She posts assignments, learning objectives, and other important class information on course Web sites, and often uses e-mail to send reminders and updates to students. Ananda Mitra, assistant professor of communication, finds little use for paper in his classes, as well. In a seminar for freshmen, for instance, Mitra required his students to establish e-mail acquaintances with someone in South Asia. In a number of cases, faculty members report technology helps them get More out of class meetings. Gordon McCray, an assistant professor in Wake Forest's Calloway School of Business, finds he has more time now in the classroom to provide active learning experiences for his students.
Technology also can play a part in helping students prepare better for class and lab sessions.
For example, Colyer's chemistry students often visit a special Web site that provides supplemental lab instructions. After reviewing the material, students take an online quiz. The results indicate to Colyer whether they, in fact, understand the information and are properly prepared for lab. Faculty members, in a number of ways, are using technology to enable students to collaborate on projects. Associate Professor of English Anne Boyle assigns her first-semester composition students to work on a writing project with students at Acadia University in Canada.