UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 25, Page 12
March 23, 1995
TechTalk
Newsgroups extend traditional classroom

     The bell rings, the students and professor pack up their
belongings, class discussion is over. Or is it? Using
newsgroups-electronic bulletin boards-on the University's central UNIX
systems, many classes continue the discussion, any time-day or night.
     This semester, over 65 courses are using newsgroups to extend
discussion beyond the classroom.
     Using the UNIX newsgroups, faculty members and students keep in
close touch on numerous course-related issues. Students are asking and
answering questions, participating in subject-related discussions and
learning about study sessions with around-the-clock convenience.
     Robert Ketcham, life and health sciences, has set up newsgroups
for all of his laboratory sections.
     "In a class that only meets once a week, the use of a newsgroup
has helped in the exchange of information not only student-to-student,
but also student-to-instructor," Ketcham said.
     According to Alex Brown, business administration, newsgroups are
an excellent way for students to become active participants in course
discussions. "Students who are normally shy in a classroom situation
are more willing to contribute to discussions on newsgroups," Brown
said. "I can't say enough about how well newsgroups work," he added.
     Newsgroups are an excellent forum for questions and answers,
Brown said. Contribution to the newsgroup is 10 percent of the grade
students receive in his class. He encourages students to read and
respond to postings on the newsgroup as a way of helping one another.
"When a student posts a question, other students have an opportunity
to help a classmate,"    Brown said.
     Brown has a license agreement with a national newspaper that
allows him to post marketing information daily for his students. As an
assignment, each student must take a caption from the newspaper, write
a two-page paper and post it to the newsgroup.
     Students in art history are using a newsgroup to help while
studying for exams. Eileen Prybolsky, art history, is posting sample
exam questions and answers to a newsgroup to help students as they
prepare. "Students no longer have to worry about going to the Reserve
Room of the Library to photocopy exams. They have immediate access to
sample exams at their convenience," Prybolsky said.
     Additionally, Prybolsky uses the newsgroup to make announcements
about course offerings and content. "Students in our large classes are
beginning to use the newsgroup regularly," she said.
     Karen Rosenberg, anthropology, is very excited about the use of
newsgroups. "Students are taking an active part in the learning
process. The more they discuss subject matter, the more they learn,"
she said. Along with providing every student the opportunity to speak
on a particular topic, newsgroups provide an additional way for
students to interact.
     A tip sheet on using the UNIX newsgroups is now available in U-
Discover!: Using gopher, you can find it under:
        Computing & Technology
           Instructions, Tips, and Answers
              UNIX
                 TRN Tips
     Faculty interested in setting up a class newsgroup should send e-
mail to Richard Gordon, user services, at richard@strauss.udel.edu.
                                                       -Amanda Bunkley