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Using a Web-Based Interactive Test as a Learning Tool

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a pedagogic tool for class communication has been encouraged by numerous authors. Smith, Kim, and Bernstein (1993) suggested that classroom communication using CMC provides benefits such as increased communication, fostering efficiency in teamwork situations, facilitating problem-solving, and providing communication means for people who have trouble expressing themselves or being understood in face-to-face situations. Menges (1994) argued that interactive technology would ensure attention, and that "well-designed computermediated instruction is more likely to engage individuals than are the words of a professor in front of a room filled with students" (p. 187). Many of the reports on the use of CMC in journalism and mass communication refer primarily to the use of electronic mail and bulletin boards. Elasmar and Carter (1996) suggested that journalism professors could use email as part of their curricular activities. For example, the authors suggested using electronic mail to distribute homework to students, asking students to submit assignments by e-mail, and creating a dedicated electronic bulletin board for each course. Smith, Kim, and Bernstein (1993) offered anecdotal evidence of the successful integration of e-mail and bulletin boards into journalism classes. As technology has developed, a number of authors have turned their attention to the use of the Internet, specifically the World Wide Web, in journalism and mass communication courses. Gunaratne and Lee (1996) reported on their development of a Web site tailor-made for teaching three journalism courses. Their "Internet Resources for Journalism" homepage is primarily a collection of links to resources and tools located on the Internet. In course evaluations for the three courses, students indicated that the courses improved their skills in the use of the Internet research tools. Farnall and Geske (1996) investigated the use of the Internet in teaching an advertising strategy class, comparing class sections taught using traditional means with class sections taught using a heavy emphasis on the Internet as a source of information. They found that integration of the Internet into the classroom improved student and instructor performance and evaluation of the class as a whole. Results indicated that 72 percent of the students preferred the Internet over textbooks as a source of information. The Internet browser Netscape Navigator was considered a good learning tool, and 87 percent of the students indicated they wanted to see the Internet used in more courses. The results of the use of CMC in the classroom are not always favorable. In an experiment conducted by Smith (1994), students in traditional sections of a media law course reported higher satisfaction with the course than those students in sections using CMC to supplement traditional instruction methods. Smith (1994) also reported no significant differences in final exam results between traditional and on-line sections. Hudson and Holland (1992) reported that students who received interactive multimedia instruction in a video production class perceived that they learned more. However. the students did not score significantly higher than students who received traditional lecture instruction. In addition, Elasmar and Carter (1996) found that computer anxieties such as rejection and technical-based phobia of computers were negatively related to acceptance and potential use of email. While some studies have reported gender differences in the uses of CMC, Elasmar and Carter (1996) found no significant difference in e-mail use between male and female respondents. The current study This study investigated the effectiveness of one particular CMC technique, a Web-based interactive sample test, as a part of other CMC techniques used to supplement traditional instruction in a large lecture class. The course, mass communication theories, seemed particularly suited for the use of CMC due to its large section size. …