Teaching chemistry on the Internet: A qualitative case study

This study examined a graduate general chemistry course delivered on the Internet. A qualitative case study procedure was used for this research. The central question explored was what did the students and instructor experience in the course. The themes emerging from an in-depth understanding of the complexities of the participants\u27 experiences were elaborated and the implications of the new teaching approach as an alternative in the curriculum and instruction design were discussed. The major themes included merits and limitations of distance learning and technology-mediated learning as well as the implications of cooperative learning in distance education. The findings demonstrated an overall positive evaluation of the Internet chemistry course in terms of providing otherwise unattainable educational service, creating a highly collaborative teaching and learning environment, and meeting various needs of in-service chemistry teachers. The participants thought highly of using CD-ROM SmallScale as the course textbook and of the instantaneous class interactions. However, while they recognized the advantages and potential power of distance learning, the participants encountered difficulties that were associated with this learning mode. The difficulties included technical problems such as difficult e-mail access, shortage of hardware and software, and lack of technical training support, and pedagogical issues such as attitude toward distance education, time management, and class participation management. The study analyzed those issues, relating them to previous research, discussed the ways in which the problems could be tackled, and offered suggestions for future research on distance education