Web-based Teaching Materials

Web-based teaching materials are a subset of computer-based training (CBT) or electronic learning (eLearning) used to leverage the World Wide Web for the delivery to instructional materials.

Several teachers and institutions provide access to Web-based teaching materials through links on Web pages. An example is how Columbia Education Center provides access to supplemental Web-based Teaching Materials. University professors and departments often provide similar resource pages to augment learning opportunities for their students. These resources are especially helpful when they provide an extension beyond what is covered in the classroom (i.e. materials on specific disciplines for Education majors who may be have deep knowledge in a specific discipline).

Several companies and cooperative efforts have emerged to provide online access to Web-based teaching materials. These entities range from companies producing their own edutainment media to sites provided to aggregate links to other existing content. While the missions of these organizations may differ, they all focus on furthering the World Wide Web as the delivery medium for teaching materials.

Web-based teaching materials emerged as elements on personal Web sites with the proliferation and adoption of the Internet in the early to mid-90s. Beyond personal publishing, Web-based teaching materials were often published online as samples and supplemental materials by commercial entities experimenting with the World Wide Web.

Sites devoted to specific topics began aggregating links to these resources in efforts to capture educator audiences in the late 90s. These concepts were then extended to the Learning Management System (LMS) and Learning Content Management System (LCMS) as a way for instructors to organize and provide access to learning materials already available online. These systems also contain authoring tools that allow pieces of entire courses (including Web-based teaching materials) to be published online.