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Passage
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An Educating
Internet By Cary Griffith
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Education
isn't what it used to be. If you enrolled in a college or university
before 1995, you probably spent untold hours sifting through
brochures, printed catalogs,
and comparative educational directories. Once you finally selected
your school, you stood in long lines at the registrar's
office and spent a good half day in class registration.
Colleges and universities have been quick to use the Internet
for their own purposes. For starters, almost all colleges and
universities have Web sites containing basic marketing information.
Sometimes that information goes so far as to include a list
of classes, a faculty directory, and other relevant information.
If anyone ever wants an example of something made better by
the Internet, consider college class registration. Today,
many universities issue usernames and passwords with the usual
student ID card. Using secure servers, students can enroll in
an entire semester of classes from their dorm rooms, in about
the same amount of time it takes to walk to the cafeteria to
secure lunch. Not only are these students better informed about
potential classes, but they can instantaneously see whether
or not the class has any openings. And in more and more universities,
these online, secure databases have been set up to alert students
to registration problems.
If a student enrolls in too many courses, the Internet registration
system can send the student an immediate warning. If there's
a conflict between class times or locations, the student can
be prevented from enrolling in a course until he or she remedies
the conflict.
The university website often provides access to online library
catalogs and circulation,
not to mention a variety of other informational resources never
before made so easily or readily available. Curious about whether
the assigned text is in the university bookstore? Search online.
Curious about whether an assigned reference text is checked
out of the library? Search online. Want to get the full text
of a Scientific American article assigned as reading for the
next class period? Get it online.
The Internet is revolutionizing the ease with which Americans
can pursue higher education. Today it is also increasingly becoming
a venue for the classroom. More and more of our institutions
of higher learning offer online Internet courses. For these
courses, students can be on campus, in their dorm rooms, or
in another country. These changes are making Internet classrooms
a completely interactive and viable way for colleges to
educate their students.
(403 words)
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