The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Quarterly", Summer 1996, Vol. 15 (No. 1&2) pp. 1-2.

WILL BLEAM AND PHIL BARAK are firmly grounded -- after all, they're soil scientists -- but they routinely send their students out to roam the electronic frontier. Bleam and Barak use their department's computer lab to set up Internet-based classwork ranging from electronic discussion groups to a "virtual textbook" on the WorldWideWeb.

SOILS ON THE WEB: In cyberspace, the reading room is always open.

For Will Bleam (left), e-mail groups offer a way to lead small-group discussion of topics related to his class. Phil Barak (right) publishes a textbook on the web, with illustrations, assigned readings and links to related subjects. The web site gives him an affordable way to publish a full-color textbook. The best part: he can update it at will. Photo by Wolfgang Hoffman

Bleam teaches Soil Science 230 (Soil: Ecosystem & Resource) to about 70 students, mostly juniors and seniors. The course, designed for non-majors, is cross-listed with Geography and the Institute for Environmental Studies.

Last semester, Bleam's students attended "virtual" discussion sections using FirstClass software, which creates discussion groups via e-mail. Each week Bleam posted a topic. Students logged in when convenient, discussed the topic, and jointly wrote a summary at the end of the week. Bleam read and commented on each summary.

The College doesn't use many teaching assistants, and the Web allows professors to contact more students "directly," Bleam notes. He estimates that the Web-linked class has pulled 90 percent of his students into direct, albeit electronic, contact with the professor. In unwired classes, only about 10 percent of his students contacted him directly, he says.

Bleam would like to see electronic discussion groups expanded, perhaps someday replacing classroom discussion sections. He thinks the technology is just as good as physical discussion sections in a classroom, and in some respects better. Quieter students seem to feel more able to participate, there's more scheduling flexibility, and the advantages on below-zero days are obvious.

New techniques and technologies usually contain a few lumps, and Bleam had to fine-tune his methods to fit the teaching to the technology.

While Bleam uses the internet to set up electronic discussion groups, Phil Barak has created an electronic textbook on the net's WorldWideWeb.

Barak teaches Soils 326 (Plant Nutrient Management), a requirement for soils majors and an elective for horticulture and agronomy majors. Students have a custom-tailored text at /~barak/soilscience326/ -- a Web site created by Barak. These Web pages contain assigned readings plus, in small print, digressions for students who want to learn more about a topic.

Barak's first Web "chapter," Essential Elements for Plant Growth, opens with a link to the periodic table of elements. Clicking on an element reveals information ranging from its date of discovery to its electronegativities and ionization enthalpies. Further down the page, a small-print link leads to a discussion of hydroponics. The next pages review macro- and micronutrients, nutrient deficiencies, ionic charge, etc. Photos on the following pages show plants with nutrient deficiencies.

Why a web site instead of handouts or chapter assignments in a textbook? "First of all, the cost of textbooks with good color illustrations has become prohibitive, and the process of creating such a textbook for a limited readership is intimidating," Barak points out. "Besides, would a publisher be interested in a new edition every year based on the author's changing experience and every whim?"

Students routinely use the Web page, as well as e-mail dialog and on-line problem sets. "Many have discovered that if they have questions about the problem sets at odd hours, they can e-mail me from home or anywhere on campus and get a reasonably prompt response. The informality of electronic communications has also helped break down barriers in the dialog," he says.

Barak sees his students endorsing a new teaching paradigm.

"I feel that if I were to drop the use of electronically-delivered messages, problem sets, supplemental texts, and class notes, my students would revolt!" Barak says. "The students are watching the course web pages for each new item as it is posted, so that the educational experience has broken out of the lecture-plus-lab format."

---Bob Cooney, Senior Editor, Ag&Life Sciences, AgJournalism, UW-Madison

This article originally appeared in "The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Quarterly", Summer 1996, Vol. 15 (No. 1&2) pp. 1-2.
CALS Quarterly features stories on research, teaching and outreach programs conducted by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Comments or questions from readers are welcome. Send them to: CALS Quarterly, Department of Agricultural Journalism, 440 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706.
Formatted for the web on Aug 8, 1996.