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Web based teaching and learning
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Date: Mon, 08 Apr 1996 15:46:15 +0100
From: Martin Westhead
[...]
Fifth International World Wide Web Conference
May 6-10, Paris, France
Workshops: Call For Participation
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Teaching and Learning on the WWW
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"In the Industrial Age, we went to school, in the Communications Age, the schools will come to us."
* from the masthead of
The Online Chronicle of Distance Education Communication
The goal of this workshop is to bring together people interested in the use of the Web technology for teaching and learning. New ways of teaching, and presenting material, and new environments are being developed that could change the way we think about the learning process. This workshop will discuss the current state of Web-based learning projects, and look at where they may go in the future.
Format
Full-Day:
* Morning: Where are we now? - Discussing the present state of teaching and learning on the Web* Afternoon: What does the future hold? - What are the challenges and issues for tomorrow's Web educators.
Workshop Committee
The Chairman, and committee members contacts:
Martin Westhead martinwe@epcc.ed.ac.uk http://http://www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/~martinwe/ Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre, University of Edinburgh, UK
Dr Marcus Speh marcus@andersen.co.uk http://theodore-sturgeon.MIT.EDU:8001/HyperNews/get/admin/staff/5/3.html Anderson Consulting Director of the Globewide Network Academy
Peter Murray-Rust pmr1716@ggr.co.uk http://www.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/PPS/index.html Glaxo Wellcome
Thomas L. Marchioro II tlm@ameslab.gov http://uces.ameslab.gov/ Ames, Project Coordinator of the Undergraduate Computational Engineering and Sciences
Abstract
The goal of this workshop is to discuss the use of the World Wide Web for teaching and learning , in particular how it has developed in the last few years, and where it will go in the future.
Communication is at the heart of the learning process. The Web and the associated Internet technologies provide a new medium for this communication. The question is, how best to harness its potential. Providing courses on the Web is not just a matter of writing hypertext text books, it is also about creating a learning environment, for communication and interaction.
Many projects, some now well established have begun to exploit these possibilities. Distance learning projects like the Globewide Network Academy and affiliated courses like PPS (The Principles of Protein Structure) are using the breadth of communications tools already available on the Internet, to create complete environments for their students.
The possibilities of the Web technology for education are being stretched by projects like Yorick from Ames, and EPIC from the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre. Both these technologies use the Web browser as an interface to external applications, making it possible to manipulate other packages from an exercise page. With the development of Java, it is clear that many more possibilites are opening for the creators of Web-based course material.
This workshop will review the existing projects on the Net and then consider directions are for the future. It will be divided into two sessions, below are some lists of topics that may be discussed. The issues that are raised are very broad, the intention is to focus on the application, and the potential application of this technology, rather than to get too lost in detailed technical or eduactional issues. The emphasis of the workshop may however change depending on the interests of the participants.
Where are we now?
This first session will look at the current state of play in teaching and learning projects on the Web. It will be opened by a presentation from the chair, and then give participants the opportunity to talk about the projects with which they are involved. Topics for discussion could include:
* Who are the learners? Who is being reached by this new generation of distance learning? How many of them are there?* Who are the teachers? Are the courses being set up by enthusiasts, by Universities, or by private industry? Who is paying for them?* What is being learnt? Are the subjects taught dominated by science and computing? Are there languages and humanities?* How is it being learnt? What techniques and technology is being employed in existing courses? How is the courseware, and the learning environment structured?* How good are the courses? What accreditation mechanisms are used? What are the rates of attrition? Do the students enjoy them? What assessment mechanisms can we apply?* Do the new technologies really improve learning? Or are they just toys that provide interest because they are novel?* How much work is involved? Do these new technologies increase or decrease the amount of work done by the teachers and the students?* What's good and bad? Which aspects of this new way of learning work best, and which fail?
What does the future hold?
This session will focus on the vision of the future. This session should build on topics which arose in the morning. Topics for this discussion could include:
* How to apply new technology? How can new Web technologies (like Java, and the chat pages and Web based MOOs it makes possible) be most usefully employed for teaching and learning?* How to develop new technology? What direction should systems developed for education (e.g. Yorick and EPIC) take in the future? What about common standards and formats? Who will pay?What is the future for funding for Web based education? What are the knock-on effects? What impact will these technologies have on existing teaching practices? How might it effect our educational systems?
Position papers
Those wishing to attend should have at least some involvement in Web based education. Prospective participants for the workshop should submit a short position paper outlining their interest, suggesting a couple of important items for discussion and detailing their present knowledge and experience.
Deadlines & Workshop preparation
The last day for position paper submissions is Friday April 12th. All the submissions will be mounted on the Web regardless of whether they are accpted or not.
Latest
The latest information regarding the organisation of this workshop, including position papers can be found here. Regardless of whether you can attend if you are involved in Web based learning you can help us out by filling out a short questionnaire about your work, found at: http://www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/~martinwe/wkshp/question.html All organisations that help us out in this way will receive a mention in the workshpop proceedings.
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[INRIA] [EC] [ERCIM] [W3C]
martinwe@epcc.ed.ac.uk, Martin Westhead, Workshop Organizer Last updated: March 26, 1996 ```
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