A variety of technologies are currently being used to deliver education on the Internet which include the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) for online lecture notes, newsgroups for collaborative discussions and class announcements, e-mail correspondence between students and teachers, interactive video over the Internet for remote participation in classes and discussions, and virtual reality for exploring three dimensional scenes. Web based learning allows students to learn at their own pace, access the information at a time that is convenient for them, and provides education to remote students that otherwise would not be able to travel to a classroom. In this competitive era the individual learning styles of students need to be matched with the appropriate technology available. The www supports the learning by providing students with the ability to connect to educational resources when it is convenient for them, and allowing students to explore the educational resources in an order that suits their needs. In a Web based learning environment the teacher no longer serves as the keeper of knowledge, instead the teacher acts as a tutor, facilitator, and resource to assist in the student's learning process. This paper reviews existing web based technologies and explains their implementations for education.
Key words: Collaborative Discussions Internet, World Wide Web
|
