Using the Internet to Facilitate Student Learning in a Large Therapeutics Course: A Three-Year Perspective

This article describes and evaluates a freestanding web site used to facilitate student learning in a large therapeutics course at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. The web site was developed in the fall of 1998 after this instructional strategy was piloted in select therapeutics lectures. The site is categorized into various content areas including a welcome page, course syllabus, announcements, grades, topics, and help/comments section. Most of the content areas are provided to the students in a print format; however, the web site specifically offers two optional, asynchronous learning opportunities consisting of online quizzes and related Internet links. Additionally, students have access to the lecture audio and slides after classroom discussion. During the spring semesters of 1999 and 2000, students accessed the course web site 1,612 and 2,346 times, respectively. Student evaluations support that they feel the web site facilitates both preand post-class learning. In addition, grades were higher in students using the site moderately (one to five times per week) as compared to those not using the site at all (P=0.04). Moreover, these data suggests that students using the site excessively, defined as greater than 10 times per week, had grades similar to those not using the site. Data from 1998 and 2000 imply that the students’ study time outside of the classroom, which includes Internet usage, was not increased or beyond limits established by the School of Pharmacy (1998; P>0.2). In summary, using the Internet to facilitate student learning was well received and this instructional strategy may improve student learning, as measured by examination scores.