Creative class websites becoming standard

COURTESY CLASSES.YALE.EDU

Several times a week, students in Chinese 130 sit at home computers listening to oral comprehension programs found on the course's website. The online listening assignments are a regular part of the course's syllabus, along with other materials also found on the site. The Chinese 130 professor, Ling Mu, is almost as delighted with the site as his students, who no longer have to trek to the language lab.

As advances are made in online technology, an increasing number of professors are trying to integrate the wonders of the communication age into the courses they teach. Yale's classes site, http://classes.yale.edu, lists over 200 courses with websites. The courses with online components represent a broad cross-section of undergraduate and graduate departments, ranging from physics to theater studies. Such diversity in websites is surprising, since, in past years, most course websites were offered only by Group IV professors . This year even English 120 and English 240 have in-depth and well-organized sites which feature helpful links, past students' papers, and writing contest opportunities.

Individual departments also feature their own websites, some of which—like the psychology department site—provide links, biographical information on professors, lists of courses, and other information. Other sites, such as the history department's, have some room for improvement, as History Director of Undergraduate Studies Robert Johnson explained. "We're not quite as up on the website as we would like. Hopefully, in a year we will have more information and tools available."

Websites vary in how integral they are to courses. For example, Organic Chemistry's website features problem sets and exams from the past two years, study aids, a bulletin board, and even a mentor hotline staffed by past students. Fred Ziegler, who teaches the course, said he created the website because "Chem 220a is a course entered with fear and trepidation. The website seeks to allay some of these anxieties." Organic Chemistry student Jaime Moo-Young, JE '02, said, "[The website] clears up info you miss in class. I think I'd have a harder time without it."

Some sites, however, aren't as vital to students in their courses, merely featuring syllabi, some e-mail links to professors, and cursory course descriptions. "Websites are often contingent on how large the class is," economics professor Christos Cabolis, whose website is among the plainer sites, explained. "With a smaller class, providing so many features on a site can be redundant and unnecessary."

Professors who teach large courses agree with Cabolis' analysis. One such professor is history professor John Gaddis, who teaches the Cold War—a course with almost 400 students enrolled. "It's impossible in a class of this size to deal individually with student questions," he said. The website for Gaddis' course provides links to several Cold War history websites and even features a live chatroom.

History professor Thomas Arnold, who has put up websites for his classes, Renaissance Italy and The City in the Renaissance, hopes that further innovations can be made on course websites. "I am hoping that online posting can be a way to tie different courses together, encouraging students to do the reading for their own course, but also browsing into related material," he said.

However, Johnston remains wary of the new technology. He fears that "students will feel less compelled to look at books" because so much information is available online. Mandatory website use also makes it more difficult for students who don't have computers to access often vital information. Jonathan Kaufman, MC '02, "just about never" visits the websites offered for his courses and is frustrated that he can't get all of the necessary plug-ins to work on his computer. Professor Paula Resch, who teaches English 114, can sympathize. She uses herself as an example to students who are uncomfortable using computers. "I hope it helps them to see that I am learning this technology along with them," she explained.

Yet every year, an increasing number of Yale students are having experiences like Mu's Chinese 130 students, who continue to make weekly visits to the course's website. Mu proudly predicts that, barring technical difficulties, website use "will be something that we can no longer do without" as Yale moves further into the information age.

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