The last decade has seen great change in the provision of education as mediated by technology, often referred to as "online learning". This is in large part due to the emergence of new technologies that enable "any time any place" learning to seep into all levels of culture and society. A question that is often asked in this regard is "How can technology benefit education?". We have always used technology to learn -- paper, pencils, slate, chalk, calculators, etc -- and have used other media to cover distance -- mail, radio, and television. With new technologies allowing for the development of both synchronous (same time, any place) and asynchronous (any time, any place) delivery of education, the barriers of geography and time are disrupted to the effect that a class can be seen as a community: the virtual classroom community.

There are many definitions of online learning but an essential element is the use of computing and/or telecommunication technologies to deliver or receive education. Online learning uses the Internet or videoconferencing to create communities of learners. Course materials are provided on a website and Email, bulletin boards, forums and chat rooms are used to interact with other students and instructors.

Online learning may enhance or add value to traditional forms of learning, or may be undertaken as a flexible and unique way of learning. The technology is not a panacea or a replacement for the many effective methods of learning that are now being used, but it can be a helpful tool. Online learning may take place in the classroom or workplace, alongside other activities, or may be undertaken at home or at online access centres in the community. Online learning provides hands-on experience using information technologies and makes it easier for learners to access course materials and to customise study.

For the past two years, an online course tool has been available to professors at Trent. Web Course Tools (WebCT) was developed by an educator at the University of British Columbia and is one of the most popular products of its type -- it is in use in over 2500 institutions worldwide, and is available in 10 major world languages. At Trent, WebCT is used primarily to publish materials that supplement existing courses, but it can also be used to create entire online courses. WebCT requires little technical expertise on the part of the student, and only requires access to the Internet and a web browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer).

Trent is well known for its "commitment to liberal undergraduate education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and to the centrality of the individual student". It can be argued that a student-centered environment can be the most demanding of environments, as the abilities of all types of students must to be recognized. The greatest asset of WebCT to Trent, therefore, is the capability of a particular instructor to customize his/her course to their exact needs and also the needs of their students. Instructors can post full lecture notes, their course syllabus, back copies of examinations, sample essays, and/or practice questions -- among other things. WebCT has presentation capabilities that allow the posting of virtually any material relevant to a course -- including graphics, sound bites, text, video-clips, etc. resulting in a media-rich learning environment. An added benefit is that items in a course can be selectively released only to certain individuals -- thus allowing instructors to provide materials most suited for the needs of specific students.

Of particular note is WebCT's online discussion component that is being successfully utilized by many instructors to provide many-to-many discussion which goes beyond scheduled class and/or tutorial time. One Trent professor, James Neufeld, has noted in his second year English course "that people who feel too shy to speak in class often feel comfortable contributing online". WebCT has helped him to identify some of those students who avoid personal contact, and in some cases he has found that they have turned out to be working at a far higher level then he realized.

It's interesting to note that the use of WebCT at Trent is in some cases being driven by the students themselves. Once they are introduced to the concept of a "virtual classroom community" -- a one-stop shopping place for their course materials & communication -- they are often the impetus for other instructors to explore the use of this tool for their classes. Materials placed in WebCT are available in one place, at any time, and from any place -- thus embodying the notion of the "virtual classroom community", and contributing to the availability and accessibility of life-long learning opportunities.

Mary-Jane Pilgrim, B.Math, M.Ed, of Computing Services is the WebCT Administrator at Trent, and also assists faculty as an Instructional Designer.