Contact: David West (west@alpha.nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

1/28/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Over the past four years, Northwestern State University has taken a leadership role in the development of online learning. A grant of $35,000 from the Louisiana Community and Technical College System will help the university share its expertise with faculty interested in teaching their courses online.

Susan Nealy, coordinator of the Carl D. Perkins Program at NSU, is the principal investigator for the grant. Darlene Williams, electronic learning systems coordinator/trainer at Northwestern and Emily Tweed are collaborating faculty.

NSU will hold workshops on its Natchitoches, Shreveport, and Leesville campuses. The workshops will allow participants to discuss course development with peers and experienced instructors and obtain reference materials to answer future questions.

"Northwestern has recognized a need for online instructors to receive professional development opportunities and learning materials that focus on the development of online courses and the use of technology in the traditional classroom," said Williams. "Vocational educators are no exception. Our goal is to provide face-to-face and online support for instructors whether they are already working with an online or hybrid course, a traditional classroom with online supplements or just beginning to explore these instructional mediums."

Last semester, NSU offered 103 electronic courses with 2,774 students enrolled.

The project will also produce a web-based resource that faculty worldwide can access for information on a number of topics related to integrating technology into courses. This resource will include narratives, forms, checklists, guidelines and tips to help instructors succeed and eliminate duplicated trial and error.

"When completed, instructors should have a roadmap for setting up an online course at their fingertips," Williams said.

According to Nealy, funds provided under the Perkins Act of 1998 are to be used for specific purposes, one of which involves projects that expand the use of technology; another provides for professional development for teachers.

"These funds are part of a Leadership Grant, provided through the Louisiana Community and Technical College System by competitive award," said Nealy. "When I learned we could apply for these funds, I immediately contacted Darlene to see what we could put together in the area of electronic learning. This has something to offer the novice and the experienced instructor."

Nealy said representatives from the Natchitoches campus of the Louisiana Technical College have been invited to participate.

"This has potential for worldwide impact because of the web site," said Nealy. "We will work to advertise the web resource to other university, technical and community colleges. This is just another example of Northwestern leading the way in electronic learning."

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