Abstract
While many educators believe in the unprecedented opportunities offered by the Internet to
enhance education, others are intimidated by its somewhat chaotic and unstructured nature.
To enhance our understanding of Web-Based Learning (WBL) it is important to identify
current educational uses of the Web, to survey the variety of technological and didactic
means used for building educational Websites, and to detect how Websites as learning
environments may differ from previous computer-based instruction tools. We present a
classification scheme of educational Websites which comprises over 100 variables
characterizing an educational Website according to four main dimensions: basic descriptive
information (e.g., target population, site developers, language), pedagogical and educational
considerations (e.g., instructional model, instructional means, cognitive demand), knowledge
attributes (e.g., representational structure and means, navigation tools) and communication
features (e.g., distant learning modes, synchronic/asynchronic activities, links configuration).
This taxonomy of educational Websites may assist the developer in the implementation of
the technology according to educational needs and constraints, will provide the practitioner
with a tool for mindful selection and evaluation of instructional sites, and offer the researcher
a conceptual framework for the formulation and study of relevant research questions.
enhance education, others are intimidated by its somewhat chaotic and unstructured nature.
To enhance our understanding of Web-Based Learning (WBL) it is important to identify
current educational uses of the Web, to survey the variety of technological and didactic
means used for building educational Websites, and to detect how Websites as learning
environments may differ from previous computer-based instruction tools. We present a
classification scheme of educational Websites which comprises over 100 variables
characterizing an educational Website according to four main dimensions: basic descriptive
information (e.g., target population, site developers, language), pedagogical and educational
considerations (e.g., instructional model, instructional means, cognitive demand), knowledge
attributes (e.g., representational structure and means, navigation tools) and communication
features (e.g., distant learning modes, synchronic/asynchronic activities, links configuration).
This taxonomy of educational Websites may assist the developer in the implementation of
the technology according to educational needs and constraints, will provide the practitioner
with a tool for mindful selection and evaluation of instructional sites, and offer the researcher
a conceptual framework for the formulation and study of relevant research questions.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 193-210 |
| Journal | International Journal of Educational Telecommunications |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 1999 |