Name: Carol W. Wilson
Preferred Track: Track 5: Faculty Development and Facilities Design
Abstract: A portrait of the early-adopter of WWW courses is painted in the results of a survey of the 71 instructors who had a WWW course listed on the Southern Regional Electronic Campus (SREC) site for Spring 1998. Data about their perceptions, practices, concerns, and the institutional norms under which they work were collected.
Description: Because instructional delivery on the Internet is such a new application, there is no existing body of research available. For the most part, journal articles address broad policy issues or are anecdotal, describing the implementation of a particular course. The few surveys that have been done are mainly concerned with quantifying the number of courses and the number of students. There is a need for basic research in the delivery of distance education on the Internet. A logical place to start is to survey the pioneering instructors who have developed and delivered a course on the WWW to learn from their experiences and identify their needs and concerns. To collect this data a survey was mailed to the 71 instructors who had a WWW course courses listed on the Southern Regional Electronic Campus (SREC) site for Spring 1998. Data about their perceptions, practices, concerns, and the institutional norms under which they work were collected.
The data collected from the survey yielded a prioritized list of faculty concerns and needs. Institutions must develop the infrastructure to provide: technical training, technical support, administrative support, time for faculty to develop and teach these courses, a revised faculty reward system, and reliable computer hardware. Faculty concerns about web-based distance education were universal and not significantly different based on the discipline humanity, social science, science/tech, or business) or type of postsecondary institution (large university, regional university, community college or technical school, or correspondence studies). The delivery of distance education on the WWW has great potential that can not be realized until the needs and concerns of the faculty that will develop the courses are met.
Length: 30 minutes
Audience: general
Audience Level: all
On-site equipment: Computer & projection device for Power Point presentation or an overhead projector
Contact Information: Carol W. Wilson Computer Science Department Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101 (502) 745-6225 e-mail wilson@wku.edu
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