Sound pedagogical principles have informed traditional face-to-face library instruction, and the same traditional pedagogies have been used in Web-based library instruction. The unique capabilities of the Web, however, can be used in combination with good pedagogy to create active and creative online learning experiences for students. Following a review of some early pedagogical influences and some recent educators' ideas on Web instruction, the author applies these theories to Web-based library instruction, including selected exemplary sites. In recent years, the academic world has seen an enthusiastic rush of faculty to the World Wide Web as the newest mode of interface with students. Syllabi, assignments, handouts, bibliographies, presentations, tutorials, and even full courses are being placed on the Web, not only as a new mode of distance learning, but also to supplement traditional modes of face-to-face classroom instruction. Library instruction, likewise, is seeing a move to the Web, for some of the same reasons. Handouts, bibliographies, and presentations can be made available on an as-needed basis, and librarians can provide instruction to users without the constraints of the fifty-minute one-shot class. Both local and remote users can retrieve the information anytime, anywhere. Library instruction on the Web began with simple handouts marked up without any changes from the paper originals. It progressed to miniworkbooks and gradually began using the unique features of the Web: hypertext links to other sources, graphical interfaces including Powerpoint presentations, sound and video, and finally interactive features. Librarians may be tempted to place pages on the Web simply because they can, but they need to determine what the pedagogical reasons are for doing so and how best to do it. For the purpose of this discussion, Web-based instruction does not include syllabi, bibliographies, or other information sheets placed on the Web, but only sites that are interactive, that is, those that request thoughtful action or feedback by the learner. Brandon Hall, author of the Web-Based Training Cookbook, writes that all Web-based training should be interactive, because interactivity makes the difference between a program that simply presents information, and one that actually trains the user.[1] Interactivity not merely requires the learner to push buttons; it engages the learner with the material in order to practice skills. Researchers in higher education are establishing guidelines for Web-based instruction, but these guidelines discuss the pedagogy of full semester-length courses. Library instruction, although it includes full-credit courses, is most often course-related instruction, offered one or possibly two times per semester in connection with subject courses. Web-based library instruction, likewise, is not primarily semester-long but consists of modules that can be used to complement and supplement the one-shot library instruction. As such, many of the pedagogical goals and values applicable to courses on the Web are not applicable to library modules on the Web. For example, a high value is placed on online conferencing between students throughout the length of a Web course, but online conferencing is not feasible in a single module, used asynchronously, to which students are not necessarily expected to return. Yet some of the pedagogical values and goals presented in discussions of Web instruction can offer guidance for librarians. It should be noted that in the following discussion of researchers' ideas not all aspects are presented, but rather selected aspects which may pertain to library instruction on the Web. Influences on Education Behavioral learning theory and cognitive psychology have influenced most modern teaching practices. Behavioral learning theory developed largely from Skinner's view that learning is measured as change in an individual's behavior. …
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