Preparing for Unit Delivery in Four Semesters, Three States, Four Countries and Three Modes - Coordinating via the Web

Renay Buchanan*; Mike Gregory
Central Queensland University
buchanar@knuth.cqu.edu.au

This paper details the development of a web-based Delivery Guide to help coordinate the delivery of a large first year unit by the department of Mathematics and Computing at Central Queensland University (CQU).

Programming A is a large first year core unit in the Bachelor of Information Technology offered by the department of Mathematics and Computing at CQU. The unit introduces structured programming concepts using C++. The first semester intake is around 600 students with a second semester intake of over 300 students. These students may be based at any one of the 6 Queensland, 2 inter-state or 3 international campuses in internal, or external mode around the world, or through Open Learning Australia.

With the implementation of a four-semester model at CQU in 1998, a major goal of the project is to develop a framework for efficient, flexible delivery of the unit. To achieve this a package of resources is required so that any lecturer or tutor can easily pick up and deliver the unit with limited preparation or support.

The goals for the project are to:
¥ Introduce new materials to support students and instructors, ¥ Exploit opportunities created by the World Wide Web network, and ¥ Improve delivery flexibility.

To achieve these goals a "Delivery Guide" is planned to advise the Unit Coordinator of all responsibilities and tasks associated with coordinating the unit delivery. The Delivery Guide will also describe the unit content, and provide an instructional overview of the unit and each module. Available resources to support the presentation of each topic will be included, or referenced, and suggestions on how the resources might be used will be provided. As such, the Delivery Guide is a resource that will be used by all staff involved with the delivery of the unit.

The Delivery Guide will be presented as a collection of Web-based pages. In this form, the content can be viewed and updated online, and from anywhere in the world. Using this medium, it will be possible for the Delivery Guide to immediately reflect changes to the delivery plan and environment. Changes to the document can be highlighted using a "What's New" section on the index page.

Another advantage of using a Web presentation for the Delivery Guide is that information that had previously been distributed via email can retain its formatting. Furthermore, the information is now presented as a collection of cross-referenced pages that can be searched by content.

The aim is that the Delivery Guide will eventually contain "everything you ever wanted to know about Programming A and the people who support it". It is envisaged that this will be the first point of call for all questions that staff might have about the unit. If the Delivery Guide is used in this way, a great deal of pressure will be lifted from the "lecturer-in-charge".

Broadly, the areas the Delivery Guide will cover are: ¥ Outputs and Inputs,¥ Content,¥ Context,¥ Resources,¥ Services,¥ Roles,¥ Assessment, and¥ Other management issues.

Some of the Delivery Guide content, such as contact information and relationships between units, courses and students will change on a regular basis. One task for the Unit Coordinator will be to maintain those sections of the Delivery Guide.

The paper will detail the creation and development of an electronic Delivery Guide to be available for the first 12-week semester of 1998.