I-CARE AT PRIDE
(Internet - Cyberspace Assisted Responsive Education at Polytechnic Research Insitute for Development and Enterprise)
An Innovative and Flexible Internet-Based System for Education and Training
CARE is an educational solution and has three main components:
I-CARE is the Internet-based version of CARE (Cyberspace
Assisted Responsive Education) and is a computer mediated system for bringing
teachers together in a virtual learning environment. It provides new, interactive
tools, a stimulating multimedia environment, and group learning techniques.
The I-CARE course is modularized with each module covering a subject domain at a given starting level. Hypertext lectures and interactive exercises with instructors and peers are the vehicles of teaching and learning. Students are able to learn at their own pace but are also expected to progress along with the group. Groups made up of faculty will teach student groups globally. Students are able to forge ahead and extend their learning beyond the scope of the present module, but are also encouraged to take the lead and to help others to reinforce what they have learned.
The Polytechnic Research Institute for Development and Enterprise
(PRIDE) has offered a select group of students a graduate course in
Internet Informatics during the summer of 1996. Students
took the course entirely over the World Wide Web. Following an introductory
section and an Internet primer, the course involved sections on Internet
technology and applications, followed by information retrieval theory and
practice, then divided into two specializations: medical informatics and
advanced World Wide Web technologies. Before completing the course students
were required to split up into working groups and take on special projects
in creating applications of their own for the Internet.
Tools available to students include: a bulletin board, chat session, e-mail, faculty appointment book, search tools, on-line library, group discussion and homework assignment depository.