The Internet is proving fertile ground for the exchange of information about developmental education. Sites containing news, journal articles, and places for dialogue are proliferating as educators throughout the country hook into the "Net "
Troy E O’Brien, assistant mathematics professor et Davenport College in Lansing. Michigan, recently established a home page for developmental education The page contains O’Brien’s definition of DE. Developmental education is the embodiment of the educational services that restore students' educational foundations so that they may succeed in raising their educational levels. Furthermore, developmental education assists students in correcting deficiencies in their prior educational experiences, lack of support at home, being out of school for a period of time, special academic needs and/or when the 'standard traditional academic system fails students.
O Brien writes that his goal in establishing this site is to “set up an exchange for teaching techniques….l want it to be something special for developmental education" He also notes that “this undertaking is out of my own pocket right now” and he would welcome donations
"The Electronic Research Paper" is being explored by Philip Dirks at Portland State University. Dirks, an instructor/counselor for student support services, will be teaching a course this spring on low to use CD rom technology and the Internet as primary sources for research papers.
'This course will instruct students how to cut and paste from Netscape and CDs to Microsoft Word," writes Dirks. "I have access to a small Macintosh lab I for the course...[ten students] will be able to sit at a workstation all term long. The instructor's computer is connected I to a projection device so that I will be able to model tasks live for the students."
In addition to teaching basic research techniques such as abstracting, referencing, and paraphrasing for an eight to ten page paper, the course will show students how to use CD roms, Netscape, and Powerpoint. "We will also discuss the 'authority' of information found on the Internet," writes Dirks. "How do you know when you've found an authoritative source?"
Recent literature on DE is also available on the Internet. Georgine Materniak of the University of Pittsburgh writes that a colleague brought to her attention that Part I of an article titled "Technology and Underprepared Students" can be found on the Internet. Part II is due out soon.
News and updates about the activities of DE professionals can be found on the home page for the National Association
Developmental Education (NADE). David Arendale, president of NADE, has posted a temporary new address for organization, with a simpler final version coming out within the next few weeks.
For more information about the items described in this article, interested faculty may contact the following:
List composed in January 1996