Building a Web-based Education System

Citation

Sutton, S.A. (1999), "Building a Web-based Education System", Internet Research, Vol. 9 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.1999.17209caf.006

Building a Web-based Education System

Building a Web-based Education System

McCormack, Colin and Jones, DavidWileyNew York, NY1997446 pp.$US49.99ISBN 0-471-19162-0Available: Wiley Computer Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012; http://www.wiley.com/compbooks/

With increasing frequency, educators in K-12, higher education, and training environments are developing Web-based education modules for distribution over the Internet. Depending on goals and needs, these modules vary from the simple posting of a course syllabus to the online presence of lectures, tutorials, instructional simulations, self-paced quizzes, formal examinations (with automatic grading), and student tracking modules. In Building a Web-based Education System, Colin McCormack and David Jones make a gallant effort to pull together all of the information necessary for an instructor to move a course from the traditional classroom to the Web. On occasion, the substantial breadth of the material covered results in a loss of focus. It is frequently unclear whether the text is targeting the instructor or the system administrator. This text is clearly not for the technically faint-of-heart.

The authors approach their topic by defining a series of tasks necessary to the systematic, successful building of a Web-based course. The text follows those tasks from initial conceptualization to the implementation of the tools necessary to manage the online environment. In Chapters 1 and 2, the authors examine the benefits and the problems of moving all or part of a course to the Web. They explore a number of myths that have grown up around Web-based courses including the frequent assertions that they will save money and that they are inhuman and not interactive. Chapter 2 focuses on the analysis of institutional and social factors that must precede implementation. Stemming from this analysis, the authors move to course planning and design in Chapter 3 in which substantial emphasis is given to both the storage and presentation structures for the various materials to be delivered.

Having planned the structure of the Web-based environment, the authors move to content development in Chapter 4. It is here that the reader begins to sense that an average set of Web-authoring skills (HTML-tagging, etc.) is not going to be sufficient to build the environments envisioned by the authors. In addition to understanding the various formats of Web-based media, it becomes apparent that understanding JavaScript, managing "cookies," CGI scripting, and even UNIX command line arguments will be necessary to fully understand the remaining six chapters of the book. While the authors state that complex issues such as managing the Web server ­ described in some detail in Chapter 10 ­ can be left to qualified personnel, nevertheless, following the examples throughout the text requires technical knowledge possessed by few instructors.

In Chapter 5, the various processes necessary to the distribution of information are tackled. While the technical complexity increases, so does the density of content. For the instructor willing to spend the time with the snippets of JavaScript, Chapter 5 and the discussion of enabling instructor-student and student-student communication in Chapter 6 provide a wealth of information that weds sound pedagogical principles with practical tools and methods. These two chapters (coupled with Chapter 7 on mechanisms for handling student assessment) are worth the reading time and justify the purchase of the book.

The text has a companion CD-ROM and a Web site. In addition to containing a range of links to online reference sources, the CD-ROM provides copies of the software used in Chapter 7 to automate the creation of simple online quizzes and examinations. These tools are nicely coupled with discussions of how to structure self-paced student assessment and online lectures and tutorials.

In Chapter 8, the authors examine the complex issues of class management including monitoring student progress, timetabling and scheduling, handling online student rosters, attendance records, and grading. Again, technical complexity increases. Knowledge of relational database management principles, ODBC, SQL, and manipulation of Web server logs is necessary to a full understanding. While the authors provide basic explanations, they are insufficient for the task they undertake. The same can be said for Chapter 10 where the authors walk the reader through:

(1) the basics of setting up a Web server on a range of computing platforms;

(2) setting up and managing server security; and

(3) connecting the server to the Internet.

For the technically timid, Chapter 9 is a welcome relief. Here the reader learns of three integrated systems that make it possible for an instructor to create a Web-based learning environment without having to understand JavaScript or any of a number of other technical skills peppered throughout the remainder of the text. The authors compare and contrast WebCT and Webfuse (both in beta at the time the authors were writing), and TopClass. Although several of these integrated course management systems have advanced through several commercial versions since the publication of this text, the basic comparisons remain sound.

In general, the text is poorly edited. In addition to containing a number of textual errors, erratic use of fonts in headings and subheadings force the reader on a number of occasions to backtrack to regain orientation. There is at least one occurrence of an improperly nested series of subheadings that completely distort the authors' meaning. Readers may find the index particularly disconcerting. It takes a while to figure out that the first printing of the book contains the wrong index ­ more than just an occasional error, literally the index for some other book! Apparently, once the error was discovered, it was corrected in subsequent printings ­ a remedy of little use to the owners of the flawed copies (including the copy under review here).

In spite of its flaws, Building a Web-based Education System is worth reading. Where it succeeds, it does so admirably. It clearly demonstrates that a successful Web-based course is more than the simple transitioning of the traditional classroom content and activity to the Internet. Such a transition is complex along a number of human, technical, and pedagogical dimensions that these authors clearly recognize.

Stuart A. SuttonSchool of Information StudiesSyracuse University