Client Profile & Project Overview

History Connects, a PWNet program sponsored by Old Dominion University, offers Virginia teachers the opportunity to hone their knowledge and add to their resources on U.S. history through a self-paced course presented on CD-ROM and supported by the Internet. The course supports the Virginia Standards of Learning for teaching U.S. History with an emphasis on 20th Century history that can be incorporated into teachers' U.S. History curriculum. Completion of the History Connects curriculum also counts towards graduate credits towards a Masters in Education as well as fulfilling the required courses necessary for Virginia teacher recertification.

Filnet was hired by PWNet to design the web site, course content CD-ROM, and program backend applications to enable PWNet to manage the coures on their own.

Applying Lessons Learned

The development of History Connects grew in large part out of the success of a previous PWNet/Filnet product - Geography Connects, originally an Internet driven distance learning program supported by CD-ROM technology. After two years of improvements to Geography Connects, it was decided that the most cost effective and technology efficient way to deliver this type of interactive distance learning was to use CD-ROM technology as the primary content delivery vehicle to be supported by data driven information using the Internet. This experience meant that the major content areas of History Connects would be developed on CD-ROM and sent to course participants.

However, the Internet remains a key component to the History Connects program. All of the interactive/dynamic applications such as final quizzes required for recertification and online bulletin boards are online. Additionally, Filnet built a user administration area where participants modify login information, change registration data, view statistics on other course participants, and review previously completed quizzes.

PWNet also required administrative tools to operate the site, handle registration, track user data, and update content. To achieve this Filnet implemented a robust content management application (Tango) to enable administrators to add and update content as it changed and a participant registration and management tool to track user data. Teachers accessed the site using a Filnet developed registration application designed specifically for this site.

The marriage of CD-ROM and Internet technologies in this fashion has resulted in a self-service educational tool for teachers to access at their convenience both via CD-ROM and online. The Fall 2003 registration for History Connects attracted 150 teachers to the program, of which, 100 teachers used History Connects credit towards recertification.