CU faculty will learn and share distance learning experiences at seminar

Cornell faculty can learn directly from their colleagues about the rewards and challenges of distance learning at a seminar titled "Distance Learning: The View From the Faculty," Thursday, April 15, from 1:15 to 4 p.m. in Ives 115.

Three leading Cornell faculty members will describe their distance learning programs and field questions from the audience. Demonstrations will include courses that use video-teleconferencing, interactive multimedia, web sites with integrated CD-ROMs and Internet streaming media to link faculty and students throughout the world. Faculty members will be accompanied by members of their course development support teams from the Office of Distance Learning (ODL).

·George Milkovich, professor of human resource studies in the School of Industrial Relations, will describe the Worldwide Human Resource Management Seminar, a course that uses live video-teleconferencing sessions and the Internet to link "virtual teams" of student and human resource managers on four continents. The course links four universities and 10 corporations. Milkovich will be accompanied by Rob Gearhart, ODL's instructional designer/consultant.

·David Caughey, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, will display Fluid Mechanics, a fully interactive, multimedia textbook published on CD-ROM. The text has hundreds of animations, video clips, exercises and worked examples and 21 interactive programs and utilitiesfor computing or simulating phenomena from flow in pipes to shock waves. Caughey will be accompanied by Kate Mink, interactive multimedia designer, and John Wolf, multimedia technology specialist, from the ODL staff.

·Ken Mudge, professor of floriculture and ornamental horticulture, will describe his web-based course, The How, When and Why of Grafting. Students take this course on their own schedule, using lessons on the web integrated with video files on CD-ROM, while interacting and with faculty and other students via e-mail and threaded discussion on the web site. Mudge will be accompanied by Michael Herzog, ODL's web designer/consultant.

In addition, Jon Levy, executive director, and Amelia Ellsworth, assistant director of the ODL, will present "Grand Rounds" and other projects that use the Internet to deliver video to thousands of participants. Grand Rounds is a project of Cornell's Weill Medical College that delivers continuing medical education to almost 5,000 doctors on their personal computers using Internet video streaming and the free Microsoft Media Player software. Doctors access lectures with synchronized slides on demand from anywhere in the world.

The seminar is free, but attendance will be limited to full-time Cornell faculty members. Advance reservations are required, as space is limited. To make a reservation or for more information about the seminar or services available to the Cornell community from the Office of Distance Learning, contact Joan Lewis at 255-2055 or visit ODL's web page at http://www.dl.cornell.edu.