World Wide Web presence for class

I have found that the World Wide Web presence tends to drive the class, and not the other way around. To ensure that the students identify with the Virtual Community, they should be encouraged to construct their own web pages. My presentation is less concerned with the Web component, but I do have a few experiences to share along the line, gained with the site I constructed with my Freshman Honors students.

The more experienced students can help the less experienced ones along.

Conferencing software

The most important factor here is user friendliness. It's been my experience that people will get comfortable with Usenet if and only if they feel motivated (as opposed to doing it as a class requirement). But all the motivation in the world will not help if the conferencing software is not user friendly. There are several third party options, many provided at no cost. For a fuller discussion, click here.

The human aspect

Technology by itself is only a means toward creating virtual community. The most important factor is the moderator's ability to encourage and facilitate constructive conversations.

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