Web based teaching: a minimalist approach

Abstract

This paper outlines the motivation for the development of some distance teaching tools. There are two sets of tools. The first a simple and effective lecture recorder system, which generates HTML output using Java code to provide audio and graphics annotation to a conventional overhead slide. The result is " playable " in any Java enabled HTML browser. The second set of tools concerns distance examination. Issues paramount to the security of the examining process are addressed and a client/server implementation is described. This system allows effective examination with good discrimination between students. It uses client side applets providing a rich and extensible set of input and output modes. These tools are being used in teaching at both Surrey University in the UK and at Massey and Waikato Universities in New Zealand. The motivation for these two experiments are quite different, the fust is local to Surrey University and tackles the issue of self-pacing, while the second addresses the issues of distance learning and class sharing between two Universities. In the latter other forms of multi-media are being explored alongside the use of the tools described. 1. The Teaching Process Distance learning has been developing in two different directions to date. There is a Luddite stream with its insistence on " study by Permission to make digiWnard copy oi all or pan oi this work for personal or classrOOm use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or Uktributed for profrl or commercial advantage, ths copyrtght notius. the title ol the publication and its date appear. and notice is given that copying is by permission dACM. Inc. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior speck permission and/or a fee. correspondence ". It has been venerated by generations of learners who drew wisdom from heavy tomes sent to them by post. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a multimedia cohort with their all-singing all-dancing CD-ROMs which never fail to entertain. The former works but requires strong motivation and usually on-site courses to back it up, while the latter is costly to produce and often substitutes sensation and hype for real learning. Finally both methods offer pitifully little as far as assessment is concerned, requiring the students to be examined in person. This paper advocates an alternative approach which belongs to a growing third battalion of developers …