It is so revolutionary, in fact, that Mullen's work was featured in the April 15 Wall Street Journal in an article highlighting businesses that offer fast and inexpensive ways to get college-level course information online. Before Mullen began using CourseInfo, students in his classes could access a syllabus, a schedule, lecture topics, class notes, keys to quizzes, and homework online. They could print out slides and take notes on them during class. Posting grades, however, proved to be difficult. It now takes less time for me to get the same information out, so I'm spending more time on soils, while still maintaining a strong Web presence.
Faculty members are experts in something already.
They shouldn't have to be an expert in something else just to accomplish a very simple task. So ITC began evaluating various course management systems. We actually hammered away at the software. Mullen, who has been teaching online since 1997, served on a 10-member focus group that evaluated systems. The group ranged from advanced users, such as Mullen, to novices whose skills were limited to checking e-mail and word processing.