Interactive Web Courseware Introducing the UNIX Operating System

With the support of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund and the BC Provincial Government Innovation Fund, we have created the first web-based course in this series using the interface and tools of the Web CT environment. This first course introduces basic concepts of the Unix Operating System to novice users. The course has been designed as an active supervisor that guides students through new concepts by asking them to perform a series of tasks using the actual Unix tools they are learning about. Through the use of student self evaluation, interactive exercises and quizzes the student's understanding is accessed.

To take the course, students need WWW access with the Netscape browser and an application providing Telnet access, but do not have to provide their own Unix account. When a student is registers for the course, he or she is given a Unix account on a machine dedicated to exclusive service of our interactive courses. During the presentation of course material, the system automatically opens a Telnet connection to their Unix account and persuades the student to apply the concepts he or she is learning directly in this window. In case of an error the student can ask for explanations and suggestions, or view solutions.

Three interactive lessons comprise the course, each of which is further divided into a number of tutorials. The first lesson explains how to install the necessary tools and applications required for the course, and introduces the basic commands for logging in, logging out and using the Unix manual pages. The second lesson deals with the basic file system concepts, while the third lesson provides an exposition to more advanced concepts. Each lesson contains a series of steps that introduce the lesson material and administer the exercises, progress evaluations and quizzes. The intended length of each lesson is approximately one and a half hours, but students are completely free to proceed at their own pace and repeat or review lessons at their leisure. A feature of the Web CT environment permits students to return to the position in the course where they left off during their last session.

At the end of each tutorial the student is encouraged to take a self- evaluation test to determine the degree of his knowledge on the current topic and whether it is advisable for them to repeat the tutorial. At the end of each lesson the student can take an interactive exercise and a quiz. An interactive exercise describes a task which has to be accomplished by the student using their Unix session. At the student's request, the system provides a number of hints or presents the final solution. While performing the interactive exercise, students are given seamless access to Unix manual pages describing the commands they are anipulating that does not disrupt but enhances the interactive exercise. A quiz is usually a mixture of multiple choice and "exact" answer questions. The quiz has a limited time, at the end of which the paper is automatically submitted, marked and returned to the student. At the end of the course the students are asked to submit a detailed evaluation of the course together with their comments and suggestions. The first offering of this course is anticipated in September 1996 and the development of similar courses for other computer applications and tools continues.