An Educational Environment Using WWW

Abstract Developments in computer networks offer not only a wide range of possibilities in terms of spreading knowledge, but also many problems about retrieving and obtaining stored informative contents, in which users are interested. It seems that such a networking environment could play an important role from an informative and educational point of view. Actually, by using computer networks, it is feasible to realize a virtual classroom to offer remote students full and interactive participation in a class that would previously have been restricted to students who were attending locally [2]. In this paper the authors present a WWW student-centered educational environment that has been realized using a particular methodology which allows students to be inside an informative area. In this area they are able to focus on the topics they prefer, to satisfy their particular instructional needs and also to create an educational and engaging path, through a specific set of tools. A Mosaic sensitive map makes it possible to start the navigation in the organized cyberspace, by choosing one of the displayed topics. After choosing the topic in which the students are interested, they have a set of tools by which it is possible to access the following functionalities: 1. (a) virtual classroom; 2. (b) digital libraries and museums; 3. (c) attending to seminars and conferences; 4. (d) doing cooperative work. This set of tools can be different according to the chosen topic.