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Use of Computers | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)

[new] Online Course or just using WebCT (none / 0) (#1)
by Vanes63 on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 09:53:52 AM PDT

At my university we use WebCT, at a neighboring university I took a Linear Algebra course at they used Blackboard, but I think there is a substantial difference between a course being taught 100% online with WebCT or Blackboard and the instructor using WebCT or Blackboard as a tool to aid the course with.

Most students at my university think WebCT is pretty useful as it helps students discuss assignments and problems they are having with the course, technical and non-technical, and depending on how the instructor sets up the course material online you can print lecture notes and study-guides for tests. But there are some courses, such as Logic, that should not be solely based online and the courses at your institution crossed with the testing style might also be not fit for online instruction.

I think it depends on the extent to which instructors use the aides they have available to them whether or not it makes it worth it for students. Realize though, that I attend a small university that does not have TAs and the instructors are very hands-on with the students. My opinion is therefore skewed in terms of the instructors use and the versatility of WebCT. Even when I took that Linear Algebra class, the instructor was very hands-on and used Blackboard for mostly grading and having lecture notes available. My WebCT experience has been very positive in all disciplines that used it, even history, philosophy and religious studies courses.

One thing I think optimizes the WebCT experience is the fact that students do get to see the past exams, after they have taken them, and can share and compare answers. I had one course that would have been made so much better by the students just knowing where they stood in terms of course progress. Students need to know if they are doing good or bad to know how effective their study methods are - this is a necessary component in any course with or without WebCT/Blackboard.

There are some courses that I thought the availability of the lecture notes on something like WebCT would have enhanced course content, it would have made students be able to pay more attention. Instead of writing down everything the instructor says, they can actually listen to the instructors' lecture. They can also better prepare for lectures beforehand (the reality of that happening is not very probable, but there are students who do print out notes early and fill in the gaps during lecture). There are a lot of good things about having that material prepared and ready beforehand. But, if there is too much emphasis of the "online" portion of the course and not enough on student learning, well that changes things a little bit.

I have had many math courses where all exam questions are "free-response" and even some where all are written/essay questions (think definitions and explanations), but the most useful of all of those exams were ones were I got feedback. Feedback is useful in any course to know whether or not the study methods you are using to grasp the course material are sufficient enough or whether or not you are understanding the material correctly.

I wonder if the students in those courses can "never ask us (TA's) for the right answer" because it is not possible or because they do not want to or find a need to. Have you heard many complaints from the students enrolled in the courses? What kind of evaluations are the students giving these courses? What is the particular emphasis of the course? Is it a "weeder" type course? My school does not have any of these because we are mainly a teaching institution, but your institution might want to insure the best and brightest move on to the upper-level courses. They may want students to realize that high-school study methods will not work anymore because they are in college and college is different. Do you know if the students are putting what the instructor, or any instructor, would consider "sufficient" time and energy into the course material? Is everyone flunking at the end of the course or are they all getting "A's" or are the grades a perfect bell-curve? While grades are not the best indicator of content-knowledge, they do matter to some students and some institutions and that might also play a role in how the course is governed.

I hope this helps, but I'm also curious to know what others think so I hope other young mathematicians post comments soon ;).

Use of Computers | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)

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