Twelve tips on choosing web teaching software

Experimentation with the new technology of web-based teaching has meant that many medical schools are using more than one software system for delivery. In the medical faculty at the University of New South Wales at the end of 1999, three different software packages (WebTeach, Top Class and Learning Space) were used for mediating teaching and learning on the web. The type of applications for which web-based teaching is used also varied widely. They ranged from a distance-education coursework masters programme delivered via the web, to the provision of additional resource materials and case discussions to supplement undergraduate classes on campus. Once web-based teaching moves out of the experimental phase and into the mainstream there is usually pressure to standardize on one software system. This has the advantage of limiting costs for training and support but it may require some compromise on functionality. Faced with the need to limit the number of software packages in use at UNSW the published comparisons of web software (Landon, 2001; University of California at Berkeley; 2001; Marshall University, 2001; Murdoch University, 2001) were first investigated. These show in broad terms what each package will do but often lack sufficient detail to determine whether the package will meet specific requirements. To get a better idea of how different software packages operate under the pressure of day-to-day teaching, 15 academic course coordinators, instructional designers and educational developers from six Australian universities who are involved in designing and delivering web courses were interviewed. The authors also joined online user groups and asked questions of international users. The aim was to find out what strengths and weaknesses they had found in the packages they used and whether they would make the same choice again. The authors were particularly interested to find out what questions they would ask when considering a new package. The twelve tips that follow summarize their advice to those considering the choice of a web teaching package.