It is particularly appropriate, then, that the creation of community spirit and dialogue in this course depends heavily on digitized resources, activities made available through the class Web space, and virtual interactions that take place in the online discussion forums. The instructors have found that the network of resources on the World Wide Web provides a good analogy for the complex interweaving of knowledge, culture, and personality that students must learn to unravel when analyzing a text. The Web space is password protected, so only students enrolled in the course and faculty are allowed to access its resources. This also allows students to post their work with some degree of privacy. Over the course of the quarter, each student's work is collected into an online portfolio that the student or her instructor could easily download from the Web.
Students leave the course with a virtual portfolio that traces their progress through the course.
Working in groups of three, students constructed arguments about texts they studied in the course. Readers were able to respond to the arguments with questions as they read. Students commented that they truly enjoyed working on their projects, even if it took more time than a traditional final exam. Lab staff are evaluating the assignment to see it enables students to better integrate what they have learned. Evaluating the Project Professor Sheppard and Michele Marincovich, head of the Center for Teaching and Learning, lead the assessment team in evaluating the course methods.