A Toolkit for Web-Based Course Creation and Conversion.

Abstract Web-based instruction is not a new phenomenon. There are 15-20 years of research and literature to support the effectiveness of web-based instruction. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the research in this field in order to determine which factors are critical to the success of web-based instruction. We created a toolkit to assist instructors in creating web-based instruction. First, we attest that one must be aware of web-based students' performance. Second, social presence should be established through discussion forums and collaborative activities. Third, teacher presence should be moderated. Fourth, web-based courses should base course content in project-based learning activities. Fifth, a web-based instructor must provide optimal feedback. Empirical evidence is cited to support each of the five "tools." Keywords: Web-based, collaboration, course development The use of web -based instruction as a distance learning delivery method has been growing steadily since its inception. The 2006-2007 data presented by the National Center for Educational Statistics revealed that 97% of public 2-year and 89% of public 4-year institutions offered distance-learning courses, and there is no evidence that there will be a decrease in distance learning opportunities for students in the upcoming years. College courses and entire degree programs have become available online to all students (Ferrell, Persichitte, Lowell, & Roberts, 2001; Motamedi, 2001), including students in rural settings (Grugenhagen, McCracken & True, 1999; Knapczyk, Chapman, Rodes, & Chung, 2001). The inception of web-based instruction may have been rooted in the need to provide access to students who were remote from universities. The Duke University-East Carolina University Partnerships for Training project was conceived to educate health care workers in underserved counties in North Carolina. The program's "grow your own" approach assumed that bringing instruction to students would allow them to achieve career goals while remaining in their current employment. Upon program completion, they would then serve their home communities. As such, the Duke University- East Carolina University Partnerships for Training strove to address socioeconomic and distance barriers by ensuring that participants had functional computer equipment and understood how to use their computers and programs for web-based classes. These efforts included having students take computer skills tests and bring their computers to a meeting point to make sure that they had the necessary components to allow web-based instruction. Since the advent of this and other outreach model programs (Ho & Burniske, 2005), web-based instruction has become commonplace and sought-after by busy students and career switchers who desire its convenience and availability (Foegen, Howe, Deno, & Robinson, 1998). Extensive supports for students have been replaced by assumptions that students who register for web- based classes already possess the skills and technology necessary to be successful (Gonzales & Sujo de Montes, 2001). As students have become more proficient at webbased instruction and the medium has become more popular, the professional literature regarding successful instructional practices in web-based course delivery also has grown. Initially, experts explored the broad advantages and disadvantages of forms of distance education (Howard, AuIt, Knowlton, & Swall, 1992; Motamedi, 2001). The focus of recent literature, however, has narrowed to a discussion of effective practices in web-based instruction, exploring the role of the instructor and the engagement of distance learners. Some researchers have implied that instructors in distance learning act as moderators or facilitators rather than "material experts" (Blignaut & Trollip, 2003; Notar, Wuson, Restauri, & Friery, 2002). Other researchers have proposed methods to increase student engagement and discourse (Dennen, 2005; Paloff & Pratt, 2005). …