By Mary Janzen
Two new tools added to Penn State's Course Management System, ANGEL, facilitate the sharing of course materials among instructors: resource libraries and master courses.
A resource library is used to share individual "Lessons" items, such as files and quizzes, with other instructors. A master course is a complete ANGEL course developed by one instructor which can then be shared with fellow instructors teaching other sections of the same course. These new ANGEL tools have the benefits of both preventing duplication of effort and helping achieve course consistency when multiple sections of the same course are taught by different instructors.
Both a resource library and a master course are a special form of course an instructor must request from the ANGEL Help Desk. Each request must specify which users with "editor" (i.e., instructor) rights will be permitted access. This could be as broad as editors of any Penn State course or as narrow as the editor in a specific section of a specific course. A Help Desk staff person will then provide a one-on-one consultation with the instructor to ensure the resource library or master course requested will best meet his or her needs.
A resource library provides two options to course editors with access rights. They can choose whether to import a copy of a "Lessons" item from the resource library to the "Lessons" tab of their own course or to link from their course back to the original item in the resource library. If the linking option is chosen, then each time the original item in the resource library is edited, the updates will be reflected in the course that links to it.
A master course is a special course an instructor can use to create an entire course template, complete with content, and it includes all ANGEL course tabs (Syllabus, Calendar, Lessons, Class, In Touch, Tools). Once the master course has been created, course editors with access rights can import it in its entirety into their empty ANGEL course using the "Import Wizard" on the "Tools" tab.
According to Brett Bixler, lead instructional designer within Information Technology Services (ITS), the addition of these two new ANGEL features falls in line with an increasing willingness among university educators nationwide to share course content. "Five years ago," he said, "people kept really tight control of their intellectual property, but that's changing." He cited a recent ITS survey which asked faculty whether they would be willing to share their course material; 82 percent responded favorably. "Five years ago that would have been maybe 15 percent. That's really changed," said Bixler. "It's a question of leveraging our resources. You know, I'm an instructor with self-developed content and you're an instructor with self-developed content. You've got some really great things. And I've done some really great things. Why don't we share it? Time's too precious. I think that's what a lot of people are realizing."
For details on ANGEL resource libraries and master courses and to access the online application form for each, visit the following Web pages:
Master Courses:
http://cmshelp.psu.edu/MasterCourse.htm