Why WebCT?

If you haven’t heard, lately I’ve been a webCT fanatic. And as I say this I am aware that several of you, faculty and students alike, may be shaking your heads thinking you’d never benefit from using webCT. For those of you who aren’t aware of WebCT, it is a course management tool that enables online delivery of course material. Now that I’ve been using webCT for a few semesters, I’ve found it has continued to provide my classes with far more resources and tools than I could offer on my own. Every semester I ask my students to offer honest feedback about using webCT. I thought it might be interesting to share with those of you considering taking a class with webCT or using webCT to teach a course, and hopefully it’ll help you all realize some of the reasons why I use WebCT.

WebCT improves communication
Time and time again students mention they enjoy the ability WebCT gives them to discuss outside of class topics relating to the course with classmates and their instructor. I couldn’t help but laugh this past week when some of my students jokingly claimed how WebCT was their new favorite spot on the web and how it had become their new “myspace”. Now perhaps they were being a bit sarcastic, but all in all, my students have shown improved performance by having access to an online social learning environment. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s important that students improve their communication skills inside the classroom, but I’ve noticed students are often more open to ask questions and share resources with one another and their instructor than they would be in a traditional classroom setting. Interactive Design student, Kurt Johnson, mentions, “Online discussions were useful because they helped keep us more engaged and focused throughout the week even though we weren’t in class. Plus it helped us learn more than what was given to us in class.”

As an instructor using webCT I’ve found it to be beneficial because it allows me to consolidate all of my class discussions and emails within one central area. No longer do I have to worry about digging through a pile of emails to find the one from a student who had a question. I encourage my students to ask all general questions in a discussion area so that I can answer the question for the entire class. I’ve noticed that if one student has a question, usually there are several others that have the same types of questions. So this helps save time. I’ve often found that students are so in tune with the WebCT course that they often answer one another’s questions, leaving me just needing to chime in to reassure that they’ve correctly (or incorrectly) answered their own questions.

WebCT offers resources
Many students might feel intimidated the first time using WebCT. How could we blame you when it’s like learning a new program. Luckily it doesn’t take too long to adjust to. Students have access to ample resources, to include the ability to self register for a self paced course on using WebCT for the first time. As awkward as it may be at first, a large majority of my students have expressed an interest in taking WebCT enabled, hybrid, or online courses. Most students adjust well and prefer WebCT courses partly because they generally offer more resources than traditional courses. WebCT offers the ability to have quizzes & assignments online, chat online, and teachers can even incorporate their own RSS feeds to keep students current with latest news pertaining to their course.

A few words of advice for students taking WebCT courses
Now, I could give you my own advice, but I decided to ask several of my students to offer advice to future students. And here were some of the things they mentioned that are worth noting:

• Check it regularly. One student noted, “If you have time to go on MySpace, you have time to go on webCT6 at least once a day.” Although daily is generally not the requirement, most instructors recommend logging in and participating in WebCT weekly. I’ve found that most students who do complain about the use of WebCT are usually the same ones who do NOT login or participate.
• Keep up with deadlines and complete assessments & assignments. One student noted that it can be easy to forget WebCT assessment deadlines.
• Use the resources available. Eddie Misicka recommended students “Take full advantage of it. WebCT helps you more than you think.”

“I want my WebCT!”
Once a student takes a course that uses WebCT, don’t be surprised to hear students express an interest in courses that use WebCT. In fact, a majority of students I have had in classes claim that if they had the choice, they’d prefer a course that was WebCT enabled, hybrid, or online due to many of the reasons mentioned above, in addition to the fact that most of our students work, have family, and are strapped financially.

WebCT enabled vs. hybrid or online
Currently all of my courses are WebCT enabled, meaning I use it to assist delivering course material to students and to improve communication outside of the class with students. With WebCT enabled courses all of my classes still meet regularly every week. If you aren’t familiar with the differences in WebCT enabled, hybrid, & online courses you can find out more here.

Will graphics courses ever be hybrid or online?
Perhaps. An increasing number of students mention that course offerings don’t match their schedules, so we’re certainly considering this.

The question is, would you consider taking a hybrid or online course?