| Powell | Robertson | Thornton |
Three faculty members from Abraham Baldwin College have been selected by the University System of Georgia to participate in the eCore Project. Kay Powell, Assistant Professor in the Division of Business Administration, Melanie Robertson, Instructor in the Division of Science and Mathematics, and Beth Thornton, Assistant Professor in the Division of Science and Mathematics, are each working with a group of individuals--instructional designers, librarians, programmers, project coordinators, and other faculty members from various colleges and universities across Georgia--to develop eCore courses.
The eCore project initially focuses upon the development of an electronically delivered core curriculum for the University System of Georgia, comprised of courses leading to the completion of the first two years of an undergraduate degree. These courses will be offered by the University System of Georgia institutions and marketed by Georgia G.L.O.B.E. (Georgia Learning Online for Business and Education).
Powell will assist in the creation of an eCore Technology course; Robertson, an eCore PreCalculus course; and Thornton, an eCore Integrative Science course.
The development of eCore courses represents a major advance in the learning process. Since eCore classes are delivered over the Internet, they offer students who are unable to attend classes on campus a certain degree of flexibility. Students can log on to their computers and take a course instead of having to report to a classroom at a specified time. The majority of students who are interested in eCore courses are non-traditional students who hold full-time jobs, work unusual hours, have family obligations, or other commitments that prevent them from attending regular class meetings.
Dr. Earl Bennett, ABAC's Coordinator of Academic Technology and Professor in the Division of Science and Mathematics, was the only eCore team member representing ABAC last year in the first phase of the eCore project. He helped write the College Algebra (Math 1111) course. This course and five others are currently online.
"Being on the eCore team gave me an opportunity to be in on the ground floor of designing and implementing a new course," Bennett said. Our team began with the outcomes and objectives that were prescribed by the Regents' Advisory Committee on Mathematical Subjects and built the course from there up. It gave me the opportunity to put things in the course that I knew were needed but hadn't been able to do in the many years that I have taught college algebra."
Dr. Bettie Horne, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, is pleased that the ABAC faculty is so well represented on the eCore teams.
"I was delighted to learn that ABAC faculty were chosen to help create the courses that will be developed in the second phase of the cycle that will eventually result in the complete University System of Georgia core being offered over the Web," Horne said. "It speaks well of our college that our faculty members are recognized as well trained and creative individuals who are competitive with faculty from around the University System. These individuals will bring a variety of skills and talents to this important task."
Thornton said eCore has been a wonderful experience because it is course development the way it should be--from the ground up.
"The course development process has been well thought out and defined," Thornton said. "Course objectives are established first, instructional objectives second, then course content and activities to match the objectives are created."
Robertson, who is a member of the team creating the eCore PreCalculus course, said her team is working on actually developing the course, complete with instruction, homework, solutions, and tests over the web. Similarly, Powell, who is working on the eCore Technology course, said her course will focus on using technology to advance learning, such as searching the web, analyzing web sites, directing students to tutorials on some of the basic software packages, and more.
Thirty-six faculty members representing 22 University System institutions, together with the USG's Advanced Learning Technologies staff and consultants, developed the first six eCore courses. The success of the eCore project builds upon the use of the strengths of the 34-institution System.
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