| The increased use of the Internet as a delivery mode in undergraduate mathematics instruction is emerging as a viable alternative to the traditional classroom. The World Wide Web (WWW) makes available opportunities for students to learn in ways not possible using traditional classroom resources such as a textbook and lecture. The online course in mathematics introduces new elements such as innovative software and electronic communication. However, educators hoping to tap into the extensive resources and availability of the Internet are confronting many issues involving the incorporation of these new resources into their classrooms. One of these issues is assessment.; For this research, three online mathematics professors were interviewed to detail their assessment practices in the Web-based classroom. In addition, a 12-question online survey was sent via email to 489 online mathematics instructors.; Results indicated that although online instructors were using a wide variety of assessment tools, the largest percentage of a student's grade was still determined by contributions from tests and quizzes. For a majority of courses, electronic communication played a small role in determining a student's grade in the Web-based mathematics class. Active learning and the use of contextual problems played important roles in the online course, while little use of group collaboration was evident. Technology such as computer algebra systems (CAS), online calculators, personal digital assistants (PDA's), and application software were used judiciously in the Web-based mathematics course. |
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