Abstract:
The Classroom vs. the Web is a presentation of research-in-progress of two methods to teach competency with web-based resources. The study was carried out at the Mansfield Campus of the Ohio State University during the Autumn, 1998, and Winter, 1999, quarters. The Ohio State University and OhioLINK recently converted access to their resources from VT100 terminal emulation to web-based interfaces. A one credit hour, bibliographic instruction course was created to teach the required skills in the new web environment. Students divided themselves into two groups. One group attended the weekly one-hour lab class with the instructors; the other used a webbased instructional program. Each population was given identical content and projects. At the
beginning of the quarter, a pre-test was administered. At the end of the quarter, a post-test was administered and the results compared. Comments from the students on each method were also studied. The study was continued with a second set of students during the Winter Quarter.
