It has certainly been an interesting year, and I’m extremely thankful for the amazing DELTA staff who mobilized to get the university online quickly and efficiently and who have worked tirelessly to help maintain academic continuity throughout the pandemic. While we’ve worked on plans for academic continuity for a good number of years, I honestly never imagined a challenge of this magnitude and duration. Kudos to all my colleagues in DELTA who continue to rise to the challenge. I’m very proud of all of them and grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as their leader.

Of the many lessons learned over the past year, one that stands out for me is the critical depth of the digital divide, which seems to be closely aligned with the socio-economic divide. While we worked hard to help the faculty create and deliver high-quality content, students’ actual learning experiences varied greatly. Those who had access to a high speed, reliable broadband connection, high-quality endpoint technology (e.g., sufficiently powerful computer with a high-resolution display and excellent audiovisual capabilities), and a quiet workspace conducive to learning tended to do pretty well. Students who were lacking in one or more of those elements often struggled to learn. The playing field was definitely not level and the impact was staggering across the entire spectrum of education.

Now that students are back on campus and in face-to-face classes, we don’t have to worry about this anymore, right? Wrong! Over the past few decades we’ve become increasingly reliant on technology as a society and as an economy. Technology is no longer a geeky novelty or a convenience for those who can afford it. The pandemic has shown us all too clearly that quality access to technology and the ability to use it effectively has become a prerequisite for success in an individual’s education and career in the 21st century.

On the flip side, the pandemic has also shown us that for most students, no amount of technology can replace the in-person learning experiences that are the foundation of our traditional educational environment. I’ve always believed that technology-based teaching and learning should not be thought of as a replacement for in-person educational experiences, but that the two should be thought of as complementary. That is now crystal clear. I’ll go further to say that I believe that both technology-based and in-person educational experiences are necessary for student success going forward and that neither alone is sufficient. That last assertion, in my humble opinion, will be critical to achieving Goal 1 of the Wolfpack 2030 Strategic Plan: “Empower students for a lifetime of success and impact.” In fact, the narrative behind that goal states that “As a forward-thinking institution dedicated to excellence in teaching, we will be a leader in teaching and the digital transformation of higher education, delivering value to our students and ensuring the resiliency of our institution.”

On July 1 of this year, DELTA’s full name changed from “Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications” to “Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications.” The change from “Distance” to “Digital” does not diminish in any way the university’s commitment to distance education. We are and always will be a leader in delivering quality education to students at a distance. Rather, it highlights the profound importance of the digital transformation of higher education as referenced in the strategic plan for all stakeholders of our great university.

Having served as vice provost for DELTA for the last 21 of my 39 years at NC State, I’m thankful for the opportunity, and I’m very proud of what our team has built over those years. I’m also very pleased to hand over the leadership role to Dr. Donna Petherbridge, who was named interim vice provost for DELTA on July 1. Donna has been with DELTA since the very beginning and has served in an associate vice provost role since 2007. She is an amazing leader who is well-prepared and very capable of taking the organization to even greater heights, ensuring that NC State will be well-served in the area of digital education and learning technologies in the years to come.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Miller

Vice Provost, DELTA (2000-2021)
Senior Vice Provost, NC State Entrepreneurship

At the time, the North Carolina General Assembly had just passed legislation fundamentally changing the way that campuses would be funded for enrollment. A key element of that legislation was that “off campus credit instruction” (aka “distance education”) would be included in the enrollment funding formula for the first time. Kermit saw this as a mandate to make distance education a core part of NC State’s academic mission, and believed that would require us to develop a teaching and learning technology infrastructure and support system for remote students which would serve the entire campus. But his vision went well beyond distance education. He reasoned that the expertise and infrastructure needed to do distance education well could be extended to serve the campus as a whole, and doing so would prepare us well for the technology revolution that was coming. I couldn’t have agreed more.  

At the time, I was serving as the Associate Dean for Information Technology in the College of Engineering, a role that resulted from years of work in advancing faculty and student computing within the college. Wearing my faculty hat within the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, I had been doing some applied research on using the Internet’s Multicast Backbone (aka MBone) to share live classes across multiple sites (something we do every day today). Unbeknownst to me, that work had caught Provost Hall’s attention, and he asked if I would help him build the capacity at NC State to achieve his vision.  

After discussing it with the Dean and my wife, both of whom were cautiously encouraging, I agreed to join the Provost’s team for three years. At that point we began building what would soon become Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications, or DELTA. It began by bringing together the Distance Education group from McKimmon, Video Communications Services from the College of Engineering, and the Learning Technologies Service which was jointly administered by the Libraries and the Information Technology division all under the new umbrella.

The following months were interesting, to say the least. Provost Hall had a term he liked to use to describe this initiative, which was “Time-Enhanced Learning.” Had I not gently convinced him that his description would leave more people scratching their heads than understanding the goal, we might well have ended up with the unit acronym TEL. Today that might work, but not back then. People understood the concept of distance education, even though at that time it meant recording lectures and sending videotapes to remote students. The Internet at the time was mostly hypertext (HTML) and static images, but it was evolving rapidly. Faculty and administrators could grasp the idea of “learning technologies” and in fact, there was an exciting initiative that had been started by the previous provost Phil Styles called Project 25 that was working with innovative faculty to put 25 courses in a format that could be accessed through a web browser. (Anyone remember NCSA Mosaic?) 

DELTA team retreat in 2001.

I convinced Provost Hall that if we called it “Distance Education and Learning Technologies” it would be easier for stakeholders to relate to the vision. For a while, it looked like the new unit’s acronym would be DELT. That still didn’t sound right to me, and I suggested that we change the name to “Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications.” I reasoned that it would differentiate the new unit’s role from that of IT, focusing on the application of technology to a specific area (teaching and learning) rather than the underlying servers and networks. Plus, it made for a nicer acronym. The DELTA staff tire of hearing me profess that “DELTA means change,” which I’ve done year after year at our staff meetings. But they also know that it’s true, having witnessed 20 years of it.

Fast forward to March 2020, and my worn-out mantra took on a whole new meaning. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would be tasked with moving virtually all of NC State’s face-to-face courses to an online format in a two-week period over spring break, helping instructors prepare for summer 2020 classes as online-only classes, or rapidly shift to hybrid/hyflex courses and back again to online in fall. While there were (and still are) many challenges with that abrupt transition I can almost hear Provost Hall chuckling and saying, “I told you this would be important.” I’m proud of the way that our DELTA team has rallied to support the faculty to manage the virtually 10x scaling of our infrastructure and support services. Kermit was right. Technology has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on teaching and learning in higher education.  

Thankfully, the university rallied behind the Provost’s vision 20 years ago. I’m glad I accepted his call and glad that I stayed on task for much more than the three years that I had promised. I’m very proud of the team we’ve built and what we’ve accomplished over the years. I’m thankful that we’ve built the capacity and expertise to help support the faculty through the pandemic. While I wish it had never happened, I feel that we’ll come out the other end even stronger than before, and with great humility for the lessons we’re learning now.

Most of the faculty who were part of Project 25 have long since retired. Sadly, Kermit Hall passed away in 2006, not long after becoming the 17th president of SUNY Albany. Only a few who read this will remember him and his vision that gave birth to DELTA. I hope in reading the stories in this annual report that you will reflect, as I have, on how far we’ve come over the past 20 years in realizing Provost Hall’s vision. It has been a rewarding journey that I hope will continue for many years to come.  

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Miller

Vice Provost, DELTA
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Outreach and Entrepreneurship

My first truly impactful encounter with VR was a couple of years ago during a “demo day” organized by our New Media Development team, led by Creative Director Mike Cuales. Mike fitted me with a state-of-the-art VR headset and then transported me into a world that didn’t really exist, or did it? As far as all my human visual and auditory inputs and processing systems were concerned, it did exist! This was an experience not quite like any I’d ever had. It was actually exciting and discomforting at the same time. I was in a spaceship interacting with a levitated creature that looked like something out of Star Wars. The discomforting part was more subconscious than conscious. I’m sure it was driven by hard-wired synaptic pathways in my brain that had evolved over millions of years, telling me to be extremely wary of these strange things I was seeing all around me. My subconscious brain really could not tell the difference between this and reality, although my conscious mind was well aware of the difference. Once my conscious mind convinced my subconscious to calm down a bit, it was fun! I interacted with the creature (who was really very nice) and with my virtual environment. At one point I tried to put my space mouse down on the table beside me. I thought the table was real, but it wasn’t. That jolted me back to physical reality for just a second, and then my attention quickly returned to the virtual world around me. I was completely engaged.

I’m no stranger to cutting edge technology, and have spent time in immersive “caves” where a 360° world is projected all around you and other such things. Never, however, have I experienced anything like that high-end VR headset. The key thing, I think, is that it had my complete attention, both conscious and subconscious. Everyone knows Confucius’s quote “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” I think if Confucius were alive today, he might reword that last phrase slightly to say, “I experience and I understand.”

Now, I don’t mean to say that experiencing a thing, a place, or an event through AR or VR is equivalent to doing, but when doing is not practical I believe that AR and VR, done well, can go a long way towards that holy grail of learning, which is understanding. The year before last, our team worked with the Global Training Initiative to create a series of VR training modules for developing cross-cultural competencies. Through VR, participants are immersed in a business meeting with people from different cultures and literally “get inside the head” of one of the participants. The impact of experiencing the meeting through the eyes and ears of someone from a different cultural background is pretty amazing. There is no way a classroom lecture could come close. That work has won multiple national awards and we’ve received numerous requests to apply the technology in other scenarios because it is so engaging.

DELTA supported seven academic courses this year in the exploration of mobile applications and virtual reality. For CH 222, we’ve created VR organic chemistry lab experiences which was recently highlighted on NPR’s Science Friday. We developed and implemented our first augmented reality products in education. For Feed Mill Management, we’re applying AR in FM 480 so students can view a pellet mill and mixer like never before. For a Graphic Design Theory course, AR is being used to enhance an existing textbook to increase student engagement with the content.

Have a look at DELTA’s Immersive Media Timeline to see just how far we’ve come with applying these technologies to NC State courses over the past few years, and learn more about the New Reality for Online Education that’s happening at NC State. I hope you enjoy these and other stories about the many exciting things that DELTA is helping our faculty bring to fruition in the classroom (real or virtual) through creative and effective application of technology. It is truly Think and Do applied.
 

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Miller

Vice Provost, DELTA
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Outreach and Entrepreneurship

In addition to my administrative role as senior vice provost, I’m a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State and spent the first 18 of my 36 years here in that capacity. I believed (and still do) that our first priority as faculty should be to strive for the most effective transfer of knowledge and understanding to our students that we can achieve. Being a computer engineering professor and somewhat of a computer geek, I spent time developing software that would actively assist in learning and reinforcing concepts I was teaching in my classes on digital systems and microprocessors.

Those efforts led to more ideas and research projects for using technology in education, such as the MBone Virtual Classroom that we built at NC State in the late 1990’s for interactive teaching on the internet, long before the advent of Skype, etc. A few years ago at a conference, I ran into an engineering colleague and friend from Clemson who said, “You know, we still use that quote from the talk you gave when you visited campus years ago.” “What quote?” I asked. “You said that teaching with technology is like using an amplifier—it makes good teaching better and bad teaching worse.”

OK, I had completely forgotten that talk at Clemson and the amplifier analogy that only engineers could fully appreciate. However, I do think it often holds true even today. I remember giving a presentation to the faculty senate a few years ago about NC State’s expansion of online learning opportunities and DELTA’s role in that. One senator adamantly stated that “Distance Education never has been and never will be equal to face-to-face teaching, period.” I personally believe that the senator was greatly oversimplifying a very complex concept in forming his opinion, but at the same time I can appreciate the experiences that may have led him to that conclusion. It’s summed up in a quote from another talk that I gave about why faculty were often reluctant to rely on the use of technology in the classroom: “When the technology breaks, you’ve got nothing. When your chalk breaks, you’ve got two pieces of chalk.”

Regardless of what you believe, I think most of us would agree that effective transfer of knowledge and understanding takes effort. And, effective transfer of knowledge and understanding delivered via technology probably takes even more effort (the amplifier effect). I would argue that there are circumstances where technology-based pedagogies well-conceived and implemented can be more effective than anything I could possibly do with chalk and a blackboard (thinking back to my interactive simulators for teaching digital logic system concepts). Further, I would assert that appropriate combinations of face-to-face and technology-based pedagogies can be much more effective than either alone. (This is the core concept behind the large course redesign projects we’ve supported in DELTA and our assessment results consistently support that assertion.)

To bring this back to relevance with this year’s annual report, what I’m saying is that if you want to use technology effectively in your teaching, quality really does matter. That’s why we launched the new Online Course Improvement Program (OCIP) this year. Through OCIP, we are giving faculty the opportunity to take their online courses through the very rigorous and nationally recognized Quality Matters program and have them certified as meeting those high standards. Through the QM certification of quality, we are making a public statement that NC State takes quality very seriously in our online courses and content. Kudos to the faculty in the inaugural OCIP cohort who undertook the extra effort leading to certification. I hope that many more will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Miller

Vice Provost, DELTA
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Outreach and Entrepreneurship

The concept was that at NC State we would leverage our unique strengths in engaged and digital teaching and learning to enhance the educational experience and improve the success of our students. One of the deans at the table, Paul Lunn, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, said something to the effect of, “That’s exactly how we’re planning to structure our teaching program.” And that’s exactly what they did.

One of the stories in this year’s annual report is about the development of a “distributive” clinical training model for students in CVM’s Equine Primary Care program. The effort is led by Dr. Katie Sheats, an assistant professor in the program. Dr. Sheats applied for and received a DELTA Blended Learning grant to pioneer this model in which the field becomes the classroom, using technology to track and document students’ mastery of skills and competencies as they work in the “real world” of equine medicine.

In the article, Sheats points out that what veterinarians encounter in the field is often very different than the cases that they see in the teaching hospital: “With the distributive model, we have the ability to be sure that we are teaching students about the types of cases they will see on work day one following graduation.” This is a perfect example of (HT)², combining “high tech” with “high touch” to improve the learning experience.

The idea of using technology to take the classroom to the field also works in reverse. A team of Biology faculty (Miriam Ferzli, Lisa Paciulli, and Betty Black) worked with DELTA staff on an Exploratory Grant to create an immersive experience for students in BIO 181, bringing the field to the classroom using virtual reality technology to create virtual field trips. Traditional field trips can be a challenge, particularly for large enrollment introductory classes due to factors such as logistics, weather, and cost. Virtual reality, done well, can provide an amazingly effective “high touch” learning experience that might not otherwise be possible in such classes.

Another very cool example of (HT)² is the Global Training Initiative’s collaboration with DELTA to use virtual reality for teaching cultural competencies. I was amazed when I donned a VR headset and found myself immersed in a business meeting with representatives from different countries. I was able to literally (well, virtually) become any one of the individuals in the meeting and experience their thoughts and reactions to words and body language of others in the meeting.  This is a great example of how digital technologies can take engaged learning to a whole new level.

There are other examples in the report that exemplify the concept of (HT)², such as redesigning CE 332 to improve the laboratory experience, and building interactive tools to help students understand how the GI tracts of cats and dogs absorb nutrition in ANS 590.

I hope you will take the time to read these and other stories in our annual report. Much has happened this year, including the rollout of a brand new Online and Distance Education website, improvements in some of DELTA’s core teaching and learning tools such as WolfWare and My Mediasite, our use of social media, and new outreach efforts with Wolfware Outreach and the REPORTER project.

And I hope you will think about your own ideas for (HT)² and how we might further leverage NC State’s rich tradition of engaged learning with our expertise in digital technologies for teaching and learning. Maybe your course is next!

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom Miller

Vice Provost, DELTA
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Outreach and Entrepreneurship

Writer
Laura Oldham

Photographer
Thomas Crocker

Did you know that NC State offers the only online non-credit insect rearing course in the world? The university and DELTA have been assisting in the outreach of similarly unique programs and other non-credit courses throughout the past year via WolfWare Outreach (WWO), an extension of the WolfWare services which includes a dedicated Moodle server for fee-based, online classes.

Various organizations and programs have taken advantage of this incredible outreach program including NC State’s Office of Professional Development (OPD), the university’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). By using WWO, these sectors have been able to reach a much broader audience than in the past.

“[WolfWare Outreach] is a new revenue-generating model for different online content providers to deliver to new target audiences. For example, a three-credit-hour course can be created into a smaller modules format according to the needs of the target audience, which is not semester based and it’s not based on credits. It’s a whole different model,” said DELTA’s Associate Vice Provost for Marketing and Partnership Development Kay Zimmerman.

Online Insect Rearing Gone Global

Program Coordinator and Research Professor Allen C. Cohen instructs a global audience on current insect rearing practices, data-driven research, techniques and more through his Introduction to Insect Rearing course. His passion and expertise have led him to teach both credit-based and fee-based, non-credit courses on insect rearing at NC State. He has been able to target a broader audience through DELTA’s WWO Moodle service.

According to Cohen, there are approximately 10,000 people around the world who rear insects for a living — not including others who are interested in learning more! Due to such a specific and widespread audience, online learning was deemed the most appropriate delivery method to educate people from around the globe. As of September 2016, the program had more than 60 people signed up for the course, without taking into account the approximate 100 individuals who have already completed it. A collection of 10 different countries are represented by those who have finished the course, an astounding number considering Cohen has yet to tap into the Asian audience.

As Cohen’s interest in potential for online courses has increased, so have his hopes for more content delivery and the program’s ability to exceed workshops at other universities. Through these online opportunities, Cohen can reach the insect rearing community worldwide.

ITRE and CALS

WWO became available to faculty last year as a pilot program. Although the service participated in shadow billing throughout Fall 2015, it became a fee-based service in January 2016. Regardless, dedicated faculty continue to use WWO as a popular way to extend the university’s land-grant mission. Other entities currently using WWO include ITRE and CALS.  

There are three ITRE online training courses available through the WWO Moodle server that assist professionals working to improve the transportation industry. These courses include Building Relationships with Public Officials at Every Level, Building and Maintaining Effective Organizations through Good Employees, and Budgeting as a Planning Tool for Additional Funding.

“WolfWare Outreach provides a convenient, affordable and reliable technical resource for hosting ITRE online courses, as well as access to DELTA’s highly experienced and supportive instructional design staff for consulting when we need to improve and expand our course offerings,” said Eugene Murray, ITRE Communications and Distance Learning Specialist.

The Power of Plants

Much like Cohen’s course, the incorporation of HS 202 Power of Plants: Appreciation and Use into WolfWare Outreach has allowed the CALS class to reach a broader audience. Material from HS 202 now extends to the public, Master Gardeners and volunteers associated with Longwood Gardens and the JC Raulston Arboretum through three non-credit courses taught by Liz Riley, a postdoctoral teaching scholar. Riley previously assisted Lis Meyer in attaining a DELTA Distance Education Grant. Taking her knowledge from this grant and working with the development of HS 202 Power of Plants: Appreciation and Use, Riley began teaching the non-credit course.

As HS 202 materials were being developed into a fully online, for-credit academic course, the DELTA Grant team simultaneously worked with the idea of taking that information and creating three non-credit courses. The courses offered to individuals through the WolfWare Outreach service server include Annuals, Perennials and Vines; Trees, Shrubs and Conifers; and Edibles, Bulbs and Houseplants.

There were 152 enrollments in the extension courses between summer 2015 and summer 2016. Individuals interested in participating can register through Longwood Gardens and pay through a university-sponsored site.

“I have really enjoyed teaching the non-credit courses. These courses have allowed us to spread more horticultural knowledge to a different audience that is very interested in the content,” said Riley.

Teaming Up With NC State Colleges

CALS offers a range of courses through WolfWare Outreach in addition to HS 202. Some of these programs include Entrepreneur Initiative for Food, Entomology’s Beekeeper Education & Engagement System (BEES) Program, Plant Identification, FDA Food Safety Education and Training program and Soil Science. NC State’s Veterinary School offers three Outreach programs — Avian Pathology, Animal Loss and the K-9 program.

Other NC State colleges are also providing learning opportunities through WolfWare Outreach. Poole College of Management is now allowing individuals to enroll in a Tax, Technology and Analytics Online Certificate and the College of Textiles offers Zeis Textiles Extension, “an eLearning program that provides powerful learning tools for companies to train employees in Textile Fundamentals and Textile Testing.”

WWO Expansion

The WWO service includes Moodle, Collaborate and Mediasite and is integrated with REPORTER for registration and payment purposes as of spring 2016. Once a registrant pays for a course, he or she receives account information and access to the online course.

With WWO’s ability to target and teach individuals across the world, it became a chore for employers, instructors and course participants to keep track of what had been completed and who completed it. This back-and-forth led to ultimate confusion and served as another reason to use REPORTER.

“REPORTER is a solution for tracking, managing, reporting and measuring external outreach, internal training and non-credit activities,” said DELTA’s Assistant Vice Provost of Business Operations Jessie Sova.

REPORTER serves as an invaluable tool in aiding the communication between the different parties involved in WolfWare Outreach’s services and is designed to increase the profile and efficiency of programs.

WWO’s expansion has impacted an incredible number of people just within the past year. Its incorporation throughout university departments and colleges has encouraged new learning opportunities for individuals who may not have otherwise had the chance to learn about that particular subject. This outreach promotes the Think and Do attitude NC State values and DELTA has been happy to assist in the process.

Related Links:

• WolfWare Expands
• WolfWare Outreach Project

Writer
Sherry O'Neal

Photographer
Thomas Crocker

College students are certain to have times during their academic careers when they need instant feedback on homework, assistance grasping concepts, or a few more hours of practice to decipher laboratory results. Four of the 2015-2016 DELTA Grants projects worked to provide solutions for students who want to help themselves. DELTA teams created applications and media-rich interactive devices to promote learning outside of the class or lab.

The DELTA Grants projects aimed to facilitate more touchpoints for students and provide more feedback before they are tested on material. One way to provide more one-on-one assistance to students is through online applications. These apps allow for feedback to students who may not have sought help at a tutorial center or from a teaching assistant.

Associate Director of Instructional Innovative Services Daniel Davis, said, “It is inspiring to witness such concerned faculty who desire to see their students grasp concepts. But the problem is, in a large class, an online class, or both, how do you structure the class to create the opportunity for higher-level problem solving but still have the course manageable?”

Two results developed this year by creating additional feedback for students in a more efficient manner. Allowing for more touchpoints for students to check their understanding or validate their results is a great benefit for learning outcomes as well as helping a percentage of students who may not have sought personalized help.

One course solution involved creating a smart phone app to allow students to use equipment they are comfortable with to test physics concepts. Another outcome was to take information once presented as a one-way street via videos and incorporate the content into modules, which include interactive, media-rich graphics, animations, and a soil sample visualization.

Virtual Physics Tutorial Center

Realizing students cannot always make it to the brick and mortar physics center during staffed hours, Zachary Lewis sought a DELTA Grant to create an online tutorial database system called Virtual Physics Tutorial Center (vPTC).

Through vPTC, an online interactive physics tutorial center, students can learn new material and receive feedback without making the trek to the on-campus center. An application was repurposed to create a ticketing system to rank the most popular questions. Students log in and search the database for answers to their questions.

The system provides students with text and/or video explanations of physics concepts. If the student still has a question after reviewing the existing material they can submit a question to the system, and there is no limit on the number of questions that may be asked.

Since it is a ticketed system, the most popular answer is rated and moves up as a ‘best resource’ for other students to use.

This interactive system may be reused by other university departments, an important characteristic to Davis and Lewis. “We design with universality in mind — to create in such a way that others might benefit from it as well. We are always thinking about how to maximize our impact,” said Davis. Lewis also said he hopes more students, departments and universities will be able to use the service in the future.

Lewis said working with the DELTA team exceeded his expectations, which were already high based on discussions with other physics faculty members that had worked with DELTA. “Every member of the team has been essential in the development, testing, launch and ongoing maintenance and improvement of this service,” he said.

Py4All

For Dr. Laura Gray Tateosian, who teaches the Python programming language as part of her Geospatial Information Science and Technology course, her instructional challenge was helping students learn problem solving for code development.  

“We wanted to address this [issue] by providing feedback in a low-stakes (non-graded) environment before students submit their assignments for grading. In an ideal world, an instructor would watch over each student’s shoulder as he or she writes each homework script. In the real world, the only way to make this sustainable is to automate the process,” Tateosian said.

One struggle for students was making errors in their homework that caused them to have coding issues. The DELTA Grants team used Tateosian’s existing grader scripts as the basis for a new web application to enable students to upload their Python scripts and receive nearly instant feedback on issues in the code.

The program flags portions of the submitted script as green, yellow, orange or red, indicating the level of issues within the programming. This information is vital for students to receive prior to uploading their final projects.

Tateosian said, “The team has been really fantastic. I would never have been able to develop this tool by myself in such a short time span. In addition to technical development, they also shared their considerable knowledge of educational interface design and student learning research.”

Py4All was deployed in Fall 2016. Students are able to use the application with less oversight while receiving vital feedback to improve their programs.

MyTech App

Replacing expensive equipment that is difficult to read in physics labs is what led Teaching Assistant Professor Dr. Colleen Countryman to seek DELTA’s assistance in developing a free mobile app for her students to conduct experiments.

While a graduate teaching assistant, Countryman received an initial exploratory DELTA Grant in the 2014-2015 cycle. A DELTA team assembled to create the mobile app, which used focus groups and testing to inform the development of the final product.

In 2015-2016 the grant was extended to conduct research and tweak the app based on feedback.

According to Countryman, the familiarity with smartphones plays a large part in the popularity of the app.

“When students used similar apps in our studies before the development of the MyTech app, they were incapable of explaining the intricacies of how their sensors collected data. With the MyTech app’s built-in transparency and a curriculum that directly integrates these features, students were able to provide detailed explanations of these mechanisms at the level of advanced physics students,” said Countryman.

“Using our own survey instruments, we were also able to determine students’ understanding of how the sensors collect data improved and, in fact, exceeds the expectations of introductory physics students set forth by the American Association of Physics Teachers,” she added.

Countryman said initial survey data indicated students enjoyed working with the app and felt it was better than the alternative. The free MyTech app was implemented last year and is available on Google Play and Apple Store.

“Not often do we get to affect change beyond the boundaries of NC State,” said Davis.

Davis added, “The fact that the department is saving money by not having to purchase more machines or repair existing ones is of great benefit. The students benefit both because it takes less experimentation time to get to the data and the machinery is easier to engage with. Additionally, unlike the old way, the data is created almost instantaneously and is presented in a graphical way that is easier to interpret and apply.”

Horticultural Science 200

Lecturer Mr. Lee Ivy inherited a course comprising a collection of 73 videos and 10-15 assignments in 2012 when he was hired.

The challenge for HS 200 was taking a class previously offered and making it his own. Initially, he received a distance education DELTA Grant during the 2012-2013 cycle. Ivy said, “The goal of the first grant was to gain ownership, develop some of my own material and create a more hands-on, project-based course.”

He described the process as intimidating and painstaking. “I had never torn a course apart and examined all of the reasons why, all the ways how and all the methodologies and inspirations behind activities, said Ivy. “It was challenging but very rewarding,” he added.

“Working with the DELTA team stretched me, pushed me and ultimately gave me confidence in this course as well as in developing others.”

At the end of the first year, the DELTA team, led by Cathi Dunnagan, developed a solid framework for the course. “I had the ownership I craved,” Ivy said.

Excited to implement some of the media-rich solutions discussed during the 2014-2015 cycle when the course was revamped, Ivy applied for an exploratory grant during the 2015-2016 cycle.

According to Dunnagan, the course was redesigned into modules. There is a prominent graphic in Moodle that builds out as students complete modules, giving them a sense of how far along they are in creating their home garden.

“We are encouraging the students to get their hands dirty,” said Ivy. This second grant allowed for the creation of animations to better explain complex concepts and to inspire students to compare real horticulture environments.

One of the new module activities is a 3-D soil sampling component. Students use this game-like feature to visualize the landscape site, learn how to properly take soil samples and calculate chemical and physical soil amendments. “Again, it will inform while inspiring them to participate in an outdoor horticultural environment,” Ivy added.

Based on student evaluations, course participants have responded well to the layout and production methods in the videos. The numbers greatly improved after the first grant cycle and Ivy expects the new additions to the course implemented this fall will receive good reviews as well.

The PRATT (Photosynthesis, Respiration, Absorption, Transpiration, Translocation) animation will be rolled out Fall 2016. The design of this animation is to graphically explain five complicated processes every plant experiences. It is a critical learning piece for the course that students have struggled to grasp.

Ivy said, “I get really excited about new technologies, especially since I am not scared of exploring them. Having gone through the grant processes has taught me to embrace new possibilities in teaching and conveying information.”

“Cathi [Dunnagan], Ben [Huckaby], Chrissie [van Hoever] and Meg [Snyder] made this process very enjoyable due to their expertise, excitement and creativity. I recommend DELTA grants to as many as are interested in expanding their teaching capabilities,” added Ivy.

These four DELTA Grant projects from the 2015-2016 cycle have met students on platforms they are already familiar with. By recognizing instructional challenges, faculty members have partnered with DELTA to adjust their courses to help students succeed by giving them the ability to access information and receive assistance in a timely manner.

Related Links:

• MyTech: Taking Physics Beyond the Classroom
• Taming Python – New Online Tool Helps Students Write Better Code

Writer
Cassidy Colson

Photographer
DELTA Instructional Media Productions Team

Videos have been used at NC State for decades. With advances in video technologies and production capabilities, DELTA continues to see a return on investment in equipment and personnel because of its commitment to creating videos with high integrity.

Associate Vice Provost for Distance Education Rebecca Swanson said, “The commitment is evident in the quality of the videos we use in online and distance education courses and the dedication of the staff.”

DELTA takes pride in creating resources for students and faculty that will ultimately enhance the learning experience.

Faculty Portraits

A helpful resource for students and faculty is the continued production of faculty portraits as an introductory video. These short video segments are a way for online and distance education students to get to know their professors in a way they otherwise would not be able to. Previously, the introductory videos were called welcome videos and showed the instructor as a “talking head” with the focus on course information.

According to Swanson, faculty portraits have been enormously helpful because they give students an idea of what it will be like working with a specific instructor.

Video production staff start by interviewing faculty and then turn it into a 90-second story highlighting the faculty member’s personality, career and teaching style. The videos are packed with information and carefully cut together to make a full, engaging and powerful presentation. The stories in the faculty portraits are a way for students to start a conversation with faculty on a more personal level.

Assistant Director for Instructional Media Production John Gordon said the videos are effective for students because they are stylized with unique shooting angles, editing and use music.

DELTA production staff like creating faculty portraits because they provide an opportunity to try new production techniques and to stretch capabilities. Since each video is filmed in a two-hour time frame, producers have to be creative about the delivery.

Faculty portraits are not dated and can be used in a wide range of environments. A faculty member can show his or her video as a way to introduce themselves to the audience at a conference. The portraits may be embedded into their website and repurposed for promoting programs.

More Than Just Instruction

While videos have been used for many years, their impact and importance to universities operating in the online and distance education environment has changed substantially.

Gordon explained that well designed and produced instructional videos help NC State’s Online and Distance Education programs compete against others around the world. The videos shine a positive light on those making their first inquiries into an online program.

“Video is the appetizer; the conversation after watching the video is the main course,” said American Filmmaker and Author Tiffany Shlain at the 2016 HOW Design Live Conference. This quote is regarded as Gordon’s team’s motto. Video serving as a gateway to a conversation is just one of the many benefits of instructional videos.

According to Gordon, good instructional videos can motivate students to learn, quickly and effectively take students to locations they would not normally see and allow students to see close-up what they cannot see in a large classroom.

“We are combining traditional cinema filmmaking techniques to highly designed, highly customized instructional material to create films that engage, tell a story, start a conversation, generate curiosity, clarify a point, or teach how to do something,” said Gordon.

Instructional Videos at Work in PRT 358

In Annette Moore’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management (PRT) 358 class about recreation program planning processes, students are required to choose a service-learning site in the community to create a semester-long program. They select a location that is a best fit for them.

Moore received a DELTA grant in the 2014-2015 cycle with the class launching in Fall 2015.  With the help of the video production staff, Moore used instructional videos to help students find their perfect service learning site.

Moore applied for the DELTA grant to organize her class and Moodle page. Moore said, “I had seen some samples of courses that had been transformed through DELTA grant assistance, so I knew there was hope for me and my course!”

Moore added, “Students appear to have a better idea of which sites they want to partner with, and are overall more content with their site once assigned.” She further explained that students indicate they are more comfortable once they meet their supervisors, having already seen the locations and heard about them via videos.

Previously, students only read a description of the site. Now, students can see, hear and get a real understanding of what experiences that site provides. Catherine Kitchin, a senior studying PRT, said, “You actually get a feel for what the site is like. In one video about the Jaycee Park and Community Center, I cried watching it because you could tell the supervisor was so passionate about his job.”

From service-learning sites such as city parks to the Cary Senior Center, the DELTA video production staff worked to create memorable videos for each site to enhance student success by helping them choose a place that fits their needs and expectations.

Using Mediasite to Show a Microscope in Three Different Ways

Jeff Robinson working on video with Mediasite

Other classes such as Thomas Dow’s mechanical engineering course are employing the use of instructional videos. In this course, DELTA production staff helped Dr. Dow use Mediasite to view three different angles of a microscope lab at once.

DELTA Technology Specialist Jeff Robinson said, “Mediasite allowed me to ingest three different video sources simultaneously, providing the student with a choice of which materials they want front and center.”

According to Robinson who produced Dow’s video, the three different screens showed a person physically manipulating the microscope, the actual microscope video and the computer screen with compiled measurements. Students are able to see the direct results in real-time.

Robinson said old techniques would not let students manipulate the video to see all three screens at once. The new techniques are a way to help students see all angles and feel like they are really using the microscope themselves.

From Fire Comes Light

Professor of Forestry and Operations Research Joseph P. Roise received a DELTA grant for an online course in Fire Ecology. Dr. Roise explained how exciting witnessing fire ecology and its effects are in the field; however, he was challenged with displaying those effects virtually. With the DELTA grant, Roise and colleagues were able to overcome that challenge with the use of creative instructional videos.

“From Fire Comes Light” was a video created to showcase the Shaken Creek Preserve, a biodiversity hotspot. It is 600 acres of protected longleaf pine ecosystems, and has sections of the most unique plant diversity in the entire North Carolina Coastal Plains region.

The video is designed to engage the student by telling a story. According to Gordon, it tells the story of controlled burns, of a conservationist and of the rare plants found in the preserve.

As one of three main media components of the course, the video aims to show the importance of biodiversity hotspots and fire ecology. Without the frequent prescribed fires, the immense plant diversity would be lost.

The video has many layers intended to engage students and generate a conversation with professors. In just the short six-minute video, DELTA’s instructional design and video production teams were able to satisfy the learning objectives which included explaining the role of fire in promoting diversity, community composition and community structure and how fire suppression has threatened these things.

Gordon explained how the video compared and contrasted areas with prescribed fires and areas without. “How many words would it take to show the same difference? It’s a very efficient delivery of stories,” he said.

Since physically taking students to Shaken Creek would not be logistically feasible, the video allows students to see the preserve to align themselves with the importance and uniqueness of biodiversity hotspots.

At the end of the course, Roise is implementing a final student-created video research project. “We want to get the students excited and involved in producing an interesting visual product; we still have term papers, but the result is visual — which young people enjoy watching,” Roise said.

”From Fire Comes Light” has put NC State in front of people interested in fire ecology and showcased the incredible work of the DELTA production staff. The video has been requested to be screened in the Hunt Library lobby, on the College of Natural Resources website, at the American Geophysical Union 2016 Fall Meeting in San Francisco and on The Nature Conservancy website.

Overall, Gordon explained how instructional videos are able to be used semester after semester, and the videos focus on specific topics to communicate that subject very quickly. Each of these instructional videos has a specific focus and collectively aims to enhance student’s learning and success.

A Winning Combination

Creating instructional videos has also been a way for faculty and video production staff to collaborate.

Swanson explained that to produce the best video, the video production staff has to have a good understanding of what faculty members want and also the basic content.

“Sometimes the content expert may not necessarily be the expert on how to film. If you get those two experts together and there’s a common understanding — that’s when the best results happen,” Swanson said.

Video Success

According to Swanson, the DELTA video production staff are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are dedicated to making sure each recording has good integrity and does not have audio drop outs or other technical issues.

“Everyone is committed to student success and making sure our classes are the best they can be; it does translate into very high caliber courses,” Swanson said.

Swanson explained that campus students are also selecting online and distance education classes. The continuous enrollment shows they are getting a quality education.

In the future, Swanson said she hopes to see new technologies and even more faculty using videos and video recording capabilities in every classroom on campus. She added that she hopes to be able to fulfill more requests for the high-quality videos her team produces. “This is a wonderful video production unit but it’s at capacity,” she said.

As an integral part of Distance Education, instructional videos will continue to transform learning and add to student’s success and experiences.

Related Links:

• Read More and View Faculty Portrait Videos
• Read More About PRT 358’s Redesign
• Mediasite 3 Video Input Microscope Instructional Video
• Examples of Instructional Videos in CH 222/224
• Visit the Shaken Creek Preserve through “From Fire Comes Light”
• Cubetalk: Videos for the Professional Writing Program

Writer
Laura Oldham

Photographer
Thomas Crocker

It’s hard to explain something you have to see to believe. Nevertheless, DELTA has teamed up with NCSU Libraries and other partners to spread the word about the incredible capabilities and uses of virtual reality (VR) in education.

DELTA began working with VR nearly three years ago. Realizing its importance and potential in the educational realm, the DELTA Grants team incorporated the 360° technology into two projects — a virtual tour of Grand Asia Market for a Community Food Security course and eFIRE.

Course Applications

eFIRE is an interactive microsite created to teach individuals the importance of and how to conduct prescribed fires without having to personally venture into forests. The pictures and recordings of the prescribed burns were documented through GoPro cameras attached to a rig that allowed for a 360° view of the fires, trees and shrubbery. This interactive panoramic view makes onlookers feel as if they are standing outside with the instructor.

Within the 2015-2016 grant cycle, DELTA has taken eFIRE one step further and incorporated some of its components into a fully online Fire Ecology course. The inclusion of the 360° videos complements the additional live webinars, personable faculty introductions and student created video research projects the course utilizes. These “very well produced” VR videos have become shining segments of the Fire Ecology experience.

DELTA has also helped make great strides in improving nutrition courses by working with a range of individuals including Assistant Professor Suzie Goodell and Teaching Assistant Professor Natalie Cooke. Community Nutrition (NTR 420) students are required to create lessons and prepare to teach groups of community members on topics and skills utilized in the kitchen. A suggestion for improving the course, however, was the ability to get a feel for what it would be like to teach community members prior to the actual experience. Through a 2015-2016 DELTA Exploratory Grant, DELTA staff, nutrition students and instructors began creating videos of possible scenarios that could happen while working in the community.

The videos show instructors teaching audiences that are being difficult or challenging. After watching the videos with a virtual reality headset like Google Cardboard, students will have group discussions to determine if the instructors handled the behavior appropriately. The groups can then see what would have happened had the instructor chosen one resolution over another.

“Of course you can’t create everything, but the more tools we can give students and put them vicariously into that position, the better. We’re trying to create this experience where the student feels like they are put in the classroom and they are the teacher and they have to make a decision, but they’re not really there,” said Cooke.

DELTA has also worked alongside Assistant Professor and Distance Education Coordinator Clint Stevenson to improve food safety and food science courses. Much like Goodell and Cooke, Stevenson wanted to give his students a glimpse of the real world without having to jump in head first.

Through a DELTA Grant, Stevenson was able to create a VR tour of the Howling Cow plant, a tool he continues to use in his classes to show students a day in the life of working in a dairy processing plant. The tour has hotspots that allow students to learn more about particular areas of the facility. Virtual tours of Howling Cow and other manufacturing plants allow individuals to learn more about food science, equipment and appropriate food safety practices.

“We’ve been communicating food science all wrong. We start off with facts and everything we know, but now we’re starting to move more into thinking about using VR to communicate it in a way that connects with students’ values and their culture,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson’s extensive knowledge on the topic is being spread throughout his classes and to corporations and industries above him. He and his team are receiving external funding to do creative VR projects for artisan cheese makers, small dairy processors and even have a contract with a large dairy company with more than 70 plants nationwide.    

“We’re getting private funding to assist our stakeholders in their training programs but at the same time I’m reusing what we create for them in the college classroom. So that’s where it comes full circle,” said Stevenson.

Through the incorporation of VR in the classroom, Goodell, Cooke and Stevenson are able to provide priceless, real-world, practical learning experiences to their students.

VRIG

An offshoot of the work DELTA has done in VR and the connection with pockets of faculty experimenting with the technology, a natural partnership with NCSU Libraries whose purpose is to support faculty was imminent.

DELTA’s partnership with NCSU Libraries aims to spread awareness of the cutting-edge technology across campus through a group called Virtual Reality Interest Group (VRIG).

“We felt like it would be good to bring together the people we knew individually who were working in the space of VR and get them to come together and talk about it — share their issues, their projects, help people make connections to each other and help us better understand what’s going on in the campus community and help us promote the resources we have available,” said NCSU Libraries Associate Head of Learning Spaces and Services David Woodbury.

The partnership recognizes the need for cohesiveness between different departments and colleges. VRIG will help encourage these relationships and make connections.

“The courses that we’ve applied VR to show it applied in different ways. We have the observation, the instruction, the evaluation, training and field trips,” said DELTA Lead Instructional Designer Cathi Dunnagan. However, although there have been multiple courses involved in varying projects, the one thing they all have in common is the utilization of the same technology.

 VRIG was created to take what these instructors know about VR and spark conversations between NC State faculty and staff who may be interested in similar projects. Through this informal environment, people across all disciplines are encouraged to share what they are doing in the classroom and on campus. This communication prevents project duplication and raises awareness about new equipment and faculty capabilities.

“We want to establish a sense of community and want to connect the dots and have an awareness and sharing opportunities to collaborate,” said Lead Instructional Designer Bethanne Tobey.

Similar interests have also helped glue NCSU Libraries and DELTA together. Woodbury recalls that as VR was “picking up steam,” DELTA was simultaneously working on 360° video projects. DELTA’s Associate Director of Creative and Multimedia Mike Cuales sought out the library to use the Makerspace to build camera rigs for 360° cameras. The two entities worked on the Makerspace video together.

Thanks to VRIG, news on this invaluable resource of lending and best practices is spreading across campus and sparking new ideas for those dedicated to giving their students the best learning experience possible.

Partnering for Outreach

DELTA and NCSU Libraries have also teamed up to spread the word about VR through conferences and events such as the East Coast Games Conference (ECGC). Cuales initiated the partnership and encouraged DELTA’s and the libraries’ collaboration with computer science and design.

The VR Village made a big impact at ECGC this year. Collaborators from VRIG were able to showcase a range of VR content developed to enhance online learning. A number of projects were showcased including materials from the NTR 420 recordings and a physical architectural model accompanied by a VR visualization of the structure and landscape. Haptic gloves for rehabilitation and a glimpse of live 360° video were also presented, an interaction that can only be described as an out-of-body experience, according to Cuales.

Other universities from the Research Triangle area were present at ECGC, in addition to major buyers for companies such as Amazon and Best Buy. NC State’s presence at the conference showed the university’s competitive leg up in the world of virtual reality, an attractive appeal to graduate students.

Over the past year, DELTA has dedicated a great portion of its services to providing new learning opportunities to students through the use of VR. In the 2016-2017 cycle, DELTA has four new VR-based projects.

VR’s fascinating way of transporting users to different environments helps students learn about places without having to personally be there.

Related Links:

• DELTA Virtual Reality Timeline
• East Coast Games Conference VR Village 2016
• DELTA Grants Make VR a Reality
• eFIRE: A Hot Topic at NC State and Beyond
• 360 Video, Virtual Reality Presentation Highlights Edu Applications
• DELTA Grant Leads to Student Presentations at Symposium
• Coffee & Viz Event Series

Writer
Cassidy Colson

Photographer
Thomas Crocker

“I would not want to teach distance without the proctoring services provided by the Testing Center,” said John Russ, undergraduate coordinator in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department. Russ is just one of many NC State faculty members who utilize DELTA Testing Services for a secure testing environment for their online and distance education students.

In the 2015-2016 fiscal year, DELTA Testing Services underwent many changes. The biggest change in September 2015 was the physical relocation of the Centennial Test Center from Venture II to Venture IV to better accommodate students. Among noteworthy events for DELTA Testing Services was earning Test Center Certification and receipt of a grant from the National College Testing Association (NCTA).

This is not the first time DELTA Testing Services has expanded. In 2011, Cox Hall Test Center on Main Campus opened providing an additional 37 seats to Venture II’s 42 seats.

Need for New Space

DELTA Testing Services spent eight years in Venture II before moving to Venture IV in 2015. The move was necessary due to the 20 percent annual increase in student enrollments and the 67 percent increase in exams administered over the past several years. DELTA Testing Services simply outgrew its space.

Associate Director of Online and Distance Education Administrative Services Sharon Broere said, “Our space has been great during the regular semester.” However, she further explained that during the week of final exams, the number of students visiting the testing center and the time they spent there overwhelmingly increased which caused long wait times.

To ease the wait times at the two main locations, overflow sites were used to accommodate students. Overflow locations are still used today to better serve students.

In addition, to inform students of potentially long wait times, DELTA staff created WaitTime in Spring 2013. The WaitTime web application shows students how long the wait may be before they can sit for their test. WaitTime is still in use and is a great tool for students.

Making the Move

A long-term solution to the exponential growth of students using the Centennial Campus Test Center was to move to another location. The new space in Venture IV has 108 seats and four individual testing spaces to accommodate Disability Services. Between the two locations, DELTA Testing Services now has a total of 144 seats and five individual rooms. With the additional space, beginning Fall 2015, Testing Services partnered with the Disability Services Office to assist with on-campus accommodated testing.

Many students like the new location and the clear layout of the space, including larger desks and extended testing hours. Previously, the Centennial Campus location was only open two nights a week. It now stays open four nights a week with 7 p.m. being the last sign in time.

The DELTA IT staff provided technology and set-up assistance to Testing Services for an easy transition. Although the move went smoothly, informing students proved a little more challenging.

Shortly after the move on Centennial, the testing center at Cox Hall temporarily closed in October 2015 due to noise issues from the renovations around Cox Hall, according to Broere.

To help spread the word about these changes, DELTA Testing Services, with permission from professors, added a block of information to class Moodle pages beginning in Spring 2016. The block gave students a direct link to the DELTA Testing Services website and an easy way to access news and announcements regarding testing.  

Another part of the communication strategy was to pilot the Remind.com text messaging system for DELTA Testing Services to send important updates.

Test Center Certification and NCTA Grant

Another exciting change came when DELTA Testing Services received Test Center Certification from NCTA in March of 2016. According to Broere, the certification gives Testing Services more credibility among faculty. “We’re following a certain set of guidelines that are approved on a national level,” she said. The guidelines include the space of the testing centers, staff training, managing paper tests and test information, managing students and customer service.

“Overall, the faculty trust us to make good and proper decisions as far as exam integrity,” Broere said.

In addition, DELTA Testing Services staff received a national grant from NCTA used for team building, strategic planning and professional development.

Broere said she applied for the grant to provide the staff the opportunity to engage with one another outside of the office and to help build the relationships among colleagues.

Support from Faculty

DELTA Testing Services continues to receive positive feedback from faculty. “The DELTA Testing center gives me peace of mind that a secure testing environment is available with the added benefit of flexibility for the students and faculty,” said Melissa Hart, lecturer in Poole College of Management. She also mentioned being able to focus on engaging students and refining her course rather than stopping the flow of learning for testing.

Despite all of the changes made in 2015-2016, DELTA Testing Services continues to provide quality testing services to online and distance education students. With the addition of the NCTA Certification, the testing center maintains its reputation of integrity and commitment to providing the best service possible.   

Russ again noted his appreciation for DELTA Testing Services, “The staff is very professional, and the services that they provide faculty and students are excellent.”

Related Links:

• Cox Hall Addition in 2011
• DELTA Testing Services Expansion
• DELTA Testing Services NCTA Test Center Certification
• DELTA Testing Services NCTA Grant
• NCTA Website
• WaitTime Web Application