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Using
the Web as a Tool
Adam
O. Horvath and Lucio Teles Abstract This is a report on a small-scale trial of Computer Mediated Education (CME): Sixteen computer-naive students were offered a Web-based supplement to regular classroom instruction. The paper relates student responses and experience with special emphasis on novice users’ response to web-based assignments, discussion forums, and search and retrieval tasks. Introduction Computer-mediated education (CME) is a recently introduced mode of teaching and learning that uses the World Wide Web to facilitate peer interaction and access to information. CME can be conceptualized at two basic levels. The first level focuses on the Web and Internet as efficient and economical tools for information dissemination and retrieval. The second level, however, emphasizes electronic networking and collaboration as the primary educational use of the Web. Most instructional material used today is based on the first of these conceptualizations and takes advantage of its obvious benefits. The availability of the electronic network provides an extremely fast and seamless "highway" linking the instructor to an ever-widening segment of the potential audience and rapidly increasing sources of digitized information. Students can access and retrieve information following their own schedule and pace. Information can be stored in a convenient format, and course material can be segmented into "user friendly" and sequenced "chapters." A variety of high quality textual and multimedia enrichment (e.g., images and sound) can be provided at far less cost and effort per user than traditional "hard copy" versions of the same resources. Moreover, relatively long and complex texts can easily be updated and cross-referenced, which makes it simpler to provide the learner with up-to-date resource materials. At the second level of conceptualization the Web is used to support knowledge-building through collaborative learning and group tasks (Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, & Turoff, 1995). The students are located in various cities or countries and learn at times most convenient to them, linked by the Web. They not only acquire but also build knowledge through active input and problem-solving strategies. Computer-supported learning environments may be well suited for knowledge building through exploration, problem-solving, peer collaboration, and cognitive scaffolding (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994). In these environments students might be stimulated to take more active roles in searching for information and to seek comments and support from experts, mentors, and online peers. To understand the second level of conceptualization, i.e., electronic networking and collaboration, it helps to put the current electronic revolution in a long-term perspective. Throughout history technologies have emerged and revolutionized education. The earliest example, the development of writing, shifted the scope and content of hitherto oral culture. This new technology, on one hand, created the possibility of generating permanent and replicable information. On the other hand, it provided a socio/cultural "opportunity" for a whole new class of artisans: writers who were producers but not disseminators of text as opposed to storytellers of previous generations who combined these functions. Separating the functions created unimagined opportunities for each field and shaped the content and the process of education. Likewise, the development of the printing press in the fifteen century opened the doors for the dissemination of knowledge to a far broader strata of the population, but it also brought a greater range of cultural and scientific objects within the grasp of the learner. This enlargement, in turn, brought together hitherto sequestered knowledge fragments (e.g., the works of Hellenic philosophers, Arabic mathematicians) for the learners of the age. Importantly, each of these revolutions augmented the possible modalities of instruction and created new ways of learning: both for the "old culture" (i.e., that which was already created) and for new material (i.e., material that was available as a result of opportunities inherent in the new technology). Historically, these core technological innovations also created several new "supporting technologies" (e.g., the availability of a wide range of written texts generated the technological opportunity to develop libraries and catalogues) and generated new niches for "experts" in these technologies (e.g., librarians). During each technological revolution, there were those who feared the impact of the change as well as those who predicted the immediate obsolescence of the past and salvation resulting from the new invention. If history is a guide, neither Armageddon or salvation is likely to flow from advances in technology: the new invention does not obviate or replace the tools or modes of learning. Rather, it changes the context and extends the scope of education by its unique aspects. Writing has not entirely displaced discourse or storytelling; nor did the printing press or the typewriter eliminated handwriting! People still prefer to write some things (e.g., notes, intimate, and spontaneous communications) by hand. But long ago it became evident that the printed word is uniquely suited for larger scale distribution of text in a more permanent, portable, and compact fashion. Technological innovation shifts the focus and extends an existing domain, creates a new field, and usually results in a more refined application of both. Thus, the educational impacts of innovations tend to shift domains and focus technologies more narrowly rather than to replace one technology with the other. As a result, a broad vision of the electronic classroom at present involves both identifying the unique attributes and dimensions of cyberspace and appreciating the pedagogical limits imposed as humans grapple with the "old" and "new" knowledge. It has been noted that students no longer go to universities just to acquire a finite body of knowledge; they now want to "learn how to learn," how to renew themselves continuously intellectually in order to keep pace with the demands that will be placed on the knowledge worker of the twenty first century. It is predicted that for a person to remain gainfully employed in the emerging knowledge economy an equivalent of 30 credit hours will be required every seven years (Lick, 1996). The World Wide Web technology is uniquely suited to help students to become active learners, constantly renewing and expanding their knowledge. In higher education, one of the most common uses of the Web is to support student research needs. A wide variety of databases containing resources and pointers provide access to available information on vast areas of human knowledge. In online databases there are summaries of articles and books, full articles and magazines, peer-reviewed journals, reports, and statistical information. Through mailing lists, home pages, and other Web sites, students can contact peers and experts to obtain even more information. Knowledge is synthesized through a network of ideas, data sources, information, and interpretation that is interconnected through sustainable exchange with others (Hawkins, 1993). As university libraries obtain online databases and pointers to other instructional resources, more and more instructors expect students to conduct online research to support their course assignments and to prepare class presentations and papers. The Project We embedded this research project in an upper level education course (Education 425, Counseling Techniques for the Classroom Teacher). Having a fully functioning course as "host" for CME research provided a naturalistic environment for our investigation. Our goal was to explore a broad range of instructional possibilities as well as the psychological, educational, and technological challenges the computer-naive student might encounter in a CME environment. Thus, it was important to ensure that the students had all the resources of a campus-based course to fall back on. On the other hand, because the students were only encouraged, not compelled, to use the electronic environment, the observations we made and the interpretations we offer are only indications rather than firm conclusions of how students might react to a CME environment. The Questions As educators we wanted to know: What are the specific and unique capabilities of this new media? What problems and potential benefits may there be in breaking through the traditional three-dimensional learning space and extending it by using high speed information technology? What specific educational goals can be best fostered through the technological features of the World Wide Web? How do learners react to this "cyber environment"? The Constraints Importantly, we did not assume that visually appealing, high-tech, or even content-rich material is necessarily "better" than traditionally presented content. Our research is grounded in the assumption that the general notions of what is good education (i.e., intellectual and cultural enrichment, development of critical thinking, etc.) have not changed over the past millennia and thus that these fundamental values are valid in evaluating the impact of education in "cyberspace" as well. In addition, we realize that we are in the midst of a continually evolving technology and that consequently, not all end users will have access to the highest level of the available hardware and software resources. In light of this fact, our interest focused on tools that are most likely to be available in the "real world" to the kind of post-secondary students we serve rather than on the high end of the technological spectrum that is available in our laboratories and may (or may not) be on the desktop of the next generation of students. Lastly, we are interested in the psychological factors that affect "computer naive" students, since it seems obvious that we must be able to bridge the technological gap for them if we are to build a practical university that will be open to the broad range of students rather than one that caters to the technological elite. Assumptions We wanted to examine what happens to students and educators when they have to teach and learn and conduct (re)search effectively in an electronically enriched learning environment. Our project tried to explore the limits and challenges of a "teaching space" that was potentially far richer than the traditional classroom, but where the instructor did not have the customary means to guide and control the learner’s intellectual environment. Two levels of conceptualization were outlined at the beginning of this paper, the Web as an efficient tool for information dissemination and retrieval and the Web as a means for electronic networking and collaboration. First we will focus on the level one: access to information. The unique aspect of cyberspace environment is that physical distance (i.e., where an item is located) is practically irrelevant. Moreover, within this environment, information has became truly "democratic": anyone with access to a computer can have access to all of the available information, instantly. The original portfolio or the minutes-old data from the Mars rover are no longer the exclusive domain of the academic scholar, the traditional pyramidal access to knowledge has been made flat. While early access such bounty is not without its own problems, it does remove the traditional practical boundaries to what we can find out. Not coincidentally, the idea of the Web originated in a research laboratory (CERN), and initially it was viewed as a research application. The important notion here is that the user can create a path, starting with a concept embedded in the original text, ant then progress in directions and dimensions that cannot be predicted by the original author. It is a search driven by the curiosity of the student and bounded by the depth of information out in cyberspace. The Design Our research used a naturalistic design; the primary objective was to provide the students with an computer-enriched learning environment. The instructor [A.O.H] made systematic observations on behaviour related to our research questions and made extended but unstructured notes in a course journal after each class. Since the project was not based on a quasi-experimental design (Campbell & Stanley, 1996) no claims will be made for generalizability beyond the context of the research. Although some behaviours were measured quantitatively (such as number of sites visited and timing of certain events), no numerical data will be reported. The course was divided into 13 units corresponding to the number of 4-hour classes scheduled for the term. Two classes were canceled (statutory holiday and illness), and on two occasions technical problems prevented the use of the computer lab. Thus the data was gathered over nine sessions. The students used Macintosh computers connected to a remote server via Ethernet. All the material was served on the Web using MacHTTP (v2.01) server. All 16 students were using Netscape Navigator as a browser. Participants: Four observations were planned: 1. Solving virtual problems We were interested in quantifying the computer-naive mature students’ attention span for "on-task activities." The class was presented with a forty-minute introduction to the use of a computer as a "web-browser" using live overheads and hands-on practice. For the next two sessions, the instructor kept note of the length of time novice users would stay on task to resolve problems (real or perceived) when the computer did not perform as they expected. Observations: a. Over half of the students would stop interacting with the computer as soon as they were faced with an "unexpected response" or the computer did not respond when they anticipated a response. Typically, the student "froze" with obvious discomfort and prefaced a request for assistance with an "apology." (The students had been previously assured that computers are not always tractable, or "smart," and that all users, including "experts," will need to ask for assistance one time or another). b. Those students who tried to stay on task (use one of the strategies suggested in the introductory lecture) made, on average, two to three attempts to resolve the problem. Beyond these creative trials, there was strong a tendency to keep trying the same non-effective solution rather than to apply a trial and error method or develop a logical problem-solving strategy. c. The further along in the session a student encountered the first problem, the more likely he or she was to engage in multiple attempts at solution. However, it also appears to be the case that the further along this "first crisis" occurred, the more emotionally the student reacted. 2. Direct stimulus assignment We used the computer to deliver an interactive assignment requiring: a) understanding a relatively complex sequential set of instructions; b) retrieving and using (in the correct sequence) of stimulus material; and c) interacting with a fellow student to complete the task. (i.e., the students had to alternate working with the computer and interacting with a colleague. Observations: Most students found this assignment enjoyable and challenging. Interest was high and well maintained throughout the task. Although the instructions were relatively complex, the "on task loyalty" was high. Students helped each other with the technical challenges of managing the computer. Only one out of the seven pairs of students copied the stimulus to paper; the rest were willing to work with the object on screen. The quality and quantity of the responses to the assignment compared favourably to the ones submitted by students completing the assignment in the regular class environment. 3. Exploring the "virtual library" We observed the students’ behaviour in response to an assignment involving a semi-structured, open-ended search task using the facilities and resources available on the Internet. The students were assigned a topic to research. Two structural aids were provided by the instructor (on line): a link to a search engine (WebCrawler) with instructions on its use and a group of "jump off points" (clickable URLS relevant to the general topic of the research). Observations: We had hypothesized that the full potential of online instruction involves the use of the unique capabilities of the Web: linked text and massive searchable content. We organized this task to begin to gauge students’ reaction to these capabilities. The focus of our observation was the frequency and quality of students search activities. How many links did they explore? Did they get off track (distracted)? Were they able to get back on track? Were they able to make some positive qualitative decisions during their explorations? Two sources of data were evaluated: the log of sites visited and the students’ reports (both verbal and written). The former was scanned for quantity and quality of web-based references. On average, students visited four sites (not counting the "jump off point") over approximately 25 minutes. On task behaviour was high; very little off task or distracting behaviour was observed. About half of the students ended up on sites that were not even remotely related to the topic; however, this was the first experience of a linked text search for many, and the level of excitement and enthusiasm was high. Each student managed to "hit" at least two relevant links in the course of their search. All but two students made explicit reference(s) to web-based information subsequently in their write-up of this assignment. About 40 per cent of students provided evidence that they had used the Web search facilities to research topics, on their own initiative, for other assignments.
4. The virtual community The students were provided with structured material online covering the topic: "Gender Role Stereotyping." After the content was covered, students were instructed (online) to join a real time online conference with their classmates to discuss the topic. Observations: Eleven of the 12 students present made contributions to the discussion. The range of contributions were from 1 to 6. Most items were short (single sentence) and fairly superficial. There were several factors limiting the validity of this trial: the situation was highly artificial; the students were actually sitting next to each other; most anticipated having a coffee and chat after class; and, last but not least, as a result of some technical problems, the class was running quite late.
In addition to the planned observations, we were also able to collect some data on students preference/tolerance for on-screen versus hard-copy (printed) content. Paper versus Screen Observations: Students tended to print out course material longer than 350 words. Chunking the content up into small, logically linked pages did not seem to change this behaviour. About half way through the course, we provided some disincentive to printing (students had to pay for it). This strategy did not alter the student’s behaviour in a significant way. Informal debriefing suggests three reasons for this behaviour:
Summary and Conclusions Our observations of mature, but computer-naive students’ interaction with computer-mediated instruction support the following tentative conclusions:
• Problems with the computer tend to generate high levels of frustration and anxiety and elevated levels of non-constructive, repetitive "problem-solving behaviour." It appeared to us that students’ difficulties were caused not only by the lack of the requisite skills to diagnose the problem or by the lack of "computer knowledge/skills" to solve the problem but, importantly, by the elevated level of anxiety which blocked rational as opposed to affectively motivated behaviour. We also frequently noted that students tended to feel embarrassment and or shame in response to these problems and tended to antropomorphise the computer and assign negative emotions to it ("computers don’t like me," "it does not want to listen to me") to take personal blame for the malfunction, making negative self-statements: "I am stupid with computers," "I probably broke it," "I always screw it up," and so forth. It seems that these reactions may be a significant impediment for at least some students using CME, and they deserve careful investigation under more controlled conditions. Our experience suggests that: • practice activities related to the use of the computer and the CME software should be built into the CME interface; • the user interface should be highly consistent across units and across platforms throughout the material; • emergency procedures (e.g., how to reboot or exit the software, etc.) should be provided at the VERY BEGINNING of the CME package, both online and in hard-copy format. Students response was most positive when the computer responded predictably and promptly. It appears that the first units of instruction ought to minimize load time, even at the expense of other positive instructional values. Students began to show signs of distraction or anxious behaviours after about 15 seconds of computer inactivity in the first few sessions, though their tolerance improved marginally in subsequent sessions. There is a subtle relation between content, length, and media of presentation. It appears to us that until computers become wireless and totally portable, material that is "factual" (i.e., discrete information, logical arguments, and the like) and/or longer than 350 words per block will have to be made available as hard copy in addition to the online format. Material that is designed for "one time use" (such as a stimulus for an assignment) pr designed as a "lead-through" or search is more readily accepted as an screen presentation. Most students responded well to the notion of a virtual community; ideas such as forums or discussion groups appear to be a vital "functionality" of this environment. Based on our classroom observation, even students who had ample of face-to-face opportunities enjoyed these activities and were willing to invest considerable energy using the Web pages provided for the purpose. On the other hand, once the focus was lost (i.e., the discussion moved into tangential directions), the "virtual community" rapidly fragmented into dyads and triads. As it is labour-intensive to moderate group discussions closely, we see this issue as a concern for CME. The most exciting aspect of our learning trial was the utilization of the linked text environment for research. Although the possibility of "getting lost in cyberspace" is high, the overall educational impact of the technology was positive. Students were excited and motivated to discover that a variety of their own topics of interest were shared by a broad and often knowledgeable community. This fact in itself, in addition to the value of the resource retrieved, was clearly perceived as an asset. Many students had limited computer experience but they had used database searches previously and so were familiar with the concept of keywords and Boolean operators. This background was a significant help in the utilization of search engines. Getting lost and feeling overwhelmed by material were the two most serious drawbacks of these exercises. Some of these problems might be mitigated by structuring or confining the research to a greater degree. However, it seem to us that a great deal of the overarching intellectual benefit might be forfeited in the process. A number of students voluntarily reported that they continued to use the Web as a research tool in connection with their work (teaching) as well as in other academic contexts. These students told us that they found a "Library in Space" and discovered not only information but intellectual adventure as well. We feel this is the most encouraging of all of our findings. References Harasim, L., Hiltz, R., Teles, L., & Turoff, M. (1995). Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online. Cambridge: MIT Press. Hawkins, J. (1993, May). Technology and the Organization of Schooling. Communications of the ACM, 36(5). Horvath, A. (1997). School Counselling for the Classroom Teacher - Study Guide, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, B.C., Canada. Lick, D. (1996, April). Ivory Towers and Ivy-Covered Walls will Yield to Online Learning. The Christian Science Monitor. Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), 265—283. Stanley, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally. Teles, L. & Duxbury, N (1991). The Networked Classroom. Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, B.C., Canada. ERIC ED 348 988 We would like to thank our colleague Jane Cowan for her editing suggestions.
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