University of Phoenix MBA Students Put WebDemo through the Paces, Give Online Collaboration Tool Top Marks

The Situation:

The University of Phoenix (UOP) offers degree and certificate programs that are designed specifically for working professionals. This means that convenience and flexibility are paramount. Recognizing the difficulties in balancing professional and academic schedules, UOP offers concentrated programs to enable student's to pursue their careers as well as their education.

One group of students working within UOP's MBA program had the idea that by using technology and the Internet, UOP's flexibility and convenience could be even better. Patricia Coto of Tucson Electric Power Company, who is working towards an MBA at the University, was familiar with Converging's WebDemo software from her professional work with multi-dimensional data-where she used the software to demonstrate complicated database procedures. She quickly saw how this software-designed to make online collaboration and training easy-could be applied to UOP's academic programs.

With condensed curriculums, many UOP degree programs demand logged study hours from students, who gather outside of the classroom in "learning teams". While students are free to schedule these study groups at their convenience, it is often difficult to arrange for a meeting place. In addition, the difficulties in coordinating schedules among professionals in diverse fields can be an obstacle. For Coto's group-consisting of nine professionals representing such high profile organizations as the Raytheon Group, ASARCO and the Navy-it proved extremely difficult.

"For the final requirements of our degree, we chose for our terminal project the development of a business case for virtual classrooms at the University," said Coto. "Being familiar with WebDemo from my work at Tucson Electric, I knew that the software could help us as well-using WebDemo for our own learning teams made everything easier for us, while providing a valuable proof-of-concept for the project."

In order to allow UOP to host virtual classrooms-where professors could host collaborative sessions with any number of students-as well as support student organized learning teams, a few technological criteria had to be met. First, the client software had to be readily available, as it would be used by a changing group of students from virtually anywhere; only a system with a web browser interface would suffice. Second, the system needed to facilitate online communications-using features such as virtual whiteboarding, keyboard and voice chat, document sharing, and co-browsing. These features also needed to be easy to use and considerate of the target audience; student access is often limited to dial-up connection over a single line-a feature that WebDemo offers.

Finally, the system needed to provide a way for the university to track students study time-an essential element of the University of Phoenix curriculum, all students are required to participate in Learning Teams. It is because of this Learning Team requirement that the University of Phoenix is able to have a curriculum, where the students only need to be in the classroom for four hours per week. As a result, careful documentation must clearly show that the students are meeting outside of the classroom as required.

The Solution

Using WebDemo as a proof-of-concept model, the researchers soon identified Converging's collaboration software as a viable solution. The students easily set up a group using Converging's Linktivity Web site (www.linktivity.com) and were soon working together on PowerPoint and Word documents online. WebDemo's ease of use quelled the concerns of non-technical members of the group, and the systems scheduling capabilities made it ideal for establishing study group sessions.

"WebDemo is all about communication, and the ultimate pre-requisite of communication is comfort," said Al Ochoa of Converging, who helped Coto and the group with the evaluation. "Features such as keyboard chat, electronic whiteboarding, and application sharing are nothing if you can't get a user to register into the system. WebDemo doesn't require any installation or configuration. You simply log in, and it works; we've removed a phobia that can often kill a team's productivity."

One way that WebDemo avoids confusion is by eliminating end-user system requirements. The interface is a standard web browser, allowing students to join a group from their home PC, a cyber café, or a Macintosh laptop.

"An email invitation includes two links," added Coto. "One allows you to test your browser to make sure that when you join the group everything will work right away. The other brings you into the group. It's so easy, that nobody was intimidated."

With the completion of the MBA program at stake-not to mention a potentially valuable service for the University-the group did more than a basic evaluation. "We weren't customers evaluating a technology," said Coto. "We were researchers scrutinizing a technology. We found real applications-and some missing pieces. The few things that we thought were lacking, we reported to Ochoa, and the result is very promising; they're already developing the next version, which will incorporate our feedback."

The Results:

The efforts of a team of student researchers show that the solution could indeed be used to assist UOP accreditation requirements in both virtual classrooms and in a "learning team capacity." By providing access to a password-protected site, students would be able to log in and attend classes, participate in regular group study sessions, or join any number of independent student "gatherings." The WebDemo system enhances the common perception of a "Virtual classroom" system by facilitating participation, presenting almost limitless applications to academia.

The business plan developed by Coto's team includes financial forecasts, ROI analysis, and an exhaustive study of market conditions, customer requirements, and technical capabilities. The result shows that WebDemo can cost-effectively expand the university's capabilities with very little time or effort. More students can be reached in more distant places, creating a valuable and real online learning experience. Faculty and students can hold discussions together, or in faculty meetings, student study groups, and online lecture halls-any traditional communication that occurs on campus can be duplicated online. All activities are logged, providing the University with necessary documentation of study hours.

Furthermore, the diverse computing habits-mirroring the diverse population of the typical University campus-are supported, allowing Windows, Linux, and Mac users to learn together without difficulty. With minimal system requirements, WebDemo is compatible with the University's existing equipment requirements-preventing students from needing to purchase new equipment to participate.

"The other commercial tools of this sort that we compared with WebDemo required pre-defined clients and client software on each participant's machine," observed Coto. "That's just not feasible in an academic requirement. Students and faculty hold very dynamic and often chaotic lifestyles. As professionals, it may be necessary for UOP students to join a virtual classroom from work, from home, or almost anywhere. Students join and leave classes and study groups, and new groups are constantly forming. If a restriction exists in a system that is designed to promote learning and open communication, that would be a serious flaw."

Against these criteria, WebDemo earned high scores. Keyboard chat allows a discussion forum familiar to Internet users, while co-browsing, electronic whiteboarding, real time document sharing, and voice chat enrich the students ability to ask questions, present material, and voice opinions. Combined with the product's scheduling capabilities, WebDemo is able to support the dynamic and active environment of the University of Phoenix, and the strict demands of its graduate students.

About Linktivity
Linktivity, a 20 year-old Tucson, Arizona-based division of Converging Technologies Inc., provides server-based communications and control products that enable person-to-person interactions through a browser window. Linktivity products include WebDemo, a Web-based, real-time conferencing and collaboration software tool, and WebInteractive, a real-time software tool that gives support professionals an efficient way to manage and resolve online support requirements for personal computers. For more information, please visit www.linktivity.com.