Lecture to Link Profs With Students on Net

Making appointments to see a college professor or finding out when a mid-term is scheduled may get easier over time, as colleges push the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web to communicate with students outside of the classroom.

On Friday Santa Monica College chemistry instructor Jennifer Merlic will discuss how the Information Superhighway can be used in teaching. The discussion is part of the Pierce College Chemistry Department Lecture Series.

“Normally things you give to students in a hard copy, like syllabi and handouts, you can make available to students on the Internet,” said Isidore Goodman, a Pierce College chemistry instructor and coordinator of the lecture. “A computer can be used to obtain information as well as to disseminate that information to students.”

Merlic is expected to discuss how the Web is used for teaching any subject--regardless of whether the instructor is familiar with the programming language--and how it can be utilized by students at any time.

Though not used extensively, these techniques are not uncommon, as more and more universities and colleges set up home pages on the World Wide Web.

Goodman said the Internet has not yet been widely used at Pierce, though President E. Bing Inocencio has recently formed a technology committee that will investigate the possibilities.

“As this technology spreads out on campus and more teachers get into it and see its advantages, and more students get home computers, this will be commonplace,” Goodman said.

The free lecture will start at 3 p.m. Friday in Physics Room 914, at 6201 Winnetka Ave. For details, call (818) 719-6464.