Virtual Study

Given the spread of home computers and Internet access, going to class means, more and more often, heading to a URL (universal resource locator) or World Wide Web site, where interaction between student and teacher makes modern-day "correspondence courses" seem almost live. "It's not just for computer-science people anymore," says Henry Leitner, of the Division of Applied Science. "People are using the Web in very innovative ways."

To facilitate the long-term independent projects that are part of the Global Leadership program, for example, Paul W. Marshall had his international participants hooked up with a website. "The topic we picked was the effect of the Asian currency crisis on 10 different companies," he explains, "and before we went to Singapore, we researched that topic and set up pages on the Web. Throughout the course, Baker Library kept those pages updated." The site's discussion areas didn't run as smoothly as Marshall had hoped, partly because Internet access isn't as convenient in other countries as it is in the United States. But at least, he notes, "the students were introduced to the power of this medium."

The Extension School's Computer Science 131b was set up with a website last fall. By accessing the site on their home computers, students could see what was basically a film of the lecture, augmented by hypertext links--spots that users can click to obtain further information. Students could click on everything from details about the final exam to instructor Leonard Evenchik's best joke of the day. "We found out that more than half the live class was watching the website on a regular basis," says Henry Leitner. "And we had five students who took the class entirely on the Web, including one poor soul far away in Sweden." (For further information, the Extension School's main website is "www.dce.harvard.edu/extension/".)

~ C.S.