A classification system that assigns a subject to clearly defined, mutually exclusive aspects of a class. Different from hierarchical classification systems, a faceted classification system allows a subject material to be classed under more than one facet, which creates more than one path to access the material.
Published in Chapter:
Task-Oriented Information Organization and Retrieval in Online Learning
Kyung-Sun Kim (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) and Joi L. Moore (University of Missouri-Columbia, USA)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 9
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch298
Abstract
The number of institutions offering online courses has been growing steadily. According to the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2003), approximately 90% of public four-year institutions and about 50% of private institutions were offering, or planning to offer, distance education programs in 2000–2001. By 2006, 90% of public two- and four-year institutions actually offered distance education courses (NCES, 2006). In response to the increasing interest in and demand for online instruction, various course management systems (CMS) have been developed, including commercial systems, such as Blackboard, Angel and Desire to Learn, and open source systems, such as Moodle and Sakai. The CMSs, defined as software systems specifically designed for teaching and learning, are useful tools for online instruction. They make it easy to organize and deliver content, including lecture materials, and to link the course web site to other related web sites. They also provide tools for communication, learning assessment and activity management (Colaric & Jonassen, 2001; Morgan, 2003).