HyWeb: A Hybrid-Web System for Delivery and Enhancement of Web-Based and Traditional
Teaching
Vicki Jones, School of Information Technology [HREF1],
Griffith University Gold Coast [HREF2], Qld,
Australia.v.jones@gu.edu.au
Greg Cranitch, School of Information Technology [HREF1],
Griffith University Gold Coast [HREF2], Qld,
Australia. g.cranitch@gu.edu.au
Jun H. Jo, School of Information Technology [HREF1],
Griffith University Gold Coast [HREF2], Qld,
Australia. j.jo@gu.edu.au
Abstract
This paper discusses the development of a Hybrid-Web (HyWeb) System which uses
a delivery method consisting of several components for use with Web-based and
traditional teaching. HyWeb uses a Hybrid Delivery System (HDS) which was initially
designed for use within a first-year Multimedia course, offered at Griffith University,
Gold Coast. The program of study is delivered using a combination of online and
traditional methods. This involves using the Internet with a variety of other
media, which is supplied on CD. The amount of traditional teaching is reduced
and the students realise an increased flexibility. The HDS evolved from a Flexible
Learning System introduced in 1999 and, as the developers could see the potential
of the system, it was further developed throughout 2000. Further development has
taken into account both the limitations and the benefits found during the implementation
of the Flexible Learning System. This paper will introduce a new system, HyWeb,
the hybrid-Web teaching system developed at Griffith University, Gold Coast. Features
of the implemented HDS will be reviewed and the newly evolved HyWeb discussed.
Introduction
There is a myriad of educational approaches currently evolving and now being implemented,
further evidence that the enhancement of online teaching is a fundamental issue,
one which has a strong place in the realm of tertiary education in the 21st Century.
The Internet is a big part of our lives today. How to use it to benefit the education
system is an important and relevant issue and a popular research topic in the
field of information technology. Universities are eager to "get online" with many
now investigating and implementing what is known as Web-based Instruction (WBI).
In the book, "Web-Based Instruction", edited by Khan (1997), a clear definition
of WBI was offered. This definition is still applicable and current four years
on.
" ...a hypermedia-based instructional program which utilizes the attributes
and resources of the World Wide Web to create a meaningful learning environment
where learning is fostered and supported."
There is also a widespread trend to set up new Multimedia departments, such as
Griffith Flexible Learning Service at Griffith University, which are specifically
designed to produce instructional multimedia.
Traditional teaching methods have been deeply entrenched in university life for
centuries, the principal delivery method being that of the face-to-face lecture.
These were generally held in large lecture theatres and students were expected
to listen silently, taking notes and saving their questions for a later time.
In the last few decades, computers have played a role in tertiary education, mainly
as a tool for students to write assignments, perform calculations, produce graphs
and save work electronically. In the early 1990's, the Internet and World Wide
Web emerged as easily accessible technologies. It was about this time that the
attitude towards electronic, or computer-based learning, seemed to change. From
the mid 1990s educational research turned towards online instruction, also known
as WBI, as reflected in many of the publications of the day (Brown, 1997; Carswell,
1997; Laurillard, 1997; McManus, 1996; Oliver, Herrington & Omari, 1996). Yet,
the rush to "get online" often resulted in the phenomenon referred to as "electronic
page turning" (Jones and Jo, 1998), which comes from simply making lecture notes
available on the Web. Brown (1997) refers to this as "...electronic repackaging".
Some academics started to develop their own courses for online delivery. Many
of these early "self-taught" WBI designers worked independently to present their
lectures and tutorials in Web fashion. Ellis and Phelps (2000) refer to these
people as "online mavericks", and it was this pioneering spirit that led the way
for the emergence of "multimedia development departments" for WBI programs within
the University framework.
With a multimedia development department in control of the presentation and delivery,
the lecturer is often required to have all material prepared some weeks prior
to the start of semester. The problem with this is that the lecturer may experience
reduced control over the content, maybe even feel powerless in being unable to
make "online" last minute changes, relevant to the course. It was with this in
mind that the HyWeb system was developed. The use of HyWeb as discussed in this
paper, aims to address some of these issues and allow the lecturer added control
over the material and its delivery.
Current Issues
One of the benefits of online teaching is the ubiquitous nature of the Internet
and its ability to reach a large number of students. Two particular technical
limitations were established during previous research:
- Computer hardware
- Speed/Bandwidth
For efficient implementation of any teaching system there must be a medium in
place for delivery of materials. Figure 1 is a representation of the basic two-dimensional
course structure. The delivery component is present in all domains and is a necessary
part of all courses of study. In traditional education the delivery element is
the lecture, which usually takes the form of verbal and visual presentations.
In distance education it may be any number of media, such as printed, audio and/or
video material sent via post, audio/video material presented via television or,
more recently, material presented via the Internet and email. With online education
the media used are computers and the Internet.
Computer hardware
To participate in online learning students must have access to Internet-enabled
computers, which meet a minimum processor specification. Although this may be
"stating the obvious" it must still be mentioned as a relevant factor in online
education. We cannot assume that every student has a home computer. However, in
Australia this is not generally a problem as the majority of Australian universities
are well equipped with computer labs, many allowing 24-hour access. Research also
suggests that many university students may already have the computer and Internet
access necessary. The number of online users in Australia rose from 6.8 million
(37.7% of the population) in November 1999 (Petska, 1999), to 8.2 million (45.5%
of the population) by October 2000 (Nielsen Media Research, 2000). In Australia
more than half the 18-24 age group are Internet users and Australians represent
a large proportion of online users, having the third highest rate of Internet
usage (Sinclair, 1999). These statistics suggest that there is widespread Internet
use by younger Australians who make up a large percentage of university students.
Even so, there are students who live away from home and have difficulties for
reasons such as substandard computer equipment, no computer at all, or inadequate
knowledge in Internet use.
Speed/Bandwidth
To function adequately as a learning tool the network should be quick to respond,
reliable and accessible. Yet streaming technology has not yet reached its full
potential. According to Zimmerman (2001) the bandwidth required for quality audio
and video streaming is neither viable nor readily available to the public, with
the battle over formats as a contributing factor. With the increasing amount of
Internet traffic it is difficult to guarantee adequate data transfer speeds, site
availability and consistency. Everyone using the Internet is sharing bandwidth.
Everything you do on the Internet contributes to the overall load on the system
(Finnie, 1997) and can reduce the capacity of the network. Students tend to access
the Internet at similar times, such as late at night or just prior to an exam,
when there may be more load on the system and a greater risk of sites being "down"
or unavailable. One of the major problems reported by students using the Flexible
Learning System was the slow data transfer rate (Jones, Jo, and Cranitch, 2000b).
The use of high bandwidth Internet access could alleviate the slow data transfer
problems. High bandwidth is the future of the Internet. Fast Internet access is
emerging gradually in Australia. High bandwidth models include:
- ADSL (Asymmetric digital subscriber line) - high speed digital telephone
technology which allows fast downloads with slightly slower uploads. This
technology uses the copper wire within the existing telephone cable. It frees
up the phone line for normal telephone use and by utilising an ADSL modem
there is no need to "dial-up".
- Cable - uses the Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial (HFC) network normally used for cable
television. It requires a cable modem and specific software, and allows fast
Internet access with no need to "dial-up".
- Satellite - requires a satellite dish installation; uses Multipoint Microwave
Distribution System (MMDS) - a system that sends a signal from the satellite
dish to the base station. However, it is still necessary to "dial-up" and
use a phone modem. The advantage of this system is the fast downloads (via
satellite) but uploads are still as slow as with a dialup connection.
High bandwidth options are currently expensive and not practical for most students.
However, we can expect these access methods to be more readily available and cost-effective
in the near future.
Online Delivery System
With the growing implementation of WBI there has also been a great deal of research.
Techniques using flexible learning, collaboration, online education and virtual
campuses abound, and research issues include curriculum design to suit flexible
delivery (Bell and Lefoe, 1998), design approaches using narrative (Wild and Omari,
1996), collaboration (Oliver, Omari and Herrington, 1997) and design structure
(Updegrove, 1995). Although much of the current research looks extensively at
the inclusion of interaction, flexibility and student involvement, fewer researchers
appear to be looking at the delivery method and use of complemented material as
an integration of techniques within WBI.
Using HyWeb for online delivery
HyWeb's online system was developed at Griffith University, Gold Coast and partially
implemented in 1999 and 2000. From previous research (Jones, Jo and Cranitch,
2000a) it was established that students prefer to have some degree of face-to-face
contact during an online delivered course.
Figure 2 represents an expanded view of the Course Structure model (presented
in Figure 1). It also represents the projected model to be put in place in 2001.
Here the delivery element is divided into two major sections: Printed Materials
and HyWeb (Internet and CD-ROM). The CD-ROM component had not yet been initiated
in the year 2000 model. At the start of the semester, a teaching kit, which includes
printed materials and CD, will be made available to all the students. They will
be advised to use the CD in conjunction with the Web site. Communication is maintained
via several media: email, online forum, online notice board and face-to-face.
The HyWeb system uses multiple delivery methods:
- Printed Materials - These will include a textbook (if required),
booklets and notes (as may be required). Printouts usually include information
that can be more frequently and easily accessed, without turning on a computer.
Printed Materials often give more flexibility than on-line or CD-based materials.
Their portability offers added convenience to students for use at any time
- any place. Some documents such as assignment sheets are handed out both
on-line and in printout form.
- HyWeb
- Internet delivery - Lectures are delivered via Internet in a variety
of ways: slide shows, videos, sound, animation, and downloadable files.
The Internet lectures, or "Web-Lectures", will also include voice-over and
demo movies in QuickTime and Real Video Streaming synchronised with the
lecture slides. Web-Lectures were successfully implemented in semester 2,
2000 (Jones, Jo and Cranitch, 2000b), and figure 3 shows a screen shot of
a "Web-Lecture page" from this implementation. It includes three main boxes:
on the left side - slides containing text and figures are displayed; at
the top-right - a video image of the lecturer giving the lecture; and at
the bottom-right - a note pad that allows students to write notes, copy
and paste text, save and load other text files; and animation corresponding
to the text.
There are a number of "book-shaped" buttons at the base of the screen which
allow students to navigate weekly lectures and also use other communication
tools such as online forum, email, news or academic results page. The advanced
version will include new and updated information in real time. Lecturers will
be able to monitor students' learning pace and make adjustments when needed
using a Database system trialed in a previous study and reported by Perez
and Jo (2000). It will be used to record, monitor and analyse students' learning
behaviours. During the initial implementation in 1999, the lectures took the
form of a "Lecture-board" with a slightly different appearance. The application
initially used Macromedia Shockwave, then JavaScript and finally video and
audio streaming. Student feedback confirmed that the transfer speeds presented
a major problem, although there was some progressive improvement with the
changes of applications and scripts. In 1999, many students were unable to
receive the Web-lectures from home and were forced to travel to university
during the off-peak lab times, such as in the evening and on weekends.
- CD-ROM - This is a vital component of the HyWeb system. CDs can
accommodate high volume files such as graphics, audio/video files, animation
and movie files, required for teaching, which would otherwise slow down
the transfer rates. One of the hardest decisions for the multimedia designer
to make, in order to deliver a high volume file online, such as a video
clip, is whether to provide good quality or fast delivery. More often than
not, they sacrifice quality for fast delivery, or transfer rate, through
a narrow bandwidth. The content of the CD files would, in all probability,
be "constant" for the duration of the course, and therefore unlikely to
need upgrading. The information contained on the CD will then be retrieved
and synchronised with the material from the Main Server when students access
the web page. However, HyWeb allows the system to retrieve files from the
server if necessary. The CD will also include any plug-ins that may be required.
This will save a great deal of time needed for downloads.
Using the CD
The CD is designed for use in conjunction with the Web site. On the student's
first visit to the Web site the HyWeb system will search for the CD. It will be
set to look for it in "D" drive as the default drive. If the CD cannot be found
the student will be prompted by a pop-up window, firstly to insert the CD, and
if it still cannot find it, they will be prompted to type in the drive letter
of their CD-ROM, which may be different from the default. Once the drive letter
is established it will be saved as a "cookie", thus relieving the student of the
repeated task of drive letter specification.
Communication Issues
Communication was a major consideration when developing the latest model. The
lack of student-to-lecturer and student-to-student communication during the seven
weeks of online lectures was a problem and many students had concerns about this
matter. The new model (Figure 4) is designed to address and resolve these issues.
HyWeb allows for communication by way of email, online Forum and an online Notice
board. We found these techniques most useful during the first stage of implementation.
However, as stated, many students requested more direct contact with the lecturer.
For seven weeks of the course the students had both face-to-face lectures and
tutorials. For the other seven weeks they had online lectures and face-to-face
tutorials. The online lectures were presented for semester weeks seven to thirteen
inclusive, meaning that, for the major time leading up to the exam, students had
weekly contact with their tutor but not the lecturer. Tutor consultation times
totaling five hours per week were also offered for students' assistance. Because
of the lack of student-to-lecturer contact, another weekly consultation time was
scheduled. At this time the lecturer (who was also the course convenor) was available
in his office for students to "drop in". However, not many students used this
time, choosing to "drop in" at other times or just a few days before the exam.
Creed (1996) specified three categories of online communication, and in relationship
to Creed's views we can correlate the elements of the HyWeb system with all three
categories:
| Creed's view |
HyWeb |
| Private discourse -work submitted via email, as well as brief
discussions and conversations through email. |
Email (private discourse)
|
| Public forum - a closed online forum where relevant topics and
issues can be discussed between class members and the lecturer |
Online forum (public forum - between class members and
the lecturer)
|
| Repository of information - the course material available online
(includes lecture notes, handouts and suggested readings) |
Online course material (repository of information)
|
Email - students did use the email option extensively. They could choose
from a list of email addresses (lecturers, tutors and technicians) in a drop down
menu. This was used mainly for queries about course details, due dates, contact
with tutors and technical problems. However, unlike Creed's specifications, work
(e.g. assignments) was not submitted via email. Submitted work was deposited into
open (one way) folders on the university network accessible from the multimedia
lab computers.
Online forum - One way to overcome the problem of students not attending consultation
times is by offering several options:
- Real time online forum - an online forum using a private "chat room" can
be held at set times and set days of the week. In this way the students can
"logon", ask questions and discuss problems and issues with the lecturer and
other students in real time.
- Real time video conferencing - this is an excellent means of communication
over distance. However, there are a number of limiting factors with the use
of this technology for personal computers. Real time video conferencing through
a low bandwidth connection (i.e. dial-up) is slow and impractical. Also, to
use this technology a desktop video camera is required. Lack of funds may
make this prohibitive for some students who will then be at a disadvantage.
Nonetheless, the development of video conferencing technology for student-lecturer
communication is a viable option. Inevitably the number of students with access
to this technology will increase as it becomes more cost effective and practical.
During the initial implementation an online forum (discussion zone) was used.
Students could select a topic and post their comments and ideas. Forum submissions
were published online for the lecturer and other students to read and comment
on. This format followed a "message board" approach and was not in real time.
Online course material - all relevant course material was made available to
students via the Internet. A front "logon" page was the entry point and students
could logon and have access to online lectures, tutorial notes and exercises.
HyWeb also includes an online Notice board, FAQs, a HELP section and Download
page:
Online Notice board - when students accessed the "Multimedia 1" web page
the Notice Board was displayed as a pop-up window. There were several options
available:
- Timetable - lectures, tutorials and consultation times.
- The Team (Teaching Team) - hyper-linked email addresses of the lecturers
and tutors.
- News - (Figure 5) regular updates of relevant information. All previous
news items were also available. This was the default option.
- Job Scene - details of any known multimedia and IT positions available
were posted here.
- Assignment - all assignment details, including downloadable hard copies
and feedback documents as required.
- Alumni - Alumni News: this included email from past students who were in
the work force and their contact details.
FAQs - these were prepared by asking the tutors and lecturers to submit
questions they had come across in past years and to suggest relevant issues. All
categories were displayed in a list and hyperlinked for ease of use.
HELP section - help in how to use the system was provided, along with information
about the developers of the system.
Download page - lecture notes, tutorial notes and example files were downloadable
from this page.
Discussion
The newly evolved HyWeb system is currently being implemented and will adopt an
enhanced format in semester 2, 2001. The development of this system is an ongoing
project. One of the principles followed by those involved in the multimedia course
at Griffith University, Gold Coast, is to apply what is being taught and it was
a natural progression to use multimedia techniques in teaching and delivering
a multimedia course. This evolution has resulted in a combination of online and
traditional approaches, most appropriate to this subject.
Another important factor in its development was to allow for "last minute changes"
by the lecturer. A large portion of the material will still need to be prepared
prior to the start of semester, mainly the CD contents. However, changes will
be possible allowing the lecturer greater content control. Below are listed the
three types of team members involved in the project with their specific participation
and time-on-task:
- Academics/Lecturers (teaching team) - preparation of lecture materials
(text and images); shooting of video for the Web-lectures - total time involved:
approximately 70 hours/week.
- Technicians -preparation of Web material using Flash, "Asp" script
language, Generator; maintenance and upkeep of server and programming software
- total time involved: approximately 20 hours/week.
- Graphic Designers - preparation of Web graphics primarily using
Flash, but other software as required - total time involved: approximately
10 hours/week.
Content Control
By using HyWeb the lecturer can control the input from his or her own computer.
The system is intended for use within any field of study so the control element
is designed for a basic computer literate user. The lecturer only needs to be
able to use a video camera and have basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel. By referring
back to Figure 3 we see the components are video and other files:
- Video - the lecturer can produce his or her Web-lectures, in their
own office, using a tripod and digital video camera; or enlist the help of
the university's Audio/Video department.
- Other files (Input and organization) - the files to be used in the
Web-lecture can be stored on the server or on the CD.
The lecturer will use the Excel sheet in conjunction with the Web-lecture page.
Its roll is to generate a text file for setting variables in Flash. Once the Excel
file has been modified it can be uploaded to the FTP server. Any major changes
requiring larger volume files that could not be reasonably transmitted over the
Internet could be prepared on an updated CD to be made available to the students
during semester as needed. The Database monitoring system will also come into
place in 2001. This is a tried and tested system and good results are expected.
Conclusion
A survey was conducted after the first implementation of the system in 1999, and
participating students expressed a positive attitude. However, from the qualitative
and quantitative data analysis, a number of issues were found (Jones, Jo and Cranitch,
2000a). These issues, which have been discussed in this paper, provided ideas,
inspiration and motivation to develop the system into a more fully expanded and
improved system now known as HyWeb. In 2000, all the components of HyWeb, excluding
the CDs and the Database monitoring system, were implemented, producing encouraging
outcomes and good responses from students. The CDs are currently being prepared
and will be in use in 2001.
By incorporating both Web server and CD-ROM delivery with traditional methods,
the developers of HyWeb believe that a sound partnership of today's technology
can be established. Unlike most CD-enhanced teaching systems, HyWeb enables easy
modification and monitoring of the system. By using a systematic approach to a
multiple delivery system, an effective and efficient dynamic learning environment
is anticipated. The combination of this approach with a practical and functional
communication network will result in a robust learning environment suited to the
needs of today's students.
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Copyright
Vicki Jones, Greg Cranitch and Jun H. Jo © 2001. The authors assign to Southern
Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive
licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided
that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The
authors also grant a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish
this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form
with the conference papers and for the document to be published on mirrors on
the World Wide Web.
