Submitted by:
Terry Ann Craig
Professor of English
Liberal Arts
West Virginia Northern Community College
141 Main Street
New Martinsville, WV 26155 USA
v: (304) 455-4684
f: Same
e: DIVHMF1@NCCVAX.WVNET.EDU
Categories:
Education, higher
Keywords:
Innovative or improved ways of doing things; More equitable access to technology or electronic information; Creation of new ideas, products, or services; Local commitment to network-based activities
The Story:
I am a Professor of English at West Virginia Northern Community College in New Martinsville, West Virginia, and the Internet has proven very helpful to my students and to me. Although I am new to the computer network and am certainly not a technology expert, I’ve found the Internet to be easy, accessible, and exciting.
Here at WVNCC, our resources are limited and our library small. I have occasionally felt a little isolated here and have found it difficult to stay current with advances in my field. With the Internet I have access to resources around the world, and I have the opportunity to communicate quickly and easily with others in my discipline. I have joined the SHAKSPER ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE and receive daily postings of interest to Shakespeareans.
Information and ideas are exchanged; members regularly discuss literary and pedagogical matters. The extent to which members are willing to help each other is impressive; I feel as if I have found a real community of scholars.
More important, my students are benefitting from the Internet. Nearly all of them are working on research projects; now they can access other state college libraries through the Internet, request sources through interlibrary loans, and write much more thorough research papers. They can also tap into discussion groups or read the files from the SHAKSPER conference and thereby find a wealth of new ideas `and perspectives. They are beginning to see that research and scholarship need not be limited simply because they attend a small school in a small state. It may be a cliche, but in this case 1 believe it’s appropriate: with the Internet, the world is at their fingertips.
I have just begun to realize what’s possible with the Internet, and I believe that in the future it will be indispensable to students, staff, and faculty alike.
For additional information contact:
Cathy Bennett
LRC
West Virginia Northern Community College
141 Main Street
New Martinsville, WV 26155
v: (304) 455-4684
e: L1BNM1@NCCVAX.WVNET.EDU