When I was asked to take on the daunting task of teaching undergraduate entomology, it reminded me of the theme from television's Mission Impossible: "Should you choose to accept this assignment...." Fortunately, I was able to cope with the task with much help from colleagues and with what I now recognize as one of the teacher's best friends, the digital desktop computer. Although I still had to organize and develop the course, the computer gave me an outlining facility, a platform to produce actual teaching aids, and an expedient delivery system.

One of my primary goals was establishing communication between my students and me. I used a mix of information delivery methods (lecture, electronic mail, video and self-paced computer tutorial). Increasingly, it has become apparent in the educational setting that students have different learning styles. Therefore, the more varied the methods in which the material is presented, the greater the potential for the material to be learned.

I used a variety of communication media to help students understand and compare insect communication systems that we discussed in class. It seemed a reasonable way to provide an appreciation that other organisms also had a variety (in some cases, a far more diverse array) of communication methods to get their messages across.

Experience in extension work had convinced me already of the value of electronic mail (e-mail) for communicating in the academic setting. Although readily available on our campus, I found that few instructors were using this technology; only one student in my class of fifty raised a hand when asked about previous experience using e-mail in courses. Therefore, to implement my philosophy, I issued each student an account on a VAX minicomputer.

Once students had VAX accounts, I was provided with a powerful way to disseminate information. This technology not only made communications about the course more complete, but provided a way for students to reply to the instructor with greater flexibility (literally any time of day or night), something impossible in the conventional class setting. Beyond routine communications, e-mail also was used to settle disputes. One exam question, in particular, was of enough concern that over half the students communicated their feelings to me in a confidential manner. Finally, votes were taken on the issue and compiled, and a final reason for the outcome was presented to the class.

Electronic communications allowed me to demonstrate the breadth of information services now provided on the Internet, including gopher, ftp, and telnet. I routinely forwarded discussions from the Entomo-L discussion list that related to class topics. This provided a "reality check" of sorts by showing that material discussed in class was of concern to contemporary scientists. The computer network also gave students access to the combined catalog of all libraries in the State of Florida and to other libraries around the world.

Although there was some resistance to learning electronic mail technology, and there were frustrations at first, many students quickly took to the idea. One student wrote:

"I am thrilled with this idea of using the computers for class. I think it is a very important aspect of the future. I must admit that I am a little behind with the computers now, but this is a wonderful way to get back in tune. When computers started to come out we bought a Commodore 64. I got really good using it and its software, but when newer technology came out I got left behind. It is hard to keep up in this fast-paced world."

Another said: "It is my personal opinion that the VAX accounts are useful ways of communicating information and ideas in a class. I realize that there is an argument that this is not a 'computer class,' thus those unwilling to learn the VAX should be able to receive this information via conventional means. Those who are fluent in VAX, however, more than benefit from your offering this service. I believe that if the people who don't use VAX and e-mail would just take the time to learn it, they would never turn away. It has so many other practical uses that ANYONE can find a reason to learn it! (<---the ever- growing need for computer-literate people in the work place is reason alone!)"

Learning to use the computer is especially important in the University of Florida setting because a campus-wide information system (CWIS) is being implemented. It will be available only by computer. To pay for this and other electronic services, the University is planning to charge students a "technology fee." Thus, those who are not taught this technology in their courses risk being charged for something they do not know how to effectively use.

The use of electronic communications also helped reduce student and department duplicating costs. Information flow was increased (knowing what other scientists are conversing about over the Internet, letters to the instructor, and communications from the instructor) without the need for paper and copy machines.

The computer also helped me design and deliver the course. Using lecture notes and handouts from previous instructors, I was able to organize materials into a convenient electronic document using Microsoft's Powerpoint presentation software. This program was extremely easy for me to learn and I found the outlining facility particularly valuable. The full course outline was made available to all students through their VAX accounts, and I could update it quickly as the course evolved during the semester.

My Powerpoint presentations were far from the "multimedia" extravaganzas depicted in computer magazines. They were electronic slides delivered on an overhead projector; added sound and video were produced more conventionally through video cassette recorder and large-screen television. Although the room lighting and overhead projector left much to be desired, the overall presentation quality was far better than if I had been using the blackboard or the overhead projector with acetate slides. The software allowed me to make transitions between images. It also gave me the ability to "build" slides, showing one bullet (point of information) at a time, while dimming on the screen previously discussed points. Finally, it made it easier to return to previous slides or points of information if questions arose about material that had been covered earlier.

I found the projection system to be the weakest link in this technology. This deficiency, however, should become less of a problem as my classroom becomes better equipped for multimedia presentations; a new color projector has just been purchased. Students also seem much more involved and interested when I intermix other media (conventional slides and video) among the Powerpoint slides, something I hope will become more computer controlled in the future. I also learned the importance of designing a presentation so that the most dramatic slides or "bells and whistles" come at the end. Retreating in quality (e.g., reverting from color slides to black and white) as a course evolves can cause loss of interest that has been created earlier by incorporating new technology.

Besides presenting my material in class, I also discovered other ways to deliver the electronic materials I produced. As with most software of this kind, the developers of Powerpoint provide a viewer program free of charge. It can legally be distributed along with presentations. I mounted the viewer, along with my presentation files, on a local computer network so students could run through the material at their leisure. I am currently exploring distributing presentations and viewer either by diskette or network for use on home computers. Only through use of personal computer technology can original teaching materials be made available so easily to students and colleagues.

A final computerized application was suggested by a colleague in our Department's Extension Software Development office. We worked together to integrate a termite tutorial into the class. This option allowed information on termites in lecture to be bypassed in favor of other topics. To determine the value of this technology, we developed a pre- and posttest and gave the students class credit for taking both tests and the tutorial. The results are shown in Table 1.

Students using the tutorial material showed improvement between the two exams. This tutorial was also interactive. It guided students through the subject matter, but did not allow them to proceed until they had mastered each block of material.

Technology coupled with teaching comes at a cost. The traditional teacher controls course content. It might even be said that this defines the educator. However, electronic media tend to open up many avenues by which students assimilate knowledge. As one reviewer of this article said, "...students are being encouraged to learn beyond the classroom and beyond the teacher." Could this be threatening to some educators? It was not to me.

Other questions arise. Do students learn more or better from this method than by more conventional means, or is it using technology for technology's sake? Are students more engaged and interested because this technology mirrors television and movies that have shaped there cultural development?

The methods described above worked for me, and at least some of my students reported that they were excited by their incorporation into the class. Until we have definitive research on the value of using electronic media in teaching, however, their effectiveness must ultimately come from each educator's style and how his or her style interacts with students. However, one thing that is clear; when technology and teaching are wed, they become a huge force to be reckoned with. And if research confirms the benefits of this force to the educational process, as I believe it will, then it will be impossible to ignore.

Malcolm T. Sanford teaches in the new Department of Entomology-Nematology Building at the University of Florida, Bldg. 970, Box 110620, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620, ph 904/392-1801 ext. 143, e-mail: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU. For a list of extension software products, contact Tom Fasulo, Software Development at the above address, same phone, ext. 136 or e-mail: FASULO@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU.

     Table 1:  Score of Students Tested on General Knowledge of
     Termites Before and After Use of a Computer Delivered
     Termite Tutorial (n = 30 questions)a.
          
    Student        Pretest  Posttest
                    #MISSED  #MISSED
    X3005AAE            17        6
    X3005AAF            12        2
    X3005AAH            18       12
    X3005AAI            17        0
    X3005AAJ            19        3
    X3005AAK            17        5
    X3005AAL            15        1
    X3005AAM            16        0
    X3005AAN            14        3
    X3005AAP            18        0
    X3005AAQ            16        1
    X3005AAR            17        0
    X3005AAS            14        2
    X3005AAT            14        0
    X3005AAU            13        0
    X3005AAX            17        5
    X3005AAY            10        4
    X3005AAZ            10        0
    X3005ABA            11        4
    X3005ABB            13        0
    X3005ABC            13        0
    X3005ABE            19        0
    X3005ABF            14        1
    X3005ABG            11        4
    X3005ABH            14        4
    X3005ABI            11        2
    X3005ABJ            15        1
    X3005ABL            16        2
    X3005ABM            13        0
    X3005ABN            21        1
    X3005ABO            16        1
    X3005ABP            18        6
    X3005ABQ            17        3
    X3005ABR            12        0
    X3005ABS            10       12
    X3005ABT            17        1
    X3005ABU             9        1
    X3005ABV            13        5
    X3005ABW            12        0
    X3005ABX            13        2
    X3005ABY            15        0
    X3005ABZ            15        5
    X3005ACA            13        0
    X3005ACB            20        2

    Average             15        2
    Range             21 to 9  12 to 0    

     aENY 3005, Principles of Entomology, Spring, 1994,     
     Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of      
     Florida.

© 1995, M.T. Sanford, "All Rights Reserved"