of Florida. We are particularly interested in the ALN efforts of the SUNY Learning Network, the UIUC SCALE project as well as the ALN activities at NYU and Drexel University.

 This state-wide seminar will be widely advertised and will bring substantial visibility to the Sloan Center for Information Technology-Enhanced Learning (SCITEL).

A request will be submitted to the Sloan Foundation for supplemental funding to organize the proposed seminar in the Fall of 1988.

The Florida Distance Learning Network (FDLN) was established in 1995 as a state-wide initiative to provide ‘virtual’ Universities, Community Colleges and K-12 Schools across the state of Florida. The FDLN is still in its early stages of operation but will work closely with the Department of Education’s Florida Remote Learning Service (FRLS) in state-wide distance learning enterprises. The infusion of ALN methodologies into the emerging FDLN is a major objective of the proposed IDEAL project.

 Since 1982 the Florida Engineering Education Delivery System (FEEDS) has been used to meet the growing needs of Florida industries for quality graduate programs and extended studies in Engineering. FEEDS already has the required infrastructure to enable working students anywhere in the State of Florida to earn a graduate Engineering Degree or to take credit courses for Professional Development, with courses originating from any participating Florida SUS University.

The FEEDS distance education efforts are at present largely based on conventional video-conferencing or video-taped methods to reach the remote audience. The IDEAL will leverage the infrastructure in these institutional and state-wide programs to incorporate ALN methods for building a virtual community using electronic communications as well as to reach out to a larger audience via Internet-based delivery methods.

The DISH is an experimental laboratory for distance education currently being developed by the Faculty Support Center and the College of Education at the University of Florida. The mission of the DISH project is to provide faculty members in call colleges a forum for experimenting with instructional strategies and technologies in an on-campus setting. The first DISH services will be offered in Spring 1997 and will feature multimedia classrooms interconnected with video, computer network and telephone links. While the initial focus of the DISH project is on synchronous delivery, preliminary discussions with the directors of the project have indicated strong interest in coupling the proposed IDEAL initiative with the DISH venture to provide a complementary asynchronous learning environment for the on-campus as well as off-campus students.

The University of Florida has also been a key player in the Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering EDucation (SUCCEED) which consists the engineering colleges from nine southeastern universities and which are committed to a comprehensive revitalization of undergraduate engineering education for the 21st Century. The regional SUCCEED coalition members are: Clemson University, Florida A&M University/Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, University of Florida, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

SUCCEED is one of several other coalitions involving more than thirty two institutions that comprises the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Education Coalitions Program. Each coalition is funded by NSF for a period of five years at an annual rate of $3 million to be matched by the participating institutions.

The SUCCED mission in its first 5 year of activity was to create and test curricular innovations and quality management tools necessary to create an engineering curriculum for the 21^st Century - Curriculum 21. To this end significant accomplishments have already been achieved in the curriculum reform and resign process, evaluation and assessment and in using emerging communications and computer technology to create active and collaborative learning environments.

SUCCEED was approved and funded by NSF in the Spring of 1992 and in presently being considered by NSF for a 5 year renewal of the NSF Cooperative Agreement for the purpose of institutionalizing and dissemination of the results of the initial 5 years of the SUCCEED effort. The new SUCCEED will be based at the University of Florida as the lead institution and this provides an opportunity for substantial synergy between the proposed IDEAL project and SUCCEED’s curriculum renewal and redesign and technology-based curriculum delivery efforts. There is much that can be incorporated from the comprehensive SUCCEED research in engineering education into the more general scope of activities of the proposed Institute for the Delivery of Education via Asynchronous Learning (IDEAL). Moreover there are areas for collaboration in the areas of undergraduate and community college engineering programs which are the main focus of the SUCCEED effort.