Web-based Course Management System Research Articles

E-Mail Molecules—Individualizing the Large Lecture Class

All students in the organic chemistry class are assigned a unique set of nine molecules to report on as optional extra credit assignments. The molecules are taken from a list containing over 200 molecules on the class Web site; they represent an assortment of biologically relevant compounds, from acetaminophen to yohimbine. Once a week, students may submit information about one of the molecules for two points extra credit (where the course includes a total of over 600 points from traditional quizzes and exams). The information requested about the molecules varies slightly each term as student expertise grows, for example, molecular formula, hybridizations, functional groups, or number of stereocenters, but always includes biological relevance and sources of information. Initially students submitted data directly to the instructor by e-mail, but submissions now are handled by a Web-based course management system (WebCT). The goal is to give students individualized assignments that are relatively realistic in light of their future careers in health sciences. Nearly all of the students do some of the molecules, and many students do all of them. About 30–40% of the students who do the assignments regularly gain a grade benefit. Student responses to the exercise have been positive.

Using a web-based course-management system: an evaluation of management tasks and time implications for the instructor

Almost all the instructors at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology of the University of Twente have been using a web-based course-management system for their courses since 1998. To set up a course, an instructor completes a course environment form with general information such as a course description, a roster and links to external websites; during a course the instructor adds information such as feedback and data relating to assignments, lecture presentations, and reactions to discussions. At the end of an academic year, the information stored in all course environments in the system can be counted and analysed. This report gives an overview of all instructor contributions stored in the faculty's web system during the academic year 2000–2001 and it is used as data for an ongoing analysis of tasks that instructors must manage while using a web-based course management system. In addition, the time spent by instructors is also presented. Together, these analyses can help lead a way to more efficient and effective use of web-based course-management systems, and, thus, to more acceptance of their use.

Course redesign for blended learning: modern optics for technical professionals

Philips Centre for Technical Training (CTT) is responsible for the on-going professional education of scientific staff in Philips Research Laboratories worldwide. This article addresses the 'why' and 'how' of an evolution toward more flexible learning at the CTT in which various models for blended learning supported by a web-based course-management system are being piloted and evaluated, and describes one of the courses in more detail. The 'why' relates to CTT's challenge to give more participants at distant locations access to its courses. The 'how' has to be appropriate to the very specific situation in which CTT functions the transfer of Philips' highly technical knowledge and experience to relatively small numbers of scientific staff within Philips. This knowledge and experience is being refreshed continuously so the contents of the learning also are in steady change. The blended learning models evolving at the CTT are grounded in these characteristics.

Building on Learner Contributions: A Web-Supported Pedagogic Strategy

Since 1997, the authors have been involved with the increasingly widespread use of a Web-based course-management system called TeleTOP not only in their own university but also in other universities and training settings. The implementation of TeleTOP was accompanied with an emphasis on a pedagogy that was new to almost all of the instructors involved: that of shifting the focus in a course from the presentation of content to the facilitation of learners making contributions to the course TeleTOP environment, contributions that serve as subsequent learning resources for others in the same course and can be re-used as resources in other versions of the courses and other settings. This article describes the theoretical basis for the approach, illustrates how the pedagogy works in practice and gives some of the results. Construire à partir des apports des apprenants: une stratégie pédagogique par Internet. Depuis 1997, nous avons été impliqués, de plus en plus, dans l'utilisation d'un système de cours appelé TeleTOP, non seulement dans notre université mais aussi dans d'autres établissements de formation. Nous avons implanté TeleTOP grâce à une pédagogie nouvelle aux yeux de la plupart des enseignants: celle consistant à passer de la simple présentation du cours à la possibilité pour l'étudiant de participer à l'élaboration même du cours TeleTOP. Ces contributions ont pu être utiles à d'autres étudiants mais ont aussi pu servir à l'élaboration d'autres versions de cours. Dans cet article, nous décrivons les bases théoriques de notre approche, nous montrons comment cette pédagogie fonctionne dans la pratique, et donnons quelques résultats. Das Einbauen von Anfängerbeiträgen: Eine Web-basierte pädagogische Strategie. Seit 1997 sind wir mit der zunehmend verbreiteten Verwendung eines Web-basierten Kursmanagementsystems, genannt: TeleTOP, befasst , nicht nur in unserer eigenen Universität, sondern auch an anderen Universitäten und Ausbildungsstätten. Wir haben die Einführung von TeleTOP schwerpunktmäßig mit einer Pädagogik begleitet, die fast allen betroffenen Ausbildern neu war: nämlich, dass im Laufe eines Lehrgangs der Fokus von der Darstellung des Inhalts zur Möglichkeit, über Eigenbeiträge der Lerner selbst Kursmaterial zu TeleTOP hinzuzufügen, das anschließend für andere Kursteilnehmer oder auch für andere Kurse als Lernressource wieder genutzt werden kann, gerichtet wird. In diesem Artikel beschreiben wir die theoretische Basis für unseren Ansatz, erläutern, wie die Pädagogik in der Praxis funktioniert, und teilen einige unserer Ergebnisse mit.