Computer Advocacy
Point, Click, Study
Classes with Cool Websites
Jonathan Vafai
[Ed: Links to web pages and/or e-mail addresses which have become inactive since the publication of this article have been enclosed in curly brackets { }. Replacement links have been provided where possible.]
In my Societies and Social Sciences: Economy and Society class, we discussed "utility maximization" --
in a free market, economic actors seek to maximize their utility. Computer Advocacy is on a mission
to help faculty and staff maximize their students' utility, and in my opinion, one of the best ways
to improve a class that is already great is to make a website for it.
In the past year some students, faculty and staff have invested a significant amount of time and
effort to build NYU Web into a worthwhile class resource. A short trip over to
{www.nyu.edu/classes} will reveal a growing list of classes
that are using NYU Web to improve the educational experience.
I did a little research in the logs of NYU Web at {www.nyu.edu/classes/stats}. In October 1996, the contents of the directory at the classes website received 60,000 hits. By November 1997, this statistic had grown to about 222,000 hits.
At the same time, however, when I speak to the membership of Computer Advocacy, I find that very few people are actually in a class that uses the Internet or NYU Web in its curriculum.
Bearing this in mind, here I present a sampling of class websites, to let faculty and students know
what is available online.
Medieval Technology and Everyday Life
V65.0003 - Medieval and Renaissance Studies
http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Technology.html
Professor Gans
paul.gans@nyu.edu
Professor Gans has assembled a very large site for all of the classes that he teaches. He runs his
own Apache web server on his personal Linux machine as a hobby. The machine has been running
continuously since before it was cool to be on the Internet.
Over the past several years, his site has not only grown extremely popular among his students, it
has grown in popularity in the Medieval and Renaissance Studies community. He has meticulously put
together a timeline of technological developments from A.D. 500 to 1600, with descriptions,
illustrations and a thorough set of references. In the class assignment schedule on the website, he
includes links to his site, and often to an outside site for information related to the day's lecture.
Organic Chemistry I
V25.0243 - Chemistry
{www.nyu.edu/classes/orgo}
Professors Canary and Schuster
TA: Hai Mi
{hqm0870@nyu.edu} Replacement address: james.canary@nyu.edu
This year, Organic Chemistry I has begun to use the Web more comprehensively than any of its
predecessors. Analysis of the NYU Web statistics shows these web pages are getting more hits than
any other class website. This site was initiated by the teaching assistants, with cooperation from
the lecturing professors. They convert weekly quizzes, homework assignments, past exams and lecture
notes into HTML. After midterms and exams, answer keys and students' grades (listed by last digits of
NYU ID numbers) are posted.
This site is immensely popular because it allows students to access information quickly, rather than
having to wait for the next lecture. It also lessens the need for students to run to Unique Copy
Center to buy copies of the notes.
Minds and Machines
V83.0007 - Philosophy
www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/courses/mindsandmachines
Professor Ned Block
ned.block@nyu.edu
TA: Hagop Janoyan
Professor Block has put together an excellent set of web pages for his Minds and Machines class.
They include an extensive syllabus, scanned-in slides of lecture notes, and a plethora of links
for outside information related to the class material. Similar to Professor Gans's Medieval
Technology pages, he provides a list of "suggested links" in his lecture schedule.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Minds and Machines website is his discussion
board. On the discussion board, students are encouraged to respond to topics from class.
Professor Block is very proud of the site. "I'll never teach any other way," he said. "Interested
students can pursue subjects in a way that was not practical before I started this. I think this
kind of thing will revolutionize teaching as soon as professors figure out how to do it."
Evolution
V23.0058 - Biology
www.nyu.edu/projects/fitch/courses/evolution
Professor David Fitch
david.fitch@nyu.edu
Professor Fitch's website for his Evolution class is rich with graphics and information. He goes
far beyond a simple syllabus. All the class notes are on the website, arranged topically. Even those
not studying evolution right now would find the information he has provided very interesting. Because
there is so much in this site, Professor Fitch also developed a sophisticated navigation system using
Java to access information by lecture.
World Cultures: Mesopotamia and Egypt
V55.0501 - MAP
www.nyu.edu/classes/wright
Professor Rita Wright
This web page, one of the first ever developed for a Morse Academic Plan class, is a good example of
a well-rounded web page. Professor Wright has included a copy of the syllabus and many links to
outside information related to the course. With permission, she scanned in photos from sources such
as the Metropolitan Museum, as well as ones she took personally. There is even a QuickTime VR image
of a modern water jar from Egypt that can be rotated in 3-D.