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| Vol. 17, No. 31 | May 14, 1998 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 31 | May 14, 1998 |
Faculty who want instructional information that can help them do their jobs better can now go to the Internet and access The National Teaching and Learning Forum (NTLF), a national subscription newsletter, for free.
The Center for Teaching Effectiveness (CTE), is supporting a two-year subscription to NTLF for anyone with a University of Delaware Internet address. The newsletter, published six times a year, has in-depth, articles by college and University faculty on issues of concern to individuals who teach college students. The newsletter is designed to act as a dialog between peers and a vehicle to exchange ideas and experiences.
For instance, the latest edition of NTLF features a story about "peer visits" and follow-up discussions that allow faculty to talk about what they've observed in an open and supportive forum.
CTE recently conducted a workshop on the heart of teaching and used NTLF's feature article by Parker Palmer, "Teaching in the Face of Fear," as the pre-reading.
"We put NTLF online so that this resource could be available to all of our faculty and we couldn't have done that with hard copies. The cost would have been prohibitive," Judy Greene, CTE director, said.
Greene said CTE paid for the online version of the newsletter with the money it saved when it stopped producing hard copies of its own on-campus newsletter, About Teaching, now also available online at http://www.udel.edu/cte/ aboutteach/
The "hot links" in the NTLF and About Teaching give the faculty access to a myriad of supplemental materials, Greene said.
The center welcomes faculty input on the new service. "We want people to use it and give us feedback," Greene said. NTLF can be accessed on the web at http://www.udel.edu/cte/ntlf/v7n3/index.htm. CTE's e-mail address is cte-reg@mvs.udel.edu
In addition, CTE is planning to develop an interactive web site capable of delivering faculty development workshops to members of the UD community. Currently being explored is the possibility of using a locally developed, online teaching and learning environment called Serf. Serf is already being used to deliver courses taught by Fred Hofstetter, instructional technology; Larry Peterson, music; and John Courtright and Elizabeth Perse, communication.
Any interested faculty members can learn how to use Serf as another teaching and learning tool during the 1998 Summer Institute on Teaching, Learning and Technology to be held June 8 through June 26 at various sites on campus.
Information on the sites and the institute's agenda can be accessed on the web at http://www.udel.edu/cte/tlt
"As we move forward, we have to keep up with what's new," Greene said. "That's one of the reasons why we are increasing our use of and expertise in instructional uses of computer and Internet technology," she said.
Greene credits the success of the web site to Erin Ford, research assistant, and Gabriele Bauer, teaching consultant, who write, code, edit and maintain it.
The Center for Teaching Effectiveness is now located in Room 212 Gore Hall.
-Barbara Garrision
