Global Nature of Internet – Effect on Evaluation

I can see where Barbarantz is coming from in her blog about the global nature of the web and its effect on evaluation.  When establishing our standards for evaluating the effectiveness of a course, we probably should be looking at the standards that other countries set for similar courses so that we remain competitive.  I think it’s interesting that although we are in competition with other countries for resources, business, etc., the gains that we make from working on the internet don’t belong to a single entity for very long because sharing makes it grow.

I think Pam makes a good point when she writes about the fact that we have so many resources available for our teaching and learning activities that evaluation must surely have changed from the time when the college library was the main source for researching term papers.  I won’t go so far as to say that professors expect more now than before the world wide web was introduced; I think the evaluation is just different because the courses are different and require a different set of learning and assessment criteria.  Not all objectives are the same as those in traditional classroom courses.

Another way that I think evaluation might be affected by the internet resides in its non-static nature.  Evaluation must be flexible enough to adjust to rapid and unforeseen changes in web sites, information, and technologies.  Another factor in the evaluation process that must be accounted for is the learning exchange between instructor and student.  As knowledge increases about how to arrange effective online learning events, accomodations must be made in the evaluation process.