Abstract | ||
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The option of obtaining education over networks is quickly becoming a reality for all those who have access to the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). However, at present, network-based education (NBE) over the WWW and the Internet in general faces a number of pitfalls. The problems range from inadequate end-user quality of service (QoS), to inadequate materials, to shortcomings in learning paradigms, and to missing or inappropriate student assessment and feedback mechanisms. In this paper, we discuss some major issues that, although mostly solved for NBE, still face Web-based education (WBE). These include the required workflow-oriented technological and quality of service support. In discussing the issues, we use examples from a wide-area NBE/WBE system called NovaNET and a WBE system called Web Lecture System (WLS). We recommend that WBE system developers construct operational user (workflow) profiles before building their content and interfaces. Our experience is that, especially for synchronous WBE systems, user-level round-trip keystroke delays should not exceed about 250 ms and the overall availability of the system (including network-related service failures) should be at least 0.95. We also suggest that a successful WBE system will have a sound auto-adaptive knowledge assessment component, a 驴virtual驴 laboratory capability, and a set of strong collaborative functions. Until WBE systems match teacher/instructor and student workflows both technologically (as an appliance) and pedagogically, WBE, except in its most primitive form, will not be an effective educational tool. |
Year | DOI | Venue |
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1999 | 10.1109/69.790839 | Knowledge and Data Engineering, IEEE Transactions |
Keywords | Field | DocType |
Internet,computer aided instruction,distance learning,groupware,information resources,quality of service,workflow management software,Internet,NovaNET,Web Lecture System,Web-based education,World Wide Web,auto-adaptive knowledge assessment component,collaborative functions,end-user quality of service,interfaces,learning paradigms,network-based education,operational user profiles,student assessment,student feedback,system availability,user-level round-trip keystroke delays,virtual laboratory capability,workflow | Data mining,World Wide Web,End user,Collaborative software,Computer science,Keystroke logging,Distance education,Quality of service,Web application,Workflow,Multimedia,The Internet | Journal |
Volume | Issue | ISSN |
11 | 4 | 1041-4347 |
Citations | PageRank | References |
25 | 3.93 | 7 |
Authors | ||
3 |
Name | Order | Citations | PageRank |
---|---|---|---|
Mladen A. Vouk | 1 | 452 | 49.92 |
Donald L. Bitzer | 2 | 63 | 9.81 |
Richard L. Klevans | 3 | 33 | 5.87 |