Go back to Case Studies menu

Judith Bowman, Duquesne University

One of the main selling points for distance education is that "non-traditional" students - people with lives that include jobs and family - can enrich their knowledge and skills without having to take too much time away from other obligations. Since much of what is characterized as distance learning takes place asynchronously, with no scheduled meeting times, these "learners with a life" can further their studies during their off hours: after the closing whistle blows, after the kids are in bed. The act of juggling life and learning is particularly strenuous for K-12 teachers, for whom continuing education may be a requirement: many states require their public school teachers to continue their studies in order to retain their teaching certificate. And add music to the mix - music teachers are often musicians in their "spare" time - and you increase the discord between professional needs and the number of hours in the day.

It was in response to this situation that Judith Bowman, Associate Professor of Music Education and Music Technology at Duquesne University, moved the school's Master of Music in Music Education program from the classroom to the Internet. The first and only of its kind, this distance education program provides music teachers scattered throughout Pennsylvania with convenient access to a masters program.

Judith started teaching courses for the program in 1984 in a traditional face-to-face classroom. Then, when the University initiated a distance learning program in 1997, Judith started teaching at a distance using interactive television (ITV) to teach a group of students in Pittsburgh along with a group in Harrisburg. This method worked reasonably well "...when the technology didn't collapse. Using three IDSN lines, sometimes we would lose the video, in which case we would use a speaker phone, and sometimes we would lose the connection entirely. Then we would have to kill time waiting to see if we could reconnect. It was ugly: the technology simply wasn't reliable enough." Then in 1999 she discontinued the interactive video and delivered the program using the Web. "When we started the distance learning program we had in mind to eventually go online. The University was interested in online education for the same reasons that many institutions are: because they think they will be able to accommodate many more students and thus increase enrollments and tuition earnings."

Judith was a natural choice to spearhead this online program. She had been dabbling with curricular technology since the early 90s, starting with a hypertext program called Guide which she used to distribute her lecture notes: "I hoped to minimize questions like 'Can you repeat that?' or 'Can you spell that?' during class time." Before email became available on campus, she used word-processing to extend class discussion: students would go to the computer lab to add comments to a document, which she would then bring back into class at the end of the week. "Clumsy," she remarks. So when the Web became available in 1993 she started shifting these functions online. "At first I was using FirstClass for submitting assignments, and I would also post the syllabus and course schedule. Previous to FirstClass I was using a listserv. I have been pulling in technology all along." Judith currently uses a combination of WebCT and Dreamweaver to develop and deliver her courses.

Prior to going online, Judith had a six-month sabbatical which she used to develop the distance education courses. "It doesn't work to just pull from your old lecture notes," she says. Indeed, the hard work of developing her courses had less to do with technology than with writing and refining her teaching materials: "I make them as tight as I can while still conveying the ideas." Judith modeled her materials on the Keller Plan, which is geared toward the type of independent, self-directed learning that happens online. Using this method you create modules around certain instructional goals, with objectives, descriptive text, and assignments and readings all designed to engage learners with the content and help them achieve the module goals. "The idea is that you give a person everything that they need in order to complete the module."

Judith had the opportunity in the summer of 1999 to pilot the modules in a face-to-face setting. She was teaching one of the intensive summer workshops that are a part of the masters program. "I saw what worked and knew what modifications I'd have to make to have it work online as opposed to face-to-face. After the pilot in the summer I made final changes, got them into Dreamweaver, and then posted them on the Web, and I was ready to go in the fall of 1999."

Now in its second year, the online program has been a success. In addition to meeting the needs of working professionals, there are major educational benefits to the program. For one thing, having the course take place online increases student engagement. In a face-to-face classroom setting, students can "sit back and not participate. Online there is no way to maintain a presence unless you are posting and participating: it's harder to hide." She also finds that these self-directed modules encourage independent scholarship far more than in a traditional classroom setting. "When I present text it is as 'points for discussion': as a starting point. It doesn't purport to be everything. They are obliged to review the materials on their own and not rely on my one and only explanation."

As for Judith's personal success with instructional technology, Judith credits Duquesne's "well-orchestrated approach to educational and academic technology." She has benefited from the resources available on campus, citing in particular the strong partnership between Duquesne's Center for Teaching Excellence and Computing and Technology Services. Judith also took several courses offered through the Masters in Multimedia Technology program of the College of Liberal Arts: "I purposely went through the multimedia courses because I wanted that kind of control - I wanted to be able to help myself."

But regarding the common claims of distance education - making money and saving time - Judith pronounces them "myths": "You're not going to be able to package and sell [courses] because everyone is developing their own materials, everyone has their own approach. One size does not fit all." And as for time savings, Judith calculates that teaching an online course takes her twice as much time as a face-to-face course. "For one thing, in a face-to-face course you say one thing to everybody, the class discussion takes place, and it's over. With an online discussion the comments keep coming in every day. The first time I taught online I checked the discussions every day because I wanted to see what was going on, but I had to stop doing that. You just spend half your life online. And when you're teaching three courses, that just multiplies. Online, class time never stops, as opposed to the classroom where it's contained." And she is aware that promotion and tenure committees may not yet adequately reward these efforts: "This is new and may not have the same credibility as print articles and teaching materials." Unwavering, however, she plans to continue her efforts: "I'm going to do it anyway, and I am going to keep fighting so that people can get credit for this."

For fledgling online course developers, Judith has the following advice:

Page information

By Sarah Horton
Copyright 2001 Trustees of Dartmouth College
Added: 08 Jan 2001

Go back to Case Studies menu