He says what makes it manageable for him is that he allowed himself to develop his web site over time, instead of putting the unrealistic pressure on himself to do it all at once. He gradually added more resources each quarter including test reviews, samples of past students work, discussion threads and chat rooms. He has started using Blackboard.com because of its interactive capabilities such as the discussion threads. He links from Blackboard to his own website, that way he can keep using what he has already developed and doesn't have to recreate anything.

Narrowing the Digital Divide
"There has been a 'digital divide' among the students. Some students are very comfortable with technology and others are very intimidated by it. The students that don't have access to technology will eventually miss out on many learning opportunities", Tom says. "With help from the student tech fee, the college now has places for students to go on campus to access the web and get more involved with the technology. I now feel more comfortable asking students to refer to my site since I know everyone has equal access to it."

"Normally an instructor teaches a class one quarter, then starts all over again the next quarter. By providing a place that new students can go and see past students examples, it provides an 'accumulative interaction'."

This past quarter he scheduled the computer lab for one class period so everyone could be on a computer at the same time. He says they have fun experimenting with his site, including using the discussion threads and chat-rooms. He says this provides a low risk opportunity for less-technically inclined students to get comfortable using computers and the web. "There's a lot of peer-to-peer interaction going on", he says. "The students really help each other out with the technology. They really get involved with it."

Accumulative Interaction
"On my website I put samples of past students work", Tom says. This allows new students to learn from past students by seeing their examples. "Normally an instructor teaches a class one quarter, then starts all over again the next quarter. By providing a place that new students can go and see past students examples, it provides an 'accumulative interaction'. "This is building something, we don't have to start all over again, but rather pick up where the other students left off. Each class can learn from the previous class", Tom says.

Tom has been taking digital pictures of student posters made for various assignments and putting them on his website. He says this has been a great reference for his students and now he doesn't have to carry all those materials to class with him.

Forget Perfection
If you want to succeed with integrating new technologies into your curriculum, Tom advises that you give up trying to make your product perfect. "Trying to make my website look perfect would just eat up too much of my time", Tom says. "I'm more interested in the content than the packaging. Maybe it's not professional looking but I don't have time for that", he says. "I also tell my students to not kill me if everything isn't included on the website. I'll do it over time. It's a work in progress". All in all though the students have responded well to his site. It gives the motivated student more resources to access for the class and it gives Tom a common place to put things. If a student misses an assignment or review he can just direct them there.

Trials & Tribulations
Again one frustration he has run into is the compromise between trying to make the site look as good as he'd like, and the time available to spend on this. "I've seen some instruction sites that are very professional. They obviously worked a lot on the layout and design but they often have less stuff in it. It's a tradeoff!", Tom said.

Tom also is concerned about the process he had to take to get his site approved. "The administration won't approve the site without content, but I really didn't want to put all that work into it with the possibility that they might not accept it". He says the easier the process the more likely instructors will do it. "Not using new technology is no work, one step is more work so it doesn't take too many steps until it's not worth it. We need easy steps and good support", Tom says.

One other frustration was the student's demands for more content. He said when he put an overhead on his site, some students immediately started asking why he didn't have all of his overheads on his site. Tom also says that if you require students to access your website then it better work. And this puts more stress on you. He felt it was easier to call the site a resource at first and also print handouts for things that are important. Because everyone has access to the web now, he has just started posting things on the web without also making printed handouts, which saves him time and resources.

Why does he do it?
Tom says he has always been intrigued by computers and their possibilities. He also wants to help narrow the digital divide between students.

He likes having a web site for his classes because he only has to post information once. It's always there for the students to refer to. Also some students like to work ahead. "With my website reviews they can go over just what we are doing today or they can look ahead and get a better feel of what they will be learning all quarter." Tom says.

He doesn't require his students to use his site, but offers it as a resource for those students that are interested. "It's a place for motivated students to go who are more interested in the class and the learning", Tom says.

Go check out his sites
His main class site is at www.pierce.ctc.edu/tlink
You can also access his blackboard sites by going to: http://www.blackboard.com/courses/Psych210/
and
http://www.blackboard.com/courses/Psychology205/

Written by Brian Benedetti - May 2001