An Intrinsic, Quantitative Case Study of WebCT Developers

Abstract

An intrinsic case study investigated the claim that distance educators at an Eastern Canadian college (n = 17) with some knowledge of instructional design but a limited technical knowledge could, without human support, use Web-course management tools to create sophisticated online educational environments. Results of the study showed that these participants needed more assistance in both technical and design aspects of Web-course management than currently offered in the tools and help in the Web management systems. Phase theory was introduced as a teleological taxonomy that describes Web-course management based on the educators’ intuition, personal preferences and prior educational experiences with Web-course tools (Mann, 1999a, 1999b, 2000). The principles and underlying assumptions of the theory are discussed in the light of current capabilities and recent research.