Spinning Biology's Web: Use of the World Wide Web for Course Supplements and On-Line Courses
|
I have used the World Wide Web as a teaching supplement for my courses since Fall of 1994. During this time, student strategies and abilities on the Internet have evolved, as well as my own utilization of the technology. The process has led to three different courses being taught completely on-line over the past year and a half, and continued development of the Web as an on-line supplement for all of my courses. Learning The WebThe Department of Life Sciences at Indiana State University has taken a leading role on campus in the use of computing, and especially the World Wide Web, for research and teaching purposes. Historically, Life Sciences (specifically, Dr. Timothy Mulkey) set up the first functioning web server on campus in early 1994, primarily for the use of a few research faculty. Use of the Web blossomed in the Fall of 1994 into a departmental home page (http://biology.indstate.edu/dls) and several simple pages for courses. Currently, Life Sciences operates seven main servers (primarily LINUX boxes), with over 1 million web accesses per week, and sponsors on its servers numerous courses, individuals, and units from across campus, including the College of Arts & Sciences (http://www.indstate.edu/art_sci). I became an early part of the department's venture onto the Web, and during the Fall of 1994 learned HTML and put up the departmental home page and my first course page. Tools were primitive and the task a bit daunting at that stage, with an early version of Mosaic as the browser, a glorified text editor to write HTML code, and a smattering of UNIX knowledge as the "magic" to make the medium work. It was clear, however, that the medium made a potentially vast amount of information both textual and graphical readily available to those who could access it, and that it could be used to supplement information conveyed in lectures. My primary guides into the Web were Tim Mulkey and "A Beginner's Guide to HTML" (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW), still an excellent place to begin learning the basics of formatting web pages. My first web pages were typical of the times, with a small graphic, some text, and a few links to other (similar) pages. Reading and web browsing (with an occasional call for help from a more experienced user) brought access counters, image maps, simple CGI forms, and tables. Perhaps because I learned to write HTML by typing in all of the code and still like to see that code, and because I like to experiment and have total control over my pages, I still prefer to use a simple HTML editor (DerekWare) for most of my web pages. I also use Microsoft FrontPage for more complex jobs, for large files, and for quick translation of word-processing documents, and I use Adobe PhotoShop for graphics. I'd recommend that most potential web page developers start with a short workshop or tutorial on writing HTML. Most campuses have some vehicle for providing this; the Information Services group at Indiana State University offers workshops on writing web pages, etc. Continuing Education also provides a "Course Transformation Academy" to help faculty move their courses into a distance education mode. This type of hands-on introduction helps faculty become familiar with the technology and its capabilities. Extension of those skills can then take the form of learning directly from web resources such as the Beginner's Guide mentioned above, a plethora of books and CD-ROMs now available, and formal and informal support structures (at Indiana State, the Faculty Computing Resource Center and the Center for Teaching and Learning provide technical and pedagogical help to faculty, and there are numerous experienced web page authors who are willing to help novices.) Many of the current HTML editors also provide WYSIWYG editing and plentiful help pages and wizards, making it easy to get up and running on the web. After I taught a workshop on HTML to the College office staff, one member used Microsoft FrontPage to put a course up. Using FrontPage and mapping the server drive from his desktop, he needed only minimal technical help. Finally, there are several good software packages (e.g., Web Course in a Box, TopClass) that provide all-in-one course support, including on-line quizzes. Several of our faculty have found these packages very helpful in getting their courses up on the web. Course Development and Engaging Students on the Internet[NOTE: All of the web pages I discuss can be reached from my main web
page (http://biology.indstate.edu/prentice).] In early experiences trying to integrate the Internet into my courses, I found that most of the students did not have their own e-mail address (either on-campus or personal.) In addition, many students were unfamiliar with the Web, and some were uneasy about use of e-mail or computers in general. I was able to circumvent the problem of lack of e-mail addresses by obtaining a class account, set up by our campus computing services group. This provided a temporary e-mail account for each student for the semester. Students who already had their own account could use that e-mail address for the class. I also provided an extensive, 10-page handout at the beginning of class which detailed how the students could obtain their own e-mail account, how to log on to the network, send and receive e-mail, open a web browser, enter URLs, find relevant web pages, etc. One class session in the Life Sciences computer cluster was devoted to hands-on practice in using e-mail and web browsers. To induce students to use the technology, an "Internet Use" component became part of their grade. Early exercises were aimed primarily at making them familiar with the use of the technology, e.g., the first points were earned for sending me an e-mail. Points were also earned for submitting on-line sample quizzes (with bonus points for correct answers!) I added extra incentive here by letting students know that some of the questions would appear on exams. This exercise helped familiarize them with browsing the web and filling in on-line forms, by navigating to the course page and taking the link to a quiz. To encourage web use, I provided a "LinkLand" collection of links to search engines and some educational and entertainment sites on the web. Points were then earned for using a web form to submit the URL and description of their favorite web site (with the caveat that their favorite site must be off-campus and not one of the links I had provided.) Finally, points were earned for posting at least two messages to the Discussion Group. Bonus points could be earned for additional postings relevant to the course. Students were also encouraged to use e-mail regularly to contact me or other students in the class. Announcements and reminders about class assignments were sent out by e-mail distribution lists, including a list of all students in the class and their e-mail addresses. All e-mail questions or comments to me were answered promptly, including graded responses to on-line quizzes. Students commented that they appreciated the feedback as well as accessibility which e-mail afforded them. Since I spend a substantial portion of time at the computer (my wife claims I have an umbilical connection), e-mail is the surest way to catch me, and many of the students took advantage of the opportunity to ask a quick question while studying. While I didn't require it, several students also used e-mail to submit papers for the classes. From Course Supplements to On-Line Courses In the Fall of 1996 I had my first opportunity to use the web for distance education, when a graduate student had to relocate to Ohio still needing several courses for completion of her degree. Since I already had the course web pages in place, I offered her the opportunity to take the lecture course I was teaching that semester (Cell and Tissue Culture) as an on-line course. I supplied paper copies of the lecture notes, we "met" several times a week through e-mail, and she submitted assignments electronically. She also participated with the rest of the class in the Discussion Group. In addition, she took her exams on-line (on-line exam strategies are discussed later in this paper.) I also was able to use the on-line exams for student who fell ill during the semester. Overall, this first try at distance education was successful, the student was very pleased, and I was encouraged to try this approach for an entire class. Subsequently, in the Spring of 1997 I transformed a second class, Cellular Development, into an on-line class. Because I was spending the semester as Acting Associate Dean, an on-line class seemed a reasonable solution to a busier-than-usual schedule. Most of the components were already in place from my use of the web as an on-line supplement (syllabus, sample quizzes, readings, grading philosophy, assigned papers, exam structures), but some key additions (including a downloadable take-home exam) had to be made to the course's web structure to teach it totally on-line. The major addition was on-line lecture notes. Even more than the initial learning curve to become familiar with HTML, I found this to be the most time-consuming part of putting up an on-line course. The notes from which I lecture in a traditional class were already in Microsoft Word format and could easily be converted to HTML. However, my traditional lecture notes are in an outline format, with an occasional diagram or picture, and most of the lecture itself I fill in from memory. For the on-line notes, I had to fill in the text of what I would normally have filled in verbally. In my traditional class, I also use many diagrams. These had to be scanned into the web pages for the course notes. Finally, to complete the sense of a "normal" lecture, I inserted questions related to the material throughout the on-line notes, with links for students either to respond to me directly by e-mail, or to respond by posting to the Discussion Group. The completed notes as a series of web pages were then linked directly from the relevant topics in the on-line syllabus. Even though students could now move at their own pace through the course material, dates tied to the topics in the syllabus gave them points of reference through the semester and maintained the illusion of a normal course "flow". With half of the class physically off campus (including the Ohio graduate student), the on-line Cellular Development course was a success and students again seemed quite pleased with their learning experiences. Even though the on-campus students could come to my office to ask questions, the vast majority preferred to interact through e-mail and the Discussion Group and I rarely saw a student during the entire semester. While the students were satisfied with the interactions with me and among themselves, this actually left me feeling somewhat deprived of the opportunity for face-to-face interaction! The transformation of the Cellular Development course into a totally on-line format was the watershed for my distance education experience. Once in place, I used the materials the following summer for a mixed class consisting of in-class students and distance education students, similar to the experience with Cell and Tissue Culture, but with all on-line components in place. Also that summer I transformed the History of Biology course so that it could be used as a course supplement (which was the case during the first summer session) or taught totally on-line (which was the case for several students during the second summer session.) The Embryology lecture has also been transformed for use in either format. The more recent on-line courses, as well as revisions of the earlier formats, assume more regarding the Internet skills of the students. I no longer request a class account, because it is rare to have a student in class who does not have at least one e-mail account, and many students now prefer to use their personal Internet Service Provider from home. Many students now routinely submit assignments electronically. For the few students who do not have Internet access, I can provide temporary individual accounts. Hands-on introduction to e-mail or the web is rarely needed, and in those cases where it is needed, can be provided in an individual out-of-class session. I also no longer provide the extensive handout introducing students to the Internet tools. In contrast, the syllabus I hand out for each class is now printed off of that web page. Student expectations for information access have increased along with their skills. When I didn't immediately have all of the Embryology notes on-line, the students were disappointed; it seems they have now come to expect all of the information to be on the web! One feature added recently to increase student collaboration and discussion has been the posting of each student's picture (taken with a digital camera) on the class web page, with e-mail links for each student. This has helped them get to know the other members of the class, and has increased interaction. Other potential additions to the course pages include animated GIF files and QuickTime movies, and 3-D models. The laboratory courses (Cell and Tissue Culture, Embryology) make use of the web for supplementary materials, reporting student lab results, and discussion forums, and students again appreciate the additional access this gives them to information. Providing a distance education experience for these laboratories is problematic, given the specialized equipment necessary to carry out most of the experiments. However, for laboratory courses which do not need such specialized equipment, I can envision combinations of the web supplements with live video, CD-ROMs, mailed-out laboratory "kits" or "kitchen kits" utilizing commonly-available materials, possibly coupled with a few on-site laboratory experiences for students. In the future it may be possible to use "virtual laboratories" to simulate on-line the experiences students gain from the normal hands-on laboratories. Exam StrategiesOne of the most frequent questions I get regarding my on-line courses relates to exams-how do I know the identity of the student submitting the on-line exam, and how do I address the possibility of cheating? Although at this point I feel there is no definitive "fix", I have tried to address this question from both a technical perspective as well as a pedagogical perspective as I set up my on-line exams. On the technical side, I start by putting exam files in a separate, unlinked subdirectory, often oddly named, to prevent students from fishing for an exam by guessing the name for an HTML file in the main class directory (i.e., if I know the main course page is /history/main.html, I could try to find an exam file at /history/exam1.html). In fact, there are no HTML files as such in the exam subdirectory, except for the "Exam Starter" file. On the day of an exam, students are sent an e-mail giving the URL for this "Starter" file, and explaining that they have 24 hours to sign in and submit the exam. The "Exam Starter" file is a small form, asking only for the student's name. When this form is submitted, I get a message from the server that the student has started the exam, giving the student's name and a time stamp. The CGI script which processes the first form has embedded within it the HTML code for the actual exam, which is then served to the student. When the exam is submitted, it also contains a time stamp, allowing me to know the length of time the student spent on the exam. To prevent a student from spending hours on a one-hour exam, the "Exam Starter" warns the student that for every minute over 60, they lose a point. This replicates the time pressure for one of my typical in-class exams, but is kinder than using a "server pull" to yank the exam away from the student after 60 minutes and automatically submit the answers. The student can be identified to some extent using environment variables associated with the CGI script, giving various information including the IP address of the machine on which the student is taking the exam. When one student complained about having problems submitting an exam, based on the submitted variables I was able to note that a second student sitting next to her in the Student Computing Center at that time had had no problems! Browser "cookies" can also be used to pass along bits of information or to tag specific student machines, and are especially useful for students using their home computers for the course. IP or domain access restrictions at the server level can also be used to allow or prevent access to files, such that students can only take exams from certain machines, or only off-campus or on-campus machines. Finally, password protection of files can be used to restrict access and help in identifying students. Each student is issued a specific userid and password, generated by the instructor or systems administrator, that allows access to the exam or other parts of the class web structure. On the pedagogical side, the time limits mentioned above help create an atmosphere similar to that in the traditional classroom. However, the student could still be sitting at home with their textbook and notes looking up the answers during the exam! My position on this distinct possibility is three-fold. First, I am not convinced that the student who has not studied prior to the exam would have enough time to look up all of the answers during the exam. Second, this may actually be a mechanism to get such a student to look at and learn some part of the material. Third, write a different type of question! For my advanced classes, the ability to relate different concepts to one another and synthesize material is the aim, not memorization of material. So, the types of exam questions which I write do not lend themselves to a quick "look-up" in the notes or text. This essay question type obviates using automated grading and feedback via CGI scripts or Web Course in a Box, but I feel it better addresses learning not only in the distance education context but as an overall educational objective. Both the technical and pedagogical sides of my answers assume an "honest" learner. The suggestions mentioned can't solve the problem of a student who has someone sit with them or for them during an on-line exam. Perhaps with live video validation of a student taking an on-line exam we be can assured of the student's identity, but I prefer to believe that students are making an honest effort at learning. Pitfalls and RecommendationsIn the process of transforming my courses for the web and refining the on-line components, not all has been rosy. An early problem with electronic submission of student papers was the format of the submitted file (as well as the student's ability to make an attachment to their e-mail.) The answer at that point was to use the least common denominator, either plain ASCII text, or the assignment typed into the body of an e-mail message. Current word-processing software such as Word or WordPerfect is usually sophisticated enough to translate other formats, but this could still be a problem area. Internet connections have improved, but can still be a problem for some distance education students. One early student had multiple problems with her modem, her computer crashed, and her Internet Service Provider went down on the day of an exam. Be flexible and understanding! On the professor's end, keep slower modems in mind when you design web pages, using compressed JPG graphics rather than GIF, keeping graphics small and limited in use, and using color graphics only when necessary to highlight a point. Split up web pages for a topic that needs to use lots of graphics. It's helpful to know at the start of the course what the students' access capabilities will be, so have them take an inventory for you of their hardware as well as their technical skills at the start of the course. This can prevent problems later on when you wanted to show them that great Java applet or that 4 MB QuickTime movie, and the student with the 14.4K modem starts complaining. Motivating student interaction on-line sometimes can be a problem. Requiring a certain number or frequency of e-mail messages or postings to discussion groups can help here. It is interesting that with these asynchronous modes of communication, students who may have been shy and often declined to participate in the traditional in-class discussions blossomed. The asynchronous nature worked to their advantage, giving them time to think through their responses. Cyberspace is also a great equalizer in this respect, because people respond more directly to what you are saying (typing) and your ideas than to surface features. One down side to these modes is the lack of immediate feedback given through live interaction. While I haven't found this to be a drawback in my classes, use of a chat group can help give more of the feeling of a "place" where all of the students and the professor are gathered together. I prefer chat software which has a whiteboard, because I like to sketch things for the students. The main problem with this synchronous mode of interaction is scheduling a time for everyone to be on-line together. The addition of live video would strengthen the "feel" of the classroom. I had no problem teaching a distance education course or enrolling students for such a course as long as it was offered within the normal context of other semester-based or summer-term courses. In short, if it had been regularly scheduled through the normal channels as a traditional course, things went fine. However, when I tried to teach an on-line course solely for distance education students, I found that there was no administrative policy for handling such courses, no procedure to initiate the course and register students (or pay me), and (at that time) no person in charge of such an academic venture! After talking with a number of people in various offices, I was able to work through the College of Arts & Sciences and the Office of Continuing Education/Instructional Services to officially register the course and the students. Work with your institution's administration to get appropriate policies put in place regarding course scheduling, student registration (via an on-line mode would be a nice touch), copyright and ownership issues for course materials, and training and payment policies for on-line courses. Student self-discipline becomes a key factor for an on-line course. I give every distance education student in my classes a "pep-talk" pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of the on-line course. It's very easy for the student taking an on-line course to put off browsing the course notes and reading the professor's e-mail, figuring they'll make time for it later since the course can be done at any time of the day or night. My Ohio graduate student admitted to me at one point that what had been suspected or joked about regarding on-line classes was actually true in her case-she did her on-line lessons and exams in her pajamas! Unfortunately, for some students "any time" can end up being "no time". The bottom line is that they must be as diligent in their studies as if they were required to walk into the classroom three times a week. Final ThoughtsOverall, I have been very satisfied with the success of my journey into on-line courses using the web, and the students involved have been uniformly positive about their experiences in these courses. While I feel that there are still many refinements to be made and much to be learned regarding effective delivery of material, I see the on-line web course as a valuable addition to a professor's repertoire of instructional tools. In the end, the basis of success or failure is best summarized in a quote from Moore and Kearsky (1996): "…what makes any course good or poor is a consequence of how well it is designed, delivered, and conducted, not whether the students are face-to-face or at a distance." References
|
