University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 27, April 17


                                   
                    PlainTalk from Carol Hoffecker
                                   
     "If I had a toaster oven that had as many problems as
I've seen on the web, I'd trade it in for a new one!" Carol
Hoffecker, Richards Professor of History, exclaimed.
Hoffecker, who never envisioned herself as a devoted
computer user, is one of a growing number of faculty who
have come to depend on UD's campus technology.
     "Sometimes, I feel I'm learning to swim,
technologically speaking, by jumping into the deep end of
the pool," she says.
     She says e-mail and the web provide excellent
supplementary resources for her work.
     "Like most faculty, I've learned how to use e-mail,"
Hoffecker says.
     "For example, if I'm chairing a committee, and I want
that committee to discuss something between meetings,
setting up an e-mail list for the committee is terrifically
valuable. It really does allow members to talk with each
other regularly."
     She has also used the web, which she says she believes
provides help to scholars seeking primary resources.
     "You can use the web now to examine the holdings of
many libraries, getting access to detailed information about
what's in a special collection-before you make a trip to
that library."
     She says she could imagine, for example, scholars
visiting the University's Library over the web as they
prepare to make an actual trip to Newark to examine the
papers of Senator John J. Williams, one of UD's special
collections.
     To take full advantage of the technology, she says she
knows she has much to learn.
     "I would like to have the same basic understanding of
how computers work, as I do of my car. I can't fix my car's
engine, but I at least understand the basics of how an
engine works," she says.
     She estimates about one-third of the faculty over the
age of 40 have a similar sense of being overwhelmed by the
technology and by the possibilities raised by the amount of
information now available at their fingertips.
     "There are so many possibilities that the technology
and information raise," she says. "We want to use it, but
sometimes we don't know where to start."
     Recently, she's been learning more about the Student
Record System (SIS+). "SIS+ is a very useful tool for
advising students; I'm looking forward to using it more
frequently," she says.