I can do my school work on it and not have to worry about running to the library or computer lab late at night. People will communicate with their teachers better too. Last fall, there were 12 Web-enhanced courses. This fall there will be 260. Some professors plan to dub their lectures onto a video CD-ROM, so students can watch the lectures on their own and use class time for group discussions.
Some students say they'd like the computer requirement to be optional.
The military academies, which put a desktop in every room in 1983, were the first colleges to require computers. If they have to go to a public lab, they try to figure out ways not to go to that public lab, and ways to take short-cuts. At Northern Michigan, where there are network connections and outlets everywhere on campus, professors expect there will be more learning than ever.