A Collaborative Approach to a Course on the Semantic Web

Abstract – The Semantic Web is an area of current research focus in many disciplines including software engineering. However, the breadth of knowledge required to understand development on the Semantic Web combined with the rapidly changing state of the field requires that teaching approaches to the Semantic Web be flexible. This paper describes a collaborative approach used to teach a course on the Semantic Web. Techniques used in the course included positioning the instructor as co-learner, joint decision-making by instructor and class, and the use of a group project. Survey results on student satisfaction with the teaching approach are presented, as well as student and instructor opinion on the approach. Index Terms – Adult learning, Collaborative learning