Lew Harris
(615) 322-2706
[email protected]
Vanderbilt engineering professor creates, teaches asynchronous online course
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vanderbilt University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering John Bourne teaches one of the first known asynchronous online courses in the world that instructs others on how to develop and teach online courses.
The course was created by Bourne and Martine Dawant, research instructor of electrical and computer engineering at Vanderbilt.
The kind of course Bourne teaches is formally known as an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN). An ALN consists of a network of people who are enabled by computer and communications technologies to work with remote learning resources, including teachers and other learners, but without the requirement to be online at the same time.
Bourne's first workshop started in August and concluded in late September. His more than 230 "students" were spread throughout the United States and six other countries. About 80 percent of the class were academics. There were educators, engineers, corporate training people, systems administrators, nurses and one poet, who plans to start an online poetry workshop.
Bourne has been at the forefront of exploring the asynchronous learning frontier from the very first. The Sloan Foundation awarded him a $184,500 grant in 1996 to support the development of an on-line journal and web site on the Internet about Asynchronous Learning Networks. He is editor and publisher of the ALN web, the central repository for information about ALN.
Writers who wish to talk with Bourne should call Lew Harris at (615) 322-2706.
RSS