An Experiment in Class Management Using the World-Wide Web

Our objectives

• help teachers
• eliminate clerical drudgery

Teaching Environment

• 1st and 2nd year Computer Science
• a 3 hour tutorial each week
• PC's with netscape

Self-Assessment

• text-based tool
• CGI scripts (Perl)
• extensive use of buttons, question-level navigation
• example

Electronic Quizzes

• security nightmare
• new kinds of cheating possible
• one-entry passwords
• open book/internet, low weight
• example

Teacher evaluations

• privacy nightmare
• anonymous one-submit passwords
• CANNOT GUARANTEE STUDENT PRIVACY!
• example

On-line marks

• student supplied passwords
• maintenance headache
• possible privacy violations

Analysis

• our students are assessment-driven!!
• self-assessment, on-line marks, test answers heavily utilised
• prefer interactive lessons!
• lecture notes/pointers to related materials under-utilised
• prefer printed notes?

Numbers

• Self-assessment use in CP1200 (100 students)
• Impact of self-assessment on server

• Table 1: Access log statistics

  	CP1500 (80 students)				CP2050a (54 students)
  section	accesses	%	relativised %	per link %	accesses	%	relativised %	per link %
  class home page	608	750%	75%	230%	1855	3050%	200%	560%
  lecture notes	276	350%	10%	45%	521	950%	39%	80%
  on-line marks	222	300%	300%	300%	375	700%	700%	700%
  self-assessment	542	650%	65%	75%	730	1400%	100%	100%
  copies of assignments	109	130%	45%	45%	283	500%	75%	100%
  copies of class handouts	51	65%	30%	18%	81	150%	75%	170%
  midterm answers	88	110%	110%	81%	119	210%	150%	150%
  pointers to related materials	none	none	none	none	278	500%	40%	unknown
  subject times	19	25%	25%	25%	29	50%	50%	50%

• Table 2: Student usage survey results by percentage of class

  	CP1500 (39 responses)		CP2050a (41 responses)
  when	outside of tutorial	overall	outside of tutorial	overall
  never	5%	6%	2%	2%
  rarely	31%	10%	10%	8%
  less than one hour per week	33%	25%	22%	22%
  more than one hour per week	31%	54%	66%	66%

• Table 3: Student survey ratings, scale is 1 to 4 (4 is very useful)

  section	CP1500 (39 responses)	CP2050a (41 responses)
  on-line marks	3.12	3.36
  lecture notes	3.44	3.34
  handouts	3.10	2.82
  self-assessment	3.23	3.17

• Table 4: Student ratings for WWW ease of use, scale is 1 to 4 (4 is very easy)

  	CP1500 (39 responses)	CP2050a (41 responses)
  computer beginners ease of use	2.36	3.11
  computer intermediate ease of use	3.40	3.55
  computer expert ease of use	3.83	4.0
  WWW beginners ease of use	3.0	3.0
  WWW intermediate ease of use	3.66	3.9
  WWW expert ease of use	4.0	4.0
  overall ease of use	3.35	3.48
  adequacy of facilities	2.05	2.36