Profs Want Better Web Tools. So What Are They?

Wanted: Courseware that spurs class interaction. Grabbier simulations wouldn't hurt either.

by Curtis J. Bonk for Office.com

March 20, 2001?Ever thought about how the Internet is impacting the daily routine of your former college professors? Is the current barrage of distance-learning technologies and degree programs having them check into their early-retirement options? Probably not. Want To Read the Report? "Online Teaching in an Online World" will be available on CourseShare.com and JonesKnowledge.com in late April.

For many college instructors, the traditional recitation courses and doctoral seminars found within their ivory towers have given way to talk of online office hours, virtual chats and asynchronous discussion groups. And that white-haired professor you remember most may be leading the charge.

A soon-to-be-released report, co-sponsored by JonesKnowledge.com and CourseShare.com, highlights the online-teaching obstacles, supports, preferences and experiences of today's college faculty. This survey was targeted at faculty who had posted online syllabi or Web resources at one of two nationally acclaimed Web sites, Merlot.org or the World Lecture Hall. ?

Many ... early Web adopters note the lack of online tools for critical- or creative-thinking activities. (They) also indicate a shortage of simulation tools and resources, as well as tools that allow them to comment and provide interactive feedback on student electronic work. Innovative courseware tools must be developed to meet these pedagogical needs. ??

Of the 222 college instructors who completed this e-learning survey, nearly half were over 50 years old, while six in 10 were associate or full professors. Such numbers suggest that college instructors are more likely to take risks and utilize Web technologies in their teaching as they gain experience and tenure. But what online tools and activities are these early Web adopters utilizing?

Those who remember the smudges on their dittoed and mimeographed Accounting Principles or Psychology 101 syllabus might be pleasantly surprised to hear that 85 percent of the faculty responding to this survey had posted at least one course syllabus to the Web. Their students can now print a clean version at any time and from any location.

Perhaps the most intriguing finding of the survey was that most of these faculty expressed a desire to peek into colleague sites and access online-expert teaching advice and resources. While less than 30 percent had shared teaching stories online or collaborated with other instructors on course tasks, many previously solitary college instructors are beginning to share instructional ideas and techniques with colleagues, miles, or even continents, apart.

"It seems that online instructors need more tools than those instructors teaching in face-to-face classrooms," says Lucio Teles, president of Telestraining Inc.

In fact, now that uploading syllabi and lecture notes to the Web have whet instructor appetites for online instruction, they appear to want more pedagogical flavor and interactivity within these environments. But can the Socratic method find its way online? And is there an opportunity for electronic role-play or debate? Unfortunately, many of these early Web adopters note the lack of online tools for critical- or creative-thinking activities. Survey responses also indicate a shortage of simulation tools and resources, as well as tools that allow them to comment and provide interactive feedback on student electronic work.

Innovative courseware tools must be developed to meet these pedagogical needs. According to Heather O'Mara, president of JonesKnowledge.com, which co-sponsored the survey: "Moving courses online is not simply using technology for its own sake. It's an effort to leverage the reach and interactivity of the Web to complement the classroom experience or to deliver a unique online educational experience."