Word From the Web
George M. Jacobs

Here's a post that Mark Maier (mmaier@netra.glendale.cc.ca.us), Department of Economics, Glendale College (California, USA) contributed to the CL list. (To become a member of this free list send an e-mail message to majordomo@jaring.my. Include in the body of the message "subscribe CL." Perhaps you'd like to reply to Mark.

I wonder if other CL users have heard about, or perhaps used "Just-in-time teaching." (no
relation to just-in-time production). It is a teaching technique developed for physics and
described in a book, Just-in-Time Teaching: Blending Active Learning with Web Technology by Gregor M Novak, Evelyn T Patterson, Andrew D Gavrin, and Wolfgang Christian. (from Prentice-Hall in their "Series in Educational Innovation"). Details, including sample material, are available at the web site: http://webphysics.iupui.edu/jitt/jitt.html

In JiTT the instructor prepares a set of questions to be answered via e-mail or in Web CT by all students before a set time (usually several hours before class.) The questions are chosen
carefully so that they require students to put into practice the material they have read. The
instructor reviews the answers and then develops appropriate class work, usually small group
work, that will help students build on the skills they demonstrated in their answers (and to
correct errors that appeared.) JiTT is intended to be used in conjunction with cooperative learning. Does anyone have experience with it? I am preparing a workshop on the use of CL with JiTT at the October 12-14 2000 meeting of ISETA (International Society for Exploring Teaching Alternatives) in Los Angeles. Information available at: www.west.asu.edu/ISETA/iseta00.html

While I'm at it, let me give a plug for ISETA. It is a good organization with an excellent
conference. Summaries of all presentations are available in advance--so participants can shop carefully. And, nearly all presenters practice what they preach, using interaction in their
workshops. This year's meeting in LA promises to be especially well attended and including
several sessions on CL. In the last issue of the IASCE Newsletter, we announced a website by Ted Panitz that is loaded with useful information on CL. Here's the URL:   www.capecod.net/~tpanitz/tedspage/. Ted's new e-mail address is tpanitz@capecode.net.

Cooperation and peace go hand in hand. Indeed, conflict resolution has been an important
element of cooperative learning. Below are some web resources on Peace Education found at this URL: www.unf.edu/~astomfay/index.htm