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Krahl, Augusta Good

Nutritional and Food Sciences

2004

M.S.

The educational system in the U.S. is on the verge of being fundamentally transformed, largely due to the explosive growth in information technology, including Web-based Instruction (WBI). Many universities and colleges are now incorporating WBI into their curricula. Relatively little data, however, are available on the effectiveness of this technology in teaching higher-level courses. The objectives of this project were to 1) develop a high quality, Web-based, interactive multimedia course on Food Safety and Regulation (W-FSR) and 2) to evaluate the educational value and effectiveness of this online course, compared to a traditional lecture format course (L-FSR). The online Web course included a series of lessons that contained text, animations, videos, interactive quizzes, and the ability to print copies of the learning material for each lesson.
The Web site also included a live chat room and a discussion board. Students in both groups took identical, validated pretests, posttests, and attitude assessments. The posttest measured cognitive gain and five levels of Bloom's Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, analysis, application and evaluation. No significant differences were found between both groups' mean posttest scores. The lecture group scored significantly higher (P< 0.05) on knowledge level questions and had a significantly (P< 0.05) more positive attitude towards their class format. Results indicate that an online Web-based delivery format is an effective way of teaching a college-level course in Food Safety and Regulation.