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Instructional Uses of the World Wide Web: Exemplars and Precautions

by Paul G. Shotsberger, Educational Technology, April 1996
Reviewed by Meg Turner

From classroom projects to providing courses online, increasing numbers of instruction-related sites are finding their place on the World Wide Web. Shotsberger takes us to some notable sites and then suggests design tenets for optimal web use.

Sites That Reinforce Instruction (Archival)

The World Lecture Hall, University of Texas at Austin, was at the top of this author's list for "one-stop shopping" for instructional sites. It contains links to pages created by faculty worldwide who are using the Web to deliver class materials. Upon arrival, professors are invited to add their own curriculum pages via forms, much like the course template created for NCSU professors.

In an interesting look at a computer-assisted writing class , one can visit a student online forum called "InterChanges" and read real-time student conversations relating to topics posed by their professor. (I could see using "InterChanges" with fifth graders as a motivator for learning word processing or e-mail)

The author takes us from innovative instructional and written content to sites which offer stunning images! The Renaissance and Baroque Architecture site contains jpegs created from an instructor's trips to Europe.

The Taxonomy of Flowering Plants provides some beautiful flora. Both sites feature rich, high quality images, although the flora images are often too large to wait for on a 28.8 modem, unless you are a devoted botanist! Thumbnails (reduced versions) load first on the Renaissance site and the user has the option of clicking to view the larger size image.

Check out the Educational Policy Advocacy site at Illinois State University for an example of a site which incorporates a Power Point Slide Show and JavaScript to grab the user. Pull-down go menus add to the appeal of this well-designed site (which begins to look suspiciously adolescent when you end up on a page that defines you as a dweeb.) It turns out that one of the "dweebs" is actually a picture of the professor who has created the course and web site!

Virtual or Simulation Sites

While the instructional sites mentioned above exhibit quality content and design, virtual or simulation sites offer more than supplementary instruction.The Virtual Hospital's radiology department provides new learning experiences for students in the way of a 3D Gallery (which loads fairly quickly) and links to multimedia textbooks.

Shotsberger concludes his survey with a distance education site at the University of Pennsylvania and another in England, though obviously, many more distance learning sites have cropped up since this article was written.

In less than a year since the article was written, one can find many examples of exemplary sites. Yet, when we visit the above links, we find they illustrate many of the principals one looks for in a well-designed web site.


Ingredients of Good Design

  • limit links -- too many links often result in the user skipping over them as they scan the article, especially when links are embedded in paragraphs.
  • limit page length -- avoid extensive scrolling and longer load time; better to have many short pages, with few links, than long pages with many links.
  • keep layout consistent -- orient the user by designing menus, paragraphs and lists with a similar look and feel.
  • include a header -- each page should be able to stand alone; add reduced logo and contact info on each.
  • optimize navigability -- include user options on each page in the same place; viewers should be able to get around your site easily.
  • don't reinvent the wheel -- consider the value to the user before you actually publish it on the web.
  • resist blinking text, tiled backgrounds and animated gifs -- they add to download time and can sometimes detract from content.
  • check your links often -- outdated or messages such as "URL not found" can be quite frustrating for the user.
  • provide proper notice when necessary -- warn users of large gifs, sound or movie files; let users know of restricted sites ahead of time.
  • minimize download time -- consider your audience's connection speed; reduce or eliminate images if necessary; use repeating images when possible; provide text over image links.
  • showcase student projects -- student work should be prominately displayed, not buried in among your pages.

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