This essay describes a web site evaluation project which served as the final assignment for an undergraduate "Introduction to Religion" course. The essay discusses lessons learned from the design and implementation of this web-based research assignment over three consecutive semesters. It includes insights from an instructor and a reference…

In this article we examine how instructors make decisions about task design in telecollaboration and the factors that influence these decisions during the actual implementation of the tasks. We begin with a review of the recent literature of online intercultural exchanges to identify and describe a typology of 12 different types of tasks and task…

In the last issue, this journal asked a question on many librarians' minds, and it was pleased with the depth and variety of responses. As suggested by this journal editorial board member Oliver Pesch, readers were asked, "Many libraries have gone to federated searching to win users back from Google. Is it working?" Respondents approached the…

As the Internet is becoming more and more of a commonplace technology in the Western world, many communication programs have begun to offer technology-related communication courses. Usually, these classes require students to create a Web site. A good Web site, however, requires more than colored text, a few graphics, and a few links. This paper…

Discusses the issue of students buying papers on the Internet. Considers how educators reconcile their ability to teach effectively with their students' ability to cheat and steal without the teacher's knowledge. Suggests a solution by assigning essays that cannot be bought. (SG)

Because students are highly motivated to read texts online rather than in traditional form, McNabb argues, schools should encourage students to use the Internet for academic and pleasure reading. However, hypertext has unique features that make comprehension monitoring while reading challenging. Strategies that work for reading passages of printed…

Despite accompanying drawbacks, the Internet information system known as Gopher presents a rich variety of potential benefits to writing pedagogies and to educational administrators. Writing teachers need to overcome tendencies to think of exploration of the Internet information resources as something to be uncritically adopted and as something to…

This paper presents a writing exercise that the author uses in his technical writing courses. The purpose of the exercise is to: (1) convince students that their ideas have value; and (2) teach higher order thinking skills--specifically, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The author relates his own college experience, noting the fact that only…