The use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn

The use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn A project report (Project Number FHA-01-03-015) by Dr. Chandra Holm University of Applied Sciences Aargau, Northwest Switzerland University of Applied Sciences Solothurn, Northwest Switzerland E-Mail: cholm@swissonline.ch Abstract: WebCT - Web Course Tools is a platform on which instructors worldwide offer courses online. This report presents the current situation of implementing WebCT for e-learning at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn. The problems that could arise when WebCT is incorporated newly are examined, and steps are shown as how to minimise them. With the help of a SWOT analysis recommendations are made that should ensure wider incorporation of WebCT as the e-learning platform at these universities. The need for on-site technical assistance and the need for a top-down strategy for making the new area of e-learning a successful venture are stressed. Keywords: WebCT, E-Learning at FH Aargau and FHSO, SWOT analysis of WebCT, Problem identification in adapting WebCT, Recommendations for adapting WebCT

Table of Contents: The Use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn 1 Introduction...3 2 WebCT as an e-learning platform...3 2.1 The background...3 2.2 Why adapt WebCT?...4 3 WebCT at FH Aargau and FHSO...5 3.1 Current scenario...5 3.2 How I have adapted WebCT:...6 4 Survey conducted to examine the suitability of WebCT...8 4.1 Goals of the survey...9 4.2 Participants of the survey...9 5 Results of the survey...9 5.1 Expectation of students of online courses, and their response to courses incorporating WebCT...10 5.2 The relative importance of the tools available with WebCT as judged by the students...12 5.3 Expectation of students who have not been using WebCT...14 5.4 The opinion of the instructors...16 5.5 Problems that could arise while adapting WebCT...16 5.5.1 The initial scenario...16 5.5.2 Nature of problems that could arise with WebCT...17 5.5.3 Technical aspects that could cause problems with WebCT...19 6 SWOT Analysis...20 6.1 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threat analysis of WebCT as e-learning platform...20 7 Recommendations...22 7.1 Tuning WebCT optimally...22 7.2 Making WebCT course function optimally...22 7.3 What the universities should do...23 8 Appendix 1...25 9 Appendix 2...28 10 References...29 Dr. Chandra Holm Page2 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

1 Introduction WebCT 1 - Web Course Tools is a platform on which instructors world wide offer courses online. This is the final report of a project work undertaken between April 2001 and July 2001. The goals of the project (number FHA-01-03-015) supported by the research commission of the University of Applied Sciences Aargau were (a) to examine the current use of WebCT as the e-learning platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau (FH Aargau) and Solothurn (FHSO), (b) to examine the suitability of WebCT for future use, (c) to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the platform, and (d) to make recommendations for the successful implementation of the platform at these universities. Part 2 of this paper introduces WebCT as an e-learning platform and provides its background. Part 3 presents the current scenario of the incorporation of the tool for e-learning at FH Aargau and FHSO. Part 4 gives details of the surveys conducted to examine the suitability of WebCT for e-learning at FH Aargau and FHSO. Part 5 presents and discusses the results of these surveys. In Part 6 a SWOT analysis of the platform is given, a detailed description of the problems that might confront instructors and students who adapt the tool newly are examined, and recommendations as to the steps to be taken to ensure easy and successful implementation of WebCT for e-learning at FH Aargau and FHSO are suggested. The situation is summarised and recommendations to the universities for future plans are made in Part 6. An appendix at the end of the report reproduces a sample of the questionnaires used in the survey. 2 WebCT as an e-learning platform 2.1 The background WebCT Web Course Tools was created in 1995 by Murray Goldberg, professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada. It was meant to be a tool built by instructors for instructors, to be a tool that would allow other educators without a lot of time, resources or technical expertise to build sophisticated webbased learning environments. 2 It is an internet based multipurpose platform that can be used As an online source of course material, for creating interactive online courses, for group work, for outside class communication, and for course management. Dr. Chandra Holm Page3 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

In addition to about 40 different built-in tools 3, most of which can be adapted to suit individual needs, an instructor can use personally designed web pages to create a course. Currently more than 70 000 faculty members in more than 2200 institutions and universities located in 60 countries across the world use WebCT to teach. 4 Apart from teaching institutions, WebCT has been selected by prestigious publishing houses like Prentice Hall, Harcourt Brace, John Wiley and Sons, Addison Wesley, W. W. Norton and Course Technology to create online material to supplement their existing textbooks 5. In Switzerland, the platform is currently made available to the teaching faculty of the various Universities of Applied Sciences by the Forum New Learning 6. Nationwide nearly 70 faculty members belonging to 20 different institutions are registered users of WebCT. Detailed analysis of the platform comparing it with other similar platforms available online shows that it is one of the most capable online platforms available today 7. 2.2 Why adapt WebCT? Personally, I m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill To everyone in the field of education it is quite obvious that a quiet revolution is taking place in the area of education all over the world. Even Switzerland is affected by this trend. The possibilities opened up by the new technologies have made many educators ask themselves how they can adapt these new techniques in their work, and how they can make learning easier, more efficient and more attractive. It is not that the classroom is an obsolete feature. Rather learning has become a 24/7affair 8 which necessitates providing students with support and information outside the four or so hours per week scheduled for the classes. The platform can be adapted to suit the needs of individual courses in that it can used 1. for distance learning courses 2. to supplement in-class teaching hours 3. as an online place for storing and sharing learning material with those who are registered for a given course WebCT is made available to the instructors of the Universities of Applied Sciences in Switzerland free of charge through the Forum New Learning. Some of the other comparable platforms are Ariadne, ToolBox, TopClass, Learning Space, Blackboard, OLAT, etc. In comparisons with these and other similar platforms WebCT gets very good marks in what it does, offers, and allows. 9 In adapting WebCT, which as described above is a multifunctional e-learning platform, instructors can positively encourage the students to take in their own hands the responsibility to learn, by creating an atmosphere in which, among other things, the student has constant access to clearly defined learning aims for each theme taught in the class constant access to the framework defining what is needed to successfully complete the course a platform in which communication with other students is guaranteed outside the class Dr. Chandra Holm Page4 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

a platform through which he can access the instructor whenever a question arises and not wait till the next class the feeling of belonging to a learning community where his efforts are recognised and encouraged. 3 WebCT at FH Aargau and FHSO 3.1 Current scenario Table 1 summarises the current situation regarding the usage of WebCT in the above two institutions and compares the same with the situation in two selected North American universities. Table 1: Comparison of the current use (as of May/ June 2001) of WebCT at FH Aargau and FHSO with two American universities: Institution Year of adaptation Current number of courses (or faculty) using WebCT in 2001 University of Applied Sciences Aargau, Northwest Switzerland University of Applied Sciences Solothurn, Northwest Switzerland 2001 1 2000 3 University of Ohio, Columbus, USA 10 ca. 1997 (> 800) University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada 11 1997 > 400 The numbers in the table apply to the faculties of Business in Baden (FH Aargau) and Olten (FHSO) only. WebCT was first adapted in Olten in 2000 for a course of Mathematics for the International Management studies. Apart from the courses Mathematics, Statistics, Information Technology 1 - in International Management studies, in which WebCT is used to augment in-class teaching, WebCT is also being used for project work by the Students of Business Information Systems and by the students of Corporate Communication Management. Students of International Management also use their personal WebCT as an online storage house to store their documents for all the courses they attend, and share the same with one another. FHSO employs a co-ordinator to supervise and assist the incorporation of WebCT in regular courses. E- Learning is a big on-going project at FH Aargau. Incorporating WebCT for e-learning and Webcorp 12 for project management, and using the e-learning software, Centra Symposium for synchronous learning 13 constitute the strategy followed by FH Aargau. Currently only one course incorporates WebCT for teaching in Baden. At both the institutions workshops are offered to the faculty members to introduce them to the tool. As far as internet facilities are concerned, using laptops for teaching and learning is a common feature in FH Aargau; Dr. Chandra Holm Page5 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

all the classrooms are connected to the internet. In FHSO Olten, internet access is normally accessed by students in certain specified rooms only. 3.2 How I have adapted WebCT: Figure 1a: WebCT course in FH Aargau (Baden) Dr. Chandra Holm Page6 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Figure 1b: WebCT course for Mathematics in FHSO (Olten) Figures 1a and b show the portals of the course in Mathematics I currently offer at FH-Aargau in Baden and in FHSO in Olten. In addition to the built-in tools that are available, I have created and incorporated web pages to suit the individual needs of my classes. The captions of the icons are self explanatory. A brief explanation of selected tools is provided in table 2. Dr. Chandra Holm Page7 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Table 2: A brief explanation of selected tools from the WebCT course in FHSO (See figure 1b) Tool Learning aims, etc Contains What is the tool for? clearly defined learning aims for any given topic taught in the class extra examples he ought to solve to master any of these topics. These extra examples come in two categories: those which must be solved by every student, those that must be solved by those who need more practice. Course Info Bulletin Board Students Record Chat contains the framework of the course. is where doubts are raised and get clarified outside the class hour and where any info need to be passed on is done so quickly. is what the students click to know how they have performed in a given test or examination. a room for the students to get together with me on evenings prior to tests and examinations. In FH Aargau (Baden) I also use WebCT to store all the material I distribute to the class. I upload all the instructional material and exercises on to the WebCT course before the class meets, and the students download the material from WebCT during the class and work according to the program stipulated. Though the platform allows conducting online quizzes and automating correction of the quizzes, I have used this feature only once so far. I decided to conduct in-class tests as I do not use WebCT as a replacement for classroom teaching. The Information Technology (1) course I teach in Olten is the only course I have taught so far since the past 10+ years, which I can designate as a low-paper-volume course. The material needed for the course are uploaded onto WebCT, the students download the material in the class, and work according to the instructions given there. 4 Survey conducted to examine the suitability of WebCT In order to examine the suitability of WebCT, and to identify its advantages as well as disadvantages surveys were conducted. Questionnaires were sent either electronically or were handed over personally to the participants. Participants were either students or instructors at FH Aargau or FHSO. Dr. Chandra Holm Page8 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

4.1 Goals of the survey The survey aimed at finding out (a) how students who have used WebCT for at least year evaluate the platform (b) what students who have had no experience with WebCT expect from the platform (c) how instructors who have adapted WebCT evaluate the platform. 4.2 Participants of the survey In order to find out how the students who have used WebCT for at least one year evaluate the platform, 28 students attending my courses in Mathematics were contacted. The students belong either to the FH Aargau in Baden or FHSO in Olten. Of the 28 students contacted, 19 of them answered the survey. To determine what students, who have no experience with WebCT, expect from such an e-learning platform, all the students of the first and second year of studies in FH Aargau in Baden and all the students in FHSO in Olten were contacted by email. They were invited to attend a demonstration of WebCT and were informed that they would have to complete a questionnaire at the end of the demonstration. One such event was arranged in Baden, one in Olten. The event was announced on the monitors at the entrances of the school buildings. Even though adequate time was given, and information was sent twice, the attendance at these events was poor in both Baden and in Olten. A total of 5 students came to the demonstration in Baden, and only 1 in Olten. In all 4 faculty members participated in the survey conducted to find out how instructors who have adapted WebCT evaluate the platform. According to the sources at the Forum New Learning 14 which offers the platform to the Universities of the Applied Sciences, a total of 7 instructors from FHSO, and 5 instructors from FH Aargau are registered users of WebCT. On being contacted, many of these 12 instructors answered that they had only registered but are yet to adapt the platform. Of the 4 who took part in the survey, only two were still using the platform, mainly to monitor project work. A sample questionnaire used for surveying the opinion of students who have worked with WebCT is given in the appendix. The questions were suitably modified and/or altered in the questionnaires distributed to instructors and to other students who were new to WebCT. 5 Results of the survey The results given here are based on the combined response of the students from FH Aargau in Baden and FHSO in Olten. Where it was found necessary, the two groups of responses have been shown separately. Dr. Chandra Holm Page9 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

5.1 Expectation of students of online courses, and their response to courses incorporating WebCT Figures 2 and 3 show the combined response of the students in FH Aargau in Baden and FHSO in Olten ( a total of 19 students out of 28 responded to the questionnaire) who worked with the WebCT platform for learning purposes. The chart in figure 2 shows the response of the students as to what they expect from online courses. The possibility of communicating with the instructor is ranked here as being most important. Least importance is given to the use of multimedia tools (specifically asked was their opinion about using video, audio files and streaming video files). This is an important feature that should be kept in mind in designing online courses augmenting in-class teaching. Figure 2: What do students expect form online courses? Very Imp Imp Less Imp Communication with instructor Learning from home Communication with other students Learning at own pace Course material as is but on-line Use of multimedia 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 % of students According to the data shown in Figure 3 majority of the students from FHA accessed WebCT both at home and at school, whereas students from FHSO accessed it mainly at home. Dr. Chandra Holm Page10 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Figure 3. Where do the students access WebCT? Both at home and school Mainly at home FHSO FHA Mainly at school 0 20 40 60 80 100 % students When asked how often they use WebCT, most of the students said that they use it about twice a week. (See figure 4.) It must be emphasised here that no student said that he uses it once a day, nor did he say that he did not use it even once a week. Figure 4. How often do the students use WebCT? 160 140 120 100 80 60 FHA FHSO 40 20 0 More than twice a week Twice a week Once a week Once a day Not even once According to the data given in figure 5 almost all the students are happy to continue to work with WebCT. Only one Student (a student from FH Aargau) of the 19 who responded did not see the necessity of using WebCT. The reason given was that when the school anyway has a good internet and intranet infrastructure, it is not necessary to use another platform. Dr. Chandra Holm Page11 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Figure 5: Do students want to continue with WebCT? 5% Yes No 95% 5.2 The relative importance of the tools available with WebCT as judged by the students Figure 6 shows the combined response of the students of FH Aargau and FHSO when they were asked to judge the relative importance of the tools available in their WebCT courses. Figure 6: Relative importance of the tools available within WebCT Very imp Imp Less Imp Learning aims Bulletin board Examples to solve Course Info Calendar tool My grades Chat session 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % of students When asked to rate the available tools according to how important they are to them, the students ranked all the tools that contain information about the course subject as being important. Most important was the tool containing Learning aims. This was rated twice as it contains Examples to be solved. The Bulletin Board followed closely. Most of the students found the tools that had to do with the administration of the course to be not all that important. Least important was considered to be the Chat tool. But this response was given before I started using the Chat room as the pre-examination meeting room. Dr. Chandra Holm Page12 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

In my opinion it is not the tool per se which is important or unimportant. It depends on the instructor to demonstrate to the students the importance of any tool. The Chat tool can be very important when the chat room is used as a virtual contact room. As the figures above show WebCT plays an important role as an e-learning platform that augments the inclass hours in my classes. It was not my intention to dazzle the students with multimedia effects nor do the students expect such fare. My intention of establishing a virtual community of my students along with the inclass group, of creating an atmosphere where their learning efforts are encouraged has been paid off. The students were also asked which other tool they would like to use in the next WebCT course. The responses of the students from FH Aargau is given in figure 7a and those from FHSO Olten in figure 7b. Figure 7a: Tools that the students (FH Aargau) would like 70 60 % Students from FHA 50 40 30 20 10 0 Online quiz tool E-Mail Student notes Chat Figure 7b: Tools that the students (FHSO) would like 70 % Students from FHSO 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Online quiz tool E-Mail Student notes The figures 7a and 7b show that the students are ready to take online quizzes. My own experience has been that students are eager to take online quizzes but they need to be trained in the method of taking such quizzes. The nature of the quizzes that can be conducted using WebCT is also limited to multiple choice Dr. Chandra Holm Page13 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

questions, short answers, etc. Preparing such quizzes is time intensive, and the kind of quizzes possible in WebCT at the time may not suit all subjects. 5.3 Expectation of students who have not been using WebCT The results of this section should be considered with care because as explained in section 4.2 only 6 students attended the demonstration of WebCT and took part in the survey. This can be understood to mean either lack of interest on the part of the students or it could mean that students do not want to spend time in thinking about something which they cannot decide at the end. The students would use whatever platform the university decides to adapt. That the students welcome e-learning possibilities is shown by the work done by S. Bally, R. Grimm and M. Hausherr. 15 The responses of these students who were asked as to what do they expect by the changes that new technology is bringing to the field of education are summarised in figure 8 below: Figure 8: What changes do students expect from the new technologies? 42% 29% More individual responsibility More teacher input 24/7 classes 29% When given the possibility of choosing amongst (a) only in-class teaching, (b) only online courses, (c) both or (d) reduced class room teaching with possibility of self study through WebCT all the 6 students answered that they would like to have both classroom and online classes. Even students, who have not used any online course so far, rate communication with the instructor to be the foremost reason to have online courses. They also do not see any need for multimedia tools in online courses. These results are shown in figure 9. Dr. Chandra Holm Page14 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Figure 9: What do students expect from online courses: Communication / students Communication / instructor Learning at own pace Learning from home Course material on-line Multimedia 0 20 40 60 80 % of students Responses summarised in figure 10 shows that the students value the use of the bulletin board the most. This is followed by tools which supply information about the course. These students give less importance to having quiz tools online, and also access to their grades through the tool, My grades. Figure 10: Which tools do the students want in their WebCt courses? E-Mail Info about the course Calendar Quiz tool My grades Chat session Bulletin Board 0 20 40 60 80 100 % of Students Dr. Chandra Holm Page15 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Responding to other questions, 75% of the students said that if they have to use WebCT in which English is the default language, it would not be of any problem to them. If given a chance to work with WebCT, they would make it a success by taking part in discussions on the bulletin board, by opening new areas of discussion on the bulletin board, by posting solutions to problems as also their own personal notes for the use of other students. 5.4 The opinion of the instructors In this section presents the responses of instructors who took part in the survey. Only 4 instructors participated in the survey. Of these four, just two of the instructors were actively using the platform at the time the survey was conducted. Below some of the reasons as to why the other instructors abandoned the use of WebCT after a while are identified. Table 3 shows the responses to the question, How user friendly are the following features of WebCT from your point of view? Table 3: How user friendly is WebCT according to instructors? Very user friendly Somewhat user friendly Not at all user friendly How easy was the setting up of the platform? How easy was it to make changes to the course once it is set up? How did you find using files of different format, like PowerPoint, pdf, etc? 0 3 2 1* 1 3 1* 1 2 Along with the responses from 4 instructors, my own answers (marked *) to the question are also included in the table. The reason for including my personal opinion here is that after using WebCT for almost 2 years, I feel that it is not difficult to make changes to the courses nor is it difficult to work with files of different formats. It needs time to get used to working with the platform. It is still very important to understand why other instructors find the platform to be not very user friendly, and to identify the problems they faced when they tried to adapt WebCT. This aspect is discussed in the next part along with other general problems that could arise in adapting WebCT. 5.5 Problems that could arise while adapting WebCT 5.5.1 The initial scenario In order to get a clear picture the responses of all the instructors and students who participated in the survey are combined in this section. The initial scenario of adapting an online course consists most probably of an enthusiastic but lone instructor trying to put together a WebCT course with the help of a manual but without the help of any kind of on-site assistance. Dr. Chandra Holm Page16 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Instructors who worked in this manner with WebCT identified the following factors (table 4) causing problems: Table 4: Nature of problems associated with WebCT Number of instructors who cited this being a problem Time needed in getting involved in such online courses 3 Lack of technical support 2 Lack of design support 1 Lack of clear instructions in setting up and running the course 1 Downloading times 2 Incompatibility with other browsers 2 Another reason cited was that the software design was not user friendly. (Note: Total number asked = 4) The instructors were also asked to suggest possible solutions to the problems they mentioned. (See table 4.) These are: On-site technical support Involvement in WebCT to be considered part of official working load To wait until a better solution than WebCT is available Not to use WebCT at all but ordinary internet (school server, ordinary email, etc.) These responses carry lots of significance, and will be discussed in section. 5.5.2 Nature of problems that could arise with WebCT The most important thing in adapting a new tool is to make sure that the platform functions without causing major problems. Unexpected problems might arise when the course goes online. In order to identify problems associated with WebCT online courses, students who use my courses were asked whether they have any problems with WebCT, and if yes, to identify the nature of those problems. Dr. Chandra Holm Page17 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Figure 11: Problems with WebCT? 17% Yes No 83% As shown in figure 11, only 17% of the students experienced problems in using WebCT during the past year. These identified the following as causing problems: Trouble in identifying which information was contained under which icon. Difficulty in connecting and / or logging on to the online course. Downloading documents In general it is possible that a newcomer to such online courses does end up having other major difficulties. The problems that arise could have different causes: Personal Technical Personal problems refer to the problems caused due to the lack of experience of the instructor and the student. One of the major problems here as shown in table 4 - is the time involved in learning the ropes of putting a course together as well as in maintaining the course. With experience gained, the time involved will be reduced. The only way to gain experience is to experiment, to be daring, to join a user group 16, etc. Online help is available for an instructor who wants to adapt the course. But this too needs time. Any course online and in-class - is doomed to be a failure, if the instructor does not have the time needed, and if students start feeling that the instructor is not personally committed to such a course. The inexperience of the student is a smaller problem because he will have the instructor to show him the way. Dr. Chandra Holm Page18 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

5.5.3 Technical aspects that could cause problems with WebCT Figure 12: Important Technical Aspects 60 50 % of students 40 30 20 10 0 Security Mac / PC compatibility Browser compatibility Download times The most common problems of technical nature have been identified in talking to students (those who use WebCT and those who have no experience with any kind of e-learning platform) and other faculty members. The important technical aspects identified thus and reproduced in figure 12 should be taken care of in order to minimise problems associated with any e-learning platform. According to the figure 12, security, browser compatibility and time involved in downloading course material are considered to be the chief worries of the those who use online courses. Download Times Understandably one of the most widespread concerns users have has to do with the time needed to download documents. WebCT allows for the storage of all the Office documents including PowerPoint documents, and pdf files. That the download time is not a problem connected with WebCT as a platform per se but is determined mainly by the kind of modem commonly used is shown in the table 5: Table 5: Download times and kind of modem Kind of modem Speed of the modem (Bandwidth) Time needed to download a 3 MB document (best case scenario) Analog telephone modem 56 Kbit / Sec > 7 Minutes ISDN 64 / 128 Kbit / Sec 6 3 Minutes TV Cable modem 256 512 Kbit / Sec 1 1,5 Minutes Dr. Chandra Holm Page19 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

In table 5 a very big document was deliberately taken as the basis for calculating downloading times. Considering the fact that the current publication when stored electronically has a size of about 1,2 MB (most of the megabytes come from the figures 1a and 1b), a 3 MB big document is a huge document. Every instructor should be aware of the fact that the bigger a document the longer is the waiting time the user needs for downloading, and should make sure that the documents used are not unnecessarily big. In fact WebCT provides the feature of using CD-ROMs. If large documents are routinely used by the instructor, he has the option of creating a CD-ROM of the document, distributing it to the students, and making links to the different sections of the CD-ROM on WebCT. Security Students access WebCT only by logging on through their own My WebCT portals which they have to create at the beginning of a course. This feature ensures sufficient security for online courses. Security is also ensured as for as the instructor is concerned, because only the instructor (or the person who is designated by the instructor) can alter the course appearance, can upload or change the course material. When the presentation tool is installed students belonging to a designated group can upload and make changes but such right to access is restricted to the individual group s material. Security with respect to money transactions for example, payment of fees for a course is not a theme of the discussion here. Browser Compatibility WebCT works with both Netscape 4.5 or higher (but not yet version 6.0) and Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher (but special care is needed with version 5.5). Details are given at the main website 17 of WebCT which also provides a quick-check-up feature which can be used to examine whether the proper version of the browser is in fact installed on the user s computer. 6 SWOT Analysis 6.1 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threat analysis of WebCT as e-learning platform In this section a SWOT analysis of WebCT based on the results of the survey as well as my own experience is presented, a detailed description of the problems that confront instructors and students who adapt the tool newly are examined, and the steps to be taken to tune a new WebCT course optimally are suggested. Recommendations are made that should ensure the proper functioning of WebCT for E-Learning at FH Aargau and FHSO. Dr. Chandra Holm Page20 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Table 5: SWOT Analysis of WebCT The Use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn Strengths of WebCT as E-Learning platform: A multifaceted platform that can be used as a simple online source for course material, for creating interactive online courses for group work for communication outside class hours for course management. A platform that is accessible any time and anywhere provided internet access is available. is well tested with regular updates of newer versions. is easy to work with after the initial stage. allows easy back-up and duplication. used by over 20 institutions in Switzerland, and over 2200 institutions all over the world. An active virtual community offering technical and pedagogical support. Opportunities for the Universities adapting WebCT: Creation of virtual communities to augment in-class communities. Possibility of providing interactive 24/7 education. Cooperation with other institutions even world wide in building up e-learning courses. Possibility of attracting distant and homebound students. Possibility of expanding educational programmes. Weaknesses of WebCT as E-Learning platform: A relatively new platform that needs getting used to. Lack of an easy manual (WebCT for Dummies!?) Help only through online sources Threats to the incorporation of WebCT: Lack of a clear top-down strategy from the University. Rising costs involved in employing coordinators and administrators. Lack of on-site support. Lack of time needed to learn to work with the platform. A natural antipathy of the teaching faculty towards changing established habits. Appearance of a better online educational platform. Technological advancement that brings in other alternatives to such online course platforms and to e- learning In general, the strength of the platform more than compensates for its weaknesses. Even then, problems could arise as a result of these weaknesses and other external reasons. These are examined in part 7. Dr. Chandra Holm Page21 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

7 Recommendations The Use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn The SWOT analysis identifies three important factors taking care of which could ensure the successful and wider implementation of WebCT for e-learning at FHSO and FH Aargau These are 1. the need for instructors well versed in the use of WebCT 2. on-site technical support 3. top-down strategy of the university. In addition, there are steps that should be taken in order to help the students, who are first-time users of WebCT, to successfully use the platform without having unnecessary trouble with a new tool. These steps recommended below are to be taken by the instructor or any other coordinator responsible for the running of the course. 7.1 Tuning WebCT optimally 1. Create My WebCT portals for the students instead of letting the students create their own accounts. This way the instructor can be sure whether the user ID and password work. It will also help the student to log on to the new course immediately after he is introduced to it. 2. Make clear to the students that they need to have the necessary hardware including the modem, audio and video players as necessary. 3. Make sure that the students have installed on their computers the plug-ins needed to open the type of documents that will be used in the course. The easiest way to ensure that steps 2 and 3 are taken care of, is to log on to the WebCT browser tune-up site 18. This tune-up site checks the computer for the proper version of the browser, and checks whether the important plug-ins are installed. If not, it is possible to download the necessary software from the same site. 7.2 Making WebCT course function optimally What the instructors should do: 1. Make sure that the course is running without any glitch before the first day of the class. 2. Make sure that the documents are stored either as html documents (WebCT can open directly only documents written in the html format) or learn how to create at least one main page in html format in which hyperlinks to documents in other format (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, pdf) are made. 3. If pdf files are used, make a link to the adobe acrobat site from where the adobe acrobat reader can be downloaded for free. Dr. Chandra Holm Page22 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

4. Reserve a couple of hours (recommended 2 hours for a class of 20 students) on the first day of the class. Introduce the online platform to the students and make it clear to them how it will be used for the course. Provide ample time for the students to get familiar with the different tools incorporated into the platform. 5. Make sure that the WebCT course is updated regularly. 6. Fix a dead line (for example, the Thursday of every week if the in-class teaching is scheduled for the following Monday or Tuesday) by which day the new course material will be put online. Adhere to the deadline. 7.3 What the universities should do It is emphasised here once again that adapting any new technology in teaching methods is a time intensive process. Universities should acknowledge this, and develop strategies as how not to overload instructors who want to try out the new technologies. Incorporating any new technology and tool certainly necessitates having properly trained personnel. This is also true of WebCT. The factor that could frustrate any instructor new to WebCT or any similar e-learning platform is the absence of technical support. Though the main website of WebCT 19 as well as the website of the Forum New Learning 20 offers online support to the instructors, the importance of proper on-site support cannot be played down. If the aim of using the WebCT platform should be more than to have an online storage place for course material, support is also needed in designing the course using the pedagogical features suitable to online courses. An excellent paper on the related issues was presented by Peter Tittenberger 21 of the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg at the 3rd Annual Conference of the WebCT Users held in Vancouver in June 2001. Tittenberger identifies two areas of support needed Academic and Administrative. In the academic area a faculty WebCT coordinator is needed in every faculty using WebCT. In short, the universities should 1. Develop a top-down strategy. 2. Acknowledge that getting involved in e-learning, and adapting a new platform is a time intensive process. 3. Provide proper incentives to the instructors to motivate them to use the new technology. 4. Employ a co-ordinator to provide on-site technical support. Dr. Chandra Holm Page23 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

According to Tittenberger, the possible responsibilities of such a faculty WebCT co-ordinator are to 1. Act as the point of first contact for faculty members wishing to use WebCT. 2. Provide an introduction to WebCT s tools and functionality. 3. Provide first line troubleshooting to instructors. 4. Provide first line troubleshooting to students. 5. Ensure courses meet Faculty requirements. 6. Ensure course backups are created and stored. Tittenberger also stresses the need for a clear strategy on the part of the University. He points out that this kind of a strategy should be based on the answers to the following questions: What is the vision we are working toward? What will the expectations of students be five years from now? What will the needs of the teaching staff be five years from now? Provided all these various factors are satisfied, WebCT is without doubt a tool that can be used by educators to help transform education. (Note added in September 2001: More instructors started to incorporate WebCT for e-learning at FH Aargau after the work for this project was completed. WebCT is being used by the department of Pedagogy. Workshops which will be conducted by Andreas Röllinghof and myself in September 2001 for FH Aargau will certainly result in more e-learning courses being offered using WebCT.) Dr. Chandra Holm Page24 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

8 Appendix 1 (Note: The questionnaire given below was used to find out the opinion of students who were using WebCT at least for one year. The questions were suitably modified and/or altered in the questionnaires used for the other students and instructors.) A sample questionnaire of the survey: How do you like to proceed with WebCT? This survey is meant to help evaluate the need for on-line courses and the suitability of WebCT as on-line course platform at FHSO and FHA. Your input in this study is much appreciated. To answer the questions, select the appropriate answer by inserting X in the ( ) area Example: ( X ) Answer selected ( ) Answer not selected General questions about E-Learning: 1. With the advent of the new technology (computers, internet, etc), the area of education is undergoing a revolution. What do you as a student want the new changes to bring to you? (Select one answer) 2. What do you expect from the pedagogical point of view from an on-line course? (Please consider here the time you have to make use of the material) Grade the answers 1 to 6: 1: most important 6: least important ( ) More individual responsibility ( ) More input from the teachers ( ) 24 hours /7 day classes (Learn anytime, anywhere) ( ) Different modes of teaching/learning ( ) More on-line courses ( ) No changes ( ) Availability of the complete course material as it is but on-line ( ) Clearer explanations of the course material using multimedia (videos, CD-ROMs, streaming line videos, etc) ( ) Learning from home ( ) Learning at own pace ( ) Communication with the instructor ( ) Communication with other students Any other comment: 3. How often do you use in a typical week the internet for educational purposes? 4. If you would like WebCT to be used next year in your class, how would you like it to be used? (Select one answer) ( ) Everyday ( ) 3-5 times a week ( ) 1 3 times a week ( ) Not even once a week ( ) As in the current year (the on-line course supplementing the class room sessions) ( ) Reduced classroom teaching with possibility of self study through WebCT. For example 1 hour every week at home for self learning. Dr. Chandra Holm Page25 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

Your experience with WebCT: The Use of WebCT as the E-Learning Platform at the Universities of Applied Sciences Aargau and Solothurn 1. Were you introduced to WebCT properly at the beginning of the course? 2. Where do you access WebCT normally? 3. In a typical week, how often did you use WebCT in a week during the current course? 4. Which of the following features of WebCT was of great use to you this year? Grade the answers 1 to 10: 1: most important 10: least important More than one tool can have the same grade! 5. Did you have any problem in using WebCT in general? What would you like for next year? 1. Would you like to have WebCT for the next year s course too? ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) Mainly at home ( ) Mainly in the school ( ) Both at home and in school ( ) Not even once ( ) Once a day ( ) Twice a week ( ) More than twice. Specify: ( ) Just before the examinations ( ) Kalender ( ) Hausaufgaben ( ) Lernziele ( ) Stoffplan ( ) Projektführer ( ) Project reports ( ) Projektgruppen ( ) Bulletin board ( ) Prüfungsnoten ( ) Chat ( ) Yes Please specify: ( ) No ( ) Yes (Proceed to Question 11) ( ) No (Thank you for answering the questionnaire.) 2. Which of the following tools you would like to have next year in addition to what was available this year? (Select as many answers as you want) ( ) On-Line Quiz tool ( ) E-Mail ( ) Student notes ( ) Chat session with the instructor 3. What are the technical aspects you would like in online courses? (Select as many answers as ( ) Security ( ) Platform compatibility (Mac / PC environment) ( ) Browser compatibility (Netscape / Explorer) Dr. Chandra Holm Page26 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

you want) ( ) Download times 4. What are your suggestions regarding how to improve WebCT? 5. Would you like a WebCT course for other lessons? ( ) If others, please specify Please specify: ( ) Yes ( ) No 6. If yes, which course(s)? Specify: Any other comments: Thank you for your participation! Dr. Chandra Holm Page27 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

9 Appendix 2 Comments added after the report was written by Andreas Röllinghof, Forum New Learning, Bern: Points that you might want to consider Strength: Does allow for easy upgrading when it changes the version. Is cheap if you get the unlimited licence for more than 5000 students. Can be learned by internet savvy teachers in one days training, or without. Weaknesses: No in-built feature to inform students directly by mail when the course, or a part of it has changed. No drag and drop. Too many menus at a given time. Too many things have to be set-up to make it work. Certain tools not stable, such as CHAT (even in version 3.5), or the student inscription that too often refuses students registration (2-5%). Does sometimes corrupt files with javascripts. Does not accept all files with javascript. Has problems to render diacritical signs in filenames, titles and text blocks such as "a", "e" etc in Netscape and Internet Explorer at the same time. Does not provide other language interfaces with its new versions. Tuning WebCT optimally: Make sure students have set their browser as needed. Bypass proxy, always reload etc. Make sure students have set the other needed programs correctly such as Acrobat Reader or PowerPoint. Making WebCT course function optimally: Always ask yourself: "What is the added value for the student of this particular part of the course?" As with all teaching, each part of the course has to be base on a learning objectives to which it caters. Dr. Chandra Holm Page28 of 29 FHA-01-03-015

10 References 1 http://www.webct.com 2 http://www.marshall.edu/it/cit/webct/compare/whyusewebct.html 3 http://www.fnl.ch/webct/deutsch/waskannwct.html 4 http://www.webct.com/intl 5 See 2 above 6 www.fnl.ch 7 http://www.marshall.edu/it/cit/webct/compare/index.htm and http://www.edutech.ch/edutech/tools/comparison_e.asp 8 E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age by M. J. Rosenberg, 2001, McGraw Hill 9 http://www.marshall.edu/it/cit/webct/compare/index.htm and http://www.edutech.ch/edutech/tools/comparison_e.asp 10 Faculty development for the late adapters: Innovation for the reluctant by C. Gynn and S. R. Acker, WebCT 3 rd Annual User conference, Vancouver, 2001 11 WebCT implementation: lots of questions and some answers by P. Tittenberger WebCT 3 rd Annual User conference, Vancouver, 2001 12 http://www.webcorp.ch 13 Teleteaching an der FH AARGAU, Diploma thesis submitted to FH AARGAU by S. Bally, R. Grimm and M. Hausherr, 2001 14 A. Ninck and A. Röllinghof, Private communication 15 See reference 13 16 See reference 6 to join an active user s group. 17 http://www.webct.com/quickstart/viewpage?name=exchange_browser_tuneup 18 As above 19 See reference 1 20 See reference 6 21 See reference 11 Dr. Chandra Holm Page29 of 29 FHA-01-03-015