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eLearning@PSU Cooperative Pilot Program

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December 5, 2007

FROM: Yvonne M. Gaudelius, Assistant Vice President and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
TO: Campus Chancellors
SUBJ: eLearning@PSU Cooperative Pilot Program

As part of a pilot program of the eLearning@PSU Cooperative, Provost Erickson has authorized the offering of strategic online courses through the Cooperative at no cost to the receiving campus or college (typically there would be a charge of $65/SCH that the receiving campus or college would pay the offering unit.) The courses that will be part of the pilot were chosen by:

  1. the demand for these courses at multiple campuses, and
  2. the availability of additional seats for the Cooperative.

These additional spaces will be offered beginning in the Spring 2008 semester. The offering units have made a three-year commitment to making these additional seats available. This three-year commitment will allow you to plan how these courses will be integrated in your campus/college, both in terms of making adjustments to your schedule of courses and in making this information available to students so that they can plan their course of study accordingly.

Given this, if you are interested in acquiring any of these seats, I ask that you make a three-year commitment to offering these seats to students at your campus. Note that you do not need to offer each of these courses nor do you need to offer a particular course each semester (for example, you could offer ANTH 146 each fall but not in the spring if this met the needs of your campus). Reservations for seats in these courses may begin immediately, and I ask that you determine the needs of your campus as soon as possible so that we can make adjustments to instructional loads as needed to accommodate these enrollments.

I do recognize that you are receiving this information very late in the semester; and you may not be able to make adjustments for this coming Spring semester. If this is the case, please let me know how you plan to make use of the courses in the pilot project beginning with the Fall 2008 semester. Since the goal of this pilot is to establish broad multi-campus use of eLearning@PSU Cooperative courses, we have established a limit of three seats/course/campus for at least the initial phase of this pilot project. If you have already reserved seats in a course that is being offered through the pilot project, then the cost for the first three enrollments that you have reserved will be covered through the pilot project funding. If we have seats available, or if there is additional demand, then we will attempt to increase this limit.

In addition, please note that in some of these courses we were not able to add many seats; and, therefore, if each campus were to ask for the full limit of three seats in each of the following courses, we would not have the capacity to meet this demand. This is especially true of the German 002 and 003 courses, which have limited availability (although the number of seats will increase in each year of the pilot.) Due to this, I ask that you carefully weigh the needs of your campus before reserving seats in these courses.

Seats in courses covered through the pilot project can be reserved in the regular manner. Each campus eLearning coordinator should first reserve the seats in a course at the eLearning@PSU Cooperative website ( http://webhosting.its.psu.edu/elearning/) by using "Form B," and then add that course and number of seats to the appropriate screens on ISIS. The courses that are available through the pilot are:

  • ANTH 146 (GS;US) NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS (3) This course is a review of Native American cultures located north of Mexico. It will cover the cultures that developed just prior to, during, and immediately after contact with non-Indian explorers and settlers. The primary themes include (1) the astonishing diversity of ways of life that developed across the North American continent; (2) the exploration of this diversity from the perspective of cultural ecology; and (3) trends of cultural change and continuity that contribute to present-day Native American cultures. We will also explore the stereotypes that plague a richer understanding of and respect for Native American communities. For more information, see http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-OnlineCourses/syllabus/anth146syllabus.pdf .
  • ART 002 (GA) Interactive Learning and Web-Design (3) Note: this course is only offered in Spring semesters. This course introduces students to doing research on-line; preparing the verbal, visual and other elements for a presentation of their research; and posting them to the Internet with special emphasis placed on the aesthetics of Web design and effective communication. Both individual and group projects are included. It is intended to provide the skills to work collaboratively using computers and the Internet effectively, efficiently, and with an awareness of the aesthetic qualities of that work. A central message of the course is that content and presentation cannot be separated; and a primary skill to be learned is how to discover, create, and refine images for use on the Web in conjunction with clear, well-organized and legible text. For more information, see http://www.courses.psu.edu/art/art002_jxm22/index.html.
  • ART 003 (GA) VISUAL IMAGES ON THE WEB (3) Note: this course is only offered in Fall semesters. This course introduces students to doing art work on-line; preparing visual, verbal and other media for presentation on the Internet with special emphasis placed on the aesthetics of image making; and good Web design. Working both individually and in groups is included. All the projects emphasize art making of different kinds­-still and animated, bit-map and vector­-as well as different formats - HTML, Flash format and Portable Document format. For more information, see http://www.courses.psu.edu/art/art003_jxm22/.
  • COMM 160 Basic News Writing Skills (1) COMM 160 is a one-credit course that will provide instruction in the basic writing skills required of all journalists. The course will cover three main topics: (1) spelling and word usage, (2) grammar, and (3) punctuation. Students will be assessed by exams on each of the three course parts and a comprehensive final exam. Writing is the lynchpin of the journalism curriculum, and it is essential that students possess the basic writing skills necessary to be successful in journalism classes. For that reason, COMM 160 will be a prerequisite to all writing courses in the journalism curriculum. For more information, see http://www.courses.psu.edu/comm/comm160_kls482/.
  • EGEE 101 (GN) ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT (3) This course will allow the students to make sound judgments in the area of "personal energy choices." There is increasing concern about the influence of human activities, particularly energy use, on global climate change and its impact on business aspects. Students in all walks of life need to be exposed to the basic concepts to appreciate the positions of policymakers, scientists, and industry over the interrelationship between greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change. The main objectives of this course are to: provide basic understanding and appreciation of energy and environmental concepts and interconnectedness; analyze energy consumption patterns; discuss various energy resources that power the modern society; examine the energy conversion processes; explore interrelationships between energy use and industrial progress and environmental consequences; and discuss future energy alternatives. For more information, see https://courseware.e-education.psu.edu/courses/egee101/advert.html .
  • EGEE 102 Energy Conservation for Environmental Protection (3)(GN) (BA) This general education course provides students with necessary knowledge and information on the main operating principles of devices/appliances that are in common use and information on which to make the right decision in selecting the most energy efficient and economical choice. These devices are day-to-day appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, ovens, etc., and home heating or cooling and transportation choices. The course also provides necessary information on heating furnaces, insulation, doors and windows, lighting, and air conditioning principles. The objective of the course is to expose students to energy efficiency in day to day life in order to save money and energy and thereby protect the environment. For more information, see http://www.ems.psu.edu/~pisupati/egee102/.
  • GEOG 160 Mapping Our Changing World (3) (GS) (BA) Mapping involves producing and using geographic data, which specifies the locations and characteristics of people, the objects people create, and the various phenomena of the natural environment with which people interact. Geographic data are produced by several methods, including land surveying, aerial photography and photogrammetry, satellite remote sensing and positioning systems, and social surveys such as those conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Geographic information systems (GIS) and related technologies are used to turn data into maps, tables, and other kinds of information people need to make informed decisions. GEOG 160 helps students begin to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that constitute geographic information literacy-­the ability to "recognize when information is needed and ... to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (ALA 1989). For more information, see https://www.e-education.psu.edu/course_prog/course_info/geog121.
  • GER 001 ELEMENTARY GERMAN I (4) GER 001 develops skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing with emphasis on the first two skills. By the completion of the course students will be able to listen to and understand short passages of spoken German, such as movie trailers or pop songs; speak in short, complete sentences for about 5 minutes uninterrupted; read short stories, poems, or websites on familiar topics; and write their own short stories, poems, and essays about familiar topics. After taking this course, students will be prepared to take GER 002 either on-campus or online. For more information, see http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-OnlineCourses/syllabus/ger001syllabus.pdf .
  • GER 002 ELEMENTARY GERMAN II (4) Prerequisites: GER 001 Continuation of GER 001; further introduction of basic structures, culture, and development of four basic skills stressing aural-oral aspects. After taking this course, students will be prepared to take GER 003 either on-campus or online. For more information, see http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-OnlineCourses/syllabus/ger002syllabus.pdf .
  • GER 003 INTERMEDIATE GERMAN (4) Prerequisites: GER 002 Continued four-skill development with increased emphasis on reading, writing, and grammatical accuracy; culturally oriented reading selections and videos. Students may receive credit for only one of the following: GER 003 or GER 008. For more information, see http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-OnlineCourses/syllabus/ger003syllabus.pdf .
  • LIR/LER 136 (US) RACE, GENDER, AND EMPLOYMENT (3) This course focuses on providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the "how" and "why" of employment inequities in order to better assess potential solutions. Content touches on theories of employment, stratification, empirical studies of inequality, labor legislation, worker organizations, and current events to begin to develop a picture of work inequality as it exists today and where it may be going in the future. By the end of this course, students will be able to: explain how inequality arises in society generally; use a working vocabulary for the social study of employment inequality; describe the varieties of employment inequality; assess the extent of employment inequality by race and gender; assess the relative strength of competing theories about employment inequality; identify and discuss race and gender inequality in a variety of occupations and employment settings; and describe and assess avenues for changing employment inequalities. For more information, see http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-OnlineCourses/syllabus/lir136syllabus.pdf .

If you have any questions about the pilot project, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Yvonne M. Gaudelius