Rather than sign up for a classroom version of the instruction, Reed chose Waite Group's tutorial book. He used the books CD-ROM to log on to the eZone to work through online quizzes and swap ideas about Perl with fellow students in online discussion groups. Reed was so pleased with the low cost and ease of learning through eZone that he persuaded a co-worker to take the Perl course. He now serves as an online tutor, helping new students in Photoshop and Visual Basic with their questions as they enter the eZone to work through their own courses. People may be afraid to admit their deficiencies to a teacher, but they will admit them to each other.
Students can communicate with one another via electronic mail or live chat rooms.
Reed sees the eZone's online discussion groups as invaluable tools for allowing peers to address the real-life glitches that computer technology sometimes presents. They allow people to discuss the real things they need to do with this technology at work. Top Accessing Specialized Knowledge Computer-skills courses are among the most popular online, but there are many other possibilities. When Nancy Gordon, owner of Customized Travel Research in Boise, Idaho, registered for an online course in travel and tourism from the UCLA Extension, she wasn't sure what to expect. Gordon's online instructor, Joanie McClellan, turned out to be more than just a teacher.