Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction in Higher Education--A Delphi Study

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(1)師大學報：科學教育類 Journal of Taiwan Normal University: 民國 91 年，47(2)，127-144 Mathematics & Science Education 2002, 47(2), 127-144. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction in Higher Education: A Delphi Study Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. Department of Industrial Technology Education National Taiwan Normal University. There has been a considerable amount of professional pressure, and numerous position papers, in recent years expressing both the need for and the hypothetical limitations of Web-based instruction (WBI) in higher education. Thus as universities move toward the use of Web-based education (WBE), there is an increasing need to discover what university professors think about this new instructional environment. This paper attempts to clarify some of the issues and problems facing WBI in higher education in Taiwan. A Delphi method study was conducted in order to identify the issues and problems we face; twenty-seven panels were used in the four-round Delphi to identify these issues and problems. On ten issues and twelve problems a consensus of opinion was reached by the experts. The issues and problems identified were then classified into five categories: (1) theory, which involved two issues and one problem; (2) instruction, involving three issues and three problems; (3) delivery, involving one issue and three problems; (4) environment, including one issue and three problems; and (5) related factors, involving three issues and two problems. It was found that, in an examination of the top five items within the total set of issues and problems, the most prominent ones came under the categories of instruction and delivery. Keywords: Web-based instruction. higher education. Delphi method. Introduction A significant trend in higher education has shown. pages for their courses, complete with syllabi,. that widespread international acceptance with the. assignment, reading material, and links to appropriate. increasing popularity of the WBI since mid-1990s. This. resources. However, university professors are also. increasing infusion of web technology is challenging the. getting the pressure to become web-savvy and started. academic core of higher education. More and more. focusing on how to put their classes on the web (Abbey,. higher education institutions adopted web technology. 2000). As a result, more and more concerns were raised. into their teaching and have been proclaiming their. on the quality and efficacy of the instruction being. success. Over the past several years, many college and. delivered in this manner. As Brace-Govan and Clulow. university faculty in Taiwan have also developed. (2000) indicated, for many universities and their. courses or course components for delivery to students. students, the concept of WBI requires substantial. over the web. Thousand of educators are creating web. re-thinking about what is involved in teaching and.

(2) 128. Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. learning, what expectations might be reasonable, and. question that the need for higher education will become. how this can best be accommodated in a web-based. increasingly important in this knowledge-driven future.. environment.. Education must be knowledge based, and strategies to. In. other. words,. web. technology. undoubtedly has offered many benefits for the learners. develop. and instructors, however, the pitfalls need careful. educational environments on the Internet and WWW. consideration in the design of the learning environment. that are specially customized to support knowledge. (O’Donoghue, Singh, & Dorward, 2001).. work and collaborative learning (Harasim, 1997).. and. implement. them. must. incorporate. The last ten years have seen the widespread. Therefore, it is not surprising that colleges and. development of digital processing and communication. universities will be greatly affected by the rapid. coupled to networked computing. This has opened up a. advances in web technology. Since access to higher. broad set of teaching and learning opportunities,. education can be available from a number of institutions. allowing a new emphasis on interaction and concept. via web technology. Students will have the choice of. exploration in higher education. Web technologies. enrolling in course and earning degrees from multiple. provide unique opportunities for higher education. institutions without ever leaving their homes. As a result,. faculty to rethink the resources that are available to. the control of higher education will have shifted from. re-envision their pedagogical techniques. The Web is a. the providers to the students. Students will shop for. distribution channel with powerful capabilities that. institutions that provide the most efficient and most. permit immediate dissemination of – and access to –. learner-centered services.. audio, video, graphical, and textual information and. Another aspect of higher education is now facing. interactivity. WBI is a concept born from the. the challenging of students’ call for lifelong learning for. sophisticated. interactive. their personal development. The push towards lifelong. communication between learners and teachers and. learning in higher education is creating a steady increase. transmission of information at a distance. Due to rapid. in part-time, working students seeking additional. development, it is predicted that WBI will be a major. credentials who may perceive the online opportunity as. growth area for education in the future. We argue that. a way to fit study into their busy schedule (Brace-Govan. since. become. & Clulow, 2000). With the increasing popularity of. mainstream in higher education institutions, it is worth. Internet, WBI is now getting more and more popular in. looking at the way it is being implemented in order to. higher education. Through different web learning. better understand its nature and contribution to teaching. platforms, students can now study whenever they need.. technologies. web-based. delivery. permitting. is. likely. to. and learning in higher education.. Higher. Education. and. Clearly,. Web-Based. Instruction The Internet is likely to form the backbone of the Knowledge Economy in the 21st century, and will also enable and require new models of education. There is no. the. ever-increasing. diversity. that. characterizes higher education makes it clear that there will be many forms of institutions serving our students. But, as Duderstadt indicated, there are a number of themes that will almost certainly characterize at lease some part of the higher education (Duderstadt, 1999, p.22-23): A shift from faculty-centered to learner-centered.

(3) 129. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. institutions. The academy will join other social. management, engineering, law, and social science.. institutions in the public and private sectors in. Moreover, many universities start offering degree for. recognizing that we must become more focused on. those using web as a delivery channel, for example,. those we serve.. National. Affordability. Higher education will be within reach. programs of e-learning. All these indicated that the. of all citizens, whether through lowered costs or. concepts of using web as a delivery tool is getting. societal subsidies.. acceptable in Taiwan. However, considering the amount. Lifelong learning. This will reflect both a desire to. of money and efforts being expended in those. continue to learn on the part of our citizens and a. universities on infrastructure, software, training and. commitment to provide opportunities for this lifelong. technological pedagogy, the lack of understand problem. learning by our institutions.. and issue of WBI is unconscionable. As the report. A seamless web. All levels of education will not only. provided by the Ministry of Education in 2001 indicated. become interrelated but also will blend together, with. that the general problems of WBI that challenging. learners no longer progressing in lock-step fashion. higher education in Taiwan included insufficient money. from one level to the next but instead accessing. support and support from administration, high cost of. multiple levels of education throughout their lives as. developing web-based courses, lack of learning platform. their needs change.. on web, web resources were not integrated, etc.. Asynchronous learning. The constraints of time and. (Ministry of Education, 2001).. space will be broken to make learning opportunities more compatible with learners’ lifestyles and needs. Interactive and collaborative learning. Learning approaches will be appropriate for the digital age, the. Chiao-Tung. University. offers. degrees. Issues and Problems in Web-based Instruction While enrichments of instructional quality are. “plug and play” generation.. made possible by using web in higher education, their. Diversity. Higher education will serve an increasingly. pervasiveness requires examining the notions of. diverse population with diverse needs and goals.. students, courses, curricula, and other tradition bound. Just as the Taiwan economy has moved away from. instructional concepts and processes. Many advocates of. the industrial model to one that is information based,. WBI emphasize its positive aspects and understate the. technology intensive and decentralized, so will higher. kinds of communicative and technical capabilities and. education have to be changed. Many higher education. work required by students and faculty. In fact, the. institutions in Taiwan adopted web technology into their. differences between WBI and face-to-face learning do. teaching and have been proclaiming their success.. not end with communication issues and the distance. National Taiwan University has offered more than four. separation of learners. As Brace-Govan & Clulow (2000). hundred asynchronous web courses since 1997. In 1998,. noticed that there were also issues linked to how. eighteen higher education institutions joined together. students actually go about working in this electronic. and provided their island wide students with more than. environment. Do students adapt their study habits to. sixty courses on web, including science, education,. accommodate electronic delivery of materials? What.

(4) 130. Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. differences of learners notice between learning through. need to continually become more personalized for. traditional means and learning through web?. students. Second, the relationship and communication. From an instructional aspect, putting content on a. between students and faculty is an area of influence on. web page is no guarantee of learning. The Web may be a. student. great way to distribute information, but can we really. communication between students and faculty was first. teach with it? There is a big difference between. studied it was suggested that there would be significant. information and instruction, and this basic principle is as. changes to the sociological and psychological processes. true on the web as anywhere (Foshay & Bergeron, 2000).. of communication (Rice, 1994). It is crucial that there. Sound WBI should be the result of effective. should be some consideration of student needs for. communication and instruction and adherence to. communication and supports from appropriate others,. coherent instructional principles. In other words, it is. such as instructors, peer group and technicians. This. necessary to follow the key elements of the structure of. consideration strongly suggests that the need for. WBI, as Jung (2001) indicated, which includes content. instructor to pay attention to the emerging types of. expandability, content adaptability, and visual layout.. interaction. From learning’s perspective, instructional design is a. collaborative interaction, and interpersonal interaction. way to plan learning sessions that feature interaction,. (Jung, 2001). Third, is the problems related to the. learner control, and mutual feedback. The World Wide. technology for the online courses. It is essential that we. Web (WWW) presents itself as a primary information. place pedagogy above technology. Students do not learn. delivery vehicle and an educational communication. from the technology, they learn from competent. system with potential to facilitate the learning process. instructors who have been trained how to communicate. (Ei-Tigi & Branch, 1997). From teaching’s perspective,. through the technology. Knowing what the strengths and. it is crucial for decision-makers to consider pedagogical. weakness of the delivery technology, we can capitalize. issues in providing appropriate WBI. As Chen (1997). on the advantages and minimize the restrictions. In fact,. suggests the focus should be on the interaction between. all three categories above indicate that interaction is a. instructors. key issue and problem in WBI. In an electronic learning. and. learners,. instructional. strategies,. motivation, and feedback/evaluation.. success.. which. As. indicated,. include. when. academic. web-based. interaction,. environment, maintaining interaction is difficult but not. In fact, the use of WBI is still new to both. impossible. We must recognize the importance of this. instructors and students in higher education. Some of the. interaction and employ techniques to encourage it to. problems that exist in instruction need to be given a. happen. Some of the techniques, as suggested, are:. special consideration. As Hillesheim (1998) noticed that. establish a learner-centered environment, but a “guide. literature review determined problems to success in. by the side” not a “sage on the stage”, provide regular. online program fell into three general categories. The. and meaning feedback, ask for and heed student. first is related to characteristics of the students. feedback, and make provisions for student-to-student. themselves. For example, students not only want to a. interaction (Lau, 2000).. “just in time” education, they but also seek a “just for. Several studies indicated that the reason of high. you” customized education. Thus the WBI venture will. dropout rate of WBI courses come from lacking of.

(5) Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. incentives,. lacking. of. accountability. for. 131. course. commitment were higher in the higher education. completion, and the inability of poorly designed courses. institutions with well-provided instructional support. All. to keep students’ attention (Skipper, 2000). In a recent. these indicate the importance of training and administration. study conducted by Yang and Hwu (2001) also indicated. support needed for higher education faculty.. several issues needed to be concerned in WBI, which. Recently, the creation of WBI is being driven by. included administration issues – money support and. market forces as well as by technological innovation.. well-planning to support an online distance education. The need for more continuous education is increasing at. innovation; technology issues – need the reliability of. the same time that most of institutions are looking for. system and bandwidth; instruction issues – intentional. ways to expand their educational markets in Taiwan.. interaction, quality content and participants’ attitude are. More and more web-based courses are developed and. the factors which affect the performance of an online. used in our educational system. It is the time to give a. program. Another aspect related to the instruction issue. serious concern about the issues and problems that are. is the faculty motivation and commitment toward. going to affect the field. This paper focuses on the issues. web-based teaching. As the study conducted by Lee. and problems of WBI, and intends to provide a list of. (2001), it was shown that faculty motivation and. the items that concerns need to be paid.. Purpose of The Study The purpose of this research was to determine the. WBI. A critical problem was defined as: A crucial. present critical issues and problems facing the WBI in. impediment to the progress or survivability of WBI. The. higher. following research questions were developed for. education.. WBI. was. defined. as:. A. hypermedia-based instructional program which utilizes. investigation:. the attributes and resources of the WWW to create a. What are the critical issues that are currently. meaningful learning environment where learning is. impacting on the WBI in higher education?. fostered and supported (Khan, 1997). A critical issue. What are the critical problems that are currently. was defined as: Of crucial importance relating to at least. impacting on the WBI in higher education?. two points of view that are debatable or in dispute with. Methodology Identifiable issues and problems were collected. The Delphi technique was developed by the Rand. from a group of WBE professionals using a Delphi. Corporation during the 1950’s. Since that time, the. technique designed by Dalkey and Helmer (1963) and. popularity of the technique has grown in the use of. revised by Delbecq, Van deVen, and Gustafson (1975).. public policy analysis, educational innovations, program.

(6) 132. Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. planning, and a number of other applications (Baker,. identified in the panel selection process. All of the 27. 1988). Its emphasis is to develop expert consensus on a. agreed to participate by returning a self-addressed post. specific topic through a use of three to five. card with their signature indicating their willingness to be. questionnaires. This study used a four round Delphi. a part of the study. The sample size of 27 fell within the. process to ascertain and prioritize the critical issues and. range recommended by Delbecq, et al. (1975). This study. problems in WBI. Descriptive and ordinal level data. was conducted during March to June of 2001.. collection and analysis was used to interpret group suggestions and opinions into a collection of descriptive information for decision-making.. Instrumentation The Delphi technique consists of one or more. In order to address the research questions, the. rounds of open-ended questionnaires to poll original. respondents would need to reflect on their experiences. statements from respondents, with follow-up rounds of. in an ongoing way. The research objectives were. questionnaire directing the respondents to rate their. exploratory in nature and most benefit would be derived. statements for importance in relation to each other. from allowing the respondents the broadest scope for. (Cyphert & Gant, 1971). A four probe Delphi technique. response and a generous amount of time for reflection.. was used to conduct the research for this study. A series. The clear intention for this study was to uncover. of four questionnaires was mailed to the 27 experts. The. respondents’ experiences to inform any later studies in. panel was provided a cover letter describing the process. WBI. Thus, the researcher believed that Delphi was an. they were to follow plus definitions for the terms: WBI,. appropriate methodology for this study.. critical issues, and critical problems.. Sample. The first Delphi probe asked the panel, an open-ended question, to identify exhaustively the critical. The group selected for this study was composed of. issues and problems for WBI using the two guiding. 27 panelists, including 18 male and 9 female, from 18. questions created for the panelists. The statements from. major universities in Taiwan, including 10 public. the first round provided the basis for the second. universities and 8 private universities. The group selected. questionnaire. The second probe of the Delphi was. represented three regions: north, middle, and south of. designed to prioritized the identified issues and. Taiwan. Because the success of the Delphi technique. problems and begin the process of consensus. The third. relies upon the use of informed opinion, random selection. and fourth probe sought to improve the levels of. was not considered when selecting the Delphi participants.. consensus on the highest priority issues and problems.. However, demographics and gender were taken into consideration when selecting the Delphi team. Criteria used in selecting the participants was based on their. Procedure Delphi I. history of involvement in web-based teaching as well as. The first questionnaire served as a beginning point for. their ability to formulate their thinking through writings. the study. Panel members identified a total of 103 items,. and researches. A letter explaining the purpose and. including 45 critical issues and 58 problems for WBI.. objectives of the study was mailed to 27 of the experts. Based on the total number of identified issues and.

(7) Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. problems submitted, key descriptors were identified from each entry and then grouped according to like classifications under each section of the study (issues and problems). A review panel composed of two college professors and one graduate student were invited to help researchers identifying the key descriptor for each of the 103 statements. Upon completion of the classification process there were 10 items in the issues section, and 12 items in the problems section. These classified items formed the basis for the critical issue and problems were evaluated further during the second and subsequent Delphi probes.. 133. Delphi III The purpose of the Delphi III was to gain greater consensus of the top 10 critical issues and 12 problems facing the WBI. Based on the responses from probe 2, the panel members were asked to refer to their previous analysis and compare them with the identified top 10 issues and 12 problems of the overall group. The priority rank that each panelist had assigned in Delphi II was listed on the survey, and the panelists were asked if they still agreed with their choice. If there were disagreements, the panelists were instructed to make. Delphi II. changes and justify all responses.. The purpose of the second questionnaire was to. Delphi IV. determine the relative rank or priority of the items identified under each of the sections. Panelists were asked to select the 10 most critical issues and 12 problems from the collapsed category list within each section. They were then asked to prioritize those items from “1 to 10 or 12” with ‘1” being most critical and ‘12” least critical. Analysis of the responses involved a summation of each of the items along with consensus analysis within the specific sections. A group value was determined for each statement by assigning a value of 12 to each “12” rank, 11 to each “11” rank, 10 to each. The consensus process was refined further during the fourth probe of the Delphi Panel members were asked again to examine their previous responses with regards to the overall group responses of the critical issues and problems and to make a final judgment as to their priority of criticism relevant to WBI. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data; critical issue and problems priorities were rank ordered; means and standard deviations were calculated for each item identified on the Delphi probes. Each probe of the Delphi was completed by all of the 27 participants thus. ‘10” rank, and one to each “1” rank.. yielding a 100% return rate.. Analysis of Findings The presentation of findings is arranged with the results of each of the Delphi probes. Information about. Delphi I. the response data, comments and justification for the. This open-ended question allowed the participants. panelist’s choices, and the analysis procedures are. to respond freely without limitations. The instrument. included for each probe. The final section presents the. was design to obtain information to establish the. findings of the analysis of the Delphi IV where the. criticism that characterize the issues and problems. criticism was given a final priority rank.. facing WBI in colleges, therefore, all responses were.

(8) 134. Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. considered important. The Delphi participants generated. 12 categories of like responses by a review panel of. a total of 103 criticisms, including 45 critical issues and. three persons. A list of the 10 statements in issues and. 58 problems. The key descriptors in Table 1, of the. its context can be found in Table 2, and 12 statements in. criticism in issues and problems were sorted into 10 or. problems and its context can be found in Table 3.. Table 1. Key Descriptors Used to Group Questions in Critical Issues and Problems. Key Descriptors in Issues. Key Descriptors in Problems. Research Teaching style Methodology Multicultural resources Alliance and partnership Recruitment Business and industrial support Evaluation Philosophical theory Learning environment. Table 2. Critical Issues in Web-based Instruction (Delphi I Responses). Synopsis Clear research base and agenda for WBI Changing from face-to-face instruction to WBI Methodology strategies for teaching web-based courses Development of global and multicultural resources Creation of global alliance and partnerships Recruitment of students and teachers into WBE. Business and industrial support for WBE. Defining measurable outcomes for learners Establishing philosophical theory of WBI Design of learning environment. Intellectual property and protection Teacher training and support Cost of developing course Interaction Administrative support Research base Learner’s motivation Assessment Collaborative learning Online privacy and protection Course preparation and delivery Use of technology. Detailed Context Some argue that a clear research base and agenda for WBI is needed in the profession. While some treat WBI only as a supportive learning system and no need to set up additional research base. Some people in the professional believe that WBI can replace face-to-face instruction, while some argue that WBI is only a supplementary instruction in the use of computer technology. Some urge that attention needs to be paid on instructional strategies when teaching a web-base course. While some think that there was little difference in instructional strategies between WBI and face-to-face instruction. Some urge that there is a need to spread common culture and values in learning to facilitate the growth of globalization when facing the challenge of knowledge and skill competition internationally. Although the global alliance and partnerships are an outgrowth of strategy within higher education, many professionals in WBE still concerned about the losing of curriculum independence and control of students. The most discouraging symptom of WBE is the very high dropout rate from students and low incentive to teachers. The argument is the convenience in learning (anytime and anywhere) turn into not now, maybe later, and lacking a dynamic instructor and sufficient incentives. Although many corporate learning centers have entered into partnership with conventional universities to offer their employees customized training programs, there still has argument of the need to support or involve with higher educational institutes. Some argue that it is not easy to evaluate the efficiency of student’s learning, in both the product of learning and reaction to learning process in a web-based environment. To establish a philosophical theory for WBI becomes an urging issue for the profession. While some believe that WBI is only one of the approaches to conduct instruction, environment difference cannot be the reason for theory establishment. To be most effective in learning in a web-based environment, course offerings must provide students with a credit virtual environment. On the contrary, some believe that web-based learning is only an information-oriented resources system, there is no need to put efforts on the design of web-based learning environment..

(9) Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. Table 3. 135. Critical Problems in Web-based Instruction (Delphi I Responses). Synopsis Lack of intellectual property and protection Insufficient teacher training and support High cost of developing web-based courses Insufficient interaction between learners and teacher Inaccurate understanding and support by administrators Insufficient research base for WBI Lack of learner’s motivation and active learning Inadequate assessing learner’s performance Insufficient collaborative working and learning relationship with others Lack of online privacy and protection Insufficient knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills Insufficient use of technologies. Detailed Context Many higher education professors spend hundreds of hours creating new material for online delivery. However, problems concerning copyright and ownership of these materials are often not taken considerately. Insufficient training and supports were often the problem raised by university professors. These trainings and supports include preparation of materials, detailed attention to learner questions, facilitating peer-to-peer interaction and continuous guiding of learners. Many professionals in WBI complained the time and cost are so high when conducting a web-based course, which make many professors resist to implementing WBI. The argument indicates that “scale-up” is a possible solution to increase the student/faculty ration and to decrease the cost of developing courseware. Although e-mail, BBS, and chat room are available to students, they still had difficulties with online courses and felt that they needed to be with a live person. In order to make a new friendship with other students and teachers, majority of students still favor face-to-face interaction. Lack of support and inaccurate understanding from administrators usually are the problems that university professors have to deal with. Without an appropriate administrative support, some basic network infrastructure and software cannot be fully supplied. More research base for WBI is needed to support the instruction theory in an electronic environment. At this moment, there are not enough research findings to support this innovative instruction. Without an appropriate supervision from instructor in a web-based environment, many students will easily loss their motivation and learning schedule. In another word, in an self-path and self-controlled learning environment, students usually do not know how to proceed their learning. A continuous dilemma for instructors of WBI classes is whether to utilize online testing or portfolio to assess student’s performance. The consequence of online testing or portfolio, though, is that the instructor can never be sure if the students actually took the test or complete the portfolio. The beauty of WBI is to form good working and learning relationship with others. However, most of students in this country did not feel involved in taking an active part at a web-based group environment. Students prefer viewing lectures instead of engaging in small group discussion or interactive question and answer. An open learning environment has caused the problems of lacking of individual privacy. Also, learning community often ignores communication protection. In general, web-based instructors are lack of knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills. Often, this is because of courseware and facilitation is not keeping pace with technological innovation. Students new to a particular technology may initially exhibit some concern about the role of technology in the learning experience. It was found that the difficulties of using web technology, by both teacher and student, had caused learning and communication frustration.. Delphi II. the first probe. Even though this option was given, there were no additions to the 10 or 12.. The responses that identified the statements in. Ranking points were determined by a point system. Delphi I provided the design for the second questionnaire.. which assigned 12 points for a ranking of “12”, 11 points. The purpose of Delphi II was to prioritize the 10. for a ranking of “11”, etc. This procedure allowed the 10. statements in issues and 12 statements in problems. statements in issues and 12 in problems to be placed in a. generated in Delphi I to determine the relative rank of. priority rank to determine the most essential issues and. each. It also allowed the participants the opportunity to. problems. The priority ranking in issues and problems of. generate additional criticism that was not considered in. the second probe can be found in Table 4 and Table 5..

(10) 136. Kuang-Chao Yu. Table 4. Ta-Wei Lee. Delphi II Priority Rank of Issues in Web-based Instruction. Rank Points. Rank. Mean. SD. 1. Priority Statement Methodology strategies for teaching web-based courses. 76. 2.81. 1.84. 86. 2. Design of learning environment. 3.19. 2.01. 89. 3. Establishing philosophical theory of WBI. 3.30. 2.55. 95. 4. Defining measurable outcomes for learners. 3.52. 2.89. 127. 5. Changing from face-to-face instruction to WBI. 4.70. 3.78. 154. 6. Creation of global alliance and partnerships. 5.70. 3.43. 176. 7. Clear research base and agenda for WBI. 6.52. 4.07. 194. 8. Business and industrial support for WBE. 7.19. 4.44. 234. 9. Recruitment of students and teachers into WBE. 8.67. 3.59. 254. 10. Development of global and multicultural resources. 9.41. 3.09. Table 5 Rank Points. Delphi II Priority Rank of Problems in Web-based Instruction Rank. Priority Statement. Mean. SD. 4.26. 4.08. 115. 1. Insufficient knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills. 131. 2. Insufficient teacher training and support. 4.85. 4.58. 139. 3. Insufficient interaction between learners and teacher. 5.15. 4.62. 149. 4. Lack of learner’s motivation and active learning. 5.52. 4.78. 155. 5. Insufficient research base for WBI. 5.74. 4.80. 168. 6. Insufficient collaborative working and learning relationship with others. 6.22. 4.61. 170. 7. High cost of developing web-based courses. 6.30. 5.02. 181. 8. Inadequate assessing learner’s performance. 6.70. 4.49. 9. Inaccurate understanding and support by administrators. 7.19. 5.40. 194 215. 10. Insufficient use of technologies. 7.96. 4.89. 239. 11. Lack of online privacy and protection. 8.85. 4.05. 250. 12. Lack of intellectual property and protection. 9.26. 4.71. Delphi III. panelists with the rankings that they assigned to the issue and problem statements in Delphi II for a reference.. The third Delphi questionnaire was designed. Space was placed beside each statement for the panelist. similarly to the second questionnaire. The results of. to make comments to express their thoughts and justify. Delphi II provided the design, with the 10 most essential. the reason for their decision. The priority ranking in. statements in issues and 12 in problems ranked by the. issues and problems of the third probe can be found in. points received. The instrument also provided the. Table 6 and Table 7..

(11) 137. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. Table 6. Delphi III Priority Rank of Issues in Web-based Instruction. Delphi II Rank. Rank Points. Delphi III Rank. 1. 68. 1. 3. 79. 2. Mean. SD. Methodology strategies for teaching web-based courses. 2.52. 1.53. 2. Establishing philosophical theory of WBI. 2.93. 1.98. 80. 3. Design of learning environment. 2.96. 2.01. 4. 94. 4. Defining measurable outcomes for learners. 3.48. 3.41. 5. 128. 5. Changing from face-to-face instruction to WBI. 4.74. 4.05. 7. 153. 6. Clear research base and agenda for WBI. 5.67. 5.01. 6. 182. 7. Creation of global alliance and partnerships. 6.74. 5.34. 9. 204. 8. Recruitment of students and teachers into WBE. 7.56. 5.87. 8. 239. 9. Business and industrial support for WBE. 8.85. 6.08. 10. 258. 10. Development of global and multicultural resources. 9.56. 5.43. Table 7. Priority Statement. Delphi III Priority Rank of Problems in Web-based Instruction. Delphi II Rank. Rank Points. Delphi III Rank. 1. 103. 1. Insufficient knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills. 3. 120. 2. Insufficient interaction between learners and teacher. 4.44. 4.18. 2. 131. 3. Insufficient teacher training and support. 4.85. 4.05. 4. 145. 4. Lack of learner’s motivation and active learning. 5.37. 4.57. 5. 153. 5. Insufficient research base for WBI. 5.67. 4.67. 6.15. 4.91. Priority Statement. Mean. SD. 3.81. 3.03. 6. 166. 6. Insufficient collaborative working and learning relationship with others. 8. 169. 7. Inadequate assessing learner’s performance. 6.26. 4.56. 7. 189. 8. High cost of developing web-based courses. 7.00. 4.69. 7.81. 5.48. 9. 211. 9. Inaccurate understanding and support by administrators. 11. 229. 10. Lack of online privacy and protection. 8.48. 4.45. 10. 238. 11. Insufficient use of technologies. 8.81. 4.85. 12. 252. 12. Lack of intellectual property and protection. 9.33. 4.49. Delphi IV. essential statements in issues and 12 in problems ranked by the points received. The instrument also provided the. The purpose of the fourth questionnaire was to. panelists with the rankings that they assigned to the. reach a final closure of the most essential statements for. issue and problem statements in Delphi III for a. the issues and problems in WBI. The questionnaire was. reference. The priority ranking in issues and problems of. designed similarly to the third questionnaire. The results. the final probe can be found in Table 8 and Table 9.. of Delphi III provided the design, with the 10 most.

(12) 138. Kuang-Chao Yu. Table 8. Final Results of Delphi on Critical Issues in Web-based Instruction Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Table 9. Ta-Wei Lee. Priority Statement Methodology strategies for teaching web-based courses Establishing philosophical theory of WBI Design of learning environment Defining measurable outcomes for learners Changing from face-to-face instruction to WBI Clear research base and agenda for WBI Creation of global alliance and partnerships Recruitment of students and teachers into WBE Business and industrial support for WBE Development of global and multicultural resources. Final Results of Delphi on Critical Problems in Web-based Instruction Rank. Priority Statement. 1. Insufficient knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills. 2. Insufficient interaction between learners and teacher. 3. Insufficient teacher training and support. 4. Lack of learner’s motivation and active learning. 5. Insufficient research base for WBI. 6. Insufficient collaborative working and learning relationship with others. 7. Inadequate assessing learner’s performance. 8. High cost of developing web-based courses. 9. Inaccurate understanding and support by administrators. 10. Lack of online privacy and protection. 11. Insufficient use of technologies. 12. Lack of intellectual property and protection. Conclusions The purpose of this research was to determine the. aim of this study has been to stir rather than settle issues. critical issue and problems facing the WBI in higher. and problems. Part of the message is to call for. education. Each of the two research questions were. academics making a more active role in transforming. addressed and resulted in the identification of the 10. higher education. The following conclusions are based. critical issues and 12 problems confronting the WBI.. on the research questions defined for the study.. The Delphi team members that identified these issues and problems were in overall agreement as to their character and rank order of priority. Furthermore, the. Issues in WBI Ten statements reached a consensus of opinion.

(13) 139. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. relative to what will be the issues of WBI in higher. implementation. From the issues identified, this study. education from the panels of experts. It appeared from. notices that the issues are, in some extent, similar to the. the data that the issues were described in terms of. classified issues of administration, technology, and. statements that emphasize instructional concepts and. instruction as Yang and Hwu (2001) indicated.. processes. A strong emphasis was placed on the relationships between teaching, learning, and resources as educators interface with a totally new environment.. Problems in WBI Twelve statements reached a consensus of opinion. The panels viewed the statement “methodology. relative to what will be the problems of WBI in higher. strategies for teaching Web-based courses” as the most. education form the panels of experts. Collectively, the. prior issue of WBI in higher education, followed by. data in Table 9 indicated that the major problems were. “establishing philosophical theory of WBI”, “design of. based on teaching skills and course development. A. learning environment”, “defining measurable outcomes. strong emphasis was also placed on the relationships. for. between teaching, learning, and resources as educators. learners”,. and. “changing. from. face-to-face. instruction to WBI” respectively. These statements indicated a strong emphasis on the issues of fundamental theory for WBI and issues of teaching and learning in web-based environment. Also, there was relatively strong support for change of the necessity of more research base for WBI. Little emphasis was placed on business or industrial support and developing multicultural resources. The development of WBI and the increasing development of online courses have raised many issues concerning the web-based environment. In an attempt to explain the findings, it is informative to note that the university professors in Taiwan seemed to concern about arguments of the philosophical theory and teaching methodology of WBI. This is also referred to. interface with the new environment. The panels viewed the statement “insufficient knowledge in course preparation and delivery skills” as the most prior problem of WBI in higher education, followed by “ insufficient interaction between learners and teacher”, and “insufficient teacher training and support” respectively. All these statements showed that there were emergent needs for faculty to receive proper instructional supports and training as Lee (2001) indicated. There were also relatively strong supports for the problems of lack of learner’s motivation, active learning attitude, and insufficient research base for WBI. Little emphasis was placed on online privacy/protection, insufficient. use. of. technology,. and. intellectual. property/protection. Although the asynchronous nature of WBI has. the argument that whether web-based environment is. provided advantages to students and instructors, this. really proper for the instructors and students in this. study indicates that problems encountered basically. country. The web is a great way to delivery information,. focus on the course delivery and interaction. Many. but the question of “can we really teach with it?” is still. professors have difficult dealing with online courses and. concerned by the professions. It is worth noting that the. the interactions that exist between learners and. above issues presented have provided caution that the. instructors. From the problems identified, this study. teaching and learning environment was still much under. approved the findings of these problems were similar to. construction, and needed carefully considerations before. the ones that Hillesheim (1988) indicated..

(14) 140. Kuang-Chao Yu. Environment Aspect. General Conclusions When. comparing. with. Ta-Wei Lee. Design of learning environment (ranked 3rd in the. issue/problem. issue). classification by Hillesheim (1988) and Yang & Hwu. Lack of online privacy and protection (ranked 10th. (2001), the issues and problems identified in this study,. in problem). in general, can be classified into five general categories:. Insufficient use of technologies (ranked 11th in. Theory Aspect. problem). Establishing philosophical theory of WBI (ranked. Lack of intellectual property and protection (ranked. 2nd in issues). 12th in problem). Clear research base and agenda for WBI (ranked 6th in issue). Related Supports Aspect Creation of global alliance and partnerships. Insufficient research base for WBI (ranked 5th in. (ranked 7th in issue). problem). Recruitment of students and teachers into WBE. Instruction Aspect. (ranked 8th in issue). Methodology strategies for teaching web-based. Business and industrial support for WBE (ranked. courses (ranked 1st in issue). 9th in issue). Defining measurable outcomes for learners (ranked. Insufficient teacher training and support (ranked. 4th in issue). 3rd in problem). Development of global and multicultural resources. Inaccurate understanding and support by administrators. (ranked 10th in issue). (ranked 9th in problem). Lack of learner’s motivation and active learning (ranked 4th in problem) Insufficient collaborative working and learning relationship with others (ranked 6th in problem) Inadequate assessing learner’s performance (ranked 7th in problem) Delivery Aspect. From the above identification of the critical issues and problems in WBI, several trends surfaced. In an examination of the top five items within the issues and problems of this research, the most prominent items, in a great part, were the aspects related to web-based instructional strategies and delivery approaches. This indication of instruction concerns was evidence of the emerg ent. n eed. to. establish. a. web -based. Changing from face-to-face instruction to WBI. instruction/learning theory in order to provide an. (ranked 5th in issue). innovative learning environment for higher education.. Insufficient knowledge in course preparation and. Also, the delivery approaches need to be carefully. delivery skills (ranked 1st in problem). concerned in order to establish proper communication. Insufficient interaction between learners and. channels between learners and instructors.. teacher (ranked 2nd in problem). From the issues and problems identified in this. High cost of developing web-based courses. study, it was also indicated, in some extent, that the. (ranked 8th in problem). tendency. of. shifting. from. faculty-centered. to.

(15) 141. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. learner-centered has been carefully considered by high. needs and goals. Clearly, the themes of higher education,. education faculty. The higher education institutions in. as indicated by Duderstadt (1999), have been, in some. Taiwan have also shown their concerns, using web as. extent, implemented in Taiwan by taking the advantages. the tools, in serving diverse population with diverse. of web technology. Implications The issues and problems identified in this study can. there are steps and procedures that an instructor needs. serve as a foundational basis for future development. to take to encourage interaction between instructor. efforts as well as evaluation criteria in WBI. Based on. and students. Furthermore, considerations need to be. the findings the following implications are put forward:. paid on increasing students’ opportunities for learning,. Web-based instructional strategy should be given. and improving students’ overall satisfaction with the. priority in further study. Also, greater emphasis. course.. should be placed on the development of the research. Although the Web is thought of as a highly interactive. base for WBI. The need to further identify the. medium, Web courses are often presented on static. instructional theories and concepts of WBI must be. pages. The learner has no more interaction than. addressed in order to move forward as a legitimate. turning. instructional approach.. immediacy, as LaRose and Whitten (2000) suggested,. Web-based instruction depends on a number of factors, such as administrative support, technical knowledge and expertise of the instructor, technical support offered by the school, and the school’s technical infrastructure. Therefore, attention has to turn to the problem of costing WBI, though as yet. the. pages. of. a. textbook.. Interactive. needs to be carefully considered to create an atmosphere of closeness. The success of WBI is hinged on the understanding of the nature and characteristic of WBI by both of instructor and student. University professors have tended to teach the way they were taught, so the standard lecture presentation and other instructional. little progress has been made in this country.. approaches have always seemed nature to them. On. Learner usually will have trouble comprehending. the other side, students need to know how to work in. information if he or she has to adapt to an unfamiliar. a web-based environment, how to adapt their study. learning. learner’s. habits, and how to differentiate traditional learning. interaction should be given prior consideration when. and web-based learning as Brace-Govan & Clulow. teaching in a web-based environment. Although some. (2000) indicated.. environment.. As. a. result,. differences in interaction are identifiable (Jung, 2001),.

(16) 142. Kuang-Chao Yu. Ta-Wei Lee. References Abbey, B. (Ed.). (2000). Instructional and cognitive impacts of Web-based education. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.. it? In B. H. Khan (Ed.), Web-Based instruction (pp. 5-18). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.. Baker, D. (1988). Technological literacy: The essential criteria for a definition. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma.. LaRose, R., & Whitten, P. (2000). Re-thinking instructional immediacy for web courses: a social cognitive exploration. Communication Education, 49(4), 320-338.. Brace-Govan, J., & Clulow, V. (2000). Varying expectations of online students and the implications for teachers: finding from a journal study. Distance Education, 21(1), 118-135.. Lau, L. K. (Ed.). (2000). Distance learning technologies: Issues, trends and opportunities. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.. Chen, L. L. (July-August, 1997). Distance delivery systems in terms of pedagogical considerations: A reevaluation. Educational Technology, 34-37. Cyphert, F. R., & Gant, W. L. (1971). The Delphi Technique: A case study. Phi Delta Kappan, 3(5), 272-273. Dalkey, N. C., & Helmer, O. (1963). An experimental application of the Delphi method to the use of experts. Management Science, 9(3), 458-467. Delbecq, A. L., Van deVen, A. H., & Gustafson, D. H. (1975). Group techniques for program planning: A guide to nominal group and Delphi processes. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman & Company. Duderstadt, J. J. (1999). Can colleges and universities survive in the information age? In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Dancing with Devil: information technology and the new competition in higher education (pp. 1-25). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc. Ei-Tigi, M., & Branch, R. M. (May-June, 1997). Designing for interaction, learner control, and feedback during Web-based learning. Educational Technology, 23-29.. Lee, J. (2001). Instructional support for distance education and faculty motivation, commitment, satisfaction. British Journal of Educational Technology, 32(2), 153-160. Ministry of Education (2001). The development of web-based learning in higher education. Retrieved September 20, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://www2.edu.tw/moecc/index.htm O’Donoghue, J., Singh, G., & Dorward, L. (2001). Virtual education in universities: a technological imperative. British Journal of Educational Technology, 32(5), 511-523. Rice, R. E. (1994). Network analysis and computer-mediated communication systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing. Skipper, J. (2000, April). Distance learning barriers: ASTD study. DL News, IBM Corporation, 1. Yang, C, T., & Hwu, P. Y. (2001). A case study of implementing an asynchronous Web-based teaching unit. Paper presented at the Conference on Internet and Society 2001, National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan.. 誌謝作者誠摯的感謝審查委員對本文所提供的深刻意見，同時並對. Foshay, R., & Bergeron, C. (2000). Web-based education: A reality check. TechTrends, 44(5), 16-19. Harasim, L. M. (1997). The internet and intranets for education and training: A framework for action by Latin America and the Caribbean. Paper presented at the Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D. C. Hillesheim, G. (1998). Distance learning: Barriers and strategies for students and faculty. The Internet and Higher Education, 1(1), 31-44. Jung, I. (2001). Building a theoretical framework of web-based instruction in the context of distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 32(5), 525-534. Khan, B. H. (1997). Web-based instruction: What is it and why is. 國科會科教處所提供的補助（NSC 89-2511-S-003-139），深表感激。. 作者簡介 Kuang-Chao Yu is Professor in the Department of Industrial Technology Education of National Taiwan Normal University. 游光昭，國立台灣師範大學工業科技教育學系教授。 e-mail: kcyu@cc.ntnu.edu.tw Ta-Wei Lee is Professor in the Department of Industrial Technology Education of National Taiwan Normal University. 李大偉，國立台灣師範大學工業科技教育學系教授。 e-mail: t80001@cc.ntnu.edu.tw 收稿日期：90 年 12 月 06 日修正日期：91 年 04 月 14 日接受日期：91 年 09 月 12 日.

(17) 師大學報：科學數理類民國 91 年，47(2)，127-144. Critical Issues and Problems in Web-Based Instruction. 高等教育的網路化教學之議題與問題游光昭. 李大偉. 國立台灣師範大學工業科技教育學系. 網路化教學在高等教育中已逐漸顯現其盛行的風氣，愈來愈多的相關的研究也顯示了大學教授開始感受到如何應用網路科技在其教學上的壓力。本研究嘗試探討目前在台灣高等教育中實施網路化教學所面臨的議題與問題，研究係透過德懷術來取得二十七位大學院校教授對這些議題與問題的共識。研究結果顯示，目前在高等教育實施網路化教學所面對的有十項議題及十二項問題，急待釐清與克服。而這些所探討出的議題及問題大致屬於五個型態面： (1)理論面，含二個議題及一個問題；(2)教學面，含三個議題及三個問題；(3)傳輸面，含一個議題及三個問題；(4)環境面，含一個議題及三個問題；及(5)相關支援面，含三個議題及二個問題。在檢視這些議題及問題中，研究結果顯示較受關注的前五個議題及問題，多係屬於教學面及傳輸面的範圍。. 關鍵詞：網路化教學. 高等教育. 德懷術. 143.

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