Implementation and student assessment of Intranet-based learning resources

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Fall 1998 by Sosabowski, Michael H, Herson, Katie, Lloyd, Andrew W

Michael H Sosabowski1, Katie Herson and Andrew W Lloyd

The recent development of Web browsers and tools has enabled the wider use of the Internet for learning and teaching. Such developments have also provided effective methods of information management within institutions through the establishments of Intranets. Within the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Brighton, UK, the use of the Intranet has been extended to provide an integrated learning resource to enhance the quality of pharmacy education. The Pharmacy Intranet was developed as a learning support management system for module courses across the Department providing course information, directed access to Internet-based learning support material, academic lecture notes, links to relevant computer aided learning (CAL) packages and worksheets within a structured framework. Electronic monitoring of Intranet usage and subsequent questionnaire-based evaluation demonstrated that the Intranet was deemed to be a useful learning resource, empowering students to take greater responsibility for their own learning.

INTRODUCTION

Background

There has been a gradual increase in the use of material from the Internet (World Wide Web, [WWW]) in Pharmacy-related teaching, with applications including universal distance-learning(1), specific courses with Internet learning resources as part of the course material(2) and Internet databases being linked into appropriate coursework(3). Such growth is bound to be linked to the ability and attitude of students with respect to the use of electronic learning media, and several workers have commented on the need to train students in the use of Information Technology (IT) and its application in the classroom(4,5).

What is an Intranet?

Intranets originated from within industry(6) and are fairly new to Higher and Further Education. Blackmore(7) reports on the introduction of a general Intranet within Wirral Metropolitan College, UK, and comments that it has provided improved student and staff access to Internet-- based and in-house generated learning resources.

An Intranet can be defined as: "any network which provides similar services within an organization to those provided by the Internet outside it but which is not necessarily connected to the Internet."(8) The most common example is the use of one or more World Wide Web servers on a network for distribution of information within a company. This might include regional company news, the company on-line library, and employee information, which is only accessible to staff, and not by external users. Due to the availability of inexpensive or free commercial browser and Web server software, Intranets have become a major growth area in corporate computing. This allows a simple, uniform hypertext interface to many kinds of information and application programs. The School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Brighton Intranet is a computer based learning resource for students which is intended to empower students to take greater responsibility for their own learning strategy, and to increase access to learning resources.

Components of the Department of Pharmacy Intranet

This School of Pharmacy offers BSc Pharmacy and a new MPharm, as well as a group of courses under the heading `Modular Science Scheme' (MSS). MSS courses include BSc Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences, BSc Biomedical Sciences, and BSc Biological Sciences. This paper focuses on the MPharm. course which currently has only first year students of which there are 103.

The Developmental Intranet is therefore divided into a hierarchy reflecting these separate subjects. Each Degree course consists of modules, with each module having its own Web page. Each Module Page is divided into separate sections the contents of which are in keeping with the general scheme shown in Table I.

Figure 1 shows the Pharmacy Intranet Welcome Page, which the student encounters after logging in through the protected gateway. The Intranet has been designed with its own identity separate from the Departmental Internet Page, and it presents a user-friendly interface. Students can then select the relevant course. Figure 2 shows the main MPharm. Menu Page. Past examination papers are can be accessed from this page and downloaded. Students can access the appropriate module link for further menu/content pages as indicated in Table I. Figure 3 shows the start of one of the later sets of lecture notes downloadable for the module PY102, `Fundamentals of Drug Molecules'. PY102 was one of the primary modules used as an Intranet-based teaching model. Clearly, graphics such as chemical structures can easily be integrated into Intranet content.

Why Establish an Intranet?

In recent years there has been a change in the perception of universities in the United Kingdom, both in terms of being service-providers and students as service receivers. Particularly, in 1997, the Dearing Report was commissioned by the UK Government to look at all aspects of Higher Education(9). Two of the recommendations of that report are relevant to this work: (i) that IT should be an integral part of the learning strategy of all students; and (ii) that all students should contribute L1000 (U.S. $1,600) per academic year toward their tuition fees. This has created a greater sense of "customer awareness" on the part of students. Independent of this development, the way in which British universities are funded is beginning to include measures of teaching quality in the form of Teaching Quality Assessment (TQA) exercises, and additional technology-- led learning resources are part of this School's strategic drive toward TQA. External forces notwithstanding, it was this School's intention in building an Intranet to provide better service to its students, and introduce a new wave of value-added technology-based learning resources which enables them to take greater responsibility for their own learning. The Intranet has the added advantage that many of the resources are pre-existing, and additional resources have been procured at little or no cost. These include the University's Web server, the Departmental Web site, and Web implementation competence.