Electronic Classrooms
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
I am very curious to know how many Universities out there
are taking advantage of the internet in regard to the aspect of
electronic classes. I am currently taking a graduate course
entitled Taming the Electronic Frontier taught by Brad Cox at
George Mason University. This is a fully electronic class.
The instructor is video taped and broadcasted on local cable
stations throughout the area. All assignments are broadcasted
to the instructor and other students through E-mail. The old
fashioned hard copy is obsolete in this classroom. When I
studied for my undergraduate in Florida around five years ago,
none of my classmates nor myself were exposed to the internet
or any kind of electronic mail for any of our classes. Is
teaching via the internet and electronic communications to the
instructor and students something that has evolved since my
undergraduate days or are only certain Universities promoting
this type of electronic teaching?
I see a new evolution with electronic classes in the future. My
library is the internet! I honestly don't know where the actual
library is located on my campus--I have no need for it when I
can modem up on my computer at home and use Gopher and
Veronica. It will be interesting what the future will hold for
this way of teaching as they pave the roads to the Super
Highway.
********************************************
John E. Bruno, jbr...@gmu.edu, 703-486-0757
********************************************
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
The entry by Bruno and the response by Leonhardt is interesting. I am
a librarian, a reader/lurker of the IPCT List and did not interpret
Bruno's original entry as meaning his application of the electronic
classroom as the only source of instruction and wisdom for his
students - certainly not from the Internet!
The Bruno description of the MSU e classrooms is useful as an example
of an application in telco education, use of advanced technology in
eduction and the application of vision in a higher ed setting. Yes,
it is one tool or combination of tools. Books, personal exchanges,
stimulation between instructor and students and between students will
certainly go on.
I have used the Bruno description as a stimulant in the conversations
we have had at our institution about applicaltion of technology and
Internet instruction. It is one aspect of modern learning.
Michael Pate
Marquette University
9566...@vms.csd.mu.edu
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
Re: Tom Leonhardt and his response to John Bruno
With all due respect, chill-out. Although John Bruno hardly needs me
to come to his defense, and I'm not, John's comments were "merely" a
reflection of the enthusiasm some of us have about our new tool, The
Internet. Lord only knows, we read the hype, the crap (am I allowed
to say that?), and the general b.s. from some of our more learned
colleagues pontificating about how the Net is either going to benefit
us or turn us into morons. Even so, the Net opens up a new dimension
to access information--it does not (in my opinion) replace the more
traditional methods of the library, nor the portability and
readability of the book. Rather, it enhances those methods. As for
the "mindless predictions and praises" from my fellow Netters,
perhaps these contributions come from those who have just discovered
this wonderful, but at times frustrating, tool. Tom, you sound like
an historian whose heared it all before and is tired of hearing it
again--but that's what happens when you have new voices being heard.
Good grief, now I'm starting to preach!
Thanks for the bandwidth.
Linda Harned, lha...@gmu.edu
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
I've had the opportunity to teach a class devoted to K-12 networking
entirely over the Internet. Most of my students are in Northern
remote locations: Ungava Bay, Great Whale River, Labrador, and the
North West Territories. Access to their communities is difficult
and expensive. Needless to say, most do not have access to
good libraries or resource centers. In answer to Tom's remark
as to whether intellectual curiosity can be satisfied on the Internet,
it can and it has. The most frequently made remark by my remote
students was concerning the wealth of information they found on
the network. The second most frequently made remark was
their belief that perhaps may be able to end their isolation through
use of the Internet.
Maybe the Internet will never replace the great urban libraries,
but it is certainly giving the poorly stocked libraries in Northern
Regions stiff competition.
Below is the introduction to an assignment from one of my
students:
"I am Vice-Principal/Librarian at Jens Haven Memorial School (K-12)
in Nain, Labrador. Nain is an isolated community located 250km
north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The only way in or out during most
of the year is by an airplane service using Twin Otters (18 seat
bush planes). During a short shipping season, from mid July
to late November, access is also available by a biweekly ferry
service. In such an environment, students have very little
access to current published materials. The only library is a
rather small collection at the school, containing very few useful
volumes other than several popular encyclopedias. We have limited access
to any periodicals since there are no book or magazine stores
and the school cannot supply a comprehensive list. In addition,
the mail service is sporadic, such that a subscription to a
newspaper like the Globe and Mail arrives approximately two weeks
after the publishing date. The definition of isolation is becoming less
clear in this age of telecommunications. Although Nain is isolated
in the traditional sense and lacks reliable mail and travel service,
it can no longer be considered cut off from the rest of the world.
...Through this telephone system and by using the Internet, the
students of JHMS theoretically can access a virtually unlimited
wealth of information which has recently gained growing recognition
in the media and with the general public. All they need is a computer,
a modem, time and direction."
Marcos Silva
Faculty Lecturer
Distance Education
Faculty of Education
McGill University
>Does John E. Bruno really believe that he does not need a library or the
>equivalent (a Barnes and Noble with 100,000 is superior to most small
>libraries and certainly superior to anything on the Internet). Does he
>really believe that his intellectual curiousity can be satisfied on the
>Internet? Does he really believe that he can be educated on the Internet?
>We are confusing quick but extremely limited access to "free" information
>(you get what you pay for) with learning, education, and culture. There are
>administrators who love to hear people say that once you have access to the
>ineffable and largely invisible (in actual, verified benefits) you don't need
>books or magazines or people or places. We don't seem to learn from history
>and we never seem to tire of pitching a new millennium or utopia no matter
>what evidence faces us. I personally prefer to converse (forget the medium)
>with people who live real lives and who expand them vicariously through
>reading of all kinds. The Internet is a tool and a means to an end it is not
>an end in itself.
>
>I have read these mindless predictions and praises for more than five years
>now and it is clear that many out there read nothing but postings on the
>Internet and it shows, oh how it shows. There is nothing wrong with a good
>bull session and a really good one can be cathartic but it is important to
>recognize such sessions for what they are and not attach a profundity to them
>that just ain't there.
>I think the time has come to drop this list. My patience has finally been
>exhausted. I will miss the wisdom of Prof. Phillips but I have his address
>and we have most of his books in our library. Try to find them on the Internet.
>Good luck.
>Tom Leonhardt
>Norman, Oklahoma
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
I agree. The net is truly a unique intellectual resource, both in the
material that people provide (essentially for free) and the ability of a
net user to reach out and touch the people behind that material. My only
problem with this resource is how to reach past the *plumbing* and touch
those minds.
Fred Stuhrke (703)644-6782
*Student of the Internet*
George Mason University
On Fri, 29 Apr 1994,
Interpersonal Computing and Technology wrote:
> From: sera...@umcc.umich.edu (Henry Hardy)
>
> With due respect, I think Tom is missing the point here to a degree.
> The unique intellectual resource of the Net is not so much it's
> "documents" online -- its the people...
>
> Think of the Net as a database of a million minds.
Interpersonal Computing and Technology
Frederick Stuhrke wrote,
> I agree. The net is truly a unique intellectual resource, both in the
> material that people provide (essentially for free) and the ability of a
> net user to reach out and touch the people behind that material. My only
> problem with this resource is how to reach past the *plumbing* and touch
> those minds.
>
Well, the point is "no pain no gain". The most important thing is to look
for help around. Once when you overcome the huddles, you will soon forget
all the pain and frustration.
Cheung Tang
cta...@gmu.edu