The following are some observations by University of Washington faculty on using email and the Web in higher education:
We are evolving a kind of education that suits the new electronic medium. Because of the rapid rate of change in my subject matter, I'm obliged to use electronic means and to teach my students to teach themselves. Otherwise the content of the material I give them - once they have finished their final paper and kissed the course good-bye - is current for only three to six months.
Increasingly what educators need to do - our major value added, if you will - is to convey the concepts, the structure, and the basic skills of our fields, thereby enabling the student to continue self-instruction long after class is over.
Prof. John Bowes
UW School of Communications
Overall, I learned that you can't just drop technology into a class on short notice. It takes preparation and experience to be sure that technology enhances rather than interferes in the process of the course.
Prof. Annette Olson
UW School of Marine Affairs
Let your students know that you want them to tell you where you can do better, and be willing to change. See what excites your students and give them as much of that as possible. Let your students know that you care about every one of them.
As an educator, you can't be method-oriented. You must be goal-oriented to be most effective, and the goal is for each student to have intellectual insight into the subject matter.
Frederick Johnson, Senior Lecturer
UW College of Fisheries
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