Abstract:
A graduate level, introductory course in animal breeding and genetics was developed and collaboratively taught as a web-based, distance education class for the Spring 1999 semester. A total of 15 students from the University of Arizona (n = 4), New Mexico State University (n = 5) and Texas Tech University (n = 6) enrolled in the course. The class was divided into 13 modules that were completed weekly in conjunction with discussion sessions involving students and instructors at respective locations. Course materials were delivered through internet-based software. A joint meeting was held during the middle of the semester. Students from different institutions were required to write collaborative research grant proposals. Survey of students at the course completion revealed that they enjoyed interactions with students and professors at other institutions and that the arrangement of course material into modules was both acceptable and useful. They also found weekly discussion sessions useful. Most students felt that the largest challenge in the course was the collaborative research proposal. This course format should be useful for teaching other animal science graduate courses through distance education, and will be less expensive than many other distance education formats.
Keywords:
multi-institutional, animal breeding, web-based, graduate course
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