Activating web-based e-learning. (Chalk Dust from the Virtual Classroom).

The test of a good teacher ... is, "Do you regard 'learning' as a noun or a verb?" If as a noun, as a thing to be possessed and passed along, then you present your truths, neatly packaged to your students. But if you see "learning" as a verb[,] the process is different. The good teacher has learning, but tries to instill in students the desire to learn, and demonstrates the ways one goes about "learning" (Schorske, cited in McCleery 1986, p. 106).

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Schorske invokes the argument that "good" instructors use active, not passive, processes to encourage learning. In this column, we want to explore the idea of active e-learning on the Web and examine some good examples of resources that incorporate basic principles of active learning in e-learning environments.

ACTIVE LEARNING

Many, if not most, military, government, corporate, healthcare trainers and faculty members have an intuitive understanding of the term "active learning," but have difficulty defining it. This leads to general agreement over the need for active e-learning, but ambiguity and confusion over how to make this part of our instruction. For most of us, active learning means learner involvement with both the instructional content and learning processes. Logically, this implies that any type of meaningful interaction between the learner and the instructional content indicates active learning. Yet traditionalists choose "passive" activities, such as listening, to deliver instructional content, asserting that test grades "prove" that learning has taken place. Students can learn from instructors who use passive strategies -- they have been doing so for years. Most of us spent the majority of our time as students in various classrooms listening to lectures. In contrast to this traditional approach to e-learning, which involves knowledge transfer from expert to novice, active e-learning requires a different process and philosophy (Bostock, 1997). E-learning processes based in constructivist psychology require the learner to interact with the world to construct or reshape meaning in long-term memory (Jonassen, 1994).

Grabinger and Dunlap (1996) list several characteristics of active learning:

* Student responsibility and initiative to promote ownership of e-learning and transferable skills;

* Intentional learning strategies, explicit methods of learning, reflection on learning processes, metacognitive skills;

* Goal-driven, problem-solving tasks and projects generating learning products of value;

* Instructors as facilitators, coaches and guides, not sources of knowledge, requiring discussion between instructors and learners;

* Authentic contexts for learning, anchored in real-world problems;

* Authentic assessment strategies to evaluate real-world skills; and

* Cooperative learning.

Adams and Hamm (1994) talk about active learning as a way to revitalize teaching. They note that learning strategies, instructional goals and objectives and instructors and students all need to be aligned to create a "learning culture, an environment that promotes the wider understandings and mental flexibility that will connect students to fulfilling and socially responsible lives outside of school." (p. 38) We consider active e-learning to be one piece of the "authentic e-learning" puzzle. Students today expect learning to be linked to the real world and by using active e-learning strategies we can help students develop those links. This notion is directly related to the value we place on using all of the tools available today to engage students in the e-learning process. While instructors who use passive strategies rely on interpreting students' mannerisms to signal engagement with the content, instructors who use active strategies may be better able to directly observe the students' engagement. Students in active e-learning environments are busy and engaged, but they are also confident, ready to learn, self-managed and self-motivating members of learning communities (Harmin, 1994).

Vygotsky (1978) proposed that environments be designed to support learning by providing a range of support from minimal, where the student has already mastered the task, to carefully designed interaction mediated by dynamic support tools in the "zone of proximal development." Evolving from this are the four phases of effective instruction: advanced organizer, modeling, exploring, and generating.

Learning strategies form a continuum from passive through active. While each endpoint is useful and is valued in different situations, we also agree with Bonwell and Eison (1991) that in active learning

* Information transfer is less important than skill building,

* Higher-order thinking skills (problem solving, cognitive strategies) are emphasized,

* Students pursue activities that involve doing something more than listening, and

* Students' exploration of their own attitudes and values are emphasized.

EXAMPLES OF WEB-BASED ACTIVE E-LEARNING SITES

Our operational definition for active web-based e-learning was that the user had to be engaged in

* a knowledge-building, skill-building, or attitude-changing task, and

* during the usual course of the task the learner must be required to meaningfully and overtly interact with instructional content.

We also considered the core techniques Silberman suggests: team-building, on-the-spot assessment, and immediate e-learning involvement. (1996, p. xi) It should be an easy task to find numerous examples of active e-learning sites on the web. However, when we began to review sites for inclusion in this article, we found that it was difficult to find truly interactive, e-learning sites.

Our research on both the visible and invisible web produced three general types of sites:

* truly interactive e-learning sites,

* web-based media, and

* question banks.

Unfortunately, we are able to provide few examples of the truly interactive sites, because they were either hidden behind a firewall or on an intranet. Military and governmental training was seldom accessible. Fee-based subscription sites that dominated what we saw of corporate and hospital training sometimes offered a preview of their instruction. Higher and K-12 educational sites were more likely to offer previews or to have some free modules. We have included some of these sites in our examples below.

Most of the sites that we classified as useful for instruction came in the form of web-based media (books, music, movies). These sites were usually colorful, content-rich, interesting, well organized, and focused, but lacked any feature that would require the learner to interact with the content short of clicking "next" or choosing from a pull-down menu. Use of these kinds of sites requires the instructor to provide some mechanism to encourage the student to interact with the material. Simply put, that means that the instructor may need to prepare worksheets, study guides or some other tool to structure interaction with the material.

Another common site layout was a question bank or test on a particular subject area. These sites are useful to check comprehension of previously learned material and could even be used to check comprehension of the previously mentioned sites, making them somewhat interactive. At the same time, it would be difficult to find and map the content of the web-based test (blueprint) and to integrate the test questions with the lesson. What follows is a compendium of sites we've discovered that exemplifies active e-learning principles. Because our access to many excellent sites was restricted, we are limited in the types of examples that we can show. Most of the good, freely available sites are targeted to K-12 learners. Look at the principles and process in use in these web sites as opposed to the content and then decide how these principles and process can be used as models to create your own active e-learning experiences, both on and off the Web.

INTERACTIVE SITES

http://www.sprocketworks.com/

Sprocketworks showcases games and other instructional resources designed with Shockwave. Categories include space, music, U.S. history, flight, horses, chemistry, birds, ships and oceans. While some of the games are strictly knowledge level (ocean trivia, for example) others do build problem-solving skills in a creative and interactive way.

http://reconstructors.rice.edu/game1.html

Reconstructors is an elaborate animated e-learning environment that incorporates many motivating game-like elements. Students have to retrieve medical knowledge lost in the past to try to develop painkillers. A variety of high-tech tools are available to help solve the problem. Even though this activity is designed for individuals, this site clearly demonstrates how the Web can be used to create active e-learning environments.

http://www.biologylab.awlonline.com/

Biology Labs On-Line is a series of twelve (12) different inquiry-based, interactive labs designed for college and AP high school students. This is a diverse collection of labs that cover many different subjects in the biology field. All of these labs are subscription based. A free 3-day trial subscription is available.

http://vcourseware.sonoma.edu/

Geology Labs On-Line are web-based lab activities that enhance the e-learning and teaching of introductory Geology and other Earth and Environmental Science courses at the college and high school levels. Five of these free, interactive, virtual labs are currently online.

http://www.smm.org/catal/

From the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Mysteries of Catalhoyuk! is a highly interactive archaeology simulation developed in conjunction with an exhibit at the museum. The site includes a virtual tour of the exhibition (based on an archaeological dig in Turkey), an excavation game, mystery cards, and copies of journal e-mails sent back from the field. Mystery cards demonstrate active e-learning and the power of hyperlinks to access information. After selecting a mystery card that pictures an artifact excavated at the site, students explore data about when and where the artifact was found, listen to different scientists' interpretations of the artifact, and enter their own ideas via a web form.

http://web.uvic.ca/history-robinson/indexmsn.html

Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice and Settling the Land is an invitation to students to solve an 1868 murder by examining the archival records relating to the death of William Robinson, a Black American murdered in the British Colony of British Columbia. A native Indian was charged, convicted and hanged for the murder but the evidence raises real doubts that this man was the killer. In seeking the real murderer site-users will come to terms with racism, (in)justice and patterns of land settlement in the colonial world. An NA Web 2001 award winner.

http://www.synateq.com/competitions/2092psychology/section3/frameset. html

Psychology has 5 sections. These sections investigate the key content areas of sensation, perception, learning, memory, and forgetting. There are good, interactive activities that challenge the student and provide true interaction. An NA Web 2001 winner.

http://www.dohistory.org/

DoHistory is based on the book A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard based on her Diary 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. While excerpts from the book are available online, the complete Diary is available as it was written. Online tools can be used to decode and transcribe diary entries. There is also an archive of relevant primary documents. The heart of the site is called "Doing History." Participants explore how historical perspectives can and do differ and learn the challenges of interpreting historical evidence.

http://www.escapefromknab.com/

Escape from Knab is designed to teach financial decision-making skills. In an outer-space cartoon-like simulated environment, students make decisions about different jobs and choices for spending money. The site was designed for middle and high school students and includes much practical information (like W-2 forms). There are seven different instructional modules (organized by month) and the site records information and updates it monthly. Activity and practice sheets are available at the site and can be printed out to use with individual or whole class instruction.

http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/

A. Pintura: Art Detective is an online game about art history and art composition designed for fourth grade and up. In the game, you play a 1940's noir detective with a degree in art history. In it, a distraught woman asks you to identify the artist who made a painting she found in her grandfathers attic. To do so, you must examine paintings by famous artists from Gauguin to Van Gogh. Each example highlights an art concept such as composition, style or subject. The story concludes with an appropriate noirish twist, as the woman's true identity and motives become apparent.

WEB-BASED MEDIA

http://www.eduweb.com/

Educational Web Adventures is a commercial web development firm. At this site you can explore some of the sites they have created in the categories of art and art history, science and nature, and history and geography.

http://www.poynter.org/special/colorproject/colorproject/color.html

Color, Contrast and Dimension in News Design was developed by a commercial firm to demonstrate the role of color in message design. While much of the information is presented in tutorial format, each of the instructional modules includes interactive slides where colors can be changed to further explore the way the mind interprets color. This site would be of interest to students learning to develop desktop publications and presentations using tools like PowerPoint, and to psychology students. The site itself is an example of effective message design.

http://www.studyspanish.com/

Learn Spanish is a site designed to complement an audio CD series. This free online tutorial currently covers over 50 separate topics, including written and oral exercises and an automatic, free grading service. Also available is a vocabulary builder with interactive games, Cultural Notes for Spanish-speaking countries, a text and web translator, and other interesting and useful features.

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~prace/beach/

English at the Beach has many stories about the beach in Australia, with interactive activities -- crosswords, quizzes and more. The site is intended for people learning English as a second language. "Sun, sand and sea...the cry of seagulls and the crashing of waves...sandcastles and surfers. Isn't the beach wonderful in summer! Read our stories and have fun!"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml

If you work with students who are learning English as a second language, you should investigate the active e-learning activities at BBC World Service: Learning English. At this unique site, students can choose to practice English language skills through music, news, sports, and work. The work site is promoted as being useful to anyone trying to learn business English terminology. When a student chooses to learn English through music, a video clip plays (Elton John was the featured artist when this column was written, although there is a library of clips) and the student is prompted to identify words with specific meaning. Students record their answers with paper and pencil then check their responses with a pop-up window. There are also message boards for instructors and students.

http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/

Visual Calculus is a collection of tutorial modules that can be used to review or teach calculus. Examples abound in this NAWEB 99 winner in the single course category. NAWEB annually honors outstanding achievement in the field of web-based instruction. One of the problems associated with this site is the requirement to have a specific (and quirky) plug-in loaded. It may not be for everybody.

http://www.terragon.com/tkobrien/algebra/

Algebra 1: Graphing Linear Equations is a tutorial with a built-in graphing program that students can use to solve their own linear equations problems. Also included are puzzles to challenge the student's understanding of the definitions and terminology. Two quizzes and two tests check comprehension. This site may not work properly on Macintosh computers.

http://www.corel.com/learning/wbt/draw10/

The Learn CorelDraw 10 Graphics Suite site provides instruction on Draw 10 or Photo-Paint 10. The instruction is very colorful and maximizes the use of technologies (QuickTime and Flash) providing animation to the reader. Attempts at demonstrations and quizzes are included, but are not the best features of this NA Web 2001 award winner.

QUESTION BANKS

http://www.4chemistry.co.uk/

Uppingham Chemistry is a chemistry resource intended for British students, but is very useful for US high school chemistry students as well. This complex site contains revision quizzes, animations, mechanisms, lesson resources, and Chemistry - an exciting writing competition with prizes now open to non-UK entries.

http://www.aaamath.com/index.html

AAA Math is a resource for grade levels k-8, although remedial high school math may use this site as well. Each grade has numerous different topics that include explanations and interactive exercises. Most of these exercises include a timer that may put unnecessary pressure on some students.

CONCLUSION

The Web is a great resource. It is simple to present information to students. But, e-learning involves more than just the presentation of information to students -- it involves the student interacting with the information in such a way that the information becomes a part of his knowledge structure. As instructors, we are charged with the responsibility of designing and developing these knowledge systems -- systems that encourage active participation of the student. We have presented examples of good, web-based active e-learning sites.

REFERENCES

Adams, D., & Hamm, M. (1994). New designs for teaching and learning: Promoting active e-learning in tomorrow's schools. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

Bostock, S. J. (1997). Designing web-based instruction for active learning. In B. Kahn (Ed.), Web-Based Instruction (pp. 225-230), Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Bonwell, C. C. & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, DC: The George Washington University School of Education and Human Development.

Grabinger, R. S. & Dunlap, J. C. (1995) Rich environments for active learning: A definition, Alt-J, 3(2), 5-34.

Harmin, M. (1994). Inspiring active learning: A handbook for teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Jonassen, D. H. (1994). Thinking technology: Toward a constructivist design model. Educational Technology, 34(3), 34-37.

McCleery, W. (1986). Conversations on the Character of Princeton. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Silberman, M. (1996). Active learning: 101 strategies to teach any subject. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

RANDAL D. CARLSON AND JUDI REPMAN BOTH TEACH GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE COURSES IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 

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