Press Contact: Dr James Hogg (0113 233 3300)

Abstract

The two fundamental functions that the internet provides

• the opportunity for both the teacher and student to exploit a global database of tremendous variety,
• and the ability to easily add to this global database and therefore distribute information to a large number of people.

The development of these new resources coincides with an increase in the demands on teachers & lecturers. With the demands of a modern society a larger proportion of students are now expected to develop a broad scientific and artistic knowledge, as well as expert knowledge of a selected number of subjects. Traditional systems are starting to creak under the strain. Can the new communication facilities provided by the internet provide the tools to develop a new teaching model that can educate a larger proportion of society?

This talk discusses some of the approaches used to incorporate these opportunities within the Proprietary GIS course which is part of the Master of Arts course in Geographical Information Systems.

Structure

• The Facilities available on the Internet
• The Web Interface to the Internet
• Challenges facing Education
  • Developments in the work place
  • Student Demographics
  • Economic Pressures
• Some Web Approaches to these Challenges
  • Some of the work at Leeds...UCS...MAGIS Web pages
  • The Virtual department Project at the University of Texas
• Future Developments
• A Demonstration