Objective
Technology-enhanced education is becoming an increasingly important part of higher and professional education. Web-based course management tools such as WebCT (Web Course Tools) are the latest wave of technology-based pedagogical tools. The question is whether certain groups of students, in particular, nontraditional students, are disadvantaged when these tools are used for teaching and learning.
Method
This study reports on a survey of39 social work students’ satisfaction with and perception of impact of WebCT in social work education.
Results
All students found course materials on the course Web site helpful. Graduate and nontraditional students reported greater utility of the course management tools. Nontraditional students were not disadvantaged by, and preferred access to, Web-based courses.
Conclusions
Web-based and Web-enhanced courses hold promise for accommodating the needs of nontraditional students in social work education.
Innovation in computer engineering and information technology has an impact on our traditional classroom teaching in engineering education. The evolution of Web-based instruction is certainly a revolution in classroom education and may set new standards in the new millennium. An emphasis is given in this paper to answer the question of why we need the web technology and how we can apply it to augment the classroom education. Application of a typical tool (Web CT) to an engineering course, the resulting experiences, and post-test statistical analysis are included in this paper. This approach is readily appreciated and welcomed by the present students, the engineers of next century.
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