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New Jersey Institute of Technology Breaks E-Learning Barriers with WebCT Campus EditionLYNNFIELD, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 3, 2005 -- Three decades after coining 'virtual classroom' term, institution continues to expand e-learning boundaries The New Jersey Institute of Technology, an e-learning pioneer and the confirmed originator of the "virtual classroom" concept, is using the WebCT Campus Edition(TM) course management system to expand its already broad range of innovative e-learning offerings. NJIT has just launched a customized e-learning program for pharmaceutical workers and is deepening counter-terrorism education for the New Jersey State Police. A professor has just won a prestigious national e-learning award, and the institution continues to deliver the nation's second-largest online graduate computing and engineering programs. NJIT's e-learning activity started 30 years ago with the creation of the first-ever computer-mediated communications network for education in 1975 and the trademarking of the term Virtual Classroom in 1989. NJIT has been delivering fully online classes since 1984 and fully online degree programs since 1989. "Whether we're helping a pharmaceutical plant avoid shutdowns, State Police combat terror, or the next generation of engineers and computing professionals meet the great challenges of the future, we're aggressively pursuing the NJIT's mission of economic development through education," said Gale Tenen Spak, Ph.D., NJIT's associate vice president of continuing and distance education. "WebCT Campus Edition is the platform for this pursuit and supports our activities by being flexible, reliable, powerful and easy to use." A WebCT user since 1995, NJIT has just launched an intensive public-private education partnership with a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company. NJIT is delivering a customized technical writing program, in beta test now, for production line workers and managers in a southern U.S. plant. The program, which could eventually serve employees in 50 locations around the world, will help plant employees save the company time and money by writing more concise incident reports. Ambiguities and muddled language, even when no dangerous incident occurred, can prompt regulators to shut down a plant for days or weeks. The customized blended-delivery course relies extensively on online learning via WebCT Campus Edition. NJIT is also using WebCT Campus Edition to help New Jersey State Police instructors deliver counter-terrorism training to more than 3,000 state troopers. The program saves the time and productivity lost when troopers must drive across the state to the State Police training facility located near the Jersey shore. The program involves highly sensitive content and secure Web access to State Police databases. NJIT quickly trained police academy instructors to deliver effective instruction with WebCT course tools. Meanwhile, NJIT continues to deliver the nation's second-largest online graduate engineering and computing degree programs out of 332 institutions, as validated in U.S. News & World Report. Powered by WebCT Campus Edition, the 11-year-old program serves more than 800 students seeking master's degrees in engineering management, computer science and information systems each semester. NJIT's e-learning innovations have long paid off in awards and recognition. In November, two graduate students in NJIT's unique online master of science in professional and technical communication program - Michele Fields and Hilary Debelak - received the first-ever merit-based scholarships exclusively for distance-learning students. Also in November, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Ph.D., distinguished professor of information systems at NJIT, received the Sloan Consortium 2004 award for Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Teaching and Learning by an Individual. Hiltz, a recognized authority on computer-mediated communication and learning networks, has produced nearly 300 scholarly works on asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) and has spent 27 years refining their design, implementation, and study. Her seventh book, "Learning Together: Online Research on Asynchronous Learning Networks," co-edited with Professor Ricki Goldman of NJIT, reflects a rich history of e-learning research performed at NJIT. "NJIT is a true visionary institution, blending the power of technology with sound educational practices," said WebCT President and CEO Carol Vallone. "We embrace the challenge of anticipating and meeting the needs of institutions like NJIT that are constantly redefining the possibilities of e-learning." About NJIT Founded in 1881, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a public, scientific and technological research university with over 100 degree programs. Through its Division of Continuing Professional Education, NJIT develops and delivers education and training programs to students and professionals around the world via instructor-led e-learning, real-time distance learning, and blended delivery. In the past decade, NJIT has trained over 45,000 professionals associated with more than 500 companies and each year educates roughly 9,000 students in degree programs and another 7,000 professionals, many of them through e-learning credit and non-credit courses. For more information, please visit http://cpe.njit.edu. About WebCT WebCT has set the standard for e-learning systems in higher education. Based in Lynnfield, Mass., WebCT provides a highly flexible e-learning environment that empowers institutions across the educational spectrum with the ability to achieve their unique objectives. Thousands of colleges and universities around the world - from community colleges to large university consortia - are using WebCT to expand the boundaries of teaching and learning. For more information, please visit www.webct.com. |
