The professor on your PC

Abstract

The Open University of Israel, a distance education institution with open admissions, offers a study system that was primarily based on written material. When we designed the new CS1 course in 2005, shifting from C++ to Java, we also switched from a course based on written material, to one based on videotaped lectures, which the students watch on PCs. Shifting to Java is an enormous challenge, however, we were also concerned about the new study method. Therefore, we conducted a study to determine how the students respond to the new and different environment, in terms of both learning and technical operation. The findings show that this method of study is at least as efficient as the previous one. The students' attitude to the new study method was positive and supportive of the new approach.