Abstract
This article describes an illustrative case of an online distance education course in introductory computing which aimed to empower learners by facilitating active learning in an innovative, high quality, and student-centered learning environment. This course was offered to 180 non-computing science students at a university in Hong Kong. In this article, this computing course will be first evaluated against the benchmarks established by The Institute for Higher Education Policy for ensuring quality in Internet-based distance education. Secondly, the effectiveness of the course was examined in two student tracking studies conducted before the mid-term and final examinations, respectively. Results showed that towards the end of the course, statistically significant differences in learners' behaviors were found, e.g., the use of self-assessment activities rose from an average of 1.27 hours per week prior to mid-term examination to 2.63 hours per week prior to final examination. It was also observed that students adjusted their studying methods and their attitudes towards the course over time. It is expected that by documenting this experience, some good practice in technology-mediated instruction can be identified.
Highlights
Higher education is continuously being reshaped in this Internet age
Yeung (2003) asked 87 local university students who had experience in Web-based learning to rate the importance of 20 benchmarks identified by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000) in ensuring quality distance learning
As more comprehensive studies have not been conducted in the local context, and that standardized approach to quality improvement in Webbased distance learning in Hong Kong is yet to be developed, these benchmarks will serve as a frame of reference for quality issues in this paper
Summary
Higher education is continuously being reshaped in this Internet age. Online delivery of coursework and various aspects of academic programs is the fastest growing form of education all over the world. The Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000) has identified 24 benchmarks that are essential to ensure quality in Web-based distance learning These benchmarks can be grouped into seven categories. In a recent survey, Yeung (2003) asked 87 local university students who had experience in Web-based learning to rate the importance of 20 benchmarks (not including the benchmarks of “Faculty Support”) identified by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000) in ensuring quality distance learning. High ratings on all these benchmarks were obtained, ranging from 3.37 to 4.1 on a 5-point Likert Scale where 5 means very important It seems that most of these quality benchmarks are applicable to the higher institutions in Hong Kong.
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