In the fall of 1999, the Georgia Institute of Technology, which currently operates on a quarter system, will convert to a semester system. Among the many changes that will result from this conversion, the English 3020 class, which teaches the basics of Technical Writing, will switch from a 3-hour class to a 1-hour class. The format for the new 1-hour class will be web-based and non-interactive. The "ICARUS project" refers to the development of this 1-hour English class.

The 33 students enrolled in the K section of the Winter 1999 English 3020 class were asked to evaluate the ICARUS project. In order to accomplish this task, the class organized itself into four main groups that focused on different aspects of the ICARUS project. These groups were as follows:

• Course Objectives
• Web-Based Learning
• LCC Goals
• Technology

These groups were broken down further in order to systematically observe and report on each aspect of the ICARUS project. Following is a brief overview of each group’s focus.

This section’s focus was the content of the web-based course created by ICARUS. This group inquired into the Board of Regents of the Georgia Institute of Technology as to the requirements for an accredited technical communications course. The section also deals with how the new course will fit into other schools’ curricula at Tech.

The Web-Based Learning group looked at precedents of online classes, web-based instruction techniques, and the benefits of web-based learning. This analysis also includes research on the content, effectiveness and evaluation of previous web-based classes.

The group focusing on the LCC researched how the ICARUS project will be implemented, what manpower changes will be made in accord, as well as discussion and recommendations towards other factors which the LCC has taken into consideration with the introduction of this new web-based course

This group looked at the technological issues faced in designing ICARUS, including design tools, user interfaces, accessibility issues, and benefits gained from these technologies.