Using a web-based course-management system: an evaluation of management tasks and time implications for the instructor.

Almost all the instructors at the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology of the University of Twente have been using a web-based course-management system for their courses since 1998. To set up a course, an instructor completes a course environment form with general information such as a course description, a roster and links to external websites; during a course the instructor adds information such as feedback and data relating to assignments, lecture presentations, and reactions to discussions. At the end of an academic year, the information stored in all course environments in the system can be counted and analysed. This report gives an overview of all instructor contributions stored in the faculty’s web system during the academic year 2000–2001 and it is used as data for an ongoing analysis of tasks that instructors must manage while using a web-based course management system. In addition, the time spent by instructors is also presented. Together, these analyses can help lead a way to more efficient and effective use of web-based course-management systems, and, thus, to more acceptance of their use.