Consider, for example, the difficulty many students have understanding the difference between random sampling and random assignment . Much of this confusion would be eliminated if there were a way to have each student personally draw a random sample or conduct random assignment, but it is usually impracticable to arrange this experience for hundreds of students. With the web, however, the impracticable becomes feasible. There, students find a brief tutorial and an interactive form that allows them to carry out instant random sampling and random assignment. The students can then print their output from this page, and teaching assistants can quickly look over the answers to make sure there are no errors.
Most students enjoy the web.
Given the enthusiasm expressed by most students, I now offer optional web assignments to help students learn more about social psychology than they would from the textbook and lectures alone. For instance, I invite students to submit web sites that illustrate topics covered during the previous week, and I post links to the best sites on a web page entitled Sites of the Week . Periodically, I use class time to visit a few of these sites, and the student feedback on these class presentations has been very positive. The web can save time and increase convenience. One advantage of posting syllabi and other educational materials on the web is that students have 24-hr access to them.