Monday, November 20, 2000

A Course About Using the Internet Is Delivered -- How Else? -- Online By JESSICA LUDWIG Title: "Communicating Through the Internet" Institution: University of Illinois at Springfield Instructors: Ray Schroeder, a professor of communication who is also director of the university's office of technology-enhanced learning, and Burks Oakley II, director of University of Illinois Online, which coordinates and supports the distance-education offerings of the university's campuses at Chicago, Springfield, and Urbana-Champaign. Content: An introduction to using the Internet as a research and reference tool. The class familiarizes students with the network, Internet terms, research methods and techniques, issues relating to Internet use, and reference sites. Delivery: Web Requirements: Students must respond to discussion questions posted on the Web, review 10 Web sites, and complete a technology-glossary assignment. The course also requires students to write papers for which all primary sources come from the Internet. When offered: Fall, spring, and summer. Enrollment: This semester, 43 students are enrolled. Unusual features: The course has no primary text; instead, all readings are available on the Internet as links from a "hyper-syllabus." For example, the unit on "Evaluating the Quality of Information on Internet Sites" includes a link to a free online tutorial on distinguishing good Web resources from mediocre ones. The syllabus offers a broad sampling of the Web, and includes such sites as the Yale Web Style Guide and a soap-opera discussion board. Transcripts, audio, and PowerPoint slides of lectures are available on the course Web site. A guest lecturer is Keith Miller, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Springfield whose specialty is computer ethics. Instructor comment: The class is demographically diverse, Mr. Schroeder says. "Every semester, we get involved in discussions that reflect the diversity of students in the class. The online class has a wider mix of metropolitan students as well as students from rural communities that are relatively isolated. It really is exciting to see these students interact." As the director of University of Illinois Online, Mr. Oakley says he wanted to make sure distance learning "was really as good as I was saying." So, last spring, he enrolled in "Communicating Through the Internet" as a first-time distance-education student. During the summer, he taught a section of the course. He says the course serves a dual purpose: It's a good introduction to online learning and also a beneficial elective course for students who want to keep up to date on the evolution of the Internet. U.R.L. http://bb.uis.edu/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_2_1&frame=top; click on "preview." Know of an especially interesting online course? Tell us about it in an e-mail message. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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