Variation in lecturers’ experiences of teaching undergraduate on campus courses using the web

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary outcomes of a phenomenographic research on lecturers’ experiences of teaching undergraduate on-campus courses using the web. Eighteen lecturers from different disciplines were interviewed from two research-intensive Australian Universities. Interviews were analysed with the aim of describing lecturers’ experiences as they emerge from the transcripts. Three different experiences were identified: ‘the web for providing academic and administrative information related to the course’, in which lecturers understand the web to provide information or contents; ‘the web for communicating with other people involved in the course’, in which lecturers conceive it as a space for engaging in online discussions; and ‘the web as a space to create, build and share knowledge’, in which lecturers see it as a valuable tool which allows sharing and knowledge building. These dimensions represent an increasingly sophisticated way of understanding teaching with the web. Findings are coherent with previous research (Gonzalez, 2006; McConnell & Zhao, 2006; Roberts, 2003) which has identified ways of conceiving the web for teaching ranging from ‘informative’ to ‘knowledge building – sharing’ conceptions.