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AN ILLUSTRATION OF WORLD WIDE WEB BASED EDUCATION
Kevin C. Ahlgrim **
Stephen P. D'Arcy
INTRODUCTION New technology is allowing information to be shared and accessed by unprecedented numbers of people. The World Wide Web (WWW) in particular has experienced tremendous growth over the last six years. In a recent speech at the University of Illinois, birthplace of the WWW, Vice President Al Gore stated that in 1992 only 30 web pages existed. In 1998, there are over 100 million web pages. Much of the growth of the WWW can be attributed to recent applications that make the creation of web pages much easier. Besides text-based pages, software advances have elevated the abilities of the average computer user in terms of graphics and various interactive tasks. This proposal discusses how to make effective use of the Internet and the WWW for instructional purposes. The goal of this project is to assist instructors in developing WWW courses and to provide an example of a site dedicated to education over the WWW. A secondary objective of the project is to contribute to the discussion of distance learning programs and its delivery systems. THE NEED FOR WEB-BASED EDUCATION The WWW offers unique opportunities that are not available in a classroom setting. First, the use of the Web can integrate a host of resources into one central location. Using the WWW as a delivery mechanism for class materials can allow Web resources to become direct elements of the course. Students can read material directly via the WWW and/or download the readings to print. Many academic journals are becoming available on the Web and using these resources can save students (and instructors) time and money over a trip to the library and the copy shop. Web pages can also provide background information for students who need introductory material or can supply additional details for the advanced student. Written assignments can incorporate WWW resources as references and students can access databases that are maintained on the Web. For example, if the assignment requires students to determine the cost of initiating an option trading strategy, students can access the Chicago Board Options Exchange Web site. The possibilities of integrating existing Web resources in an instructional format are limited only by the creativity of the developer. Second, the use of the WWW can create an exciting interactive environment for students. By creating online exercises and chat spaces, students get more involved in the learning process. This interactivity can lead to better comprehension and longer retention by students. Third, the WWW allows instructors to communicate with students in a paperless environment. Updates to lecture notes and assignments can be made electronically rather than through numerous duplications on paper. Finally, the users of the WWW are less constrained in terms of when and where they choose to access the information. This is particularly important as the market for distance learning programs evolves. The audience for Web-based education extends well beyond those enrolled full-time at a four-year university or college. Professional organizations around the world have repeatedly stressed the importance of continuing education and skills development. Continuing education is especially valuable in economic and financial situations where markets are in constant transition. Graduates in economics and finance of only a decade ago are recognizing that changes in the business environment can have a major effect on a company's operations. Continuing education programs are a means of assisting people to update their knowledge base and expand their set of individual skills. Web-based courses allow these students to take courses and increase their education without requiring an extensive commitment of time and money of employers. THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE (Part I) A good approach to getting a course up on the Web is to proceed in distinct stages. The next two sections briefly describe the two main development phases. By progressing in steps, the instructor can react to technology concerns of students and have the ability to get comfortable with teaching via the WWW before including more advanced features. Many instructors have not made extensive use of the WWW for instruction for fear that it requires learning one or more programming languages such as HTML or CGI. However, recent technology has made the creation of web pages simple. In fact, many word processors have the capability to save files directly as web pages -- a process called converting. Because many class materials (course syllabus, assignments, exams, etc.) are created using these packages, much of the time consuming work required to get a course online is typically complete. Before creating the individual Web pages, the instructor must first determine the overall design of the course web site. Determining the layout of the web site is the most critical decision. Most courses will have a specific location for lecture notes, reading assignments, and written assignments and an important aspect of web site design is to ensure that users have quick access to the various sections of the course. Students should be able to determine the location of the desired information and be able to orient themselves quickly in any area of the site. A typical design establishes the course "home page" as the syllabus of the course. This provides students with the relevant information that is most often referred to over the course of a semester. Links on the syllabus can refer to the important features of the course and will depend on the information contained directly in the syllabus. For example, there may be separate links for different materials such as lecture notes, reading assignments, and written assignments. All pages contained within the site should have a link back to the home page so that students can immediately start over at a familiar place. One caution deserves special comment: the progress of technology can be a source of frustration to Web-based course development. As new versions of popular software packages are released, only a fraction of previous users update regularly. In addition, there are various options available for similar types of applications. These applications may be further divided by operating system (such as PC or Mac). In the case of Web browsers, Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the two most popular packages. The browsers are not entirely interchangeable, but they do have a subset of compatibility. Educators must be aware of potential conflicts of technology as the development stage continues. The advances in technology need not be an impediment to Web based education. Instead of requiring enrolled students to upgrade their computers with consistent software and learn complicated software packages, it is best to develop web sites that are compatible with most applications. This also reduces the need of the instructor to learn the various subtleties of the various packages. Inevitably, there must be some decision about the course standard for required software. However, these requirements do not have to be restrictive and are usually present in standard classroom settings. For example, students may need to use a spreadsheet program such as Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 in completing a homework assignment. In addition, lecture notes may be created in PowerPoint or other presentation software. Many of these programs are interchangeable at some level. To avoid the upgrade problem mentioned above, the instructor could distribute materials in the lowest version of these applications to ensure a high percentage of students have the desired access. By reducing the complexity of the web site, developers are restricted to essentially text-based web pages. This approach is best (at least initially) because standard HTML documents are accessible by all web users. At this level, virtually any browser will be adequate to view the individual pages of the course. Furthermore, when creating the individual Web pages, any software that converts the original documents to HTML format will suffice. When all pages are created, the site will consist of a series of text-based pages with standard links. THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE (Part II) The next generation of web sites adds supplementary features to make the site more interactive and user friendly. It turns a self-study course into an interactive cyber-classroom. Although a text-based system is perfectly acceptable, implementing graphics and interactive exercises will help get students more involved in the course. This could involve more restrictions on the user in terms of technology (but not necessarily burdensome) and will require additional development time. AN EXAMPLE The authors have developed numerous examples of Web-based courses at the University of Illinois. Currently, there are several courses that use the WWW and each course is at different stages of development. In conjunction with an undergraduate course taught on campus, one course web site was used to coordinate activities of several students who took the course simultaneously via the WWW. This course has undergone various improvements over the last year based on comments provided by students who completed the course, both on-campus and off-campus. The participants in the course illustrate the "World Wide" nature of Web-based instruction. One student completed the course in Europe while another studied in the West Indies. The off-campus students access reading assignments, lecture notes, and assignments through the WWW. Although these students do not get the benefit of attending lectures, they participate in online discussions and bulletin boards and interact with the instructor and the other students who are on-campus. In addition, various interactive exercises allow the student to test his or her knowledge directly over the Web. (At this point a visual demonstration of web courses will be presented. See http://www.cba.uiuc.edu/~s-darcy/fin343/index.html) CONCLUSION This proposal discusses the use of the WWW in education. Several examples are provided based on courses taught at the University of Illinois. Instruction through the Web is an exciting area for the future. Educators can benefit from advancing technology and offer educational opportunities to students around the world. These skills are becoming increasingly important as the demand for continuing education is expanding. Furthermore, instructors can employ the WWW to integrate course materials into one central location, use existing Web resources as an extension to textbooks, and provide an interactive environment to all students. |