engleski

Courseware tools and social software in a hybrid university course: a case study with an evaluation of the online components

This paper presents a case study of a hybrid university course designed to develop online communication competence. Traditional lecturing and use of online resources were supplemented in this course by diverse e-learning tools. One online component of the hybrid course was developed in WebCT and served as a repository of course material, for forum discussions, and for self-assessment. The other online component was a non-moderated self-training e-course "Online communication" that was developed for multiple purposes. Furthermore, a wiki system was used by the students who attended the hybrid course to develop an online dictionary with definitions of concepts that were related to course content. The students were organized in teams which used a weblog tool to present their essays on different topics and to organize in one place the links to various online resources (definitions of concepts in the wiki dictionary, web pages that the team members had created, diverse resources on the web, collections of links created by the social bookmarking web site named del.icio.us). The online components of the hybrid course were selected according to the principles of instructional design, and their use within the hybrid course was evaluated by two surveys at the end of the course. The results of the surveys revealed that the use of the courseware tools and social software was well accepted by the students who attended the hybrid university course. The surveys also indicated which online components needed improvement for the next generation of students who will attend the hybrid university course. Conclusions are made regarding the applicability of courseware tools and social software in hybrid university courses and the importance of the evaluation of their online components.

e-learning; blended learning; courseware tools; social software; evaluation

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