Introduction
A growing number of textbook publishers are making supplemental course
materials available to instructors to use online. Such textbooks, thus, are
accompanied with various supporting material (ancillaries), depending on the
nature of the discipline or the course. These might include instructor
notes, slides, figures, tables, question bank, instructors' and students'
solution manual, study guides, slides, lab manual, lab experiments, etc. In
addition to these, supporting multimedia content, such as movie clips,
animations, simulations, are also available. These are made available either
thru the web or accompany with the textbook on a CD/DVD.
What is an E-Pack?
E-packs are ready-made content for WebCT produced by book publishers to
help instructors get started with WebCT immediately without having to create
a fully-online course. E-packs vary in what they contain and range from
course content, quizzes, animations, assignments, etc.
Advantages of using E-Packs
E-Packs are fully customizable: An e-Pack contains fully customizable
online course materials, such as video animations, sample syllabi, lecture
notes, quiz and test banks, and glossaries. Instructors can add as much or
as little of this content to a WebCT course as desired. An e-Pack makes it
easy for instructors to start placing materials online without having to
create a course from scratch. One of the biggest benefits of using an e-pack
is that it eliminates one of the biggest obstacles in the adoption of
e-learning in higher education, i.e. the substantial amount of time it takes
to generate content for the web.
Saving Time to develop/structure web-based courses:
E-Packs provide a interactive online material in addition to the text and
images. This reduces the initial course development time, learning new
tools, etc.
Student get access
to high-quality digital content: With WebCT e-packs, students get access to
high quality digital content, which includes video animations, interactive
media, critical-thinking activities, quiz and test banks, flashcards, and
much more! The students will benefit from accessing engaging online course
components that help to encourage participation and involvement in the
online learning environment.
Publishers
Some of the major textbook publishers, like Addison-Wesley/Benjamin
Cummings, John Wiley & Sons, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Thompson
Learning, etc. to name a few, have incorporated WebCT e-packs for most of
their textbooks.
Other publishers include:
-
Allyn & Bacon / Longman
-
ComputerPREP/ProsoftTraining
-
EMC Paradigm Publishing
-
Houghton Mifflin
-
Jones & Bartlett Publishers
-
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
-
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
-
Mayfield Publishing
-
Nelson Canada
-
Pearson Australia, Canada, EMA
-
RS Means / SmithGroup
-
RonJon Publishing
-
Saunders
-
WestNet Learning
Key Features
Some of the key features of e-Packs which instructors seek for are:
-
Question database: Includes a
Questions Database with 1-1000 questions, 1001-2500 questions, or 2500+
questions.
-
Interactive media: Includes
interactive exercises, simulations, or explanations that may include
audio.
-
Critical thinking activities:
Includes activities that challenge students to apply knowledge or to
expand their understanding on their own, such as case studies, essays,
and simulations.
-
Instructor resources: Includes
resources, such as a teaching guide or a set of slides that are intended
for or only available to instructors. Excludes the WebCT guided tour.
-
Flashcards/glossary: Includes
terminology flashcards or a glossary.
-
Video/animations: Includes
animated elements that are not interactive and may include audio.
-
Varied question types: Includes a
Questions Database with three or more question types.
-
E-Book: Includes an electronic
version of the complete textbook.
Cost
If you are planning to adopt an e-Pack at KFUPM then please contact
KFUPM bookstore and/or textbook committee to arrange for textbooks with the
WebCT e-Pack access codes.
For Instructors
An instructor does not need to pay any cost to adopt an e-Pack. A number
of e-packs are available from various publishers. The WebCT site lists more
than 2000 e-packs for courses over 50 subject areas. These disciplines range
from Accounting, to Architecture, Computer Science, Engineering, Economics,
Medicine, Management, Law, Psychology, Sociology, to name a few.
A complete list of the e-packs that
are available for inclusion in WebCT can be found in the WebCT Content
Showcase:
http://www.webct.com/contentsearch/
The instructors can search the content
show case through which:
-
They can see a limited online demo
of the e-Pack.
-
Most publishers give instructors a
free 30-day trial. Some will provide a free evaluation copy for the
whole term.
-
Instructors may adopt (acquire) an
e-pack for use with their course.
Access Code
(Required for
Students)
-
A Student Access Code is a series
of letters and numbers that allow students to access course content
(e-Pack) selected by the instructor.
-
Student Access Codes are often
confused with Global IDs or WebCT IDs, but they are not the same.
-
Publishers like McGraw Hill,
provide e-Packs for a textbook without access code, provided the
textbook is adopted by the instructor.
-
Prices for access codes for
e-Packs typically range between SR 40-100/- [USD 10-30] per student
access code. Students may obtain these access codes along with the
textbook from the bookstore provided that the bookstore has the stock of
the textbooks that come with access codes.
Copyright Information
An e-Pack arrives pre-loaded with copyrighted publisher content.
-
WebCT e-Packs are customizable and
publishers expect that instructors who adopt e-Packs will add, delete
and reorder the content so that it meets individual teaching and
learning needs.
-
The publisher's copyright notice
must be retained provided that publisher's content appears on that
specific page. However, as an instructor it is possible to insert notes
and comments reflecting your own opinion about that content.
-
An instructor who adopts an e-Pack
and incorporates or uploads original content into an e-Pack will retain
the intellectual property rights to that content.
Pivot Example
Title:
General Chemistry, 7th, WebTutor Advantage
Availability: Available via WebCT
Author:
Whitten, Davis, Peck, and Stanley
Publisher: Thomson Learning
Web Tutor Advantage
Key Features Include:
Instructor resources, 1-1000 Questions, Varied Questions, Flashcard
Glossary, Critical thinking, Interactive Media, Video Animation
View Demo
http://thomsondemo.webct.com/public/0534408664demo/
Misc. Other e-packs from the publisher available at
http://thomsondemo.webct.com/
(username/password = webtutor)
Relevant E-packs
A list of relevant e-packs
can be found here...
