Prof has class on the Internet

According to Classical Studies Professor James O'Donnell, gaining a perspective on the past is impossible without using the technology of the present -- and future. For O'Donnell, this means conducting courses about the worlds of late antiquity and the Middle Ages on-line, utilizing the University's e-mail system for class discussion and disseminating information to students from Hong Kong to Istanbul via the worldwide Internet. "What we do in universities and specifically in humanities departments has a lot to do with communication -- with getting information together, packaging it, transmitting it, using it," he said in an interview this week. "My interest is not in the gadget part of [this technology], it's in the social and intellectual application of it," he added. Beginning with an upper level Classics seminar last spring, O'Donnell -- who is also coordinator of the School of Arts and Sciences Center for the Computer Analysis of Texts -- has incorporated an electronic component into all of his classes at the University. Whether students download their papers onto the University's computer network for critique by classmates or interact with him in a "textually-based, virtual space" rather than a traditional classroom, O'Donnell characterizes his decision to get on the information superhighway as "the very best idea I have ever had in my lifetime." "It's a way of adding connectivity and interactivity that you wouldn't have otherwise," he added. "I cannot imagine myself ever going through a semester again without this." O'Donnell likened the advent of the information superhighway to the development of the printing press in the 15th century, explaining that just as some people are afraid of the new technology now, there were objections raised against the press when it was introduced. But, he said, these fears are counterproductive and will prevent academics and universities from keeping their mission of education in tune with the times. "If we don't do an aggressive job of taking advantage of what the technology can help us do, we will be marginalizing ourselves and making ourselves irrelevant to society in very short order," O'Donnell said. To avoid becoming obsolete due to the boundless potential for interaction that exists on the Internet, universities need to define the reason behind bringing together students and instructors on one campus, he said. "What I can do in person is more on the order of mentor, tutor, tour guide for the network," O'Donnell said. "I probably can and should be doing less lecturing and information down-loading over time." Currently, O'Donnell is teaching a College of General Studies class on Boethius entirely on the Internet, to an audience of University students, interested people from around the globe and "tuition-paying customers" from other institutions of higher education. He admits, though, that the unorthodox learning environment of the electronic classroom will probably not replace the traditional, face-to-face student-teacher relationship anytime soon. Georgia State University graduate student Cindy Smith, who is working toward her teacher certification in English and Latin, is enrolled in the Boethius seminar this semester. "I've enjoyed the mailing list discussions very much, and they have given me tremendous insight," she said. "What is unique about a mailing list class is that students can talk freely and at length without taking up too much class time." Marguerite Joseph, a post-baccalaureate Classics student at the University, is taking one of O'Donnell's larger lectures in person, but also participating in the required electronic forums. "The actual discussions about the content are held via the Internet with the other 146 people taking the class," she said. "I think this is a great way to have the class because we can read the entire text in the original Latin and discuss it with our class and all the other people. "If the Internet were not a part of the class, we would not have time to do both in one semester," Joseph added. O'Donnell praised the time-saving capabilities of the Internet, as well as the impetus it provides for faculty members to try new teaching techniques. But, he said, professors at the University -- especially in his department -- still do not have adequate time to do everything they want to do. "The budgetary woes of SAS mean that a lot of departments are running on staffing levels 20 percent below what you would regard as efficient," O'Donnell said. "All parts of the system are under strain."

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