Integrating Interactive Media in Courses: The WinEcon Software with Approach
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester, LE1 7RH
U.K.
jbs@leicester.ac.uk
Abstract: Multimedia learning materials are now available in many academic disciplines. With their interactive and dynamic approach they are potentially a means of improving the quality of student learning. They address students' learning needs in a variety of ways and offer students involvement in and control over their learning process, even in classes that are larger than traditional tutorial groups. Effective use of these new materials requires, however, that they be integrated with the rest of the course and that students have appropriate support and guidance in their use.
The teaching process is defined by Laurillard (1993) as forming a link between the world and the learner. Not only do we need good educational materials but we also need to use them in a way that enables students to learn from them. This paper shows how different kinds of courseware features help various individuals achieve their learning goals and how a can complement software, ensuring students get the maximum benefit from the screens. A combination of materials that offer flexibility in use can meet a variety of different learning needs. It can also incorporate a number of different teaching strategies that are recognised as contributing to the advance of learning.
The examples shown are taken from the WinEcon economics courseware and an accompanying WinEcon . WinEcon evaluation results are given, together with information on how the courseware is at present being used.
Keywords: multimedia and workbooks, economics, evaluation, WinEcon
Demonstrations: Fully interactive 'sampler' demonstrations of WinEcon (Student and Lecturer samplers) can be downloaded from the WinEcon website <<A HREF="http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/winecon/" TARGET="xref">http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/winecon/> (samplers require Microsoft Windows 3.1/95/98). The author also describes key features of WinEcon in an Audio-visual slideshow.
UPDATE: A Web/Java version of WinEcon called Web.Econ is now in development.
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1. Introduction
Multimedia learning materials are now available in many academic disciplines. With their interactive and dynamic approach they are potentially a means of improving the quality of student learning. They address students' learning needs in a variety of ways and offer students involvement in and control over their learning process, while possibly also enabling larger class sizes to be taught. Effective use of these new materials requires, however, that they be integrated with the rest of the course and that students have appropriate support and guidance in their use. This paper reports on experiences in the design and use of courseware for undergraduate economists, together with a .
The teaching process is defined by Laurillard (1993) as forming a link between the world and the learner. Not only do we need good educational materials but we also need to use them in a way that enables students to learn from them. This paper considers learning theories relevant to software development and shows how they can be incorporated. It describes how different kinds of courseware features help various individuals achieve their learning goals and how a can complement software, ensuring students get the maximum benefit from the screens. The paper also discusses ways of integrating interactive media in a first year undergraduate course. The examples shown are taken from the WinEcon economics courseware and the accompanying WinEcon edited by Soper and Hobbs (1996). The screens that comprise the figures in this paper are still screen shots. To try some actual WinEcon screens you should download the WinEcon Sampler. Screens shown as figures in this paper that are also available as working screens in the sampler, are indicated by a Sampler Section reference.
WinEcon is a software package which provides an interactive dynamic presentation of first year undergraduate economic analysis, together with applications, data and simulations. As well as a large number of tutorial screens there are tests and exam sections, customisation tools for the student, and facilities for lecturers to configure and adapt the package to suit their course. The quality and features of the courseware have gained it awards. WinEcon gained a British Computer Society medal in the 1995 Software Awards, and in 1996 won a European Software Award (EASA) and a Toolbook award. Funding for its development was provided by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland under the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP), and WinEcon is now marketed worldwide except in North America by Blackwell Publishers. An American edition of WinEcon is due for release in summer 1997, from McGraw Hill. The WinEcon material was designed by a team of experienced teachers at eight UK universities which form the Economics TLTP Consortium. At present only the institutional site licence version of WinEcon is available, but an individual user (UK) version is planned for September 1997 (WinEconCD, 1997). Further descriptions of WinEcon can be found in Hobbs and Judge (1995), Sloman (1995) and Soper and MacDonald (1994).
The section of this paper entitled Design Context sets out the background for the design decisions that were taken about WinEcon. The target user group is identified, objectives are set out and the available technology is described. The Design of WinEcon section is concerned with the planning, development and testing of the courseware. We see how flexible, interactive software can address the kinds of problems that arise in understanding concepts. The impact of early evaluation results on the final version of the courseware is discussed. Under the heading Courseware and the Learning Process, different learning styles are considered. We see how this new mode of computer based learning allows students to work in the way that is most effective for them. Animated presentations and computer interaction are shown to help understanding. A demonstration of WinEcon screen shots illustrates some of the possibilities offered. The Independent Learning section shows how flexible courseware with a can help students take responsibility for their own learning and study at their own pace. In the section Software and Teaching Strategies we examine the extent to which WinEcon implements various teaching strategies that are recognised as contributing to the advance of learning. Questions and Feedback are important in this respect, and the section thus titled discusses their function. It also contains a screen sequence illustrating some of the types of questions, tasks and feedback that the courseware contains. WinEcon in Use is a section describing the experiences of those who are using WinEcon. Evaluation results are given and their implications for the use of WinEcon are set out. Practical aspects are considered, such as how lecturers integrate WinEcon into their courses, and what students do with the software. The Discussion reviews the experience of producing and using WinEcon. For those who are interested in developing educational technology, it reflects on the design contribution of WinEcon. For those considering using the courseware it discusses the possibility of efficiency gains and suggests what the advantages are of courses that include WinEcon. Possible future developments and versions of WinEcon are described in the Next Steps section, and the Summary sets out the key points of the paper.
2. Design Context
Computers offer us a new learning medium, and a major objective of the WinEcon project was to design software to facilitate the learning process. The form of courseware we chose to produce had regard to what we wished to achieve, the conditions under which the project was funded, and equipment constraints. This section describes the experiences of the designers of WinEcon, the aims of the project, the backgrounds of the students for whom the courseware was designed and the technology available.
Those responsible for the overall design of WinEcon are teachers of economics in eight different UK universities. When they formed a consortium to apply for TLTP funding they already had considerable experience of teaching first year undergraduates and of the use of computers in teaching. The Consortium then employed additional programmers and designers so that a great breadth of knowledge, skills and experience was incorporated in the WinEcon courseware. The project of producing WinEcon was looked on as an opportunity to address student learning needs in a new way and to produce software which students would choose to use. Another objective was to meet the principal aim of the funding body, namely to make teaching and learning more efficient by harnessing modern technology.
The expansion of higher education in the UK in recent years has led to a large increase in the number of university students studying first year economics, and especially in those studying economics as a supplementary subject, perhaps as part of a Business Studies course. Typically there are now hundreds of students taking the introductory economics course in a department, so it is more difficult than previously to provide individual tutorial support. Many of the students have not previously studied economics and find analytical aspects of the subject rather difficult. Their mathematics background sometimes includes very little algebra, and often no calculus. Both in view of the number of students of this type and because of their need for support in learning the subject, it was decided that such students should be the audience for whom, primarily, WinEcon was designed. These students need help with understanding the basic analysis, and they need feedback on their progress. Provision of these was the fundamental aim. Naturally, there was also a hope that the package would offer something of interest to specialist economists, and there was a desire to include topics where there is a particular advantage in computer presentation.
The WinEcon package, then, was designed to meet a variety of needs and to provide an additional student resource. There are a very large number of tutorial screens and they are of a wide variety of types. Some of them allow students to interact with the computer in solving an economic problem, then alter the parameters of the problem and try again. In addition to tutorial screens there are test and exam questions. The students for whom the package is designed are not wanting to build their own economic models. Their aim is to understand the economics they need to pass the examination. By using WinEcon it is hoped that they may do this a little more easily and that they may get some enjoyment from their learning process.
For large numbers of students to be able to use WinEcon, it had
to be designed for the hardware available to them. Since few UK
universities were expected to have many multimedia machines
available by the time the software was released, it was decided to
design for a 386 PC and to exclude the use of sound and video. This
allowed us to use animation and colour in designing our materials
while also ensuring that they could be available to the largest
possible number of potential users.
3. Design of WinEcon
Key design features of the WinEcon software are flexibility, interactivity and control. Students learn in a variety of ways and there are various aspects to the learning process. Different lecturers also have different requirements as to topics and time available. This section describes the design stage of WinEcon. It outlines how the courseware was designed to address these needs, which are discussed in more detail in the next section on Courseware and the Learning Process.
The WinEcon package was authored at eight sites over a period of 2-3 years and assembled at the lead site, University of Bristol. Planning took place at Executive Committee meetings, attended not just by the formal representative from each site but by everyone involved in the project. Day-to-day co-ordination was provided by the project director and programming support by the senior programmer, both based at Bristol. Different chapters were allocated to different consortium members.
Guidelines for developers were set up and quality control mechanisms were established to ensure sufficient uniformity in the finished product.
The WinEcon menu system makes the package flexible and offers students choice. They can use an inquisitive approach and directly select whatever topic they wish to study. Anticipating this, the designers of WinEcon gave each menu topic its own entity. The same menu system helps lecturers know what topics are in the courseware, and in WinEcon it also provides the basis for lecturer customisation features. It enables them to construct their own courses and make them available over the computer network. They can arrange topics in an order to suit their syllabuses and delete any topics that are not required.
The interactive nature of multimedia materials requires each student to work individually at discovering analysis and results. Questions provided in course software can encourage students to review and apply their knowledge. WinEcon topics which build on material that should have been learnt previously often begin by asking questions. Students who realise they do not have sufficient previous knowledge can return via the menu to the relevant earlier topic. Animated screens let students discover the results of applying analysis in different circumstances.
Instead of just describing a concept in words, a software designer can take each element of the description and present it as part of an interactive demonstration showing the component steps in the analysis. The student is involved at each stage of the dynamic explanation, and builds up an understanding of what the concept really involves. Interactive computer links enable students to relate what they are learning now to their existing knowledge and so deepen their understanding.
Discerning the structure of a piece of text can be difficult for students because it is not explicit. In a study of reading comprehension Dahlgren and Marton (1978) demonstrated that the main difficulty with understanding the law of diminishing returns in economics is that it involves a second order concept, the decrement of the increment. Designers of interactive courseware can present a concept using dynamic diagrams which build up one step at a time. The user can be asked for input at some of the stages, so the student is involved in how the diagram builds up whereas in a textbook there is just a single complete diagram and students may not fully understand what it represents.
Academic knowledge is relational, but if the relationship seems difficult to understand students may learn by rote what happens in specified circumstances. Although they can apparently present a certain piece of analysis, they do not understand it and they are therefore unable to adapt it to say what the outcome will be if circumstances change. Computer software can provide a learning activity that challenges them to describe the effects of a change and lets them experiment to discover the answer so that they see the process by which it is arrived at.
Students learning with WinEcon have control over both the topics they study and what they learn within a topic. With WinEcon, students can choose which buttons they use and the order in which they click them. They can move on within the topic or move to a different topic without accessing all the information currently available to them. They can try a question a number of times, or they can ask to be given the answer quickly. Some student customisation is also possible. For example, users can select the tutor symbol they prefer from a wide range encompassing different genders, ages and ethnic groups. As reported by Ayres (1993), students like these features.
Design of the final version of WinEcon was influenced by
evaluations undertaken at the design stage . These are reported by
Crighton (1995) and Crighton and Judge (1996). Amongst the
objectives of their study are: to identify the features of the CBL
material which contribute most to the appeal of the product and its
effectiveness, to provide feedback to WinEcon developers and to
establish the extent to which their findings can be generalised to
other CBL projects. The questionnaire they used asked questions
about the instructions on the screens, the colours, and the speed
at which the material was presented. Feedback on these items was
incorporated in the later development of WinEcon, so that the final
product has been modified to suit the wishes of users. A report on
the evaluations of WinEcon that have been carried out is included
in the WinEcon in Use section.
4. Courseware and the Learning Process
There are different ways of learning and people learn more effectively if they are aware of their own learning style preferences. Four learning styles are described by Honey and Mumford (1992): Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. People can find out their preferred learning style or styles by completing a self-description questionnaire. This comprises 80 statements, it stresses there are no right or wrong answers, and it asks the respondent to mark a tick against a statement if they agree with it more than they disagree with it, a cross if they disagree more than they agree. The scoring reveals the person's strength of preference for each of the four learning styles. Those who like active learning tick statements such as: I often act without considering the possible consequences, I actively seek out new experiences, I enjoy being the one that talks a lot and I'm usually one of the people who puts life into a party. Reflectors agree with statements such as: I like the sort of work where I have time for thorough preparation and I'm always interested to find out what people think. Theorists tick statements such as: I tend to solve problems using a step-by-step approach and In discussions with people I often find I am the most dispassionate and objective. Pragmatists agree with: What matters most is whether something works in practice and I do whatever is expedient to get the job done. Study skills courses often ask students to complete learning style questionnaires to increase their awareness of their preferred approach.
The categories defined by Honey and Mumford follow the learning modes defined by Kolb (1984): Active Experimentation, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Concrete Experience. The evaluation study by Crighton and Judge (1996) found evidence that students who score highly in the area of active experimentation have a natural predisposition towards using computer-based learning material. Although they had some concern that other students might have problems using the material, in the various trials that have been carried out WinEcon is favourably received by the great majority of students.
Different learning activities incorporate the learning styles in different proportions, and an understanding of this can help people allocate their time most effectively between different learning activities. But learning can also be seen as a continuous cycle, each stage of which links with one of the learning styles. Honey and Mumford define the learning stages corresponding to the styles as: Having an experience, Reviewing the experience, Concluding from the experience and Planning the next steps. This suggests we all need to make some use of each style of learning, and that we need to develop those learning skills that come less naturally to us.
The combination of interactive software with a wide variety of types of screen plus a offers something that is attractive to learners in each of the modes described. When software incorporates a menu system it offers students choice. They can select a topic, work through what is relevant to them and then move on. This approach particularly appeals to Activists, but other students also find the menu is useful. Although they may choose to work sequentially through the screens, the menu allows them to see the structure of the courseware and the location of their current topic. Interactive tutorial screens can incorporate different types of learning activities. Pragmatists prefer screens that outline basic analysis and let them discover results for themselves, while Theorists like to use screens where they can investigate assumptions and find out what their implications are.
Figure 1: Screen with various learning activities
Figure 1 shows a screen with various learning activities. Students can discover for themselves how utility changes at different points on the graph, and the relationship between various points. The screen also offers more theoretical information from the More buttons marked M. They can get information about the shape and position of the indifference curves and they see how informative comparisons can be made between various points that lie on a straight line. While some students find it useful to click various points on the graph, others use the M buttons and read the text that pops up.
Students who are keen to use the software need guidance so they do not move on without discovering and recording key results, and so they learn at least the minimum information necessary from screens they might not choose to access. A Workbook plays an important role here in posing questions which help students to reflect on their learning. It is also a means of introducing Reflectors, who may be wary of trying the software, to what it contains so they can feel confident in using it. For the screen shown in Figure 1, the accompanying topic in the WinEcon Workbook introduces the key ideas of indifference curves, and tells students about the analysis they can discover from the M buttons.
In analysing the process of student learning Laurillard (1993) highlights a paradox: we all want our students to learn the same thing, yet we want each to make it their own. Academic learning is traditionally viewed not just as a product but as a series of activities. Analysis is not just to be learned, it is to be understood and applied. We expect our students to critically assess arguments, not just to know them. With interactive multimedia materials each student works individually and has to respond to questions and drag-and-drop tasks set on the screen. Animations let students discover how analytical results change in different circumstances, as with the screen shown in Figure 2 ["The Effectiveness of Fiscal Policy", Sampler Section 2.7]. Used alongside the screens, a Workbook encourages interpretation and evaluation of alternative viewpoints, as shown by a page on this topic.
Figure 2: How different circumstances affect analytical results
The studies summarised by Laurillard (1993) of what students bring with them to learning a new topic, for example Entwistle (1981), Ramsden (1988), Marton (1981) and Perry (1988), suggest teachers need to understand how students conceptualise a topic to be able to challenge their misconceptions; that students need practice in setting out their knowledge of their subject and in manipulating and interpreting it; and that teachers must enable students to develop their conceptions of learning. Different features of a courseware package can help with each of these aspects of the learning process.
A well designed computer presentation of a process can facilitate understanding. The computer can demonstrate what exactly happens, making it easier for students to grasp the concepts involved. Possible conceptual problems can be challenged with questions. Results that may have been forgotten can be cross referenced, with the computer being able to move immediately to the referenced screen. Questions and drag-and-drop tasks can ask students to apply some analysis to a variety of situations.
The Learning with WinEcon sequence of screen shots illustrates
some of the features discussed in this section.
5. Independent Learning
Computer software is designed for individual use, which suggests it may be an appropriate learning medium for students on open learning programmes. The ability to think independently and to work without close direction is a valuable transferable skill for all students to acquire. Wright (1987) extends this concept and describes independent learning as the ability to take responsibility for one's own learning. If the use of courseware contributes to students developing such skills, this is a further reason for incorporating it as part of a course. Wright sets out a personal development theory learning model implying we should aim to make learning relate to the students' own needs and enable them to start from their own previous experiences.
For this, courseware needs to be flexible. A menu system allows students to begin at an appropriate point and to use the material in a way that is appropriate for them. Section introductions provide information about how the material is structured. WinEcon screens are designed to allow students to use them in either an acquisitive or an inquisitive way, both on individual screens and in moving between them. The acquisitive approach is to use the material sequentially, working through the various buttons on a screen in order and then progressing to the next screen. But typically the buttons on a screen can be clicked in the order that the user chooses, allowing students a more investigative approach. For example, Figure 3. Regulation of Privatized Utilities shows a screen that gives information about four UK privatised utilities. Students may access information about any of them by clicking the appropriate button, they may use as many of the buttons as they wish and in any order, or they may progress from the current card, 9 of 11, to the next (or previous) card on the screen using the card arrows. Other alternatives are available from the navigation bar which appears at the bottom of each WinEcon screen and as a menu from right-clicking the mouse. Users may go to the next or previous page, or may return to the last screen they accessed. They can return to the topics menu on the Tabs page, or can reset the current screen to start it afresh. They also have access to a glossary and calculator.
Figure 3: Information can be accessed from any button as desired
Although it is important for students to have freedom to develop their own learning, most students need guidance to use this freedom effectively. Setting clear task goals in the software helps with this, but students may not recognise the importance of achieving them. The Workbook helps students to make more effective use of the screens by indicating where they should discover key economic analysis and results. The formative questions in the Workbook also encourage students to build up a set of structured notes so they record what they have learnt for future reference.
The combination of software plus Workbook allows students to take greater responsibility for their learning. This feeds back as an increasing level of learner sophistication, making them more able to learn other things. Students gain in personal empowerment from studying on such a course.
In their study of independent learning, Percy and Ramsden (1980) identified the pace of learning as one of four linked stages of student independence, the others being choice, method and content. First year undergraduate economics is a course where there is great variation in the speed at which different students accomplish tasks. This occurs because of different amounts of prior knowledge of the subject (typically ranging from none at all to two years study as a major subject at A level or International Baccalaureate standard) and also because of the problem solving nature of some of the course content.
If WinEcon and the Workbook form part of their course, students
can be encouraged to work at their own pace. Those who are familiar
with some of the first year content can proceed ahead of their
peers and use WinEcon to investigate related issues that deepen
their understanding. The Workbook provides guidance and support.
Other students find some economic analysis very difficult to grasp
and welcome the opportunity to use WinEcon to demonstrate it to
them more than once. For them the Workbook provides a key and
emphasises the main features of the analysis. WinEcon and the
Workbook offer a possible solution to the problem of the bored and
the baffled in the same first year class. Individual students can
now work at their own pace.
6. Software and Teaching Strategies
Taking the approach known as instructional design theory, Gagne (1985) lists the events to be carried out by the teacher as: gaining attention, informing learners of the objective, presenting the stimulus, providing learning guidance, eliciting performance, providing feedback, assessing performance and enhancing retention and transfer. If software is to be an instructional medium it needs to perform these functions.
Figure 4: Screen displaying teacher functions
The designers of WinEcon wanted to produce software which students would choose to use. The screens have to be attractive and easy to use so that once a student tries them, he or she wants to use them again. WinEcon contains many types of screens, including that shown in Figure 4 ["The Direction of International Trade", Sampler Section 1.4]. The variety of tasks and the detail they contain makes them interesting. A new screen presents a new stimulus to the learner. Recognising the need to give students information about what they have to do on a screen, the WinEcon tutor symbol was designed to indicate to the user where to look for this. These features of the screens address the first three of the requirements above.
Two of the teacher functions listed above, namely providing learner guidance and enhancing retention are major objectives of the WinEcon Workbook. It is written to make students aware of what they should discover from the screens, and its formative questions encourage the recording of key analytical results. Writing down what they discover gives students notes for later reference.
As regards eliciting performance, some WinEcon screens compel the user to respond to a question or task before they can progress on the screen. But generally the screens encourage student interaction by offering hints and giving positive feedback. Stimulating recall of prior learning, providing feedback and assessing performance are discussed in the following section on Questions and Feedback.
Marton and Ramsden (1988) define teaching strategies using the
methodology of phenomenography. The first of these is to present
the learner with new ways of seeing. Interactive software is a very
suitable medium for this. For example, the screen shown in Figure 5 ["The Demand Curve of an Individual", Sampler
Section 1.2] shows exactly how a demand curve is constructed. The
price slider allows students to investigate how the quantity
demanded changes as price alters. A textbook just depicts the
completed diagram, but courseware lets students discover how it is
built up.
Figure 5: Screen showing how the points on a curve are obtained
Another suggestion from Marton and Ramsden is to focus on a few
critical issues and show how they relate. Economic analysis makes
considerable use of diagrams, and the results depend on key
intersections and changes that occur. Computer presentation of such
diagrams offers a medium that allows the user's attention to be
drawn to the key point or area in the diagram at a particular stage
of the analysis. One example is shown in Figure
5, where the point coloured yellow on the graph relates to the
current position of the slider. The sequence of screen shots on
WinEcon Questions and Feedback includes a screen entitled
Agricultural Support [also in Sampler Section 2.2]. Here the market
equilibrium position is indicated by a yellow point, and the
student answers a question about the cost of government
intervention. As the answer is revealed, the area on the diagram
which represents the cost is shaded in black.
7. Questions and Feedback
Questions provide a means of stimulating recall and testing understanding. An incentive to try to remember is provided by the wish to correctly complete the task, but after a wrong answer feedback can be provided and users either allowed to move on, or invited to try again. WinEcon uses a variety of approaches for this. Effective questions generate student response. Not only can questions check students knowledge and test their understanding, they also draw students into using various thinking skills such as problem solving, applying and relating. Many different functions of questions are described by Morgan and Saxton (1991), following Bloom's taxonomy. A further function of courseware questions is to provide student interaction. Computer marking provides students with immediate feedback on their progress.
Learners need feedback, and it needs to help them understand how to adapt so as to improve their performance. Some of the WinEcon tutorial screens provide intrinsic feedback as a direct consequence of an action. One example is the Optimal Consumption Choice screen shown in the WinEcon Questions and Feedback screen sequence [Sampler Section 1.3], where the student is asked to drag a point to the position which represents the optimal combination. If this goal is not achieved, immediate feedback is given relating to the point that has been chosen. More information is available if the student chooses to access it, and the opportunity is given for the student to try again. This type of screen allows students to put the feedback they receive to immediate use. They can learn from their mistakes in a cycle of goal-action-feedback.
Another use of questions commended by Marton and Ramsden (1988) is to make the learners' conceptions explicit to them - and so try to change them. This is the approach of the WinEcon test questions, accessed from the Tests tab on the menu screen. They show students their answer together with the correct one, and point out what is inappropriate about their answer. Students may then realise they have only partly understood and can use the Explain and Tutorial buttons to learn more. Much of the WinEcon feedback is extrinsic, that is it comes in the form of redescription as it might be given by a tutor.
Self evaluation is a useful transferable skill, and WinEcon gives students plenty of opportunity to assess their progress, both on the tutorial screens and in the tests. The Workbook complements the software by containing questions of a different type. Many of the WinEcon Workbook questions have answers which students need to record to form structured notes about the analysis and its results. Some are questions requiring longer answers which are not suitable for computer marking.
The sequence of five screens showing WinEcon Questions and
Feedback illustrates how these principles are
implemented.
8. WinEcon in Use
This section describes how WinEcon is being evaluated and presents the main findings to date. It also gives information about various ways in which the software is being used in practice.
Student evaluations of WinEcon began while the software was still being developed. Crighton and Judge (1996) report that WinEcon is widely seen as a useful learning tool, but not as a substitute for seminars/tutorials because it lacks the human interaction element. Many students preferred WinEcon to a textbook and liked it sufficiently to want to buy it. This is not possible at present but an individual CD-ROM (UK) version is due for release in September 1997 (WinEconCD, 1997). The sheer size of WinEcon was confusing and students had difficulty in locating particular topics. Both lecturer customisation and the Workbook can help with this, but neither was available at the time the evaluation research was carried out. Students saw a role for WinEcon in their course, but said it needed to be compulsory or no one would use it. The quantitative data collected as part of this evaluation found that students who used WinEcon had higher scores than others both in coursework and in the examination. These results, however, have to be treated with caution because there is an element of self-selection in who was in which group. There is also some evidence of a link between students' preferred learning styles and how useful they find WinEcon. The paper suggests that if we can identify students' learning styles when they enter a course we should be able to identify those students who might have problems using the material.
A controlled experiment in the use of WinEcon at Leicester University divided students according to their economics and mathematics background and then randomly allocated them to tutorial groups, some of which were directed to use WinEcon. The directed groups had specially prepared WinEcon problem sheets, the other groups had standard tutorial problem sheets. Since WinEcon was available on the network, all students could use WinEcon if they wished, and about half of those who were not directed to use the package did choose to make some use of it. The results are reported in MacDonald and Shields (1996) and referred to in MacDonald's comment on this paper. They show that the use of WinEcon via tutorial direction improved examination performance, while undirected use of WinEcon did not.
University of Stirling and University of Humberside are institutions which are not members of the Economics TLTP consortium and that have published WinEcon evaluations. That by Allen et al (1996) selected a representative group of students to be involved in an evaluation project. Many positive comments were made about the software in terms of its information, ease of use and ability to help you learn economics. The conclusions stress the need to integrate the package in the students' course. Clarke and Clarke (1996) tested WinEcon on a sample basis, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. They suggest that WinEcon should be seen not as an alternative but as a new method of learning to be developed alongside the old. Their final conclusion was that WinEcon should be made available at the University of Humberside and all students informed of the facility by information provided in course handouts. When it is used to support formal teaching sessions, they suggest that WinEcon may enhance the learning process.
WinEcon is designed primarily for individual use, but with only the institutional version available student use has of necessity been across their department's computer network. At the time of writing, registered institutional users of WinEcon in the UK include 89 universities and 37 institutions other than universities such as schools, colleges of further education, businesses and government departments. Overseas, the software is in use at 22 sites, in countries ranging from Ireland, Norway and Switzerland to Hong Kong, Australia, Tonga and South Africa. Students have expressed considerable interest, however, in buying the package, so from September 1997 a substantial proportion of WinEcon usage may be with the Student CD-ROM (UK) edition on private machines (WinEconCD, 1997).
The consensus of the evaluation studies is that for WinEcon to be used effectively it needs to be integrated into a course. Given the flexibility of the package, there are a variety of ways in which it can be used. Soper (1997) suggests that screens with large diagrams are suitable for lecture demonstrations illustrating, for example, the effects of particular policy changes. For the lecturer the presentation is ready-made, and students have the advantage that they can check their lecture notes later from the screen.
Without actually demonstrating WinEcon in lectures, the availability of the courseware is a factor that may influence what the lecturer chooses to present. For example, as regards mathematics for economists the rules of differentiation are already familiar to some students but seem very difficult to others. WinEcon screens offer both a summary and a detailed approach, so students can choose the one appropriate to them. With this resource available I now choose to spend a higher proportion of lecture time working through illustrative examples, knowing that students can get additional help with the techniques in WinEcon.
Apart from the study by Allen et al (1996), the other evaluations described above involved selected seminar or tutorial groups of classes having WinEcon classes or computer lab sessions in place of standard seminars or tutorials. Following on from this, the typical use of WinEcon in UK universities is to replace some small group teaching by WinEcon classes. One function of traditional economics tutorials is to get students to work through a piece of economic analysis so that they really understand it for themselves. This is something that they can do instead in WinEcon with the computer rather than the tutor asking them questions about the appropriate next step. Each student is then individually involved in working out the analysis, whereas in a group situation some members of the group may try to avoid participating. Selectively replacing discussion groups by WinEcon classes both makes good use of the software and retains the human contact students want, as reported by Crighton and Judge (1996).
Of students who are asked to use WinEcon, about 90% do so willingly and the great majority of these report very favourably on the courseware. For example, of students in WinEcon groups at Leicester University who were asked for their impression of the software, 72% described it as interesting or very interesting and only 5% described it as boring or very boring. Those who are reluctant to use the package comprise some who are computer-phobic and who tend to be struck by some mysterious illness on the day of each computer session. Others, especially students from a very traditional teaching background, object to being asked to learn something for themselves. They believe a teacher should dictate knowledge to them.
With increasing class sizes, students may have difficulty in getting individual help. A unique feature of WinEcon by comparison with a textbook is its dynamic presentation of economic analysis. It provides a student resource that demonstrates the analysis for them. Evidence that students find WinEcon helpful and choose to use it is provided in a survey carried out at Leicester University. Of students in groups that were provided with special WinEcon support materials, 95% said they found WinEcon helped their understanding of economics. Amongst students in the groups that had no special encouragement to use WinEcon, 50% chose to make some use of the software, and 77% of these said it helped their understanding. Overall, 40% of the Leicester students said they were likely to use WinEcon for revision, while a further 30% said they would perhaps use it. This data forms part of the data set on which the report by MacDonald and Shields (1996) is based.
First year tutorials in UK universities are now typically in groups of at least 10 students. WinEcon classes prove to need very little supervision. Most students quickly learn how to use the software and just want to be left to work through it. One computer demonstrator can therefore supervise 30 students, except perhaps in the first class when more help is needed. There is therefore likely to be a resource saving in replacing some tutorials with WinEcon classes.
Students who do want to use WinEcon do not, however, particularly like using it in a class setting. In the way that they read a book at a time of their choice, they would like to have flexibility in when they use WinEcon. Open access computer labs may offer this, but with a large number of potential WinEcon users some booked lab times are likely to be the only way of guaranteeing sufficient access. In a student questionnaire at Leicester University, difficulties reported in using WinEcon related more to the difficulty in getting access to a computer and to the time commitment in using the package rather than to difficulties in using the software itself.
One further use of courseware under discussion at various
WinEcon sites is as a learning resource which individuals or groups
of students can use for project work. Information can be stored
efficiently in a computer system and the courseware can be designed
to allow students to access it in an appropriate form. The
information can be updated by the release of a new computer file
which is read into the package. An example of the data available in
WinEcon is seen in Figure 4 ["The Direction of
International Trade", Sampler Section 1.4] which lets students
discover the sizes of different trade flows and the relative
importance of different types of economy.
9. Discussion
The design of WinEcon was a very large team effort, with the Consortium embracing a very wide variety of talents. Key skills and knowledge came firstly from experienced teachers who knew what conceptual difficulties students were likely to have and could design software that addressed them. They could also envisage the ways that different students would want to use the software, and saw flexibility as very important. The programmers gave us screens with the interactivity that the designers wanted, and a menu system allowing easy movement between screens. Early co-ordination meetings and the provision of an authoring template helped us to design to common standards at different sites, but further design refinements and standardisation were needed as the complete package was assembled. Graphic designers improved the look-and-feel of the package, and the sheer size of the project often put demands on the management skills of the project director.
Some of the things we learned were:
- reading text from a screen is different from reading it from a book,
- colours need to be attractive but also restful to the eyes,
- every screen needs to be checked several times to make sure it does exactly what it is intended to do,
- evaluation at the development stage can improve the final product,
- working in a large and dispersed team can be difficult but is also very rewarding.
Increasing class sizes create an opportunity for courseware. Although larger lecture groups can accommodate them, it is difficult for students to get individual help and feedback on their progress. A resource based learning approach using courseware can provide individual feedback as discussed above. Certain misunderstandings tend to be common and a well planned courseware package can anticipate them and deal with them. This is clearly a more efficient approach than students taking the same problem individually to their tutor.
Further trials are needed on whether courseware is as effective as person-to-person feedback, but initial experiments such as that reported by Ryan (1996) are encouraging, providing adequate support and supervision is given. One tutor may be able to effectively support a large class of students using a courseware package. The WinEcon evaluations to date tell the same story. WinEcon is seen as a very useful resource to be used in addition to rather than as a substitute for traditional teaching methods.
The individual feedback available in WinEcon offers the kind of help that students once got in one-to-one teaching sessions. Now that larger classes make it difficult for tutors to provide such help, the availability of WinEcon improves the quality of the learning experience. Respondents to a questionnaire about WinEcon at three UK universities generally reported that they thought WinEcon had helped their understanding of topics. As regards further resource savings, there is some opportunity for these in partially replacing tutorials by WinEcon classes which require less supervision. All the evaluations of WinEcon stress, however, that it is important to retain sufficient of the human element in teaching.
Integrating software in a course is suggested as the way of using WinEcon to its maximum advantage. This step, however, requires the lecturer to know what the courseware contains. A menu system and Workbook are helpful to lecturers at the planning stage. The Workbook gives an instant preview of what is available and saves the lecturer from having to work through all the screens.
To work through one WinEcon computer screen can take five or ten minutes for someone who is new to the topic, so to work through the whole of WinEcon would take a very long time. Students need to use this resource selectively. There is a role here for both for lecturer customisation in making only selected screens available, and for a Workbook in giving students information. One disadvantage of courseware is that it is less easy to skim it than a written text.
The preliminary evaluations of WinEcon reported above were
undertaken before the Workbook became available. They have shown
the need for WinEcon to be integrated with the rest of the course
and that with directed use there is evidence of improvement in
student performance. They describe many positive aspects of
WinEcon, but suggest also that students are unhappy at simply being
told to go and use the package. Partly there may be some difficulty
in computer availability, but partly also it seems they need a
guide as to what to do with WinEcon. The WinEcon Workbook has been
written to provide this.
10. Next Steps
Two new versions of WinEcon are due for release in summer 1997. A US institutional version is due for release in July and is being marketed by McGraw Hill. The first student edition of WinEcon will be available as a CD-ROM version of the UK software from September (WinEconCD, 1997). The economics screens it contains are identical with those in the institutional version, but there are no exams or lecturer customisation features. Designed for individual use, the program requires the user to keep the CD-ROM in the drive of the machine.
Updates of WinEcon are planned, both to correct the few known errors in the software and to update the material.
Future projects under discussion by the Consortium include
further development of selected areas of the subject, such as
mathematics for economists and finance. Foreign language
translations are another possibility.
11. Summary
This paper discusses the role of courseware for undergraduate learning, with specific reference to the WinEcon software and Workbook. As student numbers increase, interactive computer software offers a contribution to meeting their learning needs. If courseware is designed which students choose to use and which improves their understanding of the subject, the need for individual tutorial support is reduced.
Flexibility, interactivity and control are key features that the software should incorporate. Screens can be designed to address many important issues relating to learning styles, independent learning and teaching strategies. Questions can be used to stimulate recall, test knowledge and ask students to think about how the analysis can be applied. Computer marking provides instant feedback. To produce such courseware calls for a wide variety of skills and knowledge amongst its designers, including teaching experience, programming, graphic and design skills.
Various evaluations of WinEcon have reported favourably on the package. They have stressed the need to see it as an additional resource to be integrated within an existing course and have emphasised that students need guidance in its use. WinEcon can be used in lectures and for projects, but it is mainly being used in WinEcon classes, sometimes as a partial replacement for tutorials with some resource savings. Students would like to use it privately as they do a textbook, and with the release in September 1997 of the student version this will become possible. There is evidence that WinEcon improves student understanding and that it improves the quality of the learning experience.
Evaluations suggest that the courseware is effective in
practice, providing some guidance is given on using the software
and that support is available. A workbook that accompanies the
software meets part of this requirement. New versions of WinEcon
are at present under development, and further versions are
planned.
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Footnotes
Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME)