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Using the Web to promote active learning outside of class time

Caroline Barrière School of Information Technology and Engineering University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada, K1N 7Z3

Abstract In this paper, the Web is viewed favorably as helping learning in large class settings. The Web's overall advantage is to generate a virtual presence for the students to feel guided outside of class time. Two important aspects of this guidance are presented that promote learning. First, tracking and feedback through maintaining a Frequently Asked Question page, and second, active participation and critical thinking by requiring students to self-mark their assignments.

1. Large classes, active learning, and technology: in and out of the classroom

Teaching large classes is not a new phenomena when considering the academic world as a whole, with courses such as psychology 101 or biology 101 having size of well over 100 students for many years. Immediate consequences of teaching large classes are the lack of individual contact with students and more limited feedback on students work. An extra dimension is added to this problem when Engineering courses are taught to large classes. Courses such as Microprocessor-based design or Fundamentals of Software Design have a practical (hands-on or lab) component which is essential to the understanding of the material presented in class. In such courses, the practical component can unfortunately not be taught by the professor but is put in the hands of Teaching Assistants (TAs) as lecture groups are divided into smaller groups to fit in the lab environment. In such setting, the lack of feedback from the professor is often exacerbated by inconsistencies among TAs. This lack of individual attention and the variability factor introduced by having different people participate in the teaching can be quite devastating for students, especially freshman students just out of high school.

Physical problems with no obvious physical solutions lead to search for virtual solutions. We propose that a virtual presence through the Web will increase the "simulated" direct contact to students. Furthermore, we think the Web can facilitate active learning outside of class time, by making possible the implementation of a self-evaluation approach. The next section presents in detail an example of a Software and Computer Engineering course in which the Web was used for these two purposes. But first, we will discuss the positive impact of active learning on students, and the use of self-evaluation as one active learning strategy.

Active learning has been discussed and presented by many researchers and practitioners as an efficient way of promoting learning (Bonwell & Sutherland 1996) 2. Active learning is a mindset focusing on keeping students active and involved with their own learning. "Students are simply more likely to internalize, understand and remember material learned through active engagement in the learning process." (Boud 1995) 3 Even if the concept of active learning is quite general, it

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Barrière, C. (2002, June), Using The Web To Promote Active Learning Outside Of Class Time Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10924