Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or!

"ount 1##1 1

Park University (PU) Technology Analysis Park University (PU) located in Missouri, offers online degrees targeting adults with busy work and family lives who want to attain a degree in higher education. PU offers online

undergrad and graduate degrees in education, health leadershi , and ublic affairs. PU students must choose between online or face!to!face degrees!not the blended format. PU uses e"ollege as their #earning Management $ystem (#M$). e"ollege rovides elearning software to rimary and secondary learning institutions. e"ollege was started in %&&' and in %&&( became a division of Pearson P#". This essay will rovide an analysis of this #M$ and how it )fits* with PU. Analysis +ates and Poole (,--.) discuss a framework used as a guideline when an institution chooses an #M$ (+ates / Poole, ,--.). $0"T123$ is the framework for this analysis4 each letter re resenting a conce t that will be e5 lained and a lied to PU and su e"ollege. S $ re resents the student, what is known about the students and if a s ecific technology is a ro riate for the students (+ates / Poole, ,--.). e"ollege, a roduct of Pearson, hel s to customi6e course materials for various institutions. 1n ,--', e"ollege reached out to %., million student users (3agel, ,--(). PU7s target o ulation is the working adult and working arent (Park University, ,-%%). e"ollege allows the student to log in, make edits, add files, and view orting the use of

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 2

educational lectures at a time that bests fit the student7s schedule. e"ollege is an #M$ that su E 0 re resents the ease of use for the #M$ and its reliability (+ates / Poole, ,--.). The #M$ ease of use is im ortant, and faculty and students must review the #M$ closely for a ro riateness. e"ollege offers the faculty a system that does not re8uire knowledge of a s ecific com uter language. #ectures are laced online in an organi6ed fashion. Password rotection rovides instructors the ability to access any revious class they have taught through this #M$. 1n addition, a course co y from one semester to another is available, and the instructor has the ability to use multimedia and streamlining in e"ollege designed courses (e"ollege, ,-%%). The #M$ must be easy to navigate and easy to develo course content (Moore / 9earsley, ,-%,). The students have all the information needed for their class online4 reserved readings, images and multimedia materials that focuses on the online discussions and fosters dee learning. The student can log in and access the classroom at any time (Park University, ,-%%). This feature shows fle5ibility and a otential for real time learning (:avis, #ittle, / $tewart, ,--;). e"ollege asynchronous learning meets the ease and reliability of the students and faculty at PU. C " re resents the cost of the roduct to the institution and to the learner (+ates / Poole, ,--.). There is no additional cost to the students or faculty to use e"ollege (Park University, ,-%%). e"ollege su orts P" or MA" com uters, 1nternet 05 lorer (, installation of Active < orts the student artici ating in courses at PU.

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 $

"ontrols may be necessary and if using 10 ; and =irefo5 ..>, downgrading may be necessary (Argosy, ,-%%). PU urchases e"ollege and is art of the tuition allowing students access to the technology. The cost of the roduct for PU was not accessible yet the cost for another university in ,--& was. The yearly contract was a ro5imately ?.;>,---. 1f there are ;,--- students the cost would be ?@; er student and that would need to be collected through the technology fee (Aordon et al., ,--&). PU charges ?,> er credit hour to their students (Park University, ,-%%). Aiven the information from ,--& and running the calculations, PU would have a small rofit yield. e"ollege a ears to be a cost effective #M$ for PU. T T re resents teaching and learning and describes ty es, a roaches, and student su ort

that meet the learner7s needs (+ates / Poole, ,--.). PU offers education, health leadershi , and ublic affairs rograms through the e"ollege software. 1nstructors can measure the student7s content knowledge and skills through the use of discussion threads and learning Bournals. The organi6ers mission will drive the learning through these techni8ues (:avis, #ittle, / $tewart, ,--;). PU degrees are com atible with the assessment o e"ollege allows media and other technologies to hel su I 1 re resents interaction and interactivity of the technology used and how it romotes 8uality interactions between students and the material, students and other students, and students and instructors. 1n order for students to learn, they need to connect with the material, and use it effectively (+ates / Poole, ,--.). =eedback is an essential art of 8uality interaction. PU uses ortunities that e"ollege offers. ort the course designers at PU.

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 %

e"ollege as #M$, and instructors and students can share any kind of multimedia information with his or her students that enhances interactions between students and learning materials, students and students, and students and instructors. 05am les of multimedia information are videos on CouTube and links to articles or im ortant websites. 1nstructors can use live video conferencing that enables the students to ask 8uestions and receive immediate feedback, which is an essential art of 8uality interaction and interactivity. O 2 re resents any organi6ational issues that may arise when instructors select a articular technology for a class. $electing technology that comes with technical su im ortant. 1f the selected technology does not come with technical su ort of some kind is

ort, instructors must

handle the e5tra load of any technical roblems that the students may encounter. PU has technical su ort for e"ollege through their 1nformation Technology $ervices, which makes

e"ollege technology a great choice. PU7s 1nformation Technology $ervices rovides a hone number and e!mail address available for online students. 1f there is anything that technical su ort services are not able to handle, students and instructors can contact the hel desk at

Pearson ,@!hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred si5ty five days a year (Pearson e"ollege, ,-%%). N 3 re resents novelty and involves using new technology in the online classroom. 1nstructors must understand the risks involved in trying new released technologies. 1t is a risk that may not be worth taking, but it is im ortant to acknowledge what is available and see if it is

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 #

worth all the e5tra work involved in taking on a task of this magnitude (+ates / Poole, ,--.). PU uses e"ollege for online courses, and Pearson the com any who currently owns e"ollege u dates this technology continuously. =or e5am le, Pearson has develo ed the )Pearson #earning $tudio, offering ersonali6ed learning environment built on the most advanced, scalable, and de endable $aa$ learning latform available today* (Pearson, ,-%%, ara. %). S $ re resents the s eed of the technology. PU online degrees use asynchronous technology which Pullen and $now (,--() state is highly fle5ible, but this technology is more effective in combination with synchronous forms of technology. e"ollege is very easy to work with and instructors can add or delete information very 8uickly as long as the instructor or students are using the latest browsers in Dindows or Mac 2$ (Park University, ,--@). 1f the instructor or students use older browsers, he or she may have trouble with running the e"ollege software (Park University, ,--@). Conclusion +ates and Poole7s $0"T123$ framework su orts PU utili6ing e"ollege as it #M$. )$*

in sections re resents the amount of students7 access and navigating this #M$ at PU and other institutions worldwide. )0* in $0"T123$ reinforces PU7s use of e"ollege by offering ,@! hoursE( days a weekE.'> days a year online su ort. )"* stands for cost in the $0"T123$

model. The research roves that the minimal online course fee charged by PU will cover the yearly cost of the #M$. )T* re resents how im ortant it is to match the #M$ with the degrees offered at a s ecific university. )1* re resents the im ortance of selecting a technology that

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 &

fosters interactions and interactivity among the users in the learning environment. )2* re resents any organi6ational issues that may occur with using a s ecific technology and how to fi5 them. )3* re resents novelty and the im ortance of branching out and trying new technologies, but it is e8ually im ortant to kee the risks in mind. )$* re resents s eed, and how this technology allows 8uick u dates of information. PU offers seven online graduate degrees that all meet the confines of e"ollege.

Feferences Argosy. (,-%%). Fetrieved from htt GEEwww.argosy.eduEonlineservicesEdocsETechnicalFe8uirements. df!ved from

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 '

+ates, A.D., / Poole, A. (,--.). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success. $an =rancisco, "AG Hossey!+ass. :avis, A., #ittle, P., $tewart, +. (,--;). :evelo ing an infrastructure for online learning. 1n Anderson, T. / 0lloumi, =. (0ds.). Theory and practice of online learning. Fetrieved from htt GEEwww.au ress.caEbooksE%,-%@'EebookE->IAndersonI ,--;I:avisIetal! 2nlineI"ontent. df Aordon, +., +alentine, "., +radford, "., Jorn, F., Juntley, 9., McAee, H., Fobertson, "., Taylor, A. / Thom son, #. (,--&). A com arison of learning management systems. Fetrieved from htt GEEwww.una.eduEsharedgovernanceEfilesEe5traE#M$I"ommitteeIFe ort. df Moore, M. A., / 9earsley, A. (,-%,). Distance Education: A Systems View of Online earning (.rd ed.). +elmont, "AG Dadsworth. 3agel, :. (,--(). Pearson to ac8uire e"ollege. !ampus Technology. Fetrieved fromG htt GEEcam ustechnology.comEarticlesE,--(E->E earson!to!ac8uire!ecollege.as 5 Park University. (,-%%). Fetrieved from htt GEEwww. ark.edu Park University. (n.d.). Mission and vision statements. Fetrieved from htt GEEwww. ark.eduEaboutE:escri tionEmission.as Park University. (,--@). Technical re8uirements. Fetrieved from htt sGEEsecure.ecollege.comE arkuEinde5.learnKactionLtechnical

Joy Butler Leila Liberman Park University Technology Analysis November 20, 2011 Total or! "ount 1##1 (

Pearson e"ollege. (,-%%). Delcome to Pearson e"ollege. Fetrieved from htt GEEwww.ecollege.comE Pullen, H. / $now, ". (,--(, Huly). 1ntegrating synchronous and asynchronous internet distributed education for ma5imum effectiveness. Education and "nformation Technologies, #$(.), %.(!%@;. Fetrieved Hanuary %%, ,-%-, from 0ducation Fesearch "om lete