Effects of Course Management Systems on Student Course Evaluations
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Authors
Hassenzahl, Susan
Issue Date
2004
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Course management systems (CMS) are web-based information management systems that
contain tools that allow faculty and students to manage their class material, hand out and turn in
assignments, post discussions, and make announcements. Two of the most popular CMS on the
market today are WebCT and Blackboard. Many of these CMS vendors make claims that their
system can help both faculty and students in many different aspects of their academic career. Some
of these claims include faculty being able to manage the course and its content, lower preparation
time, and increase content availability and sharing, and students can access the CMS for academic
support, possibly increasing chances of course completion, improved grades, and improved
learning (WebCT). With these claims comes a push for higher education courses to use the CMS,
even though little is known about the benefits, or detriments, on student learning. Much of the
previous research has used qualitative surveys and interviews of students and faculty, which have
the usual caveats of sampling issues and reliance on truthfulness of the participants’ answers. One
way to assess directly the value of CMS are through course evaluation data. Students’ course
ratings are a way for them to evaluate their learning experience with the confidence that their
identity is unknown and their grade will not be affected by how they evaluate their experience.
However, assessing student learning is an idea that is difficult to address, but with course
evaluations and a large sample size, trends can be seen through students’ opinions and responses to
their perceived learning.
Description
1 broadside
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.