Online Learning: Anytime, Anywhere
Most of our students are already busy professionals; our program is designed for them. Busy professionals face time and location constraints. In order to better support these working professionals, we are making our software engineering masters degree programs, and all of the courses in these programs, available via online learning, thus accomodating the needs of professionals to learn at varying times and at varying locations.
Online Learning Approach
We use Asynchronous Learning Nets (ALNs; c.f. http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/jaln_main ). This is an established technique used at another of other reputable univesities for undergrduate and graduate education. The "nets" in ALNs are networks of learners, not networks of computers. We use computer networks (especially the Internet) to support our networks of learners. This approach is student-centered, rather than faculty-centered.
With ALNs you receive instructions (via the web or via email), you do some study independently, and then you verify, refine, practice, and extend the material you have studied by interacting (via email and the web) with other students in the course. These interactions are frequent, substantial, and asynchronous (but within time windows). You are in touch with the professor and the other students via email and web postings. You provide and receive help via these media. For some courses, other media may be used as well.
In the real world, software developers frequently do a lot of work on their own, and also interact with others frequently and substantially, so ALN's seem to be a good fit for software engineering education. The fact that most of our interactions are asynchronous enables you to work at times that are convenient for you.
Is online learning for me?
Online learning requires some degree of self-starting initiative. You must be able to get started and study on your own. You must also be ready, willing, and able to interact with others to complete assignments and to offer and receive help. These skills are needed by most modern software engineers anyway, but if you don't want to do these things, then online learning is probably not for you.What tools and capabilities do I need in order to take software engineering courses (via DL or with traditional classroom instruction)?
As with all students in our software engineering courses (both online learners and students who attend traditional classes), you will need both internet capabilities and tools, and software development capabilities and tools.
internet tools and capabilities
- You will need a suitable computer. The University's Computer Recommendations are appropriate for Windows and OS X. If you use the Linux operating system in some courses, the recommendations for Windows computers will also be suitable for Linux.
- You must have an internet connection that you can use for this course. This connection must enable you to browse the web and transfer files (via the File Transfer Protocol, FTP) as well as sending and receiving email. We can suggest low cost or no cost FTP software available via download over the web. An email only account is not adequate for this program.
- You must be comfortable using the internet.
software tools and capabilities
- You must be comfortable installing software on your computer system, and learning to use at least its basic functions from the software vendor's instructions and from additional instructions that we will make available to you. We will make recommendations regarding the minimal acceptable computer.
- You must already be able to do multi-module programming in a modern high order language at a level equivalent to two three semester hour courses in that language.
- You must have access to a computer system capable of running an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for this program. We will inform you how to obtain an acceptable IDE, usually at a reduced academic price.