WeBCEIS - A Scenario for Integrating Web-Based Education into Classical Education

Web-based education implies many advantages for teachers and learners, such as independence of time and place, personalization, and interactivity, but an important factor in learning, namely, face-to-face communication in traditional classrooms, cannot be adequately emulated. Students in a classical university education would lose many important social interactions in a purely Web-based education scenario, which would have important repercussions on their university education. The trade-off is a “blended learning” scenario, which is the integration of assorted learning delivery methods to benefit from both education scenarios. We are, therefore, arguing for an integration of Web-based and classical education, and present WebCEIS— our blended learning scenario for integrating Web-based education into classical education—looking at the organizational and the technological aspects of teaching and learning, and present our strategy for the implementation of WebCEIS.

Relevant Issues for the Design of a Successful Web-Based Instructional System

Instructional systems are aimed to support and partially automate the instructional process on a subject domain, ranging from a simple lecture to a whole degree. The interest in designing Web-based Instructional Systems (WbIS) needs no more to be outlined. In the last few years, there has been a huge diffusion of such an approach to support and partially automate the instructional process. The term Instructional Systems Design (ISD) refers to the process of instructional program development from start to finish. Many models exist for use by different levels of instructional designers and for different instructional purposes: what is missing in the current literature is to show how these models could be used to implement “real-life” examples of Instructional Systems. This chapter is aimed to fill this gap, by discussing each phase of the ISD with respect to the implementation of a WbIS for training Specialists in Motor Disability Assessment (MODASPECTRA). The project ended in the implementation of a successful WbIS; in fact, the Dublin School of Physiotherapy received approval from the University College Dublin, Ireland, to offer one of the courses belonging to the MODASPECTRA educational package as a distance learning certificate course from the coming academic year. The course has been renamed to “Outcome Assessment in Motor Disability.” Directed mainly at physiotherapists throughout Ireland and Europe, the course consists of standardized and validated measures to be used before and after treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. It could also be relevant to the practice of other health professionals. Therefore, we strongly believe that this chapter may be of great interest for any Institution willing to start its own effort in building WbIS.

Forum Performance in WBE

This chapter combines research into student performance in finance courses and student performance in Web-based courses. The chapter explores how a priori characteristics of individual students can serve as predictors of success in a 100% Web-based course in finance. The statistical models developed in the chapter explain up to 31% of the variation in students’ final grades. The models have significant explanatory power for variation in performance on individual grade-components such as quizzes, tests, and projects. The models have much less predictive power for student performance in the on-line discussion. Yet, there is a strong relationship between the performance in the on-line discussion and the other grade components. This finding suggests that developing on-line discussion skills prior to the start of the course will enhance student performance in other areas of Web-based courses such as introductory corporate finance.

Web Design Studio

Reported in this chapter is an action research project using Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to help manage the process of encouraging faculty to utilize Internet tools in the implementation of their classes. The research provides an in-depth examination of an innovative experiment to impact the process of faculty website development, faculty training, and faculty support, reflected in terms of the TPB framework. These results will be of interest to managers in need of encouraging autonomous decision makers, such as faculty, who need to structure, reengineer, and innovate their business processes in terms of an Internet component. Recommendations about incentives and support are provided.

Beyond the Web

Internet technologies are changing the way we provide education and training at all levels. However, we have not yet fully utilized the power of these technologies. The focus has only been on the Web, which is only one of many Internet technologies. In this chapter, we go beyond the Web to leverage multiple Internet technologies to support in-class education. In this chapter, common problems in Web-based education are discussed, an experiment in developing and implementing a framework that seamlessly integrate various Internet technologies is presented, and the increase in learning effectiveness yielded by the new methodology is described.

A Guide to eCourse Management

Web-based education (WBE) and training is growing by leaps and bounds, and the market is expected to reach almost 28.6 billion by the year 2006 (IDC, 2001). Technological advancements and student demands have necessitated a shift from a “brick and mortar” synchronous environment to a “click and learn” asynchronous environment. Students are demanding anytime, anyplace accessibility, and universities are obliging by bringing education to students. The instructor’s role is changing from “lecturing” to “facilitating,” and the student’s role is changing from “recipient” to “participant.” These virtual students require virtual convenience and are opting for a “complete” online education, from admission to graduation. In this chapter, the steps involved in Web education, from three major stakeholders’ perspectives—the faculty, the student, and the technical personnel—are discussed, and ways of providing online conveniences are discussed, based on the author’s experience.

A Comparative Study of Diffusion of Web-Based Education (WBE) in Singapore and Australia

Examined and compared in this chapter is the diffusion of WBE in Singapore and Australia. These two countries were chosen in this study because of the close educational collaborations and developments between them. A number of Australian universities have offshore bases in Singapore. It would be more cost-effective and profitable to use WBE instead of using the usual corresponding method, or flying professors into the country a few times a year for intensive residential studies. In this chapter, WBE at some selected institutions is reported in detail, because these institutions represent the more advanced developments of WBE in the respective country. Meta-analysis, using a modified Taylor’s model (Taylor, 2001), reveals that though Singapore and Australia are different in their approach and policies to education and technology, they share similar trends and achievements in the development of WBE. Tertiary institutions in both countries have generally achieved all the characteristics of Generations 4 and 5 of the development model of Distance Education, as described by Taylor. However, this is not to say that face-to-face teaching has been phased out. This study also indicates that WBE supports the development of distance education and e-universities in Australia. On the other hand, it is hard to say when Singapore will develop its first e-university.

A Web-Based Platform to Mentor Distance Learners

Highlighted in this chapter is the fact that the majority of organizations face the enormous challenge of supporting their employees’ thirst for expanding their skill base. Provided is an example of a university and an organization collaborating to implement successful training and learning programs in order to develop employee skills and knowledge in IT and managerial issues such as knowledge management. The authors hope that the case discussed will inform researchers of an appropriate model in designing an interactive learning environment to mentor distance learners and, additionally, of the potential to eliminate the barriers imposed by the traditional classroom.

Web-Based Student Assessment

In this chapter, a means of evaluating students in a Web-based teaching and learning environment is examined. Two techniques, summative and formative, are introduced and discussed together with their related issues including delivery and submission, evaluation and feedback, and dealing with cheating. While a summative or traditional technique has been criticized for being too rigid and outdated, a formative or performance assessment technique promises its authenticity, as it requires students to solve real-world problems. It is argued in this chapter, that both techniques serve as essential measures of student learning and should be used in combination. At the end, instructors are provided with guidelines and recommendations for developing and delivering effective Web-based student assessment. The author hopes that understanding the concept and significance of student assessment in a Web-based educational setting will promote the use of proper techniques and render a positive effect on student learning, which we, as educators, value the most.

Peer-to-Peer Networks as Extensions of Web-Based Education - Handhelds in Support of Coordination and Autonomy

In recent years, we have witnessed the rapid evolution of handheld computing devices from leading manufacturers, somewhat fueled by a battle being waged between Palm Computing and Microsoft Corporation. Handheld devices are attractive for educational settings, because they are inexpensive, portable, and customizable. Furthermore, most handheld devices come “out of the box” with infrared ports, enabling them to automatically form a peer-to-peer network with other handhelds. In this chapter, how such peer-to-peer networks could support the interplay of autonomy and coordination underlying current and emerging learning models will be discussed. Findings from a pilot study suggest that the information management and connectivity features of the machines make them ideal devices for such learning environments. The entertainment capabilities of the devices motivate students to learn how to use them. However, students found the machines and add-ons expensive, limited in capability, and difficult to use.