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in 1984 where he is currently a Senior Lecturer. He is a member of the Department's Radio Systems Group and his (disciplinary) research interests lie in the areas of radio systems, electromagnetics and bioelectromagnetics. Over the last 20 years he has taught at all levels and has developed a particular interest in curriculum and course design. He has received numerous teaching awards from his institution. In 2004 he was awarded a (National) Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award in the Sustained Excellence in Teaching category and in 2005 he received the Australasian Association for Engineering Education award for excellence in Engineering Education in the Teaching and Learning category. Dr Rowe is a member of the IET, the IEEE, the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand (IPENZ), ASEE, STLHE and AaeE.

Worsening staff-student ratios make it harder to provide adequate assessment and prompt feedback, two quantities important in student learning. Computers and the Internet can provide a solution to this problem. This paper describes a Web-based tool used for skills practice and summative assessment. The tool delivers individualized tasks, marks student responses, supplies prompt feedback, and logs student activity. An action research program has been undertaken in order to develop the software and its implementation in ways that best support student learning. Instructors reported that the software had helped them manage workloads in spite of rising class sizes and that student learning had been enhanced rather than compromised. Student surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions and informal feedback showed that students found the software easy to use and felt it helped them improve their skills and understanding. Student activity logs provided some interesting insights into study habits and confirmed the motivating power of assessment.