A new tool for managing students' questions in web‐based distance education courses

Abstract This article describes a Web‐based question‐answering system geared toward courses carried entirely via the World Wide Web. The question‐answering system is template based and uses the mSQL database's W3‐mSQL scripting language to generate HTML files dynamically, or “on the fly.” The entire system is managed through an mSQL database located on a Web server, and data are stored and recovered on demand. The system was developed to make interaction between students and teachers easier in distance courses taught via the Web and will be implemented in courses being carried by the Centro de Divulgação Científica e Cultural/Center for Scientific and Cultural Dissemination at the University of São Paulo at São Carlos, Brazil.