A Virtual Curriculum
F. William Ravlin and Ronald D. Kriz
University Computing and Communications Resources Committee
An objective of curriculum development is to coordinate course content so
that each course flows seamlessly into the next and the curriculum as a
whole builds on a common theme. A common mechanism to implement this flow
is through prerequisites courses. Many courses have prerequisites and this
assumes that there will be continuity of subject matter. In those
situations where two or more instructors coordinate to insure continuity
the seamless flow occurs. On the other hand, there are course sequences
where there are either significant gaps or significant overlap in subject
matter. The result is that students have to learn the missing material on
the side (i.e., there's a gap), instructors have to spend time teaching the
"prerequisite" material (a gap), or there is a "flat spot" in the learning
curve (i.e., there's overlap and students must "wait out" the redundant
material). Another problem is that courses in different curricula often
require the same core set of materials and therefore instructors must
prepare and present essentially the same material. The result is that
instructors waste preparation time when they duplicate efforts. New
developments in computing and networking can provide tools to not only
present individual courses but they can be used to implement a "virtual
curriculum" from the ground up. This discussion paper presents some
initial thoughts on course and curriculum development that takes advantage
of these new technologies specifically the World Wide Web (WWW), hypermedia
documents, and high speed, wide-band networked computer communications.
They also require some old "technologies" including: cooperation,
coordination, and an interdisciplinary approach to a set of common
problems.
An Example
Every student attending college today must graduate with computing skills
and a knowledge of how information and information technology will affect
their life and profession. Every curriculum must therefore develop or
access courses that address this need. The new and old technologies
described above can be used to address this problem. Instructors from each
discipline should come together with the idea that the WWW provides a
fertile ground to share ideas, develop a core set of information technology
materials (e.g., syllabi, notes, readings, and interactive documents) and
then develop discipline- and course-specific units that build on the core.
This will result in a set of coordinated courses that are efficiently
produced, and take advantage of a broad set of disciplines and
perspectives. From this initial effort new units, new courses, and
eventually new "virtual curricula" will "spawn". Continuity is built into
this process by using the new technologies and a willingness, in not need,
to take a team approach to education.
Please send your comments and thoughts to Bill Ravlin or Ron Kriz.
Last modified: 10/25/95