| Summary: | Independent tools and fully integrated systems are currently being applied to educational
settings, delivering educational content and activities to students. Asynchronous, computer-mediated
communications enable students to reflect upon what they are learning, share their thoughts, and read
those of others. Such communication tools facilitate active and collaborative learning.
Two integrated systems, the Virtual University and the World Wide Web Course Tools, are
examined, and compared to one another. Both are Web-based systems that deliver course content and
activities to students, across a variety of hardware platforms and without geographical restriction.
They are systems that integrate features for a full learning environment, combining instructor
preparation facilities, on-line course content, student activities, assessment facilities, and
communication tools into a single application. Comparisons are drawn between these systems based
on their feature sets, and in the context of CPSC 319, an undergraduate software engineering team
project course.
I have observed the course, as a teaching assistant, for two years. It appeared to be a good fit
for on-line tools, particularly because teamwork is a central emphasis of the course, and the students
are familiar with computers. The intensity of the group work, however, and the unique grading
structure, makes the course less compatible with these tools than it first appeared. A study of the
course newsgroup and other on-line conference systems showed that, as expected, most students
participated in the optional on-line discussion groups. The shape of this participation changed,
however, between 1995-96 and 1996-97. There was a significant increase in the number of messages
posted by each participant, while fewer students actually posted messages. The students rejected the
VGroups conferencing system overwhelmingly, because it was perceived to duplicate tools they
already had, and failed to reach a critical mass of participants. === Science, Faculty of === Computer Science, Department of === Graduate
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