Web Usage Patterns and Learning Styles in an Academic Course in Engineering

This study examines aspects of student diversity in a Web-based learning environment. The study aimed to explore and characterize students' Web usage patterns of content items and asynchronous discourse, to identify learning style preferences and to asses the relationship between Web usage patterns and learning styles. Results suggest that when developing a Web-based learning environment, the diversity in individual learning styles should be considered and different content items and communication means must be used to suit students' different personal learning style preferences. Introduction Students participating in Introductory Biology courses encounter a massive amount of new concepts and information with no corresponding amount of teaching time, causing many of them to do poorly or drop out (Belzer, Miller, & Shoemake, 2003). This paper examines a Web-based learning environment in an Introductory Biology course at the faculty of Engineering at Tel-Aviv University, which uses blended learning, aiming to face those issues.