The learners get the bottom four lines. The learners' usercodes are listed in this bottom window where the learner can post questions. The teacher can post text slides in the top window and type as in a chat room. That's about it. The new system presented in Figure 1 contains the graphics ECR environment thatbegan operation in 1999.
Students overwhelmingly prefer the new system.
Issues and Problems Even though the system is meeting the needs of its users, there are still things that can be improved. Learners would like to see the chat area for the electronic classroom enlarged, and we're working on that. Not all browsers are equal, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.0 works better with all the features and screens than does any other browser at this time. Real-time electronic classroom sessions are difficult to schedule because of the international nature of the learners in the programs. On any given evening, one can find learners from many different time zones, including countries such as Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Taiwan, and any one of the 50 states in the U.S.A. However, the recording function does make it possible for learners in different geographical sessions to view a session at their convenience.