Twenty-first century college syllabi Options for online communication and interactivity

In this study, the World Lecture Hall provided an entry point to examine Web-based syllabi of current college courses offered in schools of education. An initial overview of the course syllabi in the World Lecture Hall, in conjunction with a review of professional literature on the instructional uses of the Internet, led to the creation of a 3 3 matrix for categorizing the forms of communication and interactivity facilitated by Web-based syllabi. Three participant levels—instructor, students, and practitioners/experts—were crossed with each other to form the matrix. In general, the analysis of the current Web-based syllabi could be characterized by the unidirectional flow of information from instructors to students. A minority of instructors incorporated innovative components that facilitated Web-based learning and interaction outside the conventional classroom. The discussion addresses ways instructors can post more interactive Web syllabi, share course resources, and infuse additional resources into their courses. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.