Title: Internet support for some learning activities can obstruct others

Authors: David Miller, Alan Phelan, Paul Byrne

Addresses: School of Computing, University of Central England in Birmingham, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU, UK. School of Computing, University of Central England in Birmingham, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU, UK. School of Computing, University of Central England in Birmingham, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU, UK

Abstract: For a computer-based educational resource to survive long, it must be seen to be effective in supporting the educational activities it affects. At the least, care should be taken to ensure that it a) supports some key activities without obstructing others, and b) does not destroy already-existing tacit arrangements that help to coordinate tasks into a more meaningful whole. In practice, even this may turn out to be more difficult than it seems. This paper considers how these issues might be relevant to internet support for existing higher education courses through an examination of the impact of our use of Lotus Notes/Domino on a second year undergraduate course.

Keywords: intranet; Lotus Notes; computer-based educational technology; human-computer interaction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2001.000391

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2001 Vol.11 No.1/2, pp.165-173

Published online: 16 Jul 2003 *

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