Modes of using the Web for Teaching

Yoav Benjamini

Department of Statistics and OR

School of Mathematical Sciences, Tel Aviv University

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The Different Modes

Electronic Publishing: The Interactive Textbook

Electronic Publishing on the Web. An example: Philip Stark's SticiGui

The Web as Content Provider and Presentation Tool. An example: My "Graphical Methods" course

The course homepage as a teaching support tool. An example: "Introduction to Statistics" course (to Statistics students). "Developed" over 5 years by Benjamini, Fermat, Kling, Yekutieli.

The Web as a source for course information: a semi-administrative tool

Advantages for using the Web as Content Provider and Presentation Tool:

• A well prepared and thoroughly thought through lecture is ready for class
• Students can print the lecture before hand, even at home, and have it at hand in class.
  Enables students to think more during class.
  Very effective when using many Figures and Displays in class.

  You can present the material from the Web in class. But...

Advantages for using the Web as a teaching support tool:

Brings in material in class when needed.

Students are sure material is there for later reference

Increases the span of teacher-student interaction

An organisatational aid: forgot something in class - add it later on.

A Knowledge Management tool: Helps in accumulating teaching material, exercises, examples, and illustrations.

In a service course it enables smooth transition from one teacher to the next .

General Tips and Problems:

A scanner in the office is extremely useful

Chats and Forums were not successful

Working with Hebrew on the Web is still a major problem

Summary of my opinion:

• Using the Web as Content provider is too low in (effectiveness/effort) and riddled with technical problems
  (at least at our university)

  Using the course homepage as a teaching support tool is highly recommended

  It does not have to be pretty to be effective

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Last update: June 4, 2001