ABSTRACT
At many state and some private universities, faculty teach large classes of 80 to 350 students. Depending on how selective admissions are, student ability and prior educational experience can vary a great deal. As a way of grappling with large classes and these inequalities of preparation and ability, some faculty explore the use of electronic conferencing. But technology by itself does not teach students anything or solve recurring structural course problems. Especially technology used on the margins of serious course instruction! For example, creating a computer conference but not requiring students to participate characterizes roughly 50% of the conferences established each semester at Indiana University.
