I use IT intensively and in varied contexts in my classes. As teachers, we sometimes forget that the most important ongoing activity in our classes is not teaching, but learning, and I believe that IT is dramatically improving the learning experience of our students. Brief descriptions follow. Communication and Collaboration . I use electronic conferencing to generate discussions on a variety of topics outside of class.
Participants can open threads of discussion to which others can respond.
The e-conference for a particular course has many different topics under discussion at any one time. I find that the electronic conferencing format stimulates students who otherwise might be reticent to speak up in such a large class to raise questions and enter into discussions on a variety of topics outside of class. I often post questions for analysis or discussion, and find, quite contrary to some views of computer culture as an isolating experience, that groups of students will work collaboratively in posting replies or in raising new questions of their own. I have built web pages to provide W3 links that will launch student inquiries in particular directions. This focuses student explorations and generates useful searches.