WebCT and first year: student reaction to and use of a Web-based resource in first year computer science

Our previous experiments with the World Wide Web (WWW) as an educational resource focused on a third year Computer Science course. The results were very positive showing a high degree of student satisfaction and improved academic performance. Our intuition, however, made us question whether the same would be true for a first year course given that the students are new to the university environment and often less willing to participate in class. Thus we performed an experiment comparing the difference between third and first year students in their reaction to and use of educational technologies. Overall we have found the use and acceptance of these resources to be higher for our third year students than for our first.