Collaborative development of courseware: Part One - Examples

Abstract Approaches to courseware development vary considerably. From examination of current research and practice, illustrated by examples taken from case studies in commercial and academic collaborative courseware production, we highlight and discuss some of the common issues identified, notably quality assurance and re-use of course material. Appropriate re-use can dramatically increase the efficiency of the production of courseware and contribute to the maintenance of consistent standards. In terms of the quality of courseware, which is difficult to assess objectively other than by obtaining user / client feedback, we suggest that the degree of coordination of the skills and efforts of the courseware team is a significant factor affecting the quality of the courseware as well as the efficiency of production. A suitably designed model of coordination should permit quality assurance procedures to be integrated into actual courseware production.