TELD: Courseware Engine as a Virtual Classroom for Active and Collaborative Teaching

TELD is an on-line courseware engine over the World-Wide-Web. Firstly, TELD represents a method of 'teaching by examples and learning by doing' that unifies a number of contemporary methods such as problem-based learning (PBL), project-based learning (PBL) and case method (CM) in medical, engineering and business education respectively. Secondly, TELD serves as a web server for hosting teaching and learning materials especially based on the TELD method. Thirdly, TELD is a courseware search engine where educators are able to register their course materials and search for materials suitable for a particular course. Finally, TELD is an on-line virtual classroom for electronic delivery of electronic curriculum materials and for on-line conduct of many class activities. This last TELD feature is the subject matter of this paper. Like most commercial on-line course tools, TELD provides typical facilities such as syllabus tool, calendar of events, e-mail and live chat boxes, threaded forums, etc. However, what is unique with TELD is that it combines the above three features into one courseware engine. This paper focuses on explaining how TELD is used as a virtual classroom for active and collaborative teaching and learning. The TELD web site is currently at http://www.teld.net/.