Influence of student characteristics in their evaluation of a park-planning course web site

Course Web sites are increasingly used in university instruction, despite the fact that their effectiveness has not been adequately evaluated. This study examined students’ use of and perception about the official Web site of a park-planning course in the College of Natural Resources at NCSU. A questionnaire was administered to 56 students in 2000 and 2001. Results show that many students used the Web site often, and the majority of the students preferred Web sites in future courses. The perceptions of Web site utility and the preferences of Web-only courses vary among students by age, gender, level of computer experience, and learning style. These results are presented and the implications are discussed in this poster.