The minimal expectation on this course weblog is a place for me to archive the teaching and learning of the Software Engineering course and to support teaching and learning during the course of study (September 2006 to May 2007). After the course, it can also be an archive for reference and sharing with others. Beside that, I wish my instructional blogging on the course will be a way to extend learning beyond classroom meetings.

Here is the screenshot of the course weblog.

Here are the presentation slides I used: Powerpoint file (308 KB) and Flash format (231 KB). Comments are welcomed and appreciated. You can use the commenting form or Email Me.

Here shows the 24 slides in flash format: Flash format (231 KB). Comments are welcomed and appreciated. You can use the commenting form or Email Me.

Note: The conference was organized by Web-based Teaching and Learning Taskforce (WebTL), Hong Kong Baptist University. The WebTL was established by Department of Education Studies of the University in 2001.

Introduction

The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) is a distance education university with about 22,500 students. In fulfilling its mission, the university has adopted various Web-based and electronic means to support distance learning. For instance, OUHK uses a Web-based course management system (CMS) to provide students with a flexible way to obtain course materials. Apart from traditional print-based course materials and textbooks, the university staff and instructors use the Web to replace surface mail to deliver assignment files, supplementary study materials, and other correspondence with students. Online discussion forums provide students with a convenient place to ask questions and receive answers from the teaching staff.

An electronic assignment-handling system administers student assignments. Assignments, which are marked up and commented on, are considered an important element in the distance learning process. The assignment-handling system enables students to submit assignments electronically, apply for an extension, inquire about the status of their submitted assignments, and receive timely feedback on assignments from the teaching staff.

Clearly the Web-based CMS provides many benefits in the service of distance education. However, it is also fair to say that the current ways that we use and interact with the CMS are not ideal. Employing a human teaching assistant to relieve academic staff from manual monitoring and management of course activities is one way to improve the process, but not effectively and efficiently. We investigated employing a software agent to act as a teaching assistant to the course coordinator instead—the idea behind this article.

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To read the whole article, please use the following links. It can be viewed online or downloaded as PDF file (181 KB) from EDUCAUSE Quarterly.

EDUCAUSE Quarterly is a practitioner’s journal about managing and using information resources in higher education. It is published by EDUCAUSE four times a year. Articles published in the magazine are referenced in such national indexing and abstracting services as ERIC, Computer Literature Index, and Higher Education Abstracts.

The journal is distributed in print form to approximately 8,500 individuals on more than 1,300 college and university campuses. Written by campus practitioners, articles are peer-reviewed prior to publication.