DEOSNEWS Vol. 2  No. 9.
Copyright 1992 DEOS - The Distance Education Online Symposium
   
Editor: Morten Flate Paulsen, MFP101@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
Review: Melody Thompson and Kenneth W. Borland
   
DEOS was established with a grant from the Annenberg/CPB Project.
   
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                                 Abstract
   
     The NKI Electronic College has proved its value through five years of
operation, eight-hundred sold courses, and, to date, twenty graduated
students. These students have completed a ten course program--equivalent to
one year's full-time study--via computer conferencing. Further, the
students have obtained better grades than either correspondence students or
on-campus students. The student surveys show that the students have a
positive perception of the curriculum and the Electronic College. Student
feedback also indicates that teacher activity is of crucial importance to
students' perception of a course. The teachers are generally positive about
the Electronic College and its opportunities; their main reservation is in
regard to the heavy teacher workload introduced by the medium. The article
presents results from surveys of teachers, students, and administrators, as
well as information about dropouts and grades. The appendix, which is
available as a separate file, includes descriptions of the courses, of the
conferencing system EKKO, of examination results, of graduated students'
opinions, and of applications not included in EKKO.
   
   
   
                        The NKI Electronic College:
         Five Years of Computer Conferencing in Distance Education
   
                          By Morten Flate Paulsen
   
NKI
   
The NKI College, located in Oslo, is one of the largest non-governmental
educational institutions in Norway. NKI comprises The College of Engin-
eering, The College of Computer Science, The Division of Distance Educa-
tion, and The Publishing House. It was founded as a correspondence school
in 1959.
     The Division of Distance Education offers 60 correspondence programs
and 250 correspondence courses, mainly in technical and vocational sub-
jects. The division has about 17,000 students and an extensive network of
local partners around the country that offer face-to-face support classes
adjunct to many of the correspondence courses. The correspondence teachers
are part-time employees recruited from around the country.
     The College of Computer Science was established in 1983. It offers
both a full-time and a part-time program in information processing,
emphasizing programming and system analysis. Both are two-year programs,
and every year about one hundred students in each category are admitted to
the college. The part-time program is offered in three modes: face-to-face
classes, correspondence courses, and the Electronic College. The Electronic
College is designed so that distant students can do all their communicating
online. In contrast, many of the internationally renowned implementations
of "electronic colleges" are actually using computer conferencing as a
supplement to correspondence courses or on-campus teaching.
   
   
The Electronic College
   
     The idea of the Electronic College was conceived in 1985 and further
developed by research on existing computer conferencing systems such as
PortaCom, EIES, and CoSy, and on electronic colleges such as Connected
Education and the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (Paulsen 1989a). In
the first two years, the project was propelled by a handful of enthusiasts
who devoted much of their spare time to the project. The idea was to use
computers to facilitate flexible interpersonal communication in distance
education. Students, faculty, and staff could communicate independently of
time and space through the college's central computer. They could exchange
written messages both individually and in groups.
     The Electronic College needed administrative and logistical support
from the Division of Distance Education, and faculty and user support from
The College of Computer Science. At first, few believed in the project,
making it hard to get the necessary support and to integrate the project
into the NKI organization. Gradually, the Electronic College thrived,
receiving both national and international recognition. Suddenly, both the
College of Computer Science and the Division of Distance Education wanted
to be in charge of the project. By the spring of 1992, the Electronic
College had sold about 800 courses, but the organizational adaption needed
to be developed further.
     The first version of EKKO--the Computer Conferencing Software emulat-
ing an electronic college--was designed and implemented during 1986. A more
detailed description of EKKO is included in appendix 2. The system was used
for the first time, as an optional supplement to on-campus teaching, in the
Fall of 1986.
     The first attempt to deliver a distance education course via EKKO was
made during the Fall of 1987. Two more courses were added for the following
semester. Since the Spring of 1990, the college has offered all ten courses
in the Information Processing Program every semester. These ten courses
constitute the equivalent of a one-year, full-time program.
   
   
Participants
   
     Including the spring 1992 semester, the NKI Electronic College has
sold about 800 courses. An overview of the number of students who have
enrolled and completed each course since the fall 1987 semester is pres-
ented in table 1.
   
Table 1. Numbers of students enrolling/completing courses each semester
since the Fall of 1987.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Courses        F87   S88   F88   S89   F89   S90   F90   S91   F91   S92
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro.         4/2  22/16  6/4  12/7  33/24  10/5  21/11  5/4  22/?   8
Pascal              19/9   7/4   9/4  23/15  26/20 22/10  7/6  24/?  15
Info. Sys. I        16/10  8/5  12/4  33/23  20/15 23/12  8/5  25/?  12
Intro. Bus. Adm.                 7/2   3/2    2/2  17/14  3/2   7/?   9
COBOL                            3/1   4/4   12/11  9/8   7/7   5/?  11
Database Systems                       4/3   18/16 13/12  9/5  12/?   5
Information Sys. II                          20/17 12/11 20/13 12/?  15
Mgmt. Info. Sys.                              5/5   4/4  20/18  4/?   8
Socio-Tech. Sys. D.                           4/4   5/5  17/15  5/?   8
Project Assignment                     1/1    3/2   0/0  12/10  4/?   8
   
Totals        4/2 57/35 21/13 43/18 101/72 120/97 126/87 108/85 120/? 97
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     As of Spring semester, 1991, the student completion rate of all
courses was 71%. The enrollment figures for each year depend on when
enrollment information was gathered. In the few weeks before and after
courses start, students frequently add and drop courses. The statistics for
non-starters are not gathered, but observation indicates that many of the
drop-outs were non-starters, i.e., they did not complete any of the
assignments.
     A 1988 demographic survey of students (Paulsen 1989b, 33-35) showed
that the respondents were from 19 to 62 years old and that there was a
substantial majority of men. A large majority of the students were mar-
ried/cohabits and had children. Even though most of the students lived in
the greater Oslo area, many came from other parts of the country, as well.
The respondents were well educated; for example, several were teachers and
engineers. Additionally, the students were relatively well-skilled computer
users.
   
   
Needs
   
     The College of Computer Science wanted to extend the part-time program
to more students. Franchising and correspondence courses had been contem-
plated from the day the college was established. The computer boom in the
second half of the 1980's propelled the demand for computer courses.
However, no formal needs assessment for the Electronic College was con-
ducted. How can one assess the need for concepts neither the consumers nor
the providers comprehend? The Electronic college was obviously technology
driven, promoted by people with a vision of a future educational medium.
   
   
Staff
   
     The number of people involved with the Electronic College has in-
creased as the project developed. The project administrator is the only
full-time employee of the Electronic College. Over the years, about twenty
part-time teachers have been engaged to teach courses. Some have taught
just one course once, others have taught two courses each semester for
several semesters. The rest of the project work has been provided on a
part-time basis by NKI staff. The most important services were provided by
the EKKO system operator, who handles operation of hardware and software as
well as user support, and the course secretary, who handles enrollment and
fees. Other important services provided by NKI are course development,
logistics, and examinations. The extent of services provided by NKI varied
from semester to semester, but can be estimated to be equivalent with one
or two full-time employees.
   
   
Content
   
     The Information Processing Program emphasizes information processing,
programming, and system analysis. The goal of the Information Processing
Program is stated in the 1991-92 handbook:
   
          The program is primarily developed for users of computers and
     software applications. The responsibility for utilization of computers
     is increasingly transferred to the users, so there is a need for
     people who can assume responsibility for local computer applications.
     These people need--in addition to their ordinary job assignment
     skills--enough knowledge about utilization of computers to understand
     the opportunities computers provide, and to participate in the
     implementation of computer projects. . . . The program provides
     knowledge about the opportunities revealed by computers. The students
     develop knowledge about information processing, allowing them to take
     part in system analysis and development as well as programming. They
     will be able to develop small scale information systems and modify
     existing systems. It is, in particular, pertinent that they can apply
     these skills in their work environment. (translated from NKI 1991, 4)
   
     Each of the ten courses in the program is described in appendix 1.
   
   
Finances
   
     Public schools, colleges, and universities charge no tuition fees in
Norway. Thus, the non-governmental NKI has to compete with public colleges
in this unfavorable financial environment. So, as was true of most NKI
projects, The Electronic College was developed under economical con-
straints. There were limited grants to support the project, hence it was
necessary to settle on pragmatic, low-cost solutions which seldom were
optimal for the new medium.
     The two important economical resources were student fees and research
grants from the Norwegian Department of Church and Education and the
Norwegian Teleadministration. In five years, the research grants have
totaled about USD 100,000.
     The Electronic College's fee structure developed over several semes-
ters. For the first and third semester, each course was priced at the rate
of the equivalent correspondence course. It was decided that courses
offered the 2nd semester should be free (the students just paid for the
text books) in order to encourage enrollment of enough students so that the
college could gain experience with larger classes. By offering free
courses, the college received positive and free media exposure for the,
until then, esoteric concept "electronic distance education". For the
fourth semester a USD 25 (NOK 150) communication fee per course was
introduced. Finally, the fifth semester the communication fee was converted
to a USD 150 (NOK 1,000) semester fee. The college stated that the communi-
cation fee and the semester fee should cover the use of EKKO and all data
communication costs except local telephone charges.
     The course fee has varied from course to course, increasing at a rate
slightly higher than that of inflation. It has ranged from approx USD 300
to USD 500 per course. The course fee has covered tuition and textbooks.
Students must pay an extra USD 100 if they want to take the course examin-
ation. As an incentive to complete the courses, students receive about USD
50 refund--payable toward another course--for each course they complete.
   
   
Facilities
   
     The Work Station. The college does not require students to use any
specific brand of microcomputer, modem, or communication program. The only
requirement is that they can upload and download ASCII files via EKKO.
Neither does the school provide or rent any equipment to the students.
Consequently, the schools logistical workload is greatly reduced.
     Communication Lines. From the spring 1988 semester, the following data
about the communication lines are documented:
   
          The use of EKKO was logged continuously. The use varied a lot
     from student to student. Among students who completed one or more
     courses, the number of "log-ins" varied from once a week to several
     times a day. The minimum number [of "log-ins" during the semester] was
     11, the average was about 80 and the maximum number was 350. . . .
          We had two Public Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) lines for 300 bit
     pr sec modems and two autodetect PTT lines for 1200 and 2400 bit pr
     sec modems. We also had six Public Data Network (PDN) channels. These
     lines were available, not only for our distance students, but also for
     other users. . . .
          The communication lines were used at almost any hour of the day.
     The peak frequency occurred during the afternoon and evening and the
     frequency dropped to a minimum at night.
          Our four PTT lines and six PDN channels seem to have had the
     capacity to handle all our users during our experiments carried out so
     far.
          We paid for the students' use of the PDN. In the 1988, the fixed
     PDN costs were $293 and our variable cost for each of the 57 courses
     were $22 on an average. (Paulsen and Rekkedal 1990a, 72-75)
   
     User Support. The Electronic College had few resources to spend on
user support. As a result, marketing and user support focused primarily on
students who could master the communication system with minimal help from
the college. The limited user support available was geared toward produc-
tion and distribution of user manuals and communication software. In
addition, students could request help over the telephone during work-hours
and they could post questions in EKKO.
   
   
Organizing EKKO
   
     EKKO serves about 3,000 users and many different user groups including
on-campus students, prospective students, present students, former stu-
dents, teachers, and administrative staff. Table 2 gives a schematic
overview of how EKKO is organized to serve these user groups and their
different needs.
     Prospective students seek information about the college, the curricu-
lum, the conferencing system, etc. They need access to sufficient informa-
tion to decide whether to apply for a course. If they decide to apply, they
should be able to both apply and register on-line. To reduce the labor-
intensive counselling of prospective students, the college has given them
necessary access-privileges to search for information themselves. They have
access to the Curriculum board, the User Manual board, and the Published
Articles board. Everyone in Norway has free access to EKKO. The college
continuously announces how to access EKKO, so prospective students and
"hackers" can get acquainted with the system. Providing this access might
be the program's most valuable marketing activity.
     Present students need tutoring, administrative information, and social
recreation. It is necessary to organize a suitable infra-structure for
these purposes. The College has established course conferences and course
boards for tutoring, a Cafe conference for social activities, a Presenta-
tion board where students can introduce themselves, and Administrative and
Exam boards for administrative and examination announcements.
     Some former students may want to know when new courses are offered,
others want to stay in touch with old peers. The college has given them
access-privileges to stay on-line without any charges, hoping that con-
tinued access may develop an important alumni network.
     Each teacher has a course board for distribution of information to the
class. Each one also moderates a course conference. All teachers can access
any course board or conference to pick up pedagogical ideas and approaches.
The Faculty Club is set up for discussion of administrative and pedagogical
issues.
     The staff is responsible for distributing administrative information.
EKKO provides a Curriculum board, which is a "carbon copy" of the printed
program handbook. The User Manual board is an on-line version of the paper
back manual. Published articles and papers, describing distance education
projects, are issued on the Published Articles board. The Administrative
board holds information about registration fees, application deadlines,
etc. Selected examples of former examinations are presented on the Exam
board.
     Students may order a course via e-mail, phone, or land mail. The
program secretary informs the System Operator and the teachers via the
Admission Office board whenever students enroll in courses. Then the System
Operator grants the students the appropriate access privileges and the
teachers welcome them as students.
   
Table 2. Some important user groups and their access privileges to EKKO
conferences and bulletin boards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conferences/        Prosp.    Present   Former    Teach-    Staff
bulletin boards     students  students  students  ers
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curriculum board    RO        RO        RO        RO        RW
User Manual board   RO        RO        RO        RO        RW
Published Articles  RO        RO        RO        RO        RW
Admission Office    N         N         N         RO        RW
Faculty Club        N         N         N         RW        RW
Admin. board        RO        RO        RO        RO        RW
Exam board          N         RO        N         RO        RW
Course boards       N         RO        N         RW        RO
Course conferences  N         RW        N         RW        RW
Cafe conference     N         RW        RW        RW        RW
Presentation board  N         RW        N         RW        RW
   
N = No access, RO = Read Only access, RW= Read and Write access
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Teaching
   
     EKKO courses are based on the textbooks and curricula developed for
the corresponding face-to-face courses. In addition, all courses include a
study guide originally developed for the correspondence courses. The
developers of the study guides have, however, become more and more aware of
the fact that these guides also are used by the EKKO students. Most courses
are based on six compulsory assignments. On occasion, EKKO teachers have
substituted alternative assignments in order to experiment with other
pedagogical techniques. The students can send their work as e-mail to the
teacher, or as notes to the class conference.
     To create group cohesiveness and to support student collaboration, it
is necessary that the students within each course experience a fairly
synchronous progression. The college therefore applies fixed dates for both
the beginning of a course and for the final examination each semester. This
policy is in contrast to that for correspondence courses, in which students
may enroll at any time.
     Since the courses are based on correspondence courses which have been
adapted to the new medium, they may be criticized for being electronic
correspondence courses. The following examples should refute these allega-
tions.
     Projects. The Project Assignment Course was taught by this author
during Spring Semester 1991. The course-work involved collecting informa-
tion, both by conducting interviews and through a literature search. An
important goal was to familiarize students with project management and
cooperation. A second main objective was to teach students how to produce a
written report of the project results. The students were encouraged to find
a project related both to knowledge obtained through the Information
Processing Program and to their jobs. They were asked to form project
groups of from one to three students.
     Each student received two textbooks through land mail. In addition to
the textbooks, the students received a fifteen-page study-guide that was
developed for both correspondence students and EKKO students. The guide
included extra guidance for distance students, course requirements, and
assignments. Since the study-guide was finished a few days after the course
started, it was distributed via EKKO.
     Twelve students, ten men and two women, enrolled in the course which
for most of them, was the 10th and final course in the program. By this
time they had all become advanced computer conferencing users, with no need
for user support. Most of them had enrolled in more than one course in the
Spring Semester 1991.
     The course started the first week of February 1991; the final project
report was due May 10th. During this period the students had to complete
four assignments. The first assignment covered the theory from the text-
books. Each student had to turn in a short essay via e-mail. Additionally,
students were asked to present project ideas in the class conference. For
the second assignment the students had to form a project group and then
present their project task, milestone plan, and responsibility chart. The
third assignment asked each group to write a progress report from its
project, and the fourth assignment asked for the final project report.
     The teacher's job was to comment on the assignments and to help the
students whenever they had questions about their projects and the project
management tools. Most of this feedback was routed via e-mail to each
specific group, but information of general interest was posted on the class
bulletin board, or in the class conference.
     Role Play. In the fall of 1988, Monica Johannesen taught "Information
Systems I" via EKKO. In a class conference she presented a case that
described a company planing to invest in a new computer-based office
automation system. The students were assigned roles as user, accounting
officer, project manager, labor union representative, etc. Over a period of
about fourteen days the students were to elucidate the different facets of
the case by enacting the different roles.
     Peer Critique. In "Management Information", this author practised a
technique by which the students presented the results of their individual
assignments in a small group conference. The students' peers were then
asked to critique the work.
     Multiple Choice Database. Henny Lindland used the EKKO online multiple
choice database described by Quale (1990) as part of "Introduction to
Computer Science", for the first time in the fall of 1989. The students
could first download a number of multiple choice questions, then figure out
and later upload the answers for scoring by the database.
     Programming. Beginning in the fall of 1988, Ragnar Boersum taught
programming courses for several semesters. In the Pascal course, students
used Turbo Pascal to develop programs on their home microcomputers. The
program source code was posted to the instructor, or shared with the other
students in the conferencing system. In this way the teacher and the
students could download the programs, modify them if they so chose, and
then execute them on their local computers. The Cobol course allowed
student access to the host computer's Cobol compiler. Although this method
was inconvenient, it was workable. The important lesson was, however, that
distant students can access host computer applications such as compilers,
database systems, statistics software, etc.
   
   
Grades
   
     Grades are exclusively based on the results of the final four-hour
essay examinations. EKKO-students, correspondence students, and on-campus
students are given the same tests at the same time at several sites around
the country. The results show that EKKO students achieve better grades than
either correspondence students or on-campus students. On a scale from 1.0
(best grade) through 4.0 (lowest pass grade) to 6.0 (lowest fail grade),
table 3 presents the total average grades from Fall Semester 1989 to Spring
Semester 1991.
   
Table 3. Total average examination grades
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Student group    Mean grade    N        Semesters
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EKKO                2.57      288  fall 89 to spring 91
Correspondence      3.05      125  fall 89 to spring 91
On-campus           2.89      889  fall 89 to fall   90
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     Three factors may explain these differences in grades. First, EKKO-
students seem to enter the courses with better general grounding than do
on-campus and correspondence students. Second, EKKO-students have more
compulsory assignments than do on-campus students. Third, the communication
form they are required to use forces EKKO-students to write more than on-
campus students must write. This necessity probably provides EKKO students
an advantage over other students since it better prepares them for the
typical four hour essay-style exam. An overview of examination results are
included in appendix 3.
   
   
Feedback From Teachers
   
     This author summed up the teaching experiences of the seminal spring
1987 semester in these three points (translated from Paulsen 1989b, 17):
   
     1. My main impression is that we did not manage to utilize the
     opportunities to create a class cohesiveness. I believe this is
     because there were too few students in the class [four students] and
     because the students did not have a synchronous course progression.
   
     2. The teaching was mainly an electronic version of a traditional
     correspondence course. The response time was shorter than what is
     usual in correspondence courses, which I perceived as an advantage. I
     had, though, to experiment to find an effective way to comment on the
     students' assignments.
   
     3. The students had obvious problems in learning how to use a modem.
     As a teacher, I would like to have a support service that could help
     the students solve these problems.
   
     By the spring, 1988 semester, there were more students in the classes,
the course progress was synchronized, and the student support had improved.
Lars Eskeland and Rolf Ingebrigtsen wrote extensive reports about their
teaching experiences. Their reports, which are available in Norwegian
(Paulsen, 1989b, 118-139), showed that:
   
     It had been an interesting and work intensive teaching method. Their
     work could have been more efficient had EKKO been better adapted to
     the teacher's needs. The teaching will be less work intensive the next
     time the courses are offered because many of the text files can be
     used again. (Paulsen 1989b, 45)
   
     In the fall, 1988 semester, all the material from the previous
semester was made available for new teachers in order to reduce their
workload. Some changes in the EKKO software were also implemented to make
the teachers' work more efficient. Roy Lindland, Ragnar Boersum, and Monica
Johannesen were interviewed about their teaching experiences during the
fall 1988 semester (Paulsen 1989b, 48-50). In summary:
   
     They were pleased with the opportunity to work when it was convenient,
     and disturbed by the fact that it was hard to initiate communication
     in class. They stated that the instructor's workload was large, but
     that it would decrease when the courses were repeated. Pedagogical
     techniques that stimulate dialogue between the students are needed.
     The teachers believed that courses that rely heavily on graphical
     representations are not suited for this kind of teaching. (translated
     from Paulsen 1989b, 52-53)
   
     The problems associated with sending and receiving graphic files in
EKKO were handled by quasi keyboard-graphics, fax, or land mail. Later, an
updated version of EKKO was developed to handle uploading and downloading
of graphics and other binary files.
     Ragnar Boersum (1990) described his teaching experiences in the Pascal
and Cobol courses in 1988 and 89:
   
          I logged on to EKKO twice a day as long as I was in the vicinity
     of my PC. I received the information in a file and logged off the
     system. Then, I wrote my comments, logged on again, and dispatched my
     comment files.
          The students' notes and my corresponding comments were filed in
     the students' directories. I established one directory for each
     student. The comments were identified with references to the assign-
     ment number and question number. I believe it is important that the
     comments are written in a "friendly way". Emotions are hard to express
     in this medium, and they are easily misunderstood. One should have
     this in mind when one reads student contributions.
          The workload is heavy when one teaches such a course for the
     first time. One needs a lot of notes and files compiled in a system.
     (translated from Boersum 1990, 108)
   
     Henny Lindland, who taught "Introduction to Computer Science",
reported that:
   
     -    The course "Introduction to Computer Science" is suitable for
          electronic distance education;
     -    Effective use of EKKO can to a large degree simulate a classroom;
     -    EKKO-base is a valuable tool. (translated from Lindland 1990,
          124)
   
     Ragnar Boersum, Einar Gaarder, Steinar Heggelund, and Henny Lindland
responded to a thirteen item questionnaire about teacher experiences during
the fall 1988 semester (Paulsen and Rekkedal 1990b, 89-103). Their comments
include details about the specific courses, how the courses were taught,
and how they could be improved. All four agreed that the workload was
heavy.
   
   
Feedback From Students
   
     There was no organized survey of the four students' opinions in the
fall 1987 semester. The following student statement is, however, docu-
mented:
   
          Generally, I evaluate the scheme very favourably. It is right on
     target to offer a system pairing correspondence courses and evening
     classes. One may compare it with "combined courses", a combination of
     correspondence courses and lectures, which I have favourable experi-
     ences with from high-school courses. In my opinion, it is wonderful
     not to have to attend five-hour lectures twice a week after work.
     (translated from Paulsen 1989b, 17)
   
     In the spring 1988 semester, questionnaires were distributed to forty
students. Twenty-eight were completed and returned. The results were
summarized as follows:
   
          In most cases, the students gave a positive overall assessment of
     this form of distance education. None of the students who expressed
     views was dissatisfied with the course. On a scale from 5 = very good
     to 1 = very poor, their average estimate of the courses was 3.9, 4.3
     and 3.9.
          The two main reasons for being interested in the course were the
     subject matter and the communication medium. Our distance students had
     a relatively good grounding in the use of computers and computer
     science prior to taking the EKKO courses. Most of them, but not all,
     already had experience of word processing and/or a PC/micro-computer.
     However, there were remarkably few who had experience with modems
     and/or conferencing systems before starting the course. The 1200
     bit/sec users were mostly satisfied with the transmission speed, but
     the 300 bit/sec users were not. In general, students were satisfied
     with the lines of communication. The PTT users were little disturbed
     by noise, but the problems increased with speed. The PDN users claimed
     to be more disturbed by noise on the lines.
          Most of our distance students live in the Oslo area; other parts
     of the country were also represented. Our distance education courses
     have attracted students with a good educational background and a wide
     variety of vocations. A great majority of the students are married or
     co-habit, and have children. There were though significantly more men
     than women among the students.
          The text books and assignments for submission were developed for
     traditional correspondence courses. The students, by a large majority,
     felt that this had not hindered them in their learning. It is there-
     fore possible to offer instruction without materials specially
     developed for courses of this kind.
          The students reported that the tutors' individual responses to
     their assignments, and the chance to communicate with the tutor via E-
     mail, was very important to them. They were satisfied with the tutors'
     response time.
          The instruction was planned with fixed deadlines for submission
     of assignments, in order to create a coordinated progression through
     the courses. This was a positive aspect for both students and teac-
     hers. However, everyone not completing claimed that lack of time was
     the main reason. The deadlines for submission of assignments should
     not have appeared as frequent as every second week. The main reasons
     for not entering for the exam were lack of time or lack of interest in
     formal accreditation. (Paulsen 1990, 239)
   
     One student's evaluation of the Pascal course is documented from the
fall 1988 semester. At the end of the report, the student states: "The
electronic distance education developed to become a sort of electronic
correspondence teaching." (translated from Paulsen 1989b, 48)
     On the basis of a comprehensive telephone interview with 20 EKKO
students, 26 correspondence students, and 20 prospective EKKO students,
Rekkedal (1990) concludes:
   
          Experiences from the Spring term 1989, previous experiences (and
     new data obtained in the Fall term 1989) have shown that distance
     education through the EKKO computer conferencing system has functioned
     quite well.
          The NKI Information Processing Programs can now be studied in 4
     different ways: full-time and part-time on campus, correspondence
     studies and electronic distance studies. These alternatives seem to
     reach different target groups, thus giving study opportunities for
     prospective students with different needs.
          Correspondence studies and electronic distance studies seem today
     to attract different student groups, who deliberately choose their
     preferred method.
          There is a need for better information to prospective students,
     on what electronic study involves of technological problems and costs.
          Lack of modems and familiarity with the technology involved is
     still a major barrier for recruitment to electronic distance studies.
     There is a need for making the communication commands and procedures
     easier for novice users.
          We see a great need for developing theoretical frameworks and
     methodological experiments to find teaching methods and learning
     techniques suitable for different subjects, types of objectives,
     content and evaluation procedures.
          Research is needed to find teaching methods which stimulate
     meaningful course-related and social communication. In this work it is
     important to develop teaching behaviours stimulating active student
     contribution. Since teaching through computer-mediated communication
     seems to be extremely demanding and time-consuming, we also need to
     develop procedures which lead to cost-efficient teaching. (Rekkedal
     1990, 103)
   
     The responses from twelve students from the fall 1989 semester were
analyzed and documented (Paulsen and Rekkedal 1990b, 52-54). Following is
the final paragraph of the report that was returned to the students:
   
          I am pleased to notice that most of the comments I received
     relate to teaching and learning. Very few comments report technical
     problems, even though we know that they still exist. I consider this
     to show that we in the future can concentrate on the important issues,
     namely to concentrate on quality education. (translated from Paulsen
     and Rekkedal 1990b, 54)
   
     An e-mail interview with graduated students was conducted in 1991.
Unfortunately, just five students responded. They were asked the following
question: What is your opinion of the NKI Electronic College, now that you
have finished all ten courses? The complete set of answers are included in
appendix 4. The answers showed that the respondents were very positive
about the freedom provided by the Electronic College and about the program
contents. They also point out that teacher activity is of crucial import-
ance to students' perception of a course. This is indicated by these two
comments:
   
          Some of the teachers should have been more active in trying to
     "drag the students into the conference". What I think is a problem . .
     . is that there are some teachers who are taking this job as a
     "secondary job" and consider it as a secondary job. They are not
     interested in answering questions in the conference, just in giving us
     exercises and in correcting our written work. It sometimes made me
     quite frustrated, when I put a question into the conference and I
     didn't get the answer until the date for delivering my exercise was
     there. (Appendix 4)
   
          In my opinion, the teachers are the most important parts of the
     program. They should always be very active and sensitive to questions
     posted by students. With regard to this, the differences between the
     various courses has been considerable. A teacher who continually
     monitors the activity and who responds promptly is a prerequisite for
     an effective program with motivated students. Some teachers have been
     terrific, others rather slack. (Appendix 4)
   
   
Administrative Feedback
   
     A brief summary of the impressions of the program secretary, Bitten
Tollan, indicated that:
   
          EKKO is a very efficient communication medium. Information and
     orders can be executed much faster than via ordinary mail. As long as
     EKKO-students not are registered in the existing computer systems
     developed for our correspondence students, it is work intensive to do
     the administrative work. Much time and work can be saved when the EKKO
     students can be registered automatically. (translated from Paulsen
     1989b, 53)
   
     Since then, much work has been done to make the administrative work
more efficient. However, there is room for improvement of both manual and
automatic routines. A discussion of possible future administrative applica-
tions within EKKO is presented in Paulsen (1990b, 110-112). An edited
excerpt of the discussion is reprinted in appendix 5.
   
   
Conclusion
   
     The NKI Electronic College has proved its value through five years of
operation, eight-hundred sold courses, and, to date, twenty graduated
students. These students have completed a ten course program--equivalent to
one year's full-time study--via computer conferencing. Further, the
students have obtained better grades than either correspondence students or
on-campus students. The student surveys show that the students have a
positive perception of the curriculum and the Electronic College. Student
feedback also indicates that teacher activity is of crucial importance to
students' perception of a course. The teachers are generally positive about
the Electronic College and its opportunities; their main reservation is in
regard to the heavy teacher workload introduced by the medium. This
perception highlights the importance of continued efforts to identify and
refine efficient pedagogical techniques for the future Electronic College.
   
   
References
   
Boersum, R. 1990. Om elektronisk fjernundervisning: En laerers erfaring. In
Paulsen, M. F. and M. Soeby, eds. 1990. Datakonferanser og Fjernundervis-
ning: Rapport fra FjernFUNN's og SEFU's Kompetanseutviklingsprosjekt,
104-109. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Lindland, H. 1990. Erfaringer som laerer paa konferansesystemet EKKO. In
Paulsen, M. F. and M. Soeby, eds. 1990. Datakonferanser og Fjernundervis-
ning: Rapport fra FjernFUNN's og SEFU's Kompetanseutviklingsprosjekt,
110-124. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
NKI 1991. NKI Datahoegskolen: Kurs og Studiekatalog 1991/92.
   
Paulsen, M. F. 1989a. En Virtuell Skole. Del I. Fundamentet i EKKO-prosjek-
tet. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Paulsen, M. F. 1989b. En Virtuell Skole. Del II. Erfaringer fra EKKO-
prosjektet. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Paulsen, M. F. 1990. EKKO: Experiences. In A. W. Bates ed., Media and
Technology in European Distance Education, 235-239. Milton Keynes: EADTU.
   
Paulsen, M. F. 1990b. Organizing an electronic college. In Paulsen and
Rekkedal, The Electronic College: Selected Articles from the EKKO Project,
107-113. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Paulsen, M. F. and T. Rekkedal. 1990a. The Electronic College: Selected
Articles from the EKKO Project. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Paulsen, M. F. and T. Rekkedal. 1990b. Den Elektroniske Hoegskolen: EKKO
prosjektet, Del III. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Rekkedal, T. 1990. Recruitment and study barriers in the Electronic
College. In Paulsen and Rekkedal, The Electronic College: Selected Articles
from the EKKO Project, 79-105. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
Quale, A. 1990. EKKO-base: An online multiuser selfstudy database. In
Paulsen and Rekkedal, The Electronic College: Selected Articles from the
EKKO Project, 115-123. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
   
   
                    APPENDIX AVAILABLE IN SEPARATE FILE BELOW
   
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   ===============================================================================
   
Appendix to DEOSNEWS Vol. 2  No. 9. This document has about 500 lines.
Copyright 1992 DEOS - The Distance Education Online Symposium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
                        THE NKI ELECTRONIC COLLEGE:
         FIVE YEARS OF COMPUTER CONFERENCING IN DISTANCE EDUCATION
   
                           Morten Flate Paulsen
                           MFP101@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
   
   
Contents
   
Abstract of Article
Appendix 1. The Courses Offered at the NKI Electronic College
Appendix 2. The EKKO Conferencing System
Appendix 3. Examination Results Fall 89 - Spring 91
Appendix 4. Graduated Students' Opinions
Appendix 5. Applications Not Included in EKKO
   
   
Abstract of Article
   
     The NKI Electronic College has proved its value through five years of
operation, eight-hundred sold courses, and, to date, twenty graduated
students. These students have completed a ten course program--equivalent to
one year's full-time study--via computer conferencing. Further, the
students have obtained better grades than either correspondence students or
on-campus students. The student surveys show that the students have a
positive perception of the curriculum and the Electronic College. Student
feedback also indicates that teacher activity is of crucial importance to
students' perception of a course. The teachers are generally positive about
the Electronic College and its opportunities; their main reservation is in
regard to the heavy teacher workload introduced by the medium. The article
presents results from surveys of teachers, students, and administrators, as
well as information about dropouts and grades. The appendix, which is
available as a separate file, includes descriptions of the courses, of the
conferencing system EKKO, of examination results, of graduated students'
opinions, and of applications not included in EKKO.
   
   
Appendix 1. The Courses Offered at the NKI Electronic College
   
     Each course uses textbooks originally chosen for the face-to-face
courses and study guides that gradually have been developed for the
correspondence courses.
   
   
Introduction to Computer Science
   
     -    Introduction to electronic data processing (edp)
     -    Types of computers: super, mainframe, mini, micro
     -    Basic construction: CPU, storage, I/O, terminals
     -    Software: operating systems, programming languages, application
          programs
     -    Practical training in using a minicomputer
     -    Microcomputer architecture and operation
     -    Possibilities and limitations of microcomputers
     -    Practical training in using microcomputers (MS-DOS)
   
     Features of special interest: Access to an online, multiple choice,
database on the host computer.
   
   
Programming I: An introduction to structured programming in Pascal
   
     -    Console input/output of data, screen dialogue
     -    Variables and data types
     -    Computation
     -    Control statements: branching and iteration
     -    Procedures: with and without parameters
     -    Data structures: arrays, strings, records
   
     Features of special interest: Students and teachers can send and share
Turbo Pascal source code via EKKO. The programs can be edited and executed
on local microcomputers.
   
   
Information Systems I
   
     The purpose of this course is to give the students an overview of
Information System Analysis and Design (ISAD) work: how it is organized,
its phases, its importance to business organization, and the necessity of
cooperation between various interested parties.
   
     -    General systems theory, information systems theory
     -    Analysis of change
     -    ISAD phases (with one method as an example)
     -    The use of models generally
     -    Modelling techniques (often called "tools") in analysis of change
          used in ISAD
   
     Features of special interest: One of the teachers has experimented
with roleplay, staging implementation of an office automation system.
   
   
Programming II: An introduction to programming in COBOL
   
     -    General COBOL syntax
     -    Numerical and character variables; pictures
     -    Console I/O of data, screen dialogue
     -    Computation
     -    Control statements: branching and iteration
     -    Sequential and index-sequential file processing
     -    Data structures: records and tables
     -    Searching through tables
     -    Subprograms
   
     Features of special interest: Both a compiler on the host computer and
local microcomputer compilers have been used.
   
   
Information Systems II
   
     This course gives the students a detailed knowledge of three different
ISAD methods, their modelling techniques (tools), and supporting CASE-
tools.
   
     -    The three ISAD methods "SASD" ("Structured methods"), "ISAC" (the
          Scandinavian activity-driven method) and "SIV" (a  systematic
          method for choosing standard software), all with phases, basic
          assumptions, and some of the historical background.
     -    Modelling techniques and standard documentation used in these
          methods, to perform and describe the analysis of activities,
          information, data, and processes/algorithms.
     -    Discussion, demonstration, and student trial of CASE-tools for
          the three methods.
   
     Features of special interest: Fax machines have been available for
trans mission of graphs and charts. Further, software applications are
distributed to the students.
   
   
Introduction to Business Administration
   
     -    Basic accounting
     -    Cost and Income Analysis
     -    Investment and Finance
     -    Planning and Budgeting
     -    Studies of edp Business Applications
     -    Use of Spreadsheets (Lotus 1-2-3, or other software packages)
   
     Features of special interest: The course requires local spreadsheet
software.
   
   
Relational Databases
   
     Having completed this course, the students should be able to explain
the principles on which the design of a RDBS is based, as well as the
demands that should reasonably be put on its functionality and performance.
The students should be able to use SQL.
   
     -    Basic definitions
     -    Database administration
     -    Logical (conceptual) and physical database design
     -    Use of the SQL query language
     -    Practical training in design and establishment of a SQL database
   
     Features of special interest: A SQL software applications is distrib-
uted to the students.
   
   
Management Information Systems
   
     -    Office Automation
     -    Data Communications
     -    Operating Systems
     -    Accounting Systems
     -    Security
   
   
Socio-technical Systems Development
   
     The aim of the course is to study the interdependence of information
systems, organization development, and personnel development.
   
   
Project Assignment
   
     The project consists of collecting information, both by doing inter-
views and by searching and reading literature. An important goal is to make
the students accustomed to project management and cooperation. A second
objective is to teach students to produce a written report of the project
results. This report is presented orally in an examination.
     Features of special interest: Students living in different parts of
Norway work in groups of two or three students. The course has been taught
by a teacher living in far U.S.A.
   
   
Appendix 2. The EKKO Conferencing System
   
EKKO is influenced by PortaCOM, EIES, CoSy, Participate and PC-based
bulletin board systems. Development, based on Morten Flate Paulsen's
specifications, started in the spring of 1986. During the summer, Bjoern
Mobaek and Lars Hornfelt programmed the first version in Pascal for a
HP-3000 minicomputer. In the fall semester 1986, EKKO was used for intra-
mural communication at the College of Computer Science. In January 1987
users outside the college were given access EKKO. Since then, the system
has continually been updated, first by Bjoern Mobaek, later by Jan Ner-
gaard. The following is a description of EKKO version 3.30 that was
released in September 1991.
     EKKO is designed to work with all kinds of microcomputers and ter-
minals, so that no prospective students should be excluded due to lack of
compatible hardware. It is also designed to reduce communication costs.
     EKKO consists of these five main modules: user directory, electronic
mail, bulletin boards, conferences, and filetransfer.
   
User Directory
   
     The directory registers information on each user (name, address,
telephone numbers, and a five-line presentation) and user group. The
information is entered by the users, so it is up to them to decide which
data to declare. All user groups are formed by the system operator (SysOp),
who is the only person allowed to add or remove a user from a group. All
users can list the usergroups and their members. SysOp can, however, close
a user group so that only members can list the group and its members. The
usergroups are useful for clustering students into classes, departments,
etc. In this way all users can identify their class, peers, etc.
   
Electronic Mail
   
     The e-mail system is made for one-to-one communication. It is a
traditional electronic mail system which enables a user to send private
messages to one or more users or usergroups. After a note is sent, it is
possible to list the users who have received the note, but have not yet
read it. When the note is no longer of interest, the sender may discard it
from the addressee's in-basket. It is not possible to store letters in the
post system after they have been read. This limitation saves storage
capacity in the host computer and reduces communication costs. It is, of
course, possible for the recipient to store a local copy on a microcom-
puter.
   
Bulletin Boards
   
     The bulletin board system in EKKO is organized for one-to-many
communication. It is meant to be a one-way information channel for informa-
tion "broadcasting". This system was made to meet the needs of faculty and
staff to pass on information to one or more classes. The bulletin boards
are set up and maintained by SysOp. Nevertheless, a user who has written a
notice on a board may delete it. SysOp can limit the number of people with
writing access to a bulletin board, and can even limit access to members
only.
   
Conferences
   
     Conferences are made to enable many-to-many communication. Sysop is
the only user who can set up conferences, which can be open or closed. All
users have read-and-write access to an open conference, whereas a closed
conference is accessible only to privileged users. In a conference, EKKO
differentiates between contributions and comments. In this context, a
contribution is an introductory statement, while a comment is always a
response to a contribution. Each contribution has a heading that is used in
information searches. All comments are organized as a chronological chain
linked to their respective contributions.
   
User Interface
   
     EKKO is menu-driven. Each user may choose the extent of menu guidance.
A new user automatically receives full menus, that show all commands. An
advanced user may choose shorter menus, or skip them completely. A complete
list of contents, showing new information, is displayed each time a user
starts EKKO. The list shows, however, only information from bulletin boards
and conferences in which the user is a member. All new information can be
obtained with the help of a single news command.
   
File Transfer
   
     The file transfer module, which allows transfer of binary files, is
used to transfer non-text files. It can facilitate distribution of source
codes in Pascal and Cobol courses, spread-sheet data in business adminis-
tration courses, graphs and graphics in system analysis courses, etc.
   
   
Appendix 3. Examination Results Fall 89 - Spring 91
   
Most of the exams were prepared by teachers who taught the face-to-face
students. The grades are presented as averages, because averages are
automatically computed by the administrative software. On a scale from 1.0
(best grade) through 4.0 (lowest pass grade) to 6.0 (lowest fail grade),
the students achieved the following grades:
   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Average grades      Number of students  Number of students who failed
     F89  S90  F90  S91  F89  S90  F90  S91  F89  S90  F90  S91
   
EKKO students
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1    2.58 3.17 3.10 2.40 18   3    10   5    0    0    2    0
2    2.66 2.50 3.00 2.75 22   3    13   4    1    0    2    0
3    2.38 2.47 2.70 1.33 12   16   10   6    1    1    1    0
4         2.50 2.65 2.45      18   10   11        0    0    0
5    2.00 2.60 2.44 2.00 4    10   9    7    0    0    0    0
6    2.50 2.75 2.64 3.25 2    2    14   2    0    0    0    1
7    2.00 2.93 2.83 2.70 3    14   12   5    0    3    0    0
8         2.60 2.00 2.43      5    3    14        0    0    0
9         2.75 2.60 2.38      4    5    12        0    0    0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All  2.50 2.64 2.75 2.34 61   75   86   66   2    4    5    1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
correspondence students
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1    3.80 3.69 2.96 3.30 5    13   14   10   1    1    1    2
2    2.70 3.27 3.25 2.54 5    11   8    13   0    2    1    0
3    2.25 3.17 3.45 3.05 6    3    10   10   0    1    3    2
4              2.50                2                   0
5         3.50 1.75 3.50      2    2    1         0    0    0
6    2.50 2.50 3.00 2.17 4    2    1    3    0    0    0    0
7
8
9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All  2.80 3.40 3.07 2.88 20   31   37   37   1    4    5    4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
on-campus students
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1    2.69 4.53 2.69      61   3    56        6    2    4
2    2.95 2.50 2.72      55   2    39        6    0    1
3    3.48 3.86 3.35      54   8    58        18   3    12
4         2.61                71                  5
5         3.43                60                  17
6    2.74 2.75 3.04      68   2    54        6    0    11
7    2.59 2.94 3.05      73   20   32        3    0    7
8         2.63                85                  1
9         2.69 2.68           71   17             2    1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All  2.86 2.86 2.96      311  322  256       39   30   36
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
1 = Intro. to Computer Science     6 = Intro. to Business Administration
2 = Information Systems I          7 = Relational Databases
3 = Pascal Programming             8 = Management Information Systems
4 = Information Systems II         9 = Socio-Technical Systems Development
5 = COBOL Programming
   
   
Appendix 4. Graduated Students' Opinions
   
Question: What is your opinion of the NKI Electronic College, now that you
have graduated?
   
Solfrid Groendahl: I feel this is a difficult question for me to answer,
though I have been a student at this College for nearly 2 1/2 years. First
of all I want to say that I am grateful for the possibility this College
has given me to take higher education without having to leave my house.
     I also feel that the different courses and text-books (all printed ma-
terial) are of rather high quality, and most of it is written in a language
that makes it quite easy to understand. This is important, because, being a
student at this Electronic College, is a rather lonely way of studying. Of
course you have the possibility of asking the teacher, "putting" your
questions into the conference (??), but this will cover only small parts of
the curriculum. Most of it, you'll have to read, study and understand by
yourself.
     To get through, you need a great portion of self-discipline, because
the studies takes the most of your spare-time. There is not much time left
for your family and other social activities. It is of course easier being a
student at an ordinary school, because then a great deal of the curriculum
is being explained to you, but I think you learn and remember better when
you have to study everything by yourself.
     Some teachers have given me a lot of supplementary documents on the
subject, and these have been of great help to me.
     The fixed dates for delivering your written works, is of great help,
because it forces you to work "all the time". The conferences created for
those taking the same subject is a good idea, even if I feel they haven't
had the mission they where thought to have. Some of the teachers should
have been more active in trying to "drag the students into the conference".
What I think is a problem for NKI is that there are some teachers who are
taking this job as a "secondary job" and consider it as a secondary job.
They are not interested in answering questions in the conference, just in
giving us exercises and in correcting our written work. It sometimes made
me quite frustrated, when I put a question into the conference and I didn't
get the answer until the date for delivering my exercise was there.
     Because I have been a rather active student, I have got a lot of new
friends all over the country. I like this way of studying, first of all
because i don't need to leave my house. What I feel is good, is of course
the possibility of getting University studies in my own house. You have,
however, to do most of the studies by your own, so it's a hard way...
(Originally written in English)
   
Finn Kylland: I have a very positive impression of an electronic college.
With modern datacommunication technology, it is much easier to transfer
information than people. An electronic college can offer students a
combination of flexibility, freedom, and efficient teaching, unattainable
in traditional schools. With this in mind, Norway should offer electronic
college programs at least as widely as traditional college/university
programs. (Translated from Norwegian)
   
Ole Salomonsen: Using EKKO, I was able to study while I lived 500 kilo-
metres away from the nearest college. EKKO has substantial advantages com
pared to information exchange via mail--especially the swift feedback on
the assignments.
     Technically, EKKO has worked nearly perfectly for me. I had some
problems adapting my communication software, but it worked well after a
while. I have used Procomm Plus/Galink/Telix for communication.
     Taking part in education as a distance/part-time student has suited me
perfectly. I could not pursue continuing education without moving, for
instance to Oslo, with all the problems that would entail for my family.
Neither would I be able to keep up with the technological development at my
work place. (Translated from Norwegian)
   
Eva Reppen: I think NKI's electronic Information Processing Program offers
an excellent way of studying. I live in a rural area and I worked full time
while I was studying. I had no other opportunity than this program for
continuing education in information processing.
     Electronic programs are obviously the solution of today. First, it
doesn't matter where you live. Second, the communication between the school
and the student can be swift. Finally, you experience a cohesiveness with
other students so that you don't feel as if you are studying alone.
     Personally, I appreciated rigid dead-lines. In that way I had to work
hard, even though it has often been tough to hang on. In my opinion, the
teachers are the most important parts of the program. They should always be
very active and sensitive to questions posted by students. In this regard,
the differences between the various courses has been considerable. A
teacher who continually monitors the activity and who responds promptly is
a prerequisite for an effective program with motivated students. Some
teachers have been terrific, others rather slack.
     I have here expressed both praise and scorn. Thank you for having me,
and I wish you good luck with future electronic distance education. It is
possible that I will register for more courses if I find something of
interest. Since I have tried electronic distance education, I am unlikely
to ever again register for a correspondence program; I have become too
selective. There is a tremendous difference between these two modes. I
recommend the program to others and I have already found you another
student from my county. Maybe I can find some more in the future. (Trans-
lated from Norwegian)
   
Stein Korten: As a student at the NKI Electronic College, I am not required
to attend lectures two or three days a week. With a demanding job and two
small children at home, I have obviously little spare time. So, the NKI
Electronic College suits me perfectly. I can study when it is convenient
without being dependent on teachers and co-students. I am also very pleased
with the curriculum. A broad range of topics is included. One may start to
cover the basic concepts and then progress as one prefers. The only thing I
miss is the opportunity to choose certain subjects for in-depth study.
(Translated to English from a statement given in an NKI brochure)
   
   
Appendix 5. Applications Not Included in EKKO
   
There are still several applications which we can not handle in our present
conferencing system. These tasks depend more or less on other application
software systems. It is a future challenge to integrate these applications
with the computer conferencing system. The most obvious applications are in
accounting, the grading system, administration of textbooks and other
course material, and software tools for students.
     Accounting. Our students pay course fees for each of the courses they
attend. The course fee covers tuition and textbooks. In addition they pay a
term fee independent of the number of courses they attend each term. The
term fee covers the communication costs and the use of EKKO. Students who
want to take an examination pay an optional extra exam fee. These fees are
handled in our traditional accounting system.
     Our accounting system is tailor-made for on-campus students and
correspondence course students. The lack of integration of the accounting
applications and EKKO is a problem because of the doubled work-load and the
loss of control over student payments. Further more, our EKKO-staff is not
allowed to access the accounting system and the accounting personnel resist
using EKKO.
     Grading-application System. Students are offered the opportunity to
take an examination on a voluntary basis. Most examinations are four-hour
written tests. The examination can be taken either at the College of
Computer Science in Oslo or in the students home town, provided an approved
supervisor can be engaged.
     Students may download the examination registration form from EKKO. The
registration, however, has to be signed by the student and his local
supervisor and land mailed to the examination secretary.
     The grades are recorded in our tailor-made grading application system.
Neither students nor teachers have access to this system. Our staff has no
easy way of extracting grades, statistics, etc. to present information in
EKKO. Once each term, we mail each student a transcript of accumulated
grades. However, impatient students may phone our examination secretary if
they want to know the results of recent examinations.
     Software Tools for Students. Our students need an assortment of
software tools, some of which should be multi-user programs located at the
host computer. Others should be used as personal software, distributed to
the students.
     We have developed a multi-user multiple choice application for on-line
use. This program is not integrated with the conference system, but it is
accessible as a utility program on the same host computer.
     The personal software includes some shareware programs that are
distributed on diskettes, along with the text-books. We realize that a more
sophisticated solution would be to establish a software library in the
conferencing system from which students could download useful software.
     Logistic System. A course application should result in the delivery of
text-books and other course-material. There is, however, no integration of
EKKO and the logistic system. In fact, the course secretary has a double
work-load to catch up with both systems.
     Since the students have no online access to the logistic system, they
cannot check if the books are in stock, when they will arrive, etc.
     The stock workers resist using EKKO, so inquiries about misplaced or
insufficient course material are routed through the course secretary.
   
---------------- End of Appendix to DEOSNEWS Vol. 2  No. 9 ---------------
   

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