Teaching web technologies: understanding the tutor’s perspective

Abstract

This paper describes an Open University eSTEeM project that gathered the experiences of computing and information technology tutors who teach an undergraduate module called Web Technologies with the intention of understanding more about how they and their students can be best supported. Twelve distance learning tutors were interviewed by two interviewers. The interviews were transcribed and then thematically analysed. It was discovered that some tutors hold the view that some of their students struggle to understand aspects of the technologies that are being taught. It was also apparent that tutors have very different approaches when using certain tools to teach web technologies to students. The paper concludes by summarising key findings, presenting potential enhancements and suggesting further research directions.

Keywords:

• Pedagogy
• computer programming
• web technologies
• qualitative study
• thematic analysis

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the hard work of the two co-researchers: Dave Macintyre and John Williams. I would also like to acknowledge the authors of Web technologies and those who support its delivery. These include Soraya Kouadri, current module chair; John Busvine, TT284 curriculum manager; Neil Simpkins, production module chair; and module authors Doug Briggs and Nick Heap. I would also like to thank the Open University eSTEeM project, led by Clem Herman and Diane Butler, which funded this research. I also thank Emma Elder and the two reviewers for their invaluable suggestions; their comments and their time has significantly helped to improve this article.