eTutorials with voice groupware: real-time conferencing to support computing students at a distance

This paper reports on an investigation into the use of real-time voice groupware to support students on a computing course offered by the Open University, UK. The main objective of the investigation was to assess the feasibility and pedagogical advantage of deploying synchronous conferencing technology on a large population computing course to complement existing face-to-face and asynchronous online support for its students. In this paper we report on the findings from such an investigation, and draw a number of conclusions and recommendations covering feasibility, scalability and best practice in the use of voice groupware for eLearning

Evaluating complex digital resources

Squires (1999) discussed the gap between HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and the educational computing communities in their very different approaches to evaluating educational software. This paper revisits that issue in the context of evaluating digital resources, focusing on two approaches to evaluation: an HCI and an educational perspective. Squires and Preece's HCI evaluation model is a predictive model – it helps teachers decide whether or not to use educational software – whilst our own concern is in evaluating the use of learning technologies. It is suggested that in part the different approaches of the two communities relate to the different focus that each takes: in HCI the focus is typically on development and hence usability, whilst in education the concern is with the learner and teacher use. In the paper we consider a recent application of the CIAO! framework, developed at the Open University, to evaluating digital resources. We compare this with an evaluation model by Dorward, Reinke and Recker (2002): a recent approach from the HCI 'stable'. Interestingly, there are several similarities and consistencies between these approaches and there are also other recent indications that the communities may be drawing on each other's work, in at least some areas

Peering through a Glass Darkly: Integrative evaluation of an on-line course

In this study we describe a wide-spectrum approach to the integrative evaluation of an innovative introductory course in computing. Since both the syllabus, designed in consultation with industry, and the method of presentation of study materials are new, the course requires close scrutiny. It is presented in the distance mode to a class of around 5,000 students and uses a full range of media: paper, broadcast television, interactive CD-ROM, a Web-oriented programming environment, a Web site and computer conferencing. The evaluation began with developmental testing whilst the course was in production, and then used web-based and paper-based questionnaires once the course was running. Other sources of data, in the form of observation of computing conferences and an instrumented version of the Smalltalk programming environment, also provide insight into students' views and behaviour. This paper discusses the ways in which the evaluation study was conducted and lessons we learnt in the process of integrating all the information at our disposal to satisfy a number of stakeholders