For an upper-level undergraduate course on optics for Physics majors, Prof. Ed Van Keuren envisioned a dynamic, "living" text that would offer students more than traditional optics textbooks can. Based on Prof. Van Keuren's needs, CNDLS designed a custom application, Optics WebText, a comprehensive online reference that allows for continual addition of new topics and revision of existing documents.

Students submit articles to the professor, who edits and publishes them on the site. Classmates then comment on each other's work and take online quizzes based on the material they've helped generate. Engaging students as contributing authors mimics the process of publishing scientific papers, and Prof. Van Keuren has found that students who have recently mastered the material often find innovative ways for fellow students to arrive at an understanding of difficult concepts. The online quizzes can help facilitate Just in Time Teaching methodology for example, the professor is able to access the results of a quiz the night before a particular lecture and subsequently tailor the content to the demonstrated needs of the students.

One of the most important parts of the WebText project is the active participation of students in helping create and evaluate the material. Students in an upper level elective course for Physics majors, "Electrodynamics and Optics" develop material for the WebText in semester-long projects. They are encouraged to develop a particular topic, or module, which explains the physics concepts to a colleague. One of Prof. Van Keuren's students is now working on a sophisticated optics simulation, which the Optics WebText was designed to accommodate in the quiz area of the application. Using this type of quiz will insure that students understand the underlying math and can manipulate the optical system the math describes—effecting a more authentic learning practice and real-life applicability for students.