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General Psychology (created by Charles McCartney) |
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This was the first course to be put on the Web. It was converted from an earlier version which ran on HyperCard. The entire course is in one file (a bad practice), and is huge and unwieldy. But, it works! Students retrieve lecture materials from the server, and I lecture from HyperCard notes. Chat rooms were introduced in Fall 1997, but participation has been slim and somewhat disappointing. The course is keyed to Sternberg 1st Ed.
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Research Methods I (with E. Jean Williams) |
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This course was created for the Web from the start. Achieving a more interactive on-line relationship with students was one of the goals. However, that was not achieved. Most interaction still takes place in person. Recently, attempts to use Forums have also been tried, but with little success. One lesson learned was to design with concrete labels not abstract ones.
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Cognitive Science (class creates Web pages) |
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This course adopted a new model, student-created Web pages. Student response to this method was mostly favorable. I provided a framework for the course, and students had to find URLs for the topic they chose and then create a Web page. There was no text used with this course.
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This course is in arrested development. Another lesson learned was that I can only create one course per semester without killing myself. The evolutionary primitiveness of the interface is obvious.
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History of Psychology (with Christina Woodruff) |
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This course is the first to show a logical separation of materials by type. It too, is incomplete and for the same reason as above, lack of time. While I was using it however, certain design principles became clear, and they are implemented in courses below.
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Human Sexuality (with Christina Woodruff) |
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Right now, this course structure seems the best yet. Course components: text outline, lecture outline, and URLs are separated and easily located. This course was completely designed and implemented in real time.
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Statistics (with Christina Woodruff) |
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The same course structure as Human Sexuality. This course does not have a full complement of URLs, again due to time constraints.
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The Future |
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Refinements in course page design will continue. Possible changes include a difficulty and appropriateness rating system for URLs, more student-created pages, and the use of dynamic Web pages.
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