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Conclusion

Web technology offers a diverse set of possible innovations to the traditional teaching process. This paper summarizes one such effort to augment conventional in-class teaching with web-based quizzes before and after each assigned chapter. Bob Holt's motivations for implementing the online quizzes were two-fold. Rather than spend precious class time introducing basic definitions and simple principles, Holt used the quizzes to compelled his students to "open [and read] the textbook before each class." This increased the prospects of using class time for elaborating on the more interesting portions of the text. Receiving fast, systematic analysis and feedback was clearly the foremost reward for the "treadmill of time-costly activities" required to manage the twice-weekly assessments. The opportunity to quickly adapt to the needs of his students gave Holt a real sense that he "was targeting [his] teaching efforts more effectively."

Over the years, many technological innovations in education have raised expectations only to later disappoint. In the final analysis, they failed because they were unable to add real value to the pedagogy (Fincher, 1998). At its best, instructional technology should be able to transform student complacency and give us a better view of the learning process. The current staples of digital teaching, e-mail and bulletinboards, can provide continuous feedback and assessment. They offer us a feel for the quality of an individual student's work. The statistical data derived from web-based quizzes, on the other hand, offers a snapshot detailing the progress of an entire class at any desired time.

Students are better learners and learn more deeply when they receive timely, specific feedback. The same axiom applies to teaching. The tools now available through the web offer new opportunities for inquiry and discovery about the instructional cycle. For student and teacher, it is an invitation to reflect, to reexamine our assumptions, and to build cooperation for improved learning.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology-Enriched Innovations