Web-based education: A reality check

Developing an easy-to-use, complete, practical, reliable, and cost-effective solution for delivering training and education on the Internet has required considerable research and development. We have found that off-the-shelf technologies offer only partial solutions, at best. Even when the software problems were solved, however, we found that our work was just beginning. An effective solution requires software technology, but expertise in instructional design has been equally important. The learning environments our clients create on the Internet have the potential for both “high tech” and “high touch.” These clients are finding ways to reach beyond the physical limitations of the classroom, but—perhaps more significantly—they are using the system to reach beyond the limiting assumptions of the classroom as well. As they—and we—do so, we will begin to understand the ways in which the Net really is a new medium.