Exploring the Special Communications Experiences of Online Education

Abstract

This article will explore how this latest medium is the same as --- and differs from --- past methods. It will d'raw on the experience of the author and colleagues in developing and teaching in UMass Dartmouth's unique "CyberEd" program which has used the Internet --- primarily the World Wide Web and email --- to deliver a wide range of course materials in an interactive format that encourages student/ student and student/ faculty exchanges both asynchronously and synchronously. This article briefly delineates the philosophical foundations of this program; the attempts to implement those foundation principles within the constrains of current Internet technology; anecdotal examples gleaned from the preparation and presentation of course materials and some conclusions that can be inferred from these experiences.