| WebCT
1.
What is WebCT?
2. Is WebCT better than other course management
systems?
3. Are these course management systems
beneficial to learning?
4. Can we use Japanese fonts on WebCT?
5. More information on course management
systems
1.
What is WebCT?
WebCT is a course management system that is implemented by
more than 2,500 institutions in 81 countries around the world
(WebCT, 2002). Compared to other commonly used course management
systems such as Blackboard, WebCT is viewed as more powerful
and flexible. The instructor has complete control of their
content and how it is presented using WebCT, whereas in other
systems, the instructor must choose from pre-determined layouts.
Thus, for those “power users” who need additional features,
WebCT is considered more desirable.
In the Japanese language course, WebCT was used by the students
at least twice a week, both in the teaching lab and outside
of class time. Since this course was created with the UTF-8
encoding feature enabled, course content could be displayed
in both Japanese and English. This also gave the students
the capability to type in Japanese within WebCT’s e-mail and
discussion board.
In WebCT, I created nine major areas: (1) Getting Started
(e.g. syllabus, technology tour, etc.); (2) Calendar; (3)
Class Content (e.g. Weekly Schedule, Homework Assignments,
Class Presentation, Audio Stations, Handouts, etc.); (4) On-line
Quizzes, Exercises, & Survey; (5) Discussion Board; (6)
Students’ Audio Files; (7) Students’ Gradebook; (8) Private
Mail; and (9) Games (Online Interactive Japanese language
exercises).
2.
Is WebCT better than other course management systems?
Because of its newness, there are many websites that offer
discussion and evaluation on these course management system
software programs. The reviewers of these reports compare
and contrast commonly used course management systems in terms
of their functionality and usability. The former focuses on
what these products can do, and the latter focuses on how
well or easily people can use these products.
To compare and contrast their functions and features, these
studies define a set of criteria. They include: site administration,
content development, navigation and interface, monitoring
participation and progress, assessment, student study tools,
group participation, calendar, bulletin boards, chat/whiteboard/email,
and audio and video. Many reviews pointed out that WebCT and
Blackboard would be good choice. However, these reports do
not suggest which course management system should be used.
Instead, they suggest that each education institution make
its own decision based on its needs/capability and the degree
of competency in technology among the main users (faculty
and students).
3.
Are these course management systems beneficial to learning?
Parke and Ehrmann (2002) summarized fifteen studies of the
educational uses of web course management systems conducted
by institutions, and the topics of these research studies
do not exclusively focus on the benefits of technology. The
main research methods are survey and interviews to collect
how instructors (developers) and students (users) perceive
the benefits and challenges of using the course management
systems. In these studies, the successful implementation of
these systems resulted in a high degree of satisfaction among
both instructors and students and reported that it helped
strengthen classroom activities. However, none of the studies
presented “hard core” evidence that these course management
systems actually improved students’ academic scores and cognitive
abilities. New research approaches may be needed in this area.
4.
Can we use Japanese fonts on WebCT?
Yes!
The key is "UTF-8 encoding"
(1)
Allow for content to be displayed in both Japanese and English;
(2) Give students the capability to type Japanese text in
WebCT’s e-mail, discussion board, and homepage tools.
To enable UTF-8 encoding:
(1)
I requested WebCT consultant on campus to convert Japanese
class into utf-8 encoding.
(2) An on-line consultant at CSUS converted my Japanese courses
by typing
convert_charset_of_course <courseID> utf-8
Then, the entire WebCT courses were converted into UTF-8 encoding.
I am sure that other languages could be displayed if the conversion
were successfully done.
(3) Creating the document in Japanese, using Dreamweaver:
First, go to Modify/Page Properties/Document Encoding /UTF-8
(Unicode)
Then, create the document in Japanese
Upload the material on WebCT & check it via Student view.
5.
More information on course management systems
Why
don't you visit WebCT at CSUS? http://online.csus.edu/
Boston University Web Central Research. Current comparison
of WebCT, Blackboard, and Prometheus. Retrieved April 10,
2003, from
http://software2.bu.edu/webcentral/research/courseware/
Lewis, Barbara, MacEntee, Virginia, and Youngs-Maher, Pam.
(June 2002). Software comparison and contrast: Blackboard,
WebCT and Lotus Notes: a panel discussion. Retrieved April
10, 2003, from http://ecommerce.lebow.drexel.edu/eli/2002Proceedings/papers/lewis167softw.pdf
Margaret E. (Peg) Halloran. (2001). Evaluation of Web-based
Course Management Software from Faculty and Student User -Centered
Perspectives. (Phase I of the USAFA Cadet Personalized Educational
Gateway Portal Project). Retrieved April 10, 2003, from http://www.usafa.af.mil/iita/Publications/CourseManagementSoftware/cmseval.htm
Parke, Helen, and Ehrmann Steve. (2002). The flashlight program:
Institutional studies of the educational uses of web course
management systems. Retrieved April 10, 2003, from http://www.tltgroup.org/
WebCT (2002). About us. Retrieved April 10, 2003, from http://www.webct.com/compan
Yaskin, D & Gilfus, S. (2001). Blackboard 5: Introducing
the Blackboard 5 Learning System. White Paper. November 29,
2001. Retrieved April 10, 2003 from http://company.blackboard.com/docs/cp/orientation/EnterpriseLearningWhitePaper.pdf
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