39E-8

J. R. MOUNT, Food Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, P.O. Box 1071, Knoxville, TN 37901-1071

Courses are being taught utilizing the World-Wide-Web (WEB) because these courses can be made available to larger audiences on more flexible time schedules. However the effectiveness of WEB courses in providing student-to-student and faculty-to-student interaction and discussion; face-to-face interactions which promote tolerance and acceptance of opposing views; and continuous and timely performance feedback has been questioned. Undergraduate education should develop the ability in students to think critically, and in-class interactions among students can help promote the process for newer students. This interaction may not develop if WEB-based discussion is not utilized by all students. The objective was to compare the effectiveness of lecture-discussion presentations to asynchronously WEB-based presentations. A food science course was presented to 47 students. One portion was presented using the WEB as the source of information. Students interacted asynchronously with the instructor and other students. The remainder of the course was presented by lecture-discussion. All exams were given in the classroom. Students' success on the exams, number of times they accessed WEB material and use of WEB discussion were compared. Students were surveyed to evaluate the WEB experience. Average scores on the exam covering WEB material were lower (83.5%) than for lecture-discussion exams (87.8%). Six students scored significantly higher on the WEB exam compared to 15 students who scored significantly lower. Students who averaged higher grades on any of the exams accessed the WEB more. Students (65%) did not prefer the WEB method of presentation. Students (82%) reported the discussion area helped them learn the material. Students (96%) found WEB-based documents effective for presentation of course material. The use of the WEB to present course material was not as preferred as lecture-discussion. However, material could be presented very effectively and the majority of students (68%) scored as well or better on exams covering WEB-based material.