ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

On-line Support of On-Campus Education:
An Implementation of a Resources-Based Approach
Parviz Doulai
Faculty of Informatics
University of Wollongong
Australia
parviz@uow.edu.au
Adopting a Resource-Based Approach to On-Campus Education
As university budgets are under constant pressure and class sizes continue to grow, affordable solutions are
needed to preserve the quality of on-campus education. One way to achieve this is to utilize new and emerging
dynamic Web environments in providing classroom support and fostering students learning. The new Web-based
educational technologies provide students with cost-effective choices beyond those normally available in a
centralized environment like a lecture theatre.
Web technology is increasingly being used to satisfy the requirements of resource-based approaches in distance
education. For on-campus education, the potential of Web technology is not being fully realized. The Web and
its associated technologies are capable of supplementing classroom-based teaching and learning strategies by
offering a variety of innovative pedagogical processes. Web technology can meet students’ individual learning
needs and learning styles by offering varied and flexible learning opportunities (Bishop et al. 1997).
Distance education typically employs a resource-based approach to curriculum design. The resource materials in
distance education are designed to facilitate student learning largely independent of real-time contact with
instructors. On-campus education, on the other hand, normally functions in standard teacher-centred classrooms,
and on-campus students generally rely on face-to-face interaction with instructors. Numerous innovations have
been introduced to transform the traditional on-campus education into a more learner-centred environment where
students can discover and construct knowledge with the help of introspection and peer interactions. The use of
technology can significantly facilitate the application of resource-based approaches in traditional lecture-based
on-campus courses.
This paper illustrates the usage of instructional resources that exploit the interactive and communication capacity
of modern technology. Incorporation of such resources into curriculum design not only facilitates the
convergence of on- and off-campus educational programs (Gosper & Rich 1998) but, according to advocates,
can produce other strategic and educational benefits. This paper also looks at the actual students usage of a
sample implementation of a dynamic learning environment and summarizes its students survey results.
Description of the Course, Enrolment and Logistics
The course, IACT101: Introduction to Information and Communication Technology focuses on providing a basic
technical understanding of computers and connectivity. In 1998 about 200 students registered for IACT101 of
whom about 190 completed the course requirements. The students were from a variety of academic backgrounds.
IACT101 is a 6 credit-point, one semester course. At the University of Wollongong, a typical full time student
undertakes 24 credit points per semester. The classes met for three hours per week consisting of an hour lecture
and two hours recitation and computer laboratory.
The IACT101 course was the University of Wollongong’s first full-featured implementation of a technologyenhanced
on-campus delivery. The World Wide Web Course Tools (WebCT) was used to develop course
resources and deliver the resulting learning environment to students. The IACT101 was chosen as the pilot
project to demonstrate the feasibility and the potential benefits and costs of on-line support systems. WebCT is
now the standard platform for developing and delivering Web courses at the University of Wollongong.
The "IACT101 Learning Environment" is logically organized into six virtual corners whereby the students use
the Web browser as the uniform user interface in accessing the course-related information and interacting with
the system.