UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT USING DATABASE A THESIS

Transcription

1 UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT USING DATABASE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE By TZE-LEONG YEW Norman, Oklahoma 2000

2 DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT USING DATABASE A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING BY DR. KURT GRAMOLL (CHAIRPERSON) DR. HAROLD STALFORD DR. JAYNE FLEENER

3 Copyright by TZE-LEONG YEW 2000 All Rights Reserved

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT There are many who share in the writing of this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my advisor and mentor, Dr. Kurt Gramoll for his guidance and support throughout this research and writing of the thesis. His vision, strength and enthusiasm continue to impress me. It has indeed been a privilege to work under him. I would also like to thank Dr. Jayne Fleener and Dr. Harold Stalford for their willingness to be on my thesis committee. Special thanks goes out to fellow members of the Engineering Media Lab (EML) at this fine university. Your continued support and friendship will be remembered for a long time. At this point I would especially like to mention a few colleagues from EML who are involved in one way or another with my research namely, Frank Lim, Qiuli Sun and Ji-Hoon Lee, without which my research would have been boring. Above all, I would like to give praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His grace and many blessings in life. Also to my family back in Malaysia, Nieng Choon, Wai Har, Christine and Irene, my dedication of this thesis goes out to all of you. Special mention goes out to my brother-in-law, Stanley, who I admire for his leadership abilities and enthusiasm for learning. iv

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement... iv List of Tables... ix List of Figures... x Abstract... xii Chapter Introduction Introduction About Distance Learning About the Internet and the About EMET Overview Framework Goals Content goals Accomplishments Outline of Thesis Chapter Literature Review Introduction Trends in Distance Education Distance Education Initiatives Difficulties In Evaluating Web-based Training Chapter v

6 Design of EMET Introduction Purpose and Needs Database Design for Web Use Website Design User Login and Logout User-Tracking User Progress Courseware: Concept Pages Courseware: Tutorial Courseware: Case Study Chapter Design Environment Introduction Client-Server Interaction Windows NT Server Technology Internet Information Server (IIS) Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) Active Server Pages (ASP) Database Technology Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) Structured Query Language (SQL) vi

7 4.5 Scripting Technology VBScript JavaScript Chapter Design Tools Introduction Macromedia Dreamweaver Macromedia Drumbeat 2000 and UltraDev Macromedia Director Microsoft Access ASCII Text Editor Chapter Server Components Introduction Persits ASP WebTrends Log Analyzer O'Reilly WebBoard Chapter Web Site Assessment Results from Webtrends Chapter Conclusion Summary and Conclusions vii

8 8.2 Recommendations for Future Research References Appendix A Sample ASP Script Redirect.asp Appendix B Sample Lingo Script Appendix C Preliminary Survey Form viii

9 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Development Phases of EMET... 8 Table 3.1 Database Development in Relation to SDLC Table 3.2 Topic Areas in EMET with Relation to File Structure Table 4.1 Six Basic Rules for Relational Database Design Table 4.2 SQL Commands Structure ix

10 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Web Browser Popularity (July July 2000)... 6 Figure 2.1a Teacher-centered Interaction Figure 2.1b Learner-centered Interaction Figure 2.2 Screenshot of CodeWarriorU.com Figure 2.3 Screen Capture of a SmartPlanet Course Figure 2.4 Sample Image of WebCT Interface Figure 3.1 Relationships between Tables in Access Database Figure 3.2 File Directory Structure of EMET Figure 3.3 EMET Registration Page Figure 3.4 Flowchart of Login Process Figure 3.5 Main Login Page of EMET Figure 3.6 Logged Out Page Figure 3.7 Sample User Session Entries in the Database Figure 3.8 Tutorial Progress Page Figure 3.9 Screenshot of Concept Page Figure 3.10 Closeup Screenshot of Tutorial Simulation Figure 3.11 Screen Capture of a Case Study Page Figure 4.1 Architecture of Internet Information Server Figure 4.2 Client/Server Interaction in Request for ASP file Figure 4.3 Internet Information Server Management Console Figure 4.4 Internet Information Server Web Site Properties x

11 Figure 4.5 ODBC Data Source Administrator Window Figure 5.1 Screen Capture of Macromedia Dreamweaver Figure 5.2 Screenshot of Macromedia Drumbeat Figure 5.3 Screen Capture of Macromedia Ultradev Figure 5.4 User Interface of Macromedia Director Figure 5.5 Closeup View of Score in Macromedia Director Figure 5.6 Microsoft Access User Interface Figure 5.7 SitePad Pro Screenshot Figure 6.1 Screen Capture of Persits Agent Configuration Figure 6.2 W3C Extended Logging Options Figure 6.3 Screenshot of WebTrends Log Analyzer Window Figure 6.4 Message Post on WebBoard Figure 7.1 Activity Level By Day of Week Figure 7.2 Activity Level By Hour of Day Figure 7.3 Most Used Browsers xi

12 ABSTRACT For many years, instructors from different levels of education have used various techniques to educate students from remote locations. With declining budgets for education, many are turning towards technology as a means to reduce time, cost and teaching resources needed to educate students. This has produced a rapid increase in the number of distance learning initiatives on both federal and state level education systems. The increase in distance learning can be attributed to the growing popularity of the Internet. This global network of computers has become the communication medium of choice for distance learning as it offers several distinct advantages over other methods of delivery. This thesis presents a research in the development of an online learning environment using web-based databases, which was developed at the Engineering Media Laboratory (EML). This asynchronous learning environment was created to facilitate K-12, vocational teachers and students use of multimedia elements and multimedia development tools to create interactive content for use in their courses at their respective schools. The online learning environment named Electronic Media Education for Teachers or EMET, is made possible through a grant from the Hitachi Foundation. EMET is a three-year project that began in January 2000, and is a joint collaboration between the College of Engineering and the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma. xii

13 The scope of this research extends to both the building of the front-end web site and the back-end database of the learning environment. Specifically, this scope covers the building of the prototype underlying structure of EMET, which is the major development goal of the first of the allocated three years. In the development of EMET, the latest Internet technologies were used. Among these technologies are the relational database management system (RDBMS) and the server-side scripting technology that is used to provide functionality to the front-end website from the back-end RDBMS system. Similar applications are used commonly in online electronic retailing and procurement to organize and track the presence of clients. This thesis will present to a certain degree, a growing trend in education that blurs the lines distinguishing traditional academic institutions webbased offerings and corporate training web sites. The design and development of the back-end database system incorporates user tracking and logging historical data for future analysis. The creation of educational content for EMET will also be covered, with emphasis of the development and integration of the simulation tutorials to the back-end database. In addition, this research demonstrates how hardware and server-based components and software can be utilized to develop and broadcast EMET to the world. A recommendation for future research is also presented. xiii

14 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION For many years, educators have pondered on the problems associated with teaching students who are unable to physically attend classes in education institutes. This inability on the part of the students could be due to many factors. Among these factors are location, lack of mobility, and an increasingly busy lifestyle. On the part of the educators, the problems causing the slow development of distance education stems from factors such as high costs of development, unreliability of the delivery medium, unavailability of courseware developers and the difficulty of separating the administration of correspondence courses from the classes of traditional educational institutes. Today, the initiative to develop high quality robust distance learning systems takes on a new urgency as state budgets for higher education fall while the number of students continues to increase (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). This is in addition to the escalating number of courses that need to be taught in distance education programs. However, many of the earlier problems with distance learning systems are greatly diminished by the increasing reliability of communication technology. In previous years, the more popular methods of delivery were the audiotapes, videotapes, and CD-ROMs. The medium of choice today is the Internet as it offers several distinct advantages. These advantages will be discussed in a later section. This chapter starts by the introduction of distance learning. The section that follows will talk about the Internet and more specifically, the World Wide Web 1

15 (WWW) and how this ubiquitous global network of computers plays an increasingly important role in distance learning. Next, the online learning environment called Electronic Media Education for Teachers or EMET is introduced with a brief overview of its purposes and proposed development phases. In introducing EMET, this section will also present a detailed overview of the goals of this thesis research. Finally a synopsis of the coming chapters in this thesis will be presented showing how the different chapters relate to each other. 1.2 ABOUT DISTANCE LEARNING There are many different ways to define distance learning, but the main elements involved in this form of education are the learner and the instructor both separated by time and distance. The learning process takes place through the use of technology, which is used in the development, administration, and communication between the instructor and the learner. Another definition for distance learning is that it is a broad term encompassing technology that extends the learning community beyond the classroom walls and refers to the actually learning process that goes on in the distance education environment (Stammen, 1995). Stammen (1995) describes distance learning as part of a larger distance education, which he defines as an academic discipline dedicated to an organized system of transferring purposive education information and materials to a receiving individual and or a group for a planned educational experience or result; through a medium other than the conventional face-to-face classroom relationship. 2

16 The importance of distance learning is growing rapidly. Distance learning enables people with disabilities, family responsibilities or busy work schedules to learn at their own convenience regardless of place and time (Heinke, 1997). For educators, this form of education benefits them by expanding their reach to more people or to certain groups who are unable to physically attend classes in traditional educational institutes. This effort to improve student access to learning material does not incur a large increase in educational resources. To establish a link to their students, distance education programs use an assortment of communication technologies, which include the Internet, video conferencing, television broadcasts, telephone, fax, and regular postal mail. With the pervasiveness of the Internet, the task of educational institutes offering distance learning courses take on a different meaning and a new urgency. The number of online distance learning sites has increased tremendously during the past few years. This is primarily due to the commercialization and popularization of the Internet as a global medium of communication and research. 1.3 ABOUT THE INTERNET AND THE WWW The Internet is a collection of thousands of individual networks and organizations, each of which is run and paid for on its own (Gralla, 1997). These networks connect to other networks, which may be located in a different country, thus forming a global network of interlinked computers. The US Defense Department s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) first built the prototype of the Internet in 1969 as an experimental computer network 3

17 that can withstand a nuclear war. This network was called ARPAnet, and linked military researchers with universities, thereby allowing computer resources to be shared. ARPAnet, utilizing the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), also served as a communications tool for sending electronic mail within the network. Over time, ARPAnet grew in size and adapted to many technological advancements allowing many large organizations, such as the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to hook up to it. The increase in network traffic on ARPAnet prompted the network to be divided into a military portion and a civilian network. The responsibility for developing and running the civilian network was given to NSF, and the civilian network renamed NSFNET. The network was further spread out when NSF decided to make the network available to anyone in the public who has a personal computer, modem, telephone line and Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Internet delivers information according to a client-server model. Based on this model, a client computer establishes a connection to a server company on which information or resources reside; the client depends on the server to deliver information (Gralla, 1997). The services requested by a client computer may involve different resources on the server, such as when a database on the server is queried. Other requests may come in the form of services for USENET newsgroups, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Gopher, Telnet and . The server is usually a more powerful computer in comparison to the client machine, and has server software to enable it to act on requests sent from clients. 4

18 One facet of the Internet that is commonly used today is the World Wide Web (WWW) the fastest growing, dynamic, cross-platform and most intriguing part of the Internet (Gralla, 1997; Lemay, 1996). Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1992 at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (Lemay, 1996). The World Wide Web serves as the graphical interface to the Internet. The web browser is normally used to access the World Wide Web. It is through this browser that the client machine sends a request to the web server for a web page. The web server will process the request and return a reply in the form of the requested page. Requests can come in other forms such as request for ASCIIbased files, and interactive multimedia elements such as graphics, sound, animation and video clips. Web pages are generally containers for many of these multimedia elements. These pages are connected to each other by hypertext that allows both non-linear and linear linking of pages. A click of the hypertext link moves the user from page to page. Web pages are constructed using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags that are understood by the web browser. These tags tell the browser how to display a web page. Different browsers may vary in how they interpret the HTML tags. The two most popular browsers are currently Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator as shown in Figure 1.1 (Source: One important function of the web server, otherwise known as an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) server is that it has the ability to pass requests to run CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts to CGI applications. CGI refers to the communications protocol by which a web server can communicate with other 5

19 applications. For example, these scripts run tasks such as looking up a database or parsing forms. Figure 1.1 Web Browser Popularity (July July 2000) As of July 2000, Network Wizards ( reports that as many as 93,000 networks exist on the Internet. It is without a doubt that the initial purpose of creating a network that can withstand a nuclear attack has become a reality. This network was created originally for the purpose of communications and research. Today it serves as a fertile ground for experimenting with distance learning applications. 1.4 ABOUT EMET Overview EMET stands for Electronic Media Education for Teachers, and was created from a grant given by the Hitachi Foundation. EMET is a three-year project that 6

20 began in January 2000, and is a joint collaboration between the College of Engineering and the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma. EMET was developed at the Engineering Media Lab (EML) to function as an online learning environment for teaching multimedia development to K-12, vocational teachers and students in the College of Education. This research project serves as an example of how a distance learning web site can be constructed with the use of a back-end database and integrated multimedia elements. EMET was created utilizing the advantage of a controllable development environment with no direct intervention from third-party software. This prototype web site will facilitate the learning of multimedia tools and concepts, as well as present an environment where the use of case studies can supplement the concepts and the tutorials thereby enabling research into the effectiveness of different learning styles. Future research into different learning styles will be mentioned in Chapter 8. The research web site (EMET) was developed with several other goals. Among the other preliminary goals were to create a model web site for future expansion and research into collaboration among online learners. In addition, EMET had another purpose that was to collect online learner clicks for constructing behavior patterns on web-based learning. This final objective would help gauge the usefulness of EMET and be a basis on which to improve the design of EMET in the future. The original considerations for developing such a web-environment consisted of detailed preliminary planning. As will be seen in Chapter 3, a major part of the planning was devoted to the database design. Apart from this, consideration had to be 7

21 given to future expansion of the web site. Therefore, the prototype design had to be scalable, modular, reliable and available Framework Goals As mentioned earlier, this research project was broken into three separate years. The three years were separated by the three development phases planned for EMET. They are as shown in Table 1.1. Phase Description of Goals 1 Develop prototype online courseware. Investigate learning methods for online learning. Conduct design reviews. Start development on course content. 2 Develop courseware content. Review and evaluate content usefulness (through focus group). Deliver courseware by Internet to select test sites. 3 Deliver courseware. Elementary, Middle and High School, Vocational Education and University of Oklahoma evaluation. Formal assessment, review and modification. Table 1.1 Development Phases of EMET Note that the row for Phase One is highlighted in Table 1.1 denoting the focus of this thesis. This research encompasses the development of the prototype web-based learning environment and an investigation into available methods for learning on the 8

22 Internet. Design reviews were performed monthly to ensure that every element of the learning environment conforms to the general look-and-feel of the EMET web site Content goals Once the design and layout of the website was finalized and created, the content was put together. Content can be divided further into three distinct learning styles: concept pages, tutorials, and case studies. The development of the educational content on EMET is the focus of phase two and three, as shown in Table 1.1. The development and delivery of content on EMET is not a primary focus of this thesis and will only be mentioned in summary in Chapter Accomplishments There were several accomplishments related to the first phase of EMET development. Among the accomplishments for Phase One is the development of a working framework for future research. This web-based learning environment integrates the content and user interaction with a back-end database. The database contains registered students information and privileges, academic progress and a record of user clicks on the learning material. This logging of data into the database builds a historical set of data for future analysis as described in Section 8.2. The framework involves a one-time registration to create unique accounts for EMET users. The registration enables users to log in to their own personalized learning environment. In this environment, users have several utilities with which they can review their academic progress in the three learning styles, create bookmarks 9

23 of pages of interest, modify their user information, and participate in an online user forum. The prototype design of the web site was created to be intuitive for new firsttime users to navigate. The web site was initially built to facilitate asynchronous learning, but functions as a potential basis to build learning communities that would encourage peer-to-peer learning and interaction. 1.5 OUTLINE OF THESIS This thesis covers the development of the online learning environment EMET. The following chapter presents the literature review relating to relevant areas of distance learning on the Internet especially in the converging trends in web-based distance learning courses offered by academic institutes and corporate training sites. Several different samples of distance education initiatives on the Internet are mentioned as well as several courseware management tools such as WebCT. Chapter 2 will also present a brief background into the issues involved in developing good web-based distance education in the United States of America. Chapter 3 details the overall design of the EMET web site. This chapter covers the design of the database for web use on EMET. In continuation, the chapter talks about the layout and design of the web site from user login, user tracking and courseware. Chapter 3 is particularly important in explaining how the front-end web site connects to the back-end relational database system. From Chapter 3, Chapter 4 presents a look at the technologies involved in building the online learning environment. Titled as the Design Environment, this 10

24 chapter will cover the client-server interaction on the Internet and how the different technologies are used in tandem for the creation of EMET. These technologies are objectively grouped into server, database and scripting sections. Chapter 5 builds on the description of the technologies used on the EMET web site by providing a look at the software tools used to build the site. These commercial software tools are described by how they were used and the benefits obtained by the developers in the building process. The next chapter Chapter 6, describes the server components or applications that cannot be grouped appropriately under either Chapters 4 or 5. In this chapter, the Persits component, WebTrends Log Analyzer and O Reilly WebBoard are introduced and discussed. These server components extend the capabilities of EMET and allow for analysis of the server logs. Finally, Chapter 7 presents the assessment of the learning environment, conclusion, and recommendations for future improvements and research for EMET. 11

25 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION One of the defining moments in the history of mankind during the last century was the invention of the Internet. The Internet was initially created for research and communication purposes, but electronic commerce has generally been the primary force behind the explosive growth during the last five years. On the other hand, research and educational institutions have not neglected the opportunity to participate in this network that connects millions of people worldwide. The Internet indeed seems to be the perfect environment to conduct distance education programs. There are currently around 10,000 distance-learning courses available on the World Wide Web (Atkins, 1999). Distance education on the Internet has several distinct advantages. The Internet is an important element in distance learning because this network is not confined to geographical barriers (Tan, 1999). Use of this networking technology also can reduce teaching costs and time for learners to acquire knowledge (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). Distance learning programs can also be designed to capitalize on available asynchronous tools such as a bulletin board or electronic mail, thus allowing students time to reflect on a topic before commenting or participating in online exercises (Harasim, et al., 1995). This asynchronous environment allows students to progress through the web-based courses at their own pace regardless of location. The Internet also allows for experimentation in different learning styles. Previous methods to discern between the benefits and disadvantages of different 12

26 learning styles have been difficult as it incurred high set up costs and lack of a sample population of students. The incorporation of multimedia elements such as graphics, audio and movie clips on a web page enable students to approach the learning process from a different perspective (Ng, 1999). However, the Internet as a primary method of distance learning provides a new set of problems. Some problems involve the high development, implementation and maintenance costs, lacking research data on the effectiveness of web-based training, and poor response towards the changing role of teachers. It is also important to note that not all courses are appropriate for web delivery. An infeasible example is the web delivery of carpentry courses that involve motor skills. Findings of a national survey on distance learning in higher education ( ), announced by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in December 1999, identified several key changes in distance education in higher education (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2000, May). One such finding shows that almost 44 percent of higher education institutions offer distance-based courses, which is an increase of about one-third since a prior survey. This growth in distance courses generally involved asynchronous learning over the Internet. Further observations in the growing trend of web-based learning showed that use of videotechnology, as a distance delivery method did not grow. An article from the National Education Association (NEA) mentioned technology as an important link between the colleges and universities with public schools (National Education Association, 1999). The article agrees that technology should be seen as a means to reduce building new campuses (National Education 13

27 Association, 1999; Boettcher and Kumar, 2000, June), but should not be mistaken as a cheap method to mass education. Nevertheless, use of technology has been central in connecting schools in the nation to the Internet. A market research conducted by the Market Data Retrieval (MDR) reports that about 90 percent of US public schools have connection to the Internet with about 49 percent having high speed connections such as T-1 lines (Market Data Retrieval, 1999). This research reveals that the number of computers in public schools has increased. Schools now have an average student to computer ratio of six students to every computer, an improvement from a ratio of eleven students per computer in The advancement of network technology into classrooms continues the growth of distance learning opportunities. According to NEA President Bob Chase (National Education Association, 2000): With increasing bandwidth, the Internet can provide students with a vast array of resources that were previously unthinkable. Coppula (2000) believes that the rapid growth of the Internet is an incentive to change the fundamentals in course design. This change should affect both the structure of the classroom and the educator. Today, the monopoly held by traditional academic institutes to offer distancelearning courses is being threatened. Increasingly, traditional higher education institutes are facing competition from for-profit corporate training companies that have better technology and more money to spend. A 1999 study by the International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that the online learning market generates an 14

28 approximate $600 million annually with the potential to exceed $10 billion by 2002 (IDC, 2000). As Robert Branson, director of Florida State University s Center for Educational Technology, notes that most major corporations have well-designed internal training programs. These corporations have the potential to customize and package their training program and sell them to interested customers. However, the advantage will belong to traditional education institutes as long as customers are more interested in academic credentials (Coppula, 2000). 2.2 TRENDS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION Bob Metcalfe, vice president for technology at IDG Corporation, understands the changing trends of web-based distance learning when he mentioned, learning is becoming a lifelong process that goes beyond formal training and education (Stuart, 1998). This recognition suggested a transformation of teaching methods from passive to active, as acknowledged by Roger Shank, director of the Institute for Learning Sciences at Northwestern University, Illinois. It was further recognized that the new teaching methods should involve an active cultivation of ideas among students (Stuart, 1998). Whatever the case, the learning process has to be flexible, effective, responsive to the needs of the student s and sensitive to time and location constraints (Roberts and Keough, 1995). This means a focus shift from teacher to learner as depicted in Figures 2.1a and 2.1b. 15

29 Figure 2.1a Teacher-centered Interaction Figure 2.1b Learner-centered Interaction Today s distance education programs involve an increasing dependence on technology in the effort to build, maintain and deliver distance-learning courseware. There are many different methods to deliver distance-learning material. Among the favored methods are web-based training (WBT), and computer-based training (CBT). WBT is a variant of CBT. The primary means for distributing CBT has predominantly been the CD-ROM, which enables large volumes of media to be made available to students. However, CD-ROM use required availability of a CD-ROM drive, and had several shortcomings difficulty in monitoring user progress, hard to update, and slow delivery. Nevertheless, CBT does not experience problems with slow network connections. WBT enables courseware to be shared with multiple students who may be accessing the material at the same time at different locations. Despite bandwidth constraints relating to the delivery medium (Internet), WBT does not encounter problems associated with CBT and generally does not have hardware requirements. Heinke (1997) notes that the development of a WBT program should not be a process to port materials from textbooks without considering if the courseware 16

30 requires a different approach in design. Many educators fail to capture the student s interest because they lack training or often work alone. Failure of WBT is also attributed to inefficient use of hardware resources to assess and track student s progress, continued reliance on traditional assessment methods. Well-developed webbased courses can eliminate the need for tests and grades, as well as allow students to see their progress (Coppula, 2000). In the corporate training environment, learningware was used as the counterpart to the textbook (Graves, 2000, June). Learningware are simulations that elicit decision making from the learner, and offers more than interactivity as it provokes the learner to interpret and analyze information provided on the computer screen. There is a big market for learningware simulations in higher education. However high costs of development, lack of standards in learning technology, and uncertainties with profit making, which is largely based on the reluctance of institutes to involve non-educational organizations in their courseware development, continue to limit the use of these simulations. There are generally two different methods to establish a distance-learning program: synchronous and asynchronous. In a synchronous environment, students are involved in the learning process in real-time, whereas in an asynchronous environment, students obtain stored lessons. The benefit of asynchronous learning is clearly the availability of lessons 24 hours a day. This availability allows the user to access a class presentation and resources on demand, multiple times without exhausting the instructor or hardware. The nature of asynchronous environments also allow for non-real time submission of assignments, examinations and grade reports. 17

31 Coppula (2000) lists several elements necessary to develop a good web-based courseware media, technology, ability to backtrack, assessment, and lesson flow. The emerging education sites have several roles to play (McArthur and Lewis, 1998). First, web-based education has to be a cost effective improvement over traditional learning and teaching methods. Web-based education also has to improve the creation and learning of materials, thus decreasing the time needed to deliver content. Another role is in the creation of self-sustaining educational communities. 2.3 DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES According to Peter Denning, director of George Mason University s Center for the New Engineer, universities must change their approach to web-based learning (Coppula, 2000). The traditional linear approach to teaching employed by most universities fail to accommodate the different time schedules of working students. The linear approach also does not prepare the university for variance in teaching outcome. This refers back to the learner-centered approach illustrated in Figure 2.1b. One interesting development in teacher certification is the web-based certification program that was initiated by six campuses in the California State University (CSU) system ( This program was created to address a shortage of credentialed teachers by allowing teachers to work on certification while on the job. The program lasts 18 months and follows the same model as the Open University, which combines use of the Internet, traditional textbook, television and radio programs, audio and videotapes, computer software and home experiment kits. 18

32 The British Open University ( was established in 1971 and began using computer conferencing in adjunct mode as a small part of a multimedia course. This was the first use of computer conferencing for mass distance education application. The Open University had several objectives: provide hands-on experience in using new technology, to improve communication with tutors, and to enable peer networking which is impossible in typical distance education courses (Harasim, et al., 1995). User progress is monitored and written proctored examinations are conducted at established examination centers around the country. The learning model used by the Open University has been so successful, a sister campus was opened in the United States in 1983 ( Currently, the Open University has more than 200,000 students in over 41 countries and offer degree courses in business administration, humanities, social sciences and information technology. More than 30,000 employers worldwide such as Motorola, IBM and Xerox train their employees at the Open University. Powered.com ( founded in May 1999, used to be known as notharvard.com. Powered.com creates software for easy deployment of online university sites. A sample of learning environment created using Powered.com s educommerce development suite is the website CodeWarriorU.com. CodeWarriorU.com (shown in Figure 2.2) provides free courses to teach the Metrowerks product called CodeWarrior. The virtual learning environment is available anytime and has live instructors who provide feedback and assistance to students. Currently, Barnes and Noble ( 19

33 and Dell ( are also offering free online courses that are deployed using Powered.com s product. SmartPlanet ( is a for-profit division of ZDNet that offers web-based courses on the Internet. Though some topics are free, most require a fee to view and participate in. SmartPlanet has a variety of courses that do not lead to certification. These courses exist either as a self-study or instructor led. Supplementing the courses are workshops, seminars and tutorial simulations that require the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in as shown in Figure 2.3. SmartPlanet focuses on building learning communities from members with similar interests. Figure 2.2 Screenshot of CodeWarriorU.com 20

34 Figure 2.3 Screen Capture of a SmartPlanet Course There are many other commercial companies involved in online learning initiatives. However, not all are engaged in course development. Instead these companies develop web-based courseware management tools. An example of such a company is WebCT. Originally created by the University of British Columbia, WebCT ( is now a commercial product that supports interactive learning, learning through communities, and a vast online library system. WebCT features tools such as progress tracking, access control, student management and automatic grading of quizzes. This courseware management software allows nontechnical users to participate in an online learning environment (Chute, et al., 1999) and is used widely in academic institutes to provide web-based content to students as an example shows in Figure 2.4. However, it is important to note that courseware 21

35 management tools such as WebCT do not provide content but an infrastructure on the web server for delivering content. Educators themselves provide educational content. Figure 2.4 Sample Image of WebCT Interface 2.4 DIFFICULTIES IN EVALUATING WEB-BASED TRAINING There are several issues involved in evaluating the effectiveness of web-based training. Part of the problems associated with developing distance education programs on the Internet is that there is a lack of concrete data on web site usage and good teaching methods. Other problems include the variance in performance and 22

36 interest of individual students, and the ever-changing technological landscape of the Internet. The user-tracking feature incorporated into the EMET design records a student s movement through the course pages on a database. It can be likened to the ClickStream technology used on the Internet. ClickStream was initially developed by Green Cathedral, a UK-based company, to track web audiences for different types of media. It was first introduced to help web site owners optimize electronic retailing space by recording and analyze the paths individual customers take through their sites (ClickStream, 2000). This technology utilizes cookies, Javascript and serverside plug-ins such as WebTrends. ClickStream has an independent system of tracking components that are embedded through media elements such as web pages, graphics, and other transmitted objects. However, this impressive technology is expensive and requires modification of hardware. Apart from the database, web servers provide a wealth of information. The analysis of these logs can tell the web developer a myriad of information, such as where people enter and exit, what pages are visited often, and when does the heaviest traffic occur in a week. According to Ingram (1999), web server logs when used with data from surveys, usability studies, and other sources, can provide web developers with a better idea of how to design and revise web sites. Web server logs alone do not provide an accurate representation of web site usage (Ingram, 1999; Zawitz, 1998). The worst depiction of server usage is shown in hit counters that records each time a page is sent to the requesting machine. Hit counters do not account for similar users hitting the reload button on the web 23

37 browser because the user is anonymous and does not account for hits from a singular visit. A visit, or session, is defined as a sequence of web server log transactions recorded from a single host computer within a defined period of time. The visit ends when no transactions are logged for a period of time. Even though this is more accurate than hit counters, log data from visits are still an approximation. This is further due to the possibility of multiple users logging in from a public network access such as a public library that transmit a singular IP address. Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Compuserve or America Online can also provide server logs with inaccurate IP addresses. Nevertheless, visits are still becoming a standard method to examine web site usage. Another method is to use cookies. However, cookies have their own problems as the user s web browser can be instructed not to accept cookies. A goal of analyzing web server logs would be to understand how the students actually use the site. Knowing this would validate if the web site has been well designed and has a good navigation system or if the user has benefited from the site (Zawitz, 1998). Web log statistics should be supplemented with other types of information. For example, pre- and post-interviews should be conducted to get a clearer impression of the user s experience on the web site. Periodic use of surveys and questionnaires combined with market research and usability studies would further enhance the value of compiled web statistics. User performances should also be compared to profile the behavior of a general group of users. 24

38 CHAPTER 3 DESIGN OF EMET 3.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the various aspects involved in the design of EMET. In particular, this chapter will cover the web site layout and database structure of the learning environment. More importantly, the design and preparation of the database for integration with the front-end web site will be discussed. To better understand the design of EMET, the purpose and needs of the web site is first determined and outlined in Section 3.2. The next section also gives an overview of the business rules or criteria for designing the back-end database for web-use, which is discussed in Section 3.3. This chapter does not present the theories and background of RDBMS systems. However, the theories and background are presented in Chapter 4 in relation to the overall client/server relationship. The final section of this chapter covers the design of the front-end web site. The front-end web site reflects data that is pulled out from the database. Although this is not true in all situations on the EMET web site, the database remains an important element for keeping track of user data. In regards to the front-end, this section talks about the various processes that occur when a user logs into EMET. It also presents the user facilities on the web site, user tracking, courseware design and the user progress screen. Courseware design in this project covers three types of lesson styles: concept pages, tutorial simulations, and case studies. The process employed in the development of tutorial simulations is highlighted, as this process is relatively more 25

39 difficult and time consuming in comparison with the other two. Special mention will be made of the updating of the database through the use of Lingo and ASP in the tutorial simulations. 3.2 PURPOSE AND NEEDS As mentioned in Section of this thesis, EMET was designed to address a need for a distance education program to teach K-12 and vocational educators on how to use multimedia for teaching. EMET was also built with the purpose of continuously improving the learning environment for the online learner. Therefore, as a first step the needs and profiling of the end user (educators) were done. This was accomplished through a preliminary survey of educators around the state of Oklahoma. A copy of this preliminary survey is included in Appendix C. The results of the preliminary survey are still being processed, therefore the prototype web site was designed based on several assumptions. Some assumptions included the future need for EMET to be self-serving, which eventually led to the need to create an upgradeable infrastructure for future community building. Another assumption was that there is no wrong method of learning. Therefore, EMET needed to be able to approach learning in enough ways to keep the learner interested. The prototype web site had to take into account the technical savvy of the users such as their connection speed and how they expect to benefit from the site. In Chapter 1, it was mentioned that the web site was designed to accommodate future expansion and research into the collaboration among online 26

40 learners. It was also mentioned that there had to be a mechanism to log data of user clicks for future learning pattern analysis. These plans for future research presented a challenge for the design of EMET, and made the use of a back-end database even more appropriate. The next section will present the design of the Microsoft Access database for use on the Internet. 3.3 DATABASE DESIGN FOR WEB USE The front-end web site presents a graphical user interface for the EMET learning environment. However, the front-end generally hides the intricate and complex process of database design. The design of the database was particularly important for several reasons. First, the database had to be designed to be robust and able to handle the large volume of users. Second, the database had to be designed so that anomalies such as errors from null or empty values do not pose a problem to the integrity of the database. Third, it was important to ensure that the database could be scaled up to accommodate future research studies. The purpose and needs established in section 3.2 were used in the prototype design of the database. The database used on EMET was created in Microsoft Access and was used based on wide availability, ease of use, and stability on the Windows NT Server platform. The database design started with the need to log user information. As seen from the entity-relationship (E-R) diagram in Figure 3.1, this useraccount table housed information pertaining to a user s profile and can be seen as central to all 27

41 other tables. This is in accordance to the literature survey findings that distance learning through the Internet should be learner-centered. Figure 3.1 Relationships between Tables in Access Database This focus on the learner is reflected in the database design. Various processes can be logged based only on the username of the user, such as user clicks or lessons viewed. The username became the unique identifier of a user s progress through the EMET lessons and activities. The E-R diagram shown in Figure 3.1 reveals other aspects of the web site, such as the case study, tutorial, concept page and user tracking feature. The diagram also reveals the results of the normalization process that was used to avoid anomalies in the database. The process of normalizing data ensures that duplication of data does 28

42 not occur in relational tables, therefore minimizing the chance that multiple entries exist for similar attributes in a database. As an illustration, take the attribute of an employee s address for example. Anomalies in this scenario can happen if there is more than one table in a database that carries the employee s address, and the different tables carry different values for the attribute. The design of the database followed the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process. The SDLC is a traditional process for developing information systems to specify, develop, maintain, and replace information systems (McFadden et al., 1999). The database development process is outlined in relation to the SDLC in Table 3.1. Each process step can be revisited if changes or new information is concluded during the SDLC process. Once the database was designed, a front-end web site was developed to access the database. The connection was established using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) and an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data source. The ODBC uses a user-defined Data Source Name (DSN) to map to the database. Web pages requiring access to the database was created with Active Server Pages (ASP) scripting. ADO, ODBC, and ASP will be defined in Chapter 4. These technologies were used because it exists native in the Microsoft NT Server platform. ASP is a component of the Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS 4.0) whilst ODBC and DSN are part of the Microsoft Windows product family. Apart from ASP and ADO, web cookies are also used on EMET. Cookies are bits of information put on a client machine s hard disk when a user visits a certain web site. These bits of information are normally used to make sites user-friendlier 29