Course Delivery Methods
Paper Doesn't "Cut It"
The Internet changes eveything
- Alternatives to paper based materials delivery
- Evaluation of each alternative
- Lecturers perspective
- Students perspective
- Disadvantages of Web Delivery
- Recomendations for the future
Alternatives - Lecturer Perspective
| Medium | Creation | Distribution | Content Variety/Reuse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slides/Notes | Reasonable | Time consuming/Expensive | Adequate |
| Audio | Easy | Time consuming/Very Expensive | Poor |
| Video | Hard | Time consuming/Very Expensive | Reasonable |
| Compact Disk | Reasonable | Time consuming/Cost Effective | Very Good |
| World Wide Web | Reasonable | Instantaneuos/Very Cost Effective | Excellent |
Alternatives - Student Perspective
| Medium | Usability | Accessibility |
|---|---|---|
| Slides/Notes | Adequate | No searching |
| Audio | Reasonable | No searching, Difficult to Navigate |
| Video | Good | No searching, Difficult to Navigate |
| Compact Disk | Excellent | Integrated searching |
| World Wide Web | Excellent | Integrated searching, Hyperlinks, Accessibility |
Disadvantages of Web Delivery
- access restrictions
- speed
- downtime
- unequal access
- can be complex to design
- can require learning additional tools
- changes the expectations of students (disadvantage?)
Addressing the disadvantages
- access Restrictions
- the Internet as an alternative delivery mecahnism
- design complexity
- lecturers focus on content creation
- IT staff focus on content delivery (templates)
- require additional tools
- no change - until lecturers demand it!
- change students expectations...?
Recomendations for the Future
- avoid complex and restrictive applications
- work with simple applications and have them grow with you
- Forrest (which is free) provides:
- site templates
- one source for:
- Web Site single topic, or whole session)
- PDF (single topic, or whole session)
- Slides (single, or topic, or whole session)
- CDRom (all above)
- shared content between courses
- glossary
- citations
Summary
- students expect more
- electronic media provides more
- need not be an "all-or-nothing"
- start small, have the tools grow with you
Note
Students appreciate online delivery and good notes