CyberProfTM - An Intelligent Human-Computer Interface for Interactive
Instruction on the World Wide Web.
Deanna M. Raineri1, Bradley G. Mehrtens2, and Alfred
W. Hübler3
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1 Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Urbana, IL 61801
Email: raineri@uiuc.edu
2 Center for Complex Systems Research, Beckman Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Email: mehrtens@uiuc.edu
3 Center for Complex Systems Research, Beckman Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Email: a-hubler@uiuc.edu
ABSTRACT
Advances in computer technology and the human-computer interface have
created a wealth of new opportunities for the development of computer-based
instruction and intelligent tutoring systems. Unfortunately, much of the material
currently available amounts to little more than "electronic books,"
in which learning is still accomplished by reading text and viewing two-dimensional
images. This paper describes the features of CyberProf - an interactive, World
Wide Web-based teaching system developed at the University of Illinois. Using
CyberProf, instructors can create on-line lecture notes that include equations,
animations, and graphics; write on-line interactive homework problems; communicate
with students using CyberProfs Web-based conferencing system; survey students
in order to receive feedback on course material; and record student grades in
CyberProfs on-line gradebook. Students can review lecture notes 24 hours
a day; complete homework problems on the Web and receive immediate intelligent
feedback to their answers; use the conferencing system to post questions to
their instructor, teaching assistants, and peers; and review their grades in
the class at any time.
KEYWORDS
Problem Set Editor
Assignment Maker
Gradebook
Network TA
I. INTRODUCTION
For scientific instruction to become more effective and thereby meaningful to students,
educators need to revise curricula and make use of new educational tools that allow
students to interact productively with course material [1, 2]. We believe that such
reforms are particularly needed in the physical and life sciences, mathematics, and
engineering. Traditional methods of teaching -- lecture and demonstration by the
instructor and relatively passive watching and listening by the students -- provide
students few opportunities for active engagement with the subject matter. Students may
complete a course with only a superficial understanding of essential concepts. They may
not be able to apply course material to novel situations, to integrate discrete rules and
concepts into a coherent whole, or to engage in abstraction, generalization, and inductive
thinking. Moreover, students often leave the classroom with a very static view of what are
in reality very dynamic processes.
We believe that we can best help our students to achieve a meaningful and deep
understanding of concepts in the sciences, mathematics and engineering by providing them
with the resources and opportunity to engage in active and student-directed learning. We
also believe that to enhance student learning we must investigate how students learn, how
they interact with technology, and how learning may be optimized for students with diverse
educational backgrounds (for example, underprepared, advanced, or minority students).
During the past three years, Dr. Alfred Hübler, Professor of Physics at the University
of Illinois, in collaboration with educators in microbiology, chemistry, education, and
theoretical and applied mechanics, has developed CyberProf, a robust World Wide Web-based
system of teaching software (see http://loner.ccsr.uiuc.edu/cyberprof/).
CyberProf is a product of research at the forefront of nonlinear science and the
human-computer interface. Students can use CyberProf to review lecture materials on
demand; complete on-line quizzes and homework problems; review their grades and progress
in the course; and asynchronously communicate with the instructor or teaching assistants
via a Web-based bulletin board system. The CyberProf Web Server accepts responses to
homework problems from students (in the form of graphs, algebraic expressions, drawings,
and prose text), evaluates the information using tools and algorithms adapted from complex
systems research, and returns specific and useful responses, even when student answers are
ambiguous or only partially correct.
Dr. Hübler first tested a prototype of CyberProf in the Spring 1995 semester and
anecdotal results from that first semester were overwhelmingly positive. By the Spring
1997 semester, 16 courses at the University of Illinois, and 20 remote institutions, were
using CyberProf. The University of Illinois courses are primarily using CyberProf to
deliver weekly, graded quizzes and as a forum to enhance instructor-student interactions
and to promote student-student collaborations.
In this paper, we will describe features of the current CyberProf system. We will also
discuss some enhancements under development within CyberProf.
II. CYBERPROF SYSTEM COMPONENTS
A. Directory Structure: Password-Protected versus Free-Access Material
Files intended for use with CyberProf software are stored in one of two
main directories, "public" or "protected." Whereas files
in the public directory can be viewed as standard HTML documents by any Web
browser, all files located within the protected directory cannot be accessed
without the user submitting a valid login name and password. Gradebook scores,
Problem Sets and Conferencing System postings are examples of password-protected
materials restricted to students and instructors in the course. General non-interactive
course materials, stored in the public directory, provide supplemental information
about the instructors, links to password-protected material, dates and locations
of exams, timetables for homework assignments, detailed lecture summaries and
other resources specific to the course. Anyone with a Web browser can view such
course information, whereas more sensitive materials remain password-protected.
B. Interactive Problems
Students in biology, chemistry and physics complete interactive homework problems
in order to reinforce course material. Affording students the opportunity to
solve problems by applying what they have learned in lectures and laboratories
enables them to identify strengths and weaknesses in their understanding of
course content.

Figure 1: The Problem Set Editor Template. Using the Problem
Set Editor template, educators with only
basic HTML skills can generate "attractive" problem sets. This figure
shows what the template looks
like for a question requiring a single word answer. The layout of the template
varies
according to the question type selected.
A powerful feature of the CyberProf Problem Set Editor (see Figure 1) is its
flexibility in accommodating a diversity of question types. Examination questions in large
courses are often limited to the multiple choice format. Arguably a reasonable test of
students' memorization of course content, the multiple choice format is less effective at
testing the students ability to apply and manipulate concepts. In CyberProf, the
instructor can choose among radio button selectors which allow the student to choose one
answer from a range of possibilities, checkboxes which allow the student to select
multiple answers from among many options, symbolic responses for questions requiring
numerical answers, single word and short answer responses where the student has to
"fill-in-the-blank", as well as graphical responses where the student uses an
interactive drawing tool to plot graphs which are compared to theoretical curves generated
by the instructor. The standard multiple choice format is also available via
pull-down menus of choices. Problems requiring single word answers can be customized to
accommodate a limited array of misspellings and variations on the correct answer
(abbreviations, for example). This feature is particularly useful in scientific courses
where many new technical terms and abbreviations are introduced.
In order to emulate the interaction between instructor and student, a system has been
integrated into the problem set editor that allows the instructor to append
"hints" to problems. A "hint" can be in the form of text, links to
other information (appropriate lecture material, for example), figures, or animations.
Hints are not displayed unless requested by the student, much the same as an instructor
witholding information unless prompted for additional help by the student. Questions
accompanied by hints are identified by a selectable button next to the "check
answer" button at the end of the question (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: A Problem Illustrating the "Hint", "Help"
and "Why?" Features of the Problem Set Editor.
If the instructor wishes to provide still more information after the hint has been
accessed, this can be accomplished by implementing the "help" function.
"Help" is functionally identical to the hint tool, but help buttons only appear
on the screen after the student has first accessed the hint for that question (see Figure
2).
Rather than simply responding to a correct answer by stating that the submitted
response is correct, CyberProf encourages the use of positive reinforcement by permitting
the instructor to customize the system's response to a correct answer submitted by a
student. These responses can be textual, such as "Congratulations! That was a
difficult question!" or links to supplemental information that the student may find
interesting or useful (see Figure 1).
Another optional feature allows the student to see how many questions were answered
correctly out of the total possible in that problem set. This function also calculates how
much time it took to answer the questions, so that students can determine whether they
have completed a problem in the time normally allotted to work a comparable problem on an
examination. The number of attempts that a student can make on a particular question can
be limited as well. This feature is useful when the problem set is to be graded as a
course assignment.
C. Gradebook
Once a question or set of questions has been answered by the student, the students
responses are posted to CyberProf's grading program, where the responses are checked
against those provided by the instructor as correct. With CyberProf's Gradebook package,
the students' scores are automatically uploaded from the Problem Sets into the Gradebook.
If, for example, a student works a problem set with 10 possible points and answers 7 of
those questions correctly, a grade of 7 is recorded in his or her personal Gradebook. The
student may go back and try to answer the missed questions correctly, and the scores will
be updated in the Gradebook as correct answers are received, provided the deadline has not
been reached, nor the number of allowed attempts exceeded.
The CyberProf Gradebook also functions as a valuable tool for course administration and
enhancement. An instructor in a multi-section course can use the Gradebook to set up
course sections and enroll and drop students. Student progress can be monitored on the fly
by tracking performance on Cyberprof homework assignments and thereby determining if the
class has understood or is having difficulty with a particular concept. Instructors can
review recorded grades in a variety of formats. All students grades on a particular
assignment might be viewed in simple list format, or as a graph of the grade distribution
on that assignment. Other options include viewing a single students grades on all
the assignments in the course, or viewing all students grades on all assignments in
table format. Students can review their own grades at any time. The Gradebook is
password-protected and secure.
D. Grading Software
The CyberProf grading programs evaluate responses to multiple choice, checkbox, radio
button, single word fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions based on the
instructors input. The student is immediately informed as to whether an answer is
correct or not. The grading software is also able to analyze symbolic answers to determine
whether a response which does not correspond to the instructors input is still
correct. For example, if the solution to a problem involving a simple linear equation is
8, CyberProf would accept as correct not only 8, but also any numerical variant of 8. Thus
students could input any of the following responses: "8", "10 - 2",
"7 + 1". "80/10", "8 x 8/8", "64^(1/2)", or
"2 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1". The software also evaluates symbolic answers that include
units, accepting nonstandard but equivalent expressions of units as well as either English
or metric units. Thus, for a problem asking students to specify the force of gravity on
earth (= 9.8 m/s2), CyberProf would evaluate all of the following responses as
nonstandard but correct: "9.8 N/kg", "9.8 J/(kg x m)", and 32 ft/(s x
s)".
Specialized grading packages are also being developed. Thus, chemistry professors may
wish to use the organic nomenclature grading software. This grading software can evaluate
the names of organic chemical compounds and provide intelligent feedback based on which
kinds of errors students typically make on similar problems. For example, an error message
could say that the alphabetical order of the substituents is wrong. Specialized grading
packages which can analyze graphs and drawings are also being developed.
Although there are a number of Web-based educational environments capable of delivering
graded quizzes, some of which also have the ability to incorporate "scaffolding"
(the addition of "hint" and "help" statements) into problems, as far
as we are aware, CyberProf is the only Web-based educational system capable of evaluating
symbolic responses for sign errors and unit errors, as well as numerical errors. Thus,
CyberProf can equate two answers that are mathematically equivalent but syntactically
different. The specialized grading packages also allow for the analysis of graphs and
drawings, which is not offered by similar Web-based educational products.
E. Assignment Maker
CyberProf's Assignment Maker is the starting point for setting many of the instructor
preferences described elsewhere in this document. It is from the Assignment Maker that the
instructor assigns point values for each question and arranges groups of questions into
separate assignments such as homework problem sets, quizzes, or examinations (see Figures
3 and 4). The Assignment Maker allows the instructor to set deadlines for each of these
assignment types, after which grades will only be uploaded to the Gradebook at a penalty
(see Figure 4). Assignable late penalties range from 0 to 100 percent and can be
set individually for each homework assignment, quiz, or exam.

Figure 3: The Assignment Editor - Overview Page. The overview
page of the Assignment Editor indicates
the type (e.g., Homework, Quiz, Examination, etc.) and number of assignments
within a particular course.
The Assignment Maker also allows the instructor to take advantage of CyberProfs
personalized random number generator to produce many versions of the same assignment (see
Figure 4). The random number generator ensures that each student receives a randomly
selected version of each problem, reducing the possibility of students sharing
answers while at the same time allowing motivated students to work multiple versions of
the same problem types.

Figure 4: The Assignment Editor - Editing Page. This figure
illustrates the layout of a typical assignment
(in this case, Homework Set 1 which consists of 4 different problems).
1 descriptive name - the general title of the
problem set (seen by the student). This name often relates to the relevant
course material. Different problem sets can carry the same descriptive name.
2 filename - the directory structure and file name of the problem set
(not seen by the student). CyberProf looks at the filename to determine the
number of different versions of a particular problem set and automatically
enters this value below the filename.
3 question name - the number of questions within a particular problem
set.
4 credit - the total number of points assigned to a particular problem
set.
5 color code - used to indicate the difficulty level or some other property
of the problem set. An explanation of the color
code is provided in the footer or header of the assignment page.
Within CyberProf, explanations of all of these terms can be obtained simply
by clicking on the appropriate term.
F. Network TA
In large classes, instructors office hours represent the only opportunity for
one-to-one interaction between students and their teachers. But office hours tend to be
either underutilized by busy or timid students, or oversubscribed just prior to exams.
Network TA, which was also developed by Dr. Alfred Hübler at the University of Illinois,
is CyberProfs Web-based conferencing system that provides round-the-clock access to
the instructor and TAs. A student can submit questions at any time, without disturbing the
instructor or waiting until the next scheduled office hour by which time the question may
have been forgotten.
Within Network TA, separate discussion folders can be set up, by instructor preference,
to deal with anticipated discussion topics. Each folder can contain any number of
discussion groups. For example, a "Homework" folder may contain a different
discussion group for each homework; a "Labs" folder, a different discussion
group for each lab. If an interesting discussion starts up between the instructor or TA
and a student or between two students, the instructor can draw attention to this
discussion, hopefully encouraging other students to get involved, by moving the relevant
group into the "Current Discussion Group" section at the top of the main
conferencing page (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Network TA - Main Navigation Page. Related discussion
groups are placed in a discussion folder.
The "updated" and "new" tags indicate the presence of unread
and unanswered messages, respectively.
To submit a question or comment to a particular discussion group, the student simply
clicks on a "Compose New Message" button to open a HTML-independent text
box (see Figure 6). Submissions to Network TA can be simple text or include figures or
links to relevant information. To read a posting, the user simply clicks on the hypertext
linked subject line. Since a reply box automatically opens behind each posting, as shown
in Figure 7, if the user wishes to respond to the posting, a separate reply window
does not have to be downloaded. Furthermore, unless the user chooses otherwise (by
clicking on the "User Preferences" button and bypassing the default
setting), the posting being responded to automatically appears in the reply box (see
Figure 7). This option makes it easy for students to join an on-going
("threaded") discussion, even if there already have been numerous exchanges,
since opening the last posting in a threaded discussion will download the entire discourse
in a single window.

Figure 6: Network TA - Discussion Group Page. Replies to
questions appear as hypertext links beneath the question.
From this page, a user can read messages from other users, submit a new message,
search the group for messages
related to a particular topic, or check to see who else is online by clicking
on the "Log of Current Users" button.
The "User Preferences" button allows the user to customize the dimensions
of the various message boxes to fit
the users monitor.
The number of submissions generated in large courses can be overwhelming to a student.
Searching for new materials which may be distributed among many different discussion
groups could be time consuming. In Network TA, a student is notified if new
messages/questions have been submitted since his/her last login by the presence of an
"updated" tag next to the relevant group as shown in Figure 5. Reading
all of the questions within a group extinguishes the "updated" tag for
that particular user. However, if there are unanswered questions in that group, the "updated"
tag is replaced by a "new" tag which is not user-specific. Thus, the
"new" tag disappears for every user when all of the questions have been
answered, regardless of who answers them (instructor, TA, or another student). To save
time, a student wishing to read messages on one particular topic only can also take
advantage of Network TAs "wordsearch" feature (see Figure 6). This
feature will scan a discussion group for messages containing the specified search word.

Figure 7: Network TA - "Read Message" and "Reply
to Message" Windows. A "Reply to Message" window
downloads behind each message. The message being replied to automatically appears
in the reply box.
As shown in Figure 8, setting up the various discussion folders and groups is a
relatively simple process. To set most of a groups attributes, the instructor simply
selects from a number of options listed in pull-down menus. Most other features of the
Network TA conferencing system can be as easily customized according to instructor
preference.

Figure 8: Network TA - Director Options Page, showing the
template used to set the attributes of discussion
folders and groups. Most other aspects of Network TA can also be customized
from this page.
III. TOOLS TO SUPPORT EVALUATION
CyberProf is a new teaching/learning environment and we rely very heavily on feedback
from both faculty and students to monitor its effectiveness. The very fact that it is a
digital environment affords opportunity for complete monitoring of every student's use and
compilation of data. At present, CyberProfs evaluation tools include log file data
(discussed in the next section) which can be analyzed by bonafide evaluators, on-line
surveys which are filled out and submitted by students, and faculty feedback forms.
As CyberProf is being used by students and teachers in different fields of study, the
on-line surveys can be tailored by the instructor to each course in order to determine how
this technology can best be adapted to different purposes. A variety of question formats
is available. The instructor can issue questions in the form of statements to which
students respond by selecting from a range of choices (e.g., strongly agree, agree, no
opinion, disagree, strongly disagree). Questions can also be written for which an answer
is typed into a text box. The instructor can access a file of survey results which
displays the responses in a variety of formats, such as bar graphs indicating the
proportion of responses for each option in a question.
Anecdotal results from all of the courses currently using CyberProf have been very
positive. The following statements represent a sampling of faculty (f) and student (s)
feedback:
"CyberProf results in time savings because quizzes are now presented and
graded on-line" (f)
"CyberProf promotes student writing / interaction" (f)
"The load on my TAs is much smaller. I now usually have only one or two
students in my office hours, but they still think Im available." (f)
"CyberProf is an excellent Web application which provides good student support
and feedback." (f)
"I found the Web-based tutorial sets to be more conducive to learning because
of their interactive and visually oriented nature than all other study options.." (s)
"Overall, I think the Web offers an excellent and highly accessible medium
through which students can get a lot of supplemental instruction on their own time
schedules." (s)
"It (the Web-based tutorials) was the majority of what I did to prepare for
the first two exams, on both of which I answered above ninety-five percent of the
questions correctly.......I can truly say that I have learned more in this class than any
other I have taken on this campus." (s)
"The Web site makes it easier to access the information in and about the
course, and the supplemental materials help in the understanding of the material. I think
that it is a worthwhile addition to any course and especially a large lecture course like
this one." (s)
"I feel that CyberProf helped me prepare for the exam and gave me a better
understanding of the lecture material." (s)
"I think it helps give a little bit more individuality to students and takes
away the possible overwhelming feeling of a big course. For example, you can interact with
the professor/TA with ease and without fear (of calling, approaching, etc.). The
professor/TA can get back to the student at his or her own convenience with a personal
comment." (s)
"The Web site has provided me with easily accessible information that improved
my understanding and deepened my interest in the course material." (s)
"The Web site gave a new twist to learning. I found studying not so time
consuming or boring." (s)
"CyberProf helped me to prepare for the first exam and made sure that I
understood important material that was covered in lecture." (s)
"The problem sets were extremely helpful in studying the material, especially
before the test. I think that doing the problem sets was the main reason I did so well on
the exam. Also, the lecture supplements were great because you could pay attention and
listen during lecture instead of trying to write down every word." (s)
Most of the courses using CyberProf have also reported increased lecture attendance,
increased enrollment, and lower dropout rates. Since the goal of these courses is not to
replace the traditional lecture with virtual lectures but, instead, to enhance the content
of these traditional lectures with interesting interactive discussions, this is viewed as
a positive result. By moving in-class tests, supplemental lecture material, and
alternative explanations of difficult concepts to the CyberProf environment, instructors
can dedicate more time to in-class discussions which spark students enthusiasm for
the course material and encourage collaborative learning. The increased enrollment and
lecture attendance and lower dropout rates seen in these courses suggests a greater level
of interest brought about by these more "active" lectures.
Preliminary data from courses in which the same final exam was used pre- and post-
introduction of CyberProf into the course environment, suggest that academic performance
has also improved, the most discernible difference being the lack of the "lower
tail" in the final exam score distribution since the integration of CyberProf into
the course (3). More rigorous evaluation data from courses in which multiple sections of
the same course are taught with and without CyberProf are not yet available.
IV. ENHANCED CYBERPROF
Work is underway to expand upon the current capabilities of CyberProf and to integrate
the separate components of the system in order to "scale up" CyberProfs
effectiveness.
Log File Data. CyberProf generates huge amounts of log file data that document
system performance, for example, server response times, system crashes, error messages,
how long it takes individual parts of the program to run. A detailed performance analysis
of these log file data is being conducted to identify unstable portions of the CyberProf
driver, bottlenecks, incompatibilities, and the like. The information obtained will be
used to optimize CyberProf for maximum speed and stability.
In addition to improving the performance of the CyberProf driver, the log file data can
also be used to optimize student learning. For example, the information provided through
hint and help buttons is based on the instructors experience as to the most likely
misunderstandings students have with a particular concept. However, by mining the log
files which Cyberprof generates for each problem set, it is possible to determine the most
common errors students actually make, as well as the effectiveness of the current
"hints" and " helps." By discovering how students tend to
misunderstand concepts, it is possible to tailor the "hints," "helps,"
and other aspects of the courseware, to optimize learning.
CyberEditor. Materials to be stored in CyberProfs public directory
("read-only, non-interactive" material) can be generated independent of
CyberProf using any one of a number of commercially available internet authoring tools
(PageMill, FrontPage, etc.), which require no knowledge of HTML. Educators with only
rudimentary HTML skills who wish to develop problem sets and other password-protected
materials using CyberProf can also generate "attractive" course materials by
taking advantage of the templates, such as the Problem Set Editor and Assignment Editor
templates, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4.
Educators who author Web-based courseware or multimedia documents employ a variety of
software packages, with different interfaces and varying levels of intercompatibility. In
addition to an HTML editor, CyberProf includes a basic graphics editor (Webdraw), and an
editor for creating and modifying line graphs (Webplot). These recent Java-based
additions, Webdraw and Webplot, use model-based data compression to save information at a
higher, more useful level. Thus, the drawings and graphs are being stored at the level of
"hydrogen atom," rather than at the pixel level. This capability allows the
system to analyze the drawings and to provide intelligent feedback quickly. This will help
to reduce the frustration, felt by both instructors and students, caused by slow response
times. In the future, CyberProfs HTML, Webdraw, and Webplot Editors will be
integrated into a single authoring system that will allow users to edit any course
material (lab, lecture, or homework) that includes graphics. This integrated authoring
system will make it possible for instructors, especially those with little computer
experience, to create Web-based courseware in any discipline quickly and efficiently.
Work is also underway to enhance CyberProf with the video capabilities of VOSAIC (Video
Mosaic), a Web browser that supports the real time delivery of audio and video files
across the Internet. Vosaic supports a new adaptive communication protocol (VDP) that
increases the speed of data transmission by a factor of 44 over the standard TCP/IP
protocols. The resulting software package will facilitate the creation of hypermedia
course materials and problem sets that engage students interests and accommodate a
diversity of learning styles. Such engaging presentations would be impossible with a
blackboard or an overhead projector.
"Why?" Button. If a student enters an incorrect response in a
CyberProf problem set, he or she can query the system so as to discover the source of the
error by clicking on a "Why?" button (see Figure 2). When students answer
numerical problems, CyberProf uses sophisticated software to analyse their responses for
sign errors, unit errors and numerical errors. As discussed above, the system can detect
alternate forms of correct responses -- including answers that are mathematically
ambiguous or only partially correct -- and show students exactly how their answers might
deviate from correct ones. Instant feedback permits students to rework problems
immediately, rather than experiencing the delay of traditional grading methods. Currently,
the order in which the system analyses a particular response is manually prioritized by
the CyberProf developers. Features are being implemented to allow the system to determine
the order in which this analysis is to be carried out.
V. SUMMARY AND PROSPECT
Sparking students interest and enthusiasm presents a perennial challenge to
educators. This is especially true in large courses where students have little opportunity
for personal interactions with instructors. Course materials must be developed to
accommodate students with varying backgrounds and different learning styles. Thus the
challenge is to create a rich environment that provides a variety of opportunities for
student engagement.
Previous online networked educational systems developed at the University of Illinois
such as PLATO [4] and NovaNET [5] were partially successful, but somewhat limited by the
technologies and methods of their time. Students could perform exercises online, receive
instant feedback on their solutions, and have their grades automatically recorded.
However, these systems were not capable of particularly sophisticated handling of student
input nor were they able to take advantage of the enormous amount of information available
on the Web. Furthermore, it was difficult to integrate lecture notes, labs, and homework
into a cohesive package. CyberProf was conceived with the notion of addressing these
shortcomings by synthesizing all of the functionalities of the above systems with the new
technologies of the World Wide Web and a much more robust student/computer interface
engine.
The primary pedagogical benefits provided by CyberProf include:
- Provision of graded, interactive problem sets where students apply the material
learned in lectures and labs to answer practice assignments.
- Provision of immediate help in the form of hyperlinked materials which may be
standard text, images, animations or other relevant materials.
- Appeal to diverse learning styles by use of hyperlinked materials that
incorporate graphics, animation, video, and sound, in addition to standard text.
- Improved interaction between instructors and students - anytime,
anyplace.
The feedback gathered from on-line surveys has been overwhelmingly positive and
preliminary data suggest that students are also benefiting from the CyberProf environment
in terms of academic performance.
By the Spring 1997 semester, 16 courses in the departments of Physics, Microbiology,
Chemistry, Agriculture, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Theoretical
and Applied Mechanics were using CyberProf on the University of Illinois campus. In
addition, CyberProf is presently being used in two community colleges, four high schools,
one middle school, and two 4-year schools (one international) and is being installed at 10
other universities (including Central University in Taiwan).
Although, to date, CyberProf has been used primarily in science courses, the software
can support concepts and symbols from diverse fields, ranging from the hard sciences to
economics to music.
Availability
CyberProf is free to all non-profit academic clients. For contact information
see the CyberProf homepage at: http://loner.ccsr.uiuc.edu/cyberprof/.
REFERENCES
- L. C. McDermott, Millikan Lecture 1990: What We Teach and
What Is LearnedClosing the Gap, Am. J. Phys., 1991, 59, 301-315.
- L. C. McDermott, Guest Comment: How We Teach and How Students
LearnA Mismatch?, Am. J. Phys., 1993, 61, 294-298.
- Hübler, A. and Assad, A. "CyberProf: An Intelligent
Human-Computer Interface for Asynchronous Widearea Training and Teaching."
Paper Presented at the Fourth World Wide Web Conference, December 12-13, Boston,
MA.
- Sherwood, B. and Stifle, J., The PLATO IV Communications
System, Urbana, IL, 1975. University of Illinois Computer-based Education
Research Laboratory.
- Silver, D., NovaNET: Basic Skills Lessons for Middle School,
High School, and Adult Basic Education Students, Urbana, IL, 1988. University
of Illinois Computer-based Education Research Laboratory.
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