Also, information can flow in any direction, not just from instructors to students. Both students and faculty members have begun using electronic Web browsers regularly to surf the Internet and gather information from computers located anywhere from across campus to around the world. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, computer communications have been undergoing a steady migration to the Web. Professors put syllabuses, problem sets, students' papers, tests, video clips, and other materials online, creating a vast network of interconnected information that anyone can access. Hundreds of student and faculty home pages contain photos, personal observations, and almost anything else that can be expressed in text and graphics.
Electronic communication breaks down all kinds of barriers of space and time.
The Web is not suited to all forms of academic computing, Jackson notes. It is good for moving information from one computer to another for display or storing, but it can be maddeningly slow. Indeed, new enhancements are likely to expand the capabilities of the Web significantly. The explosion of information technologies in academia raises a host of tantalizing questions. These are difficult questions to answer, but they will be critical to the future of undergraduate education.