If You Build It Will they come Heidi

If You Build It Will they come? Heidi Sugarman Ph. D.

Field of Dreams

If you build it, they will come

How do lecturers usually build their web sites: They go to the library or the Internet They find lots of teaching materials They prepare lots of PPT presentations

And then………. They shovel it all up onto the web

Thus creating course web sites Everything that we want you to know about our course

So what’s the problem?

Just because it’s on a computer doesn’t mean it’s interesting !

Our goal Turn this Into this

How do we do it?

We could add lots of bells and whistles

But it would be better to add Interactivity

Interactivity can be simple • Selecting choices in a multiple choice test and getting feedback as to performance

Or Complex • Piloting a plane in a simulated air battle.

The main point • Interactivity allows the learner to be active rather than passive.

So • Just looking at a PPT presentation does NOT by itself qualify as an interactive activity • (especially if it has already been presented in class)

Interaction methods Learner - content Learner - learner Learner - instructor

אנטומיה להנדסה ביורפואית Anatomy for BME • Course web site used all 3 types of interactivity especially learner-content

ארגון הקורס • Course was Internet based • Not all the material was presented in lecture • Students were told this during the first lecture and the “rules of the game” were also posted on the course web site

תכני אתר הקורס The Course Web Site • Course was divided into sections according to body systems • Each section contained: – PPT lecture that was taught in class – PPT targil ( )חובה which reviewed and expanded on the material presented in the lecture. Interactive – Background enrichment material – Links to internet sites containing animations, further material and quizzes – Obligatory test (not part of final grade)

Tests • 10 -20 questions • Both text and pictures • E. g. What type of section is this? Or • What structure is the arrow pointing at?

Bonus ! • There were multiple opportunities to gain bonus points • Presented in Discussion groups • First students to post correct answers received the points • Altogether, 24 Discussion Groups

What bones are these?

Did they come? • 125 students • 6335 entries by students • 50. 68 entries per student!

What did they do?

Studied – lectures and targils Read enrichment material Number of times viewed Number of items

Surfed the web • Followed the links to enriching materials, animations, online quizzes etc.

Took the tests Number of students Number of tests

Participated in or just peeked at Bonus Discussion Groups

The Workers, the Lurkers and the Shirkers* • Some students were very active both in posting and in following the Discussion groups (the Workers); • Some students didn’t post much but followed the Discussion groups (the Lurkers) • Some students did neither (the Shirkers) * James Taylor, U. of Queensland

Different strokes for different folks חנוך לנער לפי דרכו

? האם קיימת סכנת הכחדה • Will professors go the way of dinosaurs ?

No fear