Classroom Teaching Changes in Web-Enhanced Courses: A Multi-Institutional Study

26 Web-based instruction in higher education has grown exponentially, with more than a thousand universities offering courses over the Web in the United States alone.1 Web-based instruction offers obvious advantages for distance and continuing education populations by making access to education at any time or place feasible. This kind of flexibility is similarly advantageous for informal or professional training. However, a major use of Web-based instruction is to enhance traditional, on-campus courses, where the benefit of Web enhancement as a supplemental resource is less obvious. Nonetheless, universities are investing significantly in course management software, expanded networks, and training and support capabilities to introduce Web enhancements to traditional courses. Faculty are embracing these tools as well and investing significant time and energy into adding Web-based supplements to their traditional courses.2 Much of the research on Web use in education has focused on specific applications and their perceived effects on outcomes. In a review of research on Web-based learning, Meyer acknowledged the difficulty in isolating the factors that influence online learning, such as the technologies or the students.3 Meyer also noted that assessing quality in traditional classroom settings is difficult for similar reasons. Much of the research comparing outcomes does not account for changes in instructional design and classroom teaching that may accompany the introduction of technology. Smith and Dillon called the interaction of technologies with instructional design the “media/method confound” and asserted that “it is not the technology that has an effect; it is the way it is used.”4 Meyer, along with Newman and Scurry, suggested that online learning initiatives go beyond the technology itself to encourage institutions and faculty to “question assumptions and renew attention to student learning.”5 Little has been reported on the specific impact of Web enhancements on classroom activities—the face-to-face comThis study assessed the kinds of changes that occur in face-toface instruction when faculty add Web enhancements to their courses