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ADVANCED TOPICS Internet Use in Academia |
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The widespread use of the Internet is almost a mandatory fact of like in academia. The faculties of universities utilize the Internet to aid in their teaching. Professors often put course materials on his/her web site so that a student can access the web and download all the information needed for the course. Emails get sent to the students and notify them of useful information on the class events. Some organizations go as far as to offer entire courses by the Internet by utilizing the multimedia capability of the web site. This is the case with Stanford University.
Research, which is an integral part of the university, benifits much from the Internet. The research information of any professor can basically be viewed via Internet given that he/she sets up a server. Professors introduce themselves in the site, and put downloadable formats of their research papers. With the arrival of archiving of jounrals on the Internet, a good deal of current research can be done on it rather than resorting to the traditional method of searching through the libraries which do not always have the most current references. The easier communication in the Internet allows the university departments to facilitate the students in many of the basic student needs. For example, Stanford University offers the AXESS system that deals with the student registration on the web. The students can also see course offerings on the Stanford website. The admissions office makes their deparment known to prospective applicants by setting up a web site and describing the department and making links to the web sites of the Professors within the department. A prospective Ph. D. student can see what kind of research is being carriend out in the university, and can decide to apply to the university. Grades can also be acquired through the Internet by a system called Webclass at Stanford University. With the student username, and a password, a student can view his/her grades for every homework or test that he takes. Lastly, students can continually send questions to the teaching assistants when they come acros a concept that they are not sure of. The TAs usually respond to the inquires in a relatively short time. In all, the Internet has provided a tremendous convenience and utility in furthering the purpose of teaching the students in the most efficient way. |
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JOHN LeFLOHIC MARCH 16, 1998 |