English 231
Dr. Desmet
Winter 1997

Stained Glass of Pilgrims from Canterbury Cathedral

Teaching With the Web

After constructing and using this web site for teaching a large lecture class of English 231, "Beowulf to Milton," I surveyed the students' attitudes toward the technology we used. This web page records the process of constructing the web site and the results of that survey after students had used it for a quarter.

There are different ways to use the Web in the classroom. Some web sites are controlled by the teacher and aim to provide the students with information or other kinds of extra materials. Some are constructed by the students, and reflect the process of learning. Others are self-contained courses, often taught as distance-learning courses. Below are examples of different kinds of class web sites:

• A process or student-centered web site
• A content or teacher-centered web site
• A complete web course for distance learning

My web site is constructed largely by me. The web site also reflects the course's dual emphases on cultural literacy and critical thinking skills. Thus, it is largely teacher-centered, but attempts to stress both relevant information and the process of learning. I included handouts used in class, further information on the works read, a few exercises, and links to culturally relevant web sites. There is also an appendix with annotated lists of relevant sites and one original site, both of which were produced by students as extra-credit projects. I deliberately kept the format simple, so that it could be negotiated by those unfamiliar with the web. The English 231 Home Page includes no pictures, in deference to those who were using a modem and to the teacher's state of technological expertise at the time. Click below for further:

• Discussion of Dr. Desmet's English 231 Home Page

I am also including here the survey of the students that I conducted at the conclusion of the class and my interpretation of their comments:

• Computer Questionnaire
• Results of the Computer Questionnaire
• Conclusions
• Clean Copy of the Computer Survey

Finally, if you would like to see a more sophisticated development of our class web page, visit the class site of Shannon Yentzer's English 231. Shannon taught with me last quarter and is now teaching her own section of English 231. If you would like to see what I am up to this quarter, visit my English 434, Renaissance Drama web site, which is slowly being built. Finally, if you like,