Learning isn't what it used to be. Thanks to the exploration of web-based technologies, ISyE students in some courses can now learn more from their instructors through the Internet. These students are using ITWeb, a web-based educational technology developed as part of a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

An evolving database of course concepts and instructional material, ITWeb seeks to make student access to knowledge easy and efficient through an integrated curriculum. Officially called the Integrated Curriculum Delivery System, the project is led by Associate Professor Amy Pritchett and Director of Information Technology Mark Iken, with support from graduate students Alex Quinn, Lee Nickles, and Mahima Ashok.

Pritchett compares ITWeb to "an academic library that is more focused, organized, and aware of the relations" among its holdings. Quinn more succinctly describes it as "a step toward an Amazon.com model of education."

Many educators believe that the traditional organization of a curriculum into standardized courses limits the extent that students can perceive and understand the relationship between concepts, and makes it difficult for students to explore concepts in an interdisciplinary manner. Pritchett and her colleagues contend that an integrated curriculum, which highlights the relationships between concepts, is better suited to conceptual reinforcement and knowledge exploration.

The goal of ITWeb is to enhance the quality of learning by providing tools that foster holistic comprehension. These tools, which remain under development, include a topic network that enables the viewing of an educational curriculum as a map or cartography of concepts and themes rather than as a series of disconnected courses. An integrated curriculum better reveals the interconnectivity of topics, focusing on the needs of students and instructors with personalized learning and teaching experiences.

ITWeb's search techniques will allow learners to delve deeper into topics of interest, a practice that is key in diminishing the fragmentation of knowledge. ITWeb provides information to professionals, teachers, alumni, and current students, adapting and presenting information to suit individual needs and promoting balanced understanding in the place of fragmented and partial knowledge.

At this point in its development, the organizers see the project as a supplement to courses. As of spring semester 2003, there were ten active courses, and 1,500 students are registered within the system. "We have a bootstrapping problem," says Pritchett. "The faculty need to put more information into the system for it to be a complete database, and yet without a complete database to search through, the benefits of an integrated curriculum aren't visible to faculty and students."

ITWeb supports:

Curriculum Integration Course management tools Online tutorials and demos Discussion boards and chat capabilities Exploratory learning and guided instruction Knowledge refreshing for workplace professionals Knowledge sharing between faculty, students, and alumni

ITWeb is very flexible, both for students and faculty. Faculty create and support courses — adding content and determining which additional content relates to it. They can add lecture notes, post examples of student work for review, and e-mail students directly from the program. Students can use the course webpages to guide initial interaction with the system, viewing materials, completing assignments, and receiving grades.

They will also have the opportunity to explore relevant topics from other courses through related topic links, concept maps, and keyword searches. As students complete additional courses, the system tracks their progress, allowing the system to tailor the presentation of information to the students based on their knowledge and past experiences. Work can stay in the program forever, meaning alumni can recheck notes years after taking a course.

The researchers are examining methods for marketing the ITWeb for other purposes, such as continuing education or distance learning efforts.

So, the question is, with so much information readily available, do students actually need to attend class? Pritchett is up to the challenge; she knows there is plenty she can do to stimulate learning. "It forces me to think creatively about my lectures," she says, "and to be humble about what students really need my lectures for when they can use ITWeb."



• Summer 2003 Engineering Enterprise Table of Contents
• Engineering Enterprise Home Page



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