T H E F A Q
The CS 1 WebToTeach Clinical Trial
Why WebToTeach?
We think WebToTeach is a winner. It is in its fifth year of use, and has been used in more than 60 sections in 5 different schools. WebToTeach is supported by grants from the NSF and Turing's Craft.
Why a clinical trial?
Randomized clinical trials is a well-established methodology for establishing the efficacy of treatments. While not appropriate for all CS education innovations, it is appropriate in this case. A methodical study allows us to advance beyond the realm of anecdotal evidence.
Besides testing WebToTeach, this is the first large scale randomized clinical trial in CS education. If it proves feasible and useful, it won't be the last.
Why should we participate?
By participating, your students benefit and your department gets an early opportunity to evaluate an important teaching tool. Furthermore, your department will be making a decisive contribution to the advancement of CS education.
What equipment or software does my department need?
All you and your students need is access to one of these platforms:
No department resources (other than the browsers
and the access to the Internet) are utilized.
What about other platforms? (Linux, Netscape6, etc.)
We're working on some of them but we can only promise the platforms we mentioned above.
Where does WebToTeach run?
WebToTeach runs on a Brooklyn College server that is administered by Turing's Craft, Inc.
Does WebToTeach replace homework? Closed labs? Lectures? TAs? Instructors?
No. No. No. No. No. WebToTeach provides an additional student activity that helps students benefit more from all those resources.
What about privacy?
We respect the privacy of your students. Only aggregate results will be published. Data on individuals will be maintained only for the duration of the experiment.
How many semesters must my department commit to?
Enrollment in the study will be made on a semester by semester basis.
What are my department's obligations?
To contact the trial administrator in the event of any question or problem; to provide demographic and outcome data from CS 1 sections of the previous year and the semester of the experiment;
How much harder is it for an instructor whose section uses WebToTeach?
It's easy, really! The instructor has to
What am I, the instructor, provided with?
The accounts (ids and passwords), the questions, the answers, full access to roster information and student submissions.
Is there a demo?
Yes-- for more information, contact the Arnow, Weiss or Dexter below.
I have more questions, how do I get them answered?
Send mail to Scott Dexter, sdexter@acm.org Gerald Weiss, weiss@turingscraft.com or David Arnow, arnow@sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu